Easter 2014

Easter morning, we got up and the boys found their Easter gifts on the dining table at Grandma's house: 

Micah's gifts

Jonah's presents

Kanyon's stash

Ammon's pile

I went to church at my old home ward with my mom and dad, and Josh brought the boys over to Sacrament Meeting. After the church services were over, we went back to my parents' house, and the rest of the family (that all live in Utah) started arriving.

Tawna & her fiance Bryce
wearing their funny Easter shirts.

Mick's wife Jen and their girls
wearing the Easter skirts she made

Trina & her fiance Dan with the decorative toothpicks
that are remnants of the tray of my mom's annual Easter
pickle-cheese-olive appetizers on a stick.   

I kept following Cody & BreAnne's son Brendan
around with my camera, and it kind of scared him!

When everyone was gathered together, the blessing was said on our Easter feast, and we all started to dish up the annual meal (which is always my favorite meal of the year!).

It was a beautiful day, so my mom set the table for the kids to eat outside on the back deck.

After the delicious ham & potato lunch, we went out in the front yard for the kids' Easter egg hunt.

And away they go! They were allowed to each pick up 10 eggs.

And then they hunted for the kids' golden egg (worth $5).

Jonah came out the victorious winner! (again!)

We took a break in between the kids' and adult egg hunts to have a family religious service. We told the story of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ through scriptures and symbolic items that are placed inside a set of numbered eggs that my mom has.

Then it was time for the adult Easter egg hunt in the back yard. 

I have NO idea what they're all looking at,
but I think it's funny that nobody's looking at the picture here!

This is the starting line, so that everybody starts at the same time...

Except this year, my mom let Cody have a head start because he is supposedly the only sibling who has never found a golden egg before...

The adults, like the kids, could each pick up 10 eggs, and then we searched for the elusive $10 Silver egg and the $20 Gold egg hidden somewhere in the backyard.

I like this photo of all the tall guys wandering total different directions!

Some of the ladies are combing the fenceline looking for the top eggs!

My dad got a kick out of watching us adults frantically search for the coveted eggs!

My mom made a rule that when the kids turn 13, they can join the adult hunt.
So that included both Ammon AND Aspen this year!

And Aspen found the Silver Egg in her first adult hunt, which she was so excited about!

Cody ended up finding the golden egg! (So no more head starts for him next year!!)

We all went back inside and tallied up our egg totals (each egg is numbered and is correlated to a certain money amount). It's so wonderful that my parents host and organize this event each year to bring us all together for a day of celebration and fun!

We ate desserts (and there were plenty of good choices! yum!), and then everyone began leaving. Although we were all only together for a few short hours, it was a very pleasant Easter Sunday, and I'm so glad that everyone was able to join us this year. We said our good-byes, and Josh and I headed back home to Salmon that night. It was a short trip to Utah, but a good one with happy memories with my family.