May Madness Begins

Forget about basketball and the month of March -- MAY is when the actual madness occurs.  We are full swing into our end-of-school-year shuffle and our calendar has been PACKED for the last several weeks.  With only three weeks left until summer, however, the end is in sight!

In all honesty, I don't even know where to start with all the catch up that needs to happen, so forgive me if this becomes tedious and monotonous.  I'm thinking bullet points and brief recaps are the best way to get this done, so let's start from the top:

• Easter

This year's holiday was mostly the uzh, with one notable exception -- the gig is up on the Bunny for all but the baby.  I was planning on allowing this fact --and the fact that there's been so much going on -- to scratch the baskets for everyone, but there was enough of an uproar when I suggested it that I went ahead and made my magic happen like always.

 Isaac was super stoked to participate in the Ward Easter Egg Hunt the day before.

As for the REAL reason for the holiday, well, I'd like to commend myself for doing a better job than in years past at focusing on the Savior and His sacrifice and including the kids in our attempt to celebrate Holy Week.  There's definitely room for improvement, but it's the striving that counts, right??

• Dates

I've had a few memorable dates this past month, culminating in my favorite date of all -- even if it WAS a super low-key anniversary date at Panera where we didn't even bother commemorating our 17 years with a photograph.  Hahaha.  Yes, it's true.  Scott and I have now been married for a staggering 17 years.  It seems like just yesterday we were starry-eyed newlyweds on Temple Square, posing for pictures as a newly minted husband and wife.

 Jane and I went out for a quick lunch date last week after her dentist appointment.

 And Isaac and I enjoyed a Costco lunch date last Friday after driving 2 hours to get to the closest one.

• Squirm

On Monday, we had the excitement of attending Alex's 2nd Grade Musical entitled "Squirm! A Wiggly, Giggly, Squiggly Musical" and it was a hoot.  Alex had a coveted speaking part as a Hookworm and he's been practicing his lines along with all the songs for weeks now.  I think it's safe to say that we ALL enjoyed the program.  :)

 Alex and one of his best friends, Perry.

 Waiting for the show to begin!

• Testing

It's hard to believe, but with the school year drawing to a close, that means that Ethan's very first AP exam is also on the horizon.  He's been studying almost non-stop for his AP US History test (or APUSH as the cool kids call it) and I know he'll be so relieved when it's all over one week from today.

• Tik Tok

I'm sure none of YOU have been keeping track of the fact that I never made Grace a birthday cake back in November, but she sure has.  Haha.  I was sick with bronchitis that week, and never got around to making one, mostly because she never had a definitive answer on what kind of cake she wanted this year and also because I had no idea that she would be throwing it in my face for the next 6 months whenever she got upset about anything.  A couple of weeks ago, I decided to surprise her with a cake on her HALF-birthday, and I had the perfect idea for the theme.  Unfortunately for my surprise, last Saturday -- out of nowhere! -- Grace asked me if I'd do a half-birthday cake for her since I never made a real one.  Womp womp!!! Hahahaha.  I told her I'd be happy to and that I had already been planning one in secret.  I think she was tickled pink by this news, and on Wednesday (May 1st), I had a Tik Tok cake ready and waiting when she got home from school for her to blow out the candles and partake.

Tik Tok -- the app formerly known as Musical.ly

 There are 14 1/2 candles on here in case you were wondering.  Hahaha.

 The theme is mostly an inside joke with Grace because she's always talking about people at school who have become "Tik Tok famous."

 (This nice little Now-and-Then popped up in my Google Photos.)

• Tryouts

She didn't have TOO long to dig into the cake before heading back out the door, however, because Wednesday was also the day of her big Soccer Tryouts.  After taking her and her friend Emma over to the high school, I quite enjoyed sitting on the sidelines and watching the tryouts in action.  Grace was quite certain at the end that there was no way she was going to make the team, but I think she enjoyed herself nonetheless and that's all that really matters, right??

• Fiestas 

And finally, that brings us to last night's entertainment session -- Grace's Language Festival at the junior high.  It's been on the calendar for months, but I guess I never really dug too deeply to find out what exactly it would entail, because once we arrived I was surprised to see what a big deal it was!  Haha.  The entire 8th grade and all the foreign language classes were represented in last night's extravaganza of cultural appreciation.  Tri-fold poster boards lined the hallways and "cafetorium" with recipes and step-by-step pictures for various German, French, and Spanish food items.  And THEN, we were treated to a full on program with skits, poems, songs, and dances presented in their corresponding languages.  And as an extra credit special, Grace participated in a a Merengue dance at the end that certainly entertained us all.  

 We were totally running out of printer ink as Grace was printing these pictures out at like 10 o'clock the night before the poster was due.

 This kid is so studious -- he brought his AP book with him to study while at Grace's Festival.

 Her group did a song about conjugating verbs.

This was the best I could get of her Merengue group and she wouldn't pose for me afterwards.

Whew!  It's been an exhausting few weeks.  Only 3 more to go!  We can do it, we can do it, we can do it!