April is Almost Over… Phew!

As mentioned in previous posts, this is always the busiest month for me.  The month is already filled with special occasions and local events, but we added more to it. It’s been a lot of fun. I closed up (for sessions) but still have proofs to edit and orders to fulfill. So it’s been quite an adventure trying to juggle it all.

First it was Spring Break… a week off of school for my kids. We went bowling, went to the movies, went to see the tulips. Ate out… a lot. But we had a lot of fun running around staying busy and making each other laugh.

We took the opportunity to get some updated pictures of the kids all together while visiting the tulips. We are really not supposed to go in the rows, but we quickly went in and out to get some shots. It took time to get them calm and to stay in place for some good ones. They were so fidgety and of course, don’t like to be next to each other for too long. Once we got the good ones out of the way, we let them do some goofy ones. We “attempted” to get a shot of them jumping in the air, but instead it looks like they are just waving their arms. They just could not jump at the same time. It was funny and embarrassing at the same time. But I am still happy with the images. Good memories.

 

Then we slowed it down to celebrate my daughter’s 7th birthday. We don’t do big parties. Instead, we make a chocolate cake, get a few little gifts, balloons and celebrate with just our little family. Our extended family members don’t live here in Washington, so we get the webcams out and invite them to sing “Happy Birthday” and watch the blowing out of candles. We do this for all of the kids. So grateful for the internet on those days, keeps us all connected and able to celebrate together.

Then it was back to school for the week. We wanted to do something different for the weekend, so we headed to Friday Harbor. We wanted to stay overnight, but we have two little cats at home. So we just stayed for the day. While we were there, we checked out the museums, looked for whales (didn’t see any), walked all over and then we took the kids to the Horseshu Ranch for their first horse-riding experience. I must admit, we have been wanting to do this for years. But my kids were always scared and nervous. This time, they still were not sure about it, but they all gave it try.

They had an amazing experience. The Ranch did something extra for them because they knew it was their first time and that we were only there for a day. They mixed a private lesson with a trail walk. The kids got out there and did great. They even got to have the leads unlatched from the horses so they could do all the turning, stopping and going on their own. They LOVED it. Now, my little girl wants to continue lessons. So we are seeking info in our local area to get her riding lessons.

 

After that, we rested and then another week of school. Every Wednesday (beginning in the fall) I head over the Broad View Elementary School for Tall Flag Team (Color Guard) practice. Another teacher & I voluntarily coach 4th & 5th graders to twirl and toss flags. I was in my high school’s team and love teaching these kids. We have performed at our High School’s homecoming game, homecoming parades as well as other local parades throughout the year. We are the only flag team in our district. So all this month we had a few additional practices for marching and new moves to prepare for two local event performances this month; Artwalk and Holland Happening.

Artwalk is a celebration of the arts. All the elementary schools have chosen art from different students displayed on a strip in the downtown area. The artwork is displayed in the store front windows of the businesses. My middle son had a piece up. He’s quite the little artist. The flag team then performed their routine twice on the same street. Unfortunately we had some rain right before we began so not that big of a crowd as usual, but the kids did great and had fun.

 

Then two days later, it was time for Holland Happening. This is another annual event in our little town. It is to celebrate the dutch who came into Oak Harbor to develop and grow the city. There is a parade, carnival, street fair, lots of food, music and more. The Flag Team & I lined up for the parade at 10:30am and as always, it went so fast. The kids did so good! We received lots of ooh’s and ahh’s when they tossed their flags into the air. It was the first time any team had been taught that since we began teaching them over 4 years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once we finished the parade, I met up with my family, walked around a bit then headed home to let my feet rest. We returned later in the day so the kids could get on rides, get a funnel cake, churros and lemonade. We also walked through the street fair. I used to set up a booth every year. I must admit that it was nice not to have to worry about it this time around. 🙂

Now that April is almost over, we are slowing down a bit. Time for me to catch up on proofs, both professional and personal. We have more projects in mind and things we want to do. Will post about all that as it happens! Happy Spring everyone!