Easter

This year I amazed myself and remembered that we had "The Holy Week for Latter-day Saint Families," and actually used it the week before Easter!  We read about the week before the Savior's death, about some of the symbolism used at Easter time and what it really means.  I felt like it made such a difference for me at least, as to what Sunday was like.  I was so excited about church, that I didn't think about the Easter baskets at all.  Even though I didn't get to enjoy an adult Easter lesson (spending most of the day wrestling Daxton), I still felt like I was thinking about the Savior the whole day.  I loved it. 

While Jeremy and I were cleaning up the kitchen, we turned around and saw the girls getting the boys ready for church.  I LOVE their sweet hearts!

 The traditional before church picture.  It is hard to get all four to smile!

The Easter Bunny also did something a little different this year and didn't lead the kids to their Easter baskets until after church.  When the kids came home they started on their annual Easter basket hunt.  

They were led to the kitchen, 

the tree outside, 

Cambrie's telescope, 

and they eventually found them in the furnace room.  There was a little candy, bath bombs, drinks, church music, Jesus coloring pages, and seeds for planting.  The kids really wanted to plant their seeds right away but Jeremy and I made them wait until Monday. 

Our friends, the Hubbards, invited us over to their house for some treats and an egg hunt.  I was happy for the invitation since the kids missed all of the other egg hunt invitations because of soccer.  We went over and met the other families they had invited, then hung out enjoying the beautiful weather as the kids played.  They played with chalk.  

They dyed eggs. 

They played on the playground and ran around the yard like hooligans.

Daxton loved this car and spent most of his time in it when he wasn't boomeranging down the slide.

They met the Easter Bunny. 

But the most exciting part of the evening was the egg hunt.  The dads hid 700 eggs in the backyard!  There were only 13 kids, including two little ones Daxton's age, so there were absolutely no limits on what they could put in their baskets.  My kids went wild running through the sand, climbing into trees, climbing up the play set, tromping through weeds to find those eggs.  It was so fun to watch!  

Daxton wasn't wild, but he picked up on the idea quickly enough and enjoyed putting eggs in his own basket...at least those he could hold on to!

(Wait, did James Bond come Easter egg hunting?  No, that's my hot husband!)

All of the kids needed a mid-hunt reset of their baskets.  They dumped what they had found into our family bag, then went out to fill their buckets again.  I didn't count, but this is what the haul looked like.  Insanity!   

We hung around long enough for the adrenaline to wear off and the kids to calm down then called it a night.  It has been fun to get to know the Hubbards and share a little of the gospel with them.  I always hope that the kids are brave enough, willing enough, and comfortable enough to share the gospel with their friends.  I am grateful for my Savior, and I love the story of the Atonement and resurrection.  I know that He lives and that He loves me.