Easter Celebrations!

Easter is my favorite holiday! I also think it's the most significant holiday, so I don't want to confuse it with bunnies and egg hunts, although I love enjoy bunnies and egg hunts. So, I tried to refer to them as plain old "egg hunts" and the Spring Bunny." It didn't really catch on, but I still did my best to focus on the real meaning of Easter.
Before our egg hunt, we went with some of our friends to the nursing home to hand out pictures the kids colored for the grandmas and grandpas. We even tried to sing a Spring song, but it turned into an awkward mom duet, with lots of kids just standing around starring. We had a good time though, and I think the older people really love being around cute little kids!
Then we headed to the park for our egg hunt.
Winston is very happy to find one egg and plop down on the ground to enjoy his treat, but with help from Ally, Winston gathered a basket full of eggs this time.
The boys enjoyed their candy.
And so did the girls.
The next day we walked around the Mesa Temple Visitor's Center. It's so beautiful and peaceful there, inside and out.

Then we went to the other nursing home with some of our other friends and handed out more pictures to different grandmas and grandpas.
We ran out of pictures, so I gave all of the kids some Jesus stickers to hand out. The kids took off smiling and talking to the old people, putting multiple stickers on each of them. The best part though was that the kids were all pretty short so most of the grandmas in the dining room ended up with 5+ Jesus stickers on their bosoms. They seemed happy to wear them though, especially considering the cuteness of the little ones handing them out.
Then we headed to the park for another egg hunt.
Grandpa Dan dressed up as the Spring Bunny (I'm still trying to make it stick, even though it sounds weird) and handed out candy. He was a big hit with the kids!
Then some of the boys headed off to make mud at the park...
While some of the girls enjoyed their candy.
A coouple days later we went with some friends to the Vertuccio Farms egg hunt, with the free tickets I won from the caption contest!!!!
I captioned a picture of a bunny reading a magazine with 2 other bunnies in it as, "Look it's Hare-son Ford and Rabbit Redford" and I won!!!!
The kiddos loved the animals, especially this funny little donkey.
This bunny's costume isn't nearly as fabulous as Grandpa Dan's bunny costume, but the kids still liked him.
Mommy had fun doing a little jumping on the giganntic bouncy pillow.
And Daddy joined Stanton on the see-saw.
The next day was Easter Sunday. We had a nice day at church and a nice time as a family afterwards.
Then during dinner we read the Easter story eggs. We did this last year with some friends and I numbered the eggs incorrectly and told the Easter story of order. So this year I was determined to be more careful, and I was.
However, I failed to realize that the paper for the last egg didn't print out, so when we got to the end, we were missing the most important part, the Resurrection. Luckily we know how the story goes, so we could adlib, but I think I will find a less complicated activity for Easter next year.

And right before bedtime we dyed eggs.
Noelle dropped two eggs on my head while I was bent over cleaning up the yellow egg dye that I spilled all inside the kitchen drawers and floor. Grandma was quietly cringing in the other room. I assured it her it was just a little spill, no big deal, which comforted her momentarily, until Stanton and Noelle ratted me out and said, "No, it's a huge spill, all over everything. You just don't want to get in trouble."
I begrudgingly comended my kids for their honesty, and finsihed cleaning up the mess. Our eggs turned out pretty cool, even though most of them were cracked, but I'm still not sure how everything I attemp turns into a bit of a fiasco.
In all, it was a wonderful Easter! I love that we have a special day set aside to focus on the sacrifice and love of our Savior. I hope to be more mindful of those things on all of the regular days that follow.