Catching Up

So I just wanted to catch up on some random things happening in the Cowboy State.

The kids and I went to have breakfast with the Easter Bunny at the local senior center, which was a fun morning. We ate,

decorated cookies,

and did Easter crafts.

At home, we decorated eggs... and only spilled one cup of dye.

I read in a magazine about a fun game to play with Easter eggs, sort of like marbles, but whoever's egg gets cracked is out. It didn't go so well. Next time we want to destroy our eggs, we'll do it the old-fashioned way. You know - roll them down a hill.

Liam (who I am convinced has some African blood in him somewhere), wanted his hair corn-rowed for school one morning. He's now growing out his hair to get some "proper" ones going. He also wants to start a band called "Bath Construction" with his friends.

Declan got a very cool birthday present from Nana and Papa, a space-like ant farm. It brought hours of viewing pleasure for the whole family. Really really amazing.

One of Liam's school art projects was chosen as one of the select few to hang in the local art gallery. We were proud of him. (And I love how his hat matches his picture!)

(Quick sidenote: Our gallery downtown is small, but they have original Norman Rockwell and Grandma Moses paintings hanging there. Who says there's no culture in Rock Springs?)

Declan is still loving his swimming lessons.

Grace completed the 5th grade Wax Museum project. The kids all picked a famous person from a certain time period to study and cover in a pretty extensive report. Then they dressed as that person, made a backdrop and timeline, and participated in a living wax museum. They all had a desk in front of them with a "play" button and visitors could press the button and hear the student give a memorized report about what they did and why they are important. It is a really fun project which can also be pretty time-consuming, especially when you are parents to an over-achiever like this one:

Grace did her report on Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, a French Canadian explorer and settler. (And it serves us right for being in Texas when picks were made. She really wanted to be Sacajawea.)

But wow, did she just throw herself into it! She did such a great job and really enjoyed it. Her costume was 100% homemade, thanks to the genius and dedication of her dad, who spent hours making a beanie cap and a mop into the best wig ever.

I got to chaperone a kindergarten field trip to the grocery store. Very fun. Kindergarteners are about the dang cutest things ever.

Especially this one, who kept his hand raised during the entire "refrigeration" section of the tour in order to tell the lady that his birthday was tomorrow.

Sam and Declan's newest game: burrito boys.

The end of the school year is such a busy time. I am really looking forward to the freedom and schedule-free days of summer. We could use some rest around these parts.