Easter Eggs...

No Easter is complete without colouring Easter Eggs...last year I was just beginning bedrest with James so it was up to Jon to get a little kit and help Elsie dye the eggs...this year James and I went shopping and bought the traditional little Paas Dying kit! Jon blew out 18 eggs...just because he is a good kind of Daddy and kept giving in to the plea for "just one more, Daddy!"
Elsie was so excited...She carried the little kit around begging to do it "right now!"...but we made her wait until Saturday evening so Daddy could share in the fun! We got out the pretty little tea cups...because they are the perfect size for an egg to float in...and they look so darn pretty with the super bright dye...

The only problem we had was when we turned the package over to read the directions...it looked like this! Some little three year old popped out the circular holes because it looked like fun...which meant the directions were only partly there! We read and best as we could and made up the rest with our fingers crossed that it would work!

Our crazy direction must have worked because we have some super vibrant and pretty eggs! Elsie loved colouring the eggs...she carefully dipped each egg in the different colours...she has a very creative mind and had a plan for each of her eggs...

I think Jon and I will never totally grow up...we both enjoy doing all these little kids things just as much as the kids do...gotta take advantage of all the fun in life you can! I tried to dye some eggs...but James had other ideas...so this was mostly just a daddy and Elsie project. They even got quite creative and wrote on the eggs with a white crayon before colouring them...so we have eggs with all our names hanging on our tree!

Since this is James first Easter we thought he should try dying an Easter egg...he pretty much just tried to dump the teacup over, dyed his fingers and maybe drank a little dye. Nothing too dramatic...needless to say Elsie finished dying his egg...and I took him in the other room...but at least he got to experience the whole family Easter egg dying thing with us! With any luck he will be older and wiser next year...meaning just maybe he won't drink the dye!

Elsie is quite a pro at colouring eggs...she remembers the little kit daddy bought last year. Every year we blow out the eggs rather than do hard-boiled eggs so we can save at least one egg every year. I need to pull last year egg out and hang it on the tree this year. My family has always done the same thing...my mom still has eggs I coloured from when I was quite young. I remember one year we got to glue sequins on the eggs after we coloured them...fun memories...the same kind I want to create for my children!

The table after all 18 eggs were coloured...such simple childhood fun...

Such bright and beautiful eggs...all dry and waiting for me to add the ribbon to the top...I went to the fabric store and bought some spools of ribbon...

...But the kids got a hold of it before I did! I had quite a knotted up mess to go through...thanks kids! Another memory maker I tell myself...

This year called for some creative juices to figure out the Easter Egg Tree situation...James is an explorer and I knew he would just knock the tree down and break the eggs...nothing is safe from that boy...so my solution was to hang a branch from the the ceiling in the dining room! Works great, looks good and James can't reach it...win, win!

Jon knows how important traditions and good memories are to me...so even through he thought the idea was a crazy one he still found a branch, spray painted it white and hung up...thanks Jon...you are the best!

A little hard to see...but this is Elsie egg...proudly dipped in pink colour and hung with a purple ribbon...I forgot to take a picture of James egg...but don't worry I am sure I will!This year our Easter decorations are minimal due to the exploring little guy...but we still have the little Easter egg tree on the table and the palm branches tucked behind the mirror in the dining room...oh and the new Easter clothes all hung up and waiting in the closet for the celebrating on Easter Morning...