I found it more difficult this year to talk about Easter with the kids.  Discussions about Jesus' death and resurrection were especially confusing to Martin, even though I tried to talk about it in a very simplified way.  As we were talking, I could feel where his mind was going as he tried to reconcile the story with his own understanding of life and death.  He asked a lot of questions this time, ones that I felt were particularly tricky.  Especially when he concluded that Jesus was a mummy, and yeah, that was cool.

Our talk about the Easter Bunny wasn't much easier.  The idea of magical appearance of treats is something he accepts - when he imagines that it's done by a full-sized person like Santa.  But he was pretty confused about how a bunny could bring anything, let alone get into the house.  Sophie told him that he didn't come down the chimney, but probably through the window because she had spied some rabbit prints in the snow earlier in the week.  He seemed to accept it at that, probably not wanting to ask too many questions just in case it could mean not getting treats.

This was the first year that the kids were able to really participate in egg dying.  Martin especially liked it because he said that we were doing SCIENCE and making POTIONS, which is one of his favorite pastimes. 


Sophie liked it too, moving eggs from one dye to the next to see what would happen.  We didn't use the little sponges that came with our egg dye kit, deciding instead to use paint brushes to decorate the eggs.  We were able to add paint to all the eggs before the first one was cracked - the kids eating four before we even put them back into the fridge.


On Easter morning, Martin was thrilled to find that the Bunny had indeed made it into our house, running to the window to check for tracks.  This year they also discovered every child's favorite Easter treat - Peeps.


The kids were CRAZY about the Peeps.  After a few bites, the sugar kicked in and they had to eat them on the run, their little bodies overcome with a rush of sugar.  Sophie was so dazed by all the sugar that she let me brush her hair and add a fancy hair tie.  It stayed in for ten minutes, which is a personal best.  Here she is with her new friend, cleverly named Easter Bunny.  Not to be confused with her other favorite rabbit, who's name is Rabbit Rabbit.  And yes, she's drinking espresso.  I figured how much more jacked could she get, might as well give her a real jolt.  Kidding.  It was decaf.


We went to GrandmaLou's for a special lunch.  Sophie wore a pretty dress that she received from GrandmaLou for her birthday and a turquoise necklace that was a gift from Grandpa Marty.  She also chose a little sweater, tights, satin shoes, and a purse - I don't know where this part of her comes from.  We had to practically trick Martin into just tucking in his shirt, and Marty and I were barely able to fight the urge to wear sweatpants.


GrandmaLou made a very special meal, filled with many of the kids favorite treats.


And for Marty, a relish tray.  If we hadn't cleared the whole dish, I'm pretty sure that he would have emptied it into his pocket before leaving.


And for your viewing pleasure, I offer you the following Public Service Announcement titled "Peeps: The Impact of Massive Doses of Sugar on Small Children".