Easter and General Conference on the same weekend= traditions up to our eyes!!

I am a traditions person. I think the holidays aren't special without traditions to set them apart from other days. SO, when two special days happen on the same day it kinda throws me for a loop! But we survived it ;o]

We decorated for Easter while Kathy was still here and I was reminded how few actual decorations we have. I love all our Easter books, I tolerate our 25 Easter stuffed animals, I hate all of our plastic Easter eggs, and I'm looking forward to getting some meaningful decorations next year. (I actually ordered one, but it is on back order and still hasn't arrived!) Here is Seth doing the cute craft Kathy got for the kids I mentioned in an earlier post.

Also before he left Cal got the Bible Videos DVD for us and so we enjoyed watching many of those to prepare for Easter. Seth doesn't get to watch TV often (even less than the other kids I should say) and so he especially was riveted to the screen. It was adorable! 

We have the tradition of getting Honeycomb cereal and Goldfish Crackers at Easter so we can be like Jesus and eat fish and honeycomb. =o]

Also after reading the story of Jesus cursing the fig tree we decided to add Fig Newtons to the mix. No one liked them but me ha ha!  

And of course we made lemon bars (this is pan number two and three!) to give out to our new neighbors and enjoy for ourselves. 

I love it when Kent likes the things we make as much as we do! =o]

On the Saturday before Easter Week was the General Women's Conference and I got to go with one of my roommates from BYU. It was such an inspirational and empowering meeting! It was also a fun night out with a friend and the kickoff of my media fast. This is a cherished tradition to me. I am so grateful for the opportunity to step back and let go of screen time for a week and focus on other things! I always feel like I don't use much of my time online or watching movies, but every time I do this fast I am reminded there is always room for improvement. And also just making the effort to specifically listen to spiritual music and talks is strengthening. I have been listening to Jesus the Christ on the gospel app on my phone and I love hearing all the insights into Jewish culture that are included in the end notes of each chapter. Good times!

  

Beginning on Palm Sunday we did Easter Week activities each day that I have collected from the Friend magazine over the years, and also from this book about having a Christ-centered Easter. The only thing we didn't do this year that I wish we had is act out one of the parables. Last year we did the 10 Virgins and it was so fun! As you will see later the kids did end up doing a play, but I want to be more intentional about it next year because I missed doing it. The kids are learning a song in primary called Gethsemane, and it became my favorite part of Easter as I listened to it over and over again throughout the week. It is so simple and beautiful! I even found it on itunes and I'm going to make a new CD for next year so I can include it. And anyway, Kent finally expressed to me his intense dislike of several of the songs on our current MacKay Family Easter CD lol! (Those primary kids are trying their best, but I can totally understand his complaints =o])

On Good Friday we made Hot Cross Buns for breakfast- yum!

That afternoon we dyed Easter eggs with Kent. He is so cute because every year he tries to get these new kinds of dyes or kits that will be "so much better" than just the original stuff and every year he is let down. It is still fun to try new ways though! =o] 

Seth's favorite part was cracking open and eating the eggs. But NOT the yokes!! He spit them everywhere if he accidentally got a bite.  

Jenna wanted to eat some egg, but she didn't want to waste one of her dying opportunities, so here she is fake pouting by his chair. 

And it totally worked the little stinker! Seth was a kind brother and hand- fed her many a bite!

Let the creativity flow!

(Or in Kent's case, roll!)

We have this tradition of giving out awards after we dye the eggs. Natalie had a ball handing out compliment after compliment for everyone's eggs, even her own! =o] The only award I got the chance to say was "And the winner of the most eggs eaten goes to Seth!" Lol! Good times!

The next morning was Easter Bunny Day and the Saturday sessions of General Conference. We got our Easter baskets first thing- the kids were thrilled! Kent does such a great job and I am grateful he is willing to take on that aspect of the holiday! 

Kent and I both got each other chocolate covered cinnamon bears! =o]

And then we did the egg hunt! Everyone got super into it!! Our tradition is to put all the found eggs in the middle and share them as a family. It has worked so far!

Seth kept getting candy. From the baskets, from the eggs, from who knows where else! Seriously, it was BAD! And as you will see later, sugar=crack. 

To add to the sugar fest, we have doughnuts for breakfast on General Conference Saturday. We tried to convince the kids that we didn't know a good place (we loved the shop in La Verne) and I thought of Krispy Kreme but it is just too far away so we ended up here. WORST. PLACE. EVER. Seriously, we should have just gone to the grocery store or something. 

Here is Seth in complete meltdown sugar crash mode. He threw all his food on the floor. And the situation did not improve as the day went on because he kept finding more and more candy no matter what we did to hide it or put it away. The poor thing had it rough!!

We spent the day watching conference and playing in the tent. The kids had their conference notebooks and little games printed from the church website. I decided to take notes differently this time and it was so cool, I'm definitely going to keep doing it! Instead of taking notes speaker by speaker, I wrote questions on the top of several pages in my journal that I had come up with during my media fast, and as I listened I would write down thoughts that came to me that answered those questions. It was amazing! For example, one of my questions was "How can I utilize fasting in my life?" and I felt my prayers being answered again and again as speakers and songs even answered my question! Tears came to my eyes as the first speaker, President Eyring, addressed the subject of fasting. It was one of those moments where I just knew Heavenly Father had heard me, and wanted to answer me. I gained many insights throughout the weekend and my pages were filled by the end!

On Easter morning we had Russ and Raegan and D'Ann over for breakfast and they stayed for the first session too! It was great! Here are the kids playing with their new play-dough after a much more peaceful and less sugary breakfast than the day before. =o]

Before the session started we prepped the Resurrection Rolls.

In between the sessions we made Carrot Cake. I'm not sure if you remember, but last year I went bezerk trying to duplicate a secret family recipe for carrot cake of a woman in our ward, but to no avail. And when we moved, she gave it to me!! What a sweetheart! So here it is, and it didn't disappoint! And of course I made the carrots out of jelly beans for the top! =o] I sent a picture of it to a friend in our old ward asking her to tell the lady thank you and let her know it will be a tradition in our family forever!

Then the cousins came!! See what I mean about the plays? They practiced and performed for us! =o]

Jenna was zonked out on the couch for more than three hours poor thing, and she still went to bed at the normal time with no problem so she really must have needed it! (I blame the sugar lol!)

Here we are in the dining room about to eat our feast! Rebecca even made fish at my request and I ate it!! (I'm trying to be like Jesus, remember?? ha ha!) And we started a new tradition of having purple cauliflower- we loved it! The kids can't wait for Halloween to try the orange kind!

The play!

During the performance Derek and Raycelan arrived! I'm so glad they could make it!

Everyone stayed until past bedtime just talking and laughing and enjoying each other's company! It was great to discuss the events of Conference with everyone, and hear their perspective and testimonies! We had decided to go ahead and do our MacKay Family Easter program for Family Home Evening the next night since we knew everyone would probably stay late Sunday and it would have been too hard trying to corral 8 kids under age 8 instead of 4! =o] 

The kids LOVE the Jesus Eggs and I'm excited for the tradition of a program to go along with them to continue to blossom as the scriptures and songs become more meaningful with age. =o] 

 So there you have it! Another Easter done and we are one year closer to the Second Coming!