Prom

 I wasn't home yesterday when the older boys went to prom. If I had been, the boys would have been incredibly irritated with the number of pictures I would have taken. As it turns out, I was in Bellevue at a library conference and no where nearby with my camera for the big day. Jason was struggling with a nasty cold and in survival mode so no pics.

Luckily we live in the era of smartphones and so I was hoping there would be a lot of documentation out there. And with some nagging, they found some for me. Michael more than Josh, but here they are.

Prom was held at the children's museum which I was skeptical of at first but I think actually was a great idea. Not all of the kids come to dance. Not all of them come with dates. But everyone has a fun time. Basically some genius realized that teens actually like the activities at the museum but it isn't cool to admit that in front of their parents. 

So yeah, they had a great time. 

April on FB

Me: Do you miss bacon?

Jason: No, actually I like the fake bacon better.

Me: I understand all of the words, but what you are saying doesn't make sense. 

And so it was that today at 3:23pm PT as my 7yo showed me ALL of his favorite parts* of Dog Man Unleashed that I knew deep in my being that I do not want to be a children's librarian.

*spoiler: all the parts are his favorite parts

Informal poll - 2 questions

1. How many kids do you have?

2. How many of them have baby books?

Go!

Spring in Washington is about curating the pictures you share on social media to show beautiful nature and skipping over the rainy ones

Another gem from the child who brought us "slower than a sprinting slug":

"He has the vocal range of a turtle."

Ben Soccer

Not much to say here - a professional photographer who happens to be the uncle of one of Ben's teammates came and took some pictures so I thought I would share them here.

Ben is a REF

And just like that, Ben joins the workforce!

Throwback Concert

Tonight was the Throwback Concert (choir) which pulled music from the fancy and dapper 1930's-1950's. Only students from the audition-only choirs were allowed to audition to perform at this concert EXCEPT two freshmen in the general choir who were invited to perform. By now it should be obvious that one of those two is a main character in this blog: the amazingly musical Michael Miller! He was invited to accompany Lili on the piano, but after hearing him practice the piano and sing the song at home, I think he should have done both. There's always next year.

On a humorous note: Michael was shocked that I knew all the words to "When I Fall in Love" because he thought Michael Buble was the first one to sing it. Poor Nat King Cole is crying in his grave. (though he may not have been the first, he does a stunning rendition)

Easter

 We tried out some new activities for our Easter this year. We started with a spring scavenger hunt. We broke up into groups of two (Josh was at work, but Mariya joined our festivities) and wandered around the neighborhood for 30 minutes with a list and phone cameras. Ben and I paired up, so I only have pics of him. We were so dedicated to the cause that we ended up on the far end of the neighborhood at the 30 minute mark and everyone else got antsy waiting for our return.  

They were antsy because the next activity included sugar. A lot of sugar. In one of our favorite forms: Oreos! Diane found an Oreo cookie Easter egg decorating kit and it's been hiding in my room waiting for it's time to shine!

Not all of the boys are into crafts or decorating, but something about getting to eat it all later just really inspires them.

Josh's shift at Taco Bell ended in time for him to decorate some eggs.

Behold some of our sugary creations!

This was a genius kit and Josh-allergy-friendly for the win. Some of us went for quantity of cookies over aesthetics, but overall everyone had a good time and they made a lovely dessert after mom's delicious easter dinner.

Spring Celebration

 We ended Spring Break with our spring celebration which migrates around the date of the spring equinox by various amounts directly correlated to how well I am handling the craziness. So, pretty late this year. It was raining (naturally) so we celebrated with an indoor activity: making window clings.

And of course opening gifts. Don't be fooled - all of this excitement is staged.

Ben did actually like this Girl Scout cookies and squishy ball.

Michael was thrilled with his Charlie Puth CD. That or he thinks it is food.

But Jason's egg shaped Reese's eggs were the most exciting gift of them all!