ABODA Band Competition

I accompanied Noah and the Franklin Elementary Firebird Band to a statewide band competition on April 16th. They were up against junior high and some other elementary school bands. They did so good! They received a Superior with Distinction rating and the judges were full of praise for them. Way to go!

Easter Week

This year for Easter our family had a marvelous experience remembering the final week of Christ's life and His resurrection. Last year my friend Wendi did this with her family using the book A Christ-Centered Easter by Janet and Joe Hales. I was so impressed by the activites she had planned that I bought the book (on after-Easter clearance..bonus!). This was our week but there are so many other ideas in the book! Every day we read the assigned scriptures and posted a GAK picture on the wall, plus these extra activities. What I sense in retrospect was that the focus of our Easter was directly on Christ and His sacrifice for us. The boys were so interested in what we read and talked about and the spirit was so strong in our home. The Easter Bunny became just a sidenote instead of being the exciting thing to look forward to.

Day 1 (Palm Sunday): We cut palm branches from our tree and taught them why the people shouted hosanna and waved the palm leaves.

Day 2 (Cleansing the Temple): For FHE we did the Easter story in the eggs and talked about cleansing our home and our lives.

Day 3 (Parables and Teachings): For scripture reading we read some of Jesus' parables and then at bedtime we read The Parable of the Bicycle by Stephen E. Robinson.

Day 4 (Rest in Bethany): We ate a Jerusalem-style dinner (broiled fish, honeycomb, raisins, olives, melon, cucumber, goat cheese and almonds).

Day 5 (The Last Supper/Gethsemane): We ate Passover dinner and talked about the symbolism of each item (lamb, unleavened bread, grape juice and bitter herbs).

Day 6 (Jesus' Trial and Crucifixion): We went shopping and bought the boys all new white shirts (thanks Nana and Papa!) to symbolize the purity of the sacrifice and the newness of life. We were going to have three hours of darkness with the lights off in our house but I forgot.

Day 7 (The Jewish Sabbath): We went to the Mesa Temple Easter Pageant. Isaac thinks Jesus can fly and told his Nursery teacher all about it!

Day 8 (Jesus' Resurrection and Appearances): I was pretty forgetful these few days and was going to wake the children in the morning with the Hallelujah Chorus but it didn't happen. Anyway, we did the traditional jelly bean hunt and the Easter Bunny brought simple baskets for the boys. Then we watched The Prince of Egypt and had friends over for Easter dinner ("normal" food like ham and yummy potatoes).

There are lots of things I would do the same next year and several new things as well. Awesome!

Festival Orchestra

Spencer was invited to join the school district Festival Orchestra, which performed in the Mesa Arts Center Ikeda Theater on April 7th. Hooray for you, Spencer! Great Job!

April Fools!

Usually on April Fools Day the kids are afraid to try anything I make for dinner because I've been known to be pretty tricky in years past. This year I just made a regular meal. It was how the meal was served that was the "fool." When Spencer set the table I had him just put piles of things in the center. Then I had a set of strips of paper in a cup for each person. We had five courses and each person was able to draw three strips of paper from their cup for each course. This is what was listed on the strips: stroganoff, bread, butter, vegetables, salt, pepper, milk, ice cream, chocolate syrup, napkin, fork, spoon, cup, plate, bowl. It was so funny when Isaac picked first and pulled out "bowl," "salt" and "butter." That is his dream meal! We just kept going round and round the table and got some really funny results. Jacob got his stroganoff first but had no plate or bowl to put it on, so he (don't faint, Nana) just ate his share from the serving dish. Then he drew milk and no cup so I just poured a little into his mouth from the jug! I drank my milk from a bowl but luckily got my ice cream and chocolate syrup during my last course. Jeremy had to wait until the very end to get a plate. Spencer was surprisingly game for the whole thing, but it really threw Noah for a loop. He was so frustrated at the shift in his normal, regular routine. Ah, Noah, we love you! Happy April Fools.

Mesa School District Honor Band

Spencer and Noah both auditioned and were selected for District Honor Band this year (junior high and elementary, respectively). We had hours and hours of rehearsals last week and it finally paid off with a thrilling performance last night. They were privileged to perform in the gorgeous Ikeda Theater. I was so proud! It is recorded so performers can buy the CD of the concert. Of course, during one of the lulls between movements, Isaac yells out "look at that guy!". So, we are dying to see if they were able to edit that out or if everyone gets a little "extra" on their recording. Oops.

Flag Football

I don't know why the picture of Jacob has a stripe through it? Anyway, Jacob had his first flag football game last Saturday. He just digs the whole "team" thing and loves all sports! He is really enjoying this team because he is the fastest runner and is one of the two kids who can catch the ball. There will be a touchdown in his future! If we can survive the three-a-week practices and games, that is. Go Jacob!