Non-Denominational Springtime Sort-Of Holiday Weekend

For those who are wondering why I gave this post such a ridiculous title, see this link.  I'm not going to elaborate on it, because it's absolutely ridiculous, but in this day and age when Christmas is under annual attack, it shouldn't come as a big surprise.  I will say that, erm, eggs are NOT even spherical.  *shakes head*

Anyway, we had a blessed Easter weekend, and I will now outline some of the events that took place.

On Saturday morning, we attended our stake 5K for our April race.   We had planned on doing one in Pleasant Grove that day, but there was some inconsistent information online, and it turned out to be a lot more expensive than we thought, and they didn't even have t-shirts unless you registered like three weeks early...  So when I received an email update a couple days before the event, we decided to support our stake instead (and it was free anyway!).

There were about 35-40 runners present, and it was a fun course that followed the paths along the Provo River.  It was a cloudy, chilly morning, but a good way to start Easter weekend.  The race was actually a little less than a full 5K, but I placed second at 20:14 (plus about a minute, when I kept running to make it 3.1 miles), coming in just seconds after the hardcore winner (I knew he was hardcore because he had long Under Armour pants and wasn't wearing any shoes), and Julie came in soon after.  They even had prizes!  Sort of.

They gave lanyards to everyone who participated, and for coming in second I was given a certificate (made out to "Drew Grahm") and a blue Gatorade.  Score!  The rest of Saturday was spent at Mom's house for Britney's bridal shower (I had a tea party in the attic with the toddler nieces) and having dinner and a HP7.1 party with Cami and Jake.

We also did a little grocery shopping for the coming week, and I was dismayed to find that they were completely picked clean of decent Easter candy, including Peeps.  I don't need much these days by way of Easter treats, but I always need a pack or two of Peeps, and I remember last year we had trouble finding them on Easter Eve as well (I mean, I know it's the day before, but come on, stock enough of the basics!), and ended up finding them at Walgreens the next Monday, which we figured we would do again this year.  I said something overdramatic on Facebook about my sorrow at not having been able to find Peeps, which started a brief and amusing discussion between me and my friends about the deliciousness (or not) of these sugary marshmallow treats, when something magical happened...  It was after midnight when we were startled by a knock at the door.  I hesitantly turned on the porch light and looked outside, when what did I see left on the doorstep?

They're even my favorite color!  I will take Peeps of any kind, but I'm attracted to all things blue, so that was a bonus.

It was such a little thing, but at the time it was one of those amazing little moments that makes you feel all tingly and giddy.  It was an Easter candy miracle!  We thought it might have been the sort of mystery we never solve (perhaps we would determine that the culprit is the same still-anonymous giver of the Wii game from last Christmas), but it didn't take long to discover that the party responsible was one of my mission friends who had been involved in the Great Facebook Peep Debate (and who happens to dislike Peeps, much to his wife's dismay, as she had bought some for him).  I'm so glad the unwanted Peeps were given a good home where they were certainly wanted.  I still think it was some kind of a miracle though, in that it was such a delightful and thoughtful thing to do, right?

Sunday was also very nice, and I wore my new pink tie that The Wife picked out--I'm not too cool for a nice pink tie.  Although I'm sometimes annoyed that our ward choir performs every week at church (except Fast Sunday), I still feel like I need to support it and participate and increase its membership numbers.  This week we sang this:

I have performed it with bigger and more... trained choirs in the past, and in much bigger venues, but the beauty and truth of this piece affected me this time just as much as it ever has.  I'm not ashamed to admit that I shed tears during the last verse, and especially the final lines.

We then had a great family dinner at my oldest sister's house, where Julie's maple dijon asparagus was a big hit, and there were incredible desserts, of which I'm not embarrassed to say that I had plenty.  I helped hide eggs, and then proceeded to help make sure the younger kids found some of them (we found some pretty good spots).

(Thanks to Amber for the pictures, which I swiped from her blog.)

Dad also shared a "special part" of a video he saw on the news earlier that morning, and which he recorded and copied onto DVDs for everyone (it can be seen here).  It's an entertaining Easter musical number by a huge group of people who aren't afraid to celebrate and proclaim their faith--and then, why not turn the event into a service project?  Christian pop is hit-and-miss, but I thought this was pretty neat.  I love how some of the dancers are obviously experienced, but others are there purely for the joy of expressing what they believe.

Easter is a delight, and this weekend was pretty much perfect.  I always get a really strong urge to watch The Passion of the Christ this time of year...  Maybe sometime I'll experience that epic movie again.

P.S.  While I'm at it, why not link to this as well?  A lot of people were linking to it on Facebook over the weekend.  I finally watched it today and thought it was inspiring.  I've always liked Carrie Underwood (and will often remind people that I picked her to win just from her audition, back in my American Idol-watching days), and as much as I don't generally care for country music, one thing that must be said of them is that they're not afraid to sing the praises of Jesus. Bravo, Carrie.


Spring Spheres? NONSENSE. Happy Easter, one and all.