egging the bean on

we kicked off easter weekend with not just one egg hunt, but two.  the first was bright and early, starting at 9:00.  the big draw to this one was the fact that a helicopter was going to fly overhead and drop 4,000 easter eggs for the kids to scramble after.  a clusterfuck for sure, but the teen and i really wanted to see that mess.  the hub, not so much.  so off we were to check it out.

we'd arrived about 45 minutes late, and as we made our way to the party there were already a gazillion plastic eggs on the ground.  poop.  but there were lots of fun-looking bouncy things and activities to go see, so it was okay.

as we got in line for the first bounce house ("tweeeeety bird!" the bean pointed), announcements were being made behind us and we learned that the main attraction was still yet to come.  yay!  apparently, the staff had spread half of the eggs and sent the other 2,000 up in the sky with the helicopter.  sweet.

as folks scurried to catch free t-shirts and candy being flung from the stage, the bean hopped right into the jumper and went to town.

because of the growing line, the kids were ushered out after about five minutes of bouncing around to allow more to enter.  and by then it was time to stake out a spot along the yellow caution tape to get a good view of the chopper anyway.  we'd only been standing there for a few seconds when we heard the whizzing overhead.

everyone watched in awe as the helicopter swung down way low and the dude sitting at the door started chucking bags full of eggs out of the side.  he realized that they were all piling up in the same spot, and had the pilot scoot up a bit in an effort to spread the wealth.

after what seemed like ten giant bags later, they gave us a wave and took off.

the bean had been given a sticker to wear that designated which age group she was in.  of course, we were on the very opposite end of where we needed to be.  by the time we got there, the crowd was pretty large and in charge in front of us.  bah!

of course, this meant that she had to squeeze through a bunch of kids - well, really their parents.  these grown folks were totally throwin' 'bows to get their paws on as many eggs for their little ones as possible.  sheesh.  my poor bean, still not really sure of what she was doing, did the best she could under the circumstances.

lately, she's been pretty defiant when i want to take pictures of her.  and she barely let me take one of the three sad little eggs she managed to grab.

of course, with all of the kids still occupied with the grabbing and snatching, this meant that the obstacle course she'd been eyeing when we arrived was completely empty.  and she took full advantage.

we got her out long enough to see if she'd do something else.  up the ladder she clambered, but when she got to the top, she saw that the only way down was via the rather steep slide.  and so she sat her little ass down and refused to budge.

you know what this means, right?  yeah.  after a few minutes of trying to talk her into joining the sliding fun, i ended up shedding my warm and comfy uggs to climb up the steps and slide down with her.  i'd handed my bag and the camera to the teen, who was busy texting or whatever she does with her phone, and in my haste to get to the bean forgot to remind her to snap a few shots of us coming down.  oh, well.  it was fun, and as we sped to the bottom together the bean decided she wanted to do it again - but only if i went with her.  uh, no. 

instead, she settled for another go at the obstacle course before we left.  except that by this time, it was pretty full of kids ranging in age from about 2 to 10.  she can usually hold her own with the bigger kids, but this crowd was crazed.  deranged.  seriously.  she tripped at one point and couldn't get up, and those bitch ass kids who were lucky the teen couldn't get at them totally trampled over her.  we could hear her scream and cry out, and all we could do was encourage her to get up and head on out.

"is she okay?" one stupid little girl who'd literally stepped on her asked us.  um, no, you dumb little ho.  does she LOOK okay to you?  and why are you asking us?  i wanted to smack her.  or better yet, find her parents and shove a size 7 right up their ass.

we got out of there pronto, and decided to make up for it with a second egg hunt - this time, one that i knew she'd have more fun at.  the gym where she takes her gymnastics class had one planned, and other parents who'd been before told us that it was really fun - but to get there early.  it was a solid half hour before the scheduled time, and we were pleased to arrive and find that we were only the third family there.  as we got in line, the bean made like a koala bear and clung to her sister, unwittingly showing off her "dora the explorer" chonies.

it didn't take long for the line to grow.  and grow, and grow, and grow.

when the doors finally opened, it was totally worth the wait.  there were a ton of eggs just waiting to be scooped up, and it was definitely less of a madhouse than the first event we'd been to.  the bean and the teen happily sashayed around, filling her basket in no time.

as instructed, once she was all done, we headed towards the door and emptied all of the candy into her basket, leaving the eggs behind for use next year.

and we were excited to find little slips of paper with numbers on them, which meant that she'd scored a couple of prizes in there, too.

before she claimed her prizes, she stopped for a quick hug for the easter bunny.  we hadn't had a chance to take her before, and so i was glad to get this picture (even though it's a little fuzzy, dang it).

she had fun selecting her two prizes - a fuzzy caterpillar and a blue ring, both of which lit up.

i tried to get a shot of her with that ring, but - well, you'll have to take my word for it.

oy.  three.  such a funny age.