Listen to the Music of the Moment, Maybe Sing With Me

This weekend was full of moments to sing about. It was just GREAT! Starting with a mission reunion Friday night and spending the weekend with my sister and her family, and ending with a 3-hour phone call with someone who has quickly become one of my best friends. I just wish he didn't live so far away, but 4 hours is better than 40, so I count my blessings. Anyway, here are some pictures of the highlights of our adventures:

Sister Taylor and Sister Cox are two of my favorite sisters. Sister Taylor and I were white-washed into Lake Villa together and had a blast. Of course, all good things only last one transfer. Sister Cox and I went on exchanges together in DeKalb, which was also great.

After dropping Kaleb off in SLC, I got to my sister's and the next morning we dyed eggs, made apple dumplings, jam...

...and dipped TONS of strawberries. There are more than this, we just didn't take pictures.

Then, we tie-dyed eggs. This was a first attempt, but I still think they turned out really great.

And of course there were piggy-back rides and wrestling.

I eventually found myself at the bottom of this pile once all the kids wanted piggy-back rides from me and didn't want to take turns. My sister has pics of at least 4 of them piled on top of me. I have to admit, that was one of my favorite parts of the day.

Come Sunday morning, the kids woke up to their Easter baskets full of goodies, and as is traditional in our family, Peeps were involved. After egg hunting, my sister and I come back into the kitchen to find this:

We call it the Great Peep Massacre

Naturally, the chickens were offended/upset/outraged and came after ME!

Fortunately I escaped....but only narrowly.

Instead of being attacked by chickens, I was attacked by one of THESE (not Sam... the thing he's holding) and almost lost a finger. I had to hang up the phone on my mother abruptly because of the gushing blood from trying to block this thing as it came straight for my face. Nothing but a flesh wound though.

After brunch and Conference at the Whipple's, I headed home and enjoyed the second Sunday session with my roommates. I love Conference and look forward to reading the Conference issue of the Ensign next month. It's my favorite. After Conference, I decided to make a few phone calls, including one to my brother in Oregon. I rarely talk to him anymore, which is a shame. I was really close to him growing up (mostly because we're only 2 years apart) even though he beat me up a lot. I got a little emotional, I'll admit, and was embarrassed that I was crying on the phone with my brother in front of my roommates. It was really great to talk to him. I miss him a lot.

Among my phone calls was one to a really good friend I met last summer selling in Phoenix. We really hit it off right away and hung out all the time before he went home. Since he's in school in St. George, I never see him, but make the effort to visit when ever I go home. We hadn't spoken in a long time... months even. It's hard to do when both of us are so busy, and he was dating someone for a while... so that's possibly a factor. Either way, I left a message and he called me back later that night. We spoke for a good 3 hours, not including the time his phone cut out due to poor reception. It's amazing how, no matter how much time goes by (seemingly), you can pick up just where you left off and it feels like no time at all. We have a lot of the same interests, share the same insights, have a similar thought process and love to talk about EVERYTHING. I'm not sure why this person is in my life, but he has proven to be a great blessing and I am grateful for his friendship. I'm hoping we get to actually spend time together this summer. We'll see how it goes, but as always, you will be updated.

Main theme of our conversation last night: You win some, you learn some.

Courtesy of Jason Mraz.

I hope everyone had a happy Easter. I know I did.