Speaking of Family Traditions

The first time I went rock crawling was before Brad and I were married. I think I was being initiated. Or tested. Or something. We started off on a bumpy road and paused in a small canyon where we met a group of other jeeps. Imagine my surprise when we left the dirt road and drove straight up the nearest boulder. No, surprise is the wrong word. Let's use sheer terror.

Last weekend we took our friends, Emily and Mike, up that same first trail. While clinging to the driver's seat in front of me, I turned to Mike and said, "You know, I've done this several times, but there's a point where I just start to freak out."

He returned, "Yeah, Elise. That point is 90 degrees."

Well said.

I'm not exactly sure how Emily felt about the whole thing. She kept looking back at me with wide eyes. She certainly behaved better than I did on my first time. I nearly wet my pants.

There's nothing like believing you're going to roll backwards in a jeep while going two miles per hour. It's scarier (and much more fun) than you would think.

For a quick video summary of rock crawling (on a trail that I have actually been on) click here.

Religious Retreat

My family didn't really do Easter egg hunts when I was growing up. And we never decorated eggs. My parents used to be religiously practical, and practically speaking, children do not eat multi-colored egg salad sandwiches for three weeks in a row. So, no dying, no hunting.

But I married into a family full of adults who decorate eggs and hold an egg hunt competition. It's funny. It would probably be fun to participate, except that I am a miserable failure at egg hunting. I blame my childhood. Anyway, because Brad's family has this great tradition, we usually end up with them for Easter.

And that's what we did this year. Easter plus an entire week of fun time. And aside from Grace tossing her cookies on our way there, the 14 hour trip wasn't so bad. I'll probably have to spread out the travelog over the next couple of days. In the meantime, though, here are some pics to get my family off my back (that means you, Elliot!):

{My mother-in-law, Janna, made these dresses. Aren't they adorable? They have already worn them two Sundays in a row and will wear them again at least two more consecutive times after Conference. I'm a big fan.}

I have to mention here that while egg hunting is not my forte, decorating is a blast. And although I prefer colorful themes and sometimes egg animals, Brad amused himself with a religious theme this year. His eggs sported material worthy of your neighborhood Baptist reader-board sign with phrases such as: "Resurrection Rocks," and "Don't be dead, eat the Bread." He was attempting thoughtfulness. Not blasphemy. I promise.