Lincoln had his music program the first part of March. They also display a piece of their artwork that you can view before the show. Lincoln sculpted and painted what he called a Ninja Leprechaun. It was interesting :-). The music program was pretty typical for Ray Miller and the same as Jackson and Ellie's in third grade. Lincoln had a small speaking part at the beginning and he did well with it.
Our favorite part of March finally arrived when we got to go to Tampa for a few days over Spring Break. We had beautiful weather and it was just a great trip overall. Caroline and Jared were wonderful hosts and everyone was comfortable and well-fed. We loved spending time with Emmie and Sully too. We tried to not cram too much into our time there and did enjoy some down time just hanging out on their back patio and at the pool/lawn area. And I enjoyed some morning runs where I didn't have to bundle up and fight the cold-I wore shorts and a short-sleeved shirt and it was wonderful. Our two major activities while we were there were getting to a beach. Caroline chose Passe-a-Grille and it was great. It was actually very close to the first beach I ever went to when I was in kindergarten. It took a while to find parking, but once we did, we ended up right by the beach chair rental area where we were also able to rent a paddle board that Ellie was excited about. The water was cold, but it didn't stop her. Lincoln and Bennett joined her for a little bit. Sully loved the sand and Emmie made a new friend. The weather was wonderful and it was so nice to soak it in after the winter we had. And the next day we drove north a bit and went to Treehoppers ropes course. It was great in that, after we had our training session, the older ones could go off on their own and climb, while Andrew and I stuck with the twins and helped them out. Bennett struggled a bit at first and thus didn't enjoy it as much as the others, but I still think it was a great activity for all of us and they definitely want to do it again. We were sad we had to go home the next day, but thankfully we didn't have to head out too early. Everyone is ready to go back again.
The rest of our spring break wasn't as exciting. Jackson attended some optional track practices We had some nicer days towards the end of spring break and the kids enjoyed some time outside with their friends. Ellie ended up going with my parents to Louisville to visit the Bobziens and the Earlys were there too. And we ended the week celebrating St. Patrick's Day with the leprechauns visiting during the night and messing up the family room...I'm sure they had a hard task as the boys were sleeping in there. And my parents and Ellie got home in time to have a breakfast dinner with green pancakes.
Sadly, for the kids, it was back to school the next day. Jackson got right back to it with having enroll for his freshman year of high school-WOW! I don't think any of us are quite ready for that.
Ellie was really enjoying her music class where she got to learn how to play the piano and ukelele, just like Jackson did. So, she used her own money to buy a ukelele and then cleaned Andrew's office to earn money to buy an app that plays songs with chords to play along with. One night she and Andrew played some songs together-they have all enjoyed it and we even got one for Jackson for his birthday. (shh...he doesn't know yet :-)).
Ellie also had a Parent Watch Week at dance so I got to get a pre-show for the recital as they are almost finished with their dances at this point...just a lot of practice needs to be done before the actual recital gets here :-). Ellie does a great job and I'm a little sad that this might be her last year, but I also know she has so many interests and has been doing dance since she was three, so it may be time to move on.
Sara and her kids came home for a few days during their spring break along with Molly. It is always nice when my sisters come home. They got to be in one our Mother's Day/Father's Day surprise for my parents...a Christmas Glitter House that is designed after their house. I discovered it on Facebook and it has been a couple years in the making. and it is amazing. This lady is so talented. We set up a group Hangout call so everyone else could see my parents' reactions and I brought it in from the car. She packaged it in a clear plastic box, so they could see it when I first brought it in, but they were a little confused. But, then once we brought it out of the box, they loved it and have already figured out where they want to put it come Christmas time.
Sara was celebrating her 40th birthday on that Saturday, but was leaving Friday. So, we took her out for a birthday lunch on Friday and my parents made fried chicken for a birthday dinner that night. We all got to hang out a bit between school and activities.
