Easter egg hunt in the dunes
April 13, 2012 92 Comments
My little girl and her basket of Easter eggs
My blog stood silent in the last couple of days as the frenzied activities during the Easter holidays left me with hardly any time to sit in front of the PC.
We sure had a great time doing this year’s Easter egg hunt though the temperature was not as warm as it was the year before. Thanks to the suggestion of our neighbor, we did the egg hunt in the sand dunes of Soesterduinen, a lovely nature reserve area which is pretty close to our place. The kids had a great time being let loose in a seemingly endless sand box. There were also trees that were just perfect for climbing and before long, all of them were up in the tree.
This place is one perfect paradise for kids and one cannot help but be charmed by everything it has on offer. To us parents, we could enjoy moments of lively conversation without worrying about our kids who are safe in all the games that they can think about in this place.
We will surely be back again when the weather warms up and all of us have a free Sunday to spare. The kids can hardly wait…
The sand dunes of Soesterduinen look like an endless sand box
Pine trees sparsely populate the sand dunes
These low lying pine trees with outstretched branches are perfect for climbing
Under the tree, we could have that perfect picnic
The kids cannot resist the lure of tree climbing
Such a huge area to run around and look for the Easter eggs
More eggs!!!
Too many eggs to hunt
Eggs were everywhere...even up in the tree
There is always that look of wonder and amazement with every egg find
Easter eggs ... both real eggs and chocolate ones
Seeking for more eggs
Tree climbing
Playing in the sand
Sand rolling
Friendly banters
Picnic fare
Easter bread
Orange chiffon cake
Pistolet with smoked salmon
Pistolet with Nutella
Tree climbing
Tree climbing
Sometimes it is easy to climb but difficult to get down
My husband comes to the rescue
The rescuer
Our family
Family picture
The kids
The egg hunters minus one
About Malou
The kids are sweet, the scenery wonderful, and the food looks great!
Thanks a lot, Sandy.
Very nice moments for you and your family, the dunes area looks nice. I enjoyed your pictures Malou! Thank you for sharing!
It was indeed a very nice moment with family and friends. We had a great time and will definitely go back. Simple yet wonderful moments.
Lovely photos, lovely children, lovely outing.
Thanks a lot, Lisa.
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Looks like a beautiful celebration!
It was indeed a beautiful celebration that brought back happy childhood memories to grown ups.
My fave pic is of your daughter walking the beach. It’s like you took that pic without her knowing. Looks like everyone had a wonderful time!
Yes, everyone had a wonderful time. Can’t wait to be back.
Fantastic … photos – filled with joy, play and togetherness. Food looking good too – what is Easter Bread ???!!! Would mind a roll with smoked salmon just now. Love the photo with the sky and the sand dunes. Thank you so much for letting me be there too.
Thanks a lot, Viveka. The Easter bread has raisins and nuts and in the middle is the marzipan.
The landscape of the dunes and the sky is just so fascinating to me. At times, it seems like the clouds are too low and almost touching the ground.
That sounds like a bread I would enjoy very much – have to look up the recipe somewhere or maybe you have it. Love nut, raisins and marzipan. Yes, your photo of the sky was amazing.
Great kid shots again and grown ups.A lot of fun on all those faces. The dunes almost remind me of southern east coast beaches in the states… minus the brötchen! I think they would have been a good alternative to hot dogs!
Thanks a lot, Wendy. Strangely enough, these dunes are not in anyway near any beaches or coast. They were created during the last Ice Age by the retreating glaciers.
That looks like so much fun, and I love the picnic that you all had afterwards!
Thanks a lot, Alisa. Picnic in such a place is just so much fun. Who needs a fancy restaurant anyway?
What a great place for an Easter Egg hunt – looks like the weather cooperated.
True. Nothing is much better than this place where the kids and the adults can have the best of both worlds.
Looks like it was a lovely day! LOve the photos!
It was a lovely day though a bit chilly. Still, we had a great time.
