Easter Fun for All

Sweet Topher thought it wasn't quite fair that Bryan and I didn't get to participate in the Easter egg hunt on Sunday. On Monday he set up a hunt for me. It included my own Easter basket full of fruit.

Rumor has it he's planning a hunt for Bryan as well.

Easter Conference Sunday

We enjoyed General Conference this weekend. Sophie documented me making our traditional Conference breakfast of waffles.

Our cold and rainy Easter Sunday started with Resurrection Rolls, then we had a quick, indoor Easter egg hunt. 

The kids munched on candy during the Sunday sessions of Conference. We joined some friends for a short potluck in between sessions and got home just in time to watch the closing session. Bryan and I cooked while we listened and we sat down to eat our Easter dinner around 6:30.

I love that so many of the talks we listened to this weekend were about following the example of the Savior. Those messages helped focus my thoughts on Jesus this Easter.

Greater Love

This weekend is both General Conference and Easter. What a wonderful way to focus on the Savior!

Because He Lives

Happy early Easter! I'm so thankful for the Savior, for His love for us, and His willingness to make it possible, through the Atonement, for us to return to live with Heavenly Father.

Here, But Not Here

I had my annual check-up with my doctor last week. After discussing some symptoms I've been experiencing, she suggested that I might have seasonal allergies. She recommended I try allergy medicine, Zyrtec specifically, and see if it helps.

Last night I took Zyrtec for the first time.

Today I learned that not everyone should take Zyrtec.

I've had serious brain fog for most of the day and kind of felt detached from everything. And I've been so tired. A quick internet search told me that these are Zyrtec side effects for some people.

It did help with the allergy symptoms, but I don't think it was worth being a zombie all day.

Sweet Girls in the Audience

Sophie and I supported some of our kids choir members on Friday night by attending their middle school production of Mean Girls Jr. The kids did a great job and were happy to see us there. And it was fun for me to get some one on one time with Sophie.

Choir Kid

Saturday was, according to Phoebe, one of the best days of her life. She and her high school treble choir traveled an hour into New Jersey and competed at a choral competition. They performed around 3:00, then found out at 5:30 that they had made it into the evening showcase that started at 7:00! As soon as we got the text from Phoebe, we all jumped into the van and drove to see the performance!

They did a wonderful job and were named the first-runners-up to the Grand champions.

It was a very late night (we got home just after midnight), but I'm so glad we made the drive to support her! 

(Somehow we didn't get a picture of Bryan, but he was there too.)

The Book Zone

Today was library day at school. Topher walked in the door, dumped out his backpack, and plunked himself down to read. He spent the next hour like this.

Snowmen at Play

During art class, Sophie was given the assignment to finish a picture by practicing shading. I think it turned out well.

Oh Mr. Moon

On Saturday Sophie and I, along with our fellow ukulele orchestra members, got to perform two shows with Kate Micucci. She wrote a children's book and came to our library to do a reading and ukulele performance. It was such a fun experience!

Our first show was at 10:00 at a local church. There were 100 people at this performance and 50 people at the 2:00 show at the library. Apparently there were 300 people still on the waiting list.

We got seats for these guys! A local bookstore was selling signed copies of the book, so we bought one before our first show.

Kate was delightful and gracious. We learned one of her songs, Mr. Moon, and she played that plus three others songs with us. She read her book and taught all the kids how to draw their own puppet. She answered questions from the kids in the audience, then stood in line and talked with everyone that wanted to say hi. When it was our turn, Topher showed her his favorite page from her book, so she signed it!

Kate had come a few days before to practice with the ukulele orchestra. Unfortunately, neither Sophie nor I could be there. The rehearsal was recorded so we could watch it at home and be ready. It helped a lot. 

Before we started our first show, before the audience was allowed in, Kate came over to say hello to the ukulele players. She asked the names of those that hadn't been at the practice, including Sophie. But when she got to me, she said, "Wait, I've met you before." She was in town two years ago and attended a library function where the cast of The Little Mermaid was performing. She and I had chatted briefly (I wrote about it HERE) and that was it. I was SHOCKED that she remembered talking to me. She didn't know my name, but she remembered my face. I'm impressed with her memory!

I'm not sure who took this picture, but it was sent to me by another member of the ukulele orchestra.

Phoebe attended the morning show, but then she had to dash off to rehearsal, so she didn't get to talk to Kate afterward. Kate announced that she would be at a local coffeeshop at a specific time, in case anyone else wanted to come by and say hello. So I picked Phoebe up from rehearsal after our second show and we went to a coffeeshop to say hi to Kate. They had a nice chat about Phoebe's love for theatre and Doctor Who, then we took a picture with Kate and her son.

It was a very full, very fun day!