Happy Easter!!

Well, it seems the Easter Bunny found our house and left all the kids a little something!

Tessa's basket

Jesikah's basket. She got a coral polka dot shirt under the chocolate bunny

A glow-in-the-dark playground ball for Jarem

No candy for Micah, but he got stackable bowls, a book, and bubbles! He hasn't discovered candy yet.

Alex just got candy.  He got many, MANY dress clothes for his mission just recently.

 We all got to perform with the choir in two numbers today at church(except Jarem and Micah who also tried to perform).  Tessa played a flute obbligato to "Beautiful Savior".  It was a difficult part and she played it beautifully!!  I was so proud of her!!  It had lots of sixteenth notes and even a long trill, and she did SO well.  She practiced hard this past week.

I have really enjoyed having our whole family as part of the choir during this past year.  We can practice together at home and have someone for almost every part.  It has been a great experience!  I play the piano for the choir and I really enjoy the extra challenge it gives me to get on the piano and practice.  I do love playing the piano, but sometimes I get busy and fall out of practice.

Tessa giving some attitude

It's an Easter miracle!  I got a picture with everyone smiling!  Alex looking handsome in his new missionary suit and everyone else in their new Easter clothes.

Actually two that turned out!! (Even though Micah wasn't smiling...he was so tired)

Jarem wanted some pictures with Micah

Micah was very tired and didn't want to smile

Beautiful girls!

Jesikah said she needed a picture of Tessa kissing her cheek

Another pictures of the girls

A little blurry but still cute!

We had a wonderful Easter dinner together as a family!  Eric cancelled all his meetings after church because of Easter and was able to join us.  We also invited a lovely lady from church who just returned from a mission to Germany and didn't have anyone to spend Easter with.  Ironically, her last name is also Bass, so we told her she could be our adopted grandma.  She is such a sweet lady and takes a special interest in each of our kids.  We thoroughly enjoyed spending the evening with her.  We even got our special china out to celebrate!

Easter Egg Hunt

Our church group did an Easter Egg Activity for all the kids 18 months-12 years.  It was well-planned and had a good turnout.  There were donuts and juice for everyone while the kids watched a short animated show about the true meaning of Easter.  Then there were 3 games to play while the some parents and leaders hid the eggs.

Jarem's age group really liked the "Don't Eat Peep" game.  It is a variation on "Don't Eat Pete".  There are squares on the board with a piece of candy on each square.  Someone is selected to leave the room while the other players select a square to represent "Peep".  When the person returns to the room, that person starts eating the candy.  When they get to the one they selected as "Peep", everyone yells, "Don't Eat Peep"!! Then, they don't get anymore and the next person gets a turn.

Jarem eating the candy

He got through quite a few candies before he found Peep

 Then it was time for the egg hunt:

The area behind our church is a grassy wooded area perfect for hiding eggs.  Jarem is in the orange shirt.

What a beautiful morning!

Looking back at the church from the woods and some waiting parents

Found an egg

Jarem and his friend, Josh

Micah was a little too young for the younger egg hunt, so he just played with Jarem's eggs.

Unveiling their candy

Micah loved playing with the empty eggs

Jarem would get out the candy and pass the empty eggs on to Micah.  It was a good arrangement for both. :)

I couldn't get Micah to look up.  He was way too fascinated with all the eggs.

This was the best I got after multiple tries. :)

After attending community egg hunts the past couple of years, this one was 100% better.  I hate the big crowds and the mass of eggs everywhere but yet the kids barely get any cause there are so many other kids grabbing them as fast as they can.  This was much less crowded and more leisurely.  When they got 12 eggs, they knew they were done, so everyone left with the number of eggs they came with.

What a beautiful Easter weekend it was!  Eric took Tessa to her soccer game while I took the little boys to the egg hunt.  Then I brought Micah home for a nap as Eric got back and I took Jarem to his soccer game.  We played some basketball with the kids after we got back and enjoyed a leisurely afternoon.  Then, the girls and I went dress shopping for Easter dresses.

Everyday Moments

Jesikah gave Micah a new hairdo!