One of those activities was soccer...spring soccer for everyone but Jackson started back middle/end of March. I've been keeping a bunch of WalMart sacks for them all to put their cleats in when they finish up since it has been so muddy. Their first games got rained out, which we were kind of okay with because we had a busy day. It was the KLife 3on3 and all five kids were playing and we had our Bike Check and Fit Clinic for the TriFAHL at the KLife house. We were at the tournament from 12-6 and I sneaked out once to make sure things were good to go with the bike clinic. We had a couple volunteer mechanics and people signed up for 1/2 hour time slots for a 3 hour period. Andrew helped a little at the beginning and the end. But, I think it went smoothly and we were able to help out a few people. The 3on3 had us going all day. Lincoln was the first to start. I "coached" the team during practice, but thankfully, Kyle stepped in and coached them for the games because I was getting pulled in multiple places. Jackson's first game was against the 8th grade girls team and it was a fun one to watch. Jackson's team ended up pulling out the win in that one. The twins team mainly had to play 2nd graders and so they lost all of their games, but I was proud of the way they played hard and they did better than I expected. Lincoln's team ended up losing all 4 of their games too. Again, they were on the younger end since it was 3rd/4th grade and most of the teams they played were 4th graders. I think Jackson was maybe 2-2. And then Ellie's team was made up of some girls from her small group. They just formed teams from girls who wanted to participate who were in her small group and most of them didn't play basketball. They came up with some fun names, made some fun t-shirts and played against each other and their small group leaders at the end of the tournament. In the end, I think we had around 13 games. And then we celebrated by going to Mi Casa with my parents and Lissy that evening. I think Lissy was so excited to spend her whole Saturday at the tournament :-).
A couple other activities...Since finishing up our latest book in bible study, we have decided to break until next fall as everyone seemed to just be getting busier. I'll miss it and seeing people, but it will also clear up my schedule some. KLife took the 8th grade kids to Sky Zone one Saturday and Jackson joined in on the fun. They had a great time. The twins had their 1st grade music program. It was totally different than the county theme the older three had. It was a pajama sleepover themed performance and they all got to wear their pjs. Thankfully they both participated and smiled. And Bennett had an exciting night one night when Andrew decided it was time to pull a tooth that had been hanging on for months. It is gone now and he joins Miles with the two missing top teeth.
And Jackson officially started his track season and is finding success. Although practices haven't been the most productive, he has done well in his first two meets. He did the high jump, hurdles and 4x200 at his first meet. He scratched on the high jump, got third in the hurdles, and his 4x200 team got second. Then at his second meet, he got first in hurdles, second in high jump and third in the 400 (a totally new race to him that he never trained for and wasn't quite sure how to run). Thankfully, the 400 was his last event because he was done after that. It is a hard race...the longest sprint. But we are so thankful that he enjoys track and he is always trying to find ways to improve. He has even had us take him over to the track on the weekends to work on it some more.
Jackson and Ellie both got to go to Young Christians' Weekend in Branson this year. Ellie was so excited, but Jackson was a tad bit hesitant to have her join up :-). I helped a few other moms make the sandwiches for their dinner the morning before they left and then met up with them before they got on the bus to pick up their school stuff. They had a full charter bus going that left around one Friday afternoon and a few more minivans joining them later. As I was driving to the KLife house to pick up their stuff, I could see this large group of kids walking over there and I felt goosebumps thinking of all those kids who could have an amazing and fun weekend, but could also be impacted in such an awesome way with the message being presented. I had just a few messages over the weekend, mainly from Ellie, and they were all good. They both had a great time.
And while they were out of town, we had a busy weekend. Jane was in town Friday evening for an event with Grace, so we ate dinner at my parents house. Lincoln had his first soccer game of the season Saturday morning. The twins had an off week for games, but their coach offered to be there for a practice if anyone was interested. Since we had to be there for Lincoln's game, we had them do their practice too. Lincoln actually had two games. They loss the first one and tied the second. It is different dynamics as the club has grown and there are quite a few new ones who are still just learning the basic concepts. Lincoln did a great job and scored a goal. We finished up games a little after 11 and went home for lunch.
That evening, Andrea brought Sam's bike over for Andrew to work on and Andrew also set her up on his Motobecane so she can try it out and see how she feels on it and possibly use it for the TriFAHL. The next morning we headed to Pella for Owen's First Communion. We got there just a little bit before they left for the church. And then we got to hang out at their house for a couple hours before it was time for us to head home and make sure we got back in time to pick up the other two from the bus. Andrew spent some time out back with the boys practicing some baseball and then while I cleaned up from dinner he took them all to the track because Jackson was wanting to practice his hurdles again since he had a meet the next day. But then it started pouring, so they didn't get to stay too long.
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