March

Our family kept busy in March with soooo many things.  Here’s what’s left that I may not have touched on.  I tried to include a little something about everyone.  I’m a little late with March but then April has been pretty busy here too.

The crocuses began showing early this year in February but most came out in full force by the beginning of March.  They were beautiful and full.  Then by mid-March my Lilacs began blooming a full month early even for this area!!!

Nathan spent a wonderful evening playing outside with friends instead of eating his picnic dinner of Pie on 3.14.  I could hardly scold him for that.  I mean, eat your chocolate chips or don’t!

Spooky kept “helping” Haley with her homework.  The picture on the right shows what he thought of it but he persisted anyway.  Perhaps now we know the secret to Haley’s straight A’s.

Superheroes and their “side-cakes” frequented the household.  Sweet faces and many pitchers of lemonade did as well.

Haley snapped a few pictures looking toward the east one evening right before one of the many storms we had.  That night it got dark from the west.  One week we had hail three times!  Clouds that bellowed out of the northwest one morning looked like something out of the movies.

 

We were lucky to only be concerned with tornadoes on one day; a day that we experienced more tornadoes in one day than we usually do in a whole month.

The daffodils did not care much for hail and the crocuses said goodbye until next year after a few rounds of being pummeled.

Hooray for tea parties outdoors again!  The three of us drank 2 quarts of lemonade at each of our tea parties one week during a stretch of 85+ degree weather, one tea cup full at a time. 

We had picnic lunches outdoors on many occasions also.  Yes, that’s my boy wearing Santa socks.  He LOVES them and it doesn’t matter to him that it’s March.  It they are clean they are on his feet.

One quiet afternoon with our tea party we decided to share our rock collections with each other.  Kaitlyn has a nice collection of small smooth stones that she’s collected out of the sandbox as well as some cool fossils and other rocks she’s picked up on hiking trails.  I went and dug out a tin with some of my rock collection and we examined each individual rock that everyone brought exclaiming over its beauty or unique traits. 

We struggled to find enough shade in the yard from just the tree trunk as the oak leaves were still tiny.  Once the sandbox was opened the kids shed their shoes and mud boots.  Who cares about shade?  Well, my kids better because even in March they burn without SPF 50 and a hat.

A great box showed up in the mail which Scruffles appreciated just for its hiding capabilities.  Spring break arrived and we managed an afternoon of fun at the Museum Center with the whole family.  We took Nathan into the Omnimax; his very first time seeing a movie and I was unsure of how this would go.  The movie was about Volcanoes though so I figured it would be OK and it was.  Now he wants to go back to the “Gigantor TV” as he puts it. 

We also visited the caves and some areas of the Children’s Museum before heading home for dinner.

Haley completed her Personal Progress this month, has been interviewed and will receive her award in front of everyone sometime soon.  I think she is only the second girl in our ward in the past decade that we’ve had to earn this award.  Haley is a driven young lady who is very goal oriented.  This accomplishment for a Young Woman is the equivalent of earning Eagle Scout for a Young Man.

Haley went to New York City with her Chamber Orchestra.  They were invited  to play at Carnegie Hall at the end of Spring Break.  She had a blast and said it was the best spring break ever.

Many days we enjoyed opened windows.  These kitties are still two peas in a pod.

Lindsay got glasses at the end of the month and had fun with her friend Elizabeth exchanging glasses as they tried each others on one Saturday, the day after Lindsay had picked them up.  Elizabeth told Lindsay how nice she looked in them which eased the pain Lindsay was feeling about wearing these and now neither would be the only one wearing glasses.

Sandy continued her Jif Peanut Butter habit.  She can’t resist!

Crowded!!!  This was the only “timer” I needed on this project.  We moved the boys out of their room for a thorough cleaning and paint job moving them all into the other bedroom for a 3 night sleepover with their sisters.  Besides being squashed with no room to move, the days tended to begin rather early when Nathan began singing “5 Little Ducks” at 4:30 a.m.  You can’t take one of only 5 rooms out of commission with 7 people in the house and not feel the effects… EVERYWHERE!

And finally Tristan attended an assembly and got all excited about teaching us further ways to be “Energy Savers”.  He took the initiative and sent away for a whole box of energy saving gadgets.  Our shower is now armed with a “low flow” shower head and the only thing I could think of the whole time he was installing new spigots on the sinks with his dad was Seinfeld.  But I’ve had no “bad hair days” since the installation and the good thing is that no showering person has complained when something or someone else is using water at the same time since.  It’s really hard to detect that someone else is “taking your water”.  Tristan did a good job and is proud of his work around the house.  Thanks for the encouragement to do more, Tristan.  And Phew!  March is over.