An Easter Conference Weekend

Oh Easter, with your chocolates and fuzzy animals and bright colors galore! It has always been a wonderful holiday . . . not to mention the real meaning of it all, that the Savior has risen, conquering death and enabling us all to live eternally together! Some very good stuff. Hm . . . ever wonder why the two most important events for mankind are celebrated in such a divided way? How come both Easter and Christmas have the "real" meaning on one side, and an extremely commercialized seasonal holiday on the other? How did a bunny get tied in with the resurrection? Oh well, I'm sure I will ponder about it and then continue on with our relatively silly yet beloved traditions.

However, this year was a bit out-of-whack as far as Easter tradition goes. The little Jewish girl inside of me was squirming in distress. (By that I mean my in-born need for tradition. . . I suppose Jewish girls don't fret much over Easter in real life.) But with only the two of us way out here, we decided not to do too much for it. I did try; I bought a big roast and invited some friends from church and the sister missionaries over, but they all had previous arrangements. So instead we had Simmer Chinese Chicken, a favorite. I did buy some little plastic eggs (because they were a dollar and I figured I could re-use them) but most of them were gone after I took them to our Mom's Club Easter egg hunt. It was well worth it of course; the kids loved it and talking with the moms was wonderful as always. So the few eggs I had left over we stuffed with Cadbury eggs (the best chocolate ever) and as I contemplating hiding them for Mark . . . or Mac . . . I felt silly and ended up just bringing them upstairs and we cracked them open and gorged. And that was about the extent of our Easter bunny activity. Sorry Mac, I promise your future Easters will be full of magical, fuzzy creatures bearing sugary gifts! Hopefully you will block this one out of your memory.

I think though, that I didn't mind my lack of holiday spirit much because of the MAGNIFICENCE of General Conference. My word, has there ever been an entire conference so directed at me?? Perhaps it's just that being a mom has opened up a whole new realm of counsel that applies to me, but I loved every minute of it. The Spirit was so very strong, and I just felt like bursting I was so filled with that pure, strong happiness. It was one of those weekends where I looked at my little family and felt that everything was right in the world. I even pulled out my little journal of spiritual thoughts to jot down feelings I had, which I haven't done in far too long. That's something I need to start up again. Sister Beck, Brother Holland, and countless others filled up my soul with so much goodness. I really love having those voices reverberate through the walls of my home, there is just such a feeling of peace and authority when they speak! Gads why isn't everyone Mormon?? It just feels so right. :)

I do want to note that I am definitely a spoiled Utah-Mormon, I had no idea that conference started at different times everywhere, (the first session's at nine here) and that it isn't on t.v. or the radio anywhere but Utah! We thankfully have a fully functioning internet and laptop, so we watched it live on there. Technology really is an amazing thing, and Utah is definitely an anomaly in the big wide world. I never quite believed it, but the culture is absolutely unique.

I kinda like it.

Day of Birth

Welp, I have now been around twenty three years. And it definitely seems crazy, I still feel like a little immature teenager most of the time . . . then I see my hot husband and adorable baby and think, "Oh yeah . . . I'm a grown-up now." But I swear I shouldn't be, isn't there some kind of test you have to pass which informs you that you've officially matured enough to be considered a responsible, functioning adult? Or more importantly that you've matured enough to be a parent! It's funny how when you're younger you always expect that grown-ups are so . . . grown up. And then one day you look in the mirror and realize that YOU are supposed to be a grown up!

I have to say it's pretty enjoyable though. When your own parents become more of an ultra-beloved/respected peer than a reigning authority, life becomes a little more intense. More bitterness, more sweetness, and even everything in between is just . . . more. I love our little life and I wouldn't have it any other way!

To commemorate this super-important occasion, Mark was a champ. Even with ICE exams coming up, he came straight home from his half-day of school, whisked me away to Disneyland, and we explored all the obscure nooks and crannies we had by-passed in our usual manic attempt to get in our money's worth. Season passes are DIVINE, they have made the park so much more magical for us! After our free three hours of parking at Downtown Disney were up, we began to head home. Mark gave me my pick of restaurants, but with Mac's bedtime looming and yet one more birthday activity, I decided on a classic Subway sandwich and Yogurtland. Ooo it was divine. Then Mark took me shopping! We only shopped about fifteen minutes and only went to Ross, but still . . . I don't know if Mark's ever said "Hey, let's go buy you something." So we bought a swimsuit to add the the rest of my birthday spoils: a ginormous beach umbrella and a slip (which I've been talking about forever; knee-length skirts + spandex garments = trouble).

We topped off the night with our current Netflix, "Stranger than Fiction". I forgot how funny it was. All that plus lots of phone calls and texts and facebook messages made for a fabulous way to ring in my twenty third year!