Spring Time! (Really Just More Hot!)

This is the one and only photo that our two Muggles have ever taken with the Easter Bunny. Neither of them are interested in doing it in the past...not sure Lady Hiva gave them much of a choice this year! haha. I am glad that I was not the one in the suit because I was hot just being in shorts! HAHA. 

The last few weeks in summer have brought some amazing sunshine and outdoor activities. We have spent time in the grass and running. The Muggles participated in a course with the Marines and thought that it was great to race them...Koala Bear was most excited that she beat the one Marine in a foot race! 

It has been time to watch movies and have picnics in the living room. It has been time to practice piano and perfect our swim. Koala Bear continues to climb anything that she can find. 

We have become more comfortable with the crowds of people and can face the chaos without a sense of panic! Now we can see all the amazing people that are part of the crowd. I often wonder what their stories are and how they got to be in the places they are now. 

Easter we spent with friends and family trying to make traditional activities happen here in India too. It is hard to think that we were in Boston doing an egg hunt last year in the cold and coats. This year we are sweating and hot in Mumbai! Both places, as different as they are, are amazing and fun! 

Easter day was a simple day. But it was focused on Jesus Christ and our little family--so it was perfect. Just the way we felt it should be! 

We did Easter Family Home Evening and Koala Bear taught the lesson. Complete with one of her mum's favorite pair of heels! 

We have all found time to read a few books, in those few quiet moments that we have. Even until our eyes shut at night. 

Lucky Dragon has been on a swim team and is improving so much. He has also been doing a capstone project traveling in a way that decreases CO2 in the air at school and as a fundraiser he 3D printed vehicles to sell. It was fun to watch him in action. 

 

Easter Fun!

 

Easter is always a special time of year. We have enjoyed reading in the scriptures each night about our Savior Jesus Christ and what Easter truly means. Koala Bear even gave a Family Home Evening lesson one night about what she has learned about Easter. It was so cute and pure. 

We tried to make a weekend of family time. On Saturday Lady Hiva wanted to dye eggs with the kids. They decided to dye the eggs with natural coloring from the fridge. Orange peppers, "red" cabbage, spinach and turmeric. It was fun to watch them chop the vegetables and see their excitement as the eggs changed colors.  

It has been so beautiful the last few days. We are so excited to see the Springtime flowers blooming in the garden. 

Lady Hiva decided to do an impromptu egg hunt for the small neighbor children. They had so much fun running around and looking for eggs. 

It was also General Conference this weekend. Every six months we are able to hear from the Prophet and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. It is a special time to hear how we can become better people and to focus on what is really important. 

On Saturday morning one of the talks used an analogy of rabbits. They showed a photo of a bunny. Koala Bear said, "ahh, I want a rabbit!" Lady Hiva, to my surprise agreed!! We have been trying to get Lady Hiva to allow us to have a dog, but she is adamant that we cannot have a dog. So when she agreed to this, we jumped right on that! I found a place selling bunnies and I took the kids to get some rabbits. 

They chose their own rabbits. Koala Bear chose a tan bunny that she has named "Graham Cracker" and Lucky Dragon chose a white bunny with gray spots and named it "Snow Fluff." My goal is that they learn to have responsibility around caring for an animal. I made them help me build the cage for the rabbits and they know they are responsible to clean the cage and feed the rabbits. 

We built a folding gate cage as well that the kids can use to let the bunnies out and explore. I had to laugh that the last few days they have done everything they can outside while in the cage with the rabbits too! 

On Easter Morning we had Sour Dough Pancakes made from Ginger's recipe and the 250 year old sour dough start. They were delicious. We made enough that we took a plate full to all the neighbors. 

For lunch/dinner Lady Hiva requested that we had ribs and fresh rolls. That was fun to prepare as well. We had some amazing food to conclude an amazing day. 

Of course, no Easter is complete without an Easter Egg hunt in the house. The two of them were so excited to have the hunt. Throughout the day they were still finding the "straggler" eggs that I had hidden well!