Our First Attempt at Passover

I have always wanted to do a passover meal, but it has been too expensive or we were too busy. Those two things are still true, but since we are celebrating General Conference and an early Easter for our family, I just had to give it a try.

I started gathering things early, but I was still scrambling last minute. The plates helped me stay on track with the seder. My sweetie offered to cook the lamb and the eggs. Even though I 'm sure we messed things up,  I was pretty pleased with our 1st attempt and so excited to learn more about our Jewish ancestry.

My sweetie was more supportive than he appears, although he did hide his parsley under his plate...

When we had said all the prayers and tossed back each cup of grape juice in turn, it was finally time for the eating part of the feast.

Roasted chicken and lamb, potatoes and asparagus, olives and matzah. Delicious.

Minecraft Movie Preview

About half of my twelve kids are true Minecraft fans. Scout watches the reels on YouTube and Curly and Sport love building their own houses... and don't get me started on Bossy's boys. They love it too! So when the opportunity to preview the new Minecraft Movie was offered to us, I jumped at the chance.

They presented us with swag when we first arrived and it was fun taking pics and getting the kids even more excited. There were nine of us including Bossy and Gamer and a bunch of their boys. Just the right group to absolutely LOVE this movie! I didn't really know that much about Minecraft, so I didn't expect to be too engaged in the movie, but it was fun and light with just enough grownup humor that I stayed wide awake and I laughed right along with everyone else.

I am so glad that Curly requested the seat next to me because when I didn't understand something, he was quick to explain the details. Jack Black is always so funny and the kids were excellent in their roles. Seriously, that boy did remind me of Frodo...

We had a great time, and I would recommend this movie for all ages. Make sure you hang around to the very end of the credits. They have two additional scenes there that you won't want to miss!!

Traveling Together - More Time in Philly

We checked out of our hotel before 10:00am and we headed for Teach's house. We knew she was already gone to school, but we had to pick up Baby Doll before we headed down the road. 

It was still early and our flight didn't leave until 7:00pm, so we drove to Valley Forge. Baby Doll was certain than it was a stop that would impress her history teacher.

We had planned a couple more stops, but the terrible traffic kept us to one. So we decided to see the place of the Continental Congress. We had pics of Baby Doll when she was 2 at the same building, but of course she didn't remember. So that brought our trip full circle.

Then it was time to head to the airport. Another amazing trip completed.

Traveling Together - Twizlet's Baptism

I just love days like this! Having family together and celebrating good choices is the best. I only wish even more of our kids and grandkids could have been here. 

We got to the church just before 10:00. In Utah, we have baptisms the day before, but because of the travel times for some members, they often have them right after Sunday services. So we went to Sacrament Meeting and Sunday school with Dog Walker, Teach and Princess and their sweeties. 

The kids all went to Primary except for Baby Doll. She and Drama Queen took Twizzler to the Sensory Room. 

They had some trouble with the font draining after it was filled, so we didn't get started until half an hour later than the planned time, but once it got started, things moved quickly. Dog Walker said the opening prayer and Princess and The Frog did the music. My sweetie gave a talk and I was a witness although I did end up leading the closing song because Princess had to take one of her kiddos out and she didn't get back in time. 

They served cookies afterward and then we went back to our hotel room. It was time for a nap! After a while, Teach and Twiz brought their girls over to swim in the hotel's pool, so Dog Walker went with them. We had already determined that the pool was too cold for me, and my sweetie was still asleep. 

Later, we went back over to Teach's house for dinner and a nice visiting session. 

It was the perfect baptism day (except for maybe the font spontaneously draining, that wasn't fun...).

Traveling Together - Ocean City

On Saturday, my youngest granddaughter, Twizzle, was not feeling well, so Teach had to take her to the instacare. We changed our plans and decided to take everyone else to the beach. Princess's kids had never been on the beach and Baby Doll loves the water. So it was the perfect answer.

It took us about an hour to get there (after we stopped at Target for sand supplies). The water was cold but irresistible. We searched for shells and made a sand castle.

Then we bought fries and funnel cakes at a little shop on the dock. We also bought tshirts for the kids and hoodies for Baby Doll and Dog Walker.

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Best fries on the beach. What a fun day!!

Traveling Together - New Jersey

We had so much fun converging on Teach and Twiz's house!

They made us a yummy dinner of walking tacos. And they all chased down the ice cream truck.

We all tried the massage chair.

I didn't love it.

More adventures to come.