Easter 2015

Will we spend all our holidays with my family from now on? No, but the thought occurred to us that we are close enough to spend Easter with family, so... we did.

We drove up on Friday afternoon and arrived just in time for the Good Friday service at my parents' church. Afterward we hung out at the house and gave the dogs the attention they obviously (thought they) deserved. 

On Saturday, Carson and I joined Mom and Dad in a jaunt to Charleston, after a lazy early morning at home. Dad rarely has weekends off, so it was fun to be visiting family AND spending time with dad at the same time. We went to the Charleston Farmer's Market, ate lunch at Mellow Mushroom on King Street, and walked on the Battery and around Battery Park a little before heading back.

Lots of people were there to witness this couple we didn't know get married in the gazebo. When they kissed you could hear clapping all over the park. 

Sunday, we joined the family for church, where we enjoyed celebrating the resurrection! It was also so great to see old friends. We didn't have much time between services so I didn't get to see a ton of people, but I got to connect with Jillian (and baby Wren!) and to see Brooke, Levi and baby Clayton who are spending time in the South this summer before moving up to the Northwest! Connecting with old friends makes me feel, well, old... but it's so fun to see and connect with people even though it's often for a hug and a picture in between services.

And here's a throwback to us in the same spot in 2008, the last time we were home for Easter:

And now here we are with husbands and a baby.

After the service, we rushed home and began prep for a family Easter lunch. We'd planned it all just a few days before, but it came together wonderfully and there was more than enough food. I claimed to enjoy Easter food more than Thanksgiving food and that news was not well-received. I still stand by my unpopular claim, even if it is based solely on the fact that Grandmama's potato salad (one of my favorite foods) is seasonally appropriate for Easter and not Thanksgiving. Also, there was quite the abundance of delicious desserts, and I much prefer cheesecake to pumpkin pie. I will likely be disowned for that claim, but it's true.

We had to leave the gathering much too soon because we had to get back so that I could go to bed and open the next morning. Unfortunately, my work doesn't look kindly on skipping shifts. What are the odds? Also, there was rerouting due to road work they weren't doing, so that was fun. 

It was lovely being home for Easter!