Easter 2013/Family Reunion/Trip to UT

For Easter weekend this year we had a big trip to Utah planned for a family reunion for a couple of days and then a visit to Provo for a couple of days.

At the Ruesch family reunion Hyrum got a chance to decorate sugar cookies:

He also got to dye eggs a little:

That Saturday morning the kids all had a huge Easter egg hunt- there must have been around fifty kids! It was so fun to watch the little kids take off running once they got the go ahead to try and get to the eggs before they let the older kids go. Hyrum was pretty funny because once he got like ten eggs he told me, “I have enough” and started walking back, even though he was still surrounded by eggs. I guess sometimes he’s not so greedy! He even turned down getting more eggs from a cousin because he still insisted he had enough.

I think Hyrum’s favorite part of the reunion was getting to play with so many cousins around his age, including his first cousins who also made the drive up for the reunion:

My favorite part of the reunion was the talent show, where lots of my cousins’ kids and a few of my cousins showed off their many and varied talents. There was dancing, singing, piano playing, karate, artwork, poems in Spanish, and more. They were so cute and talented!!

I left with the kids after the talent show on Saturday and met Ryan and the Schuetzlers in Provo that evening, where we went to dinner:

Sunday morning we all got dressed up and went to church:

 

I loved their Easter outfits!

Later on Sunday we did a big Easter egg hunt in the hotel room, and this one Hyrum really got into (greediness may have been involved this time):

Cora liked the eggs at first because they were like little rattles. She liked them later because she found out if she threw them on the ground repeatedly, they might open up and she could quickly pop a jelly bean in her mouth before I could catch her.

Cora’s cousin also liked the rattle-ness of the eggs:

After the egg hunt we just chilled at the hotel, where Hyrum was again stuck to Dallen like glue. He sure loves his uncle!

We got to meet our newest niece this trip, and she is adorable! And so small and cuddly!

Cora got to have all her naps with Daddy while in Provo:

Hyrum got these cars in his Easter basket, and that made him a pretty happy dude!

Our drive home on Monday was pretty memorable for the fact that I got a stomach bug the night before we were supposed to leave, so I was queasy the whole way home. We were unsure if we were going to make it to Mesa the whole way, looking up prospective hotels at Beaver, Las Vegas, and even Kingman. But we made it! I just had to have the window half down on the freeway most of the way. An hour before we got to my parent’s house (11 pm), Hyrum started throwing up. And then half an hour before we got there, Cora started screaming and would not be consoled. So, that last hour home was something out of a nightmare, but we made it! I’m sure we’ll laugh someday.

Overall it was a great trip and we loved being able to see so much family in such a short amount of time. Thanks to everyone who helped us out, let us stay, helped with my kids, and fed us along the way!