The Little One and I huddled close for the ten minutes leading up to the '3 and Under' event. (Daddy's aren't the most-prepared in situations such as these, so we were a bit under-dressed.) The previous post's video clip starts in the final countdown and ends only a few seconds later after she had filled her bucket. Her strategy was absolutely brilliant! She passed hundreds of eggs on her way to the center of the field. It was as though she was after specific eggs. As I followed her into the field, I could not believe my eyes! She was the first and only participant in the middle of the field. She could have filled up dozens of buckets (though technically, we parents were supposed to limit our little scramblers to only five eggs). I was laughing all the way back to our house after it was over. "Daddy, why are you laughing all the time?" Casey would say. Pure pride!
Before covering Jake's event, let me just say a word about Casey's bucket - kuplink... As in the book "Blueberries for Sal"... If you listen closely to the video of Casey, you'll hear "kuplink, kuplank, kuplunk" as she drops each collected eggs into her bucket. It warms me up just writing about it.
The '4 to 6 year-old' event in which Mr. Man participated was an entirely different story. For starters, some of the photos will provide evidence that we were dressed a bit warmer - Casey was in full-blown winter attire. (Daddy's can learn quick in situations such as these - where there is an immediate opportunity to rectify previous sins.) Prior to the start, I provided Jake with a bit of "coaching" in explaining how well the Little One's strategy had worked. Unfortunately, I may have underestimated the collective thinking of a group of hundreds of 4 to 6 year-olds. Jake didn't get ten steps into his event before another little girl stopped (like no other member of the female species is capable of, I might add) right in front of him, sending him head-over-heals to the ground. His momentum was lost, his bucket destroyed, but his spirit remain intact. After standing him back up and collecting the parts of his bucket, the "game was on". We immediately changed our strategy so that I carried the bucket, or what was left of it, while he fought the mob for loot - with two free hands. Mass chaos! What was a cute scramble for the Little One was nothing short of a battle for Mr. Man. In the end, he overcame the rough start to pull in a pretty good take.
Finally, though scarred in battle, the boy showed promise of being a fine gentlemen... Once we reunited with our neighbors, Jake and Ali (their 4 year-old daughter) counted their eggs to see how they did. Jake ended up with nine to Ali's seven. Without thinking twice, Jake pulled one of his eggs out of his mangled bucket and gave it to Ali so they could be even. For a father, it's moments like these...
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