The kids were super excited for Easter this year! They couldn't wait to put up the decorations and pull out the baskets (minus the grass...threw that away a few years ago and it doesn't exist in our home anymore).
We did a few things leading up to Easter to help us focus our efforts on the Savior. We did a little Easter service project for Family Night to help us get ready and to help another family remember the reason for Easter. We went to the store, let the kids all pick out a bag of candy. Then we filled and hid 12 eggs, one empty in their yard. Then we put this sign on the door that said: "You've been egged! There are 12 eggs hidden in your yard. Enjoy the Hunt, but don't be discouraged when you find the empty egg. It is a simple reminder of Jesus' empty tomb -- for He is risen!"
This year, to help us focus our efforts on the Savior, we made some ornaments for our Easter tree. In the past, we've just had sparkly Easter eggs on it, but we decided to make it more special. Each day, we focused on something different in Jesus' life, read some scriptures and discussed it and made a few ornaments to represent those events or our feelings for the Savior. The kids enjoyed helping and coming up with different ideas for the ornaments. How we love Jesus Christ and all he's done for us!
Also, on the wreath I made, the little banner on it said "He is Risen". It had a little chicks and some eggs on it, too.
I love when Easter and Conference fall on the same weekend. What better way to celebrate than to hear Christ's word and remember Him through the voice of His servants?
The morning session was amazing. I love how you can truly get answers to questions you have when you put them before the Lord through General Conference. I felt like some of the talks were just for me. I got some answers on parenting questions, how to be a better wife, and what direction to go with Primary (since I just got called to be Primary President). I love how revelation works and thankful we have a Prophet and those called of God to lead and guide us in today's world. The kids kept entertained by working on Conference pages and duct tape crafts with Aunt Stacy.
In between sessions, we went up to Ogden for our Stoddard/Richins Easter egg picnic and egg hunt. It was nice to see everyone. It was windy and Uncle Lew commented that he called up Wyoming and asked the wind to come to make us feel more at home. Ha ha! He's always a character, love him. We had BBQ sandwiches (Sloppy joes!) and salads and sides for lunch. We played on the playground and talked to the family we don't get to see everyone. Jess and Adam are expecting their first, so that's exciting! My little cousins are growing up! Recently while looking at an old family scrapbook, I saw a picture of Daren, Natalie, Cari and Shan with Emma when she was just a toddler at our Easter picnic. Now they're all grown up, in high school or beyond. Time flies! Our kids and Amber did the little egg hunt. Emma was excited to get money, Lucy thought that was lame and glad she only got candy eggs, and Cal had mixed feelings and wanted some of each. It was a nice day, though. I love my extended family!
During the afternoon session, we dyed Easter eggs Ryerse style. Each of the kids get a dozen hard boiled eggs to decorate. They created some fun ones. The adults helped a little too, because some of the kids were done after a few. And we like to do it still too!
That night, the men all attended the Priesthood session together. Dave said he loved it. It's also fun because a lot of the people he grew up with come back to this ward to attend the session, even if they live in other places now. So he got to see a bunch of old buddies. Then the Ryerse guys all went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. Meanwhile, Stacy, Julie and I took all of the kids to the park to play. Then we went back to the Ryerses for dinner and to watch Big Hero 6 with all the girls and kids. The weather was gorgeous. I love the start of spring! All of the budding trees and flowers, the bright green growing grass, the sound of the birds chirping again. I'm so glad there's spring after winter!
The next morning, we woke up to see the Easter bunny had left some goods. The kids were excited, it's almost as exciting as Christmas! They were happy about what they got and couldn't wait to play with it.
Then we had some pancakes for breakfast with everyone. Mmm... Cal was sick still. He got sick on the drive down. :( So he laid low that whole weekend. We then went on our annual Ryerse easter egg hunt. Grandpa Dan hid the all and then we went to find all 9 dozen! It seems like there are always about a handful of eggs we can't find and Grandpa has to rack his brain to figure out which ones were still out there. But the kids love this tradition. The adults do, too! ;)
We watched the Sunday morning session of conference then. It was beautiful. There were so many talks which focused on the Savior and His beautiful gift and how we can get closer to Him. Then we watched a show Emma and Tayla rehearsed...those singing and dancing fools, they're so cute! They've always loved doing this!
After that, we headed over to Grandma Di & Grandpa Scott's for an Easter lunch. Of course it was incredible because my mom made it! Grammie was also able to come, which is always amazing to have her. We ate ham, Easter egg braid bread (per Em's request), kolachies, twice baked potatoes, salad and mexican corn (Mayela's contribution). Then we had cake and ice-cream for dessert. We talked about conference, recent events, and caught up on each other's lives. Then we headed out for an Easter hunt. The kids were so happy, and even though this was their third hunt, they didn't seem to mind! We brought a giant Easter egg and left it empty. Amber found it and was a little bummed at first that there was nothing in it. But then we explained that we can't see it, but it's the biggest and best thing we could find - the atonement and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. Then she was consoled. Cov also thought there was candy in one of the hard boiled eggs. He opened it up, put the yolk in his mouth, then spit it out and tried to put it back in the shell. Ha ha! We then had a bunny sack hop race, that was fun. Marko seemed to beat us all, but the other kids were doing well and Cov enjoyed trying it with a little help. We went back in and watched some more General Conference.
Then we left back to the other Grandparent's for dinner and to load our stuff up. We had yummy meal there too and were stuffed. Then we drove home. Most of the kids fell asleep. It was a peaceful day. I always leave Conference feeling so energized and full of light! I'm going to leave with a few of my favorite thoughts. Credits to Deseret News, Tami at proclimationpictures.blogspot.com and Danielle at Today's the Best Day. First, I am going to share some (I know, so many, but it's so hard to choose just a few when the talks are all amazing!)
Then there were some other great quotes, especially the thoughts about families.
