March and April

 March and April are two of the busiest months of the year for us because that's when Will's band(s) goes on tour. This year the beginning and intermediate bands hit Knotts Berry Farm, his top group went to Disneyland, and the jazz band went to Portland.  I really wanted to come along for the Portland trip, if only to have the opportunity to exlaim "This weekend we rock Portland!" at an appropriate moment. (Ten points to anyone who can identify the sweet 90s movie I just quoted.) It was not in the cards for me, however, so I went as a chaperone on the Disneyland trip instead. More on that later. There were a couple of other trips which had Will gadding about the continental United States, so those of us left at home did our best to get out of our pajamas at least three times a week, eat cereal for no more than two meals a day, keep sobbing and moaning to a minimum, and generally maintain at least a modicum of normalcy.  Anyhoo, here are some of the highlights of March and April, things we won't be ashamed to remember in 10 years...

St. Paddy's Day

This year I was seized by the desire to do something exciting for St. Patrick's Day, and maybe start a few fun family traditions. Here's what we came up with:

1. Watch "Darby O'Gill and the Little People."  This is a must-see if your kids are as unfamiliar with leprechaun lore as mine were. You can thank me later if they start dancing like leprechauns for days afterwards, like my kids did.  You can see in the collage of St. Patrick's Day fun below that Antonia took to jig-dancing like the imp that she is.

2. Green food for dinner. I tried to go with things that are naturally green- broccoli, kiwi fruit, cilantro dressing, but had to spring for some green food coloring for the waffles and whipped cream. Then we had mint chocolate chip ice cream for dessert. I couldn't really say if the kids were that impressed with the green food, and frankly, it might not have been the best idea for my sensitive prego stomach...

3. Stuffed Animal Fashion Show. In spite of the fact that this activity has nothing whatsoever to do with St. Patrick's Day, and originated when I became desperate for an activity to fill the gap until bedtime, I think we may continue the tradition in the future. We all thought it was fun, and I know the "friends" enjoyed the opportunity to get spiffy and have their photos taken.

Charlie's First Race

Our stake had a 5k/1-mile Run I thought would be a great opportunity for Charlie's first race. Of course I was thinking that we would do the 1-miler at his pace (which would be a SLOW jog for me with Antonia in the jogging stroller) and keep it easy for him. What actually happened was this: He started off FAST, I was jogging at a good clip just to keep up with him. When we reached the .5-mile marker, which was the turnaround for the 1-mile run, NOBODY else was turning around. Charlie's pretty sensitive to the prospect of standing out in a crowd, so turning around when no one else was turning around was NOT an option for him. I tried to explain that if we didn't turn around, we would be running for a long, long time before we were done. But he insisted.

So we kept going, and he kept up his pace. At about 1.5 miles, he started to complain that his legs were tired, but I kept him going a little farther with some run-walking. He hit his wall at exactly halfway. We turned around, he stopped and he would not move. He refused even to walk, and began sobbing, very loudly, "I'm tired! I want to get in the stroller! My legs hurt!" After enjoying the sideways glances of other runners for a while, I eventually figured out a way to squeeze him into the stroller with Antonia and finish the race. I especially enjoyed the hills on the return trip, pushing 100 pounds of kid + jogging stroller. Needless to say, we were all a little grumpy when we got close to the finish line and Charlie said he wanted to run across. It was a little anticlimactic. BUT, I am really proud of him for that first mile and a half, which he ran without stopping or walking even once.

This was not the triumphant jaunt across the finish line that I had envisioned..maybe it was because he was wearing an Eagles shirt?   

 Walks

The weather in Las Vegas in March is beautiful, so we took advantage by going on a couple of walks along the Pittman Wash trail. The particular day that we documented with a camera was an eventful trip that included 1 rabbit sighting, 1 lizard sighting, 6 dog poop sightings and a "baby bird," which was actually just a very small bird, not a baby. Please don't tell Antonia. The kids took turns riding in the jogging stroller and run/walking with me. They both wanted a picture of how fast they can run.

A Few Random Pictures

This wasn't exactly who I had in mind when I asked "everyone" to come sit down for lunch...

