Easter

 It's kind of weird to not have spring break connected with Easter like we used to, but we still were on our spring break high, so that's good. The kids don't have off on Good Friday,  but Jason and I do, so we finally got to work on our apple tree that was uprooted during the ice and heavy storms immediately following. We also cleaned part of the church since we couldn't go for our commitment the next morning due to the temple trip we had planned months before.  

The little piles of sticks we made look like big nests!

I wanted to have a time when all 4 of my kids could do baptisms together before life gets even busier and then Victoria goes off to BYU I. It was the perfect way to spend the morning before Easter. Jason baptized while I watched. I didn't need to do anything because of the youth group that was there. 

Our eyes aren't used to the sun!

Afterward,  we grabbed lunch from Chick-fil-A,  as promised.  Then Jason, Victoria, Austin, and I went to the church for choir practice.  With our travels and General Conference,  we weren't able to practice much together and since our ward is shrinking,  which also greatly affects the ward choir, they planned the practice around us.  I actually had to sing first soprano, which had some high F sharps in it, so you know they were desperate!

We managed to dye Easter eggs in the afternoon.

I love Kai's Spidey egg!

Sunday morning quickly came and we had to attend church early to warm up our voices. The service was amazing and we sang beautifully if I must say so myself. The best part was after our very vibrant and enthusiastic version of He is Risen, Victoria's good friend Max, who played the accompaniment, let out an audible burst of relief. He is an amazing pianist, but I think it was definitely challenging for him.

We had a relaxing time at home reading some scriptures and watching some videos about Easter. We did an Easter egg hunt in the yard and there were more places for eggs to hide with all the stick piles from our tree project. The best part about the hunt was that I hired an 8th grader who I met at the Spring Craft fair and who is in the orchestra with Austin, to crochet these adorable little stuffed gifts for my kids. Being Victoria's "last " Easter at home as a kid, I wanted to make it special. They loved their little "stuffies" and this girl has some incredible talent!

I suggested she make Korok (Child of the Forest), for Austin, though I needed help figuring out something from Zelda for this. I'm totally clueless about video games!

"Baby Yoda" or Grogo for Erik was easy enough to decide. 

Victoria is like a ray of sunshine and needed something for her apartment. 

A black cat for Kai was also easy for me to decide.

We got to eat dinner at a friend's house that evening. Jason was released from the Bishopric when a new Bishopric was called a couple of weeks ago. We ate at the new second counselor's home. They're the main family holding up our primary and they have a foreign exchange student from Switzerland who's super good friends with Victoria, so it was fun to eat and visit with them. We had ham, funeral potatoes, Swiss bread, and I brought raw carrots and cucumbers, along with roasted carrots and green beans. The dessert was a carrot cake. We gotta honor those bunnies with carrots!

I was so happy to be able to spend a memorable weekend with my family for Easter!

Happy Easter!