Easter 2013

I am so glad that the weather decided to warm up a little for Easter.  It made the celebration so much more enjoyable.  Our holiday turned out to be a great day  weekend.  It all began on Saturday with a birthday party for my sweet mom and an Easter egg hunt for the kids.  We had a brunch of french toast with fruit and hot chocolate (mom's request).  Unfortunately, the exterior of our house was under construction which made the egg hunt a little messy, but the scaffolding made for some great hiding spots.  My mom did something different and there was an egg with a number inside of it and a sticker on the outside letting the kids know that if they already had an egg with the sticker they couldn't have another.  When they opened the egg the kids discovered which place in line would be theirs.  After all the eggs were found the kids lined up accordingly and were able to choose a prize from my mom's treasure stash.  Eden chose a magnet wand that extends so she can get the screws that fall behind the dryer-random.  Ainsley chose a littlest pet shop toy and Asher chose a softball.  Oh!! Ainsley found the golden egg (with a little help from my sister) which contained 5$.  She was a little confused why there wasn't candy in the egg, she probably would have preferred the chocolate.

(The tongue comes out whenever she gets nervous, I guess all the kids cheering for her freaked her out a little)

Easter morning was great the kids found their basket and searched for candy hidden around the house.  The Easter bunny had way more hiding places in this house than he did in our old house, which made for candy being found days later, in fact Ainsley just found some m&m's yesterday, 2 weeks after Easter!  I loved when I found the candy.

 (Easter outfits)

Bunny mouths

After church we headed to Cache's parents for a Easter dinner and another egg hunt.  Dinner was delicious! Ham, Au Gratin potatoes (has anyone had the Reser Au Gratin's from Costco-oh my delicious! and all you have to do is heat them), homemade rolls, Miriam's delicious cucumber and tomato creamy vinegar bowl.  It was all so good. The Merrill's egg tradition is each grandkid has a special egg color and they can only hunt for their special eggs.  They have three properties in a row, so it makes for a large territory to find your eggs.  I remember one year my nephew Perrin found an egg from the previous Easter, hahah and he was lucky because it had quarters in it.  Cute Grandma and Grandpa also changed up the egg hunt and put questions about the saviors crucifixion in random eggs and the kids would have to take the questions to grandpa and give a correct answer to the question and they would receive money for answering correctly.  The kids liked it.  

I am grateful for the Easter season and the time it gives me to stop and think about the special gift that was given to me. I am very grateful for the Savior and His atonement and I know my understanding isn't fully what it could be, but I know that everyday I am able to use it and with time my understanding will grow and develop.