Did You Hear About the Allens?: Easter in the Emirates

During our first several years of marriage, Easter was always one of the times that gave us a terrible case of "baby fever." Sure the traditions have nothing to do with the "true meaning of the holiday" and represent the commercialism virus that plagues our society. Yet, any way you slice it, Easter's just no fun without a wee one to dote on and hide eggs for! We tried with the dogs, but the effect was never quite what we wanted. Enter our darling little girl, and Easter suddenly took on a whole new meaning and wonder that we were so glad to finally be a part of - regardless of the silliness of the traditions surrounding the holiday.

Last year, Easter was easy. Score an Easter dress, grab a basket, hide some eggs for the kids, done. Lila was so cute and tiny in her little dress and actually attempted finding some eggs. We had the cold weather to contend with, as per the usual for any Easter celebration in Idaho. But a long-sleeved shirt under the darling dress solved that problem, and Easter was pronounced a success. Here are some photos to show just how great Easter went last year.

This year proved to be a little more difficult. Luckily, we have found a store here that tends to cater to Westerners and all their silly holiday traditions. We found plastic eggs and Easter baskets on a cute little display in the back. Easter for us has always been celebrated with family, and with ours a whole ocean away, we had to adopt a new family. Dalila was ecstatic to have her Easter egg hunt with some of her favorite boys that we've met since moving here. And our connection with our close friends provided the much-needed adult interaction and conversation that came with Easter dinner. A great solution for our home-sickness. The weather presented a mild problem for our festivities, but in a way we have NEVER experienced for Easter before - it was too HOT!! So hot, in fact, that our poor friends discovered the downside of filling plastic eggs with chocolate only a few short minutes into the Easter egg hunt - only jelly and hard candies for us!! New to this concept of a warm Easter hunt, we dressed Lila in a sweet, comfortable little sundress and plastered her with sunscreen. Another problem we've never encountered for this holiday was a complete lack of yard space. How to have an outdoor egg hunt without a yard!?! Easy - the Easter bunny was kind enough to hide the eggs at a near-by park and then inform the daddies of their general location. That Easter bunny thinks of everything. Throw all this together, and we have one terrific Easter experience. Some eggs were even hidden in the trunks of palm trees! I think it's safe to label this latest Easter experience a victory as well - even when we're half a world away from home.

Finding some eggs on the play area first.

My absolute FAVORITE picture of the day.
It's so beautiful and captures her excitement and determination.
Plus, the egg's under a low palm tree branch!!