Easter Egg Hunt 2014

One (sometimes) perk of being an Army family is that there are typically always family events put on by the FRG around holidays.  This year, James's Battalion hosted an Easter Egg Hunt for all of the families in 426BSB.  I volunteer with the FRG and was lucky enough to be able to work on this event with some amazing ladies.  One downside to this is that usually, by the time the events roll around, we are ready to pull our hair out and looking forward to the giant glass of wine that awaits us after it's over.  :)

Alivia and Kemper modeling in front of the Easter Egg 

We planned for approximately 200 kids and were going to limit it to 10 eggs per kids...it's never fun to be at an Easter Egg hunt and see that child that only got 2 or 3 eggs so we wanted to make sure we had PLENTY.  And we did!  We stuffed over 2600 Easter Eggs and didn't have to ask kids to limit themselves to 10.  

One downside of Mom being on the planning committee is that you always have to arrive super early and entertain yourself while she helps set up!

We had 4 age groups (0-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9+) and his one Golden Egg in each age group.  There was a slight snafu with the hiding of the golden eggs and we ended up losing track of one.  We stuck tickets in the other 3 (and ran one into the older age group after it was found in the youngest group) and hoped that nobody found the "lost" egg.  

The lovely and AMAZING ladies who worked so hard on this egg hunt.  So thankful for these wonderful women!

We had other events planned because we knew that once the actual egg hunts started, they would be over in 15 minutes!  Kids are fast!  We had a craft table, the egg & spoon race, face painting, pictures with the Easter Bunny, a cake walk and refreshments. 

My boys had a great time...Hudson was particularly smitten with the Easter Bunny.  He kept photo bombing other people's pictures.  Oops!  Kemper was off and running with Alivia...we barely saw him once the event got going.  

Kemper and Alivia doing the egg and spoon race.

Hudson looks scared but he was far from it!

Kemper with the bunny ears he made at Mrs. Kathy's craft table.

I am so, so, so thankful for this amazing man who, even though he may be rolling his eyes and huffing in his head, steps up and helps out when I need him to.  Due to some unusual circumstances, I had to ask (tell?) James to be the "announcer" for the event and he was amazing, as usual.  He helped to get each age group started (we did staggered start times for each age group) and gave instructions for the hunts.  Thankful for this man who will step up and take charge when needed.  

Hudson got the hang of it this year!

With his loot...he didn't really care that he didn't have a basket full of eggs.  

So, remember that "lost" golden egg that we were hoping nobody would find because it didn't have the prize ticket in it...thank goodness my kid was the one who found it!  In the middle of his age group's hunt, he starts yelling to me that he found a golden egg while he sprints by looking for more.  I had a sinking feeling that it was the one that had been misplaced and sure enough, there was no ticket inside.  Even though he was disappointed that he didn't get the prize, he was such a good sport and so understanding when I explained to him what had happened that I told him I would buy him a special prize for finding the golden egg.  I was so proud of how well he handled it and that he didn't get upset.

Kemper with his eggs...one of the few times he was still and without Alivia.

Showing off his face painting...Cavman of course!

Overall, it was a successful event and everyone that attended seemed to have a great time.  It has been so nice to have events like these the last 4 years at Fort Campbell.  We've made lots of fun, happy memories at egg hunts, fall festivals/trunk or treats, and Christmas parties!  Who knows what the next year will hold since we won't be in a unit setting and will be at an Air Force base!