Our Easter -2021

Spring has sprung all over the garden state and all I want to do is just play outside, stay away from my phone and dnothing! Of course with the Easter holiday we just had didn't quite do that because I love to take pictures. We did a little bit of everything over easter weekend. We watched general conference, cracked cascarones on each others heads, and we even had ourselves a little Easter egg hunt. The kids still love being egg hunters, and it was a beautiful day for it. No clouds. No rain. Just pure sunshine. We went to the same spot we went to last year before Lexie left on her mission. We've had our egg hunts in the past at Central Park or Roosevelt Island but Covid hit and well, you know how that goes. We have kept the past two Easter Sundays low key and close to home. Focusing on the Savior is what matter but we also put fun and laughter in our day! It's times like this that I can relive over and over again. Repeating it multiple times a month! I just love these kiddos of ours and the time Jon has to spend with us. He works so hard all week and most weekends he'd like to rest but he sacrifices his sleep to spend outdoors with us. It was a special and uplifting day and hope y'all had a wonderful Easter weekend too! 

A Simple Little Egg Hunt!

This is the time of year where spring days are meant to be spent outside. With everything that was once brown having turned into pink blooming trees motivates us to spend time outdoors, and when you add clear blue skies, and sunshine to the mix calls for a little egg hunt.

An Easter Egg Hunt On Roosevelt Island.

After watching the movie Spiderman with the green goblin numerous times over this past year the thought of going to Roosevelt Island came into my mind. Having a boy who is absolutely hooked on everything Marvel, and being that his favorite character is Spiderman was the perfect solution to spending the day there to have ourselves a little easter egg hunt. Being that he is the only kid in the household who is still young enough to hunt for eggs made it a bit easier to decide where to go for this small adventure. It's bittersweet for sure. 

A Few Photos From Our Easter Weekend!

Sometimes I surprise myself at all the things i pack into my days especially when it comes to holidays, and celebrations. The Easter season has made it to the top of the list as one of my favorite holidays, and because we tend for it to be more focused on Christ I don't go overboard with giving too much to the kids except my time, and a simple little Easter egg hunt.

And taking lots of pictures too!

And this little video I made from all my snapchats!  

This past Saturday we had ourselves a little Easter egg hunt right before women's conference, and I have to say it was a success! One thing I give myself a ton of pats on the back is for the fact that I'm pretty good at being organized, and to not rush something that is special for the kids. We drove to a nearby park, and I kept an eye on the kiddos while Jon and Lexie hid the eggs. We had 29 eggs and 11 of them had pieces of paper inside with the story of Christ. 

Here are a few photos of our little easter egg hunt...

// she found one! //

// so did he!  //

Having those extra 11 eggs with the pieces of paper of the Story of Christ inside is tradition and every year as the kids get older they become more interested and understanding in appreciating the Saviors sacrifice, and knowing more about who He is and why we are here. Noah had so many questions when we were done after putting all the pieces of paper in order to read the story of Christ. Jon was explaining to Noah how He healed the sick, and fed the poor, and that He had a perfect body after he was resurrected. Noah's response was, "I like Jesus." And asked questions such as, "Am I clean? I'm going to have a perfect body too!" I couldn't help, but to laugh at his little Noahisms, but you think about how children have such a vivid imagination, and a mind of their own. It's interesting to hear their own interpretation of why they are here, and the silly questions they may ask, but it's only because they are curious, and want to learn more. I love that Noah has such a big imagination, and that his mind has room for so many unanswered questions. He loves the fact that every video he's seen of Jesus is filled with light, and little kids, and how "clean" Jesus looks in every picture we show him. I love teaching our children about the Savior and the true meaning as to why we celebrate Easter.

 // assembling all the pieces of paper of the story of Christ in order. //

// along with his favorite candy...jellybeans! //

//Easter egg hunt accomplished! //

I also have to add in that I'm relieved that my kids never really believed in the Easter bunny. My two oldest realized that when they were about four years old. I'd take them to get their photos taken with the Easter bunny at the mall and when Sierra saw that there was a person inside the costume she knew it was fake, and that was fine with me! Saved me about 25 bucks every year for the next 17 years in taking pictures with a person wearing a bunny suit. 

I have to say that our Easter holiday is more beautiful and meaningful when we don't involve all the worldly stuff. Sure we have an egg hunt, confetti eggs, and candy in the making, but making it Christ centered brings more peace, less bickering when it comes to who got the most eggs, light, love, and smiles that last all spring long. 

Spending our Easter Sunday with dear friends was the icing on the cake. Since we don't have immediate family close by, having my dear friend Maggie whom I've known for almost 25 years, and her son over for dinner was very much needed! It sure was long overdue!!

Noah had so much fun having Nate over. "It's like having a big brother" said Noah, and the kids all had fun playing games. Just like they did when they were all younger! 

These two have been friends since birth. They are only six months apart. Can't believe how grown everyone looks int these photos, and of course there's Noah photo bombing the picture with his light saber. 

