Huntsville Fun

 Per tradition, we went camping in Huntsville for Easter weekend. For the first time, we decided to take the whole family. The kids did great sleeping. We didn't lose anyone... for too long.

The only part of the weekend that kind of stunk was the burn ban. So no campfires. Which translates to no s'mores and a messier meal prep as we couldn't use the fire to cook. We improvised and still had a good time.

The stake switched from hosting a big dinner Friday night to doing a dessert potluck and a bunch of games for the kids and youth. It was a good time.

We saw quite a few very large alligators in the water. Thankfully they stay away from the swimming beach. I kept Lydia off the fishing pier because of one alligator though. The fishing pier has no barriers to prevent kids from falling into the water so that was a no-go for her.

Tanner caught his first fish and was thrilled. Ashton reconnected with her long-lost best friends from Lake Jackson. Gemma and Lydia stayed a little closer to camp and still whined and complained like they do at home. We went out in a canoe around the lake. We took the kids swimming. Joseph went on a bike ride with the other dads.

Joseph's pictures of the weekend:

 

The only picture I took all weekend.

Festival of Colors

 Tanner read a Magic Treehouse book that ended with a little story about the Festival of Holi. My mind thought back to the one in Utah every year that I heard a lot about when I lived there. So I thought Houston might have one. It just so happened to have one that next weekend so I took the three oldest to it. It was a fun cultural experience. But, I decided afterwards that if we did it again, I'd just buy some of the color powder and have our own little party. The kids had a blast running around the powder area. We got most of it cleaned up before going to lunch afterwards.

Gemma's Birthday Interview

How old are you? 4

What is your favorite color? Purple

What is your favorite animal? Foxes

What is your favorite book? Dinosaur books

What is your favorite show? Wild Kratts

What do you like to eat? Spaghetti

What is your favorite game? Candyland

What is your favorite thing to do? Ride my bike

Who is your best friend? Lenora (a friend from the neighborhood)

What do you like to do with Daddy? Play on the playground

What do you like to with Mommy? Go out front and play

Where do you want to go on a vacation? To Wisconsin on an airplane

What do you want to be when you grow up? A superhero

What is your favorite song? Popcorn Popping

What is the best time of day? Taking naps (which she doesn't do often)

What makes you happy? Milk

Spring Break

 Spring Break came and went in Texas. With Joseph's turnaround ending early to mid-March, we always hesitate to make big plans for the break. Instead, we just plan to stick close to home and do fun day trips. Joseph's turnaround ended a couple days before spring break so he was able to take a couple days off and come with us.

First things first, though! We finally fixed the sloping in our front garden bed. We kept having issues with water drainage and it took a long time to figure out exactly what was causing the problem. The kids enjoyed helping dig in the dirt for the day.

Gemma's birthday was the first part of the week so we celebrated her birthday.

The next day, I took the kids up to north Houston to a farm-type place. It wasn't busy at all, which was a perk. Most districts around here have spring break at the same time so it is crazy busy everywhere. This place wasn't busy, but it was a farther drive than normal. The kids enjoyed petting the animals, playing mini-golf, and playing on the playgrounds.

The llama really liked Lydia and kept following her around. Thankfully, Lydia liked the llama too.

We finally became true Houstonians by visiting the Houston Rodeo one day. Thankfully, Joseph took the day off to join us. There is no way I would have managed the rodeo myself. We strictly told the kids that we weren't doing any carnival games or rides. It is crazy expensive! They had a good time despite the long lines for everything and how packed it was. When we first arrived in the morning, it wasn't too bad, but by the late afternoon, it was so busy. We could barely move through the crowds. Not my type of thing to deal with.

The best part of the rodeo was Tanner going mutton bustin'. His sling went "missing" for an hour so he could ride. Thankfully he didn't re-injure himself. He rode the sheep until it slammed him into the side wall/fence. He had a blast.