What a perfect place for an egg hunt. Happy being all round
Yes, nothing can beat this place for an egg hunt and the kids need no further entertainment.
What is the yellowish ingredient in the center of the slices of Easer bread? Marzipan?
Right, that’s marzipan.
Whoa, that is a different and interesting landscape from the tulips! Those sandwiches look especially enticing. And I’m not just saying that because it’s nigh on two o’clock and I haven’t had a bite to eat yet…
The Dutch landscape may be flat but there are so many interesting aspects to it. And you’re right, those sandwiches were nice. (I should tell the neighbor about the compliments.
)
Aw, all those food pictures! I miss Dutch sandwiches, and that Easter bread looks soooo good!
You should come back for your Dutch sandwiches.
What a perfect day! Love the photos.
Thanks a lot, Cynthia.
Wonderful pictures!
Thanks a lot, byheavenslight.
Beautiful and wow! what a feast!
Thanks a lot, Andy.
You’re welcome!
~runs off with one of the buns~
very sweet.
Thanks a lot, ntebogeng.
Malou.. your little girl looks so grown up having watched over the last few Easter posts.. I love the contrast in landscape as well. It looked like a lovely picnic lunch, that Easter chiffon cake looks scrumptious:)
Thanks a lot, Smidge. My little girl is indeed growing up so fast. Going to school in the last couple of months also made a big difference.
That chiffon cake is everyone’s favorite here, my comfort food when it comes to cake. It is very light, fluffy and airy. I’ll post the recipe one of these days. I’ll be baking it tomorrow for a friend so I will take some pictures.
The kids look so happy and the food looks amazing!
An adventure outdoors is always fun for the kids and food is of course a must.
What a great idea! We did our hunt near the creek and it was a blast. I didn’t get many worthy pictures though because it was over so quickly. Better luck next year I hope! I love the dunes idea!
Oh, I know that if there are very few eggs, the hunt will be over in no time. The kids are so competitive. I painted 50 eggs and then there were the chocolate eggs too.
Awww this Easter egg hunt looks like so much fun. And the food for this event is absolutely scrumptious. I can tell you guys had an amazing time
Yes, it was one great Easter egg hunt, Kay. The kids didn’t want the day to end. We’ll definitely do something similar like a treasure hunt back there when the weather improves.
Wonderful pictures!
Glad to know that you like these pictures.
I do! They are so expressive of family, and I just wanted to be there with you all!
What a fun day! It makes me wish I could have been there with my 5-year-old granddaughter and 8-year-old grandson. Dirt and trees–what more do kids needs? (I call them free-range children.)
Oh, I love your term “free-range children”.
Had no idea there were sand dunes there…great pics among the limbs…looks like a wonderful time!
There are quite some areas here with sand dunes. These dunes near our place proved to be perfect for the egg hunt.
Your images are beautiful—from the color of the sky, to the Easter eggs, to the amazing food shots—really lovely!
Thanks a lot, Marie.
Is always so good to see your blog… makes me smile all the time! Beautiful family! God bless!
Thanks a lot, Camila.
I’d never have thought there’d be sand dunes and coastal bush land in amongst all the gardens and greenery of Amsterdam! Luckily there is because you’ve all had an amazing day out (by the looks of the photo) your orange chiffon cake looks incredible too, so gorgeous
You know what, there is no nearby sea or lake to these sand dunes. These sand dunes were created when the glaciers that reached to as far as The Netherlands during the last Ice Age retreated or have melted.
There are so many things to see here in Holland beside the flower fields, windmills or Amsterdam.
Its making me want to go egg hunting! Nice pics.
Why not? Even to adults, egg hunting can still be fun.
I was so surprised at the terrain (especially that second picture). I would never have guessed that the Netherlands had regions like this. Very interesting and beautiful.
The Netherlands has plenty of surprises, Deb.
Hi Malou – I so enjoy your blog and the gorgeous photos that always makes me go WOW
I would like to nominate you for The Versatile Blogger Award. You can read about it here http://annesturetucker.com/2012/04/13/snapping-glimpses-of-my-morning-runs-and-another-award/
Wishing you a wonderful weekend!
