Hop 'n Hunt

This past Saturday, we went to the Hop 'n Hunt event at church. It was originally supposed to be outside and include a sunny Easter egg hunt. Texas weather had other plans, and instead it was cold and rainy and was held in the church gym. I knew this event, previously known as Spring Fling, would be popular, and I was concerned that it would be really crowded in the gym. We waffled back and forth about going, but eventually decided to go. We arrived about 30 minutes before it was over! This turned out to be the best choice. Liam had room to run around and time to try out several activities that may have had lines earlier in the day. Toddlers and waiting don't mix.

At first, he tried to interrupt games older kids were playing, but we successfully steered him to an open corner of the gym. There, Liam discovered a tall carrot made of balloons.

Next to it was a big bucket of soil to play with. Liam and dirt = best buds, so we figured we would be there a while. He enjoyed putting the soil in a cup and dumping it out. One of his sweet friends even played in the dirt too.

However, his short attention span got the best of him and we were on to the next station! Since the whole operation had to be moved inside, an egg hunt was a no go. Instead, there was an egg scoop where kiddos got bucketfuls of plastic eggs to take home. Liam spent some time picking eggs out of the box and throwing them back in. Then he came across a plastic rake and decided to use that to try and get eggs out of the box. He played with the box of eggs for a loooong time (at least for a toddler). Other kids came over to get eggs, and a couple of times he put an egg or two in their baskets. He was in serious play mode with those eggs. He even got a little help from our Preschool Minister.

Since the event was technically over at that point and people were cleaning up, we convinced him to move away from the box of eggs. That was when he ran over to the kiddie pool filled with ducks. Since no one was there playing the game, Liam just knelt right down and stuck his hands in (got the dirt washed off!). He even managed to scoop up a plastic duck with the net.

Since it was obvious that people were wanting to clean up that station, Will picked him up so we could leave. We talked to some folks at the door on our way out. That was when Liam decided to scream, getting out his frustration over having to leave the pool of water. That's when we knew for sure it was time to leave! We were only there about 35 minutes, but it was a fast and furious trek through a lot of different activities. Hopefully next year it will be sunshine-y and Liam can really hunt for some eggs!