Auntie Johanna is on record as complaining about the lack of niece photos lately, so here, have some Easter pictures!
Eliza and I dyed the eggs on Saturday night while Jim was pulling a rare weekend shift. It’s easy and cheap to make your own colors, so that’s what we did. I’m glad I didn’t spend too much money on fancy dye kits because when you have a toddler as an assistant designer and enthusiastic tosser-into-the-dye, the eggs tend to come out sort of murky. We got a couple of good green ones, but most of them were some form of brownish-reddish-purplish:
Originally, Jim and I had decided we’d do the Easter egg hunt after the Easter drag in the afternoon, but then I discovered a problem with this plan since we intended to have some of the hard-boiled eggs as part of breakfast. (Is this universal or a Euro-thing, eating hardboiled eggs on bread for breakfast on Easter? Because Jim always seems mystified by this, and I can’t tell if I’m the weirdo or if he’s a heathen.)
Anyway, so we scotched that plan and he distracted her while I hid the eggs and some little gifties, and then I made loud crashing noises and yelled for Eliza to come see what was going on. In the very near future, I must make time to upload the video footage he got of her saying, “Ooooh!” and “BEOO-dee-ful” when she spotted the Most Expensive Easter Trinket Ever:
Properly fortified with eggs and Easter bread (AM and Jim) and/or hopped up on chocolate (Eliza) we headed out for the Easter drag. We are always the first ones out there because we head out right at 11 and most of the churches don’t get out until at least 11:30, but it’s fun. Basically, everyone parades up and down the street in their finery. The firestation rolls out its trucks and lets the little kids crawl around in them while one of the firefighters hands out candy (since it’s always a young-looking guy I suspect some sort of rookie hazing ritual at play). Merchants hand out stuff to the kids (see green bunny ears clutched in Missy’s hands):
and there’s facepainting:
a clown who makes balloon animals, and a bunny:
and a hotdog:
If the latter seems incongruous, well, that’s how we roll in our hood. Also, HQ for the festivities is a locally beloved old-time hot dog place. The hot dog made a really big impression on Eliza this year. Tonight, she took off her shirt, rolled herself in a blanket, and impersonated various sandwiches, including a hot dog and a grilled cheese sandwich, as well as something with mustard on it.
We did nothing on Easter and I didn’t even know this was going on right outside my door. Next year.
Ok that is awesome. Our town does squat for Easter – clearly we must travel west next year. I am so loving egg hunts these days. Yes, they continue – every night. Not sure who will get sick of it first, LM or me.
Oh, and I’ve tagged you for the Six Words meme.
The rookie hazing thing is true. Tradition is that the fireperson with the least seniority has to wear the bunny ears.
I did a double take when looking at those pics. In the last two photos, they way your head is angled, you look just like my mom. Who knew?
I just need to clarify…you look like my mom did when she was 20 years younger!
Perhaps I’ll be brave enough to do egg dyeing next year… the baby will be 9 months old by then… Holy crap. Okay, that just freaked me out.
I so enjoy the idea of Eliza dressing up as sandwiches. That is the kind of thing that can make my day.
Wow! Easter drag??? That sounds awesome. I had big plans to make hot cross buns and an Easter ricotta pie, but laziness got the better of me. I hid a couple of eggs (plastic variety) in the yard, then we all went to Ikea.
Eliza’s eyes have the power to turn the most cranky of persons into a melty puddle of cute ooze.
I love, love, love Eliza’s impressions of various sandwiches. That child is so creative!
And you are the weirdo, who ever heard of eating hard boiled eggs on bread???
Oh! We did the whole dye the eggs thing, two dozen eggs that got pulverized into the very dust of the back yard the next day by some kids who were over to play. This happened as I went inside for a whole three minutes for a phone call.
Smashed. Stomped. And after the first five or so, my kids apparently pitched in and helped. I was livid, and actually YELLED at some one else’s kids. I am better now, but then? I was pissed.
OMG bon, I wouldn’t been LIVID. Amazing what kids can get into their heads to do in the blink of an eye!
MB — I should’ve emailed you and let you know! Bummer. Oh well. Next year!
Meredith — LM would LOVE the fire trucks — they let the kids sit in the drivers seat and everything. Sometimes they even get to ring the bell.
TT — Thank you for confirming the rookie hazing thing.
Mama D — I put all the dye on a tray on the tile kitchen floor. Seems to keep the mess to a minimum. and, yeah, OMG you are going to have a 9-month-old by then. Wow!
Sarah — Ricotta pie, mmmmmmm. But Ikea sounds like a good alternative. I shocked one of my friends recently by admitting I had never been to Ikea. There’s isn’t one near us.
Jo — Thank you for letting me know who was the weirdo! I guess I’ll stop nagging him about this now!
There’s an IKEA in New Haven. Next time TT and I go, you should come along. It’s fun. And there are lingonberries.
Those pictures are just too sweet!