Loved celebrating Anna's sixth birthday and Blake's (May 2nd)! So proud of cousin Adam for accomplishing his Eagle Scout award. No small feat! We are beyond excited for him to come out and stay the week with us again this summer. Worked on a few home improvement projects around the house- finished the second fireplace and mantle and it looks awesome! The backyard is still in the works and we are eager to see how it all turns out! It'll be so wonderful to have that taken care of.
Spring break was such a great week. Of course Evelyn still had school, so we couldn't go too far.... but we managed all right! At the beginning of the week- we spent a few days with the Jones. Celebrating Braxton's birthday and then just hanging out all day, hot tubbing, cooking, and building forts. We enjoyed playdates with Aidan and swimming in the pool. Mid-week we went on a little camping trip with the Douds, Gondas, and Toveys. The kids had a blast and so did I! It was a lot of work as we prepared to go, but ended up being a truly wonderful time. We did a lot of jump roping, hiking, s'mores making, chalk painting on hair, card playing and obstacle course creating. It was so fun to watch the kids play with ZERO use of technology. Loved every minute of this wonderful camping trip.
We had an amazing day celebrating Grandma's birthday during spring break. So fun to go to the Flower Fields in Carlsbad and wander around. The boys panned for gold, all of the kids did the corn maze and scavenger hunt. We had a delicious lunch at Rubys- an old favorite. And had Nothing Bundt Cakes for dessert. Couldn't have been a more wonderful day and we loved every second- mostly because Nancy deserves a LOT of celebrating. She's the absolute best.
Grant worked hard this month on his Buddy Bio. He wisely chose Abraham Lincoln as his buddy and wrote a wonderful tribute to him, along with pictures and facts. He then presented this information at a Live Museum at the school-- all dressed up! He was such a hoot and took the job very seriously. I sure love Grant. He is enjoying cub scouts so very much. This month he's worked on planning a hike, and planting carrot seeds. He's watered EVERY single day and kept track of the progress. He's had such a great time carrying out these plans and activities.
Evelyn's month has been full of lots of catching up on her homework- now that the play has ended. Which also means, lots of mom helping out with papers and projects. It's all in good fun. I actually adore helping her with writing and english. Never really knew that this was my strength or even a subject I quite enjoyed until I was a mom- haha! Now that I help her with all of her subjects, I notice that I inwardly and sometimes outwardly grown when she brings up math or science. I'm pleased and happy to discuss her literature, writing and history. Though I never really liked it much while I was a student. But we read Tom Sawyer together- I had never read it before- and I loved it. I loved analyzing it. We wrote a paper on whether or not water bottles should be banned in San Diego. Another on if paper bags should be banned. Fun times. Evelyn created a video with her girlfriends- acting out a scary scene from Tom Sawyer. It turned out so cute. Proud of her hard work in school and the system that we've created together. I don't bug her too much- and in return- she gets all A's and asks for my help when needed. As opposed to me constantly checking in on her and reminding her to get her stuff done. It's hard to find a good balance when you are home schooling.
Anna had the time of her life this month spending a couple of days at Grandma and Grandpa's house! She was so excited to go to the farm and pick strawberries! Poor Grandma and Grandpa fell down on a patch of strawberries in the process and totally stained their clothing and shoes! But they are troopers and are willing to go any distance for their grandchildren- ha! Anna LOVED Disneyland all on her own! No siblings to tell her which direction to go, which ride was next . What a treat. She had the best time with Grandma and Grandpa.
Dane has had an awesome month full of soccer tournaments and scouting campouts! Unfortunately, the poor guy continues to battle sore throats and we are very much looking forward to his surgery at the end of May where they will take out his tonsils and maybe adenoids. We HOPE this helps with all of the sore throats. Currently he has strep throat. UGH! He has missed so much school and it's been so worrisome. Fingers crossed.
I enjoyed an awesome day in Del Mar at the Pinners Conference!! I went with two dear friends and just had the greatest time looking at all the amazing displays, going to classes on freezer meals and farm signs, eating yummy mexican food with my girl friends-- such a wonderful treat. I'm still loving my calling as primary chorister. It's been fun to think up new ideas and make singing time interesting. Latest idea has been to have my birthday kids wear a bunch of funny props while we sing. Even our pianist got into the idea! So fun. We are learning a new song that the kids are loving, "I will be what I believe". I love singing songs about God and working with these kids. It's by far the best calling I've ever had.
So that's our April in a nutshell. It's been a crazy and busy month full of blessings and celebrations and all sorts of fun times.
