2023 :: week 16

April 16

Lauren and Will participated in the Federation Festival Sunday afternoon. They have been working on their pieces for the past few months and received superiors for both their pieces and theory exams. Will played "Nocturne" by Ted Cooper and "Sonata in A Minor" by Georg Anton Benda. Lauren played "Softly Whisper" and "Power Drive."

April 17

This was a busy week with kid activities. On Monday night Lauren performed with her Junior Raiders choir at the South Choral Festival. They sang three numbers themselves as well as participated with the entire ensemble to sing "Bonse Aba" (a traditional Zambian song). Lauren has had a great experience singing in the honor choir this year and is planning to participate again next year. 

April 18

Tuesday evening the entire family went to Will's first baseball game of the season. Will's team played well, but came up short. They lost 4-5. Will was disappointed he didn't get to pitch this game but he will ready to go at the next game. Funny story--I forgot to pick up Will's new white pants and didn't think it would be that big of a deal. I figured he could squeeze into his old pants one last time. They were tighter than I realized, but he didn't have any other choice. Lauren's team ordered their uniforms together and the order was delayed, so she also wore the pants to her first game Wednesday night. The pants fit Elliott well enough that he will wear them to his games which start next week. The siblinghood of the traveling baseball pants!

April 19

Lauren had her first softball game of the season Wednesday night. The official team uniforms were not quite ready, so Gennie's mom put her Cricket machine to good use and made backup uniforms for the girls. At one point during the game there was a subtle whisper through the crowd that Andy Reid was watching a game at the field next to ours. The rumor turned out to be true, he was watching his grandson. Coach Reid was extremely gracious and both kids were able to get a picture with him. 

April 20

I love watching Miles and Elliott swing together in the backyard. Often they sing and swing. They love it when Anthony comes out and pushes them super high. I have been thinking a lot lately about how much I enjoy my family at this stage. Our younger kids are old enough to sleep through the night. Our oldest kids still enjoy participating in family activities. Now that Miles goes to preschool I get a few hours to myself four days a week, where I am able to get a bit of a "break." Life isn't perfect, but we have moved past many of the struggles associated with babies and haven't hit too many teenager struggles yet.

April 21

Lauren and her crew spend a lot of time on top of the monkey bars after school. For a few months Lauren and her friends would hang out under the trees on the far side of the pool, even though they weren't doing anything wrong, I prefer it when they hang out closer. You'll notice a few younger kids in this picture. They are kindergarteners (Ruth and Ben) in Mrs. Phipps class and Lauren and Cat spend the last 15 minutes of the school day helping in their classroom. Sometimes they sort papers, sometimes they read to the kids, they do whatever Mrs. Phipps needs them to do.

April 22

Our neighbor hired Will to mow their law and he was happy to oblige. It is so nice having a child strong enough to push a mower. After a week of idyllic temperatures it ended up being really cold Saturday. Lauren had her second softball game in the morning and when the wind blew it was freezing!