So April has really slipped through the cracks but I’m so glad it’s gone by quickly. There are less than 30 school days left! I don’t think I was really cut out for full time work. It’s too inhibiting. I have too much “nothing to do” that I never have time to do anymore.
After March and spring break, Andy vanished into his office and to the library to do last minute cramming for his big PE Exam, which he had on the 8th in Colombia, MO. He is pretty confident that he passed, which is good. I’m just glad that he’s done so I can expect more help around here, especially now that the boys have started spring soccer again. And guess what? Andy even volunteered to be the team coach. So, now I don’t even have to worry about who will get the boys to practices or games. It’s automatic! They are all having a great time so far. Their first game was last Thursday and ended 1 to 1.
Bryce had a couple of teeth extracted in the middle of the month for space reasons. He did much better than I expected he would, and was even a good enough sport to go to Cub Scouts that same evening. The “Tooth Daddy” was pretty generous to Bryce, considering that he already had to pay the dentist for the extraction.
Gadget and his friend Ben made a stop by this month. I saw them for about 1/2 hour before school. It was still nice to visit. We hope we’ll see Gadget again sometime soon. (Ben is always welcome, but I don’t think he’ll make another trip out just for us.)
If you remember, I bought myself a new toy telescope in March. Even though I don’t like to go shopping to brick and mortar stores, Andy told me I spend too much time shopping online. He’s probably right. At least I have the day job to fuel the addition. I haven’t had the time to actually use it. Either it’s been too cold at night, too cloudy, or I’m just too lazy/tired. I’m looking forward to finding Saturn’s rings this summer, and seeing the big red spot on Jupiter. Actually, I know it’s quite ambitious, but I’d like to do a Messier Marathon. I just have to figure out how to use it first.
For Easter, the boys were invited to a giant Easter Egg Hunt at the home of some members of our ward. I guess they do it every year and hide over 1000 eggs. It was a fun way to spend a crisp, wet morning. The grandma of the family is from Louisiana, and had collected several 50 gallon barrels worth of Mardi Gras beads so the real prize for my boys was not finding the eggs, but catching and collecting the beads after the egg hunt was finished. They both came home decked to the ears with plastic bling. It now adorns their rooms and beds.
We were able to attend the Kansas City Temple open house with our good friends and neighbors. It was fun to take the tour with them. They really enjoyed it. And yesterday, Andy and I were there again to give tours. It was really a great experience. We met a lot of very nice people and had a lot of fun, and cookies. Did you know that on an average day there are more than 5,000 people that go through the temple? And each day, they provide almost 10,000 cookies for refreshments after the tours are given? It was so interesting to see how the entire operation is managed. It is quite seamless, even down to the daily cleaning at the end of the day (10pm).
I took the boys early this morning for haircuts. There is a barber shop just up the street from us. The prisoners on work-release from the Disciplinary Barracks give the haircuts, $4 a pop. No tipping allowed. They are vey skilled, talented, and funny. Today they tried to convince Bryce he wanted a bowl cut. They tried to tell him about special deals for this type of style (only $4) , 0% discounts on his next cut, etc. I will really miss the barber shop when we move. More than finding a new dentist/eye doctor/doctor, a good barber shop is very hard to find. And for $4? It will never happen anywhere else.
This week, the boys are busy with projects for the science fair, soccer and tae kwon do. (Andy’s been taking them to that, too, now that he’s done with his test.) Gus has to give a talk in Primary tomorrow. On Saturday is the semi-annual post-wide Yard Sale, so I’ll be looking though our stuff again to see what we can offload before we get serious about moving again.
The Angle of Love 