Easter 2014

The girls all got a new dress for Easter.  They looked lovely, but I couldn't get a good picture and my finger is in most of them.  They were in too silly of a mood.  Oh, well.  I made sugar cookies and they each got a new book to read in their baskets.  I love this time of year.  I am so so blessed in my life and I have so much gratitude for life and all of its experiences.  I am thankful for a Savior who has suffered all things and knows my pains and sorrows.  It lifts me and heals me.  It gives me more comfort than I can ever express.  I know that trials bring us closer to Him, as we pray, plead, and accept the challenges we have been given.  The power of the Atonement is very real.  It lifts me and gives me the power to endure; to keep going forward with faith and hope and gratitude.

Spring Break

We stayed home for spring break this year.  It was a nice, quiet, and relaxing week.  These kind of weeks are a bit torturous when we have to go back to school at the end of them.  Too much of a taste of summer.  We mostly got up when we wanted, didn't have much planned and just went with it.  We went roller skating, went to the movies and saw the "Muppet Movie," made s'mores, went swimming one day, planted a tree, threw water balloons with neighbors and just watched movies. 
Sammie and Abby slept outside under the jungle gym.  Before they fell asleep, they watched a movie on my nook and I only had to fend off one pretty large toad.  I tried to be secretive about it so they wouldn't know a toad was hopping around their tent and get scared.  I can just imagine them waking up to a toad jumping on their sleeping bag.  I forgot about those.  They fell asleep quickly after the movie. 
I was a little worried about them sleeping outside all alone, so Joey and I slept on the trampoline in case they got scared.  However, they didn't know we were out there and sometime in the night Abby went inside the house and couldn't find us and was crying.  She found Olivia, but Olivia didn't know where we were.  Abby fell asleep in her bed.  Sad.  My kids didn't even know where we were and just went back to sleep.
At some point Sammie came in and was asleep on the couch.  Joey came in also because I stole his pillow.  I woke up about 6am thinking all was well under the jungle gym.  I lay on the trampoline another 30 minutes before getting up feeling so impressed that they stayed in there all night long.  I got up and found an empty tent. 
The next night, they asked if they could do it again.

Shhh...We're Writing the Constitution

I enjoyed Olivia's 5th grade performance at school.  The kids sang out so well. Delegate Number 14 is looking good.

Writer

Sammie was hard at work while writing and illustrating this book she wrote.  I noticed it while she was off playing somewhere and picked it up and read it.  I thought it was quite clever and it surprised me a bit at the end.  Joey and I had a good little laugh over it.  I love finding these things around the house and when Sammie gets going on a project, there is no resting until it is finished.  I think she inherited that trait from me.

An Artist and an Excellent Student

I can never get enough of Olivia's drawings.  She has such a knack for putting personality into her art work.  She will make a great cartoonist/illustrator one day.  They always put a smile on my face with their actions and expressions.  She has her own drawing style that is ALL her.

And speaking of Olivia...

She was Student of the Month for the month of March.  She works so hard at school and always wants to do her best. 

Skating Bunny

Abby wore her bunny whiskers, nose and ears all afternoon after preschool on Thursday.  She loved it.  She also beat me at memory which happens quite often.  She's really good at it.  I always make the mistake of giving a hint on the first match she finds and then it is just all over from there.  She pays attention to detail for sure.  Then we have roller skating bunny.  She is getting really fast on those things and the bunny ears never came off.  Not once, until bath time.

A Little Bit of Rain

We have had so very little rain this year.  We literally ran outside when it started and it was gone and sunny 5 minutes later.  My girls love any reason to open an umbrella.  The use of them is pretty novel around here.

We're Off to See the Wizard

When one of my friends said that she was going to do the choreography to our community's Wizard of OZ play I thought that it would be fun for the girls to sign up.  First it was just going to be Olivia.  She really wanted to do it.  Then when we got to the tryouts, Sammie said that she wanted to do it too, so they both tried out and then we were thrown into one of the busiest activities we have ever done.  It was so worth it though.  Everyone who tries out gets a part and it ranges from ages 5 to 18.
It really wasn't too busy until the week of the performance.  It is so much work getting ready for a show.  A few nights we didn't get home until after 9 on school nights.  On performance nights we didn't get home until after 10.  The girls were exhausted, but there is this exciting energy when you are part of a play.  I think we will definitely have to have this experience again.
Olivia had the part of one of the Apple Trees and was also in scenes with "scary trees."  Sammie was a Sleepyhead Munchkin in Munchkin land.  Here are lots and lots of pictures during the performances and backstage.  My parents came down for the performance and we went out to dinner between performances.  Olivia was slightly mortified to go out to dinner with "tree" makeup on her face.  She was ok though when we got there and we were the only ones at the restaurant.
Keeping all these kids busy backstage was a lot of work.  They spent hours and hours in this green room all week long. 

 Olivia is the tree on the far right.

 Taking bows

 Finally getting that makeup off after having it on all day.

 Sammie and one of her friends who was an "Ozian"