In Person Concert!!

What a year it's been with Covid restrictions.  All of the kids' concerts have been virtual.  They record them at school and then we watch the recording later.  But, we were so fortunate that restrictions have lifted enough to have an in-person concert.  This was the pre-UIL competition concert that the band usually holds.  It was at Wylie East and they actually allowed parents to watch.  Listening to live music in person is SO much better than watching it virtually online.  I was happy about the concert but after being there, I was reminded so much of how great live and in person events are.  I hope to see more of this to come very soon.

It's Great to be EIGHT!

Aunt Kaori came and took some pictures of Annmarie for her baptism announcement that she will be handing out to teachers at school and gymnastics and sending in the mail.  These were our favorite pictures.
 

Heights Park

When I was growing up, we had a cool park in our city called Heights Park. I decided to take my kids over there and check it out. The park has changed a lot--the great playground equipment that we loved so much growing up is no longer there at all (one was a giant metal rocket) but it's still a nice park. It was a gorgeous day so we all went, except Caleb. Westley even came and threw around the baseball with Corey and Travis. The creek there has some great paths near it that we explored. All in all, a really nice day. 

 And later, we made a blueberry pie.  It was so good and is now one of my favorite pies.

 

Pi(e) Day Pies by Travis

Travis decided to try his hand at making pies and selling them.  Since Pi(e) Day (3-14) was coming up, I posted on social media about his pies.  He chose to make strawberry, apple, or banana cream.  We discovered that since the pies had to set for several hours and remain refrigerated, it probably would be best to not do so many cream pies or strawberry pies in the future, but if he is to make it a business, we'd have to invest in a fridge just for his pies.  I found some pie boxes at Hobby Lobby, but if he makes it a business, we'll probably have to find some less expensive ones online or at a restaurant retailer.  He was successful and made nearly $200 selling his pies. 

 

Birthdays--Jonah (10) and Annmarie (8)

For the past several years, Jonah and Annmarie's birthdays have fallen on Spring Break, which I think is really fun. Jonah turned ten and my older boys helped with a Star Wars Lego cake. 

Annmarie turned eight.  Since she is getting baptized this year, I made her a white dress.  I really do enjoy making these dresses for my girls that I make for things like this.  Her birthday is on Pi(e) Day (3-14, or 3.14) so some years she'll have pie instead of cake, which works out quite nicely since Jonah's is the day before and we always have leftover cake from that.  Travis helped with the pies.  We made a raspberry creme pie and a strawberry pie.  The strawberry didn't set, but the kids ate it anyway.  It still tasted good!

 

Road Trip to Austin

School continues with covid restrictions, although our district has been better than others. The elementary kids are not required to wear masks, as the CDC has suggested that kids under 10 aren't at high risk for serious illness from covid and our elementary schools only go up through 4th grade, during which they turn ten. The older kids have to wear masks, but they have continued with all activities, although there have been quite a few things canceled due to covid quarantines for teams. But, when we found out that Jonah's fourth grade would be doing a "virtual" field trip to Austin and San Antonio, we decided virtual isn't good enough. So we took a day during Spring Break and drove to Austin and then back in the same day. We walked around the Capitol building, not allowed inside due to covid, and looked at the governor's mansion through the fence because all of that has been closed off as well. We ate at In-N-Out in Austin. It was a quick trip but full. Caleb and Westley were working so they did not come.