Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day has been a big deal at our house this year. A few days ago, Kiera came home from school, distraught, because her teacher said leprechauns are not real - they're like fables or fairytales. Kiera asked us what we thought. Oh, to be little again and have that imagination and hope! But we wanted to be cautious and truthful - we said that leprechauns are Irish and there are real Irish people (this spurred Kiera to do a bunch of research on Ireland, where it's located, what the flag looks like, what the people look like, Irish names, etc. etc.) Quentin also mentioned that leprechauns aren't usually seen, but that doesn't mean they're real or not real. I think that satisfied her a little.

Yesterday was a preparation day for St. Patrick's Day. At school Kiera and her friend Ashley made a "Leprechaun House" at the base of a tree. It was made out of leaves and twigs. Yesterday afternoon the girls' cousins came over and made St. Patrick's designs with perler beads. And after dinner, the girls' friends Chloe and Sophie came over and made their perler bead designs as well and contributed them to the "shrine" (for lack of a better word) they made for the leprechauns. Kiera had drawn pictures and wrote letters to the leprechauns that might visit in the night. In her letter, she asked if the house she and Ashley made could be their real house, she asked what their names are and she asked if they could come and play sometime. Oh, and she wrote, "And tell [my teacher] that you are real."

So imagine our surprise when, this morning, the marshmallows they left out for the leprechauns were half-eaten and scattered on the floor along with some "magic glitter." (Apparently leprechauns can be pretty messy!) They had answered Kiera's letter, saying their names were Patrick and Megan and they thanked them for the treats. They also left a picture of their house and left green stones with a thumbprint sticker on them under each of the girls' pillows. Wow! The leprechauns must think these girls are pretty sweet!

WHAT THE GIRLS LEFT FOR THE LEPRECHAUNS TO FIND

TREASURES FOR THE LEPRECHAUNS

WHERE THE LEPRECHAUNS LIVE

SHAMROCK WAFFLES FOR BREAKFAST!

ALL IN GREEN!