We've been in Washington over five years now, and I fall in love with the state all over again every time spring blooms. Spring Break often feels like the official kick-off to the spring season, and this year Spring Break kicked off with General Conference.
I can't say I was super on top of things this time around (we *might* have had our traditional cinnamon roll breakfast right before dinner and I *might* have forgotten to print off packets for the kids and had to run to the library between sessions on Saturday), but the spirit associated with having Conference playing in our home remains the same.
Aubree and (surprisingly) Graham were our best listeners. The kids' favorite conference activity is Conference Bingo. They get a new Bingo sheet for each session.
On Sunday morning, Katie came down with her kids. We had a communications mix-up (please note my previous admission), and ended up with double the toppings for sour dough waffles and no batter. Haha!
And if you're wondering, the answer is yes, it's ridiculously difficult to pay attention to conference with 9 kids running around! Good thing the conference talks are printed so we can read them again!
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Aubree had the opportunity to participate in a two-day drawing class during her break from school. We have some amazingly talented ladies in our ward, and one of them (a professional artist) offered a class on figure drawing and water colors. Aubree loved it. I need to have her scan in some of her pictures.
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The highlight of our week was Thursday when the Frank's came over to spend the day. We met them in Issaquah for a morning of hiking and invited Katie and Ashley and their families. Between our four families, we had 18 kids!
It was a gorgeous day for a hike, and the hike we chose was perfect for our large and young crew. We kept adding on segments because (almost) everyone was doing so well.
Graham was in his happy zone with Clara and Piper.
After a few hours traipsing through the woods, we went home to put babies down for naps. While the kids played, I got to talk to Ashlee and get my never-often-enough booster shot of inspiration and life-analysis. The only bad part about spending time with the Franks is when we have to separate.
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Another hot break day we visited a local park. Everyone got a little toasted. When we came home, we brought a friend back with us for the afternoon. Dana is one of the most impressive kids I know. I'm convinced her heart is at least three times the normal size. In all seriousness, her favorite things to do are read books to widows and give things away to community members.
My boys (again, quite literally) wanted to be her lap dogs. She and Aubree obliged by inventing a make believe scenario where the boys were their dogs. And everyone was completely pleased.
Later, Aubree begged, "we want to cook something." So, they made pancakes for afternoon snack.
In a sign of just how impressive Dana is, even Nellie allowed herself to be held without screaming!
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The last Saturday of break we spent helping clean our church building. Bryce, our resident vacuumer extraordinaire, lent his skills in that pursuit.
Thane and Graham, skilled trash collectors at home, likewise put their experience to good use!
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