Little Girls And A Love For Bubbles

My daughter Sally loves to blow bubbles. As soon as it starts to warm up outside she is ready to sit on the front porch and blow bubbles. Her best friend Mandy who loves down the road also loves bubbles. They have every imaginable shape of bubble blowing stick. Both of them wear necklaces with little bottles of bubbles.

Sally and Mandy told me that this year they plan to mail a letter to The Easter Bunny. They told me very seriously that they just knew The Easter Bunny would bring them bubbles in their baskets if they asked.

They looked through all their coloring books. Any pictures they found with bubbles they pulled out and colored. There were pictures of fish bubbles, soap bubbles and of course the kind you blow. They wanted to add the pictures they colored in their Easter letters to The Easter Bunny. I showed them there wasn’t room in the envelopes for all the pictures they colored. I let them each pick two pictures to send.

They were disappointed about the pictures they colored until I told them that they could leave the pictures in their Easter baskets for The Easter Bunny to take with him when he comes.

The letters the girls wrote were long. They included every reason they loved bubbles. They sat at the kitchen table talking to each other while they were writing letters to The Easter Bunny. I baked them bunny shaped sugar cookies to snack on while they worked. I had never seen those two girls sit still for so long.

Finally they announced they had finished their letters and were ready to mail them off. I gave them each a stamp. They very carefully placed the stamp on the corner of the envelopes. I walked with them to the end of the driveway to put the letters in the mailbox.
They lifted the red flag and doubled checked that the door was closed real well.

For the next week we had to check the mail everyday. I was so happy when Sally pulled two pastel purple envelopes out of the mailbox. They opened the letters from The Easter Bunny. Inside the special letters The Easter Bunny told them he was real impressed by the way they blew bubbles. The girls bragged to their other friends about the things The Easter Bunny said, including that they took excellent care of toys.

Sure enough the girls were right. The Easter Bunny left bubbles in both their Easter baskets. They skipped off to the front porch to blow bubbles. Through the open window I could hear them planning the next year’s letters.

An Easter Bunny Letter Writing Party – Why Not!

Every year we have a ‘write to The Easter Bunny’ party. It is one of my favorite things we do for Easter. I take all the kids shopping with me so that they can help pick out the supplies for our party. We have such a good time picking out the decorations and writing supplies. We always find little surprises while we are shopping that will make our party a little more special.

I let the kids make home made invitations to send out to everyone. They really feel grown up filling out the address and putting the stamps on the envelopes. Sally makes sure that each envelope has an Easter sticker on the seal. At the post office they drop each invitation one by one into the big mailbox.

The day before the big party the kids and I bake lots and lots of sugar cookies. The girls love to spread the pastel colored icing and sugar crystals on the tops of the cookies. I make two trays of deviled eggs I have to keep those hidden from my husband Drew. My daughter Melanie helps me make the cheesecakes.

Outside we tape the brightly colored table clothes to the picnic tables. We double check that we will have everything we will need for our Easter Bunny letters. The kids always get so excited waiting for the party. They cut tulips and daffodils to put all around the house as decorations. I have to admit, I think the house looks wonderful with the beautiful flowers and pastel Easter decorations spread about.

On the morning of the big party I put out the streamers and balloons. I go through the house and make sure the house is ready for visitors. On the tables outside we set out the supplies we have collected. We always ensure that we have plenty of markers, crayons, stickers, glue, and glitter. Those are some of the basics needed for properly decorating an important Easter letter. Plus, some of the kids like to create imaginative Easter crafts while they are into the concept of writing and creating. I always make sure that we have plenty of tables set up so no one will be crowded while they are busy designing and writing letters to The Easter Bunny.

We are all so happy when people begin to show up. It is always nice when we get a chance to have a day to spend with so many of our friends and family. The kids run through the yard glad to be out in the warm sun after being stuck inside all winter.

All the kids work very hard on their letters. The older kids help the younger ones to decorate the letters with glue and glitter. The kids are always excited about getting a letter from The Easter Bunny. We have a special satin bag we put all of the letters in when they are finished.

The party is something we look forward to every year. I hope to hold one each year, even when the kids are grown. Hopefully then I will have some grandkids that will be running and playing and we can teach them how to write letters to The Easter Bunny. It is always nice to be surrounded by the ones you love. I am glad that we get this opportunity to connect with out friends and family.

Family Traditions That Bond – So Simple But So Important

I was so pleased when I looked out the window that Easter morning. A bright blue sky like a Robin’s egg hung over head. The path down to the creek shined, lit up by the cheerful daffodils that swayed in the breeze. The branches of the trees were brushed with the bright green of new leaves promising the return of warmer weather. I couldn’t help but think of the Easter’s when I was a little girl.

