Saturday, April 2, 2011

Easter Prepping

      All holiday's seem to jump out of nowhere on me. I have calendar's everywhere, at home, at work, on my phone, my computer,and yet it will still surprise me. Somewhere in the cob web corners of my mind I realize the date and understand it's coming. But each year and each holiday, BOING it is suddenly PANIC time......well dang nab it, not this time!
That's why I waited to write this today and not yesterday on April Fools Day, I am starting my preparations for Easter earlier than normal. I adore all celebrations with child like enthusiasm,so often though I wish I had a magic wand to make it happen exactly the way my mind can see it. To make that happen requires a lot of time and work. So I hope I can pull it all together without stressing out too much this year!

Like Christmas I want the kids to understand the reason for the season first ,and second enjoy the family time together.
One of the main activities we do on Easter once everyone has arrived is a huge Easter egg hunt. We try to get the kids to eat first, let them have their Easter baskets before we start our wild family tradition.

Now I imagine that most families partake in an egg hunt of some sort. I mean it is a traditional thing to do in a lot of American families. But in our family it's a tad different.
Here are few from last year(ignore the date,goofy camera)
We hide confetti eggs or cascarones as they are know in Spanish cultures.A few years ago we thought me could make them and started in January. We worked so hard emptying out dozens of eggs,washing them,coloring them,and then filling them with confetti,WHEW! Then the next couple years we decided to be clever, and fill them with either bird seed or grass seed, you know we went more GREEN. Well I'm here to tell you those were bad ideas....the seeds stung like crazy and left whelps on the lucky recipient. But mostly no matter what you fill them with, it is a lot of work and takes a lot of time to gather enough.



I love love all the bright colors,makes them easier to find!
Each egg has a piece of tissue paper covering the opening to hold in the confetti
 So now we buy them, and every year we feel as if we didn't have enough. Last year we had about 42 dozen, and still we wished we'd had more. So I need to add a few more dozen this year.  Wednesday I actually stopped and bought a trunk load. I now feel so in charge of this holiday.....ha ha!

Last year showing where all to search with the newbie family members
 The story we were told about confetti eggs is, should someone crack one on your head it will bring you luck during the year. Well if that's the case then I should actually be the luckiest women on Earth. Since I have really bad knees I don't move too fast more ,like a sloth or a snail as the kids say to be exact. That being the case I am ALWAYS a popular target with the boys. 
The crazy search is on,you have to hurry or you will be without ammo. Is that two eggs I see?
 Sometimes the luck begins to spread so to speak before we have made the announcement to actually begin "The Egg War" as it has been deemed.
Several years ago when Jason was overseas with his unit I decided I would videotape the craziness and I dressed as an embedded correspondent with the troops. It didn't actually go as planned, I even wore a red cross emblem to keep myself safe along with my other military clothes. There was no respect....regardless of my camera in hand,they hit me within seconds of starting. I was picking confetti out of my hair ( I'm being discreet)forever.
The madness we look forward to has begun!We love giving everyone a lot of luck
 That's the worst part of it all.....the cleanup that follows. After all of this insane fun, when we settle down and laugh and tell all of the stories....everyone hits the bathrooms. Guess what hits the floors in my bathrooms? Yep confetti and egg shells! I have the most colorful bathrooms in America during Easter.
Everyone wants to get uncle JJ,but he's a fast runner
 It doesn't matter how hard you try and brush yourself off....there is usually more inside your clothes that out. But it is all part of the crazy fun we have. There have been times we have actually heard confetti and egg shells hit the floors outside of the bathroom doors,followed by "OH MY GOSH,I am so sorry" when they see the mess on the floor. That's why we have vacuums,and I have wood floors!

I believe he is saying I got him! And Uncle JJ is slightly winded, Ahh to be young again!
I believe someone got some luck down the neck of his shirt.....ha ha!
 Remnants of the egg war can be seen for weeks,and I love it!! Last year after the holiday we found eggs that had been missed and that's a real treat.....surprise attacks on innocent visitors!
Last year Papa took Harrison on his first bike ride


The boys rock pile is their favorite place to have one adventure after another
Then it's on to the dirt bikes for some, while others sit and try to recover. A few will decide to hike up the hill to the graveyard, or walk the creek in search of arrowheads and fossils. I usually spend the rest of the day trying to capture great photos of the family so I can remember all the fun we had together.
I love holidays!!

10 comments:

  1. What great fun! The part of living in another state that I miss most during the holidays is family.

    Dropped you an email - I need to know a color from YOU, if you get a chance...the other two shall be pink.

    Have a wonderful weekend, Rebecca - Tanya

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  2. How lovely, I am sure you had a great time. We have Easter customs as well and we try to pass them to my son as well!Have a great weekend!

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  3. oh wow.. a TRUCK LOAD?
    ahaha! that sounds like insane fun !

    my jaw dropped when i first saw the stacks of dozens of egg cartons, but when i read over the "truckload" bit, my face went like WOW ! 8D
    haha

    your family seems so fun & wonderful!
    i love reading all your posts about them

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  4. That sounds like an amazingly, awesomely fun family tradition! Don't you love fun traditions?! :)

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  5. I love family gatherings, look at the happy faces! Love this post, very warm :) Your new header- planting in a boat? That is so cool!

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  6. Congrats on yesterdays blog award- you deserve it; your blog is beautiful!
    And, what fun you shared today. I have seen the confetti eggs; even bought some; but didn't know the "game" that goes with it. Sounds like you all make some precious memories together.

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  7. That looks like amazing fun! It's planted a seed, maybe we should enjoy an egg war this year... ;) And yay, for being prepared early!!

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  8. I love your blog header...the boat with plants and flowers...so cute! The egg wars sound like fun...what a great way to bond with a large family. I'll admit the bird seed sounds a little painful but a great "green" idea. So happy you're ready for the friendly fray this year...family fun!

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  9. Sounds like so much fun!
    Your boat, that you filled wih herbs is very cool. and such a great idea :)
    It will be very beautiful as they grow larger. I hope you will take the time to post a picture or two in the next few month's.

    Thanks,
    Cathy

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  10. Looks like you had a fantastic time!! I know I would have ;D

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