Other May stuff

 We snuck into the pool a week before opening! It was freezing. But the kids and dad got in anyway.

 Ryan and his buddy Collin.

 First water bball game of the season.

 Really? Ryan is a crazy kid.

 Dan had a birthday. He is so great! And I totally failed on finding the right thing for a gift. We ended up getting a piñata. It was fun to have the D's over to help crack the bull.

 Macey got a few whacks in.

 Ryan had a good time.

Loving the bull too much? We are two happy families. We are super lucky to have the DeLucias down the street to play with us!

Immigration Day

 I volunteered to coordinate the 5th Grade Immigration Day this year. It mostly involved recruiting folks and then decorating.

 I went a little overboard on the decorating, but look at this cool skyline I made.

 And my best friend helped me make awesome window displays. It needed large photos behind to finish the look, but I ran out of oomph and time.

 The premise of the day is that each child is assigned a character sketch that they must portray for the event. These characters were to 'sail' to America and then go through Ellis Island. (The year being 1900.)

 The teachers were super glad to have a chance to make some waves for the students!

 They then crowded them into the hallway and let them go a few at a time to get in long lines to pass through all the checks.

 Waiting in line. They went through Health, Background and Skill checks. They earned points per place. If the kids earned 20 points they were welcomed to America. If not they had to right a letter to the judge to ask permission to gain entry.

 Some kids were rowdy and had to go to jail.

 We had the best nurses running the Health check.

 Some kids were quarantined!

 Writing appeal letters...

Alex portrayed an Italian business man in his thirties. He easily got through customs! And he looked great too!

Pictures from Dan's phone

 Dad and kid bike ride on the Bluebonnet Trail.

 Easter Egg hunt. The Contreras, DeLucias, and Asher joined us for an egg hunt. We had it at the school because the park was too crowded.

 Lots of yummy candy.

 Lucy Lou was a good puppy at the hunt.

 Macey still loves to play in the rain.

 Pretty little singer!

 Here is the stage from our seats. We couldn't take pictures during the performance.

 Ryan tried hard to pay attention, but the show was long! Thankfully Grandma's patience came with us to the theater.

 Love this crazy boy!

 11 year old day hike. They drove up to Turner Falls in Oklahoma.

 Lovely warm day for a hike.

 Here is the patrol.

 They met up with the 12/13 year olds. Those boys camped overnight.

 They off-pathed into some tricky locations.

 At the falls.

 Dad was lucky to be invited!

 Boys in a cave.

Ryan went to a bday party day of hike. He brought home this little bro.

Macey's Concert

Macey has been participating in the Dallas Millennial Choirs and Orchestras this semester, culminating in a performance at the Dallas Symphony center in downtown Dallas. 

My friend and I have been sharing carpool duties. I drop off and she picks up. Her daughter is in Kinder and the big sister of Macey's friend. The girl Macey's age doesn't want anything to do with the stage! Thankfully the big sister (Ellie) is willing.

The day of the concert Macey had to be downtown at 3:45. She went along with Ellie and her mom Stephanie. We drove down to see the 5pm performance.

Thankfully my friend had enough with it to take pictures of the girls for me! I love this with the name of the center behind her.

What pretty girls!

There was strictly no pictures allowed. So even though we were just a few rows back, we didn't get any pictures of Macey on the stage. Obviously a friend did take at least one picture from the audience. It was amazing! Glenn Beck narrated the concert.
The concert itself was 2.5 hours with NO intermission. It was probably 2 songs too long. They performed 'Rhapsody in Blue' by Gershwin, which was amazing! but not really related to the theme and a bit long for a lo-o-o-o-ng ocnernt!
The next thing is that there was about 20 following the 5pm performance and then they had to do it AGAIN for the 8pm performance. Macey's age sang 2 songs, 'America' and 'You're a Grand Old Flag'. I stayed to help with the children backstage. It was utter madness! Next time I hope they get a lot more help back there. Or have a better plan. Yikes, it was a zoo. But the children did manage to get on stage to do it again, thank goodness.

Me and my friend. She has an amazing voice. She also leads our ward choir. She allows to me to participate, which I find surprising, and since I still have friends at church I suppose that isn't hurting anyone else's feelings either!

Easter

We had a wonderful Easter weekend. The weather was AMAZING. The kids had Good Friday off from school. I was at the temple doing baptisms with the Stake Relief Society. I was able to work on the Brown line, which had had NO work done at all. It was wonderful to be in the font for my long lost grandmothers and cousins. The boys went to see new Capt America movie when I got back.
That evening we had the Contreras over for dinner. It was a High Holy day for the them so we could eat no meat. But we did enjoy salmon and crab legs. YUM! We watched Frozen with them also. Rosa enjoyed it and Oscar said, 'Please one more song!' in a less enthusiastic way.
Saturday the kids went on a 6 mile bike ride with Dad down the Blue Bonnet trail, which is in full lovely bloom! In the evening we had an Easter Egg hunt with the Contreras and DeLucias at the elementary school. It was a super fun evening of playing and having pizza. The men just walked over to Jets and brought it back to the park.
Sunday the children awoke to chocolate bunnies on their beds. Alex is top bunk these days. I knew he was up because I heard a thud, thud, thud, which was his bunny bouncing down the bunk ladder. Whoops! We had a yummy brunch before heading to church for the Easter Cantata. It was a beautiful meeting. I love Easter!
Once again, I have no pictures, but I'll post some when I get them from Dan.

Pinewood Derby

 4th year in a row for a Pinewood Derby. Still not winners. Next year we're getting professional help!~

 This is a tattoo. We applied it with a wet sponge. Easy and very cool!

Ryan's den. Love this kid!