2026 Easter Egg Smackdown

Fitting all of our Easter traditions in between sessions of conference was quite the feat! We dyed eggs after the Saturday afternoon session (shortly before Benjamin and Miriam headed out to a Sunday School party). Here are Alexander and Phoebe waiting so patiently for the dye tablets to finish dissolving:

We each got four eggs to decorate, except for Phoebe, who got five eggs because there was one extra. There should have been two extra (because we made a nice, even 30 eggs...like normal people, not an unhinged number like 29—who would cook 29 eggs?) but one of them cracked while it was boiling so we ended up with 29 eggs to dye. Phoebe is our fastest egg dyer so that's why she got the fifth egg.

Remarkably, no eggs broke during the dying process. I think that's a first for us in many, many years. Typically our toddlers have dropped eggs on the table or floor or wherever and we end up with a handful fewer than we started out with. But this year 100% of the children understood the delicate nature of eggs and exercised due caution. So that was a win!

Miriam was having a bit of a troublesome time, however, and after balling up a paper towel accidentally dropped it directly into the red dye. This inspired her, however, to try a painting technique using (a fresh) paper towel.

We held our Easter Egg Smackdown between the Sunday sessions of General Conference. Grandpa drove down to watch the afternoon session with us (as well as the Easter Egg Smackdown). He thinks this tradition causes unnecessary tears—but we think it brings joy and the opportunity to work loss. This year, miraculously, not a single tear was shed. 

It helps that the older kids are old enough to be good sports (because they've had years of smackdowns to practice, probably) and the youngest is so happy to be involved in a game (and hasn't yet figured out that she should be upset about losing). 

Here's an early comparison of eggs:



We take the judicial procedures very seriously at our house:

Here Andrew's laughing, I think because Zoë's egg had slipped right past Phoebe and ended up smacking into the wall. Zoë wasn't sure that damage should count against her, but it really did a number to her egg while Phoebe's egg was mostly untouched. So Zoë was "out" and Phoebe stayed in.  

To be fair, Phoebe dropped most of her eggs on the ground throughout the competition. She knelt on one once, I think. And every time she dropped one or whatever, she'd just shrug and say, "Guess I lose!"

(You notice we put a towel behind her to stop eggs from smacking into the doorframe).

One time she went up against Andrew...

...and when she was inspecting her egg for damage, declared, "Dad whooped me!"

She was the first person to be eliminated from the bracket, along with her eggs: Puppy, Pup, Mommy-Puppy, Rapunzel and Murpley (who was dyed purple)). 

Mostly Phoebe was interested in being as chaotic as possible, literally climbing the walls, and then fussing about not being able to get down on her own (which is not true—she does know how to get down). 

But if you fuss about it long enough, she's learned, someone will probably come rescue you, anyway.

Grandpa must have peeled her off that railing a good two or three dozen times!

That brings us to our next person to be eliminated: Miriam.

She was rather bummed to be eliminated so soon after Phoebe, but that's the way the ball (or egg) bounces (or...doesn't).

Alexander, last year's reigning champion, was a worthy competitor this year:

He lasted for quite a long time (I didn't—I got out soon after Miriam) but was eventually eliminated. Andrew went into the "elite eight" quite confident because three of his four inventively-named eggs made it into that round (his eggs were named ١، ٢، ٣، ٤ or, roughly translated: 1, 2, 3, 4). 

He was astounded when only one of his eggs made it to the final four.

Zoë was quite happy to have smashed egg ٤ (4), meaning that her egg (Egghausted) would move on to play in the final four against Moon (Alexander's last egg):

The very last round came down to Benjamin with Wiseman (he had named his four eggs after the astronauts currently aboard Artemis II—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen) and Zoë with Egghausted. Here they are before competing:

Benjamin had a confident swagger about him (he had won in 2022, 2023, and 2024 and was ready to reclaim his title as the Easter Egg Smackdown Champion. Zoë entered the arena feeling a little more hesitant. She had never won before and honestly wasn't sure this year was her year.

But—surprise, surprise!—she did! Egghausted sustained some damage, but Wiseman was taken out, much to Benjamin's chagrin. 

 Here they are sharing a championship-runner's up bonding moment:

And here's Zoë sharing a close-up of Egghausted's face (she said it's modeled after me...so that's nice):

I neglected to take many pictures of our eggs this year. Perhaps we'll do better at that next year (perhaps not). Either way, I think next year will mark the 20th anniversary of this tradition! That's a long time to be doing anything, but perhaps most especially smashing eggs...

Here's our past winners (with this year's winner—Zoë! Zoë! Zoë!—at the top):

2026: Zoë (finally!) (PTC)

2025: Alexander (PTC)

2024: Benjamin (PTC)
2023: Benjamin (PTC)
2022: Benjamin (PTC)
2021: Rachel (PTC)
2020: Alexander (PTC)
2019: Aunt Katharine (Spanish Fork)
2018: Rachel (Spanish Fork)
2017: Miriam (Durham)
2016: Miriam (Durham)
2015: Me (Durham)
2014: Me (Durham)
2013: Miriam (Durham)
2012: Andrew (Orem)
2011: Rachel (Orem)
2010: Me (Cairo)
2009: Patrick Q. Mason (Cairo)
2008: Me (Orem)