Hallie warned us this year that she had big plans for April Fool's Day. She's forgotten about it each year until that day, when it's too late to come up with pranks.
She decorated Dan's shoes and reading glasses, to surprise him the morning of April 1st.
She tricked me into eating a "special sandwich" that she made especially for me. A jelly, spinach, and pineapple sandwich. It was ... indescribable.
I "fooled" both girls with these shady characters in their lunchboxes.
Dan's mom's birthday fell on a Friday night and we (along with my parents) took her out to dinner at Baker's Crust and bought tickets to see "Ruth" the musical at a local Christian high school. It was a junior edition of the Sight and Sound performance, and it was very good!
Since Hallie had a birthday party with a small group of friends, we wanted to do something special for Emma's birthday, too. She decided she wanted to spend a night at Great Wolf Lodge and invite her cousins to join us.
On our check-in day, Josiah and Micah joined us at the waterpark for the entire afternoon and evening. They had a blast riding all the waterslides, swimming, and playing. When they got too worn out, we ate snacks in the hotel room and watched TV for a bit, then they wanted to use their magic wands down the resort hallways.
Emma with her favorite dragon painting.
The MagiQuest screens said "Happy birthday, Emma!" when she waved her wand at them.
The boys stayed until bedtime, and then Emma and Hallie's girl cousins, Naomi and Miriam, joined us at the Lodge for a sleepover.
The girls woke up early and we went to the waterpark as soon as it opened at 9 am.
Taking a break for donuts!
Playing in the wave pool
The following weekend, Hallie's classmate, Josephine, had a "PJs and Pancakes" themed birthday party. It was so cute and chaotic! So many shrieking little girls!
14 of our family members ate dinner at our house and then watched "The Sound of Music" performed at Regent University. We've seen lots of good theater this spring!
On Emma's birthday, all four of her grandparents joined us for dinner at our house and she opened awesome gifts, like this 3-in-1 Lego set that makes a dragon, a phoenix, and a Loch Ness Monster.
She got this huge blanket from Uncle Steve, Aunt Sheila, Meera, and Rowan with Wings of Fire dragons on it (her favorite book series).
We took the girls to see the Minecraft Movie, and we were the only 4 people in the theater! So, we got to talk as much as we wanted and yell at the characters when they did dumb things (it happened much too often).
Two things happened this month that Hallie has been dreading.
The other dreaded event was Bach Tea Day, which was the day that her 3rd grade class celebrated Hans Sebastian Bach with a formal tea party, music, and dancing. Hallie begged all year to be "sick" on this day.
The tea party was fancy and fun. The dreaded part was that the boys and girls had to actually touch each other. The boys led the girls to their tables and pulled their chairs out for them.
Their faces say it all. Pure misery.
The 3rd graders were paired up to dance the minuet. It was the sweetest thing to watch, and they hated every minute of it.
The rest of the tea party was great, though. We both liked the food and the flavored teas.
I always enjoy my time with this beauty.
All the pretty 3rd grade girls at Bach Tea Day.
The class with the boys added to the mix. Haha!
We enjoyed more family time on Easter Sunday. The kids are showing off their loot from the Easter Egg Hunt.
My dad's birthday fell on Easter Sunday, so we sang Happy Birthday to him.
We got some nice family photos at church on Easter.
Happy Easter! We're eternally grateful that Christ lived, died, and rose from the grave for us!
