Easter is one of my favorite holidays and times of the year. Not only does it take place in spring, a time of renewal and rebirth, but it is totally focused on the mission and atonement of Jesus Christ.

This year, we tried to begin our celebrations early, and we had a very special sacrament meeting at church on Palm Sunday. The boys even got all dressed up in their suits for it.

And to help us refocus on Christ, not only did we have a wonderful lesson on what Easter is, but then we watched “Lamb of God” the concert with the amazing music by Rob Gardner and the London Symphony. It is so powerful and amazing.

Doing that, really set the right tone in our home for Holy Week. We had also been studying a different name of Jesus Christ each day as well.

This Easter was especially special, because it just happened to fall on April Conference weekend. And not just any General Conference, but a solemn assembly to sustain President Dallin H. Oaks as our prophet. It was such a spiritual experience, and was so powerful as each group of members throughout the world was asked to stand and offer their sustaining vote.

Kevin even participated as he was on the golf course volunteering. (He always listens to conference on that Saturday of the Valero as he is helping on the course.)

This year for Easter, instead of doing our traditional Easter egg hunt where they hide each other’s eggs, they both decided to send the other brother on a treasure hunt, complete with clues. At the very end, was the prize of all their candy. Arthur set his up for Derek while he was gone watching the first session of conference with his fellow missionaries.

Arthur also had something special up his sleeve – he wanted Derek to have a special prize, and so the two of us had gone to Target to pick something out for him to buy for his brother. He decided on Toad Mario Legos, which Derek loved!

Arthur had his treasure hunt after the second session was over, so that Derek had a chance to set it up. Derek had written really fantastic clues, and at one point he had Baby Yoda – Grogu – give one of the clues – ha ha!

Instead of a golden egg, Arthur’s candy was inside of a treasure chest. He also had a special surprise – a new pair of sandals. Good times! And wow, these boys had such a blast creating and carrying these for each other. It made me so happy to watch.

During the second session on Saturday, one of the speakers, Elder Brian J. Holmes, just happened to be a friend of Kevin’s from his mission. They haven’t been in touch for a while, but it sure was fun for Kevin to pull out his mission scrapbook to show us pics of he and Elder Holmes golfing together and hanging out on the train tracks. Good times. (Oh, and his talk was very good.)

One of my favorite things that happened during conference on Saturday, other than the Solemn Assembly and watching it with my boys, was watching all the leaders after the meeting. The first session ended early, and so they kept showing things happening on the stand. Usually, we may get to watch the apostles and prophet walk out with their wives, but this time, they showed the auxiliary leaders and the Seventy greeting each other afterward. You could see the joy they all had as they were reunited. And there was the wonderful showing of support to the outgoing and incoming General Primary Presidency. It was heartwarming and just made me smile. So cool!

And there were so many amazing and inspiring talks. A few that stood out to me were by Sister Kristin Yee, and by our newest apostle, Elder Clark B. Gilbert. So good.

On Easter morning, Arthur was so excited to get to “roll away the stone” on our Easter countdown. I just got this special display this year, and I love it! It even says “He is risen” on the part you pull out.

Another wonderful thing that morning, was the surprise of yummy raspberry rolls from the wonderful Groberg family. We love them so much, and not just because of the delicious treats 😉.

Sunday was also wonderful, because Kevin was with us all day to watch both sessions. (We were only missing our Lily.)

Because Lily wasn’t there, but would be home soon, instead of ham and our usual Easter dinner, we had crepes instead. They were delicious, and we will save the ham for when Lily is back.

And speaking of Lily, she drove to Twin Falls to spend Easter/Conference weekend with my mom. So wonderful for both of them.

General Conference was amazing and such a wonderful way to spend our Easter. How can you beat spending two straight days listening to uplifting and inspiring messages about Jesus Christ? I kept saving different favorite quotes from some of the talks, and ended up with a huge collection on my phone. Here are a few.

I am so grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, and his sacrifice, atonement and resurrection. Because of Him, I can be free of both sin and death. And I come to know Him better, I can learn from Him and become more like him, helping and serving those around me.