Grandeur Peak and Other Easter Fun!

It has been a truly wonderful conference weekend. It is always a privilege to spend time together as a family while we listen to the words of the living Prophets. It was even more special to invite the special spirit of the General Conference into our lives on Easter weekend. As we listened to the words of the living Prophets our thoughts were turned to the life, ministry, and most importantly the atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for the Savior and his atonement, which promises the gift of the resurrection and the opportunity to repent of our sins.

I enjoyed the talk Seeking the Lord by Elder José A. Teixeira. He said, "The more we understand the extraordinary role of Christ in our lives, the more conscious we become of our purpose here in mortality, which is to have joy."

This weekend, as we have considered the role of Christ in our lives, we have also experienced great joy. After the first session of the conference Saturday we were ready to get out of our apartment. It was such a pleasant day that we decided to hike one of our favorite trails - Mount Grandeur. Last year we hiked this trail in June and it was unbelievably beautiful. Since it has been such a warm winter we were pretty sure there wouldn't be much if any, snow at the peak.

There is something special about being in the mountains surrounded by trees. There is a feeling of peace. Whenever we hike I feel disconnected from the worries of life. I treasure the time Alison and I can spend together on hikes. We talk about anything and everything. It is a hobby we can share and it helps keep us close together.

When we started out it was a little chilly, but as we got going the wind went from being cold to refreshing. We had forgotten how challenging hiking Mount Grandeur is. The hike is a little over 6.5 miles long and it gains a little over 2,200 feet of elevation. The first mile of the hike is pretty challenging and the last .25 miles is really challenging. It gets most difficult just before the summit. This is one of the things I enjoy about Mount Grandeur. It takes a lot of effort, but the difficulty makes standing on the summit that much more satisfying. The views of the surrounding mountains and Salt Lake City down below are also incredible. While they were not as beautiful as last June, it was still beautiful. The snowcapped peaks nearby were quite a sight.

After our hike, I went to the priesthood session with Blake, Jake, and Dan. There were some inspiring talks and I was glad we got to hear from President Monson. His words about the sacred calling of the priesthood resonated with me. After the session, we met up with Alison, Debbie, Meg, Kristin, and Skylee to get some dinner. We went to Tushar in South Jordan. It is a pretty good Brazilian place.

On Sunday morning we went over to Blake and Debbie's to listen to General Conference. We had a delicious breakfast of aebleskivers, bacon, sausage, and eggs. We really only do an aebleskiver breakfast a few times each year so it is a special treat. After breakfast and the first session of the conference Alison and I picked up Skylee and took her for a walk on the Jordan River trail. We sang songs with her and made shapes with the shadows of our hands. She was so excited during the walk. She loved seeing all the dogs that people were walking out on the trail. It was a lot of fun.

We went back to Blake and Debbie's for the afternoon session. Skylee got her coloring book and decided to play with the stickers. She had way too much fun with the stickers.

Playing with Skylee today was so much fun. After we played with stickers she went down for a little nap. When she woke up she was ready to go. We took her outside and played on the tramp. She loved jumping. Alison and I would hold her hands and jump with her. She would laugh and laugh. We would fall down and she would fall down with us and roll around. Then she would jump up and tell us "get up, get up" while she was helping us up. It was so cute. We adore Skylee and are so glad we got to play with her all day.

The day just kept getting better because baseball is back. The Cubs played the Cardinals and we turned in. The first pitch was thrown and there were high fives all around. The season is underway - baseball is back! We can't wait for tomorrow when the Yankees will begin their season.