Happy Easter, 2014!!

Our Easter festivities began Saturday morning with an egg hunt....or, in reality, a mad-dash-for-far-too-few-eggs-for-this-many-kids hunt.  :)

We made it to the baseball field just in time for Garytt's age bracket.  Kris and Boy ran out onto the field and Boy was able to nab quite a few eggs!

On your mark...

Ten minutes later, Mackenzie's age group went for it.  There were SO many kids in this group.  The rules for the hunting were:  1.  you can only go once.  2.  you can only go in your age group or an age group above yours.

So, I guess a bunch of little kids went in with their older siblings, who all happened to be 7-8 years old.  I heard several moms complaining that their kids (who looked 4) didn't get any eggs....what did you expect when they had to race 8 year-olds out to get eggs?

Mackenzie got in line and the announcer told parents to get back against the fence.  So, I scooted back to the fence and took pictures of Princess waiting for the horn to blast. The announcer then said that there would be two blasts-one for the kids and then one for the parents to go out and take pics.  So, the first horn blasted and I was trying to get shots while waiting for the next blast.  Just as the second blast went off, I looked down the fence and I was the only parent still standing at the fence!  So, I didn't get any pictures of Mackenzie actually getting eggs.  All those non-rule-abiding parents blocked my way.  And, I've seen way too many pushing fights on this base between parents who felt their kids were wronged that I wasn't about to shove people out of the way to get a good shot.  

Once we got back to the house we checked out the loot.  Garytt got all candy & one little alien.  Mackenzie got all animals & aliens.  So, they traded for what they wanted out of the other kid's pile.    (Pictures are awful...forgot to change the setting on the camera.)

 Later that night we dyed our eggs.  I had a parent-fail here...forgot to make sure we actually had food coloring.  Luckily, there was blue, green, and yellow.  I also found the gel food coloring and it could also be used for egg dying.  So, we were able to make six different colors (that's as many coffee mugs as I had anyway.)

Minion Eggs

Once the eggs were done the kids planted their jelly beans in hopes that they would grow into lollipops overnight.

The finished eggs:  

Garytt

Mackenzie

The next morning I got up at 0330 to be at the Chapel by 0400.  I then got on a bus and headed to the USS George Washington for the Sunrise/Sonrise Service.  It was a really good sermon, although, quite chilly...49 degrees with about a 15 mph wind.  Brrr.  Unfortunately, it was a very cloudy morning, so instead of watching a nice sunrise off the deck of the ship, we experienced a gradual greying of the Earth.  

View from my seat, looking up at the 73 with the sun just starting to light up the sky behind the ship.

 We were able to walk around a bit and snap a few pictures before we headed back to the Chapel at 0600.

I decided to skip the coffee and donuts at the Chapel because I didn't want to miss the kids getting up and looking for the eggs.  Well, the kids didn't even get up until about 0750.  I could have had a dozen donuts and a whole pot of coffee (which I desperately needed after only about 4 hours of sleep)

The kids' loot from the Easter Bunny.  He was a smart guy for getting things they could use to entertain themselves on the long flight home next week!

The lollipops grew!!

I didn't fix a huge meal...just ham, mac and cheese, green beans and asparagus, and bread.  Then, for dessert we had Grandma's favorite...Pavlova!  YUM!!!

 From our family to yours, HAPPY EASTER!!!!

"Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted.  But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed."  Isaiah 53:4-5 (NIV)