Easter at the Weir's

What a beautiful day! We went to church (I taught the lesson in Relief Society) and enjoyed mingling with our neighbors. We got home and I went to work making my first-ever Easter Dinner! The ham was amazing, the funeral potatoes were great considering I made the recipe up, and the salad was fresh and crunchy. We had a delicious punch to wash it all down. We ate at about 5:00 PM, then watched a movie together. I really enjoy spending time with my sweetie, and I don't care what we do! What type of man jumps up and does all the dishes after we finish eating?! Boy oh boy, I am blessed!

Afternoon in the Gardens

John surprised me on Friday by taking the afternoon off so we could spend some fun time together. He had planned to take me camping, but wouldn't you know it was supposed to rain/snow everywhere in the state! I love to camp, but there is nothing worse than freezing in a sleeping bag all night. So we decided to postpone camping and spend the afternoon at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix.

I married a very patient man. I LOVE taking pictures, and he let me have at it. I took almost 400! Lots of them turned out really well, and I am pretty excited about them. The gardens were beautiful, certainly more than I expected to see in the middle of the city. Right now, the glass artist Chihuly has lots of his work on display throughout the catci and flowers, so it was an added bonus to get a little culture in us, too!

That evening, we spent a wedding gift card and ate at Golden Corral. For those who don't know it, my husband can eat a lot of food! He had never been here, so I thought he would love it. It was ok, but we both were way too full at the end. I would be happy just to eat their yummy rolls! It was a fun date afternoon, and I am so glad John is thoughtful and takes such good care of me.

General Conference Party

We had such a fun day watching the last two sessions of General Conference on Sunday. Jeff and Megan, my brother and his wife, graciously offered to host the family, to include John and Micah, Joe and T'liese (my sister and her husband), and really good friends of Jeff and Megan's, Nathan and Erin. She is due with their first baby in July, and I guess little Charlie kicked enough to imply that he enjoyed Conference as much as all of us!

We arrived just before the morning session began at 9:00 AM and watched for two hours. I have really been looking forward to Conference this year, and it certainly didn't disappoint. My favorite quotation from the two-day event was from President Thomas S. Monson when he said, "The future is as bright as your faith." It just reconfirmed that we don't need to be afraid of what is going on in the world right now if we are living how we should and following the commandments. He is such a great man, and I love him dearly.

At 11:00 AM, Megan and Jeff jumped up to finish making Sunday dinner, a delicious Crockpot chicken and pasta dish! Joe and T'liese brought a yummy broccoli salad that we all slurped up as the first course. Drinks were provided by Nathan and Erin, and one of my favorites is slushy Cherry 7-Up! Isn't Megan's table setting gorgeous?! She has collected those pieces from all over the world through their travels. Everything she does is so beautiful, including her! They remodeled this home before moving in just four months ago. It just makes me dream of when John and I will be able to get a home of our own!

We then watched the last session of Conference from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM. Just as it finished, I went into the kitchen to start making my assignment...dessert. I found a copycat recipe similar to the Blondie Brownie at Applebee's, but it turned out so much better with vanilla ice cream and a homemade maple butter sauce topped with walnuts! At least I know I can always go into cooking if this flying thing doesn't pan out!

It was a great day with family, friends, and great food.