Easter Weekend in Dallas

I love going back to Dallas. Maybe it's because that's where Dave and I first considered settling down somewhere. Maybe it's because so much of my family (or rather, Dave's family) is there. But it's definitely not for the weather or feeling of being land-locked! Regardless, going back to Texas is always fun for me and I love counting down the days til our trip. This Easter, I had a particularly exciting reason to go back though! My sister-in-law/best friend Robin adopted 3 children and got sealed to them that weekend! Oh, did I mention that they already have 3 biologically children of their own? So basically, they doubled the number of kids in their family.

If you're unfamiliar with the termed "sealed", it's a special ceremony done in LDS (Mormon) temples that binds a family together for time and all eternity, not just "until death do you part". That is why Dave and I were married in a temple. So we could be together forever. Normally though, you don't have a special sealing ceremony to have your kids sealed to you-- if parents are married in the temple, their biological children are already sealed to them for all eternity. But, because Robin and her husband Chris adopted 3 children that are not biologically theirs, they got the special opportunity to have those children sealed to them in the temple.

Because the temple is such a sacred place, cameras and picture-taking are definitely not allowed in there! But outside the temple, we had many opportunities to snatch pictures of the new Edward's family. Here are just a few of my favorites.

All dressed in white

This is my favorite. The photographer asked everyone to hug like they all really loved eachother

In a family of 6 kids, funny things just tend to happen

And here's pictures of some other awesome family members that we there. Nearly all of Dave's siblings made it to the occasion! Since he's one of 8 kids, that's quite a crowd!

Dave's parents (what a darling couple too!)

Gabe, Leslie, Kobe

Dane, Deena, Baby Cole

Angie, snapping away

Wade, getting to know Kobe

My favorite family there- my own!

There were a ton of other activities going on that weekend. Obviously, it wouldn't have been Easter weekend, without all the kids gathered together for one BIG GIANT Easter egg hunt! I don't know who had more fun-- the kids hunting, the adults hiding eggs, or the adults watching. Cage got a firetruck backpack and plenty of candy from the Easter bunny. It was the first Easter where he actually understood what was going on- and he loved it! And the Eyerlys are big fans of board games, so there was plenty of game-playing going on, which I've come to enjoy quite a bit. I'm not good at strategy, so I hardly win. But it's fun to socialize with other people playing the game, so that's mostly why I do it. Besides, my husband usually wins the games anyways. And if he wins, that means I win too!

All our ducks in a row

Cage with his Easter bunny gift

 Here are some other fun moments from that weekend

Kobe teaching Cage how to "hike!"

Georgie, Cage, and Kobe- 3 boy cousins all within 2 years of eachother!

How many pizzas does it take to feed an Eyerly clan?

One Easter egg painting mess!

Cage in his new Easter outfit. What a stud!

Of course, a trip to Texas is never complete without Texas Roadhouse--and 4 boxes of rolls to go!

So you can see why I always enjoy going back. I love Dave's family, they were so accepting of me the moment I married their son/brother (and even before then!). I never feel like a stranger with them. I feel like I'm home. Whenever we visit the Eyerlys, I'm NEVER going to see "the in-laws". I claim them as my own family. I'm just as comfortable with them as I am with the Deakyne's. I couldn't have been more blessed to have married such an awesome guy with an incredibly family as a bonus!