Spring Break

This past week was Eli's spring break. We kicked it off with an Easter egg hunt hosted by our friends Cyndi and Joey on Monday. 

These happy kids are rarin' to go with their Easter baskets (or "Easter baskets").

 Eggs were found.

 Fun was had.  

 Candy was devoured.

The kiddos had a super awesome play time afterward. Later that afternoon, I decided to try my luck at an Easter "photo shoot" outside, since it was supposed to snow later in the week. I am learning some things about taking pictures of kids. One is that the best shots usually come at the beginning. The kids' attention spans have an amazingly short half-life whenever the camera comes out. Also, they think "look at the camera" means only for a second. We're working on that. Some of the pictures turned out cute though, even if Eli's expression is one of pain.

March is Alien Month, and we got our annual extraterrestrial visit Tuesday. Emmie was totally freaked out at first, but she calmed down when she saw the aliens came in peace (and bearing treats). 

Wednesday we got hammered by a surprise blizzard. We were expecting some 4-8 inches, not the 18 inches that blew in with winds over 35 mph. Justin drove to work that morning, expecting the snow to stop, but it kept on coming all through the morning and afternoon. He left work early when they sent everyone home, and he miraculously made it all the way to the base of our cul-de-sac before the car got stuck. He said he had never seen the roads that bad before, and that tons of cars (and trucks) had slid out on the freeway. We had to shovel a place for him to park at the bottom of the street. 

 The kids played outside for awhile in the morning. We came in dripping wet because the snow was blowing in so fast and hard. It slowed up later in the afternoon, and they were able to go out and play again. The kids took a bath after playing, and Eli thought it sounded fun to jump in with his clothes on.

Thursday was sunny and the snow had melted considerably on the streets. The kids and I decided to go out sledding, but then we couldn't find our sleds anywhere. Rather than give up on the excursion, we found some things that might be acceptable sled substitutes and gave it a whirl. Turns out there is nothing like a sled when you want to go sledding. Of the cardboard boxes, plastic tote lids, and toy trays we tried, the ink-coated diaper box worked the best. It worked until it started to get soggy, then it was no good. Putting it in a garbage bag would have been smart, but I didn't think to do that.

My mom helped the kids decorate sugar eggs that afternoon. I took no pictures because I was helping Emmeline with her sugar egg. I did, however, take a picture of the adorable snails my mom made out of clay. They are seriously amazing.

Earlier that day I made a cake for the Children's Home. The birthday girl requested a chocolate cake with red icing and M&M's on top, so that made it easy for me. While I was making dinner that night, Emmeline got into the sprinkles that were with my cake decorating stuff and dumped one of those big, six-compartment containers all over her play kitchen.

It was seriously a disaster. The picture does not do justice to the glorious mess.

 This is her "I know I did something really bad so I will throw a fit before Mom can get mad at me" move. Well played, Emmie, well played.

Friday we went to the Museum of Nature and Science with Cyndi and Joey. It was packed because of Spring Break and field trips for kids not on Spring Break. We stayed in some of the less crowded areas, like the animal dioramas. (picture from my phone will go here)

Thus concludes the Spring Break post. I will do a separate post about Easter weekend!

Lamb of God, St. Patty's Day, Snow Before Spring

Whew. Last week was the second installment of Lamb of God performances. We performed Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights at the DU Newman Center. The nights were late and the days kind of run together in my memory, but it was an incredible experience to participate in. I can't say enough about the power of this music and its message. It certainly brought the Easter spirit into the hearts of those who participated and attended, and it was a privilege to be part of it.

I got to sit near these incredible ladies, Barrie and Cyndi (my friend and carpool buddy).

The view from my seat on the back row of risers. 

I taped a short clip of our sound check Tuesday night. The soloists were all so incredible.

 Justin's cousin Jennifer played percussion in the orchestra!

Justin came to our performance on Thursday night. It got him thinking about perhaps joining the orchestra for one of the Chorale's future performances... there are quite a few couples in the Chorale and Chorale orchestra, and it would be awesome to be one of them! 

Thursday was St. Patty's Day and also a day off for Eli. We had green smoothies, green eggs, and green pancakes for breakfast. Oh, and Lucky Charms. I think that was the kids' favorite part.

Benjy had a Joy School St. Patty's Day party that morning where he got to do some fun crafts and games. We did corned beef and cabbage that night for dinner, which is Eli's favorite meal of the year! During the day we also worked on March Madness brackets for the kids. The boys got a kick out of the school Butler, I guess because it sounds like "butt." Whenever Benjy heard the name Butler, his eyes would get wide and he'd break out in a mischievous grin. He picked Butler to win the National Championship; sadly that possibility ended in the first round. When I was helping Eli with his bracket, I gave him the first round choice between Weber State and Xavier. He looked up at me with wide eyes and said with awe in his voice, "The Savior!" 

Random pictures from the week:

We had snow on Friday. The kids had fun playing in it throughout the day.

 The boys built a huge tower that was taller than them.

 Little E in her flapper dress.

 There was no thought of not wearing the dress to go outside. She simply put pants on underneath. 

 Benjy's artwork from St. Patty's Day. 

Some other artwork from the past few weeks. Eli's school celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday at the beginning of the month and they did some fun, themed crafts that day.

Eli is obsessed with drawing Star Wars things right now, and he knows who has all the different colors of light sabers.

A piece of art Benjy drew awhile back.

Silly kiddos. 

Movie Monday

The kids are at such a cute stage right now and I know I will miss their littleness when they get older. I am going to try to take more videos of them, so here is a "movie Monday" post with some home videos I took yesterday.

Emmie saying animals Part 1:

Emmie saying animals part 2:

Benjy and Emmie playing a game on the bed called "booyah" where they knock each other (gently) over:

Emmie sings "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."

