Spring Break!!!

Ben has been working on a new project--he's building a carriage for his mini cannon, and it is work that he's really enjoying.

Benson and friends started out the school break with an awesome game of soccer on the lawn.

I wanted to give the kids a chance to try something new, so we went to the rec center to climb the climbing wall.  Scott had been to one a couple times and enjoyed it, and they were all excited to try, too.  Turns out the wall is very high!  The kids persevered and all of them made it to the top at least a couple times, but it's not something they are super excited to do again soon!

WE TOOK A TRIP!  So...our Spring Break was a little early this year, and our Six Flags was not open during weekdays yet.  However, the Six Flags in San Antonio was open, so we decided to take a trip there for some fun!  The drive was pretty nice, and we had dinner at the Riverwalk.

The next day was the big day.  Once again, we had the best luck with timing, because the schools there were still in session, so lines were almost non-existent.  It was a bit chilly to begin the day, but warmed as time went on.  We all loved the Wonder Woman Whip (except Benson, who wasn't quite ready to try it), Superman, Scream, Goliath, Pandemonium, Road Runner Express, Sky Screamer, etc., and Caytie and Gracie were willing to wait in the only line of the day for the Iron Rattler.  We ate yummy food and watched a show and were about to leave when we saw the Gully Washer (the river raft ride) was finally open, and we decided to go out with a splash, and yes, we got fully soaked just as the sun was going down (especially those who rode it twice!).  Thankfully we had a warm hotel to go to with warm pizza to eat and warm showers to take and warm beds to sleep in.

On the way home the next day, we stopped in Round Rock to have lunch with Elder Drew Parker and his companion.  We had some amazing barbecue and then grabbed donuts, since this is what you do when you visit Round Rock.  It was a great little stop on our trip.  We thought of stopping at other places along the way (like Waco), but we ended up just wanting to get home.

On Saturday Ben and I were able to go to the sealing of our nephew Michael Harvey and his new wife Megan in the Dallas Temple.  (So nice that his fiancee is from this area so that we could attend!)  The kids waited outside during the ceremony, and then we got some dinner together before heading out to the reception.  We were excited to see our brand new nephew/cousin Michael Danielson, but a few of us were beginning to show signs of a cold we probably picked up in San Antonio somewhere, so we had to keep our distance from him.  Regardless, it was great to see Patti's family (and Joseph's) and it was fun to celebrate with them.

I was supposed to leave very early the next morning to fly to Denver to attend my niece Brooke's wedding.  At 3 am, I got a text from Southwest saying that my flight was cancelled.  (Darn it, Southwest, you did me dirty again.)  The trip had no wiggle-room, so I had to cancel it all.  I was super disappointed--but, in the end, my cold got really bad and I slept for most of the day.  I did watch the wedding on Facebook Live, but would much rather have been there.  That afternoon was baby Michael's blessing.  Everyone went except for me and Benson, who was also feeling pretty miserable.

Besides that little setback, our Spring Break was great!  Now back to real life.

 

Family Resemblance

My brother has had a lot of fun colorizing old family photos.  Here's one he did of my grandma Wenonah.

When I was little, my aunts would tell me that I looked like her, but I only knew her as an old, old lady.  I think that now I might be able to see some resemblance:  

What do you think?
 

The Sensational Six

 

Finishing February

Monday the 21st was President's Day, so we had school off, though it came and went without much fanfare (meaning we didn't make any special efforts to celebrate).  Benson decided to cover himself with ALL the blankets, which was fun until he gave himself a bloody nose on a corner.  All good fun, all good fun.  Reggie the fish started hanging out face-down in his tank, so...that's not good.

Tuesday was TWO-sday (2/2/22), and it came and went without much fanfare (meaning we didn't make any special efforts to celebrate!), but it was fun to acknowledge it.  Tessa had a concert at the high school's new event center with the intermediate school students.  Maybe this was not the best venue, as it was pretty echo-y, but we enjoyed being in the new space.

 

On Wednesday I went to the library to get my preschool books.  Gracie had entered some artwork in the library's bookmark contest and we hadn't heard anything back, so I asked about the winners, and they told me she had won!  The prize was having her art printed as a bookmark, and they gave me 10 copies of it for her, which was good, since all the other copies they made for patrons were gone already!  It was super well-done and deserved to win. 👍

On Thursday, we had another ice day!  Surprise!  It was a preschool day again, and things were melted again and kids were back in school again on Friday, but it made things strange, with no school on Monday and Thursday.  We appreciate unexpected time to sleep in and snuggle in blankies and drink hot chocolate.

Benson's Blue and Gold Banquet was on Friday, and the theme (we thought, though apparently we got it wrong) was Birthdays, so we made little birthday hat cake pops.  I hadn't made those before, and was happy with how they turned out.

I am happy that the weather is warming up, because it's nice to get out and walk when I'm waiting for Emma in her college class.  I got to see this fun heron out one day.

Reggie lived a noble life with us, but goldfish don't last forever.  Thanks for the memories, little fishy.

(June 18, 2021--when Benson brought him home from Cub Twilight Camp---)

Another Monday and another concert for Tessa--this time it was for Celebrate the Arts.  She's following my advice to sit at the end of the row so I can see her! ☺

 So--that's a wrap on February!  The shortest month that feels the longest, and we're ready to move on!

Valentine's Week!

Valentine's Day was on a Monday this year, and unfortunately, Ben had to leave early on a business trip.  Never fear--he gave me flowers, cards, shower steamers (!!!), and candies before he left, and I stashed some things for him in his luggage to find later in the day.  I was able to make the heart-shaped cinnamon rolls, though the hearts were lack-luster this year.  I thought it would be fun to do a charcuterie board for dinner for us at home, and it was pretty delicious!

(One of the cards Ben gave me had a cute pop-up Darth Vader ☺)

We missed having Ben at home during the week, but now that we've got older kids, we are able to get through the daily grind a little easier.  Emma did wake-up duty for Benson and Tessa while I got the other girls to seminary.  One tiny hiccup--Benson's class went to the symphony on a field trip, and Emma didn't hear her alarm that morning, so we got home from seminary with everyone still asleep.  Benson got up, dressed with church clothes, ate breakfast, and was out the door and on the bus in fifteen minutes!

Ben got home on Thursday--yay!  On Friday I donated blood for the first time in a really long time.  I did it at a high school, and they gave all adults priority, which was awesome for me, but not the students.  (Hee, hee!)  I did get light-headed at the end, as expected, but it passed quickly, and I was able to drive home and take a good nap.

On Saturday I took Emma and Caytie to see some authors at the LDS Bookstore in Dallas.  We didn't know any of the authors, but it's always nice to have literature that we don't have to edit!

Ben and Benson left early on Friday and drove to Corpus Christi for a Cub Scout excursion.  They stayed in a hotel the first night, but on Saturday they got to go to the aircraft carrier USS Lexington, where they toured everything and basically had a great time until bedtime, where they all got to sleep in bunks on the ship!

They came home Sunday morning, and it was great to be a family, all together again!  (Well, minus Scott.  We love you, Scott!)