Thursday morning, we slept in a little bit, said good morning to Grandma and Grandpa, who were so excited to see us, and Randy & Brian too before they headed to work. Then we went over with my parents. We played with Grandma Di & Grandpa Scott. Cal had all sorts of plans already, he wanted to work in the garden with Grandma and really wanted to work on his guitar with her. We played some games, ate lunch, and then Dave & I went to the Bountiful temple while the kids had a good time with the grandparents. The temple was so special. I miss having it so close! What a treat to get to perform vicarious work for my ancestors and remember the covenants I've made and how I can better keep them. We then met up with Aunt Stacy & the cousins - she didn't tell their kids we were coming. They were so excited and surprised! I love their sweet relationships they have! We took them to Cheese Park and had fun playing at the playground, exploring and hiking behind the park. The girls found a waterfall, which "is the most beautiful thing in the world!" they said. Emma gave Tayla and Amber best friend bracelets she bought them. Everyone came over that night so we got to see all the Ryerses and have Ryerse tacos. It was a very great night! Shirley just went to the doctor the week before and found out her cancer returned. So that's a bummer and our prayers are in full swing for her again. She's back to chemo and other treatments soon. She has a new doctor who is very proactive and so we are hoping for the best! It was great visiting with everyone. That night we stayed up and watched the Rouge One Star Wars. I only fell asleep a couple of times. ;)
Friday morning, we went to Bountiful Lake to hike around with mom/Grandma Di. They've really improved it since the last time I saw it. There were quite a few people there, and lots of birds, fish and some neat plants. Cal was able to do some of his Cub Scout requirements as we hiked. Then we drove to City Creek in Salt Lake and walked around a bit, had lunch at the food court and let the kids play on the indoor dinosaur park. We walked through temple square, the kids loved taking pictures of the beautiful scenery and the temple. The flowers were so gorgeous and fragrant. And the temple is majestic and holy. We went over to the Family History Library for their Family Search interactive exhibit they have right now. It was so neat for us all! As you got there, you got a tablet where you could sign in to your Family Search account. Then you docked your tablet into different stations - a where did I come from one where you could see your family tree, a map of the world which shows the progression of where your family moved from and to, a station to find out which famous people you're related to, a green screen where you can put yourself into photos from your ancestor's homelands, a time machine where you could see what was going on at the time your ancestors lived, how they lived, what their homes and life was like, a recording station where you could record family memories and stories, a little play station for young kids, and then a selfie station where you could take pictures of your face and be put on a body of a person dressed in traditional costume from the countries of origin where you choose. It was amazing! Then we walked over to the Church History and Art Building. We didn't have much time, but we got our pressed penny, got to touch an angel Moroni, which used to be on a large chapel in Washington, D.C., and then got to go to the special kid's exhibit "I'll Walk Where Jesus Walked". The kids loved the artwork, the hands on activities and the Spirit they felt there. It was a lovely day! Then we got Little Ceasar's pizza and Sonic slushies for dinner, which is a must-have when we visit for the kids (and Dave), ate dinner with the family and went to bed kind of early since everyone was pretty tuckered out.
Saturday, we woke up to go to some city sponsored egg hunts with Stacy & kids. We went to one in Centerville, which the kids liked. It lasted about 1 minute, haha! They got some good things in their eggs though and a few of the kids won prizes. Then we went to the Bountiful city egg hunt and activities. The kids loved the sack hop races, face painting, fish pond, and playing at the park. Again, the egg hunts were short lived, but the littles seemed to enjoy them. Then we colored eggs, a dozen for each person, so we were busy! I love seeing them all create and be with their cousins and get excited about their artistic touches. The adults all got to decorate them as well. For mine, I based them on Isaiah 9:6 and wrote and illustrated the different names of Christ - "his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." I added some of my other favorite names of Christ as well - Redeemer, the Good Shepard, Lord of Lords. I am thankful for Him who we celebrate Easter for! Cov got to go on a ride in Uncle Randy's new truck. He loves his Uncle Randy and was very impressed with his new wheels. This boy is so inquisitive and asks so many questions. It was funny to hear his conversations with Randy and Brian, he even grilled them on their dates and social life, hahaha! Then we were off to the picnic with my side of the family in Ogden. We got to only seem Amy, Kolby & Boji here, since they had a busy weekend with a family wedding and other going ons. Cov & Boji were so excited to be together! They love chatting on the phone and Cov often says "I miss Boji!" He woke up that morning saying "Yay! Today I get to see Boji!" He didn't forget and loved every minute he got with him. They were crack ups and loved laughing, talking to each other and playing together. The kids played on the playground first while the adults greeted one another. We got to see most of the cousins and second cousins. Then the egg hunt, courtesy of Aunt Lois. No more hard boiled, the kids got money, marshmallow and candy in plastic eggs. After that, we had dinner with BBQ pork and all kinds of sides. It was great catching up with family and the kids loved playing! Saturday night, we got back to the family, who had just finished eating. Grandpa and a few helpers hid all of the eggs, which was a couple hundred, and then the kids lined up and found them. It took us a while, but we got them all (except the one Cov smashed and the one Jerry & Stacy's dog Shadow ate, haha!). 4 egg hunts in one day, I was egged out! Then we had a little gender reveal party for Julie & Todd, who are expecting their first here in September...so exciting! They passed out silly string which had no caps on or indications of the color. They gave Vadania and Markus the color (pink or blue?!) to reveal which gender the baby is. So all the kids lined up and sprayed the silly string at Julie and Todd. The stream of silly string was pink - so a girl is on it's way! We were all so excited. Julie, not so much. I think she was guessing it was a boy and was a little disappointed, she feels she doesn't know what she'll go with a girl. This babe will charm her way to her heart, I'm sure and they will be excellent parents! We watched the Jazz playoff game (they won! You gotta love it baby!) and did a run to the store. I made strawberry cheesecake baked french toast for Easter morning and then we went to bed.
