Michael J. Bouwhuis may be well-known publicly for his leadership as the campus president of the Davis Applied Technology College in Kaysville, but at home, he's known as the "keeper of the rabbit."
Bouwhuis affectionately calls his wife of 40 years, Shirley, either Bunny or Rabbit.
"I can't remember what the genesis was," he said. "I think that's true of names of endearment -- it just kind of happens."
But Shirley Bouwhuis remembers.
"When we met, I had these wire-rimmed glasses that would slip down my nose," she said. "He said I looked like a rabbit when I wiggled my nose to get them up."
Michael Bouwhuis said store decorations and television commercials this time of year give him plenty of fodder to crack jokes that playfully remind his wife that she's the one for him.
"He nicknamed himself the keeper of the rabbit," Shirley Bouwhuis said. "He said I need someone to take care of me."
The couple is just two of many Top of Utah residents who celebrate Easter traditions this time of year.
While most who observe the day would agree that remembering the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important aspect of the holiday, many also incorporate some fun into their Easter observance
The Bouwhuis couple was careful not to downplay the importance of worship on Easter.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they told about often making their children go to church early in the morning before they could search for candy and eggs throughout their house.
Despite the serious nature of Easter, they said they often have made time for fun on that day.
"We played hot and cold to help our children find the candy and eggs," Shirley Bouwhuis said.
"I used to forget where I hid things. We used to find it months later."
Kim McCorkle Harbath, of Ogden, also discussed attending her church, the Congregational United Church of Christ, on Resurrection Sunday.
But she also has a tradition in her house that started innocently enough but has grown to something full of opportunity for creating memories.
"One year, when my daughters were small, ages 1 and 4, my husband and I didn't have money to buy Easter treats," she recalls.
"I had stashed away underwear I had found in a markdown bin at Kmart for 25 cents apiece, and Easter morning, I put out new underwear in the yard with the dyed eggs."
Being so young, her daughters were thrilled, Harbath said.
The tradition has continued for decades.
These days, the Easter Bunny leaves elaborate samples of undergarments hanging on the bushes in the Harbaths' yard Easter morning, not only for her daughters but also for herself, her husband and her son-in-law.
Harbath said, one year, her daughters made a neon sign pointing to the underwear -- and it backed up traffic.
Ogden resident Connie Neal said her grandmother used to take two graham crackers and put frosting between them.
Then she would put frosting on top and sprinkle them with green coconut to make it look like grass.
"Then on top of that she would place a Peeps along with some jelly beans," Neal said.
"She also made deviled eggs and absolutely the best puffed rice balls. I try to do some of the same things with my kids and now my grandkids."
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