Easter

This year we celebrated our fourth Easter in Boston. We began early, with a friends' egg hunt at the Rotars. Their spin is to begin with the Easter story, with each child participating. We were grateful that the Rotars helped the children remember Christ's sacrifice, which is sometimes a hard thing to do amidst our world's intense commercialism. The kids searched for eggs and then we all enjoyed a brunch in their backyard. This pre-Easter party set the stage for a house full of excitement in anticipation of what the Easter bunny might bring the next morning.

The next morning couldn't have arrived soon enough. For the past three years we have hidden our eggs under the sofa and on top of the chandeliers, not brave enough to send the kids out to search for their eggs amongst snow piles or atop a frosty lawn. This year was different. The snow had melted and the sun was shining, so the Easter bunny hid dozens of eggs in the trees, down the forest path, and in the flower beds. Early in the morning the kids began casing the windows, strategizing how to collect the most eggs. As soon as the back door was thrown open, the kids raced from one side of the yard to the other and out into the woods until their baskets were over flowing.

We attempted to counter balance the loads of candy that each child had received with an Easter breakfast of french toast and strawberries.

They then each tried on their Easter clothes, being such good sports since it was General Conference Weekend, with nowhere fancy to go. This year, Ezra received an Easter tie. He was as proud as could be to dress like his big brother and father. He couldn't hide his smiles all morning and still drags out his tie each Sunday. We took Easter pictures and then settled in for an afternoon of conference talks around the computer.

In the afternoon we loaded our car up with our bikes and headed out on another family bike ride and picnic. I dropped Steve off with the older kids at the trail head and then went to the end of the trail and set up our picnic of pasta salad, croissants, fruit and chocolate cupcakes. With memories of our last picnic fresh on their minds, the kids were content to spend the evening searching for frogs in the pond and playing more football and lacrosse with their dad.

We were so grateful for a special day together as a family.