The First Half of March (updated)

Let me just say, this month is flying by. Downton Abbey has been cutting into my Sunday night blog time for the last couple months. Last week was the series finale, and Julian Fellowes is now somewhat back in my good graces for resolving some plot issues that had me very vexed. Justin and I have had a fun time watching this series since season 2, so it is the end of an era in a way. It has certainly been fun enjoying this little drama on Sunday nights, and Justin and I will have fond memories of it for years to come. 

Two Mondays ago (Feb 29) Benjy had his last day of sports class. Emme and I stayed and got to see what he and all the kids have been learning. Benjy was always kind of reluctant to go, but once he got there, he had a fun time. I think we will take a break from this class and sign him up for a sport in the spring or summer. Here he is with his graduation certificate and one of his teachers, Mr. Kyle.

On Tuesday we met up with Bailey Marable and her brother for lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe downtown. She was here for a few days to go skiing and see her family, so it was great she could meet up with us. We saw some cool rock 'n' roll memorabilia, including the sled that the Beatles rode during "Help", which happens to be the single most expensive item in any of the Hard Rock Cafes in the world, so we were told. Justin got a pic next to John Lennon's coat as well.

 I got a picture next to Stevie Nicks' cape. I will never forget seeing them in concert. Best. Concert. Ever.

On the way to the car after lunch, Emmie tripped and banged up her lip on the sidewalk. Benjy tried to help when we got home by putting on a bandaid.

On Wednesday that week our playgroup met at the Irving Street Library for story time and craft. The kids made some adorable pipe cleaner snakes, which I thought was a clever craft idea.

 When we went grocery shopping that week, they had a fresh fish stand out at Sprouts. Not too long ago, Benjy asked me where chicken (the meat) came from, and ever since then I have been thinking that I need to help the kids better understand where their food comes from. We bought some salmon and watched the guy cut it up right in front of us. Emmie seemed a little grossed out, but Benjy was definitely fascinated.

This past week has been a busy performance week. On Tuesday, our ward had an activity celebrating the birthday of the Relief Society. A few of us were asked to perform as part of the presentation on visiting teaching. The sister who wrote the program did a "slam poem" which combined dramatic speaking and singing-- she used the songs "Eleanor Rigby" and "You've Got a Friend in Me" to help convey the message of friendship and watching out for each other. It was a very unique program and one that was fun to be part of.

 Wednesday we had dress rehearsal for our Lamb of God performances which started on Friday. Our first two performances were held in the United Methodist Church in Downtown Denver (a few blocks from Justin's work), and this is a picture taken there. It is a beautiful old church, and someone was saying it is perhaps the oldest remaining church in Denver. Not sure if that's true, but it definitely had the feel of a historic old church. It reminded me of the Provo tabernacle.

 A picture of my friend Jessica and me. She and I were in the BYU nursing program at the same time and had some prerequisite classes together.When we first saw each other in Chorale, it took a while but we finally figured out how we knew each other.

 Here is Justin standing next to the church and our publicity banner. 

Friday a friend and I went to the Mile High Flea market. Neither of us had ever been, and we wanted to check it out. We went pretty early on a Friday morning, and there were quite a few stands open, but I think it would be more worth it to go on a Saturday. The kids had fun traipsing around with us, until they got tired, and then it was not so fun. 

 Justin had a pretty exciting day on Friday. He attended the legal conference that his company puts on every year, and this year it was held at Mile High Stadium. He got to stand behind the press box and have an exclusive tour after the conference was over.

They walked through the visiting team's locker room, and the last visiting team to play there was the Patriots. Justin saw the locker that had been assigned to Tom Brady, which had been renamed, "Cry Brady."

Friday was gorgeous, so the kids played outside at the park after school.

 Here is Benjy with some recent acquisitions for his stick collection. I feel like I need to remember everything about him at this stage, because he is just so sweet and precious. I just want to bottle him up and keep him this age forever. 

Saturday Eli and Justin went to Target after violin lesson and Eli spent his long and hard-saved money on an X-wing fighter Lego set with BB8. This kid is great at saving his money. He saves up money he gets from birthdays, holidays, and chores and hardly ever spends any. Last week he sold a couple neighbor kids two pieces of gum for a dollar, which was pretty enterprising for a 7-year old, I thought. He spent most of Saturday putting his new Lego together.

Saturday night was another Lamb of God performance for me, so we've got two performances under our belt. Three more to go next week!

Today in church, I was holding the sacrament tray with the water over Benjy's head when he stood up suddenly and knocked his head on the tray. It didn't hurt him, but it made a really loud noise that startled a bunch of people in the nearly silent chapel. It spilled a bunch of water all over the back of his shirt, too. It was the kind of moment I will forget someday about having little kids in church unless I write it down. I was also reminded at church of how often Benjy has to go to the bathroom. I took him out during Sacrament meeting, and then during Primary singing time (one hour later) he said he had to go really bad. I told him to wait until the end of the singing time, and a few minutes later he told me he had gone in his pants because he couldn't hold it. We rushed to the bathroom and luckily he had only gone a tiny bit, but I wanted to write it down because it will forever remind me of Benjy and his every-half-hour bathroom trips.

Some more pictures from the last two weeks:
Benjy wanted me to take this picture of him in the ducky towel.

A cute little drawing Benjy made awhile back. 

Justin and Emmie were playing kitties on a Sunday morning. 

 Emmie all dressed up to go to church.

Story time before bed. 

There is a lot of election humor circulating on Facebook right now. Some of it is just too choice not to save.

Yes. I always wondered what Zach and Slater's baby would look like.

An iteration of this campaign slogan that I can get behind.