March 29 - April 17 2021, Easter, Tennis, and Mud Girl

Monday March 29 we all went as a family to see the Lamb of God in the theaters.  It is a musical oratorio about the Saviors last week of life, leading up to the Crucifixion and resurrection. The music was powerful and I was surprised at how well the kids did.  They were probably a bit bored, but they sat still and listened and I think they liked it to some extent.  We were all singing some of the musical themes as we left.  

Tyler on a whim tried out for the tennis team and made it, that was pretty exciting and helped his confidence.  He won his first doubles match which was exciting. 

The kids had Friday April 2nd off of school for Good Friday.  The boys did a service project with the stake in the morning.  In the afternoon we went to a jumping place in combination with a birthday party that Tyler was invited to.  

Easter weekend was filled with time in the kitchen for me.  I was starting to get stressed out with all of the foods and traditions that I needed to do.  It ended up going ok, but that is one thing that is hard about being away from family. You are the only one making dinner so if you want to have an extra special meal you have to do it all.  Sometimes I cut back, and sometimes I try to do too much.  Our dinner wasn't anything too special and Doug grilled the chicken, it was just all of the desserts and treats I had been making for us and the bakery that kept me busy in the kitchen.  I made these yummy strawberry lemon blondie bars that a friend had served at a GNO.  Mine didn't turn out as well as hers, but they were still tasty.  I also made a carrot cake loaf (basically carrot cake baked in a loaf pan).  It didn't rise as well I wanted it to, but it still tasted ok.  

Easter weekend was conference weekend too.  I like it when that happens.  We colored eggs while we watched the first session and then had our finger food lunch while we finished the morning session.  

We also did our egg hunt on Saturday.  Damon hides the eggs now for the younger kids and I hide his.  They had fun eating their candy and doing the treasure hunt puzzles that we usually do.  This year the treasure was a new family game called Poetry for Neanderthals.  It's a pretty fun game. 

Sunday we listened to more conference and took a drive to a nearby park to see some bluebonnets.  We were told that this park had a patch marked off that you could take pictures in.  That was true, but there really weren't many flowers.  The best section I have seen is along the side of the freeway on the way home from the Woodlands.  It's in a spot where there is no safe way to take a picture, but I do enjoy looking at them when I drive.  They are so many and so beautiful.  

The next week was normal with various activities. Tyler had an orthodontist appointment.  He has soccer practice on Mondays and Wednesdays and piano on Wednesdays as well.  I stay busy baking, my business is going fairly well.  My sign ups don't fill up all the way anymore, but that way our family gets to eat some.  This week I made cinnamon bread, chocolate muffins, and breadsticks. 

Thursday Tyler had his second match.  He won his singles match and lost his doubles.  He also got to play a bonus singles match and he won that as well.  He is improving quickly and he enjoys playing. 

Saturday was a busy day.  I signed up last minute to do a Mud Girl race with some friends.  It was sooooo cold.  We were all a little bit nervous about freezing to death (50 degrees and we were going to be all wet and it was windy).  But it ended up being better than I thought.  We were still cold, but once we got moving it wasn't so bad.  And the times that we were in the water, the water felt warm compared to the cooler air.  But by the end my hands were so cold that I couldn't open and close them very well.  I was glad that I had brought hot chocolate in a thermos to sip on the way home. 

There were a bunch of obstacles throughout the 5K race.  It took us about an hour to do it.  We walked sometimes and waited for our friends to stay together.  We were laughing and cheering the whole time.  It was such a fun experience.  We were grateful that one of our friends didn't want to do all of the obstacles so she was our designated photographer. 

After I got home and soaked in a long bath to warm up, Tyler and I went to a special piano class.  He was able to play his song with a violin and cello and receive some pointers from Paul Boyd who is a master piano teacher.  It is also cool to here Tyler play with other musicians. 

 After piano we went straight to Tyler's soccer game.  It was still cold and it rained a bit, but they had a good game and Tyler scored twice.