In late March I got the good news that my medicine is working, and my CLL has improved signficantly. In other health news, Tyler learned how to administer an Epipen during one of his Deacon's activities, which is good since he has a life threatening allergy to pumpkin seeds. They used epipens with actual needles on an orange to know how to do it in case they ever have to administer an Epipen to someone else. Those who have allergies, like Tyler, also used practice pens without needles on themselves.
In April I took a trip to the temple with some of the other ladies in my Relief Society. It was super cold in the morning, hence the warm dress and stockings, but it was warm and sunny when we finished up.
Spring in Colorado is like that - early summer one day and late winter another day, and that shift can happen very quickly. Rain was pretty limited this year, so Oscar was drip irrigating our grass with the hose one evening and accidentally left it on overnight. It went well below freezing that night, so we woke up to ice crystals all over the grass.
On April 3rd around 8:30pm, Allison handed me a birthday party invitation for her friend's party at Urban Air the next morning at 10:00am. We never miss a birthday party if we don't have to.
Easter Sunday was the same day as General Conference this year, so we kept our festivities limited and waited for our main secular celebrations the next week. I couldn't resist giving them a little something, though. We had soup for dinner with some of Oscar's homemade bread rolls, and I made an Easter table for the kids with candy and toys. The dinosaurs and chick squishies were picked up last year months after Easter and heavily discounted on the King Sooper's clearance rack (around $0.40 per item). The Lego sets were also from the King Sooper's clearance rack at about 50% off. I keep an eye on that rack whenever I shop since I've found some pretty sweet deals there.
The next week we had our annual egg and Easter basket hunt. The kids had agreed to do this a week later, partly to focus on the spiritual side of Easter the week before, and partly to let me shop for candy at the after Ester sales. I found plenty for discounted Easter candy and also bought them new Peeps themed blankets. I put them on their unmade beds next to their other blankets and stuffies to see how long it would be before they spotted them. They didn't notice them at first until I gave them the clue to look at their beds. Their baskets were also hidden among the bed clutter.
Later that evening Allison made a big blanket fort in our room, and nearly a month later I found two unclaimed Easter eggs from the egg hunt on these old shelves.
On April 17th our ward held a "Potato Derby," which is exactly like a Pinewood Derby but with potatoes. Oscar barely did anything to our potato, yet it performed well and came in 2nd place overall. We won a silver potato trophy, two Idaho Spudd candy bars, and a bag of potato chips.
I, unfortunately, was super sick that day, but trying to convince myself I wasn't very sick. I figured I just had a cold and wore a mask to the Potato Derby, but I could barely function towards the end of it. The next day I was much worse and had to cancel an audition. 🤧😢 I don't know what it was since I took a Covid test and it was negative, and I'd had flu only a few months earlier, but whatever it was, it knocked me out for a few days.
Once I was recovered from my illness, I went hiking at Cheyenne Mountain State Park where I saw a wild turkey!
Here's Daddy being a Komodo Rhino from Avatar the Last Airbender much to Allison's delight. The picture is what she drew for the stake Primary conference (they asked for ways they can bring the light of the spirit to others, and she drew a picture of her reading Book of Mormon stories to her cousin Clark). The letter is one of Allison's school projects. It's a letter to King George pretending to be a colonist declaring the country's frustration with taxes and need for Independence.
The kids like when Daddy pretends to be Elmo and his alter-ego "Zelmo." He comes up to hug them saying "Elmo loves you" in Elmo's voice, then says "Zelmo feels very uncomfortable" in Zelmo's voice.
In early May I took Allison for a day at Elitch Gardens. That evening everyone fell asleep exhausted, though Tyler didn't even come with us.
Here's Tyler serving and having fun with several of the other Deacons in our ward.
Here are the kids singing "Happy Birthday" for Oscar's 43rd birthday on May 10th. Around that same time we discovered a wild bunny who likes eating the grass in our yard. It's gotten scared and run out of the yard a few times, but it always finds its way back to our tasty grass.
The following Tuesday we attended Tyler's end of year band concert. He played both French horn with 7th grade band and played the piano in Jazz band. This was his last concert with his horn. Next year he's attending a smaller school that doesn't have a band program, so he decided to give up the horn for now. It's a lot of hard work to play, and it's heavy to carry around. If he wants to play it again when he's older and can carry it more easily, we'll rent one again. I would only buy one if he was absolutely committed to it.
Allison made some sweet Mother's Day cards for me at school. On one of the last school days, we attended her Genius night where the kids show us the projects they've been working on all year. This year she picked "Are Aliens Real?"
We were invited to another fun birthday party this time at a new trampoline park called "Elevate." They have this cool area where you can play video games by jumping. The game transformed her body into a big ball for part of it. Allison really liked it, but she'd always jump so hard she'd give herself a side pain.
During CMAS testing, Tyler's school encouraged parents to write supportive notes to their kids. These are the ones we wrote for him.
On the 21st we celebrated Tyler's 13th birthday! It was a Thursday, so we just had a family party with Olive Garden takeout and cake.
Here's Tyler opening his gifts, most of which came from the King Sooper's Clearance rack over the last several months. I'm happy he can still enjoy receiving gifts at this age. We know from birthday parties we've attended that many older kids really only want video game gift cards.
Just before school ended I hired a friend of mine with her own cleaning business to give the house a thorough cleaning before we had family coming to stay with us.
Just across the street we saw a sweet little goose family.
On Saturday the 23rd I took Tyler and some friends mini-golfing and to Raising Cane's for lunch. They then spent several hours playing board games and video games.
That evening we had birthday cake and pizza when Oscar's sister Melissa and her family arrived from Utah. They stayed with us until the following Saturday, which will be my next post.
On April 17th our ward held a "Potato Derby," which is exactly like a Pinewood Derby but with potatoes. Oscar barely did anything to our potato, yet it performed well and came in 2nd place overall. We won a silver potato trophy, two Idaho Spudd candy bars, and a bag of potato chips. 
Once I was recovered from my illness, I went hiking at Cheyenne Mountain State Park where I saw a wild turkey!
On the 21st we celebrated Tyler's 13th birthday! It was a Thursday, so we just had a family party with Olive Garden takeout and cake. 
Just before school ended I hired a friend of mine with her own cleaning business to give the house a thorough cleaning before we had family coming to stay with us. 
On Saturday the 23rd I took Tyler and some friends mini-golfing and to Raising Cane's for lunch. They then spent several hours playing board games and video games.
That evening we had birthday cake and pizza when Oscar's sister Melissa and her family arrived from Utah. They stayed with us until the following Saturday, which will be my next post. 
