Wrapping up April

This spring has been crazy busy. I can't keep up with everything!! 

A couple weeks ago, Emma had a field trip out to Grandma Barb's for her school. Luckily, I got the day off, so John and I helped chaperone. The kids were all super excited to be out there, and we got a pretty nice day for it. We all met at the school around 11:30 am and carpooled out to the greenhouse together. When we all got to the greenhouse, we settled the kids in and ate some lunch. Elliott also came out with us for the field trip, and he thought that packing a lunch and then eating it at the field trip was the coolest thing ever. 

After lunch, Barb gave all the kids a tour through the greenhouses. They got to see Dell seeding some plants, and they even got to taste a couple of the edible plants. The kids really enjoyed it all, but they were easily distracted, and very loud. After the tour, Barb had a couple planting projects for the kids to do. It was a little crazy trying to keep all the kids in line and focused, but they seemed to really enjoy themselves. The kids got some M&Ms and water at the end, and then it was time to head back to school. Everyone had a great time!

Two Sundays ago was Easter. We celebrated by going to sunrise service at church. That was early. We had to wake up both kids, who were not too eager to get up and going. After church, we enjoyed a nice pancake breakfast at church, and then we headed out to Jim and Barb's house. Most of the Sutton side of the family was there, and it was nice to see everyone and enjoy the day. The weather was beautiful. Everyone spent the afternoon driving 4 wheelers being outside. Jim smoked some pork for us all, and we had a great meal to go along with our great day. We had two very tired kids by the time we went home that night. 

Emma is still trying to play some spring soccer. Between all the rain and cold weather, we have only had two games and two practices. The team in 1-1. Emma is trying really hard, and does a pretty good job out on the field, but she is easily distracted. It's pretty cute to watch a bunch of 6 year olds playing soccer. I hope Emma scores a goal at some point this season. 

Emma had her Spring Play at school last Friday. They started off the evening with a Pasta bar, which was delicious. They followed that with a piano recital, and all the kids did a really good job. After that, we were given some time to look at the Art Fair that the kids set out, and then it was time for the musical "Sound of Music". The kids put on a really good show. The songs were really good, the kids all stayed focused and performed all their parts correctly. It was super cute. 

On Saturday, my parents came to town to visit. Saturday morning it snowed (yes, SNOWED!!). We spent the morning at home since the weather was kind of nasty. After the snow let up, we went to an open house at a camper store, and let the kids bounce in some bouncy houses and ate a light lunch. We headed to the Old Courthouse Museum next. It was actually pretty cool. They had a nice WWI exhibit, and they also had one about old medicines and old medical equipment which was really interesting to me. It is a beautiful building and we all enjoyed walking through it and learning some things. 

After the museum, we headed home for a while to relax and play a few games, and just visit. In the evening, we decided to tryout a Sioux Falls Storm game. They are an indoor arena football league. It was really different from regular football games, but it was pretty fun and the tickets were cheap. 

Mom and Dad headed home on Sunday afternoon, and we spent the rest of the day relaxing and just catching up at home. 

Tonight, Emma had a soccer game at Tomar Park. It was freezing cold and just kind of miserable. The Rockstars (Emma's team) lost, but they all seemed to have a good time. Now, the kids are finally in bed, the Twins are losing, and I am ready to read a little and then go to bed. 

These weeks fly by way too fast for me. 

Here's to hoping we will see some sunshine later this week!!

Lunch at the greenhouse 

The kids 

Silly kids 

 

Easter 

My Loves 

The Sound of Music 

Soccer in the cold 

April Snowstorms, soccer, and an Easter Celebration

Once again my blogging has taken a backseat to everything else in my life. April is half-over and I am finally getting around to blog about what has been going on around here.

Where to start...

Well, the weather has been a turd again. All the snow melted away, and we had a few really nice spring days, and then this past week we had a pretty miserable snowstorm. We got a combination of ice, freezing rain, snow, and we managed to lose power a couple of time. The worst of the storm went north of us (thank goodness), but it still wasn't a fun couple of days. Hopefully now we are in the clear and can enjoy some springlike weather.

Emma has started her soccer season. I signed her up for a Dakota Alliance Soccer team, and she has had one practice and one game so far. Her first game was this past Monday evening in the Sanford Fieldhouse Complex. It was really fun to watch her play a game. Her team won, and Emma almost scored a goal, but the half came to an end before she could score her goal. She had a ton of fun, and cant wait until her next game. Little brother did okay at the game as well, he got a little bored, but I brought him coloring books and crayons, so he did ok.

Last Sunday, I brought Emma to the musical "The Little Mermaid" at the Brandon High School. They did a really good job with the  musical. Emma and I were in the 4th row, and we had a great view of the show. Emma loved it and just had to get her picture taken with some of the cast after the show. We agreed that we are going next year, and we plan to take Elliott along as well.

Speaking of musicals, last Saturday, John and I went to "Chicago" at the grand opening of the Performing Arts Center at SDSU. It was a really good show. Some of the cast had headlined in New York City with other musicals, so it was the real deal. We have been on a musical kick lately, and I am really enjoying it.

This past Friday, we headed to Mankato. We met Rachel, Carlos, and Elena at La Terrazza, and enjoyed a wonderful Mexican meal. It was delicious, complete with a large Margarita. We didn't eat supper until about 8pm, so we had some tired kids once we got back to Rachel's house.

We spent the night, and then helped Rachel get ready for the Easter celebration with family. It was really nice to see everyone. Pretty much everybody made it, and we all enjoyed some good food and company. I got to spend a lot of time with Elena, which was really nice to have some bonding time. We played a lot together, and I even got to put her down for her much-needed afternoon nap.

We also celebrated Elena's 2nd Birthday. We had a cake, sang Happy Birthday, and then she got to tear into her new presents. She had a really good day, but was super tired by the time we all left.

Emma and Elliott did really well on our trip. They traveled well, and they had no problem talking and playing with everyone at Rachel's house. The weather was a little too cold to go outside a whole lot, but we all enjoyed ourselves. The great-grandparents played some sheephead, while the rest of us caught up with each other and played a couple trivia games. It was a successful Easter celebration. We left Rachel's house at around 7pm, and didn't get home until close to 9:30pm. It was another late night for the kids, so they were easy to put to bed!

Today was Palm Sunday. It's probably one of my favorite Sundays. The kids participated in the Palm Branch processional and then they both had to help sing a song with the choir. They did a really nice job. Then we had bible class while they had Sunday school, and then they had to march and sing again for second service. It was a full morning.

We came home and ate lunch, and then the kids and I took a nap in my bed, and it was glorious. The rest of the day we spent cleaning, and playing outside. Right now, the kids are bathed, and watching a little TV before bed.

Here's to another busy week!!

The Little Mermaid 

With Flounder 

With Ariel 

With Scuttle 

Hanging with her soccer buds 

Go Emma Go 

Go Team!

Cheers 

Helping Vacuum Rachel's house 

Birthday Girl 

With Great-Grandma Mary 

Emma's flower girl dress 

Palm Sunday Branches march