Easter Sunday and a Visit to Laguna Beach

We left early Saturday morning to drive straight through to Anaheim, California, and thus kicked off our spring break with a family vacation to Disneyland.  Our travel plans allowed us a night of recuperation from the lengthy drive.  We were rested and enjoyed spending Easter morning attending church at a ward building that was located near our hotel.  Following the Sacrament service, we took some family pictures before returning to our room.
 

We wouldn't be entering the parks until the following day, so we spent some time in the afternoon in Downtown Disney.  Can you guess who picked the restaurant (ESPN Zone) that we ate lunch at?
   

Later that evening, we decided to take the children to Laguna Beach to catch the low tide and hopefully explore some sea life.  The idea was that the beach activity would serve as a suitable replacement for an egg hunt.  The tide forecasted was not anything spectacular, but we did manage to wade a bit around some shallow tide pools.  The children were just as mesmerized by the ebb and flow of the ocean waves, the squishy sand beneath their feet, and the salty, crisp air that carried a number of seagulls in flight. It turned out to be the simplest of things that made the visit an overall success, I guess.   

This was my first time to Laguna Beach, and I found the beach and surrounding parks and city to be quite lovely, and not overly crowded.  We found a place to sit and enjoy a picnic-style dinner before we piled back in our car to head on our way.

Jason planned to drive to the Newport Beach Temple grounds for a final stop during our evening.  We arrived just as the sun was setting and casting a soft, warm light on the building.

I couldn't think of a better way to end an unforgettable Easter Sunday.

This post authored by Amber

Eggs-tra! Egggs-tra! Read All About It!

Coloring the Eggs

Even though we were planning to be in California over the Easter holiday, we decided to make the most of decorating eggs and participating in egg hunts before we left for the "golden coast."  Jason picked up a number of egg dyeing kits that boasted results of speckled eggs and swirly, glittered eggs.  The colors (and processes) were much less exciting than the boxes indicated.  We decided that for next year (and always), it's best to just stick to the plain-old, standard egg dyeing kits.  They produce such vibrant, picture-worthy eggs.  Oh well.  We all still enjoyed eating the three dozen semi-speckled/semi-swirly glittered, pastel hard-boiled eggs.

This next sequence of pictures makes me smile:

It appears that waiting for the eggs to take their color was a miserable ordeal for Ella.  It's funny.  Garrett responded almost the exact way when we've colored eggs in the past.
 

Hunting for the Eggs 

We were fortunate that Nu Skin held a company egg hunt for all the employees' children up to age seven.  On the location of the warehouse grounds, the field was divided into separate areas for individual age groups.  Ella was assisted by Brevin, while Spencer tried to keep up with and help Garrett.  Jason and I worked the field taking video footage and snapshots.  Garrett and Ella each came away from the event with more candy, salt water taffy, and toys than was necessary, but they had a fun time collecting it all.

This post authored by Amber

Out Like a Lamb, Eh?

So this is how March ended for us here in northern Utah:

And this is the sight that greeted me just inside the door to our kitchen (I'm going to miss this someday):

I guess most lambs are white, right?

This post authored by Amber