Gemma finished out her preschool year. The school she attended goes all out for graduation. Caps and gowns and a little graduation ceremony. Then cake and a party afterwards. I think the high schoolers get very excited about graduation and that carried over into the preschool too. Gemma had a fun time celebrating the end of the school year.
Joseph had two weeks of training for work in Austin. In hindsight, May is a really busy month and being down a parent was rough. Lots of driving and shuttling kids around. But we made it.
The weekend between Joseph's two weeks in Austin, we either could have him drive home or I could drive the kids there. Since his work was helping pay for lodging and food for him for the weekend, we decided to go join him in Austin. Our first stop by seeing the bats fly out of the bridge Friday night. Except, they didn't come out! I think it was going to rain later that night and I read somewhere that the bats sense the rain coming and don't come out. Ugh. We waited for about 2 hours at the bridge, playing charades and eating ice cream. We saw a few bats here and there but nothing like the millions of bats that come out all at once. We'll try again another time. The kids weren't too happy with me.
Saturday night, we went to a restaurant for dinner. I think it was the first time we went to a restaurant without a play area that we actually sat down and ate dinner. We didn't have to chase kids around or take turns eating our food. Maybe that chapter of our life is over!
Sunday morning, we went to a local ward and then drove to San Antonio to see some friends. Then Joseph went back up to his hotel for work and I drove back with the kids to Houston.
Of course, the ending of his work trip to Austin wasn't so great. He left his training Friday afternoon and was rear-ended by a semi-truck within a few minutes of leaving town. So that has been "fun" to deal with. The car is totaled so now we have to buy a new car and deal with the insurance of the semi truck driver/company. Thankfully, Joseph's work is being really great about it all and helped get Joseph home from Austin. Joseph is sore and moving slowly but hopefully he gets better soon. The damage to the car is pretty significant. I am grateful there wasn't a child in the back seat. The rear window shattered, and there was glass all over the car seats.
Normally we go camping every Easter weekend. However, rain and thunderstorms kept us home this year. Instead of camping, we got to participate in all our friend/ward Easter activities instead.
Some families from our elementary school got together Friday morning at a local park and we organized a picnic lunch and Easter egg hunt. All the kids play together well, so it was nice to catch up with parents.
Gemma's preschool had an Easter egg activity Thursday morning. She had lots of fun trying to find the eggs with her names on them. Her teachers are much more patient with her than I am.
We also tried to do more Easter-focused activities at home. We skipped Easter baskets again. I haven't done one for a few years. The kids don't seem the mind. I made some cool sensory play dough kits for the long weekend and they enjoyed those. On Easter Sunday, I did a small activity with the kids to focus on the events that led up to the resurrection. My hope is the kids understand a little bit more about Easter.
Each year, our school district puts on an Imagination Celebration with all the art and music teachers hosting activities. The event also hosts the art contest in the district. Ashton had her artwork chosen for her school. It is a fun (and free) event where the kids can hop around tables and do tons of art crafts that I never do at home with them. Tanner had a soccer game that morning so I just took Gemma and Ashton. I tried to take notes on the activities that I could do at home over the summer with them.
A family from Lake Jackson moved to our area of Houston about a year after we moved. It was wonderful as their older girls were our babysitters so we got our babysitters back. One of the older daughters plays soccer at a local high school. Tanner has spent the last two years going to many of their games, getting to know the players' names, and cheering them on. He is sad next year is the friend's last year on the team. We'll have to find another team to follow.
One of his favorite parts is going on the field after the game. Sometimes, it is a bunch of kids who play and other times, it is the boys soccer team. Tanner knew some of the high schoolers at this game so he got to shoot around with them as well.
Spring break has come and gone. We're down to 8 weeks left of school! I am looking forward to summer. I remember thinking about school breaks and worrying about surviving them. Now, I like having no alarm clocks and a more laid back feel in the house. Although I am sure by mid-July, I will be ready for school to start again.
Joseph had turnaround once again during spring break. So we stayed close by. Although, I don't mind. I feel like everywhere around here is so busy during spring break.
The first part of spring break was our ward campout. Lydia ended up having a bad ear infection that I didn't realize until after we got back from the campout. Suffice it to say, she was miserable. We found out at the doctor the next that that she ruptured her ear drum with the infection so I felt really bad for taking her. As long as she had pain meds in her, she was manageable.
We went to a different place than we normally go our old stake campout each year. We liked the new place and hope to go back again soon. It has a really cool creek running through it. It was the perfect depth to allow the older kids to romp and play without worrying about currents or drop-offs. Gemma handled it pretty well and Lydia just wore her life jacket. We enjoyed hanging out with our ward in a much more laid back environment.
On Monday, I had planned to take the kids to Galveston for the day and do a dolphin cruise. It was supposed to be my one "splurge" of spring break. We drove down and found out it was too windy for the boats. So we did plan B and went to the children's museum in town. I like it; it's small and cheap. The kids like it too. After that, I treated them to a special candy shop where they each got to pick one thing.
Tuesday was Gemma's birthday so we enjoyed all the celebrations that came with that.
Wednesday, I drove up to northern Houston and visited a farm. We went to it last year and I love it. It is cheap and you get unlimited time with the animals, mini golf course, playgrounds, etc. It is the perfect size where the kids can wander to all the activities and I can see them all. Lots of baby goats to pet this year too, which the girls loved. There is a soccer field and a basketball court, which kept Tanner occupied for several hours.
Thursday was supposed to be our beach day but the weather turned cold and rainy. We visited the book store and the kids found lots of good ideas for library books. On Friday, we had a chill day at home. Saturday was Gemma's birthday party. The kids also had Monday off before returning to school. We enjoyed our last day of no alarms and also played with some friends.
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| Lydia struggled with no naps during the break. With the big kids home and lots of more activities, she didn't get all her beauty sleep. This was her on the couch after a long day. |
Gemma turned 5 earlier in March. Her birthday falls on the school's spring break. I don't know if she'll like that or not as she starts school next year. She was sad to not see her preschool friends on her birthday. However, it allowed her more time to do fun activities. She wanted to go bowling and visit the library on her birthday. She requested chicken salad sandwiches and fruit salad for her birthday dinner. Gemma got introduced to Barbies from Joseph's sister during our last trip to Utah and that is all she wanted for her birthday. So we are a Barbie house now.
Gemma loves being 5. She is convinced anyone that is also 5 is her twin. We threw Gemma a little friend's birthday party. She invited a couple friends from the neighborhood as well as from church and preschool. Her theme was "Leopard, Ballet, Butterfly, Princess." And I think we accomplished all of those themes. We played "Leopard, Leopard, where's your meat?" and Pin the Gem on the Crown. We made a butterfly craft. I made tulle tutus for the friends and we had a ballet lesson for the girls. Gemma had a fun time with all her friends.
The Sunday before her birthday, I got a call from one of Gemma's primary teachers. She wanted to have our family over for dinner. This woman has three children and lost her husband in a sudden event 18 months ago. We showed up and it was a surprise birthday celebration for Gemma! She had made so much food! And it was delicious- shrimp, chicken, fish, a ton of food. She had gotten an ice cream cake for Gemma with candles and a few gifts for her. It was beyond thoughtful and such an act of service to me.
