Spring Break--Part 2

On Friday, we went to the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium.  It was our first time since it moved into the new building.  It's much bigger/nicer now.  I was able to get two free tickets since they did a presentation for our second grade classes, and I filled out an evaluation.  So I only had to pay for two of us.  It was a fun way to spend the day!

I love sea turtles.  I am not sure what it is about them, exactly, but I really love watching them swim and  I just think they are magnificent creatures.  Definitely in my top 10 favorite animals. 

I loved the South American room.  Toucans, macaws, poison dart frogs, and 3 gorgeous girls!

My girls were all very excited to see the penguins.  

The sharks were another highlight.

How did I get so lucky to be their mom?

Did I mention how much I love sea turtles?

This guy just kept swimming right around us.  Look at him, looking at us!

Don't eat us!

The otter brothers were all curled up, taking a nap.  That's often how I find my two younger girls...sleeping together, curled up in one bed.  Occasionally even Michelle is with them.

On Friday night, Alfredo and I went to dinner with our good friends, Jeremy and Stacie.  Then we all (kids included) watched Into the Woods at Stacie and Jeremy's house.

On Saturday, our cute neighbors joined us for conference.  Conference was just wonderful...and my kids are getting quite good at listening and mostly being reverent.  I bought them brand new journals to take notes in, they had packets from Primary, and we still did bowls of snacks that they could eat when they heard certain key words.

In between conference sessions, we all died eggs.

Then Saturday afternoon, we enjoyed the second session of conference.  Our spring break was nearing an end!  :(  But what a wonderful week it was!

Spring Break --Part 1

Spring break was amazing!   So needed.  March was a rough month for me for many reasons.  Really January through March have been kind of emotional and challenging.  So I was very ready for spring break.  More than ever before.  We had a great time.  Unfortunately, Michelle's spring break was different than ours.  We had a whole week off...she had the Thursday and Friday off with us and then had Monday and Tuesday of the following week off (she goes back tomorrow.)  Here's a run down of what we did:

Monday:  Went to my school for much of the day.  Then that evening we went APA to see one of my young women who was starring as Mrs. Potts in the school's production of Beauty and the Beast.  It was wonderful!

Tuesday:  We bought Waffluv and took it to Hunter Elementary to eat lunch with Michelle.  (Sorry about the poor quality of photos.)  Michelle was thrilled...and she generously let many of her friends try a bite of her waffle.  Yum!  Then Ella, Gabby and I went to the library.  After Michelle finished school, the girls and I and Gabby's friend, Sofie, went to see Cinderella.   It was wonderful!!

 On Wednesday, the girls played with friends.  I got things done around the house, rested, read, etc.  That evening, I was able to go out to dinner with my former Relief Society Presidency:  Susan, Jami and Heidi.  We had dinner at Olive Garden and enjoyed talking and visiting for about 3 hours.  It was wonderful!  I love those three ladies SOO very much!

On Thursday, we headed to Thanksgiving Point with the Wibergs and Denisons.  We went to the Museum of Curiosity.  The girls had a great time.  Michelle was especially happy to get to do the Ropes Course.  Sometimes I can't believe what beautiful, funny girls I have.

 Ella and Gabby really, really love to hang like a sloth.  One of their favorite things to do at the Curiosity Museum.

That evening, there was a Relief Society Game Night.  It was fun to get to visit with and play games with the women of the ward.  I am so blessed to be surrounded by so many amazing women!

Piano and Violin Recital/Federation

This year Ella and Michelle both did Piano Federation for the first time.  It went okay but not as well as either of them had hoped.  Michelle got stuck...forgot for a minute what came next.  But after a brief pause, she continued on.  Ella played with confidence and poise.  Her timing wasn't perfect on one of her songs, but I was really proud of her.  Both girls got "Excellent" ratings. They were disappointed, but I am proud of their hard work.  (And if I'm being totally honest...I felt a bit discouraged...not by them...so proud of them...but I often wonder if I'm doing enough as a mom to help them and support them.  Maybe if I knew more about music, and I was home more... then maybe they'd be even better at music.)  Anyway, after the federation, we went out to cheer up/celebrate!  We headed to Leatherby's for ice cream!

I just love these beautiful, silly girls!

 Michelle also had a violin recital and then violin federation.  Michelle really struggles with memorizing...memorizing songs for piano or violin, memorizing math facts, etc.  It just doesn't come easily for her.  She struggled a bit at the violin recital...but she worked extra hard for the last two weeks before Federation...practicing her songs over and over and over.  And it paid off.  She did very well at Federation and earned a superior.  I am pleased that she is turning into such a talented and wonderful young woman! 

Moon Phases Model

Michelle enjoyed learning about the phases of the moon in science.  She had to create a model about the phases.  She decided to use play-dough to create the moon.  She had a great time making her model and then explaining it to each member of the family.