A Good Good Friday and Happy Easter

With four days off for Easter, we had plans for a big family bike ride on Good Friday. As we drove to our destination, however, we saw the dark clouds gathering and more and more raindrops falling on our windshield. We thought about turning back (at least I did!), but in the end we decided to give it a try.

As soon as we got out of the car, I noticed Ben and Eric were dressed as twins in almost the exact same jacket! (Ten years really does make a difference in size....)

These three stayed ahead of all of us, 

and these two stayed behind,

but I think all of us had a pretty good time.

While we were riding along the dyke, I noticed the tower from a nearby monastery that I visited with my grandparents when I was little. I suggested to Jason that we drive up and see if it was open, thinking if it wasn't, we would at least have a nice drive.

It turned out that the abbey and its grounds were open, despite Covid, so we got out and walked to the lookout point,

then took the trail back around to the bell tower,

the lake,

and the statue of Mary.

Such a nice, peaceful place.

On Saturday we watched our church's general conference, took flowers to my dad's grave, and started getting ready for our Easter dinner. 

Janae and Eric helped with the stuffing, and Alaina suffered through grating carrots for our carrot cake :)

On Sunday we celebrated Easter with a hunt for eggs filled with chocolates and jelly beans, 

as well as more conference messages that focused on what this holiday truly means to us. 

And now today the kids are playing outside in the sunshine! So, we have really enjoyed the four days off, even though we've just had spring break. Long weekends are definitely welcome anytime :)