Easter Bunnies

 

 I'm such a sucker for holidays.  I couldn't resist warming Cal up for the festivities by partaking in a large scale egg hunt in Burlington the weekend before Easter.  Having only hunted for eggs with small groups of people, she had no idea what to think about this event-- where they "hide" 10,000 eggs over the course of an hour.  The 2-3 year olds went first:

There was an Easter Bunny, a Moose, and a Beaver all ready and willing to give high fives or hugs.  Cal wasn't really sure what to think about that either.

And it wouldn't be proper to go into the Easter holiday without what has become our annual visit to the lambs at Shelburne Farms.  And this year, our special guests were Nana and Grandpa, who came down to see the kids for a quick visit.

It was fun to see Hazey fired up about the little critters.  Cal even got to feed a few with a bottle.

And a visit from Nana wouldn't be complete without a new "shrug" and a hat:

Because I have such fond memories of great Easter Egg Hunts with family and friends, I felt the need to organize an event for our friends this year.  John, having thrown me a fantastic 40th birthday, was a little too burnt out on the entertainment thing, so I threw it out to the Wombats for a volunteer to host.  Mary G jumped at the opportunity to host, but made it clear that she was/is not into dyeing Easter Eggs, hiding plastic eggs, and wanted nothing to do with "fake grass".  Accordingly, Medora, Jen and I boiled and/or dyed over 40 eggs and E bought dozens of foil wrapped local chocolates that we hid for the kids.  Because most of this motley crew is old enough to really care about getting loot, Jen had the great idea of "pooling the finds" and then distributing equal "Easter Goody Bags" to each of the 10 kids involved. 

So the day before Easter, my sous chefs, stood on the adored Learning Tower and helped me boil eggs, make a carrot cake (and lick the batter), and put together an egg strata for the Easter Brunch at Mary's.  We then moved on to dyeing the eggs.

 The Easter Egg Hunt was a huge success.  Addy and Claire took Cally under their wings and spent the whole time helping her find eggs.

 Hazen wasn't sure what to think of this whole ritual:



But he clearly did get smiley about finding an egg:

 And after egg hunting, we ate an amazing brunch and watched Cally get herself involved in the latest dramatic production by Addy and Claire.

I can't end the entry without a photo of the Easter Bunny Carrot Cake that John and I created for the gathering.  Now we are in trouble..... such a cake will be expected:

But the day wasn't over!  Our dear friends Adam and Colleen came over to hide more eggs (filled with more high fructose corn syrup).  Here's a shot of Cally being introduced to Peeps for her first time!?!?!?

Here's to a happy spring with blue skies and maple cremees!