Easter Egg Hunt!
First off I'll start by saying that the only person to bid on Skittle ended up having to retract the bid, and there was no interest in her otherwise so I am no longer selling her. At least, not via LJ auction. If someone wants to e-mail me with an offer then that's cool, and I might consider it. Otherwise, it looks like she'll stay in my closet after all.
I was hoping she was well-known enough that she'd get some interest and help us be able to pay for the house if we get it, but I guess Someone has other plans for Skittle! LOL.
And those other plans seem to be having her really involved at my church. The kids LOVED Skittle and Adie - who was nick-named Swiper for today, LOL - at the Easter Egg Hunt at church.
My church is BIG and we had a TON of kids show up. We have a large seating area that is, well, big enough to hold concerts in, and it was absolutely PACKED with kids. Before the hunt began the kids gathered in this room to hear the rules and then divide up by age.
Skittle mingled with kids and gave lots of hugs before the rules & announcements were made. Then one of the pastors, Bobby, got up to do a little routine with Skittle and "Swiper." Swiper was hiding backstage while Bobby called Skittle up. Skittle waved to all the kids, and Skittle and Bobby led all the kids in little stretches. (Reach to the sky! Now touch your toes! Now pretend like you're gathering Easter eggs!) Then Skittle stepped down off the stage and Bobby says, "We also have Swiper somewhere... let me know if you see him... he's around here somewhere..." in the meantime, Luke, the kid playing in the fox suit, sneaks up behind, aiming for a basket of eggs. Of course the kids go WILD seeing the sneaky fox, and Bobby turns around and 'Swiper' hides, so Bobby pretends not to see. He goes back to talking about the rules, and 'Swiper' sneaks up some more, the kids going nuts and shouting that he's there!! Bobby turns and again doesn't see him. All the while Skittle's trying to help the kids point out that there's a sneaky fox!! XD The third time Bobby catches 'Swiper' before he can grab the basket, and says "Swiper, no swiping!" And Swiper snaps his finger and kicks the ground. LOL. Then Bobby explains that we all have tendencies like Swiper to sometimes do things we shouldn't, and because of Easter and Jesus being resurrected we can be forgiven for it and become a new person. So kids, don't worry, 'Swiper' won't try to steal your eggs any more! XD It was sooo cute.
So then Bobby tries to get the kids excited and revved up, and I am bouncing around down in front trying to get kids cheering when he calls, "Are you ready to find some eggs??" And they were just going nuts. Having so much fun. :D
After that Joe escorted me backstage to pop my head for a minute (at this point I'd drank my fourth bottle of water, LOL) and cool down while the kids were dismissed to go hunt eggs. By the time they were done dismissing, I put my head back on to go out and meet-n-greet with the kids. They were SOOOO energized by the characters getting them wound up that by the time I walked back out (remember, they had JUST finished dismissing the kids) the first wave of kids was done with their egg hunt and had claimed their prizes and were packed into the atrium area where the prize tables were.
I had a LOT of kids run up and hug me and give high-fives, TONS of parents taking pictures, and I got to play with a lot of kids when there were some not-so-crowded times. Tossing a beach ball with one kid. Taking an older (maybe 9 or 10 yrs) girl's floppy dog toy and putting it on my head. XD One little girl, about six or so, won a hula hoop and was showing it to me, and so I took it and tried to hula a little. Sadly though, the tail made it too tough. LOL. And one adorable little girl, the cutest little thing, she had been running up to hug me over and over again before when I was mingling, and she kept coming over to show me all the Easter eggs she'd found in her little bag. She was so sweet. :) So shy, didn't speak at all, just wanted to play a little. :) And lots of kids noticed that my nose was a jelly bean. FUN!!
Before I knew it, the kids were all gone, and the volunteers were all cleaning up so backstage I went again, and climbed out of the suit. MAN was I sweaty! XD And I guzzled another bottle of water, hah! The other kid, Luke, did a GREAT job at suiting. His mom was telling me he is a little shy but felt able to act up a little because of the anonymity of the costume. He enjoyed the experience! (He's a soccer player at his high school so he's got the energy/endurance to suit, I was glad for that!) It was fun for those of us performing, and fun for Joe and Luke's mother (who was his handler) to watch us. And so much fun to see the kids having such a great time. :)
And that was my morning. Needless to say that, after running errands and such, I needed a NAP this afternoon. I just rested a lot because it took so much energy to do all that. But man, it was worth it. :)
So you see, it is now a good thing that there was no interest from anyone to buy Skittle. She was well-loved by the kids at the church and I think will be an icon in the city. Not only is she always downtown for Halloween, but they loved using her (and Adie/'Swiper'!) for the event. It'd be great fun to do some volunteer work for VBS or something over the summer. Who knows! But she's won a place in the heart of the community, and I'm not sure that I can really put a price on that.