About a week before Easter my brothers and I would decorate our Easter baskets and write our Easter Bunny letters. We started out with a plain wicker basket. My mom would bring out all the things she had gathered for us to decorate our baskets. I loved running the bright satin ribbons through my hands. We were allowed to decorate our baskets however we wanted. I always used lots of glitter on my baskets. My brothers liked to glue small chicks and bunnies on theirs. One year my Mom helped them to make cowboys and Indians baskets.

While we worked on our baskets my mom would bake us a carrot cake. We would all talk about what we were going to write in our letters. My youngest brother was always so excited about getting a letter from The Easter Bunny. It always amazed me how my mom always had the best ideas. She knew which colors would blend nicely together and how much glue it took to make paper butterflies stay in place. As the room filled with the sweet scent of the carrot cake we would be finishing up our baskets.

My mom would place all the finished baskets on a shelf in her laundry room to dry. She would then bring out the paper for our letters. When my brothers were real small I would help them write their letters. We spent a lot of time on our letters. Along the sides of the paper we would draw colorful Easter eggs or put stickers with bunnies and eggs. We wanted to make personalized Easter Bunny Letters. My mom was the best - she had Easter envelopes and she even found Easter stamps for us to use on the letters.

Now that I am a mother I try to build special memories like my mother did when I was young. Every year when my children sit down to write letters to the Easter Bunny I am so grateful my mom started these holiday traditions. I hope that when my children grow up they carry them on with their families. It is funny how something as simple as writing a letter can bring a family closer together.

Does The Easter Bunny Write Letter On Orange Paper?

Each on Easter we have a huge Easter egg hunt when we get home from church. A lot of kids show up to join in the fun. My kids help me to dye all of the eggs we hide out in the yard. We have fun trying to make all the eggs unique. It gives us a chance to spend the day with many of our friends and family that we don’t get to see on a regular basis.

We decorate the eggs in several different decorations. Each one of my children has their favorite way to do their eggs. My son Trenton likes to glue bits of tissue paper on his eggs. Jackie takes her times and draws spring pictures on the eggs with a crayon before she dips them into the dye. Sally likes to make her eggs sparkle by rolling them in glitter while they are still damp from the dye.

The kids take turns telling each other what their letters from The Easter Bunny had said. Trenton was reading his letter and while he was talking he was moving, making a gesture with his hands and knocked over a cup of orange dye. The orange water quickly spread across his Easter bunny letter. I quickly picked up the letter and shook off as much water as I could. We laid the letter out in the sun to dry.

Trenton was upset about the letter. He oldest sister Melanie told him that she thought it was cool because now his letter was orange instead of white. Being the oldest all my other kids think that Melanie is the authority on what is cool and what is okay. Since the ‘authority’ liked the orange paper Trenton liked it and her approval made him feel better. I was glad because that was something that could have ruined his day. And let’s face it, it’s upsetting to us moms when our kids are upset.

As a tradition, when we finished all of the eggs we left them out on the table to dry. Later in the night my husband Drew and I would go out and hide them all in the yard. It took us a long time to hide all of the eggs because we actually colored five dozen.

The next day the Easter egg hunt was a big success. We were lucky to have warm breezes and bright blue skies. The kids found all the eggs that were in the backyard. Trenton showed all of the kids that he had a colored letter sent by The Easter Bunny.

After the kids found the eggs they started a game of hide and seek while the adults enjoyed some great food, drinks and conversation. Trenton brought me his special orange Easter letter from The Easter Bunny to keep safe. It turned out to be a wonderful Easter. Everyone had a great time that day. I hope we have as much fun next year. And by the way, my kids have asked about using food coloring to color paper to write their letter to The Easter Bunny. Isn’t it funny how something wrong can turn into something so right?

Girl Days Are Good Days – Even If They Do Include The Easter Bunny

At Easter all the females, old and young in my family love making what we call “sherbet carnations”. We like to fill up vases with these flowers for Easter Sunday. They give our homes a warm and cheery feel. All you need to do this Easter craft is white carnations and food coloring. It is a simple way to add a little splash of color for spring.

First we gather up all the vases and glass bottles we will be placing the flowers in. The younger girls are given clear plastic cups to use just to be safe. We all sit around and talk while we fill the vases up with water. My mother always asks the younger girls what they are going to write in their Easter Bunny letters. They all flock to her side to tell her what their letters are going to say. She has always been a magnet to children.

My mom and my Aunts tell the girls what their moms had written in their letters to the Easter Bunny. My cousin Ruth always wrote funny letters to The Easter Bunny. Her mom told us about the time she asked The Easter Bunny to take her new baby brother back to wherever babies came from. We all got a good laugh out of that. I love when we get to relive happy old memories. It is so good when all of us girls get a chance to get together without any guys around.

