Easter Weekend

We had a most wonderful Easter weekend. We enjoyed watching General Conference (our church services) at home lounging in pj's as we reflected on the great sacrifice our Savior Jesus Christ made for each of us. A strong message I took away from Conference today was the importance we as parents have to teach our children. In today's world it is becoming increasingly difficult to teach service, morality, virtue, and honesty. While parenting feels daunting at times, I felt uplifted and encouraged by the messages I heard today. I hope my children will grow up finding the same joy I do, in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Here are some pics from our weekend festivities:

Our sweet bunny!

Dying eggs.

We made marbled eggs with melted crayon shavings. Much less mess than the traditional dye method!

At the top of the stairs waiting to see what the Easter Bunny left.

Liam checking out his loot.

Meilani, Eli, and Sariah examining their goods. They each got goggles, sunglasses, a little toy, and other trinkets (virtually NO CANDY! Yay!).

Seth, enjoying his new vibrating chew toy.

Bouncing in the pantry while Dad cooks Easter dinner (prime rib n' fixin's). Ben even did the dishes! He's amazing.

Titi has the magic touch. Seth will not let me hold him like this at all! He's not much of a snuggler. He likes his own space and wants to always face out to see what's going on when I'm holding him. Titi must have bribed him!

Meg, Dad, and the boys on the teeter totter.

How many unmarried, childless, twenty-something males does it take to dress a baby? Sean and Sammy did get the job done in the end!

The fam. Pretend you can see all of Eli. Grandmom's friend Janet and Auntie's boyfriend Jeff were also present. They were on picture duty.

Tired Kiddos.

Chocolate Ganache Eggs.

I learned how to make these fancy eggs from my homegirl Martha. A friend of mine had made them several years ago and I've wanted to make some ever since. Just trust me on this one though, unless you have a team of professional crafters at your house, like Martha does, don't try this at home! While they're cute and tastey, they took forever! You have to blow the egg out of the shells, then sanitize the shells, then dye the shells, then dry the shells, then temper the chocolate, then fill the shells, then empty the shells, then make the ganache, then fill the shells again, then bow the eggs. Ugh! Too much work. I'm glad I can check this off my "bucket" list, but I'm never making them again. I think I'll stick with a quick and easy project next year.