From left: Velma and Baby (Antonia's babies), Baby (Charlie's baby) and Noretta (Dorothea's baby.) We're so creative with the baby names!

Lori and Sean have a putting green in the backyard, so Charlie's been working on his golf game. He's going to be the next Tiger Woods, (in the awesome-left-handed-golfer way, but not any other way.)

 Disneyland

As I mentioned, I accompanied Will on a band trip to Disneyland, and it was great fun. Disneyland really has a lot going for it and I can't help but like it in spite of feeling like it's smiling warmly at me while it reaches in my pocket to take my last dime. And I don't even care that that was my last dime. Will's top band had auditioned for and earned the opportunity to work with a Disney clinician in a recording studio, recording excerpts of scores from Disney movies. The clinician was fabulous, great with kids, entertaining and instructive at the same time. After working on three pieces of music, which they recorded in the studio, they got to watch excerpts from "Atlantis," "The Lion King" and "The Emperor's New Groove"  on the big screen, with their own performances as the orchestral score. It was a neat experience that I wish I could have had as a kid.

This is probably the only "baby bump" picture anyone is going to see, so enjoy it.

We promised the children we left behind that if they were good at Lori and Sean's house we'd bring them each a surprise. Somehow Charlie guessed exactly what that surprise was going to be. Or else he wished it so hard that Walt Disney made his dream come true by planting the idea in my mind... That's the magic of Disney, folks.

Charlie and his Woody

Antonia and her Jessie, whose hat,  inexplicably, is two sizes too big for her head

Will we ever know what tumult these three cuties caused while we were gone? Maybe, if Lori and Sean ever decide to be totally honest with us...

Idaho and Easter

While Will flew out to Virginia to hang out with his family for a few days, Lori, Sean, kids and I drove up to Idaho for spring break, and Easter, and to meet our new nephew, Simon Bird-Jonah. I love it when the cousins get to hang out; I never had a lot of cousins who were all close to my age and I'm glad that my kids get to experience it.

Watching "Charlotte's Web" with Baca

Coloring Easter eggs

Charlie reacts to the smell of vinegar

Antonia wonders if Eli really likes the way his nose tastes, and if she should try that herself

Favorite Hall Family Activity: Making all the grandkids sit on the couch for a picture

A particularly intense scene in "Tangled"

A particularly intense scene in "Toy Story III" (Charlie helped me remember which movie was being watched in each picture.)

Wiffle ball in the backyard with Grandpa 

"Holding" on third base

There's a reason for the mischevious glint in Thea's eye: she just, quite literally, stole second base, which was dandelion.

Serious preparations for the Easter egg hunt

Surprisingly, Miriam, the youngest egg hunger, was also one of the most determined

"Dad, I don't want this egg."

Antonia with her Easter basket loot on Easter morning

Charlie and Thea in their decidedly non-traditional Easter attire

And finally, some funny stories/quotes from March and April, mostly from Antonia. Charlie's getting too smart and too self-aware to say silly/random things, but he does say sweet things about being a good brother to the new baby and confident things about being a good reader and a better writer than so-and-so from his preschool class.

Antonia: Where's my _____________? (cars, toys, moneys, little people) Where is-em? (Where "is them")
Me: I have no idea.
Antonia: Why you have no you-dea?

Me: (exasperated at some recent escapade) Antonia, you are......
Antonia: A stinker!

Me: I have hiccups, and you had hiccups yesterday. Maybe you gave them to me.
Nia: No, they in my tummy.
Me: Oh, well maybe MY hiccups will go in my tummy.
Nia: No, there a baby in there! (Duh, mom, there's no room in there for hiccups)
Me: Yep, there's a baby in there.
Nia: You need to get that outta there.

Something Antonia might say several times a day: "Someone needs help!" Which would mean that SHE needs help. Also, she'd wake up and yell things from her crib until someone could get her out, but these would be random things like "My eyes is BLUE! My eyes is BLUE!" or "I have a pocket! I. Have. A. POCKET!!" or "TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR!!!!"