Easter

Easter looked different this year.  We missed the Plain City party the day before and dinner at the Goodrich's on Sunday afternoon.  We missed going to church.  But we made the best of it, had fun, and look forward to next year when we can celebrate with family and ward members (hopefully).

We dyed eggs on Friday afternoon.  Justin wasn't home but this is something he is okay with not doing-and if I'm being honest, would rather skip it.  We don't do anything fancy but they kids don't need fancy.  Molly made her eggs Harry Potter characters, Stockton made his Star Wars characters, Brynn just had fun, and Ivy managed to dye her eggs and her hands at the same time.

 

My mom had sent a big box full of all the stuff that she would normally have at her Easter egg hunt.  We hid the eggs and baskets for the kids on Saturday afternoon.  They had to find their eggs before they could find their baskets.  They each had 7 eggs filled with money and treats and their baskets each had a spring outfit, swimsuit, and one other little goodie (Brynn got a bath bomb, for example).

 

When the kids had found everything, they hid our eggs (Justin’s and mine) around the yard for us to find.  True to tradition, ours were filled with money and treats.

The kids had been begging Justin to set up the trailer so he did that when we were done with all the hunts.  They played out there all day and even slept out in the trailer that night.  We left it set up for a couple weeks and then moved it to the pasture so it didn’t kill the grass.  They played in it a ton for two weeks and then their interest waned a little.

They slept in until about 8 and then were very anxious that morning to hunt for their Easter baskets.  We do our Easter morning hunt a little different-they have to find their baskets before they can find the chocolate eggs that are hidden all over the house.  They each had a basket filled with treats and then they had to find a family basket that had one little “gift” for each of them-Molly had a new soccer ball (hers was popped so it was a bit of a necessity, although Amazon’s delivery was way behind and she had to wait a couple of weeks for it to actually arrive), Stockton got a Stars Wars maker book, Brynn got a jump rope (I can’t believe we didn’t have one of these!), and Ivy got some watercolor bricks for painting.  After those were found, they were able to hunt for chocolate eggs.  This is my favorite part-probably because it is a tradition from my childhood so I have found memories of doing it as a little girl.

 

receipt from Amazon with delivery date circled in red

 

Our Easter breakfast was bunny pancakes made by Justin and Molly with buttermilk syrup, whipped cream, fruit, and chocolate chips, green chili egg casserole, and bacon cooked in the oven.

 

After breakfast, we got dressed for church.  Even though we were staying home, everyone got new Easter clothes.  We took pictures by the “picture tree” and then went back inside for home church.  We had a special guest at our Easter home sacrament-we listened to Elder Holland’s talk “Where Justice, Love, and Mercy Meet.”  The kids love the story at the beginning about the two brothers who go rock climbing so I knew that we be a good talk and would help them pay attention from the beginning.

just a new tie for Stockton-Justin got one to match

Brynn's starting to get goofy

and goofier...showing her true colors

trying on her new clothes from Grandma

After church, we had some lunch, played “Bop It!” and got in the car to get out of the house.  We were going to try to drive up to Cascade Springs but the road was closed so we ended up at Soldier Hollow Olympic Village-where they held all the cross-country skiing events.  It was completely empty.  We had never been there before, didn’t even know it existed, and it was a really neat place.  We had fun exploring for a while before heading back home.

they obviously still hold events here-it would be a waste if they didn't-because there were hundreds of shells here from the shooting competitions

pretty view of the valley-this is looking back towards Midway

 

the flags were in pretty bad shape-they looked like they haven't been replaced since 2002

 

We had a late dinner but that was okay since we were still full from a big breakfast (and light lunch).  We had spicy honey chicken, coconut rice, asparagus, and Caesar salad.  For dessert, I made mini cream puffs-my first time making them.  They were yummy!  Gene and April and Brett came up to give the kids a little Easter goodie bag-social distancing style.  They stayed 6 feet away from us, except when Ivy broke off and ran and wrapped her arms around April’s legs.  It was really sweet.  They gave Justin his birthday present that they had been holding on to for a few weeks and watched the kids' trampoline tricks before leaving.  It was fun to see them but made Molly cry.  We had a good weekend together but were missing our family!