After we get all of the vases filled with water we start to cut the flowers. You have to hold the flowers up to the vases to determine how much needs to be cut. Only the adults cut the stems. While we are cutting the flowers my mom shows the girls a letter to The Easter Bunny I wrote when I was little girl.

The next part is the girls’ favorite part of the day. They get to put the food coloring in the vases. The colored water in the vases seems to dance in the bright spring sun light. The girls make sure the water is turns bright vibrant color. After the water in the vases is colored the girls put the flowers into the water. Over a few days the flowers will absorb the dye in the water and become a pretty pastel color.

After our girl day of crafting sherbet carnations and girl talk my daughter was enthused about some of the things she had heard related to the olden days and letters to The Easter Bunny. My daughter called her grandma to tell her how much fun she had and that she loved her. She also told her all about what she was going to write in her letter to The Easter Bunny. My mom told her she was sure she would get a letter back from The Easter Bunny. My daughter went to bed that night so excited to mail off her letter. Not only that, but she was also looking forward to more ‘girl days’ and craft projects. It was another sign that my daughter was growing up.

Making Special Springtime Memories In The Park

Around Easter I always take my kids to the park to the feed the ducks. At the park near our house there are beautiful spring gardens. We pack up a lunch and of course plenty of bread to feed to the ducks. It is usually an all day event so we all have to pitch in. We also use this time write our letters to The Easter Bunny.

It still takes my breath away when the gardens first come into view. Along the road through the park are scattered bunches of cheery yellow daffodils. A cluster of lilac bushes perfume the air with their heavenly scent. I park our car under the canopy of a silvery birch tree spotted with lime green spring leaves.

After being coped up in the house all winter we are all anxious to get out and be in the fresh spring air. While the kids are running around the playground I spread out a blanket for us all to sit on. Sally carries the bag with all the supplies for our letters to The Easter Bunny. Last year was just like any other year. The boys put together the kites they had brought with them. In no time they had those kites dancing high up in the air.

The older girls took Sally with them to walk around the pond. They wanted to gather a couple of braches from the lilac bushes to take back home. The boys were tossing bits of bread in the pond for ducks. It brought me joy to watch my kids all playing and getting along so well.

After awhile they ended up back at the blanket ready to eat. While we ate our lunch we talked about sending letters to The Easter Bunny. The sun filtered down through branches of trees and waxy white lily of the valley nodded their pearly heads around the trunks. Even my older kids were excited. We finished our meal and worked together to clean up the mess.

Next we got out our papers and pastel pens. Slowly their chatter ended while they worked on their letters. You could tell by the looks on their faces they were really concentrating on what they were writing. One by one they finished and neatly sealed the letters in pale colored envelopes. On the front in their best handwriting they wrote The Easter Bunny’s address.

Each year as my children get older the more special our spring trip to the park becomes. I will always have the memories from the days when going to the park to write letters to The Easter Bunny filled them with so much joy. I hope the memories we make at the park are carried in their hearts for the rest of their lives.

New Puppy Equals New Family Member!

A friend of mine had to move and had no idea what she was going to do with the Border Collie puppy she had got a few months before. She told me if I would to take the puppy she would give me everything I would need for him. I talked to my husband Drew about bringing the puppy home to live with us. Drew said he didn’t care as long as the dog was house broken.

I told my friend Betty that we could take the puppy. I wanted to surprise the kids with the puppy. They were going to be so happy. I had Drew stay with the kids while I went to pick up the puppy. I left out all the stuff so that the kids could work on their Easter Bunny letters.

Betty told me she had named the puppy Comet because of how fast he could run. He was a beautiful puppy. His coat was shiny and soft. I knew that the kids were going to be so surprised when I brought the puppy in.

I called Drew and told him I was on my way back home. He told me things were fine at home. The kids were still writing their letters to The Easter Bunny. He told them that I had to go to the grocery store so they didn’t get curious about my where abouts.

I pulled up to the house and got Comet out of the car. He looked excited as if he had on a big smile and was wagging his tail like crazy. I led him into the house and called for the kids. They came running in and immediately went to the puppy. I told them that his name was Comet and that he was going to live with us.

The kids played with the puppy who I must say fit right in with our family. I think Comet was glad to have the kids playing with him after he had been living with Betty who is a single lady. After a while Comet laid down to take a nap. I think all of the excitement wore him out.

While Comet slept the kids went back to their Easter letters. My daughter Jackie started a new letter so she could tell The Easter Bunny about Comet. While they worked on the letters they talked about all the things they wanted to do with Comet. Comet was going to be a very busy little puppy.

The kids finished their Easter letters to The Easter Bunny. Right about that time Comet was awake from his nap. I let the kids take the puppy outside in the backyard to play. I think Comet is going to fit in our family perfectly because he loves running and playing with the kids as much as they like running and playing with him. And a big relief for me was that Comet was already housebroken and had all his puppy shots when I brought him home.