“It is crowd-ed!” announced one mom Saturday before the Centennial Fields Park Easter egg hunt, sponsored by the city of Snoqualmie and the Ridge Owners Association.
She was right. Hundreds of children already lined the fields, eyeing the thousands of prize-filled eggs scattered across the grass, while more parents and children continued streaming into the park.
Over at the age 8 to 10 field, the Hinkle family was coaching son Danny, 8, on egg-gathering techniques and taking video of the entire day.
“We take him here every year,” said his mom, Maribel Hinkle, while dad, Rob, and Danny joked with each other. “We love this community.” Then she sighed, looking out over the field for the oldest of the egg hunters. “It’s kind of sad to see him go from there,” pointing toward the field reserved for the smallest toddlers, then to the fields for progressively older groups, “then to there, to there, and to here.”
Danny was apparently not feeling nostalgic at all, but excited to get to the hunting.
So were Maia Scott 6, and Maria Castle, 5, waiting at the next field over, while their parents and grandparents joked about the best ways to gather eggs. When the siren finally sounded the start of the hunt, they were off and running.
About one minute later, the fields were empty of eggs and families were excitedly cracking open their finds to see what they’d won. The color-coordinated Kimball family, with 4-year-old Tucker in a green coat and carrying a green basket, and 2-year-old Penelope with pink coat and basket, had a good haul of eggs. While parents Brittany and Leland cracked open the plastic eggs, the children were already digging into the candy inside.
The youngest children didn’t even need the candy to make the day worthwhile. Carter Coleman, 19 months, enjoyed picking up the eggs so much that his mom and dad, Tim and Angela, kept taking eggs from his basket and tossing them back onto the grass. And over on the baseball field, Sophie Nguyen, age 2, hopped with excitement as she waited for her father, Lam, to open the next egg.
Lining up before the egg hunt, Maria and mom, Claudia Castle, and Sean Scott, his daughter Maia, and her grandparents Mark and Rosalie Aiken discuss egg-hunting strategies. Carol Ladwig/Staff Photo
Children and parents line the fields at Centennial Fields Park Saturday morning before the start of the annual egg hunt. Carol Ladwig/Staff Photo
Carter Coleman, 19 months, was more interested in picking up eggs at Snoqualmie’s hunt Saturday morning at Centennial Field, than he was in find out what was inside them. His parents, Tim and Angela Coleman obliged by tossing eggs from his basket back onto the grass for him to collect again and again. Carol Ladwig/Staff Photo
Rob Hinkle captures every minute of his son, Danny’s exploits at Snoqualmie’s egg hunt at Centennial Fields Saturday. Carol Ladwig/Staff Photo
It’s all about speed at the Snoqualmie egg hunt.
Sophie Nguyen, age 2, hops in excitement as she waits for her father, Lam, to reveal the prizes inside the eggs she collected Saturday. Carol Ladwig/Staff Photo
