I subbed in Primary as the chorister, and right after church I started talking to a girl I hadn't met yet. We just started attending this ward the week before, so it was nice to connect with someone so quickly. She ended up inviting us over for Easter dinner, and what she coined as an "Easter Walk". She said that it would be an adventure, and the kids were all for it.
We had time to go to the park first, so we got changed and had a small egg hunt before heading to their house. They also have six kids, so it was a full house, but so fun! We had a yummy ham dinner, then it was time to go on our walk. They live about 5 minutes from where our new house will be, and their property is gorgeous. In their backyard is a ravine with waterfall after waterfall, so she outfitted us all with water shoes (I can't believe she had that many extra, and in the right sizes!!), we rolled up our pant legs, and we were off.
We had a list of things were supposed to collect--items that would remind us of Jesus Christ--and we were going to come back and talk about them. The kids just couldn't wait to go adventuring, and discover everything that was to come. They showed us all of the trees they were tapping for sap, and told us about how they make their own maple syrup. Then we started hiking, and soon we were walking along the river next to their house. The kids were in heaven! Fortunately, despite it being the end of March, it was fairly warm day, and it didn't take long before they were all IN the water.
Rick had Caroline on his back, and Jack kept close to me, but it was a constant battle to keep the other kids close. We hiked, climbed over trees, had to cross the water several times, and thoroughly enjoyed the scenery around us. It felt like we were somewhere else entirely, not in their backyard! After about an hour or so, we came to the final waterfall, and a small beach. We built a fire, roasted marshmallows, skipped rocks, and had a fabulous time. Soon it was time to get back--it was going to be dark soon, and the kids would be getting really cold. We hiked back a different way, and up three waterfalls to get home!
When we got back, she found enough clothes for all the kids to change into, then we had dessert, and an Easter lesson. We didn't get home until after 10pm, but it was one of best days (and nights) we'd had in a long time. Yes, an unconventional Easter, but a wonderful one.
