Speggtacular: In which I make reference to yesteryear a lot

This Easter, we tie-dyed some eggs. Using this method . . .

these

plus these

equaled these:

This whole process was a lot of fun. Picking out some 100% silk ties at DI was fun. (Although I ran into a lady there who was going to dye eggs the same way, but she told me she was dying duck eggs, which are bigger and more durable. Jealous.) And we couldn't wait after we boiled these to open up the little bundles to see how they looked. As you can see, they looked really cool and this is probably something we'll keep doing. Also, the yellow tie-dyed egg was a total fail. It came out with some very faint blue lines from the stripes, so we dunked it (along with another dozen) into dye from this:

HIGHLY recommend for parents of young girls. (Keep that in mind for the next 364 days.) This box came with glitter AND sequins. Frankly amazing.

Anna got to participate in not one, not two—no, not even three—but FOUR easter egg hunts. What a little spoiled rotten egg. But she was happy as a clam. And rightly so, Anna. Rightly so.

One highlight for me? Watching Anna hunt with my very own easter egg basket from the days of yore. I just loved that.

Anna and cousins: the one where no one's looking where they're supposed to.

Anna and cousins: The one where Anna's eyes are closed.

on the prowl

Post-hunt: Anna and Porter with the audience

I think Anna probably hunted for and found probably upwards of 50 eggs this weekend, she hunted for her hidden easter basket (which is a beloved tradition also from my youth), and gorged on lots of candy and played with lots of prizes. (The favorite item from her easter basket, by the way? This light-up jewel ring. I just expected it to blink or something, but no—it's like a full-strength flashlight. Good night, I've been blinded a few times.)

We talked about religious things too, which of course is the point, but I also love the candy and the eggs and the hiding and finding so much. It was so magical as a kid and I love getting to see Anna experience that. As I'm now writing way more than I intended, I realize I just might have a stronger affinity than some because all during my growing up years (the aforementioned days of yore), my family organized the neighborhood easter egg hunt. Families would send their dyed eggs to our house Friday night, the neighborhood teenagers would hide them, my parents would reward them with donuts, and then the kids would hunt for the eggs the next morning at the sound of my dad driving around the neighborhood and honking his horn at 8 a.m. (This year, he also started off our small family egg hunt . . . by singing "Give, Said the Little Stream" really fast. You'll have to ask him why.) Anyway, back in the day, some eggs were marked as prize eggs, and when we found a Smith prize egg in our yard, we could take it to the Smiths' house and exchange the egg for a prize. SO fun. I loved being behind the scenes and doing the hunting.

Anyway, the whole weekend (this year—I'm back in 2011) was awesome. Crafts, candy, adventure, total overindulgence . . . who could ask for anything more? And though it was a tad chilly, I'm just thankful it didn't blizzard on us like it does nearly every Easter. It was, in a word, speggtacular.