Helicopter Egg Drop

We tried something yesterday that was a bit of a let down.  North Las Vegas was hosting a big Easter Egg Hunt.  Their advertising said the eggs were being dropped from a helicopter.  Isaac feels that he is getting a little old for hunts, but even he agreed the helicopter dimension made it interesting.  We had a late night Friday, but managed to wake everyone up and eat breakfast and be out the door on time.  The first hint of trouble was the line of cars parked along the street blocks before we got to the park.  I knew there would be a crowd, but I didn't expect THAT many people.  Next hint were the loooong lines for registering.  It was free, but you had to register and get the right color arm band for different age kids.  Then we saw the fields for the egg "hunt"--they were already covered in eggs.  Apparently the helicopter was just ADDING another 10,000.  Then there was the waiting.  We were there right on time because I knew the hours were from 9 to 12, and I thought the hunt would be early.  Nope.  The helicopter wasn't expected till 10:45. 
Isaac and Makenna quickly lost interest with the prospect of waiting another hour+ so Matt took them, ran an errand and still made it back in time.  Jess, Grandma, David and I walked around to some booths.  Jess made a bunny ears headband and got a balloon and then we tried to stay upbeat while watching balloons fly up and out of the crowd every few seconds.  Jess was mesmerized by the sight of the thousands of eggs on the field and that's when we had to fill her in on the last bummer.  They were empty.  This one made sense for safety reasons.  You don't want to risk dropping heavy candy bombs on a bunch of little kids from 100 feet up.  Empty would hurt much less if any go astray, and it was a breezy morning.  You could go exchange your eggs for candy for the hour following the hunt.  No way.  We weren't standing in any more lines. 

So eventually the helicopter came.  We saw the eggs drop.  Jess was aggressive, fast, and quickly grabbed too many.  We had her share a half her basket with some other kids when it was all over 2 minutes after it finally began.  Makenna only picked up one, but didn't care.  Isaac didn't bother and left his basket with me.  Now we know for next year.