Happy Easter!

Matchy Matchy!!  You already know how I feel about that.





Ben and I never coordinate our clothes on purpose but today I asked him to wear a purple tie.  I guess I was feeling a little left out of the whole matchy-matchy thing the girls had going on.

I'm going back in time here to a couple of days ago.  We did something  a little different with our eggs this year.  For a couple of weeks I carefully used a spoon to break off the tops of the eggs we used.  Then I washed them out and saved them.

I saw the general idea in a magazine although ours turned out a little differently.  We didn't hide any of these of course--strictly decor.



Yesterday, we had an Easter egg hunt at a friend's house with several other families.



Elise had all the families donate filled eggs in advance for the hunt.  She estimated there were about 170 eggs.  She was a great hostess and a great sport for having so many people over.

We girls were probably talking about potty training, chicken salad recipes and when Jodi (in the middle) is going to have her baby.  Soon, she hopes!

The guys were probably talking about lawn mowers, cameras, and what they are going to grill out this summer. 
Our friends live right next door to the Bishop of our ward.  His kids are all grown up but he came out to say hello and see what all the hubub was about.  He's a great guy and all the kids at church love him.

Checking out their loot.

I didn't want to turn Easter into a mini Christmas morning so I tried to keep the Easter baskets simple.  I put very little candy in them because they got so much at the egg hunt the day before.

I love that the girls get so excited about such simple things.
I hope we can keep it that way for a long time.

You might not be able to tell but that is a bunny shaped pancake.

I don't love this picture of me but I love that I got to be with my sister today at my parents' house for Easter dinner.  Jenny is so young and hip and fresh and unwrinkly.  I love that she makes me feel that way too when I'm around her.

My parents have a little pond in their yard.
It's a very wet sort of pond.

So while Ben was capturing this photo op (which after the fact I have to say I'm glad he did because I love this picture) I was speeding across the yard to pull Natalie away from the edge.  Actually, I really don't think she was going to fall in but
water + kids = one nervous mama

Jenny decorated this cake for dessert.  She and I keep talking about taking a cake decorating class together.

Natalie loves to ring the doorbell at my parents' house.  And I don't mean when we first get there.  I mean it's one of the fun things to do at Grandma's house.... go outside and ring the doorbell over and over...and over and over.  It's an old fashioned one that makes a fun sound.  I didn't know this about old doorbells but they actually have to wind it up every now and then like a music box.

It was a wonderful Easter today.  I think what I love most about Easter is that it is a celebration of HOPE.

From Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin:

"The Resurrection is at the core of our beliefs as Christians. Without it, our faith is meaningless. The Apostle Paul said, “If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and [our] faith is also vain” (1 Corinthians 15:14).

In all the history of the world there have been many great and wise souls, many of whom claimed special knowledge of God. But when the Savior rose from the tomb, He did something no one had ever done. He did something no one else could do. He broke the bonds of death, not only for Himself but for all who have ever lived."