Well, Easter has passed yet again and what a glorious time it was for all. At least it was great where I was. We had a great time going to two different kinds of Easter egg hunts with my daughter. My son even got to get in one the action even though he is beyond the normal Easter egg hunting age limit. It reminded me about how special these holidays can be whether you are religious or not.
The reason for my revelation was because we went to Cleveland, GA last week to go to the Eggstravaganza at the Cabbage Patch Kids Babyland General. We showed up for the pancake breakfast with the Easter bunny and got to enjoy some music and take some pictures. Ariella went wild dancing to a few different songs, but was nice and tame when it came photo time. She sat right down in the Easter Bunny’s lap to take a sweet little picture.
From Babyland General, we went over to the town square where they had a parade set up. It was mostly from the churches and the local firefighters, police organizations and even some banks. They tossed out candy and generally waved to their heart’s content. The only mishap during the event was the fact that a dog threw up right in front of one of the children trying to catch candy. The parents spent the rest of the parade directing their child to untainted candy.
After we had lunch with a friend and her baby boy and daughter, we all headed back over to Babyland General where we participated in the big Easter egg hunt. Thousands of eggs disappeared into baskets in a matter of seconds. I was slightly annoyed by parents picking up eggs for their children as it seemed to defeat the purpose. This is not a competition to get the most after all, it is a chance for the kids to have fun picking up candy for themselves. There was even an overgrown kid collecting eggs to stuff in his shirt. I digress.
We wondered through Babyland General and entered into a contest to win a valuable Original Cabbage Patch Kid which we won. We also purchased some great Cajun style boiled peanuts and pork skins. We hung out and did some shopping while the kids got to watch a Cabbage Patch Kid being born right from the cabbage patch. There was hardly a mention of the religious aspect of the holiday. Instead, it was simply a great way for families to have fun.
The next week, the day before Easter, we went to another Eggstravaganza at Callanwolde. This is a fine arts center which is just down the street from our home where we always mean to do more stuff at because the place looks cool and always has fun events going on. The egg hunt last year was disorganized and started early. This year, the hunt started right on time and Ariella was able to get out there and pick up some more candy. It was a great time.
We did not go to church today, but we did have a great Easter brunch complete with baked ham, broccoli casserole and roasted red potatoes in herbs. We got to spend time together as a family. It was a great holiday and we are truly thankful for the gifts that we have received by being blessed on this holiday. Seems like a long time until Halloween now.
