New Best Friend

I have two new best friends.................

We were friends for a long time but sadly, I pushed them aside and got what I thought were newer and better friends. They sat quietly biding their time because they knew one day I would need them again. And then the day came. I wasn't getting what I needed from those "new" friends so I returned to my good old friends who have never once let me down. You ask what made me have a change of heart? Well, it was this.....

 

and this

because it seems that when you put them together they create a rather undesirable result. 

So thank you my old new best friends for coming to my rescue because the thought of wearing clothes with red and green crayon marks all over them makes me shudder. 

Our winner

Haley participated in her first sprint triathlon this morning and took first place for her age group. And to think she didn't even want to stay for the awards! It makes getting up at 6:30 on the last day of spring break well worth it.

Easter pictures

Easter Day was beautiful this year despite the thick layer of pollen that coated every possible outdoor surface. The kids woke up to find that their baskets had been filled with sweets.

Haley and her loot. She is always the child who takes her time looking through the basket and enjoying all of the things that she has gotten.

Harrison and his loot. He is the child who loves sweets, can't you tell? I asked him what was his favorite and he grabbed everything he could hold in his arms.

Holden and his loot. He is the child who counts his things (I think so he'll know if someone takes it) and organizes them into piles and then decides which item will be eaten first. 

Here are the kids dressed in their Easter outfits after church.

After lunch at the river with our family, the kids had their traditional egg hunt. The person who found the silver egg got the prize so that's the one all the kids looked for. This year we let each of them have a chance to win. Here is Harrison searching for the silver egg. The cousins take a break from the egg hunt to have their picture taken.

Square Dance

Holden has been studying pioneer times at school. The class read one of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books which just happened to be my favorite book series when I was growing up. I tried to get Haley to read the books when she was younger but she just never showed much interest in them. So I was thrilled that at least one of my children had read one of the books that I loved so dearly as a child even if it was a class assignment.

As the finale to the unit, the entire 4th grade participated in Prairie Day. The kids dressed in their interpretation of prairie clothing. They had a lot of fun activities such as making butter. For lunch, the entire fourth grade had a huge picnic and then each class did a little bit of square dancing.

Holden's class was short on girls so he ended up being partner's with his friend Cody. The kids all seemed a bit nervous until the music started and they started dancing and having a lot of fun.

 Waiting to square dance

Swing Your Partner

The Cutest Pioneer

Holden and his buddy Zion