Easter!

Books and chocolate! The Easter Bunny brought this big chapter book for Ruthie, and mom was a little hopeful/skeptical that it would be a little bit of a stretch for her reading level--she read it in one sitting!!!!! This girl is blowing me away with her reading skills!

Molly was thrilled-she loves Doc McStuffins soooooo much! She has gone to sleep with that book every night since she got it.

The Easter bunny was on a roll. Will has been obsessed with the Magic Treehouse books--we are currently listening to book 28 on audio, and yes, we've read all 28 and Will wants to check out the next set of audio cds-- and he got his two favorites! The dinosaur one and the space one. He LOVES dinosaurs and space!

The Easter bunny brought Russ one of those awesome indestructible books that can't be ripped and can go in the wash. So far he just chews and pulls on it a lot. It's a keeper.

The Easter bunny doesn't always bring toys to our house, but somehow he knew that our kids have been begging for these little fans filled with candy. Big hit.

The Easter bunny hides everyone's bags and that was a huge hit this year. Ruthie and Will thought it was hilarious and somehow remembered where every single one had been hidden the year before and looked in all those places, haha.

I love dying eggs. Especially at the end when everyone is finished but they keep putting them in more and more colors just to keep going :)

These were my favorites. Mostly Molly's creations.

We had such a delicious and wonderful Easter dinner. Ham, rolls, mashed potatoes, asparagus. sliced tomatoes and cucumbers. It felt so nice to have Sterling home the ENTIRE conference weekend! A family meal to enjoy and relax.

Sterling is on surgery rotation right now. What started out as a great first week, turned into a brutal next two weeks and by Conference I had only seen Sterling once in a great while. But he had both Saturday and Sunday off and it was AMAZING. (He studied a good amount of Saturday, but ya know that's old news.) Also Conference hit pretty much during Russ's nap time for both sessions, so this year is the first time in about seven years that I have taken notes on EVERY talk. It just felt like a dream. Like our family was in this unreal, floating stage of life that couldn't possibly be true but was wonderful. Sterling and I snuggled. Our kids played imaginary games together on the ground or upstairs in their rooms. If they got loud we'd send them upstairs. (maybe that is why life gets easier after five years of parenting? They can entertain themselves with imaginary games for long amounts of time?)

Russ was sleeping so the boys stayed home and the girls went on a walk after a conference session.

Our dreamy lake we walk around every day.

I took these pics of Russ one night when I came in and saved him from suffocating himself with a hot blanket (he only has one, but it inevitably ends up around his head). HE IS SUCH A GORGEOUS BABY BOY!

Conference and Easter filled me up with so much goodness. I already can't remember the talks and need to go back through and listen again--but we got to sustain our new prophet! President Russell M. Nelson! And we watched the change from Home and Visiting Teaching to Ministering. And no more divisions in quorums--they all go together. AND a TEMPLE IN RUSSIA AND INDIA (and more!). Sterling and I were saying it's making us quite nervous. The Lord is preparing us. And guiding us. And making us choose to follow Him--not guiding us so much anymore, we have to make that choice. And it's a big responsibility! But there was also so much encouragement and so much love. It makes you just want to rearrange your whole life and do everything perfect and right and good! I love Conference!