Easter Weekend

EASTER WEEKEND

FRIDAY

We colored Easter Eggs with Koolaid packets and water. It worked great! Jay was SO excited about it this year! But he was pretty disappointed when we didn't get to drink the dye in the end. lol. It smelled so good, and I couldn't convince him that it wouldn't taste good at all! After we finished, we set out Easter Baskets, and the kids went to bed excited for the morning!

SATURDAY

The Easter Bunny visited us today! That sneaky bunny didn't just hide the eggs, but he hid the kids baskets as well. The kids weren't sure what to think at first. All they saw were 2 chocolate bunnies left for Mom and Dad. haha. Then they found Jay's basket under the desk. And at that point the search began. Lily found hers next, in the bathroom behind the shower curtain of all places! And we found Crystal's last... in the hall closet. Finding hers required a whole family effort. lol. They found all the colored eggs thank goodness. No chance of any 'surprises' in a few days. haha. 

Later while listening to conference on the radio (which got us some interesting looks from all of our backyard neighbors), we attempted to put up rain gutters. We were 2/3's done when I looked at the roof and realized we had a huge problem. The roof sat out too far, and the rain gutter wasn't going to catch ANYTHING coming off it. lol. Ty tested it with a pitcher of water and sure enough the water came off the roof and OVER the rain gutter. It wasn't even close. We took it all down but didn't have time to attempt it again. We'll have to try again another day. 

After conference we headed to Grandma Leslie and Papa Scott's for an Easter BBQ. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, and yummy salads and desserts! There was also an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids! Jay picked up on things pretty fast! At first he just wanted to eat what was in the first egg he got, but quickly realized he could save them for later and get more eggs! We all had a great time! 

 View of Lily's braids today!

This smile just melts my heart! She's so adorable!

Sugar Coma! And such a chocolaty mess!

Her mouth was full ALL day. lol.

Showing me her 'bike buddy' and her necklace from the Easter Bunny!

What happens when conference starts, you can't find the remote anywhere, and the TV's on channel 1385? haha.  The frantic (and fruitless) search for the remote was fun to watch too. Lol.

SUNDAY

My dad's birthday is coming up, and he really wanted the whole family together for his birthday dinner. My brother lives in Twin Falls and is often on-call over the weekends, so it had to happen this weekend if it happened at all. My parents were out of town Friday and Saturday, so we decorated the basement in 'Cruise Ship' decor (he's still talking about the cruise they went on a few months ago so we were trying to help him relive it ;-)). Today we got there early and watched conference while we got dinner ready and decorations completed. We parked behind the church across the street from their house so he wouldn't see them when they got home. My mom was giving me play by play text updates as we FRANTICALLY tried to get things prepared in time. haha. I looked out the window from the kitchen and saw them pulling in the driveway. We left everything where it was... even steaks on the grill... lol... and ran downstairs. 

First thing he noticed was the full garbage (with diapers in it) just outside the door in the garage. He of course stopped to bag it (note we have 8 children downstairs trying to keep quite, Tyler has steaks on the grill, and he was taking FOREVER lol). They walked in the house to see virgin daiquiris for each of them on the table in front of them, and then Dad noticed smoke coming out of the grill. He was pretty confused. Haha. My mom led him downstairs to his Cruise Party and the best "Surprise!" yells ever! He was thrilled. Especially to have the entire family together. 

After afternoon conference we had cake and ice cream and Easter egg hunts! Grandma did a glow in the dark one in the basement for the kids and then a regular one out back! Then it was the adults turn!!! I love running around the backyard with my siblings fighting over Easter eggs. We always have so much fun! Haha! Jason one the big money this year! And I'm the one who found the egg for him (I had already found my maximum amount. haha). Then Grandma and Papa had Easter prizes for the kids. They got them huge suckers (really full of regular sized suckers)! The girls got sidewalk chalk and holders for them and HUGE stencils to use with them! Jay got a bubble gun. Spoiled Spoiled kids! 

This is what it looked like trying to get them to hold still long enough for one good pic. lol.

I love being together with my family even though the kids get pretty loud! This made it pretty hard to hear conference on the TV, but my three kids at home make it pretty hard to hear too. I love taking time out of each night following conference to listen to/watch/read what was taught. I always learn so much. 

I may not have caught everything that was said this weekend, but many things were said that touched me deeply. How special it was to be able to celebrate Christ's resurrection as I listened to the prophet and others bear their testimonies of Christ and leave their counsel with us. I feel so blessed to have the gospel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in my life, and for the knowledge I have that families are forever! My family is so important to me, and it's so comforting to know that we will always have each other!