I thought I'd share this post from my personal blog that I wrote several years back. It gives a small glimpse into a uniquely creative tradition of mine. I love Easter, especially the Easter egg competition. I hope that my siblings and I will continue this tradition in each of our families.
I love Easter. Next to Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Halloween, it is my favorite holiday. I consider myself to be a creative person, and love the challenge that comes each year. In our family, we do not just dye eggs; we create.
The rules are strict- no helping each other, no "repeats", no copying, the egg has to be involved in some way, and anything and everything can be used. We are each given 6 eggs, 3 of which will be awarded the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes, and one lucky and talented person will be the recipient of the coveted grand prize. The grand prize is more than just a treat, it is a title, prestige, if you will. I would like to take this moment to say that I have held that title 3 years running. This year I created a James C. Christensen-esque "bird catcher"(above), last year I made Noah, and the previous year I created the frog prince. The introduction of modeling clay really boosted my creativity, and now it is a
must. Due to the poor sportsmanship of a certain brother of mine...I think I may retire to the judges panel this coming year. We'll see I guess.
We always have our egg competition on Saturday, because my parents wanted the real Easter to focus on Christ and his atonement. That meant that we would get our Easter 'baskets' (bags really) Saturday morning. They were hidden throughout the house, and we were forbidden to tell the other kids where theirs was, should we have found it.
I love this tradition, and hope to continue it with our children.
These are Jon's (with my father's peeking in on the corner). It was his first year! I was so proud, he did a great job. He made a candle stick (never before made), and a rocket. Surprise.
These were my other entries:
I spent more than 4 hours on the one egg. Naturally, I didn't want to do anymore of them, so I ended up making a bra, and just coloring the rest.
These were Mike's eggs:
I love the Nazi plane (most people would be offended by that. Not in my family! We're history buffs), the sail ship- complete with water, an old school inmate, and the world (which was popular this year).
These are Marybeth's eggs:
I thought her Roman was awesome, the alien too. The creatures popping out of the egg was also a popular theme (she has a chicken coming out).
These are Maddie's eggs:
I don't what most of them are, but she made a pig!
These are Kyler's eggs:
Kyler did a great job. I think he probably would have won, had it not been for the intricacies of my egg. I thought his snake-eating-an-egg was amazing. He made a great "blue" shark, a dinosaur coming out of an egg, a world, and something with a red cross on it.
These are Piggy and Colton's eggs:
Piggy made a cow, a football, and two eggs soaked in vinegar for several days that begun to swell. Cool!
Colt made a really darling CAT digger thing. I can't remember what they are called.
These are Ren's eggs:
Ren has struggled with the whole art thing, so I was really proud of him when he whipped out these babies. He made a bird, a gerbil thing, an egg with a money sign, a dinosaur, and a flag from a country that I can't remember. Way to go Ren!
