Easter Festivities

We still had plenty of other Easter celebrations with family. We first went to Idaho and flew a kite the way grandpa likes to. 

Then grandma did a good ol egg hunt for the grands. It sure was fun watching the little kiddos discover the eggs and realize there were treats in them!

And it wouldn't be grandams without a large feast!

Then we headed to Arco. What was supposed to be a small family gathering ended up nearly being a Hymas Reunion! When Chet and Mindy realized we would be in town, they made plans to come see their daughter Emma at school and do a pit stop in Arco! We were thrilled to death when we learned that. Then Chris and Sarah said they would be coming out not knowing we would be there as well! Nick and Nichole were invited out and it was great catching up with them. Chase and Hollin also came!

In true grandma Evelyn style, she had whipped up a fun egg hunt race for the grands complete with clues and everything. The last egg was empty to remind them of the resurrection. 

It was fun watching the kids running all over the yard and Jilly hopped right in and ran around the yard too. 

Its not often this big family gets together, but when they do, you can feel the love! I'm grateful I married into some of the best family I could imagine!

Gma also had made up a jeopardy about questions about Christ. I learned a few things and everyone enjoyed it! 

Easter morning came and we did Easter baskets with the kids. 

The men got an Easter nap. :)

What a great week its been!

 

Holy Week

In a conference talk, a leader of the church asked us to consider how we are celebrating Easter. He pointed out that we wouldn't celebrate Christmas if we didn't have Easter. Easter is what saved us. Easter is the most important thing in the plan of salvation. Easter is what gives us hope after sin or sorrow. Easter means we will someday, live again. We should REALLY celebrate Easter. 

In an effort to concentrate on the real meaning of Easter, I kept my fun brightly colored Easter decor in the box and set off on an excited decor adventure to decorate my mantle to celebrate Holy Week. The last week of Christ's life. 

I started with a love sign because it was all done because of Love. I had the scriptures open to the holy week story in Matthew 21. Then came the palm leaves to remind us that people were excited Christ was in the city. A picture of feet being washed reminds us of the kind works and service he did through the week. A small plate held some silver coins to symbolize how Jesus was betrayed. 

Next to that was a sacrament cup. A wine glass type one that they all probably drank from at the last supper. I had some wood, rope and a large nail to represent his death and crucifixion. And it was all finished with a picture of the resurrected Christ along side a mini tomb and He is Risen sign. I was pleasantly surprised how happy i was with it and how it really brought the true meaning of Easter into our home. Every day we did an activity to remind us of Christ. It was an amazing week as our hearts were turned to him daily.  

I have always wanted to do a last supper but wasn't really sure what I would do. Last year we had one with Clyde and Eveyln and that gave me some ideas. In a book a came across with some fun activities, there was a flat bread recipe to make for a last supper. It seemed simple and Carter asked if he could make it. So I let him! He mixed and rolled and fried everyone their own little flat bread and we made some dipping oil to go with it. 

They were really yummy and I was really impressed with his desire to do it for the family and that he wants to do it every year!

Then, he washed eveyone's hands for them before dinner. (tear!) It was so sweet. 

Our meal consisted of the bread, oil, cider, fruits and veggies and nuts. I think some ham too. It was simple and filling and perfect. It only would have been better if Chad was able to be there. Next year!

And Stef's birthday happened to be right during Holy Week and she just wanted to go to the temple. So we made it happen at the Jordan River Temple and it was the cherry on top to an amazing week!

I'm incredibly grateful for my Savior and that he died for me. I look forward to a day of resurrection with my family and the eternities. Because of Him, Easter will never be like it used to in this house. 
 

Visitors

Some fun things we did with nieces and nephews while they came to visit in the month of March. 

Duck Donuts after Mollie's soccer game. 

Lots of snuggles. 

We got to watch Cam and Tuck while Jord and Tay went on a date one night. 

We had so much fun pulling out all the boy stuff and playing ball and cars. 

We had a sunny afternoon so the girls made a picnic and then we took them to the new park in town. 

 Glad to have you guys come visit!! We love you!

Date Night

Adam and Brit spent a lot of our time in the early spring. We planned an official date night on one of their visits. We took them to Red Iguana and enjoyed some delicious mexican food! 

Afterwards, we went to the cutest ice skating rink. It was a perfect evening. Cool and quiet and magical with all the lights. 

Adam and Brit were impressed by Chad's skating skills! I only wiped out big time once. But I survived. Just barely. 

We will for sure be coming back to enjoy this cute little rink!!
 

OOh I think that I found myself some cheerleaders

These girls love cheer and comp season finally arrived! It was so fun having them on the same team and watching them perform together! How cute are their professional pics?! They are both beautiful girls in totally different ways and I love watching them get better and perfect skills!

They had a great year being on the Rage cheer team. 

They performed at the cheer season kickoff and they did so good. Its always fun to see how much they've improved when they do a closing performance too. 

Yeah Girl!

I love Brielle's faces!

Rylee got to be a flyer a lot since she was the youngest on the team. She loved it! 

 

17 years!

We planned a whole day adventure to celebrate our 17th anniversary. We really wanted to do a get away but with this busy life, this was the best option. But it was so fun!

We started out having lunch at Maddox. The nice fancy sit down restaurant. It was yummy, over priced and it was a lot of food! Glad we can say we've now been to the 'other side.'

After that, we took our full bellies to Crystal Hot Springs! For a middle of the week, mid day hot tub activity I was surprised at how full it was. It felt heavenly on this cold windy day. 

After we were sufficiently baked, we went and shopped around Smith and Edwards. Wow! It was quite the adventure. We could have spent all day there easily! We found some fun treasures including bon bons, a new surf rope a puzzle and more! They literally have EVERYTHING. 

Later we moved towards SLC to enjoy dinner with friends at the Cheesecake Factory. Sam and Nan were able to join us and we enjoyed their company. While we waited an outrageously long time for our table, we walked around the toy store next door and found this giant code names game....what the??

Good food, good friends, good times! 

We took our cheesecake to go and ate it in bed later. It was a perfect day to celebrate our love and the day our family started. I'm so glad I married Chad. He has so many great qualities and is very humble and is very sweet and kind to me. We have grown a lot in this last year for the better and grown closer. Its been refreshing to learn that we can always work on our marriage and make it exactly what we want it to be. I'm grateful for a partner who wants to keep growing closer together and puts in effort to stay close. Love you! I know we'll have many more happy years.