Easter 2013... Baskets, Egg Hunts, and a BIG SURPRISE-- Oh My!!

On Saturday Morning, my children woke up nice and early to hunt for their baskets. I think that I have mentioned before that-- no matter where the Easter Bunny hides Cameron's basket, he is ALWAYS the last one to find it. At times, this trend results in frustration, and a minor case of the Easter grumps. In an effort to avoid this-- the Easter Bunny was kind enough to hide Cameron's basket in an extremely elementary place this year. Unfortunately, some traditions are hard to break, and Cameron was still the last one to discover his basket. It was really pretty funny to watch. Maybe next year the Easter Bunny needs to place it next to his pillow??? All of the children had fun, and seemed really pleased with their baskets.

Later in the afternoon, the younger children went to an egg hunt with a few families in our new neighborhood. It was fun to have a group of kids to hunt eggs with, and even more fun to find the different things the eggs had been filled with.

My girls looked so pretty on Sunday Morning. I love Easter.

After Church, I asked the children if they wanted to go on an Easter Scavenger Hunt. They were all very excited. We really try to focus our Easter Sabbath activities around the Savior, His atonement, and Resurrection. This scavenger hunt was more reverent and thoughtful than most. The children loved it-- especially the grand prize at the end! It turned out to be a great experience.

CLUE#1:  Welcome to this Easter treasure hunt. I hope that as we go through the hunt, and read the clues together, that you will think about Jesus Christ and all of the MANY MANY MANY ways He blesses your life.  When Jesus entered Jerusalem, to celebrate Passover, he rode in on the back of a baby donkey. As he entered the people shouted “Hosanna”. They were recognizing Christ as a king. They threw clothes and palm branches on the path before him as a sign of respect. Go look for your next clue in a branch.

CLUE #2 As a symbol of love, and a way to help us all remember Him and our covenants—the Savior instituted the Sacrament.  “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it and brake it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat, this in remembrance of my body”. During the sacrament, I hope you will try to stop and reflect on the Savior. The bread is where your next clue is hiding.

 CLUE#3: One name for Jesus is ‘The bread of life’. This is because if we follow Him and His teachings—it will fill us and nourish our spirits all our life. Our life and paths will be guided and enlightened. This is why another name for the Savior is ‘the light of the world’. Go look by the light switch in Kyle’s room.

CLUE#4: In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus atoned for all our sins, pains, and sorrows. This allows Him to understand you and your heartaches perfectly. He suffered because He loves you. It caused Him to sweat great drops of blood. He suffered so He could keep you from that hurt and pain. The Band-Aid drawer has your next clue.

CLUE#5: President Hinckley taught, “No member of this church must ever forget the terrible price paid by our redeemer, who gave His life that all men might live….  We cannot forget [that on the cross] our Savior, our Redeemer … gave Himself as a sacrifice for each of us. “Take a minute to think about how grateful you are for that sacrifice.  Jesus allowed himself to be nailed to a cross and crucified for you! You will find your next clue by Dad’s nails and tool box.

CLUE#6: After Jesus died, His body was wrapped in a cloth and placed in a tomb.  However, on the 3^rd day, when His friends came to the tomb—they found the large stone at the entrance was rolled away and the tomb was empty because JESUS HAD RISEN—just as he said he would. The stones in the back yard will reveal your next clue.

CLUE#7: Think, for a second, about the joy that the disciples and Jesus’ friends must have felt when they saw the resurrected Lord, and realized that he was not dead. Think of those spirits who were in heaven (you and me) and the excitement we must have felt to know that Christ had conquered death—making it possible for us to live forever-- with our eternal family! Go look where we keep pictures of our family members who are no longer with us on this earth, but whom we will be reunited with again someday because the Savior broke the bands of death.

CLUE#8: The idea of living again after we die, as well as the gift of the atonement which allows us to repent and be “born again” into a new fresh and clean life is why babies are such a prominent symbol of Easter. Go find your next clue in Creed’s diaper basket.

CLUE#9: Baby lambs, baby chicks, baby bunnies, and baby ducks all represent the idea of new beginnings, fresh starts, and the pureness that new babies have. Through the atonement, we can be clean—like a new baby—and because of the Resurrection, we can live forever. So, as we celebrate this Easter (and all it represents) your father and I would like to announce that there is going to be a fresh, clean, new life joining our family. You are going to have a new baby brother or sister later this year—and the best part of all is that because of all that the Savior did for us, we will be able to be with that new baby—and each other—forever. Happy Easter!

Karen reading the big news

"Wait! What did she say?"

Cameron jumped up and started to celebrate with a dance that reminded me of when Grandpa Joe jumps out of bed in the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!

More dancing!

A little more dancing!

Dance, dance, dance!

And a bit of some more dancing!

Needless to say, the children were pretty excited. In fact, they were so surprised by the final clue that they completely forgot about the stash of candy that was hidden next to the last egg. Some things are simply sweeter than sugar-- and this moment was one of them!

Random Happenings

I have a few pictures that are quite random, but still worth remembering.

On my Grandpa Bud's birthday-- we always have a celebratory Creamy. I sure miss my Grandpa terribly and think of him often. It comforts me to know that he can help my little family and me now in ways that he couldn't before. I like knowing that he also knows my children and myself better than he did while he was here on earth, because he now sees us in all our truest moments. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA BUD!

 Karen was home sick for almost a week. Finally, on the last day she was well enough to get out of bed and do something a little fun. We painted a treasure box that she got for her birthday months ago. She felt so pleased with her creation. I need to remember how much my girls like to create and facilitate that more often.

Kailani got to dress up as a book character for school. She had a very hard time deciding who she wanted to be. She finally settled on Fancy Nancy.

 On one of the first semi-warm days this spring, I took the children to a playground near our home. Within the first 5 minutes of us being there, Creed slipped in the mud and then got hurt as he fell down the slide. Karen tried to help him on the slide injury, and hit her face-- resulting in a bloody nose. I asked Kyle to hold the dog, so I could attend to Karen. Kyle picked up Ivy without noticing that the dog was peeing, and got pee all over his jacket. Somewhere in this mess of fun I managed a few pictures... then we went home. Oh well, you win some and you lose some.

 Ive started calling this boy "Linus" (from Charlie Brown) because he carries his Silky EVERYWHERE. He also uses his Silky in a very Linus-esque way.  The other day, Ryan put Creed's pacifier up on the entertainment center, because we are "trying" to slowly break that bond. I was on my bed, when I saw Creed walk into the room, use his Silky as a whip/arm extender, and snatch his pacifier off of the 4 foot high entertainment center. I couldn't believe what I saw. It was like cartoon magic.

Here is Karen looking very brainy in a pair of my glasses.

This is how "REAL MEN" do the dishes. (well, except the pouty face).

Karen had a program of Patriotic Songs at school. I was so proud of her. She did a wonderful job and took the show very seriously.

Lastly, if you see me with this look on my face-- you best be figuring out what you did wrong... and fast. (apparently I didn't want my picture taken either).

Good Grief-- let these be a lesson to you. Always smile for pictures, even if you accidentally put on your  grumpy pants that day!

On that note, have a lovely day!