Passover and Year-a-versary

We made it a year in Idaho! Wednesday we celebrated with Arctic Circle ice cream treats. I  can honestly say this past year went super fast and slow all at the same time. I still feel new in our ward and only really know three people. Adding in homeschool threw us deeper into the anti-social circles! Ha ha. We are so grateful for the Ostler's next door. It's nice to have a nutty neighbor just as silly as I am. Last week she stole my new bush, she was "upset" I didn't respond, I offered to let her borrow a shovel and a space of ground in my front garden for her new bush.  

School this week was interesting. Phillip had on-site state testing Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday in Meridian. Testing took a big chunk of the those days, leaving at 8:30 am and returning home by noon. He finished all the testing! Phillip also finished reading the 3rd Harry Potter book! He read this book all on his own, instead of reading along while listening to Audible. So proud of him. 

My boys went the extra mile this week! I was teaching piano on Wednesday, towards the last 20 minutes of lessons baking smells started wafting from the kitchen. I thought the boys were playing with something in the dining room. Nope! Everett and Phillip each made their own batch of brown sugar muffins Brother Ostler taught the boys how to make last week in mutual.  Everett packaged up half his muffins to deliver to Sister Titus and the Bishop's family. He included very sweet notes thanking them for their service and love. My mommy heart was completely filled with admiration. I am also floored that both boys correctly followed the recipes! The muffins were amazing. 

Phillip found a container of Orbeez I hid (should've thrown away) when we moved in. He reconstituted the entire container at one time in a huge plastic box. It was really cold outside so they played with the Orbeez in the main room. Oh my gracious, the floor was a mess of squished Orbeez. The boys were dunking their heads into the bucket drenching their hair. I got so upset over all the Orbeez scattered throughout the main floor. After two days the stupid things dried enough we could sweep them up. As soon as the weather warmed those Orbeez went outside. Phillip broke the bucket so the entire patio was covered again with Orbeez. All the kids quite enjoyed smashing Orbeez into the concrete. It was so slippery, I am sure more than one bum was bruised. 

Thursday evening we dyed Easter eggs! We had over 60 eggs to decorate. Amelia dyed the prettiest peach colored egg ever. Josie had a collection of pink eggs and one green egg Justin had her dye. I love how cheap it is to dye eggs. Ambree joined us for a couple moments. 

Friday our fridge started making some funky sounds. It stopped making ice as well so I figured the compressor was on the fritz. Friday night Justin and I enjoyed a date night. We had a session with Garrett first, so vented all the feelings. Then we went to look at couches and refrigerators at Ashley furniture and RC Willey. The price of fridges made us both flinch a bit. We tried out a new joint that offered butterscotch covered ice cream cones. All the menu foods were fried and double fried. Made our tummies hurt after just a couple bites...that ice cream cone though! Yum. We forgot to retrieve the van after our date but did not realize until after bedtime. 

Saturday was a really, really busy day. Justin woke me up with the news that the freezer items were soggy.  The kids helped transfer all the food into the garage fridge and freezer. We had a couple items left over that the Ostler's took until we figured out a solution. Justin did some research and found out the compressor was still under warranty for only a couple more months. LG will send over a tech on Tuesday, hoping we can fix it for under $300. Justin and I ran over to pick up the van. Back at home Evelyn, Josie and I attended the baptism of Lilybell, one of my girls in Activity Days. Evelyn was so touched by the baptism and confirmation she felt the spirit several times. She cannot wait to be baptized in September and serve a mission. The Primary hosted an Easter Egg hunt at 1 pm on the elementary playground. It was so nice to see lots of kids together and parents chatting in groups. Sister Young divided up the eggs into age groups so the younger kids had a chance for eggs. It was all over in less than two minutes! The kids divided out their treats and returned the plastic eggs. The kids and I came away with lots of candy and sunburns on our winter white skin. Everett went to play with his friend Flynn for the rest of the day. Phillip was a huge help doing yard work with Justin. I finally planted the stolen forsythia bush. Phillip and Evelyn went with the Ostlers to shoot off rockets at the middle school. Amelia and I enjoyed a mother-daughter date at Sister Minor's home. Her Chinese exchange student (from 20 years ago) now owns 5 Sushi Burrito restaurants in the valley. Yi brought several helpers plus her chef to teach us how to make three types of sushi and potstickers. We had a great evening and some delicious food. The ladies got a bit silly!! 

The kids helped out the laundry on Saturday in preparation for our trip. They mixed and sorted 3 baskets of clean clothes with some dirty clothes, made for an epic pile of laundry. After church we all teamed up and sorted all the laundry in 20 minutes. 

We wore our Easter finery to church on Sunday. The kids tolerated some photos before church. Sara photo bombed the boy's photos. My dress is so fancy, it's tie-dyed in Spring colors. Somehow I managed to make challah bread before church. Last week I decided to host a Passover dinner with the Palmers and the Ostlers. Sunday ended up being the only day that worked. Sunday was also the day we needed to finish packing up for our Utah trip. Justin helped the boys pack their bags. We team cleaned the house and even had time to spare for a nap. We read the Passover story and sampled seder plates while learning about the history behind the Passover. After dinner we had dinner of lamb, beef, potatoes, Israeli salad, deviled eggs, and bread. 

Easter fever is high in our home! So excited to celebrate next week with family in Utah.