Max was given a small, chartreuse easter bucket. The easter bunny filled it with bouncy balls, a very loud, very obnoxious chirping yellow chick, and a turquoise plastic egg, which was empty, since he is too young for candy and likely would enjoy throwing the egg more than eating a treat inside it anyway.
We spent the morning at church, where we listened for maybe five minutes during Grandpa Dan's talk in ward conference. The rest of the time, we were busy. Very busy. Because Max and his cousins were having a great time at church, which means moms were busy corraling children in the back row.
a few sacrament meeting highlights:
- Cody climbing under the pews, from our row (the very back) all the way to the front. After the first two rows, he popped up to see our reaction. Thinking (stupidly) that if we didn't react that he would come back, we gave him a little waive and looked away. He then proceeded to crawl all the way the front (popping up again every few rows or so as we watched helplessly), where he stood on the pew, and began climbing OVER the pews all the way back to us. Thankfully someone from each row helped him over each time! I thought I was going to die it was so funny.
- Tyson and Max cramming their faces with cheerios and goldfish the whoooole tiiiiiime.
- Lilly singing the last hymn with me and learning the word "alleluia." Which came out sounding pretty much like "_ _ _ _ luu YAAAAA!!!" I loved it! Especially since we were the only two members of the family singing.
-Ivie just chillin. Moving from lap to lap.
-Cody standing up during the closing hymn to say to grandpa (who was sitting on the stand) "Grandpa. GRANDPA! GOODBYE! I LOVE YOU! Grandpa? GRANDPA!" Keep in mind we were in the last row.
- Lil and I tracing letters on each others back and guessing what the letter was. My little niece is so grown up, and so smart! She's in kindergarten now, which makes her quite an important person.
-Ivie and Lillie playing "WHERE'S JESUS?!" by folding the program (which had a picture of Christ on the cover) inside out and hiding, then revealing Jesus. Classic.
I love my nieces and nephews! They are the cutest, funniest most adorable kids on the planet. Of course, I may be just the littlest bit partial.
After church, we hurried home and had the most delicious turkey dinner. Yum. Everything was perfection to a T. I only ate two rolls, for the record. I have been known to eat, well, significantly more rolls than two, lets just say. We were lucky enough to have my cousin Rachel, Chad, and their new baby (also Lily) over as well. I love seeing them! Too bad for me, they are moving to San Diego for grad school. At least I will have another excuse to visit! We had a blast during our quick trip to Rexburg, but we are glad to be home again. In case anyone was wondering, YES. There was three feet of snow in my inlaw's front yard. Insane.
I know I said no pictures, but here's just one exception. My carrot cake. It was a slam dunk, I must say.
If anyone is interested, the recipe is by Ina Garten (aka the Barefoot Contessa). I did everything she said, with the following changes: I skipped the raisins (sick!). Didn't bother lining the cake tins with parchment paper, I used butter and it was just fine. I improvised a little on the cream cheese frosting and used canned crushed pineapple instead of fresh cubed. I didn't think I would like the chunks. DIY and get the recipe here.
