The Real Easter Bunny

My boys Doyle and Trenton found something better than an Easter egg in our yard the week before Easter. What they found that year made it one of our most memorable Easters ever.

I was in the kitchen with the girls. We were getting things ready to write letters to The Easter Bunny. Sally and Jackie were looking through the packs of stickers I bought. Melanie and I had our hands full making sure that everything we needed for their Easter letters to The Easter Bunny was ready.

Suddenly both of my boys came running in the door. Both of them were grabbing my hands and pulling me towards the yard. I followed them out the door and into the yard. They were both so excited and anxious - the way only adventurous little boys can. We stopped in front of the Japanese cherry tree. The boys made me kneel beneath the flower covered branches. Very delicately the boys brushed away a pile of leaves. Under the leaves was a small brown shivering bunny.

Then I certainly understood why the boys were so excited. The little bunny was so small and cute. By this time all five of my kids stood around me with pleading eyes. I told them I wasn’t sure if we would be able to keep the wild little bunny. I told the boys to stay with the bunny while the girls and I went to look for a cage. We found an old hamster cage that we decided would work.

The boys and I took the bunny to our vet for advice. He told us that the bunny was young and probably wouldn’t survive for long out in the wild alone. That sealed the deal. Doyle and Trenton had just become the new owners of a small brown bunny.

When we got home the excitement spread to the girls. All of the kids fell in love with the bunny and his fuzzy white tail. My husband Drew even thought that the bunny was cute. The boys named the bunny Cottontail. Not too original maybe but the name sure did seem appropriate!

Later that night we finally got back to our Easter letters. They kids all wrote about the newest member of the family. I took a picture of the boys with the bunny under the tree where they found him. They both sent the picture with their letters to The Easter Bunny.

 The next day we set up a cage in the boys’ room. My husband Drew later helped the boys build a cage outside. The three of them worked very hard on the cage together. It was fun for all of them – the kind of activity that creates lasting memories that we will all cherish for years to come.

By the end of the day Cottontail had a cage fit for a rabbit king. The girls had even painted a sign that said Cottontail to hang on the front of the cage. That little bunny earned a special place in all our hearts.

Easter Letters & Easter Trees!

Decorating a tree for Easter is quick and easy. You can decorate any tree you have in yard or you can purchase one from a craft store if you want one for inside your home. This is a fun way for a family to spend a nice spring day.

I get my kids busy writing letters to the Easter Bunny while I get all my crafts supplies together. If you are going to put lights in your tree this is a good time to do it. As I gather the supplies the kids and I chat about what they hope to find in their Easter Baskets on Easter morning. Once I have everything we will need to do our crafts together I help the kids finish their Easter letters. They wait to seal their letters until after the crafts so we can send a picture of what they made.

The easiest ornaments to make are plastic eggs. All you need to do is tie a string around the egg. I used a small strip of tape on each side of the string to help secure it. If you live in an area that is windy you may want to put tape all along the string. Simply hang on the branches of your tree. My kids like to paint designs on the eggs before they attach the string, but you don’t have to.

A few bunches of artificial flowers can go a long way. Take the individual flowers off of the stems.  Use glitter glue around the edge of each petal. Now using a large needle thread either a ribbon or string through the flower. Use the ribbon to hang the flower from the tree. Pick flowers in bright vibrant spring colors.

Hang long pieces of ribbon from the tree so that they can sway in the breeze. They really catch the eye. Use several different colors and lengths of ribbon.

Glitter balls are simple and fun to make. Start with plain Styrofoam balls. Give your kids a variety of glitter glue sticks and let their imaginations go wild. Use string to hang them from the tree.

If you are doing an indoor tree you can have your kids cut out Easter shapes out of construction paper. Add a little bit of glitter to give your tree a bit of sparkle.

After your tree is finished be sure to snap a few pictures. My kids always send a picture with their Easter letters to The Easter Bunny. I love to have pictures to remember the fun we have each year decorating our trees. The pictures make a nice surprise for The Easter Bunny and grandparents.