The Apparently Super-Busy Day

Evan and Joel brought home some potted seeds this morning from church.  I forgot to ask them about it until tonight.  Joel was already in bed so I asked Evan what they were, and he told me they are wildflower seeds.  I asked him if there was a significance to them, and he said there is but he forgot what it was.  I said, "You forgot?"  He said, "after the day I had ..."  So, I guess this day deserves a recap in the blog.

Before we headed to church this morning, the boys and their dad got in some Zelda-playtime.  At church the boys attended a kids' worship service and Sunday school while we attended adult Sunday school and then worship.  We had a guest speaker today for both services who talked about the current state of affairs in the Middle East and how they relate to Biblical prophesy.  It was really interesting!  And the guy is a radio host from Dallas, Kerby Anderson, so that was kind of fun, too.  After church, the boys had their usual snack and play time with the other kids from church. 

This is the school where our church meets.  Their mascot is the Sockeye - as in, salmon.  I think that's funny.

We came home and worked on Evan's science fair project some more (the one we started on Saturday).  We played a little outside, picked up a little inside, worked on the project some more, and then headed out for an adventure.  We joined an athletic and recreation club yesterday, and today we went back to enjoy it all together.  We started by playing some tennis together.  That was pretty fun until we (quickly) lost all of the tennis balls.  We were able to get two of them back, but we decided it was probably best to call it quits then.  After tennis we headed inside to an indoor pool.  Evan practiced swimming the length of the pool, which he successfully did many times.  He also practiced treading water for 60 seconds, which he also accomplished.  Looks like he should be able to pass the swimming test to be able to swim in the pool independently (while his dad and/or I are working out). 

Playing "Mr. Shark"

The boys playing tennis together while I hunt for one of the lost balls.

Once we got home from there, it was time to shower up, eat dinner, and work on the science fair some more.  There was a little more Zelda-time in there some where.  After dinner we worked on another project for scientists week - an egg drop launcher.  He started it yesterday, but got really motivated to finish it tonight.  After he got one model ready, the guys all took it outside to test it.  Unfortunately, the egg did not survive a 5-foot drop, so we are pretty sure that it wouldn't survive the 70-ft. drop that is the challenge.  He has some more ideas, so we will try to implement them tomorrow. 

There was more to the launcher, but this part held the busted egg, so it needed to be dumped out.

Evan got to stay up a little late tonight to finish the second trial of his science fair project.  Now we have one more to finish before the project is due Wednesday.  But we also have to finish the egg drop launcher by Tuesday morning.  So, it looks like tomorrow will be another busy day.  Maybe it won't wear him out quite so badly, though.

Not the Spring Break I had planned

That's the way life often goes.  I make plans for all of the fun things we will do, and then we don't do them.  Sometimes we find even more fun things to do, and sometimes we have bad attitudes and stay in our rooms.  Thankfully at least we didn't have a bad attitude week.

Monday the boys played at home a lot.  They had an impromptu playdate with some of the kids in the neighborhood.   And I met a couple of other moms in the neighborhood, too.

Tuesday we played at home again.  We made some "mock rocks" for Evan's class at school.  We tried to start Evan's science fair project, but I didn't read any directions for it and did it incorrectly.  So, I have found a new project that I have to talk him into trying. 

Wednesday was the game-changer.  Joel woke up feeling really bad and running a fever.  I got him in to the doctor that afternoon and found out he had strep.  Thankfully we caught it pretty early.

Thursday was the day that went about the way I had planned it.  I had an upper endoscopy just as a re-check for the one I had several years ago.  I was really looking forward to a frappuccino and a looooong nap afterwards.  I was feeling a little more awake (and a lot hungrier) than I anticipated after it was over, so we all went to Pizza Hut for their lunch buffet.  I was pretty tired (and stuffed) by the time we left.  I did get about a 6 hour nap once we got home, and it was lovely!  Unfortunately I didn't sleep too well that night.

Yesterday we worked in the yard mostly.  We started by weeding the flower beds and the yard.  That was exciting since the plants are different up here.  We weren't always sure what was a weed and what was "supposed" to be there.  We also weren't sure if some of the plants were dead or dormant.  So, we did what seemed right to us.  Then we went to get a few gardening supplies and picked up some new plants.  I am so excited about our purchases because they included roses!  I love roses and was sad to leave some special plants behind in Texas.  The houses here didn't have any roses planted, but did have some bare trellises.  We found some climbing roses on clearance yesterday and picked up one for each trellis.  We also got some herbs for my planter that Steve had made for me a while back.  The herbs we bought were already pretty healthy-looking.  I could even start using them now!  I was also missing the large rosemary plant in Texas, so I am glad that I have a little bitty one now to sort of replace it.

Today ... well, hopefully we can get in some park time or maybe even a trip to the Ballard locks.  Joel seems to feel 100% (or close to it) today.  He even pulled a loose tooth this morning by himself!  (Loose teeth have been traumatic for Joel so this was a major development!)  For right now we are just hanging out and enjoying the gorgeous weather.  It hasn't been the Spring Break I planned, but we have had some good family time together and that's what matters.

Easter activities for a week

This year, we had things to do with the boys all week long.  The church we are attending had a devotional schedule for the kids, so we started it last Sunday night and followed the history of passion week. 

Thursday we celebrated a Christian Passover at home.  It was the first time we had tried to do this ourselves.  I think I need a more thorough guide next time, but it was a start! 

Friday we cleaned and organized the house.  That night we went to a Good Friday service at our church.

Saturday we hosted an egg hunt at our house for some neighbors and a couple of friends from school.  I made a lot of southern food for our guests.  We had a family from China, one from the U.K., and one from here (though the dad is from California).  It was a lot of fun to watch some of the kids eat peeps for the first time.  I got to share banana pudding and sausage balls with the adults, too.  I didn't know sausage balls were southern, but apparently they are!  And they were a hit, too.  We didn't do any of the crafts that I had thought about, but it was because the kids were having so much fun playing together.  They enjoyed the egg hunt, too.  We rested in the afternoon, but that night we made resurrection cookies.  We love working on these together every Easter eve.

Yes, he is barefoot.

Today we got up (but not so early) and attended church together.  We had a nice time celebrating our risen Savior with our church!  And we enjoyed a nice "light" lunch with them after the services.  We are enjoying getting to know this body better.  And we enjoy eating with them.  We have a different definition of "snacks" and "light lunch" than they do, but we are not complaining.  (Their snacks are a light lunch for us.  Their light lunch leaves us stuffed, and sends us home with food for dinner, too.)  The guys have been having fun playing egg hunts, too.  They love to hide and hunt, so this continues for a few days after Easter.

Next week is spring break for us, so I hope that we will have lots of fun adventures report throughout the week.  But that we never lose sight of God's love for us, His resurrection power, and the glory of the cross and resurrection.