On Sunday we began our traditional discussion of the Savior's last week.
Each night we talked about what happened, read the scriptures, and then did a small activity or watched the video (from the Bible videos on-line).
We taped them up in the kitchen to remind us all week.
***
On Monday, we had a Family Home Evening lesson about preparing for General Conference.
I had all of the kids write about questions they had or things they wanted to learn more about, and asked them to pray about them throughout the week.
We played "General Conference" Headbanz afterward, and had a fun time.
***
This week was Spring Break!
Our power steering had gone out in January (both the pump and rack/pinion had broken), the belt tensioner was broken, and it had a horrible oil leak. So after praying and talking about it, we decided to use our savings to get it fixed.
The van was being worked on most of the week, so we spent a lot of time hanging out at home.
***
Grace came crying to me one evening about "accidentally" making a mark on her floor.
An 8-inch asterisk in blue crayon isn't
exactly an accident.
My kids may need to learn the definition of that word.
***
Josh has been wanting to try "egg-in-a-hole" for lunch, ever since reading about it in one of the Pioneer Woman Charlie books.
He was a great helper and loved it.
Sam had Trix and scrambled eggs instead. He loved it, too.
***
I decided since we would be stuck at home during break anyways, that the four of us would do yard work everyday while Sam napped, and that there would be a special reward for especially hard workers.
It was a dollar to spend at the ice cream truck one day.
They all had fun picking out a little treat.
***
Grace lets Sam sit up with her while she practices piano.
She is so patient and sweet with that little monkey.
***
Another day we walked down to 7-11 after our yard work, and grabbed some small Slurpees.
Sam most especially liked that day.
***
On Thursday I decided it would be neat to begin a new tradition of having the Passover, and talking about its special meaning.
We had grape juice, chicken (instead of lamb), sauerkraut (for the bitter herbs), and unleavened crackers.
It wasn't 100% authentic or anything, but it was really neat.
Afterward, we watched the video about the Last Supper and Atonement in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Most of the time I can't get these kids to sit still during scriptures or family discussions.
But for that little moment the Spirit was so strong in our little living room, that even Sam was quiet.
***
We (finally) got our van back on Friday, so Mike planned a little activity for us after he was off of work that night.
We decided to hit as many parks in Henderson as we could... and we found some insanely awesome new ones!
Afterward we went to Freddy's to share a basket of fries.
We've never done it before, and I'm pretty sure that the workers must have been being incredibly sweet, because $2.99 probably doesn't always get you two huge baskets.
These guys were in fry (and fry sauce) heaven.
***
On Saturday and Sunday we listened to General Conference.
I really enjoy going down to the Stake Center to watch, but since I had no desire to get everyone ready, we listened at home instead.
***
On Sunday after the morning session of conference, Mike hid the big basket of eggs that the Easter bunny had left for us.
And the kids got to go on a crazy-treasure hunt left by the Easter bunny for their baskets.
They each got new swimsuits, a family kite to share, and a few treats.
They immediately left to try those new swimsuits out before the final conference session.
Afterward, we headed to the park to try that new kite of ours.
It was so fun and worked great!
Mike had fallen asleep before shopping the night before, so the "fancy" Easter dinner I had planned was changed to sandwiches with canned pineapple.
I missed our traditional little dinner, but sometimes I get so caught up in making holidays "just right", that I neglect getting to enjoy them.
It was a good reminder to me to simplify and enjoy this sweet family of mine.
