April Happenings.

The deer didn't even bother to get up from the opposite side of the lawn while the kids were all jumping on the trampoline.  Err.   Deer are like giant rats.  Me no likey.

We got the tramp up and the kids are out there every day jumping.  Love it.  

I joined the preschool group on their field trip to the Ranger's Station.  The kids got to turn on all the siren's in their fire truck. And then he had them race around a bit in a hard hat and their fire shirts.  It was fun, but extremely windy.  After that we went to a park and let them play.

The little preschool group, I never really joined in this year because for so long our house was torn apart and then it's so close to the end of the year now that I didn't bother.

Leo went to a conference in Houston for a four days a couple of weeks ago. He brought me back candy from our favorite world market store.  Yum.

We spent Saturday planting the bushes and then picking up trash from our backyard.  We borrowed a trailer from a friend and filled it up twice.  There was 4 old burning barrels, a decrepit dog house, siding, wire, two big reels of barbed wire, various planter pots, a broken cast iron stove and a cement mixer.  Yeah.  It's amazing what all the sage brush hid.

See how beautiful the weather was??  My trees were delivered and we planted 5 of them--two chokecherries, a Newport Plum, a gooseberry bush, and a black currant bush.  (The lilac bush is still in our house.)  That involved putting fences around each one.  Stupid deer.

We saw a Jerusalem cricket for the first time ever.  Ugh.  

Isabel took these pictures.  Yes, that is me laying on the couch and reading and ignoring life.  I blame Andrea and Tim--they recommended them.  Robin Hobb's Assasin's Apprentice was the first one, but it was a trilogy and long and I kind of read for three days straight.  The kids didn't even get to school one day.  I had them ready to go, but then when I went out it had snowed and I didn't feel up to scraping the car after reading all night, so I came in and said never mind, you get to stay home today!  Yep, I'm totally a responsible adult.  This is why my mom gave up reading.  I remember coming home one day in 4th grade and finding her in Megan's bedroom where she had gone that morning to put something away and then she picked up Follow the River that Megan had been reading and never put it back down.  Hee. Hee.  Anyone want to tell me what happens in the next five books?  I really need to get on with real life but I'm kind of desperate to read how Molly and Fitz meet up again.  Sigh.  

See this is how it looked Tuesday morning.  I hope my trees and bushes survive.  I'll cry if they don't.

And a Facebook post from last Thursday:
And in Latorre news today: Ana scored the one and only winning goal in her soccer game today. Woot! Woot! (Which I missed because Lando had to go to the bathroom right then.) And Jubal gave Sebas a nasty black eye. He also bit Lando pretty darn hard. And Jubal also found the petroleum jelly and emptied most of it all over himself and his room during nap time. Anyone want Jubal for a couple if years? 

Donkey Basketball

For FHE a couple of weeks ago, we went to the Donkey basketball game at the high school.  It was seriously fun!  They played two 5 min quarters per game and 6 games total and had a tournment.  There was a band team, some athletic team, and then another student team and then the administration team.

This is our bishop and also the little kids' principal--he made a couple baskets.  It was awesome.

The funniest part was when they were trying to drag their donkeys to the go pick up the basketball.  The donkey's didn't even move.  Hee. Hee.  Also funny, when a couple people tumbled off.

This is Tristan, Ana's boyfriend.  She ditched us to go sit by him.  Ruff.

Our bishop said the referee pretty much controlled the game.  He had a stick and would tap the floor to get the donkey's to move faster or move at all.  It was still really fun though.

Cloaks

Andrea asked me to make cloaks for her kids.  Actually three Ranger Apprentice cloaks.  I said yes, it would be easy and I (of course) already had the patterns (we've already discussed my pattern hoarding).  But then that turned into making six cloaks because we didn't want the girls to be left out. So earlier this month we went to Utah to go shopping (including Ikea), the temple, deliver the cloaks, and play games with Andrea and Tim.  It was so much fun.  A great weekend.

 I just used whatever fabric stash stuff I had for the girls' cloaks, and a friend gave me 7 yards of that bright purple poly velvet. I used almost all of it for Miriam's cloak, and then of course I had to line it because it was just too fancy not to.  And I had exactly enough purple satin to line it that someone had given me.  Talk about meant to be.

 I love the tassel I made for Emeline's.  Good think I saved all my wedding ribbon trimming stuff.

 Harriet and Sebastian are best friends.

 Eli and Isabel are best friends too.  I love what Tim mentioned:

Good thing the only thing Nicolas wanted to wear for dress up was a helmet.  Came in useful here as I just took a photo.  Hee. Here.  Andrea actually got a lot better pictures than me.  Maybe sometime she'll post them on her blog.  Hint. Hint!

But here's one she took of Elena.