Easter Weekend and Easter Flashback

I love Easter weekend, and this year's was particularly good. First of all I need to say congratulations to Sparkle! Her and Marco were married on Friday. She looked great. Well, they both did. Everything about her plans fit her personality perfectly. It was a beautiful day for a wedding and she looked gorgeous. It was so nice to sit on the temple grounds. It is such a magnificent building!I have to throw this picture in because it's such a Mara face. I probably have a dozen pictures like this up at camp. I love this girl!Her reception was great and surrounded by her favorite color! It was also a blast to see all the Brighton girls. Here we are with Duke and Splash (aka Lauren).
Then on Saturday my mom and sister and I drove to Provo for our cousin's baby shower. I found the pattern for these shoes at Piper's Quilts, and thought it would be a perfect time to try them out. They're so fun to make and leave room for creativity-whatever color you want and with whatever pattern. My cousin wasn't telling the gender, so we put some pink and blue ribbons in as well, just in case she wanted to make them more girlie or something. It was so fun to hang out with my mom and sister all afternoon, stopping at the outlet mall in Park City in search for a dress for a wedding my sister needs to go to and then Costco. I learned something new, by the way, that really impressed me. J Crew gives a 15 % discount to all students and teachers. You just have to have an ID card, or some kind of proof. Isn't that great? I really like their jeans, and it made me like them even more.

Anyways, East Sunday was such a wonderful day. The Easter bunny visited our apartment, and then we went to church and both family's houses. It was such a relaxing way to spend the day. We had lunch at my parents and dinner at Danny's parents. On my mission, I spent one Easter in the MTC and one in the field. The beginning of Holy Week in the field was interesting. We lived in a very Catholic community, and it was eye-opening to see how that week was celebrated. Big ceremonies and activities all week. Friday night was especially interesting, as it was the night of the procession. Members of the Catholic church gathered together, leaving the church in the center of town around 10:00, taking turns carrying a giant platform with a statue of the crucified Christ and lot's of flowers. Schools, office buildings, and people who chose to had been preparing a welcome "mat" (for lack of a better word) made out of different colors of sand, about the size of the base of the platform. They were beautiful, and many had very intricate designs. Our land lady was one of the people who did this. The march went on all night, until about 10:00 the next morning. The had bands follow them, and when the band wasn't playing, they had a stereo. We could hear it all night. Then around 4:00 am, they came to our building. We had a perfect 4th floor view. They'd carry this huge platform over (it had to have been sooo heavy) and placed it on the sand square, and the priest would bless the house with the blessings of the crucified Christ. Then people would pick up their children and hand them to the priest, who would touch them to the statue. The men would line the platform, pick it up, and be on their way in a pace that showed just how heavy that thing must have been. It was so interesting to watch. Of course they were worshipping in the way they thought was best, and correct. They probably think that we are weird for things we do. But then we woke up Saturday morning and went to work, and on Sunday as well. The thing that shocked me was that all day Sunday the streets were empty. Deserted. Everyone stayed home, possibly catching up on sleep from the weekend. It made me sad and grateful at the same time. Sad that people are so focused on the death of Christ that they don't realize how amazingly important it is that he was resurrected. And grateful because we have prophets that have taught us the importance of His resurection. It isn't necessarily a bad thing that they remembered and celebrated so many of the events that happened in the last week of His life, but it's too bad that they forget about one of the most important parts. He died so that He could live again, and so that we all can live again. I love Easter Sunday.