39 years...

On April 21st. Ron & I celebrated our 39th anniversary.  Actually, our big celebration will take place in the summer with a cruise to Alaska.  But, my Sugarbear knew I needed a break from the stress of the end of the school year, so we escaped to Dallas for the weekend.  Of course, I forgot the stupid camera! So I was stuck using some pictures I have saved on my laptop.

 

On Thursday after school, we drove up to Dallas and stayed in a Residence Inn Marriott that is about a 5 minute drive from the Dallas Temple.  The first evening there, we ran into 2 prostitutes in various stages of undress in one of the hallways of the motel.  When we got to the room, I called the front desk to report our discovery and was rewarded with a free night stay! The crazy thing about this motel is that the LAST time we went to Dallas, we stayed in the same motel.  We had driven Ron's truck up and I stupidly left my temple bag in the floor of the back seat.  Low and behold, the next morning we discovered that someone had busted out the back window and stolen my bag! I guess they thought it was a lap top or something.

Anyway, the next morning we got up, spent the morning in the Temple, and then spent the afternoon at the Dallas Arboretum.  It was beautiful and made me want to rush home, go to Lowe's to buy tons of flowers, and then fill the yard with beautiful blooms.  

We missed the ward Easter party, and some grandkid's ball games by spending the weekend in Dallas; but, being able to go to more than one session in a trip was well worth the sacrifice.

We really, really, really missed our own bed so we were very glad to get home Saturday evening and wake up well rested for Easter morning.

Then, during sacrament meeting we were able to sustain our sweet daughter Leslie as she was called to serve the sisters in our ward as the new Relief Society President.  We heard some wonderful talks about the blessed resurrection, enjoyed some beautifully prepared lessons, and a quiet Sunday afternoon reflecting about how blessed we are.

All in all it was a great anniversary weekend.

Run, run, as fast as you can...

It is that time of the year again; the school year stampedes to an end, the grandkids are playing sports, the yard is coming to life again, and schedules become more and more hectic.  I alternate between fatigue, panic, stress, and frustration.  Interspersed are precious moments of joy and happiness, keeping me centered and focused on what is most important: grandkids.

This year, Maggie is old enough to play in organized sports.  Her father coached high school and middle school soccer for several years. G has been anxiously awaiting the day when Maggie was old enough to enroll in city sports.  He is coaching her team, and is quickly learning that 4 year olds are very different from older kids with experience.  

   

Maggie plays on "The Red Team" for Temple's youth league.

Gerson on the "field" with his team.

Sophie usually sits on Uncle Ryan's lap during the games; but, she is NOT happy about it.  We are lucky if we can keep her off the floor during the game.  Thank goodness the games are fairly short.  Only 3 players from each team are on the floor at one time, and they do not have a designated goal.  Watching those little ones rush up and down the floor is hilarious.

Sophie at Maggie's first soccer game.

Sophie sharing a wilted flower with Maggie after a game. 

Seth was able to spend a couple of weekends with me this month because Becca had to work out of town.  We watched SciFy movies, played darts, and checkers, and generally would just hang out.  Right now, we are playing catch a lot because he has recently started a new baseball season.

Seth has moved up a league in baseball.  He is now playing Kid Pitch for Higgenbotham Laudry in Gatesville.  His games are most often at odd hours which are either too early for me to get there on time, or at 8:30, which makes a super late night. 

Friday evening Ron and I were able to take the girls up and watch one of his games. The girls were disappointed because they didn't get to see Seth actually playing much.  This year his age group honors the 3 out rule and many batters walk because this is the first year they actually have a pitcher.  Consequently, the team not at bat spends a lot of time in the field.

Seth is learning that Kid Pitch is much more demanding than Coach's Pitch because he spends less time at bat and more time in the field.  

Seth in the dugout at the last game.

Maggie & Sophie watching Cousin Seth's game.

School is much more challenging at this time of the year.  There are deadlines to meet, grades to get quickly and earlier, paperwork out the wazoo, and students that have spent a lot of time together and are starting to get on one another's nerves.  Keeping them busy is the key.  My most recent project was a big hit.  We are studying economics (wants, needs, income, producers, consumers, goods, and services).  So I gave each one of them a marshmallow PEEP bunny.  They were told to create an imaginary business, determine whether or not it offered a good or service, make the clothes, tools, and supplies they would need for the business, and then present the information to the class.  All of it had to be done in class and only during free time.  It kept them busy AND stopped most of the bickering.

Here are a couple of my favorite ones.

Hannah's  2 parents are both doctors.  Is it surprising that her business was a hospital?

Amaya is my hamster's biggest fan.  She is an animal lover through and through.  She created an animal shelter.

We have several big projects going on throughout the rest of the year.  We are finishing up our Charlotte's Web unit with reader's response projects. Then, we will have a grade level factory producing products for sale to other second graders,.  And finally, end the year with our biome of the Earth study.  In the meantime, I try to stay on top of the administrative part of the job, manage to squeeze in time for family and church, keep the yard & house under control, and stay sane.  Thank goodness next week is our 39th anniversary and Ron & I will escape to Dallas for a couple of days!!!