How Does Your Garden Grow?

Alex got to participate in his first school production and we'd been hearing about it for weeks.  He could barely get to sleep the night before because he was so excited.  Matt and I were pretty excited ourselves because he got a very important speaking part...Carrot #2!

How does one prepare for such an important role?  Play on the ipad until it's time to line up, of course.

The kids were adorable and Alex's big orange costume made him pretty easy to spot in the crowd!

Talking to his buddy, Trevor...

With 9 classes of first graders, they had to take turns going on stage for featured songs.  Alex went up with his class to sing their song.

He made a second trip to the stage when it was time for his line.

Still had time to examine his fingernails and chew on them a bit.  Not because he was nervous, probably because he was impatient for his turn in the spotlight!

Finally, his moment to shine!  He did perfectly during the performance for the school (which I got to attend as a costume volunteer) but had to start over during the big evening performance. I think several of the kids got a little touch of nerves when they saw the room full of parents watching them!  My favorite moment was when he was walking past the microphone as all the kids were exiting the stage and he managed to get one more little yell into it!

 

 After the big moment, he couldn't hold in his yawns.  I guess being on stage is no biggie after you've been at the microphone.

 Such a fun night and precious play!  I had to buy the official video because several times during the performance the kid behind Alex bumped his hat and Alex turned around to set him straight.  He never stops making me laugh!

Spring Break

 We kicked off spring break with some fun rodeo parties at school this year.  Each of the kids made harmonicas, ate tons of sugar, and got to play some games.  They also talked me into checking them out early so their break was a few hours longer!

 

 Playing his new paper and cardboard harmonica (which surprisingly made some music noise)

After all the games, the kids got to do an in-seat roller coaster video, which was hilarious to watch.

 

Ben couldn't wait to get his hands on some candy!

His harmonica worked as well!

Third grade got to have sack races and a dance party, which was also pretty darn entertaining to watch.  Ben may be a quiet guy, but when he gets going at the dance party you better watch out!

On Saturday morning, we all did a 1-mile family walk for a dear friend's charity race. It was a cold morning, but the sun came out and it turned out to be a gorgeous day.

We were so, so happy to have Mr. Scott and Miss Lou Anne with us for several days as well!  Lou Anne and I got to help out with the race preparations and Scott was the official race photographer.  It's always a joy to spend time with them and we loved getting to be a part of a wonderful cause together.  I'm kicking myself because our time together was so busy that I didn't get any pictures of Lou Anne!

Good thing we did the non-competitive route because we had to stop and blow dandelions along the course.  (His wish - a new green blankie!)

The weather was actually pretty crummy for most of spring break, which cancelled our camping trip, but gave us some rainy days to relax at home and watch movies.  Ben even sat down with Alex to teach him how to write his name in cursive!

We also visited Grammy and Grumpy for a couple of days and the kids worked together for hours to build a fort in the park there.  They insisted on getting pictures of their creation and I have to admit, I was impressed by how hard they worked and the fact that the made something together without fighting at all!  Some logs were so big it was a team effort to move them.

 

We did some ceramic painting one afternoon, which turned out to be a ton of fun for us all.  Alex picked a bird and made it red because he's playing on the Cardinals this season in baseball.

Ben chose a jar and did some interesting designs. 

The finished work!  Ben spent a lot longer perfecting his masterpiece and I never got another picture.  They boys were pretty serious about their work.

 The may get bigger, but a nice box can still be hours of entertainment...

 

...maybe more entertaining for some of us than for others.

On our last Saturday, we spent the day on Galveston Island and checked out the indoor waterpark at Schlitterbahn.  It was heated and some of the water was nice and warm, but some was still on the chilly side.  Thank goodness these guys had a wonderful time, though.

The boogiebahn ride was outside in the warm sun (and COLD water) but the kids absolutely loved it. Matt and I even took a few turns as well.  Alex may have mooned the crowd a time or two, but he did great.

Ben really got the hang of it and even pulled out a full 360.

We enjoyed a nice seafood dinner and even got to enjoy a close encounter with some dolphins just before heading home.

It was a relaxing and refreshing break for us all.  I can't believe we're in the home stretch of the school year!

Brave

I recently took the kids to Main Event on a cold Monday holiday from school and we had a great time playing video games for a couple of hours.  To my surprise, Mr. "I'm Afraid of Heights!" Alex begged to go on the skywalk balance course.  Before they could change their minds, I signed them up and herded them up the stairs.  I was really impressed at how well they did and how much they loved the adventure!

 

Such a serious face!

Ben never actually said he wanted to try it but I didn't give him a choice and he did really well.

I love watching them try new things and find out they're capable of doing much more than they realize.

Lately

Seems like teeth are falling out left and right...Ben's smile changed again last week!  Loving the new space.

 

Apparently, Alex didn't agree with my dinner plans.  My first customer review in the kitchen and it wasn't a good one.

This one made me laugh, too.  I sent a bag of marshmallows to Alex's class for an activity but they weren't needed so the teacher sent them home in his backpack.  This is what I found about 12 seconds after he walked out of school - half a bag of marshmallows.  I'll rethink the sending of the sweets next time.

 

Monster Jam

Last month, the Nutcracker.  This month, the monster truck show!  We're trying to raise well-rounded boys :)

 We went early to see the trucks and walk around on the track.  Alex was excited to spot the truck that matched his little hot wheels version - the Monster Mutt Rottweiler. He was lucky enough to cheer his truck all the way to the finals, but it lost to Gravedigger.

 

He took the chance to race his own truck for a few minutes before we had to leave the track.

Ben spotted his favorite car - one of the old junkers that was about to get run over!  This kid loves old cars. He ended up pulling for River Rat because it looked pretty old.

Pizza, popcorn, cotton candy, deafening noises, and dirt in the air.  It was little boy heaven for these two.

First, we got to warm up with a little quad racing.

Then the big boys came out for some head-to-head races.

The crashes were pretty awesome!

The heavy equipment got plenty of use pulling the trucks upright and towing them off.

Next, we got to see a great demolition derby race.

A car on its side?  No problem!  Keep racing!

Happy boy waiting for the most exciting part - the freestyle competition where the monster trucks jump and crush anything they want.

Our seats were perfect!  We were so close to all the action.

Some of the jumps were pretty incredible!

My favorite moment was the truck that attempted a flip right in front of us.

He hit the ground so hard our feet shook.  Pretty amazing!

I did not think I would enjoy this so much, but it was so entertaining watching all the jumps and tricks.

One of the last competitors was Gravedigger and he went out in fiery style.  What a great night.  I have the feeling we'll be back again next year!