Golf of the Mini Variety

Sam won mini golf certificates almost a year ago.  We decided it was finally time to use them!

Sam's form was beyond reproach. It bore a striking resemblance to shuffle board, or upside-down lacrosse.  His outfit was also incredibly tasteful. I was proud.

Grace's was even better.

Libby missed the hole in one and was sprayed with water, a fate that befell five of our six golfers.

Ethan managed a hole in one!  To our great disappointment the tiki face did not blow smoke or fire, which is what we had been led to believe.  It just ate the ball.  We saw it blow smoke rings for other people, but it apparently did not care for Ethan's golf prowess.

Michael would also like it noted he would have taken more pictures if he hadn't been so busy playing the game badly.

Easter

Ethan decided he was too cool for us and left town Easter weekend.  He went to Utah with his young mens group.  He had some excuse about wanting to watch Priesthood Session in person, but I know he just didn't want to spend Easter with his dear mommy and daddy.  I warned him the Easter Bunny wouldn't come if he left us.  And though he was bummed about missing the extended family Easter egg hunt, he packed his bag and gleefully left us, not to return until Sunday afternoon. 

Grace was awfully concerned the Easter bunny might be serious, so she set out a basket for Ethan and left a note, "To Easter Bunny.  Hi thank you for the stuff that you bring to me my brother is not here but I would like if you brought him stuff happy easter"  I probably need to spend some time working with her on punctuation!

Sam also left a note.  His is pretty short and sweet.  The Easter Bunny enjoyed the Twix!

The girls also felt bad about Ethan missing the egg hunt, and made him a package of his favorite candies they had collected during the hunt.  They did not share their found quarters with him.  Sibling love only goes so far.

The kids conveniently labeled their baskets with sticky notes, so the Easter bunny would be able to tell them apart.  And look at that, the bunny did bring a basket for Ethan!  What a push-over.

On a side note.  Grace and Sam have been questioning the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus for the last year.  I really thought they had figured it out, and were just playing along for fun.

I collected their letters and put them in my sock drawer until I could find a better place for them.  Sunday afternoon, they found the letters.  There was great suffering; so much suffering.  Apparently, they had been believers, and now they were shattered.  They took turns crying and lamenting.  I was chastised for ever "tricking" them in the first place. For the next week, at random moments, Grace and Sam would bemoan the loss of the Easter Bunny and my deception.  Three direct quotes from Sam on that Monday were: "I wish you had never lied to me about the Easter Bunny.", "What dumb person ever made them up?", and "I can't move on."

The Easter Bunny and Santa Claus died at our house, and the mourning was great.  I am happy to report, they seem to have recovered for the most part.  They are also looking forward to helping be Santa Claus to someone who needs it this Christmas season.

Spring Break

I had great plans for spring break.  We were going to go somewhere awesome.  The Grand Canyon!  Or Yellowstone! Or California!  And then we got closer to spring break and I realized that I was exhausted, Michael was exhausted, the kids were exhausted.  So, instead, we just hung around Boise and took it easy.  We went to a couple museums.  We hiked some foothills trails.  We went to some parks.  It ended up pretty ideally.

Grace and Sam were yards ahead, Ethan and Libby thought the hike was going to kill them.  Good news, though:  They survived!

Looking down.

Libby caught up.  She was still thinking the hike was a bad idea.

Ethan does not fit on the playground equipment quite as well as he remembered.

March 14th

On March 14th many school students chose to walk out of class for 17 minutes to show respect for those that died in Florida and to ask for better gun control.  Libby chose to walk out with her classmates and then return to class.  Ethan decided to join other students and march to the Capitol building.  He and several of his friends walked several miles to protest gun violence and ask for safety measures to be placed on guns.  Grace, Sam, and I also went downtown.  I am proud of my children for standing up for what they believe is good and right.

Way Back on Valentine's Day...

Ethan and Libby are both in choir this year.  Their big fundraiser for the year is the Valentine's Day dessert smorgasbord, raffle, silent auction and concert.  The kids sell tickets to the show and a dessert bar.  They also solicit local businesses for items to raffle.  Ethan and Libby truly got into the spirit.  They collected about eight different donations, sold tickets to about 15 people, and even performed a duet on the big night.

For their first time in front of a big audience, I think they did fabulously.

And as icing on the cake, the students are now selling lollipops to raise funds for the 8th and 9th graders to perform in Pocatello, especially for the students who didn't make as much for the Valentine's day concert.  When Ethan asked how many he needed to sell to pay for his portion of the trip, his teacher looked at him and said, "Ethan, you are golden!"  Yay for escaping at least one fundraiser this year!