And with that, I'm out! Happy Easter, all! :)
I was hoping she was well-known enough that she'd get some interest and help us be able to pay for the house if we get it, but I guess Someone has other plans for Skittle! LOL.
And those other plans seem to be having her really involved at my church. The kids LOVED Skittle and Adie - who was nick-named Swiper for today, LOL - at the Easter Egg Hunt at church.
My church is BIG and we had a TON of kids show up. We have a large seating area that is, well, big enough to hold concerts in, and it was absolutely PACKED with kids. Before the hunt began the kids gathered in this room to hear the rules and then divide up by age.
Skittle mingled with kids and gave lots of hugs before the rules & announcements were made. Then one of the pastors, Bobby, got up to do a little routine with Skittle and "Swiper." Swiper was hiding backstage while Bobby called Skittle up. Skittle waved to all the kids, and Skittle and Bobby led all the kids in little stretches. (Reach to the sky! Now touch your toes! Now pretend like you're gathering Easter eggs!) Then Skittle stepped down off the stage and Bobby says, "We also have Swiper somewhere... let me know if you see him... he's around here somewhere..." in the meantime, Luke, the kid playing in the fox suit, sneaks up behind, aiming for a basket of eggs. Of course the kids go WILD seeing the sneaky fox, and Bobby turns around and 'Swiper' hides, so Bobby pretends not to see. He goes back to talking about the rules, and 'Swiper' sneaks up some more, the kids going nuts and shouting that he's there!! Bobby turns and again doesn't see him. All the while Skittle's trying to help the kids point out that there's a sneaky fox!! XD The third time Bobby catches 'Swiper' before he can grab the basket, and says "Swiper, no swiping!" And Swiper snaps his finger and kicks the ground. LOL. Then Bobby explains that we all have tendencies like Swiper to sometimes do things we shouldn't, and because of Easter and Jesus being resurrected we can be forgiven for it and become a new person. So kids, don't worry, 'Swiper' won't try to steal your eggs any more! XD It was sooo cute.
So then Bobby tries to get the kids excited and revved up, and I am bouncing around down in front trying to get kids cheering when he calls, "Are you ready to find some eggs??" And they were just going nuts. Having so much fun. :D
After that Joe escorted me backstage to pop my head for a minute (at this point I'd drank my fourth bottle of water, LOL) and cool down while the kids were dismissed to go hunt eggs. By the time they were done dismissing, I put my head back on to go out and meet-n-greet with the kids. They were SOOOO energized by the characters getting them wound up that by the time I walked back out (remember, they had JUST finished dismissing the kids) the first wave of kids was done with their egg hunt and had claimed their prizes and were packed into the atrium area where the prize tables were.
I had a LOT of kids run up and hug me and give high-fives, TONS of parents taking pictures, and I got to play with a lot of kids when there were some not-so-crowded times. Tossing a beach ball with one kid. Taking an older (maybe 9 or 10 yrs) girl's floppy dog toy and putting it on my head. XD One little girl, about six or so, won a hula hoop and was showing it to me, and so I took it and tried to hula a little. Sadly though, the tail made it too tough. LOL. And one adorable little girl, the cutest little thing, she had been running up to hug me over and over again before when I was mingling, and she kept coming over to show me all the Easter eggs she'd found in her little bag. She was so sweet. :) So shy, didn't speak at all, just wanted to play a little. :) And lots of kids noticed that my nose was a jelly bean. FUN!!
Before I knew it, the kids were all gone, and the volunteers were all cleaning up so backstage I went again, and climbed out of the suit. MAN was I sweaty! XD And I guzzled another bottle of water, hah! The other kid, Luke, did a GREAT job at suiting. His mom was telling me he is a little shy but felt able to act up a little because of the anonymity of the costume. He enjoyed the experience! (He's a soccer player at his high school so he's got the energy/endurance to suit, I was glad for that!) It was fun for those of us performing, and fun for Joe and Luke's mother (who was his handler) to watch us. And so much fun to see the kids having such a great time. :)
And that was my morning. Needless to say that, after running errands and such, I needed a NAP this afternoon. I just rested a lot because it took so much energy to do all that. But man, it was worth it. :)
So you see, it is now a good thing that there was no interest from anyone to buy Skittle. She was well-loved by the kids at the church and I think will be an icon in the city. Not only is she always downtown for Halloween, but they loved using her (and Adie/'Swiper'!) for the event. It'd be great fun to do some volunteer work for VBS or something over the summer. Who knows! But she's won a place in the heart of the community, and I'm not sure that I can really put a price on that.
And with that, I'm out! Happy Easter, all! :)