While this appears on the day after Easter, I really prepared it on Easter while the kids were sleeping. As I have stated in previous articles, I do not believe that kids appreciation levels is directly correlated to the amount of money that is spent. What I believe is more important is the memories that are created within the family and also with friends. That being said, we had a very busy Easter week. I wanted to continue a tradition and also make some new memories in the mean time.
Eggapooloza 2018
It all started on Thursday with our Easter Egg Hunt at the M5 Chalet (aka our house). While the actual event was on Thursday, the event took a little planning for the past couple weeks. What used to be only kids from the neighborhood (10ish), it turned into an event with 30 kids and what was to be 1000ish eggs hidden in the three backyards (what can I say…go big or go home!). Thankfully we have a good relationship with our neighbors and we got to use their yards as well to spread the eggs out. Additionally, it was much appreciated that the neighborhood pitched in with filling eggs with candy, toys, money, and other gifts (personal thank you to Callie, Sarah, Vanessa!). Also, parents came prepared with more sugar aka donuts and other tasty treats for our little voracious locusts aka children (Thanks to Renee and Tucker). Mary was a mover and shaker and got additional tasty treats and got the hot chocolates ready to go!
Eggapooloza 2018 at the M5 Chalet
I was out at 830 with the kids hiding the majority of eggs in the yard. They were interested in hiding the eggs with the money and special gifts as well but I told them that it was not fair to everyone else. I had them wait up front. We had people start showing up at 0945 and they were ready for the 10am start. We had a few people that were running late and I was not interested in making any kids unhappy so we finally started at 1015. My big oops for the event was that I missed a bag with about 400 eggs which was hidden in plain sight. I only put out 600ish eggs. This was a problem as I had it in my head that there was 1000 eggs…I was wondering why it was so quick putting the eggs out. Um DUH! I told all the kids to take 25 eggs so that there was enough for everyone plus a few left over (25×30 = 750)….Well that math does not work when you only have 600 eggs.
Kick off time was great….The kids went to work and collected every egg out there! It took about 10 mins. Like I said, the kids are like little locusts; bribe them with candy and money and they are a cleaning force! After the egg hunt, the kids finished up with sweets and hot cocoa. Even with the mess up, it was a great time and it seems like all the kids had something special.
Eggapooloza 2018 – Part Duex?
We were all ready to go to finish off the 400 eggs left over with just neighborhood children on the 31st….unfortunately, the weather was not going to cooperate so it was cancelled.
I was excited to find out that the Discovery Center in Rockford was hosting their own Easter egg hunt. This was a two-fur since Mary worked overnight and needed to get some sleep. I got to get the kids out of the house…AND make some more Easter time memories. Bella went first and surprisingly, she is a little timid when it comes to doing this type of thing. Because of the weather, they had to do it inside. They had a room where all the kids were brought in. They were placed against the wall with all the eggs in the center. The Easter Bunny made an appearance and waved to all the kids; he then got smart and got out before they all “attacked” the eggs. The countdown began…5…4…3…2…1…and boom off Bella went. She collected about 20 eggs off the floor at a quick pace only showing off her “plumber ass” a couple of times.
I think her plumber ass was a secret move to help disgust the other kids into submission. I was so proud and cheered her on the whole time. She was so excited when she came back. She unshelled her loot and was sharing tons of smiles! She got a ticket for a special prize (a fruit roll up) and she was walking like a proud little peacock bragging like she had just won the Stanley Cup. She shared with each of her sisters since their event was not until 1pm.
In the meantime, we decided to check out the Curious George exhibit which was fun for the girls and kept them busy. It was even cooler since we got to do some good photos with one being with a real Curious George. 
The girls kept busy until it was time for the 5-6 year olds to do their Easter Egg hunt. We lined up with the other kids. Again they marched all the kids in and had them line the walls. The countdown began…5…4…3…2…1….and off the kids went collecting eggs like a farmer with his britches on fire. In a matter of minutes all the eggs were collected and Mia and Milana checked out their loot. They both made out with plenty of candy and both got 2 special prizes. They shared their candy with Bella (only one piece though). Everyone had a great time with the Discovery Center. I gotta tip my hat to them for pulling it off and really showing a great time for all the kids!
Easter Day
I prepared the Easter baskets the night before Easter and placed them by the fireplace with care. I wrote their names on the one they were supposed to get. I filled up their extra basket with candy and Easter Eggs with money and toys. They left candy as a bribe for the Easter Bunny to make sure they got some treats. Didn’t know you needed to bribe the bunny like you do to Santa but “he” was pretty excited to wulf down a couple pieces of candy that “he” didn’t need (insert picture of a hippo with my face on it). I went to bed thinking there should be no issues. WELL….let’s just say the baskets for Mia and Bella were switched because I put the wrong “extra” basket in front…UGH. It’s okay because they didn’t fight so I guess it was a small win and they did not wake me up! After Mary got home, I figured I would get the kids out and go purchase Easter dinner so she could sleep.
Not sure what to cook we ended up at Butera to roam around. I decided on an Eggplant Parm and crab legs. Still not sure how they go together but what the hell…I’m cooking and that is what I was feeling. We got home and to work I went on the prep. It is still cooking at this point but DAMN it smells good. I’ll post the recipe below if you are looking for something that sounds great. My mouth is watering right now as I really want to start in on the food stuffs….I’ll have to let you know how it was!
Hopefully you all had a GREAT Easter and made some great memories with your families. If you didn’t, don’t worry I have plenty of them to share with you!
Oh…Please help a brother out and like the FireDads Facebook page here…Or the Easter Bunny will be dropping some special brown Easter pellets on your windshield!
Recipe
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/eggplant-parmesan