The second half of spring break was much calmer after those day trips. We went to a movie theater to see Sing 2. The two older kids got to invite a friend to join us and they loved that. Then, some neighborhood kids came to play that afternoon at our house. Friday was Tanner's doctor appointment for his collar bone and a trip to Barnes and Noble. That became a tradition from last year. I give the kids a $10 limit to buy a new book. Plus I like looking for new ideas of what to get at the library. And they get a treat from the little cafe because they're signed up for birthday treats.

My sister flew in Friday night and we ran a half marathon together on Saturday. We ran much more than we anticipated: about 10.5 miles of it. The kids came to cheer us on and had fun with that. Then we hung around the neighborhood with my sister for a few days.

Now the kids just have eight more weeks until summer.

Tanner's Pulitzer Prize Entry

Tanner found a book at the library all about Joseph Pulitzer and the Pulitzer Prize. He became fascinated about this. Tanner asked me how to win the prize and what the process was. He knew the prize was for non-fiction work. We found the website, date cut-offs, and requirements. Tanner went right to work writing a book about the sun. He filled out the entry form and paid the few dollars to mail it in. We did forego the $50 entry fee though. We haven't heard anything back yet so I am guessing he didn't quite win the prize. But he worked really hard to write a great book about the sun.

Then, in an unrelated work, Tanner drew this picture in primary. It was in response to, "Draw something or someone that you love." Tanner drew his friends, but labeled it "Feds." We all had a great laugh in primary as Tanner claimed he was friends with the Feds.

Ashton's Art Festival

Ashton had some artwork picked for a district-wide art festival. We spent one Saturday morning at the festival. All the art teachers from the district hosted a little table with a kid-friendly art project. It was a fun morning. Joseph was working in his turnaround so it worked out well with taking the kids myself.

She felt she needed her own picture with some artwork.

Tanner's collarbone

Tanner finally broke a bone. The fact that we made it six years without a broken bone is remarkable to me.

One night, some neighbor kids were playing in the backyard. The boys are all older than Tanner and do certain things that Tanner probably shouldn't do. But we don't stop him. I figure he'll learn his own limits and listen to his body. This day, the older boys had been scaling the side of our playground. Tanner joined them. I think the game had some element of tag so a kid tried to tag Tanner as he scaled the side of it. He worried more about getting tagged so let go before realizing his other hand wasn't holding on. He flipped upside down before falling and landed on his head. I didn't see the fall but I saw him right after. Tanner was pretty embarrassed that he fell with the older boys around him so he came inside and rested. Normally, he hops right up and goes back out. This time, he stayed on the couch. I was worried about a possible concussion with the height that he fell from. But he kept answering all of my questions and didn't seem to have a concussion.

Later that night, he said his shoulder hurt. I figured it was a little bruised from his fall. I didn't see any visible bruising or bumps. I've never broken a bone and have no idea what it looks like. He had a little trouble falling asleep that night but nothing too major.

The next day, he didn't want to use his left arm. However, he wanted to go to school. That afternoon, we met some other neighbors at a park. Tanner was holding his arm the whole time and definitely not using it. When the other moms took a look, we noticed he moved away when we tried to touch his collar bone. Tanner knew his soccer team started the next day. When we asked him about his arm, his response was, "It's fine. I can play soccer." I think he wanted to play soccer so badly that he didn't tell us how bad his arm hurt.

The next morning, I called the doctor and got an appointment later in the morning. I rushed him in with Gemma and Lydia. Before they even took x-rays, the doctor says, "yep, I will go grab a sling." She knew it was broken. Sure enough, the xrays showed a broken collar bone. It wasn't broken in two, so that's good. But the fracture was pretty long/big.

He was in the sling for five weeks. At night, it had to be wrapped up with a huge ace bandage. He struggled some with asking for help on small tasks like getting socks on or zipping coats up. His teacher mentioned how Tanner was grateful for help from his classmates but didn't love asking for help.

To cope, Tanner found lots of sports he could still play. He used his soccer ball to play basketball because it weighs less than his basketball. He could shoot better with the lighter ball and only one hand. Pretty resourceful!

After five long weeks, he finally had a re-check and new x-rays. It was healed enough to take the sling off. One week left of no contact sports and he should be all set to go.