Alex teaching Tessa about Calculus on Conference Sunday.  Alex is constantly trying to find someone who will listen to his Calculus problems.  Tessa was quite receptive.  Strangely, Alex LOVES AP Calculus and AP Physics.  He will love college!

Tessa came in from playing basketball and took a selfie of her sweat curls.

Had my camera out, so I took a quick pic of this little guy

As soon as I took the picture, he gave me this cheesy grin.

Big 4-0

I thought it would never come, but alas, it did.  Today I celebrated my big 4-0 birthday!  I had a great birthday!  I'm determined to stay young for at least another 18 years to raise my baby.  Instead of being down about being "over the hill", I've made a few goals to live by for my next 40 years...  One of them is to exercise everyday except Sunday.  It doesn't have to be major, but I have to do some exercise everyday.  This really makes a difference in staying healthy and I feel so much better when I exercise.  Also, my dad recently was diagnosed with diabetes.  It runs in his family, so it may be in my genetics too.  I need to cut back on sugar to stay healthy.  Eric and I are determined to stay young for Micah.  He is not going to have parents who are too old and tired to do anything with him. :) I hope the next 40 are as fabulous as the first 40 have been!

Jesikah had a miamaid sleepover the night before and all the girls made me breakfast in bed for my birthday! They are some of my young women that I've worked with for the past several years.  It was very sweet of them.

Yummy breakfast!  The eggs were so cool and perfect looking!!

Andrea also gave me a gift from she and her mom.  It's a plaque and chocolate.  Very perfect!

 Eric went to work and told me he would be back at 2:30 to take me on a surprise date!  The only thing I knew was that I had to dress up because our last stop would be the temple!  The kids were out of school for good Friday, so they took care of Micah a lot and I relaxed in bed and blogged in the morning.  For our date, Eric took me to the Parthenon in Nashville.  I'd never been before and I loved it.  It was a beautiful warm day and I soaked up every moment with my honey.

 This is full-scale replica of the original Parthenon in Athens.  Originally created along with many other buildings as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition in 1897.  Nashville hosted it about 20 years after the Civil War to try to change it's reputation from the slavery-laden South to one of progress and change.  The Parthenon was built to dub Nashville as the Athens of the South.  After the fair, all the buildings were intended to be dismantled because they were made of plaster, wood, and brick which were not meant to last over 10 years.  However, the Parthenon was wildly popular, and many people wanted it to stay, so it was left alone.  After 20 years, it started to fall into disrepair and funds were raised to save the building and make it a permanent structure.  The permanent version used concrete for the pillars (instead of marble as was the original) and was built between 1925-1931 with Athena being added in 1990.  All of the other buildings were dismantled after the fair.  The Parthenon has been used as a backdrop for movies and live performances.  In 2010, it was used as a backdrop for the battle against the Hydra in Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.

Athena was in this exact place in the original Parthenon. Athena was unveiled May 20, 1990.

Athena is 41 feet, 10 inches high

The statue is gilt with 23.75 karat leaf gold in its entirety. 

 She holds a small statue of Nike(Victory) in her right hand.

Double row of columns along both sides of Athena

The largest bronze doors in the world

Details at the bottom of the statue

A serpent rears it's head between her and her shield which she holds in her left hand.

Eric fist pumps the gryphon

Check out the details carved along the top of the building

This thing is huge.  Look how small the people are next to it.

Detail along the border...each carving is different

And here we are taking a selfie

 After thoroughly enjoying the Parthenon, Eric took me to an awesome restaurant called Maggianos which he had a 4:45pm reservation.  It was our first time going there.  It was SO good and the atmosphere was amazing!  I had Salmon Oscar with a bed of pasta and a cream sauce.  It had asparagus and sun dried tomatoes too (some of my favorites).

There were lots of pretty flowers on the grounds leading up to Maggianos

Creme brulee for me and Boston Creme Pie for Eric.  The desserts were much bigger than we expected.

The picture doesn't do it justice.  That slice of cake was HUGE!!!

After a lovely dinner, we went to the temple. The temple is always the perfect place to end the night.  I always leave there feeling peaceful and refreshed.  I can't think of a better way to spend my birthday than with my husband!!!  It was a wonderful day!!