Easter Egg Hunt & Easter Basket

This year we only went to one egg hunt.  The one at our church.  Our Wednesday night ROC Groups had their own "private" egg hunt on the Saturday before Easter.

 Taft's silly face.  He wasn't too happy about pictures.  

You never know where you might find an egg in Florida.  You have to check all the palm trees.

 I also had to get a picture of him on the stage since it was decorated for Easter.

Easter morning Taft found his basket in a chair in the family room.  He got bubbles, SpongeBob body wash, a chocolate bunny, gun, checkers, egg decorating kit, candy, and a new outfit.  He was happy that the Easter Bunny thought ahead and even washed his shorts and shirt so he could wear it to church.  

Watching Planes & Alien Eggs

Taft was in Alabama the week before Easter.  I had to work and Shane had an unexpected business trip to Alabama come up.  He was going to be staying at his mother's house.  Since Taft had spring break, we decided to let him go also.  He loved the idea of a week at Gran's house and getting some time with cousins Izzy and Evan. 

When they came home, Taft wanted to go eat at a very specific place.  Highackers.  This is a little casual restaurant at the local airport.  You can watch planes come in and out while you eat.  They even have a playground outside. 

 When we got home from eating, it was time to decorate Easter Eggs.  I picked up a cute little kit at Target to make Alien Eggs.  Since Taft had just had Space Week at school, he was thrilled to see them.  We were very lucky that we had great weather so we could decorate outside by the pool.

Taft even enjoyed eating them.  

That Smells Yucky

Taft finished dyeing his eggs this afternoon.  I was a little bit of a slacker and didn't boil them until this morning.  I did get the old Dudley's dye.  The kinda that you have to use vinegar in.  I think that they make the brightest colors and since we already had vinegar, it was a great fit.  Except that Taft didn't like the smell.  He did like the fizzy sound that the tabs and the vinegar make.

I just love that he was big enough to help this year.  I think that he felt like they were really his project.  And I could not resist taking a few photos of those sweet little hands at work.

He said that they pink was his favorite, so he made two.  He also could not let the chance go by to smell of the yucky stuff one more time.

And they all turned out almost too pretty to eat.

A Tisket, A Tasket....

Look what's in Taft's basket!  Alvin and The Chipmunks-Shipwrecked, Little Buddies Bar Soap, Body Wash, Elmo Bathtime Color Tabs, Monkey PJ's, another "Rock Star" tshirt, a duck PEZ, a design your own toothbrush, toothpaste, socks, and some Krabby Patties!  He really fooled the Easter Bunny into thinking that the was good this year.  ;0

Oh yes - the Easter Bunny came.  And he brought lots of goodies for Taft.  Check out that bed head look on the boy.
Here he is with some of the gifts:

We had to start working on the design your own toothbrush asap.  He is really happy with it.

And here are the other things that he received:

Happy Easter!

EGGstravaganza

Each year, the City of Palm Coast has an Easter Egg Hunt.  They call it the EGGstravaganza.  It is pretty much packed with people.  We got there early to get good parking and Taft found some friends from his Preschool to play with.  Aren't they cute?

He also is at the age where he is not very good at following modeling advice.  He will smile but not look at me, or look at me and not smile.  I am sure that it is just a stage...

He enjoyed the hunt.  The city marks off an area and dumps out the eggs.  This year, they decided that they would take 50-75 kids at a time, with no parents, and run them through.  I got Taft in the first group and Shane stayed at the starting gate while I went to the exit.  We wanted to make sure that we could find him.  It went okay but I was not a real fan.  I am sure that there is a better way but you can't make everyone happy.

He got enough eggs.  There is no art in finding them since it is just a flat field of grass.  Basically - you just run and pick up as many as you can get.  He was very serious about seeing what was inside them though.

After the hunt was over, we got in line to see the Easter Bunny.  He was very excited.  He and I were talking about seeing the bunny before we left home.  He told me that he was going to take his Bunny and tell the Easter Bunny thank you for giving him to him (his first Easter).  He also said that he was going to tell him that he wants a new spin toothbrush in is basket tomorrow. 

Here he is with the Bunny:

And here is the Easter Bunny giving him a thumbs up when he told him thank you for Bunny:

And he had to get in a hug and kiss before he left.  He wanted to make sure that he got his $5 worth.

Afterwards, we got some lunch at Woody's, Taft came home and rested with Shane, and I went off to Wal*Mart and Kohl's.  Such a nice day.

Easter Cupcakes: Guest Post

Do you need some quick and adorable last minute ideas for Easter cupcakes?  Well - here they are!  This is a GREAT guest post from Katherine!

To have a great time on the upcoming Easter, you may come up with many creative ideas. So, how about making a cupcake for the festival personally? Either to have a party with your friends or to delight your kids, this should sound great. Below, DIY steps are shared by Katherine - a devotee for all fantastic matters.

First, take a look at the finished look of the cupcake. I made 9 different styles here. Of course, it is up to you while designing the style.
Required materials:
A - 300 grams of carrot strips, 200 grams of starch, 170 grams of plant oil, 3 big eggs, 90 grams of white sugar, 1 spoon of baking powder, a half spoon of salt and 1 small spoon of cinnamon powder.
B - Aside from these, toppings like 150 grams of cream cheese, 80 grams of powdered sugar, 50 grams of butter and 2 large spoons of maple syrup are also necessary.
C - At last, some candies, cotton candies, small carrots, coconut shred and chocolate biscuit powder are needed.

Step 1: break the eggs into the bowl. Pour white sugar and plant oil in too. Mix them evenly.

Step 2: Mix all kinds of powder and pour them into the sieving equipment. Then, pour the egg liquid into and blend them to be even.

Step 3: It is time to pour carrot strips into the blended liquid now. Mix them and pour them into the baking case.

Step 4: Preheat the oven and place the mixed item into it. Bake it for 20 minutes.
Step 5: Then, pour carrot strips into a certain container and mix with nut fragments. Now, pour the mixed item in the baking case.

Step 6: We begin to make candies on the cake now. First of all, blend materials mentioned in the B part via a blender.

Step 7: Daub the cheese on the baked cake. Meanwhile, scatter coconut shreds on it.

Step 8: Get one spoon of chocolate biscuit powder and add it at the middle place of the cake.

Step 9: Insert the carrot into the cake finally.

Step 10: At last, let's make adornments for the cake. As these pictures imply, it isn't difficult. I used mango, chocolate and yangtao here. First, daub a layer of cream on the cake. Then, add fruits onto the cake directly.
Author bio: If you are hunting for inspirations to have a better Easter, you must be interested in paying a visit to Katherine's blog. To spice up your festival appearance, costumes and accessories at Miccostumes.com will be useful for you!