Easter

Our pretty little ladies in their Easter dresses.

Brindi lucked out this year with left-over gift cards, garage sales, and returned gifts. What I mean to say is she was spoiled. We have also begun to build up our dvd collection in preparation for our trip west this summer, which means we will use them as gifts to ourselves for the next couple months :)

We had a couple of Brindi's friends over after church for a nice Easter dinner and then the kids had a little Easter egg hunt in our front yard. Above is the little gang and I think they were quite happy with all the eggs they found:)

In my Leisure and Society course, we discuss Holidays, Holy Days, and Celebrations and I always pose the question to my class whether of not society has forgotten why we celebrate holidays and if holidays are losing their meaning. While my class and I may agree that society as a whole may be losing sight of the true meaning of holidays from time to time, I look at my own social circles and see that the true meaning of holidays are ever present. I am so thankful for my social circle, comprised of members of the church as well as other Christians in the area, and their devotion to the true meaning of holidays like Easter. Even though we may do many activities with bunnies, eggs, and gifts (all having interesting stories how they came about), I know why we celebrate Easter and I love my Savior for what he has done for my family and me.

Coloring Eggs

Comfortable?

Cold Egg Hunt

This past Saturday we headed over to Weldon Springs for a free Easter Egg hunt (We went to another one that cost $5 per child...yeah we left). It was a freezing day with strong winds but we ventured out. I actually think Celeste picked up more eggs than Brindi because Brindi was frozen stiff as you can tell by some of her expressions in the pictures. This is also the reason Brindi got a golden egg which had a number for a special prize. The special prizes were all worth $25 a piece. It was a pretty cool hunt which we will attend next year for sure. When we got home Brindi lined up all her candy and then matched them all up in pairs of two. Kind of a funny girl:)

San Diego Conference

This past week I was able to attend the American Alliance for Health Physical Education Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) annual conference that just happened to be held in San Diego this year. The same location where I served my mission, coincidence that I attended this years conference...maybe maybe not. The conference was really good and a great educational opportunity for me and a chance to see several of my old colleagues and friends from the University of Idaho. In the evenings, I was also able to drive around and visit individuals and places that meant a lot to me during my time on the mish.

I was really looking forward to hearing what Drew Brees would have to say but was sadly disappointed. It was still pretty cool to see him though. He currently serves as the co-chair for the President's Council on Physical Fitness, Sport, and Nutrition and was speaking as part of the National Association on Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) which is a branch of AAHPERD.

I went by and finally visited the updated and new Mormon Battalion. This site was actually in one of my districts when I served. The building I remember was completely destroyed and replaced with a new state of the art visitor center. When the church does something, they sure do it right. All the records were digitalized and could be e-mailed to you as well as pictures of patrons becoming honorary members of the Battalion. Portraits and windows of people actually talked and told the story of the Battalions journey to the west as you go from room to room. It was really impressive. It is the best interpretive site I have ever seen.

Above is the profile of Levi Hancock which is one of Celeste's ancestors. This information now can be easily e-mailed to people from the site. It was pretty cool reading all the history and discovering that Levi Hancock was the only general authority that joined the Battalion.

I also visited the temple one evening. I almost forgot how beautiful this temple really is. It is absolutely breathtaking on the outside and only gets better on the inside as you enter the Celestial room. A very unique temple with a two story Celestial room and which also boasts of the seal of Melchizedek throughout the grounds and the temple walls and windows. It is by far one of my favorites!

Besides the educational sessions the highlight of the trip was being able to spend an evening with one of my favorite investigators and now members of the church, Don Millsberg. I was lucky enough to see Don get baptized and was there the first time he attended the temple. It was so great being able to catch-up with him and his life as well as talk about my life. He is quite the individual and strong member of the church. I have been really blessed to know him.