AJ and Esmé were pretty down about Ben and Annabel leaving on Titania, they were really good friends and I'm sure we will stay in touch, both in the Ionian when we get there, and perhaps also in the UK when we return. However the cruising life is a transient one and we are thankful for the new experiences and friendships this lifestyle brings, even if saying goodbye is hard. So despite Ben and Annabel leaving, the kid count in the marina was still high as our friends from No Plans Just Options had returned earlier in the week, and also Anne and Allan on Artemis had grandkids visiting. Declan from Vesna was also returning from 3 weeks in Romania on Sunday so our Giant Easter Egg Hunt had been planned for Monday, (just as well as strong winds were forecast for Sunday). The kids enjoyed a relaxing day and we ended the day with a windy BBQ at the Stony Beach.
Sunday 1st April: Easter Sunday
A lazy morning with the annual treat of chocolate for breakfast. Bad parent I didn't quite realise that Esmé actually believed there was an Easter Bunny and was expecting hidden eggs. She was aware of the Egg hunt planned for the next day and I just assumed that she understood! She spent the rest of the day hiding eggs in random places. Anyway it was really windy and Lotty had suggested an Easter Egg decorating competition to be judged during the Egg Hunt. I was concerned about getting craft stuff and paint out when Laurin was heeling over even in the marina so negotiated pooling our craft resources and decorating eggs on No Plans Just Options.... a large Catamaran is so much better for the chaos that is crafting sessions! The kids worked really hard with Esmé making the elephant out of "Sing" and AJ creating a golden snitch.
I also went over to Vesna to finalise preparation for our egg hunt. It was to be huge, Julia had done a good one last year but her boys complained it was too easy, so we had a challenge. The kids were to be split into 4 teams and given 10 challenges or clues which they had to complete in order to win a token sweet or chocolate as well as a jigsaw piece. Once all 48 pieces were found and the jigsaw completed they could turn it over to find GPS coordinates which would lead them to the final stash. It took Julia and I about 4 days to create! I don't know who was most excited, us or the kids!
Monday 2nd April.
The morning of the Great Egg Hunt!
Not much to say other than it took them over 2 hours, with kids having to do maths questions, paddle a canoe out into the middle of the marina, solve codes and riddles as well as learn to tie knots. 21 kids of 5 different nationalities worked together to earn their chocolate reward!
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| Excited kids on their way to the briefing |
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| Great Egg Hunt Briefing |
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The decorated eggs were amazing and our Guest Judges had a hard time deciding.
The easter egg hunt sounds totally awesome. James S
ReplyDeleteIt was awesome, was most impressed that it took over 2 hours and pretty much kept them all engaged for that long too!
ReplyDelete