Thanks a lot for the nomination, Anne. I really appreciate it.
Wow – the kids are clearly having fun – the adults too:-) And the food looks scrumptious – would have loved to have been at that picnic! I just love the way you make an occasion out of every aspect of your child’s life.
wow the food looks amazing…and the foraging for eggs seems to be quite an adventure …lovely moments to share !
Thank you for sharing ….. The photos are so delightful and what a wonderful place for everyone. You all had a very exciting time ……… The food made my mouth water ….. I love the first picture of the children up in the tree.
I am constantly amazed at your beautiful pics. My boys are past the easter egg hunt stage but I do remember the times when we had them in our garden. Its was such fun although at the end of it all one always ended up with more than the other so I quickly had to make a plan and always had other chocolate treats for just such instances. Now they refuse to eat all the cheap easter eggs available and only want the good stuff. Lindt, Callebraut and the likes. Clearly I taught them well but now suffer the consequences.
What lovely day for Easter egg hunting! Your photos are lovely. The kids seem to be having a blast! Thanks for sharing your family outing.
Such an incredibly beautiful spot! Wonderful photos.
Stunning photo’s and what a beautiful family you are! Looked like everyone had lots of fun with the easter egg hunt. Thanks for sharing.
Truly enjoyed all photos…
What a neat place to have an egg hunt, looks like fun! The food looks amazing.
Great shots, Malou…and everyone is having fun! I envy you that day!
Everything about these photograpahs is so beautiful…happy fmily times, the festive spirit, the landscape and the happiness that seems to wrap it up all. Loved it.
Dear Malou, Beautiful !! Do you plan to share your recipes in future posts? Fingers and toes crossed ! Theadora
Thanks a lot, Theadora. I just posted my recipe of the orange chiffon cake.
o..kids..
You just let them free…
They will discover there own….
What to play?
Where to play?
How to play?
with some very little don’t do part…
God bless all of them!
Stunning place…stunning kids…stunning photos!
Wow, what a change in lanscape from what I usually see in your photos. The kids looked like they spend a wonderful day hunting eggs and tree climbing ( I like that your hubby joined in on the tree climbing fun). Guys are just big kids after all, aren’t they
Your picnic lunch looks very yummy. Glad you all had a day well spent together.
Ashley
Despite being relatively flat, there are plenty of surprises here in Holland, Ashley. The dunes were perfect for fun activities and those trees were extra treat for the kids.
Seems like you had a wonderful time. I liked the painted eggs and snack pictures a lot even though I just ate.
What a beautiful Easter weekend you’ve had!! The photos are so heartwarming, especially the one of the children running around in the sand dunes, and your family pictures together are always so beautifully natural and classic!
It was indeed a lot of fun with the egg hunt. The kids really had a great time and can hardly wait for the next egg hunt. We’ll be back and maybe plan some treasure hunt as this place is just perfect for that.
Looks like a good time was had by all. Love the shots of the children in the trees, even that big kid of yours!
The big kids also can’t resist the lure of the trees.
ADORABLE!! Malou, question! I started http://www.myfrenchheaven.com about 5 months ago and don’t seem to have nearly as many visitors as you. What’s the secret? How do you reach out to your readers. Do you subscribe to lots of blogs etc… Your content is great, but I don’t think it’s just about content… Is it? Could you give me some of your expert advice? Thanks a million!
You’ve got a lovely site and the contents are perfect, Stephane. I do subscribe to blogs that I find interesting especially on food/recipes, travel and nature because that is where I can truly relate with others. As to the people who read my blogs, they say that they like the pictures and of course, they love the human element of it which is the ordinary family life that I share here. Most of the readers of my blog can relate to the subject of family life, nature, simple dishes that I make, etc. I also make a connection with them by responding to their comments as best as I can. I hope your readership improves.
Fantastic place, what fun in nature! Beautiful
Ah to be young again with not a care in the world other than finding the most Easter eggs. lol