Easter

Before Easter came around this year, I was looking at the $5 movie bin at Wal-mart.  I came across a few movies that I thought our family might enjoy.  First, Anastasia – the one that came out in the movie theatres about 1997. Second, The Land Before Time – the original one.  I usually come across The Land Before Time 45, one of the many sequels they have out on the market.  Third, Horton Hears a Who – again the one that came out a few years back. Last but not least – Robin Hood, Prince of Theives, you know the one, the Kevin Costner/Christian Slater one. Yeah, that one.  When I saw that and Land Before Time, I knew I had to act fast.  I wasn’t looking to buy any movies, but once I saw these, there was no turning back.  There I was with four movies that would be perfect for the kids (and the hubby) for Easter.  The kids have not seen Anastasia or The Land Before Time, and it was about time they be exposed to some other great movies. 

Before I go on about our Easter, I have to put in this funny little story about watching Robin Hood.  So, the hubby and I had the kids down in bed and decided to watch the movie.  I put it in the blu-ray player (mind you, it is a regular dvd).  We begin watching it, but about half way through the movie, it jumps back to the main menu.  We were both baffled, thinking something was wrong with the dvd.  Then I remembered that the dvd looked two sided, thought it was one of those widescreen/full screen, but didn’t pay much attention. We flipped the dvd over and poof * we were back were the movie left off.  I guess this dvd was either one they found sitting in a warehouse since 1992 or what we get for paying only $5.  Either way, it was a great find!

For Easter this year, we didn’t go on the Easter camp, we stayed close to home.  To start the kids week off from school, I had an ultrasound scheduled for baby number 4.  F, K, L came along, while B stayed with Grandma and Grandpa.  Baby looks very healthy and kept it’s left hand up by it’s face the entire time, moving around plenty.  We were excited (especially L) to find out that we are having a baby boy!  Feels like a perfect way to end our family. 2 girls, 2 boys. 

Friday, F took off work and we spent it as a family.  We drove up to the Kimball Arts Center and enjoyed the Lego exhibit they had. It was amazing to see all the works of art made entirely of Legos.  After that we went to the Tanger Outlets and did a little shopping, well I did and the kids played on the playground with F. 

Saturday, we went up to the zoo.  We love the zoo – so much we have an annual pass and have done so since K was little.  We never get bored of the animals and the zoo has made some amazing transformations since we first bought a pass and even more since I was little.  That night, we dyed Easter eggs.  K and L were pretty creative with theirs.  L made a dragon, K made a frog and a chick hatching.  B was able to get into it a bit more than previous years. 

Sunday, New Easter clothes.  I bought sweaters for the girls and a new shirt for L, and I made matching skirts for the girls. I love being able to get them to match for one day each year.  It will be ending before I know it though!  We went to church and later we visited F’s parents. We ate dinner at my parent’s house and had our annual Easter egg hunt. My mom hides the eggs all over the backyard.  The kids hunt for the eggs.  When they are all found, we divide them among the kids (each egg has a name on it).  The kids always have a blast. 

Among all the eggs and treats, we do teach our children about the importance of Easter which is not only the atonement by our Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane, but the Resurrection of Him.  I am grateful for Jesus Christ and his willingness to do all the Father asked of Him.  He leads the way back to our Father in Heaven, made it possible for us to be forgiven of our sins, and live together for eternity.  I am thankful for my membership in this Church and the covenants I have entered into and for F being a worthy priesthood holder and blessing our family because of it.

Tra-di-tion....Tradition!

Since about high school, I have been out on Black Friday to do some shopping. It all started with socks & poinsettias at Fred Meyer with my mom. I guess you could say I was her shopping cart side kick. I would push the cart, while she battled the crowds at 6 in the morning. The last few years, it has grown for me to getting toys and gifts for the family at different stores. Some may say this is crazy, and more will think so after reading what this year was like.

It all started on a cold and wintery Thanksgiving evening. My sister and I had made our list of items we were seeking and the stores in which we hit. Our first stop was going to be the midnight opening at Wal-Mart. We didn't get there right at 12, but shortly thereafter. We had to park quite a ways away. When we got into the store, all the carts were taken and filled by hundreds, if not thousands of people already in the store. After fighting through crowds and grabbing the few things we needed, Mel had got into a line and I looked around a little bit more. The lines were endless....yet we made it through. Just as we were heading out the door, with our purchases being checked against our receipts, Mel says, "I've got to see this." As she said that, three employees ran past us. We step outside to watch the employees run after some kid who apparently had shoplifted. I don't know if they caught him, but I sure wouldn't have been running through the icy parking lot at 1 am! Mel and I went our separate ways to grab a little bit of shut eye before our 4 am appointment at Target -this is where the fun begins!

I couldn't sleep, but what I did get was filled with dreams of strategy and how we could get in a get what we needed efficiently. This time, we were at Target about 3:40 am. As we walked to the entrance, we found it to be a long, long, long line to get into the store. We decided to wait it out in the car and return closer to opening time. At minutes before opening, we took our place in line, behind three teenage boys wearing their flannel pajama pants, parkas, knitted hats and 2 of the 3 were wearing cowboy boots...wish I had a picture, they were lovely outfits! It took about 15 minutes to walk the entire line and get into the store. Mel and I set out to get our purchases. First, I picked up a razor scooter, then an easy bake oven, some glove/hat set for the kids, and went to find a pyrex set I had been eyeing. When I got to the pyrex there were only three left, so I tried to juggle it in my arms...did I mention I did NOT have a cart?? So, then I was ready to get in line which sent my back to the place I started on the other side of the store. When I got in line, there was a man taking pictures of people in line...I don't know if I became one of them, I hope not!
The pyrex set was so heavy, I put it on the ground and began to kick it forward as we crept along. Target had the line weave all through the grocery section and I was in line a long time before we even hit the groceries. The man who had been taking pictures had seen my overflowing arms and attempt to scoot my items took pity on me and asked if I could use a cart. I told him it would be great. A few minutes later he returned to the line with a few carts, gave one to me, and carts to others in line who needed one. What a nice man! Saved my day. My sister came and unloaded her things into my cart and dashed off a few times to look around more or exchange things she had found. It took forever to get throught the line, but much easier with the cart. When we did make it to the end, Target had blocked off the check stands with boxes of items that were on their Black Friday Sale. One of the large stacks of boxes were pyrex! I wish I had know after all that struggling and kicking around the pyrex! Could have saved me a lot of hassle and strength!
We made a quick stop to Toys R Us and then on to Smith's Marketplace for socks and pillow pets. I was not a fan of pillow pets and was not going to get them for the kids, but caved. Smith's had them at the same price as all the other stores, but their's came with a $5 gift card to Smith's, that was good enough for us. We ran into some friends along the way, one at Target and Smith's. Just as we were getting ready to leave Smith's we ran into our Mom - there to get some socks of course. We made it back home around 9 am. F and I went through the purchases of the night, figured we were set with most of the stuff we needed for Christmas and I headed off to bed for a few hours sleep. Whew...can't believe we survived.

Oh, did I mention I did all of this while being nearly 8 months pregnant?? I must be crazy.