One of my favorite Easters

We had such a great Easter! We always do the Easter Bunny stuff on Saturday so we can focus more on Christ on Sunday so our Easter Egg painting and festivities started on Friday. It was our ward temple night on Friday so we were going to paint eggs on Thursday but thought that Skylar and Maben might have fun painting eggs with the kids while they babysat on Friday. Sure enough, they wanted to paint eggs so we left it for the babysitters. The kids had a great time with them! They had pizza for dinner and that sneaky bunny ate a piece of pizza and left a note!

I wanted the egg painting to be a little extra special since we weren't coloring eggs with them so I got a bunch of different candies for them to snack on while they painted. Apparently the candy is really exciting...maybe more so than the eggs!

I love this picture of Ollie. You can tell he is really concentrating and his tongue is out a little bit. This is what Luke does when he is concentrating too.

This is Skylar with the kids. Skylar and her husband Maben are going to school here at USU. We've had them over a couple times for dinner and stuff. They are from Fillmore area though. It was really fun to have them over to babysit.

And now the hunt begins...all the kids needed new bikes so mom and dad bought new bikes...not the bunny!

This picture was taken at about 7:15 a.m. but Jaylee had been up since about 2:00 a.m. She was up all night so sick with a horrible sore throat. We got through the Easter Egg hunt and called our doctor (luckily they have Saturday office hours). She ended up with Strep. Aside from the doctor visit, Easter was great and it didn't take long before she was feeling fine...just had to get some medicine in her.

Late that afternoon we had a barbeque and Easter Egg hunt with some friends. I have never seen a better egg hunt in my life. My friend Kristi loves egg hunts...it's almost like Christmas to her so she put the hunt together with so much stuff! The kids filled 2 baskets of candy, eggs and toys. We had so much fun with our friends! It really made it a fun, memorable day...Thanks guys!

And finally, my favorite part...After the temple I was talking to some friends that told me the best idea. You make rolls that represent the Resurrection. Here's what you do...you buy the creseant rolls and fill each roll with a large marshmallow that has been covered in melted butter then rolled in cinnamon and sugar. Then you seal the roll over the marshmallow and sprinkle the top with cinnamon and sugar. You bake the rolls as directed on the can. When the rolls come out the marshmallow appears to still be inside but it has melted, of course. The roll represents the tomb and the marshmallow represents Christ.

So the kids assembled the rolls, which was fun for them. Then we had a really spiritual talk about Christs purpose on this earth. We talked in detail about the Garden of Gethsemane and the crucifixion. Then right as the rolls were finished we talked about the Resurrection. We were able to open the roll and see that the marshmallow was gone. Just as Christs body was gone after 3 days. It was a really neat object lesson for the kids. Jaylee and Oliver were shocked that the marshmallow was gone. That, along with the gospel art pictures really made the story come to life for them. It was a really great experience.

I'm so grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It brings so much peace, happiness and hope into my life. I'm so grateful for Jesus Christ and the atonement that he provided for all of us. Most importantly, I am grateful for the Resurrection and the assurance that we will all be ressurected someday and live together forever with our families, friends, and loved ones as perfected beings because of the atonement of Christ. We are all so blessed to live in this dispensation with all of the knowledge of the gospel.

Newport Beach, California

We drove to California on last Friday and went straight to the beach. Right when we pulled in the parking lot we saw dolphins jumping in the water. It was so awesome and a great start to a fun trip. We walked the pier and saw sea lions also. The kids were in heaven! Of course, we walked in the sand also and the kids ran from waves and got wet! Then we watched the sunset...and that's just the first day!

This picture is Jaylee running from the waves. She was so cute, she would put her arms in the air and giggle as she ran away.

I thought this picture was precious. Jaylee stood watching the ocean, with her hands in her pockets for quite a while.

Jaylee spent most of her time digging in the sand.

One of the days at the beach there were dozens of sail boats. It was so fun and picturesque to watch them.

The last few times we have gone to California we have spent most of our time at one particular beach in Newport Beach. It's beautiful, has great waves, and also has a park for the kids to play at. It's such a fun place!

Our sand sea turtle. Ollie even decorated it with sea shells.

Sand dolphin! These were really fun to create.

The kids LOVE Conference!

Every conference weekend we print the awesome conference packets and we make edible peanut butter play-do. Between the packets and the play-do the kids have the best time. They sit in front of the TV and listen to conference while they are having fun. Here are some of their peanut butter creations!

The rest of France!

These are some pictures from the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower is so much more impressive in real life. Pictures never do it justice. Mom and Dad at the middle of the Eiffel Tower.

One of my favorite things to see in Paris was The Catacombs. It holds the remains of about 6 million people and fills a renovated section of caverns and tunnels that are the remains of Paris' stone mines.