Three Easter Egg Hunts and a Sleepover

Boy did we have a busy Easter Weekend, packed with egg hunts and family...just the way it ought to be. Of course plenty of pictures were taken and I'll let them tell of our adventures.

First we prepared for our first egg hunt at my cousin Penny's Easter brunch, the Saturday before Easter.

During our first hunt, we found a jackpot nest of eggs, and Lydia proudly found the Spiderman Easter egg just for Daddy. The rest of the weekend, she made sure everyone knew she found the Spiderman egg. After Ammon opened the first couple eggs and discovered they had no candy in them, he quickly lost interest in the hunt and decided to shake trees, throw rocks, and look inside of hoses to see what could be hiding there instead.

Although I had a dozen hard-boiled eggs prepared for coloring, sadly I left them at home. Lydia sobbed the rest of the way to my cousin's when we realized we forgot them. Luckily, people kindly shared a few of theirs for us to color together. Ammon followed in his sister's footsteps and was more interested in drinking the dye, rather than decorating with it...no matter how many times I told him to stop. I think he's about ready to lick more dye off the egg in the picture above.

Despite exhaustion, this boy would not let his Easter bucket full of treats out of his grasp.

Later that night we had dinner, another egg hunt, and good family time with the Tappana side. Lydia also got to hold her week-old cousin. Adorable.

After dinner with the Tappana's, we drove with my sister to my brother's house for a sleepover. The first picture is my kids early Easter morning, the second picture is what happened when I said "Gooood Mooorniiiing!" trying to wake those kids up: Lydia whined and buried herself deeper into her sleeping bag. I laughed and then sighed. She's sure going to be trouble when she's a teenager. However, as soon as I mentioned the Easter Bunny had come, she popped right up.

Then my kids had their final egg-hunt finding the eggs the Easter Bunny left hidden around Kyle and Katrina's kitchen and bedroom.

Next Lydia and Ammon explored their Easter baskets. As you can tell, Ammon grabbed what he cared about (a package of M&M's and two eggs full of candy) from his basket, clutched them to his chest, and abandoned the rest of his basket. He just fussed at anyone who came close because he was afraid of having to give his candy up. I'm in trouble with that boy too. Lydia enjoyed the books in her basket a bit more.

Kyle and Katrina made us sourdough pancakes, we went and heard them speak at church (they did excellent), and then we watched Les Miserables with Lydia adorned in her bunny ears that she is obsessed with, and skyped with the rest of our family back home in Washington. That night we went to our Uncle's house and had one of the most delicious dinners ever (my cousin cooked lamb, which I was afraid to try, but tasted just like steak and was to DIE for. You wrapped it in lettuce and dipped in this delicious sauce and now I will crave it the rest of my life) I made some Easter desserts for it: a sunflower-peep cake and rice-krispie egg nests. Brigham also surprised me with some flowers and my favorite Easter candy.

My kids were so good this trip, I was truly impressed and the weather was so beautiful! They looked so good in their Easter outfits.

And here they are, the day after Easter, in their BYU shirts the Easter Bunny left them in their baskets. Mmmmm hmmmm, you have good taste Easter Bunny!


It's no wonder I love this time of year with the pastels, candy, sunshine, springtime, and family. During church, we sang "He Is Risen" and it made me want to truly shout out my joy that Christ is risen and that He lives. I can live again with my family and because of Him I can become better every day because of His atonement. I hope everyone else had a wonderful Easter and felt the joy of our Savior as well.