Marching On

 In between the big events of the month, we have all just been marching on.  

Except for this puffball, who spends her days snuggled up like a queen. 

Adam participated in a fantastic honor choir!

The little curl on this fern makes me smile. 

We had a great stretch of warm days at the beginning of the month, but we are back to wearing coats and gloves again. Slowly, slowly, spring is coming. 

Emma and Noah participated in the orchestra solo festival- they are so brave and talented!

St. Patrick's Day is the epitome of a simple and fun holiday with delightfully low expectations that are easily met. 

Tracking down the Lucky Charms- 

and then sorting them out. 

The leprechaun made an impressive laser maze this year while we slept. 

We tried African ugali at a Swahili friend's house!  I was so proud of the kids for diving in and trying something new, even if Google describes it as "literally tasting like nothing."  The chicken and spinach was delicious, and washing our hands in a bowl at the table then ripping apart the chicken and eating with our hands was memorable. I think some of these babies are just tricking me with their picky eating habits at home. 

The best part of the day starts when the bus comes back down the hill. 

Noah did a photo shoot with his Star Wars origami.  I love his creativity!

He know's this one creeps me out- Emperor Pickletine! 

Sourdough break making has taken over our house.  I have enlisted the help of everyone who walks past the kitchen, 

and we've all enjoyed the results!

-Isms

M- It’s a good day to be part of our family. 

A- I think every day is a good day to be in our family. 

Woo-hoo! Isn't that all a parent ever wants to hear?

*****

E, after dedicating the bulk of a Saturday to spring cleaning her room- Do you want to come seem my Palestine room? 

L- Do you even know where Palestine is? 

E- It’s a room that looks like a palace!  Palestine!

L- Yeah, don't say that.

*****

E- Whipping a random piece of whittled wood out of her purse-  You guys!  This is my magical flute.  I just I found this in a forest. I didn’t even chisel it or anything it was just like that!

******

N- Bats are disgusting. They're especially gross when they’re all clumped together. 

*****

M- Daddy needs to crack a window. 

N- Crack a window?  Why would he want to do that? 

M- Oh!  It just means open a window up a little bit. 

*****

Chatting with Noah in the morning- 

M- Did you hear that woodpecker on the house? 

N- Yes!  I could hear him pecking on the wall so I went over and banged on the wall but he didn't give up!  So I just went and clipped my toenails. 

*****

N, on a particularly rough morning- I'm so sad I’m going to school in five minutes and then it's back to the rat race…. What is the rat race anyway?

*****

While walking around downtown Kansas City, a noisy motorcycle went roaring down the street- N- Whoa, take it for a walk Jimmy!

*****

E, observing the state of our family and lamenting over the loss of her best big sister over spring break- This isn't what I want us to look like.  I can't even remember what Leah looks like anymore.

0.5 pictures to help her remember.... kind of. 

Robotics Season 2

 These hardworking and handsome boys made their way to the state robotics tournament this year!

This second season was quite a different experience for both of them than last year- Adam's schedule was much busier this year thanks to choirs and bands and drama and batting clinics and archery and science bowl practice, and Jason is just always busy, so coaching a team that meets 4-5 times a week is not a simple thing for him to do. The game was harder, the team was bigger, the whole experience was just a little different than last year.  Not bad, just different challenges and certainly not bad when they ended up in first place at the final season tournament!

That was just a fun day, where everything went right and they got to experience the sweet taste of lots of victories! 

Each match is still stressful, of course. 

But they won it all and made it to state!

They spent the night in Iowa City and kept us updated as the matches went by, and while they didn't place very high they had a memorable, mostly fun time with the whole experience.  From broken arms dragging behind the robot to MIA teammates and electrical issues, it seemed that everything that went perfectly at the last tournament went wrong at state. But they learned a lot along the way! They had some great cheerleaders in Grandpa Mark and Grandpa Art and Grammy Q via text throughout the season, and they are already talking about how to make season 3 even better.  

It's Always Fun When Auntie Al Comes!

Nothing makes us quite so happy as having visitors in Iowa! Auntie Al came back and we were all delighted. There were lots of games and magic tricks and talents to share!

Laney couldn't quite figure out why she knew and liked this lady so much, but quickly remembered- she gives the best scratches!

We had Monday off, so we took her up to Hickory Park in Ames- a place that I assured her was all about the nostalgia and the penny candy, 

not the quality of the food. Get those wafers away from me!

The ice cream is always the best part!

We took advantage of the warm evening and headed over to check out the High Trestle Bridge in the dark.  

That turned out to be quite an adventure because the last time we were there we rode bikes and parked somewhere else, so we forgot that we could bypass the unpaved trail in favor of the actual road, which would have been ideal for our scooters and roller blades and hoverboard.  It was getting dark quickly, and we eventually made it on to the path, just in time for Jason and Laney to meet us and for the coyotes to start howling.  It was just a little spooky but mostly a super fun adventure. And a good reminder- stay on the straight and narrow path!

We dedicated a good chunk of the visit to bringing Susan to life- 

Delicious success!

 I tried my first McDonald's hamburger and Diet Coke.  The company was great!  The meal was about as good as Hickory Park. 

It was warm enough that we even built a fire one night!

And little ol' Iowa offered the perfect final night's activity for the girls- a candlelight Taylor Swift string quartet concert at the beautiful World Food Prize Building!

This was the perfect girly night out- dressing up, pink drinks, candles and TS music!

And all too soon we had to take her back to the airport... until next time!