School Activities

I have a hard time with change.  We are getting our iPad working.  Part of everything we did was to upgrade out desktop operating system so we can sync things with the two devices.  Now it is like learning an entire new system.  It is taking me about 3 times as long to do anything because I have to figure it out again.  So this letter is late this week and I will do my best to get it sent.  I can’t get the pictures off my phone right now, so that will have to wait until next time. Although I have many pictures from my camera that did work. 

Last week Ruth had a happy birthday.  Then on Thursday I took her to the doctor for a well child visit.  She is a healthy happy girl.  It was fun to talk to the doctor about ideas for a birthday party and we even used some of her ideas.  The doctor even told us that she remembered that Ruth suggested she read the Magic School Bus books to her girls.  Now whenever the doctor reads them to her girls, who love them, she thinks of Ruth.  She thanked Ruth for being so sweet.  After Ruth’s appointment I took her to school and then I went to the dentist for a cleaning.  I was so thankful that all my fillings are fine and no new cavities.  It is nice I don’t have to go back in!

Thursday evening after dinner I took the kids over to the elementary school where there is  a pretty patch of blue bonnets and took their pictures.  It is a fun spring time tradition.  Then on Friday I went to a park with Caleb and the wild flowers there were beautiful.  I like this time of year with all the pretty wild flowers at the side of the road and the green leaves in the trees.  We got our first purple iris blooming!  I am so excited about that.  After about five years I finally got one of mom’s flowers to bloom here in Texas. I also am enjoying the pretty little red flowers I planted by the mail box.  The last couple of days I have worked hard in the front yard cleaning up leaves.  I got all the dead leaves out of the ground cover and from around bushes.  The ground cover might come back and it looks like another two bushes might be dead.  Not good.  But at least it doesn’t look messy right now.

Caleb at the Whitehall Park

A picture of me in the flowers

Spencer running

Andrew with a lady bug

Spencer in the flowers

Caleb in the flowers

The kids being silly

Ruth being pretty

Andrew in the flowers

the kids running 

The kids sitting nice

Andrew laying down enjoying the flowers

Spencer liked getting right into the flowers

  Caleb being cute

The garden is growing too.  We have so much spinach that I don’t know what to do with it.  I have frozen some and we eat it every day in salads.  Still it is a huge mound outside.  I just pick it every week and we eat all the spinach we like to, and then some.  

Friday Ruth was so excited about her birthday party that she decorated early.  We did have a family party Friday evening.  We had fun playing games with the kids and eating cake.  Then Saturday was the big party with friends.  Ruth had four friends from school come over.  We had planned on more but it ended up a nice group.  The girls were all kind and fun to be with.  We played some fun party games.  It was nice to meet some of Ruth’s friends.  One girl said near the end of the party how much fun she had and “this was the best party I have ever gone to.”  That made me feel good.  It also reminded me that simple fun games are better than extravagance.  

Ruth blew out the candles in one puff

Ruth and her friends having some fun

Neal took the boys hiking Saturday afternoon so they weren’t home for the party.  They enjoyed going out by the lake and seeing fun things.  They all got very tired.  Caleb came home and asked “where are the girls?”  He didn’t understand that he was going hiking to miss the party.  He started to cry because he wanted to be at the party.  He was happy that he still could have cake.

Saturday morning we had a ward Easter egg picnic.  It was fun to go over to the church and use the new pavilion.  It was windy and a little cool but a nice day to be outside.  The kids had a lot of fun running around on the field and playing.  They enjoyed gathering eggs too.

Spencer running to find eggs

The girls were a bit calmer to find eggs

Caleb was excited about his eggs

Sunday morning we were a bit slow getting going.  I guess we were all tired from the parties.  I went out to the car with the kids and we opened the door and realized that the car seats were still in the car, with Neal, already at the church!  I told the kids they just had to sit still and wear a regular seat belt.  Caleb was so worried about it.  We were fine, but it was just one of those things to add stress.  After church we got the car seat back before driving home.

Caleb likes to snuggle

We had some cooler weather this week. It even got down into the 30’s one morning. It has been nice to have it cool back down for spring weather.  We had some days in the 80’s last week.

Tuesday morning I hosted a preschool Easter party.  We had fun with the preschool families coming over. We played games together with lots of plastic eggs.  We also painted pots and planted flowers in them. The boys seemed to enjoy the activities. Caleb loved having his friends over, and their baby brothers.  Caleb loves being around babies.

Tuesday evening was Spencer’s first grade music program.  We all went over to the school to listen to him perform.  It was a nice program.  Spencer was so excited to have a speaking part.  He did great with it too.  He also played an instrument, a xylophone.  We were sitting too far back to take any pictures during the program so I got some pictures of him afterwards.  

Yesterday I went to Ruth’s school to hear a presentation from her music class on what they learned on the guitar this term.  It was nice to hear the kids.  I think it is fun that Ruth learned some basics with the guitar.  I hope she keeps trying to play it.  I also took Caleb to story time yesterday morning.  He loves going.  They talked about space.  They had a little card board space ship set up and he wanted his picture with it.  I am glad that he loves the library so much.

Today was Spencer’s Easter activity at school.  We met him at the park to eat lunch with him.  Then we watched the egg hunt.  Spencer was so excited to be there.  Caleb was excited too and was having a hard time not doing the activities, even when I said that it was for the school kids, so we didn’t stay to the end of the party.  Spencer had lots of fun though.

The kids have a long week end, we have Friday and Monday off school.  It will be nice to have a break from the routine.