Kids also enjoyed making confetti eggs. This is also tradition, and no matter how tired I may get in remembering to save the egg shells six months before it's so worth it, and the outcome is fun as heck! We tricked Maggie and Nate about not making any this year, and were sneaky when we cracked them on their heads! It was so fun. Didn't capture any moments of that, but snapped a bunch of moments of it on my snapchat. If it's still there you can view it @ r_jorgensen

 // Noah's task was putting the confetti inside the egg shells. He broke one on accident while trying to decorate it, and would rather deal with the confetti. //

// Jon and Lexie were the ones who prepared Easter dinner, and I'm just so lucky to have these two who are always willing to help out, and contribute. Especially when it comes to cooking! /Then again...Jon always does the cooking! //

// and this sour cream chocolate chip cake that Maggie made! Mouth watering! //

// I apologize for the blurry photo of my dark eyed little boy, but had to share. The smile on his face with a look that says, "feeling accomplished" was so sweet to see. He could have had easter egg hunts all year long! //

I'm so grateful for the Savior, and for teaching my kids all about Him, and for them to know that there's so much more to learning, and appreciating the Lord's gospel than all the candy they get that's filled inside their easter eggs. 

And for a husband who is such a great role model for my boy, and girls in teaching them all about the Savior. 

Hope y'all had an amazing Easter weekend! 

Our Easter Egg Hunt.

One of the reasons I look forward to spring is because of change. A change in season comes with renewing our lives which reminds me of the resurrected Christ. Easter is one of our favorite times of the year, and today we decided to have a simple egg hunt in the outskirts of Jersey. 

We usually have our egg hunts on Sunday after dinner, but decided as a family that from now on we would do it the day before Easter. I really want to keep the sabbath day reverent...especially on Easter sunday. Chelsea and Noah are our two youngest children ones who enjoy easter egg hunts, and the rest of us "older" folk enjoy preparing it & making the day fun for them. Now I don't go out of my way with buying every thing under the sun when it comes to "gifts". Can you believe I only bought two small bags of candy this year, and no toys? I've also been reusing the same plastic eggs for over two years now. I'm pretty proud of myself that I'm not buying cheap toys that'll break within an hour, and loads of candy that'll keep my kids high on sugar till all hours of the night. Go me! 

Like Christmas, Easter gets more simpler. One thing I am most pleased with about my girls is that they know that Easter is not about the bunny, or candy. Although those things are fun to "believe in" and yummy to eat they know the purpose of why we really celebrate this day. Noah is beginning to see the "light" as to the purpose of our Easter egg hunts. We fill up the plastic eggs with candy, spare change, and slips of paper that tell "The Story of Jesus". We have been doing this tradition since the girls were elementary age, and I'm so, so grateful that I continue to do this each year so that we can remember all that He did for us, and never forget His sacrifice.

This year Noah found the empty egg which represents the "empty tomb." It truly makes a difference in our kids lives when we teach them proper principles of the gospel, and about the resurrected Christ.

I'm also a mom that thrives on fun, and love seeing my kids happy. We dig Easter egg hunts, and here are some scenes of how we spent this beautiful Saturday afternoon.

^^^ Another tradition that has been carried down from my family is making cascarones (confetti eggs). The girls made these, and they all had fun "giving each other cascarones." You have to be mexican in order to understand what I just wrote, and if you're a different nationality other that mexican then I'm very impressed!) ^^^

^^^ nailed her! haha!~ Chelsea ^^^

^^^ Lexie tried to be all sneaky trying to give me a cascarone, but I got to her first! haha! A mother knows... ^^^

^^^ Poor Noah...he looked like he was getting tired of us giving him cascarones. It's easy to take advantage of the little ones and give them cascarones because they don't quite get the concept of what they actually are! Especially in this vine when Chelsea popped him one. ^^^

^^^ Noah's look on his face is like, "yeah right...like she can reach it." ^^^

^^^ "I found it!" ^^^

^^^ she was determined ^^^

^^^ as was Noah with a little help from big sister ^^^

^^^ mission accomplished! ^^^

^^^ this is perfection ^^^

^^^ opening up their eggs, and telling the story of Jesus. ^^^

Words can't describe how I was feeling at this moment. I just love my family so much! Seeing the kids happy & playing in the park afterwards. I think Jumping on dad was their way of thanking him for a fun day. I'm just really, really grateful that we all enjoyed this day without any bickering (okay...there was a little between the kids, but it wasn't too bad.) It was so peaceful, and fun at the same time. It's so nice to spend our Saturdays without worrying about laundry, errands, or chores. I'm lucky that throughout the week we can work together as a family to get those things out of the way so that we can all enjoy our weekend, and concentrate preparing for the sabbath. Especially on this day knowing that as we lay ourselves down for bed tonight we know that this beautiful day took place all because of Him.

Have a blessed Easter everyone!