An Eggcellent Weekend

Easter Weekend is always exciting, but Easter + General Conference Weekend is extra special.  On Saturday morning we went down to the Inner Harbor where I may or may not have gone to Shake Shack for the second time in three days.  My excuse is that Bryan hadn't been yet, but really I just couldn't stop thinking about those shakes (and I'm about due for another one.)  It was fun to walk around for a while since we'd spend the rest of the day inside.  We dyed Easter eggs while listening to General Conference; Mattie cracked 3 eggs and Jilly dyed all of hers pink so... a success.  We also made cupcakes and chow mein noodle nests.  Jilly, who loves holidays just as much as her mama, had memorized our agenda for the day and kept me on task.  She also told me over and over "this is my best day!"  It was a good day, but I'm quickly learning that holiday hoopla with kids = exhaustion for parents.

On Easter morning the girls got a few little things in their baskets and we had an egg hunt at home.  Mattie is our resident chocaholic and had eaten her weight in candy before Jilly even had one piece.  After breakfast we drove to my sister's house where we had another egg hunt in her back yard.  We watched Conference and between sessions walked on a trail behind their house where we found a fun little tepee and Jillian went on the rope swing (so scary!)  We ate a fabulous Easter dinner; tonight when we had leftovers Jilly told me "This is a delicious dinner, you're a good cooker like Gigi."  Then Bryan had the nerve to tell her that Gigi actually had made this dinner- Traitor.  

Thanks to uplifting Conference messages, nice weather, time with family, and remembering our Savior I started this week in a great mood.

A little hike

On Saturday after the morning session of General Conference, we packed up a picnic and headed out on a little hike (emphasis on little.)  The day was absolutely perfect- green grass, blue sky, and wildflowers all around.  It was such a fun day.

^ Jilly started at turbo speed- how cute is her little camelback?

^ Jilly ran out of steam at the end and needed a ride back to the car

This was one of the best Conference weekends we've had.  Mattie's nap times coincided perfectly with the sessions, and Jilly is finally at an age where she can play quietly for an extended amount of time.  We painted nails, colored, did a packet I printed, made a bunny banner, and played with some quiet toys.  Surprisingly, one of Jilly's favorite things was to find whoever was speaking on a chart of General Authorities and circle that person.  

On Sunday Bryan's parents came to spend the day with us.  We ate and ate and ate, went on a walk to feed some geese during the break, and played a few games of Uno (of course.)  It was a wonderful weekend of family and wonderful messages.  

a wonderful weekend

Jilly had a sleepover at her Nana and Papa's on Friday so Bryan and I (and Mattie) went on a date.  We got sushi, and Bryan has mentioned at least 15 times since then how much he likes sushi and that we need to go more often.  

Saturday was mostly taken up by General Conference.  We also did some projects around the house, looked at cars (a minivan may be in our future- gulp), and drove out to Bryan's parents' house in the evening.

On Sunday morning we started conference with yummy cinnamon rolls, then kept busy listening and entertaining Jilly.

 Between sessions we visited 100-year-old Grandma Croshaw, my girls' great-great-grandma.  She kept saying the girls were little smarties, told Bryan he was a big boy, and told me I'd be a big boy soon. Every few minutes she'd also let out an "oh hell."  It was a nice visit.

Bryan's brother Jeff brought his new Harley and I surprised everyone (including myself) by agreeing to go for a ride.  He went easy on me and it was actually pretty fun.

I don't know that I have a favorite talk from this conference (at least not yet.)  But, I did come away with many sweet gems.  Lately I've been more stressed and less kind to my family than I should be, and I came away with a new determination to fix this.  I also feel so grateful for the many reminders of what a blessing it is to be a wife and mother, and how valuable I can be in this role.  Lastly I feel so comforted to know that I am part of a bigger plan and have a Heavenly Father who knows and loves me.

Our Weekend

Early Friday morning we dropped off Miss Jilly at her Nana and Papa's to be spoiled for a few days

 And we headed off to spoil ourselves.  First stop- Carmel Beach.   We walked along the beach for a bit

 Then I settled in with this lovely view while Bryan played in the water

 We checked into our hotel which had a boardwalk that went straight out to the beach so we got to see this

 Then we drove back to Carmel to eat the most delicious meal of our lives.  Bryan informed me that we are old and boring because we always go out to eat early so we made sure on this occasion to eat late with the cool kids.  On our way back to the hotel we stopped for a treat (Rocky Road for me, Phish Food for Bryan)

 After sleeping in and eating a yummy breakfast we biked through Monterey.  No pictures because I look totally ridiculous on a bike (there may or may not have been an incident involving me, my bike, a bush, and lots of watching strangers.)  But it was gorgeous and so fun to ride along the coast.

 Then it was back to the beach- the water for Bryan and a nap for me (I was taking full advantage of my childless time.)  And then we headed home so we could squeeze little Jilly before she went to bed.

 We spent Sunday eating up Jilly, General Conference, and cinnamon rolls.

Chaos

We are officially moved in and thus officially living in chaos.  Every time I reach into the top drawer for a spoon, I come up empty handed and then remember that silverware is now in the second drawer.  I'm quite positive that I have a black and white polka dot skirt but it has yet to show up in all my unpacking.  Our bed is constantly covered with nicknacks that need to find a home.  Each night we throw everything on the floor and hope that it will magically be gone by morning (it never is.)  Jilly loves the stairs in our new house, she could go up and down them all day long.  But, she is somehow under the impression that we don't sleep in this house.  It's been quite a struggle.

Last year when we moved I blogged about my moving survival mechanisms.  Yet again, magic erasers saved the day.  I seriously love those things.  Also, this post from my friend Kara came right at the perfect time.  I just filled an old spray bottle with water then added about a quarter cup of vinegar.  I love this because A. it's cheap, B. it works on almost everything, C. it makes my house smell like salt and vinegar chips.  Lastly, I didn't have Kate, Jack, and Sawyer to keep me company this year but I did have Dr. McDreamy and he fills the void very well.

This weekend we were able to enjoy peace amidst the chaos in General Conference.  On Saturday we listened while we painted our house then on Sunday we watched while eating delicious smoothies and cinnamon rolls.  I loved this sweet talk by Sister Elaine Dalton and of course this one by President Uchtdorf from the Relief Society meeting.