Easter Sunday morning, the kids woke up happy that the Easter bunny had visited. Luckily Emma remembered to put their buckets out the night before. They all got a little candy and some neat water bottles, Cal and Emma got shirts and Cal got new guitar strings and Emma got new violin strings, Lucy got an art set, and Cov got some foam playdough stuff. The kids ate some candy, played with their new stuff, and then we talked about some of Christ's names and characteristics. We ate breakfast next and got ready to go to church. I had such a fun time sewing the girls' dresses and think they turned out pretty cute. They helped make their headbands, and that was fun to do together. Love that matchey for Easter! We barely got to church in time. Cov slept through all of sacrament. The meeting was inspiring. So much beautiful music! I especially liked when the choir sang "This is the Christ", I was holding back tears. One of their past bishops spoke and bore a strong testimony. I helped Cov go into Primary, who was still tired. A song came up we didn't know, but the tears came freely, as the children sounded so sure that what they were singing about really happened and they knew Jesus loved them. The song is called "Gethsemane" by Melanie Hoffman, and now we all really want to learn the song with our kids or Primary. I want to share the lyrics:
Jesus climbed the hill
To the garden still
His steps were heavy and slow
Love and a prayer
Took Him there
To the place only He could go
Gethsemane
Jesus loves me
So He went willingly
To Gethsemane
He felt all that was sad, wicked or bad
All the pain we would ever know
While His friends were asleep
He fought to keep
His promise made long ago
Gethsemane
Jesus loves me
So He went willingly
To Gethsemane
The hardest thing That ever was done
The greatest pain that ever was known
The biggest battle that ever was won
This was done by Jesus.
The fight was won by Jesus.
Gethsemane
Jesus loves me
So he gave His gift to me
In Gethsemane
Gethsemane
Jesus loves me
So he gives His gift to me
From Gethsemane
I am so thankful for my Savior. I know He loves me and gave his matchless gift to us all! All of the rest of the meetings were great. After church, we did a quick photo shoot - mostly everyone cooperated. Then we made egg salad sandwiches for lunch (since we had more than enough eggs around to do it!). We cleaned up, visited a bit more, packed up and said goodbyes. It is hard to say goodbye. Emma especially shed several tears when Tayla left Saturday night and when we left Sunday and Monday. We miss our family but know we are where we need to be for now. It is hard and I felt like crying too, but I need to be strong. We drove up to Mark & Mayela's to see their new place in Smithfield, have Easter dinner with them and my parents, do an egg hunt and activities, and stay with them for the night. We are so happy they were able to buy their first home and they really seem to like the area and Marko likes his job. We had a delicious dinner together, the kids liked eating outside on the kid's table...their giggles are so cute! Amber is a great kid who is sweet to all of her cousins. We went to a park next, the kids played on the playground while Grandma and Grandpa hid more eggs. They had some fun things in them like nail polish and gum, which was a big hit! We did a sack hop race, which was super fun and then went for a little walk down by the river. We finished off the night with carrot cake and ice cream, then said goodbye to my parents. Oh, how we'll miss them! We played some video games, which the kids (especially Cal) were all over. Everyone was surprised by how well Cov did. We don't have any gaming devices at home, except for some games on our tablet, but Cov was super good! The girls talked and exchanged American Girl books and cards. Then we got the beds set up and we were off to sleep for the night. I didn't sleep much, but that was okay, because I made up for it in the car the next day. We woke up bright and early, said goodbye to Amber and Mayela (Mark was too tired) and got in the car for the long ride home. It takes almost all day. We stopped for bathroom breaks, lunch and dinner, and we went to Billings for a Costco run. The kids did really well but it was sad to see this break come to a close. We love our family and we love Easter, and it was a perfect week to celebrate both!
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