Easter Day

Easter was pretty fabulous this year, considering...

Considering the fact that we have a little baby who always wants to be held, making every day tasks (like housework and mealtimes and driving anywhere) challenging, let alone cooking a fancy Easter meal...

Considering the fact that we had a little sickness running through our family.   None of us felt 100%, and Bronson was sick enough to stay home from church with Mom and the baby.

Considering the fact that we spent it alone, without any visits to/from extended family.  This was actually my idea.  We'd spent a lot of time with our family the day before, and I didn't want anyone to go through the trouble and effort of hosting another big gathering.  Plus, I wanted to have a peaceful, quiet, family Easter.  I'm glad we did.

The kids got their Easter baskets in the morning.  They ate their colored eggs.  They went to church, where Nicki gave a talk in primary.  It was a nice morning.  I stayed home with the little boys and was miraculously able to put the baby down long enough to make a cheesy potato casserole.

Nicole blowing bubbles from her Easter basket.

When they returned home from church, I had a lovely tray of crackers, cheese and fruit waiting for them.  We ate our light lunch, then loaded up the van and drove to Salt Lake City.  We spent the afternoon at Temple Square.  I loved it!  What better place to spend Easter?

I seriously think this may become an Easter tradition.

This year we did something new with our family scripture study to prepare for Easter. Instead of reading from the Book of Mormon like we usually do, David read to us from the Gospels.  Starting with the Savior's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the Sunday before Easter, each day we read about what Christ did or taught on that day.  It helped us stay focused on why we celebrate Easter. Seeing the Christus as a family was a beautiful way to end the week and celebrate Easter.

Quinton fell asleep in my arms and transferred to the stroller like a charm.  An Easter miracle.  

What cute kids!  They went up and down the escalators a few times.

The flowers were in full bloom.  They were literally breath taking - as in they make you gasp!

Of course, the pictures don't do it justice.  This little scene was amazing - flowers, lawn, pool, pink blossoming trees.  Perfect!

Again - a pitiful representation of how beautiful it really was.

Look how cute they are!  Nicki was Bronson's "buddy."  She was very diligent.  It's not easy being Bronson's "buddy."

Josh was even harder to keep track of.  Poor Alison felt like she got the raw end of the "buddy" deal.  

Bronson, Nicole, Alison, Joshua, David, and Quinton in the stroller.

I love this picture!

Right before the kids got on the pedestal, a couple of teen aged boys were doing crazy hand stands on it while their friends took pictures.  When Bronson got on, he immediately tried to stand on his head too. I guess he thought that's what you're supposed to do.

We only stayed in Salt Lake for a little while.  We had dinner in the oven - ham, and potato casserole.  It was delicious.  For dessert, we enjoyed a lovely, springy pound cake with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.  Yum.  After dinner, we played a family get-to-know-you card game.  Even the boys joined in.  It was really fun. We don't play games very often - especially David - so this was a real holiday treat.

So, considering the fact that my motto for the year is "just survive,"  I think we had a pretty fabulous Easter!