Egg Toss

Every year for as long as I can remember, my family holds an Easter Egg-Toss. No matter which members of our extended family are together, we whip out a dozen raw eggs, grab a partner, line up in an open yard/field, and take turns tossing the egg to each other -- taking a step back after each round of throws. As you can imagine, eventually the eggs break (after all, they are raw!). But you'd be surprised how far you can throw an egg and successfully catch it. The Toss usually elicits such comments as "are you sure these aren't hard cooked?" from the egg-toss newbies. Of course, in order to survive to the end you must have some egg-tossing skill: 1. A nice, gentle arch, to minimize impact on catcher's hand, 2. A gentle, cradled, cupped-hand catch, to minimize impact, and 3. Catcher brings egg to the side of body and often spins a little to help slow down momentum while minimizing impact. It's a great skill to have, tossing and catching raw eggs, and one that our family is proud of ; )

Sarah and Caleb were the winners this year!

Here's a little video, recapping the final moments of the egg-toss:

What a graceful catch by Sarah! She's a seasoned pro, but this was Caleb's first time!

Perhaps you noticed someone wearing a garbage bag? That's common practice for egg-tossers you see. To protect Easter clothes from raw egg, of course.

And here's the whole gang!

Last year I introduced the Egg-Toss to Evan's side of the family. It was a hit -- they wanted to play 5 rounds! Here we are at the starting lineup:

Fond egg-toss memories of yore ...

(Photos courtesy of my dad!)

Calm and focused

Jazz-hands!

What an egg-toss athlete!

Nothing like having a raw egg hurled at you across the yard

Classic egg break ... too funny not to post. Notice the strand of yoke? I promise it didn't come from her nose!

The grandparents are in on it too, you betcha!

Sometimes we sport this lovely egg-toss gear. Quite the fashion statement, dontcha think?

My all-time favorite egg-toss picture, taken by Kirsten on a manual film camera back in college. You can't see the thrower but look at those spectators! This was one of those epic egg-toss moments where the throwers were so far apart they no longer had room in the front yard and had to move to the side of the house! Trees, boat launcher ... these are all obstacles egg-tossers can handle.

Green Lake, Minn., 2003

It's fun when you get to celebrate Easter with sisters! My parents are in New Jersey, my younger sister Karrin is in Southern California, and my older sister Kirsten is in St. Louis. This year it was just Sarah and me from our immediate family ... and of course a bunch of other relatives and friends!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter and enjoyed the day wherever you were!