Easter

We had a great Easter weekend. We were able to dye eggs, have an egg hunt (@ 20 kids came, it was fun!), look for our baskets, reflect on the life of the Savior, and spend time together.

We are so grateful for the knowledge that we have of our Savior and His resurrection.

Hope everyone had a great Easter, too!

In the Twilight zone

I finally started reading the Twilight books.

I've slacked in a few areas since I started reading on Sunday.

Nothing major-- just the laundry, eating, blogging, dressing, sleep...the little things.

Now that I have finished all 4 books, I am resuming my regular responsibilities.

Naturally the movie had nothing on the books!

Passover-- take 2

I'm not sure why, but this photo got deleted from the last post and I can't figure out how to put it back in that one, hence the 2nd passover entry.

ANYWAYS, this is the Seder plate that tells all the plagues. Dudi's mom gave it to him and we were able to use it for our Passover meal. It was really helpful! Notice the bone, it is from the boys galactic hero set. Worked like a charm.

Passover Seder

This is my husband.
I call him Dudi. That's his name in Hebrew.
He came home from work early. No, he wasn't sick and I wasn't sick. He wanted to get ready for the big night. A night he probably anticipates more than Christmas... Passover evening.
This is a fairly big deal. Costumes, the Seder program, and the food--bitter herbs and all.

Maybe I should explain a little.
He's been to Jerusalem a couple times, he has taught Hebrew, and he has a Masters in Hebrew Bible. So yes, you could call it a hobby, or something like that.

Well, it was our first go around having a family Passover Seder. It is really a multi-hour process, but due to the age of our children (okay, and me) we condensed it to about 40 minutes.
I was so excited (and relieved) that the kids really enjoyed it.


Micah tried EVERYTHING that was given to him. He participated and loved the program and learning the reasons for the food that we ate. Dudi was so happy (good boy, Micah).

Yes, we know only the boys are suppose to wear the Kappas (hats). Do you really think Liv was going to pass on an accessory though?
Liv and Asher didn't want to try most of the food, but they were all over the grape juice!

It was really fun and a great way to teach the kids the story of the Passover. Now they are set for the Easter Story.

Could be trouble

Last weekend Dudi and I headed to a landscape store to pick out some stacked stone for our garden. We are doing a small raised garden and opted to go with stone for a couple reasons: 1-I didn't want the treated lumber seeping chemicals into my food, 2-I didn't want to replace untreated wood in a few years, or attract termites (that's all I need), and 3-I like the look.

Somehow this is what we ended up with.

Asher has been waiting to get his hands on this!
One side of our yard. Notice the big tractor tracks leading to...
the other side.
How did this happen you might ask?
Well, we have been looking for somone to extend our patio and also to put in a slab for a basketball court/bike riding arena/all purpose play area since our front yard is on a hill. While at the landscape store, they gave us a card for some people and one thing led to another.
The funny thing is, Saturday we are having a Easter egg hunt in this yard. I told the guys doing the concrete that we might want to wait till next week to start.

They said that they wouldn't make a mess and would fix anything they tore up.

They also said it would be done tomorrow.
Can't wait to see tomorrow's pictures, can you?

What's your bet? Will it be done?

-Oh, and yes, I did actually get my stone too!

Conference Weekend

A miracle happened over Conference weekend. Dudi and I were able to sit and watch ALL the sessions! The kids were SOOO good. We built our little "King Benjamin tent," got out coloring books for the little kids, and gave Micah one of the Conference packets to work on. Asher and Micah had conference bingo sheets and each word they heard from the sheet during a talk they would put an m&m on. At the end of the talk they got to eat all the m&m's on the sheet and start over with the next talk. ALSO, if they could tell us something they learned from each talk, they got to pick a prize out of a "prize bowl."
Dudi calls it bribbery, I call it "gentle persuasion."
Worked like a charm.
We are really trying to make conference something the kids look forward to.
All the talks were excellent-I feel rejuvenated. I really liked the talk on temples and our homes (continually working on this). I'm so lucky to have the gospel.


Micah did so good filling out the packet. He really liked it.

It was a great weekend!

Easter wreath

I'm always looking for a cute activity I can do with my kids. I figured since Easter is about, oh, a WEEK away, I should put up some decorations! This little wreath was too cute and inexpensive for me to pass up. The kids had fun picking out the eggs that would go next on the wreath. If you are interested in making one, check out the U Create blog site for instructions. The whole project cost about $3.

I had some cute little helpers.

Happy Easter crafting.