Oh my goodness, people. Trying to blog again after so much time has gone by has me frozen me in a creativity paralysis! Like, there's so much that has obviously transpired since the middle of MARCH, but it's all kind of a blur at this point and I don't feel like I can really do justice to a recap and I don't even know where to start anyway, so what's the point of doing it at all. Ya know? As it is, I've been sitting here at the kitchen table for over an hour -- allowing myself to be distracted by all kinds of inconsequential and irrelevant external stimuli -- and I've only just now finished this opening paragraph. DOH!!! But anything is better than nothing, so here goes my inadequate attempt to catch up on the days of our lives...
- Spring Break --
Last I blogged, Spring Break was upon us. And even though I don't have any pictures to represent our week, we had a lot of fun doing a whole lot of nothing, and enjoyed a visit from my brother Freddie as well.
- Easter and a Funeral --
The end of our Spring Break week brought us the sad news that my brother-in-law, Blake, had passed away after suffering from Primary Progressive Aphasia (a form of early onset Alzheimers) for the last several years. With the funeral being held the day after Easter, we decided to fly out for an extended weekend to spend a little extra time with family. For as devastating a reason to be gathered together as it was, the message of Easter was truly amplified for us that weekend in knowing that family is forever and that Blake's mind and body will be fully restored when we see him again.
Since we were going to be out of town for the whole weekend -- and I didn't want to deal with the hassle of setting out Easter baskets while we were away from home -- I made a (very) last minute executive decision to surprise the kids on Friday morning before we left for the airport. Our flight didn't leave until the early afternoon which gave us plenty of time for the kids to rifle through their loot and choose some things to take with them on the plane. {I may or may not have chosen the bulk of Alex and Isaac's haul with the thought in mind of giving them something to do that would hopefully keep them occupied and entertained for the long day of flying that was ahead of us.}
Thankfully, our airplane experience with the kids was much better than I hoped for and we made it to Utah all in one piece. And while the occasion for being out there was obviously sad, there was also joy to be found in being with family. Our kids have grown up most of their lives being only a 2 hour drive away from "the cousins," and we've spent countless holidays and other breaks with Kristin and Blake and their kids. Now that they live in Utah, we don't get to see them nearly as often, and we loved being with them once again -- even if our time with them was far too short. An added bonus was seeing Scott's brother Adam and his family who live even farther away and who we hardly ever see.
- Cue awkward transition to... the Pinewood Derby! --
This year marked the inaugural run of Isaac's Pinewood Derby career! Scott was a trooper and helped him make his car -- the Cheesemobile (inspired by Geronimo Stilton, of course) -- and then spent SEVERAL hours with him while waiting for everyone to finish racing on the designated Derby day. And even though Isaac was easily in the bottom group of racers, the only thing that really upset him was that there were no participation trophies this year. Hahaha. He DID get a button, though, and with the way he transferred it from shirt to shirt to shirt over the next few days you would think he never wanted anything else. Hahaha.
- Springtime Miscellany --
Welcome to the hodge podge category! I'll let the pictures do the talking here, because, well -- it's less work for me. Hahaha.
Ethan sent us a package...
Apparently Jane has enough unexcused absences to warrant a letter home from the school district. I legit laughed out loud at the closing sentiment: "We will look forward to partnering with you to improve your child's attendance." LOL. If only it were that simple.
Grace made a video for school...
- Mother's Day --
And finally, we'll close with Mother's Day. A big shout out to elementary school teachers everywhere who have gifts-for-mom covered! Isaac was the only child to present me with anything this year (although Grace DID clean the kitchen for me as a surprise for Mother's Day morning), but with Scott making dinner that night -- always a welcome "gift" -- and finishing off the day video-chatting with the one who made me a mother in the first place {Ethan has just hit his 1-year mark for the mission, by the way, which is CRAZY!} the day still turned out great.
That's all, folks! Up on deck, we've got the end-of-school year MAYhem (get it?? hahaha) and Grace's graduation. Stay tuned, and hopefully I'll have it covered before the summer is over. Hahahaha.
No comments:
Post a Comment