Cherry Blossoms, Solos, Family Date Night, & a Math Competition

Last week I spent three days in DC for a work-related training. It was a fairly useful 3 days, but I hate being away from home. However, I decided to make the best of my time away and enjoy some of the sites. It happened to be prime cherry blossom blooming time, so my coworkers and I ventured down to the tidal basin and I finally got to see what all the fuss was about. They were very pretty, but I am not sure I would try and fight the crowds with the family. We went on a Wednesday night around 7 pm and there was still a good crowd. Plus, we can see cherry blossoms where we live. My second night away from home, I went to Old Town Alexandria, had a nice dinner and walked down King Street.

Meanwhile, I was missing the Fourth Grade play. It was the first school thing I've missed and I felt bad about it. I felt even worse when Anna was given the opportunity to sing a solo! The play was on Thursday. They held solo auditions on Tuesday, and made the announcement of who was singing on Wednesday. Thomas also couldn't go. He had some meetings at work that could not be moved. We were both very disappointed. We didn't even know the play was taking place until Monday and that just wasn't enough notice to change our plans. Jack had a speaking part, so that made missing it even worse. Fortunately, my neighbor was working at the school that day and she kindly took a great video for us. She also bought Anna flowers. Anna has developed a very nice singing voice and she sounded great! Jack did fantastic with his speaking part, so all was well.

First time trying to embed videos, hopefully it works!

I came home Thursday night, but had to work on Friday. It was the day of the annual Friends of the Library book sale. Thomas and I decided I would take a few hours of leave so that we could get there when they opened. As a special treat, we picked up the older kids from school and took them with us. We all had a great time browsing for books. I was really hoping to get a set of the Narnia Chronicles and I did! We bought two giant bags worth of books--something for everyone. I got a set of the first Bob learn to read books and Luke has been enjoying sounding out basic words.  He is one smart cookie--he can count up to 100 now, which he does proudly and often. The Bob books were something Kara loved. Doing them with Luke has brought back lots of good memories; and served as another reminder of how quickly time goes by.  After the book sale, we went to Harris Teeter and let everyone pick out a treat food.  We got Luke and then played outside until dinner time. To continue the family date, we went out to dinner and when we got home, we went for a walk. By the time we got back inside the house, it was after 7. A long, fun, day spent close to home.

Bags of books? Yes, please!

The girls also got cd's to keep in their room. 12 for $10--can't beat that!

Saturday was Jack and Anna's math competition day. They were both asked to be in the fourth grade math club. Then, the 7 top scoring students from math club comprised the math team. Both Jack and Anna were selected. Twenty-two elementary schools competed and their team came in 4th place! We were very proud. To celebrate, we took them out to lunch to a restaurant of their choosing--Cracker Barrel. Now, we are watching Cars 3. In a couple of hours, we have a birthday party to attend. Another fun, busy day!

the math team with their principal

The Wilson Mathletes

Glasses, Spring Break & Easter 2018

Kara got glasses! Thomas took her to her well visit and during their routine eye check, they realized there was quite an issue. We were both surprised, neither Thomas nor I wear glasses and we thought vision was primarily hereditary (Thomas' vision is actually crazy good, probably like 10/20). But, Kara definitely needs them. So, we made her an eye appointment and a few days later, she was sporting her first pair of eyeglasses! She likes wearing them, although she says it doesn't make a huge difference in her vision.

We kicked off Spring Break by going to Kings Dominion on Saturday. It was opening day, so I was expecting it to be crowded, but the lines were very manageable and everyone had a great time. The kids kept exclaiming that they couldn't believe that after three long years, they were back! The park was clean and the atmosphere was fun (I love how they play different music in different sections). There were a couple of new kids' rides that Luke was happy to try. And, they modified one of the wooden roller coasters, adding metal tracks and some fun elements. Thomas and Jack tried it out and said it was amazing--one of the best roller coasters they've ever ridden. However, the line for that got pretty long (over an hour), so I opted to wait for another day to try it out. Jack and Thomas were fortunate to ride it early before it got crowded. The only downside of the day was the food was not as good as we remembered and our favorite barbecue sandwich was no longer on the menu. But, it was a small price to pay. I am already looking forward to summer when they open up their Cirque Show.

Jack was up there too

Digging in the dino area

Kara's old favorite--the Pumpkin Coaster

This was the first Spring Break since the kids started school that I've had to work. It was a little sad for me to not join in on all the fun, but overall it was a good experience. They are fortunate that their much beloved babysitter agreed to watch them and she had lots of great activities planned. On Monday, they went hiking. On Tuesday, they made sock puppets at the library, Wednesday was the pool and Thursday they did an activity at Sotterley. Thomas was home with them on Friday. I was going to take the day off, but the forecast called for rain seemingly everywhere within a 3-hour radius. So, I went to work and the kids celebrated Major League Baseball's opening day with ballpark themed treats and a viewing party. When I got home, we dyed Easter Eggs with our neighbors.

Go Tigers!

Using both traditional method and shaving cream method.

I loved the marbled look the shaving cream/food dye gave!

Saturday, we went to Stratford Hall. They have an annual Easter Egg hunt. They had all the kids go at the same time (in different areas, grouped by age). It was nice not to have to sit around waiting for different age groups. They even provided a lunch--a hot dog and cupcake. Each kid was also given a goody bag. Everything was free and we were able to explore the grounds after. We had a great time walking through the woods and being outside.

Today is Easter and we are relaxing at home. It was a little sad not to spend Spring Break in Florida. We often go this time of year, and, this year, all my siblings were there. But, I do not have enough time saved off from work yet to take a trip like that.

I asked the kids their favorite part of Spring Break and they unanimously agreed--Kings Dominion for the win!