Easter Egg Hunt

Ok so for those who don't know (I'm sure there has to be someone who doesn't - right?)... Our 2 oldest children have a severe food allergy to egg (anything with egg, or egg by-product in it). Yes it's a pain, but we've adjusted and if they both have to have food allergies at least they are allergic to the same thing - it's a huge help it really is! Anyway, their allergies were discovered about the same time for both of them - when they were about two. Kassie just turned 2, and when I say our fingers are crossed that is an UNDERSTATEMENT! So far it doesn't look like she has any food allergies, but with Nate & Abbie it showed up out of the blue with no notice what-so-ever, so needless to say I'm hesitant to say with any certainty that she is allergy free. Ok so with that tidbit of info you will understand why we had never taken our kids to an Easter Egg Hunt. This was the year it all changed....

Nate (8 years old) & Abbie (6 years old) are both old enough to be aware of their allergies & they pretty much know what is safe or not & are good about asking for approval before eating something they are unsure of - Nate is better than Abbie but overall they both do a great job of keeping safe. So with that in mind we decided to give in to their pleading to go to an Easter Egg Hunt and give it a try.

It was  a great success. We tagged along with some great friends (the Schaser Family, thank you!) and the egg hunt they've been going to for years. It was held in a little neighborhood community park. They had separated it into 4 or 5 different age groups and eggs were hidden according to age level. Parents were not allowed to help their children (no matter their age - but this was a rule I've decided I'm a big fan of). They had the children who were too old for the hunt as helpers for the little ones - it worked out perfectly for us - as one of the Schaser girls was assigned to Kassie's area & since Kassie was comfortable with her it was easy peasie - WHEW.  Nate & Abbie did great on their own. At the end of the hunt they lined up all the children in each age group, the one who found the most eggs in front of the line and the rest lined up behind according to how many eggs they found. They then were taken to choose a prize - everyone got a prize. There was both real & plastic eggs - we told the big kids that they couldn't do anything with any of their eggs until we got home. They were pretty good about it & we were able to pull the real eggs out, keeping everyone safe. It was the best Easter Egg Hunt I've ever been too. We'll be tagging along again next year!

Kassie is ready to go - clueless but ready!

 Getting things figured out. 

Full basket = the winner in the toddler division! She was so much fun to watch - once she figured it out she was unstoppable!

Abbie had fun searching and came in the middle of her division.

Nate had more fun than Abbie in searching & also came in the middle of the pack.

Three happy hunters - with all their loot!

I am glad, that although I'm a worry wart at heart, that I can step out of my comfort zone and just let my kids be kids. On days like this it takes a lot - it sure would have been easier to keep them safe at home, but with Benadryl & Epi-Pens in my pocket we took a chance & had a TERRIFIC time!