Two Easters

Easter was our last day in Florida. We attended Sacrament Meeting at the building across the street from the Orlando Temple, then stopped by the temple before heading to the airport to fly home.


It didn't feel super Easter-y, and I was happy to have a re-do the next week because by then Cat was home! She and Suz arrived on a Friday afternoon. Luke and I greeted them at the airport with USA paraphernalia and some of their favorite American snacks. After all, they'd been gone for two weeks...



That night Ben and I took Cat to see a special Gershwin concert with the Utah Symphony that included "An American in Paris" and "Rhapsody in Blue." Cat had been learning Rhapsody for her Senior recital, and my favorite thing about the concert was seeing Cat air-playing along with the soloist. The music was wonderful too, as were the stories that were told, with the fun bonus of hearing one of my favorite songs, "Someone to Watch Over Me."


The next night, Cat gave all of us the gifts she'd bought in Italy. They were very thoughtful and very fun. Luke and Jack each got art-spinoff tshirts and embossed leather bracelets, Liza got beautiful Venetian glass earrings, and I got a lovely Christmas ornament and a Venetian mask. We also sampled the Italian candy Cat brought home.



After that, we had a little Retsae time. First, the kids played hot and cold to find their Easter baskets, which were hidden in the basement. Then, since it was so late (literally the only time when we were all together that day) we did a flashlight Easter egg hunt, which actually turned out to be really fun, and more exciting for older kids.





Ben had to go out of town for work the next day (Sunday), so after Church, the kids and I made Resurrection Rolls and the girls dyed Easter eggs with me. We also had a very simple Easter dinner.




The Italy Trip That Finally Happened

In 2020, Suz and her family were traveling full time and planned to be in Europe over the summer. Cat has wanted to go to Italy more than any other place for many years and decided to take Suz up on her offer to pay to get herself to Italy, then stay with Suz's family and let them show her around and feed her. They made plans to meet up in the summer, and had even bought plane tickets when the world shut down.

It took 3 years, but that trip finally happened, albeit in very different circumstances. They did many of the things they'd planned to do in 2020, but I think their itinerary was better than it would have been, and Cat had a much broader knowledge of art, literature, and history and probably had a much greater appreciation for the entire experience than she would have if she'd gone after her Freshman year.

Cat learned a lot about travel while going through the planning process. She and Suz divided up the planning tasks and they put together an awesome trip. They had a blast together and I love that they shared this special experience.

This is going to be a quick photo-sharing post. Maybe I'll update it later if I can get Cat to write captions and share stories (such as the crazy crowds in Venice Easter weekend, and the time she witnessed someone getting pick-pocketed on a train and ended up talking to the police), but I figured this is better than nothing!


ROME (Days 1-2)









FLORENCE (Days 2-4)







CINQUE TERRE (Days 4-5)









VENICE (Days 5-7)










ROME (Days 8-13)