Easter Means Lovin'

We had such a nice Easter. It happened to coincide with General Conference this year, so we had a nice, lazy weekend at home listening to prophetic council on how to better our lives. I love Conference. We have been anticipating it for the past month and have been so excited. I love how so many of the talks focused on Jesus Christ as our center. If we rely on Him, everything else seems to fall in place. It was a good reminder of how wonderful life can be because of Him.

In addition, my sister and her family joined us for Easter Dinner! Since we usually head to another home for such a festive occasion, I got to experience cooking my first Easter ham. It was a success, but Tyler Florence recipes usually are. It was accompanied by my Mom's recipe for Funeral Potatoes, but I substituted real scalloped potatoes instead of frozen hash browns. T'liese still won't talk to me because of it! She brought salad (Jeffy Jell-O...yum!) and drinks of berry lemonade and ginger ale, which are good alone but a knockout when combined! It's about as rowdy as a Mormon Easter Party can get, I tell you! Dinner was concluded with the Barefoot Contessa's Lemon Cake, which was incredible (she is by far my favorite chef). I got a little scared when adding one-third of a cup of lemon zest, but the cake was so light and delicious and refreshing! It was a hit, and mostly everyone went back for seconds.

On Saturday night, John arrived home after the Priesthood Session of General Conference with an Easter bouquet of flowers in hand. He is always so thoughtful and generous. These may be the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen! After being gone later that evening (helping put away hundreds of chairs at the conclusion of the Easter Pageant at the Mesa Temple, just a few blocks from our home), he came home to an Easter Bunny attack! Several of his favorite treats, Snickers, had been left in Easter grass nests all over the house. This was something my Mom would always do for us as kids, and I loved it! Some traditions die hard, and with any luck, this one never will. Overall, Easter treated us pretty well!

Now I'm off to finish the last few dishes. It may be the only downfall to a big holiday dinner, but my husband kept me caught up in the kitchen sink all day! He is a lifesaver in so many ways, and I am rather partial to him. Also in so many ways.