In like a Lion

March always seems like the longest month. It's a full 31 days after the shortest month of the year. Somewhere in that looooong stretch we managed to make it through.

Speech meetings, Student Led Conferences, poem recitations, book reports, Dr. Seuss Day, field trips to Peter Piper Pizza and the Zoo, Youth Conference, birthday parties, softball. . . all that stuff in the first 2 weeks and not one picture.

The only pictures I have from the first two weeks are of us making cookies. Because honestly, if anything sums up my life, it's making and eating cookies. On any given week you can guarantee this occurred in my house.We had 4 extra kids for a weekend and I got a glimpse into the fun of early morning seminary and the appetites of teen age boys. I can't believe how fast we went through everything -- milk, eggs, bread. . . toilet paper.The girls even made Luke a train sugar cookie. And don't worry -- a haircut for Luke was also on the list of things we did in the first few weeks of March.

The next two weeks of March were Spring Break! I had visions of long lazy days with lots of cuddling and crafts. The kids, however, did not. They wanted to be entertained. NOW!

So we jammed packed the days. Playdates, the park, crafts. . . whatever I could think of. One day Ellie and her friends ran a Day Camp to learn babysitting skills. They all determined that being in charge of a group of kids is harder than they imagined. Ellie said the hardest part was "when the kids wouldn't listen to you." I somehow felt validated as a mom.

One of the activities they planned was to sell lemonade to raise money for Japan. It was very spur of the moment, but they had the best time mixing the lemonade, making signs and talking to all of the customers.

We also made a trip to the Zoo with friends. This is probably not a big deal to most, but I HATE the Zoo. The last time I went to the Zoo I was 9 months pregnant with Sadie and went only as a last resort since that stinker would not come. So over 4 years ago. I hate how much it costs and schlepping the kids all over to squint in *hopes* we see an animal. This year we lucked out -- Karen got us all in for free and almost all of the animals were up and entertaining.
The bad side -- it was freakishly hot. Around noon we were looking for a place to eat lunch when we passed the Komodo Dragon exhibit. Nate was dying to see a real life dragon, but when we stopped the girls informed us that they were "dying" and "literally going to pass out." There may have been some eye rolling going on too. Hooray for pre-teen girls! When we finally found a shady spot it was close to the water features and we ended up with a lot of soaking wet (and half naked) kids.

I'm not a big St. Patrick's Day fan, so usually we pretty much ignore it other than wearing green. But this year for entertainment's sake I turned all the toilet water green, made the milk in their cereal turn green and even made rainbow pancakes for dinner.

There was also a sleepover where the girls played their favorite game: Serious Business
I have no idea how to play the game except it seems you say, "Serious business. . ." at the beginning of every sentence and it involves a headlamp, but the girls love it.

The second week of break was marked by the visit of my most amazing sister, who came to entertain us while Dustin in Philly for the first of 3 straight weeks of traveling. It was so nice to have her company!!The nights were a lot shorter when I had someone to talk to and she always manages to entertain my kids. It was a blur:

painting pictures for Livy's room

(this is Nate's)

Midnight Runs to Sonic

I believe this is Nate telling us about how he almost DIED from rolling the window UP on himself when his head was hanging out the window.

making doll houses shopping
Build-A-Bear -- Livy is modeling the new Hello Kitty slippersthe park
sleep overs where Nate ans Sadie cuddle Lola so she couldn't sleep
BYU basketball
lots and lots of games (pictionary, Guess Who, Charades, Boo. . .)

photo scavenger hunt
even more baking. . . especially for our Bake Sale.

The kids had so much fun with their lemonade stand, they decided to to do a Bake Sale the next week to earn even more money. In the end, they earned over $200 to donate for relief for the people of Japan. I am so proud of them!

We also filled the March nights with GNOs, birthday parties for friends, hanging out with old neighbors, and lots of basketball watching. I may have been too invested in March Madness this year, but we can save that for another post. Along with my culinary adventures. See how I leave you hanging with *such* great cliff hangers. To be continued. . .