Hoppy Easter

Happy Easter!  We're having a fantastic day!  Here's the family after we got home from church.  We were able to get everyone together for a pictures before everyone changed after church.  All it took was some candy :).  That's why the smiles are genuine.

On Monday I found myself at the Denver Airport, getting ready for a trip to Austin.  At the end of the terminal there was one of those outdoor areas where you could watch some planes.  Out of this side you could mostly just see planes taxiing, but there was the occasional plane coming in.  There's another one in the airport that I've been to that has a lot more traffic to watch.  It was still nice, and the weather was good!

On my flight I had a pretty great flight attendant.  He was walking down the aisle doing magic!  It took him a while to get back to us, I think he stopped at the row with kids on it for a while.  Anyway, really fun to watch.

I ended up staying at a kind of fun place.  When I was booking I searched for places with breakfast, AC, and free parking, and this was the closest to where I needed to go.  It was fun, and I got to watch the March Madness championship!

Meanwhile, back at home, there were oranges for dinner!  Grayson has a really good orange smile.

On Friday Monica took Grayson and Winry to the museum with some friends.  There's a bubble room, and Grayson was having a good time with the air tube.

And Winry put herself in a bubble room.

We went to Costco that night, and the kids found a porch seat to sit in.  I can't remember the exact phrasing, but I do remember the excitement that the swing was covered, you know, for just in case in the middle of Costco.

On Saturday the ward had an Easter Egg hunt.  The kids were very excited and they had a great time.  I followed Grayson around and helped him.

I wasn't there, but I'm guessing Winry wanted to know what a horse would feel like if it were hunting for Easter eggs full of feed.

We opened the eggs while we were there and there were some toys inside, as well as candy.  Grayson really wanted his balloon blown up, but it was really windy so I said we'd wait till we were home.  he also got some tops, which he wanted me to spin.  I had to spin them on my hand because, you know, we were in a grass field.

The girls had their first gymnastics class Saturday.  They were both very excited for it, and got to be in the same class.  Monica took them while I played with Grayson.  They both had a great time and told me all about it when they got home.  It sounds like there was some cross over with things they've done in dance.

In the afternoon we went into the backyard so that Monica could work on planting things in the garden.  Grayson decided he wanted to play tomato.  The great news is that I did NOT have to get wire cutters and get him out of there.  He was able to climb back out on his own.

This morning the kids were very excited for Easter baskets, and for egg hunting as well.  Grayson gave all the eggs he found a thorough shake for good measure.

There were eggs inside and out, so we headed out to collect what all we could find.  In the end it was a pretty big haul, and I'm pretty sure Grayson had WAY more candy than we wanted him to.  Turns out the eggs aren't too hard to open.

I'd be remiss to not mention that awesome book I found in my Easter basket.  I got a book that goes over the history of the church in Mongolia.  It has a lot of interviews with people, and covers from the first missionaries and first converts, through my time there and the first stake, all the way up until 2020-ish.  I haven't read the book, just poked around in it a little.  I think it'll be a really great read, and my picture is in it!  There's a picture from the mission conference when then Elder Nelson came out to visit the area, and we took a whole mission picture which is in the book!  I haven't found myself in the picture yet, and it's hard to really make out people, but I definitely recognized some of the other missionaries I served with!

At church Brooke wanted to go sit by her friends for a little before Sacrament meeting started.

Primary sang a song, so we got to see and hear the girls.  Part way through the song, Winry started to seem a little... less enthusiastic to sing.

Here are all the kids after church.  For some reason it was a lot harder to get good smiles when Monica and I were in the picture too...

And we dyed Easter eggs this afternoon.  There's still a little work to do with the eggs once they're all dry.  

And that's all I've got for now.  I'm sure there will be a follow up part 2 to Easter next week, as we've still got a few things going on later today.  I'm really grateful for Easter, and for the chance it gives us, like Christmas, to reflect on Christ.  I am so grateful for the atonement.  I am grateful that we can repent and be forgiven of our sins.  I know that Christ is our Savior, and that He died for us.  I know that because of Him, we will all be able to live again.  I am personally grateful for the help and strength He gives me as I strive to overcome my weaknesses and challenges.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.