A new family member and goodies

This was the first year we did not have Easter baskets for the kids. We never mention the Easter Bunny, it just never seemed relevant to me, but we did have baskets for the kids. This year our last minute plans to visit family changed our plans. So we handled things differently. Our plan was to buy a fish - so we took the kids to buy a fish. I would like to introduce our newest family member, our purple Betta fish named...... Goldie! Imagine that a purple fish named Goldie! :) The kids LOVE him!! He is a sweet little guy! More on our adventures with Goldie later! He is an interesting little guy. He's shown himself to be demanding right away! The other big gift was marbles! The kids were always pretending to play marbles after seeing a few cartoons where they played them. HC and JB were beyond excited to learn how to play! HC kept asking if we could go outside and draw a circle on the dirt so she could play marbles. Here they are dumping their marbles to play.
I also found these washcloths that grow when you put them into water.
Daddy showing them how to play marbles. Notice HC's apron - she calls it her cape!
JB shooting his shooter marble! Don't you love that face!
HC aiming.... and she missed!
HC loved watching her washcloth open up! Here is her final product...
and JB's!

I doubt they realize these gifts were their Easter gifts but they were still thrilled! We will return to our tradition again next Easter, but I think their Easter fun outweighed missing the basket! They still talk about the crawfish and Uncle Jill having her baby. They think anytime they smell the aroma of good food outdoors that PawPaw must be SOMEWHERE nearby cooking. And Mimi should be close by too! I think missing an Easter basket was the LEAST of their worries! I am glad for our fun visit!