Easter Sunny

This year Easter was during our Spring Break so we arrived at Gramma and Grampa's down south just in time for the family Easter party.  Aunt Jaclyn hosted and the festivities started with coloring eggs. 

 



Then it was time to gather for the official Easter Egg Hunt.

 

And they're off!

 

There were fun prizes for all.

 

 

 

 

As you can see Gramma and Grampa are always VERY serious.

 

 

The Easter "after party" was moved to Aunt Bethany's house.  After dinner we made smores with America's number one Easter treat. . .

 

Peeps!

 

If you just said, "yuck", I'm right there with you, but it was a hit with the kids.

 

 

At the conclusion of the "wordly" Easter festivities the family gathered for a "Passover Feast" which is Adam's family's version of a meal comparable to what the Jews might have eaten during the time of the crucifixion and resurrection of the Savior.  Adam's Dad talked about the Savior and then each food item, which was symbolic of something about the Savior, was handed out to everyone.  It wasn't the most filling dinner, and most of the foods weren't very popular with the kids (which is why we all ate a real meal beforehand), but they really liked the experience and it helped them think of Easter a little differently.



Cousins getting ready for the Passover meal.

Adam has 4 siblings that live in SG, but on Easter Sunday it was just us at Gramma and Grampa's.  I have found that the more other families go into "holiday overkill" mode, I feel a need to rebel. When it comes to holidays so many are marching up and onward but I'm marching in the opposite direction.  This Easter we didn't do the Easter basket thing at all.  In fact my kids didn't even ask me about it. They had all of their candy and fun the day before and they were cool with it. We got up and got ready for church and then Gramma and Grampa did a fun Easter scripture activity with the kids.  After church we had a lovely dinner with Uncle Stephen and got to walk outside in the great weather. It was a great day. I know, I'm such a rebel, but I think my kids are going to be ok.

How do Adam and his siblings bond?

There is nothing like a "101 Dalmations" puzzle to really get the blood pumping. The puzzle was an easy one so they had it done in no time at all.  They are definitely a "game playing, puzzle putting together" kind of family.

A trip to sunny SG would not be complete without a little swimming.  Jameson was in heaven.

And so were his fishy siblings and their cousins.

 

GiGi's (Great Grandma's) new house is part of an HOA that has a pool.  It was a nice and big pool and the kids had a great time.

 

The Grandmas looking on.

This trip we decided to do something we had never done before so one day we made our way to Zion's National Park.

 

Britton wanted me to let you know that the reason he was wearing a coat is because Jenna took his jacket and it was all he had left. Not sure why that matters, but there you go.

 

I didn't get a lot of pictures because someone who will remain nameless (but whose name starts with a 'J' and ends with an 'ameson') was not having a good day and we had to leave earlier than planned.  He was in meltdown mode, but it was really beautiful and we enjoyed our brief time in the park.

 

Before we knew it it was time to travel back home.  Gramma and Grampa are waiting for a mission call and we hoped it would come while we were there, but it didn't.  They are looking for it to arrive in  the next day or two. Here we are just before getting in the car to come home.

 

 

Before this trip the jury was out on whether or not Jameson was going to be a good traveler.  Well, the jury is back and they have reached a verdict.

 

 

Jameson is NOT a good traveler.

 

We discovered that if you go on a 5 1/2 hour car trip he will spend 1 hour sleeping, 30 minutes sitting quietly (not in a row, of course) and 4 hours screaming. And by screaming we mean ear-splitting, "I'm going to need 800 milligrams of ibuprophen right now" kind of screaming. I wish I was exaggerating, but sadly, I am not.

 

We did get through it, but just barely.

 

Good thing he is so cute.