Eggs and Parachutes–Week Thirteen

We spent the last two days doing the same kinds of things lots of folks were doing: coloring eggs, readying the house for the Easter Bunny, and preparing for the whirlwind of candy, toys, pink pencils, and cat barf* ahead of us. Oh, and a little Hokey Pokey Project, of course.

The EB was kind enough to drop off some extra eggs for us.

Aren't they the happiest colors?

We filled them with these adorable little guys:

Bears, Tigers, Lions, and Elephants...not a Bunny in Sight

See the rubber bands around their bellies (and necks–eek!) and those green plastic things they’re strapped to? Those are parachutes.

Once the Easter eggs had all been hunted:

Quite the Haul

And the magic jelly beans were planted… (what? You don’t plant jelly beans on Easter? You know they grow into giant lollipops overnight, right?) We headed out to deliver goodies and make new friends.

Sizing Things Up

Making an Offering Up High

If not for our desire to respect the privacy of the nice people we meet, I’d love to show you pictures of the broad, baby-tooth grins we got when Jay and Charlie handed out the eggs. Some of the kids were reticent to take them–parents do a great job of teaching their children not to take things from strangers these days–and others outright refused (two little girls returned later, to ask if they could still have eggs, once their parents consented). Every parent we met was enthusiastic and encouraging, particularly after being informed the eggs didn’t contain candy. And the parachutes flew! They were dropped from the tippy-tops of slides and playsets, and they floated gently to the sand box below.

We hit two different playgrounds, and while our goal has always been to make other people happy, I confess my biggest takeaway from this project was an overwhelming sense of pride as Jay casually walked up to other kids, flashed his handsome grin, and handed out the eggs and toys. I’d never seen him interact with unfamiliar kids so easily, and I realized that in addition to the fun he was having, he was learning how to speak to people. He had to shrug off a couple of flat responses and seemed to recognize that it wasn’t personal. Those people simply didn’t want eggs, and he wished them a happy Easter and moved on. I had hoped when we started the Hokey Pokey Project that our children would pick up valuable life lessons. I didn’t expect poise and confidence to be among the skills the kids took away from it, and I was pleasantly surprised today (and did I mention bursting with pride?)

We made time for a little play…

Swing!

Climb!

…then we headed home to put together Legos, eat a nice, warm dinner, and brace ourselves for the cat puke ahead ready ourselves for the week ahead.

*It’s the Easter grass, people. He eats it. He also eats curling ribbon, plastic shopping bags, rubber toys, and toy weaponry. Make it stop. Someone, please. Make it stop.