Easter Eggs and Mantua

We wanted to do something fun for Easter but Lenny had to work all weekend and I was scheduled to teach Relief Society on Sunday so we couldn't venture far.

I talked to Rachel and we decided to meet halfway for an Easter picnic on Saturday. Unfortunately, the halfway point between our homes is the super small town of Mantua (pronounced man-oo-ay), Utah. We found a park and even picnic tables and let the kids run free! We had a simple sandwich potluck lunch and then Uncle Brian and Lenny took the kids to check out the ducks on the reservoir while Rachel and I hid eggs for the hunt.

It was fun to watch the kids run and scramble for Easter eggs. They all got WAY more candy than they need! After the hunt I told the kids that I had prizes (I had four packages of marshmallow peeps, in each of the four kids' favorite colors.)

I said, "This first prize goes to the person who found the MOST eggs..." Sela said "I found the most eggs!!" But the prize -pink Peeps- actually went to miss Leah!

Next I said, "This next prize goes to the person who used their eyes to spy all of the hidden Easter eggs..." Sela said, "I used my eyes!!!" And the prize -yellow Peeps- went to Sela, since during the hunt she kept asking for help and I said "Use your eyes!!"

Then it was time for the third prize. I said, "This prize is for the person who ran REALLY fast to pick up their Easter eggs..." Abby piped up and said "That's ME!!!" with such confidence that even if it wasn't her I probably would have given it to her anyway. But Abby was right! So she got the prize -some green Peeps.

And last I said, "This prize goes to the person who was so strong to carry a big and heavy Easter basket..." Of course, the blue Peeps went to Baby Graham who had a gigantic bucket he dragged all over the Easter egg field!

We didn't spend much time in Mantua because the weather was cold and we had other places we needed to be but it was worth the drive and worth braving the weather for the kids to spend time with cousins!

I told Leah that we should leave a note for the Easter Bunny to let him know that we got enough candy on Saturday and to please leave something else in their baskets. When the kids woke up they each had a chocolate bunny and some Scripture Scouts CDs in their baskets. They were thrilled! (And I was thrilled that we were keeping our candy damage at a minimum...)

Happy Easter everybody!