A Protest, A Three-Hour Tour, A Funeral. . . And So Much More

April was a month of rainstorms and cold fronts dotted by a few days here and there of absolutely perfect weather.  Here's a look at what the Smith's have been up to this month - never a dull moment.  I announced to the kids that we'd be starting our sugar-free diet again. (we did it two summers ago)  It didn't go over very well.  Isaac and Brigham staged a protest during Family Home Evening a few days later.  It was hilarious.  They planned it all in secret - I had no idea.  So when they came marching into the room chanting, "We want sugar! This means war!" I just about died. 

But it also confirmed my resolve.

Brigham's sign says, "All the stuft animals in the world will charge at you if you don't stop the sugar free diyit.  Also a real live hedgehog will poke you if you don't"  Yikes!

Even Lydia got in the action.  Her sign says, "Garfild is on our team! We crave sugar!"

After the protest march was over, Isaac handed me this official document rolled and tied neatly in a scroll.  It read: "Dear Mom, The sugar free diet is a good idea and I want to do better at school and at church and I think it should go on but I still think we should have family night treat.  It's a tridition!  Why should we stop doing it?  Please can we ceep the tridition on? Just one treat a week.  You are a good mom and I love you very much.  Sincerly, Isaac."

I'm all about democracy.  And I tell my kids all the time that writing is power.  So who am I to argue?  I agreed to one treat a week.  That was two weeks ago and so far we have utterly failed at our one-treat-a-week diet.  They handed out suckers at swimming lessons, brownies at scouts, skittles at school, Russian chocolates at piano lessons, and cookie samples at Costco.  The forces of nature are against us.

Eliza has been taking swimming lessons this month.  If you ask her, she'll tell you she "swims like a mermaid." And she does.  I snapped a few pictures just before we headed out the door.  Her new pink swimsuit has a beautiful skirt.  I know, because she tells everyone she meets.

Lydia loves going to watch Eliza at swimming lessons (i.e. she loves having mommy all to herself)

We love having friends over.  Here is Eliza with her BFF dressed in matching purple.  They sing together, read together, dance and play dolls.  They also finish each others sentences and at first when I asked them to smile for a picture. . .

they both simultaneously did this.

Eliza wears a dress everyday.  If she could, she'd wear a princess dress everyday - which she does over her regular dress when we're at home.  One day she decided she needed a prince and ordered Clayton to be the prince.  Clayton is a very good brother.  The other boys wanted in on the fun and quickly dressed as an archer and a villain. 

A war broke out over the princess and a great battle ensued between the prince and the villain.

The princess, who was unfortunately caught in the crossfire, was wounded.  The archer and the prince chased the villain away and the princess ordered everyone to their rooms. It was quite a while before peace returned to the land.

On an even sadder note, Zippy, Clayton's beloved mouse died.  A funeral service was held and everyone said a few words. 

Isaac's were the most memorable:

"Zippy, you were a good mouse.  Everyone loved you when you came to our house on Christmas day. You were especially cute all those times running around in your ball.  And even though you lost your reputation when you bit Clayton, I'll still miss you a lot."

May you rest in peace.

Clayton has become an origami master.  His homework and schoolwork comes home everyday all folded into origami creatures.  He made this origami pencil holder for his teacher's birthday.

Pretty cool, right?

His teacher loved it.

Every month is filled with scout activities.  April was no different.  Here are a few pictures from a recent pack meeting.

Here's Isaac's skit.  I can't even remember the plot.  But whatever it was, Isaac hammed it up like no other.

More patches and belt loops - my sewing machine can't keep up with it all.

While the older boys were enjoying the campfire and skits,

the younger ones were rolling down the hill

and chasing dragonflies.

It's always fun when Nate can meet up with us at these things since the kids rarely get to see him before they go to bed.

Nate took the boys on the Houston harbor tour as part of a High Priest Group activity that he planned.  It rained all day on the harbor but the boys hardly noticed, they had so much fun and got to see some pretty fascinating things.  I'm glad they took pictures.  The girls and I, at home, held down the fort while they were gone through a torrential inland storm and two power outages.  When I looked up the tour online and saw they had it listed as a "three-hour tour" I couldn't stop humming the Gilligan's Island theme song.  And with the weather and all. . .

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from this tropic port
Aboard this tiny ship.

The mate was a mighty sailing man,
The skipper brave and sure.
Four passengers set sail that day
For a three hour tour, a three hour tour.

The weather started getting rough,
The tiny ship was tossed,
If not for the courage of the fearless crew
The minnow would be lost, the minnow would be lost.

The boys got to see the Texas oil refineries up close and personal.  They came home talking non-stop about it.  I love this picture of their boat heading right in between these two monster oil ships.

I'm just glad they stayed mostly warm and mostly dry and came back safely.

I've been biking a lot recently.  I'm finally in shape enough now that I can bike and actually walk the next day. 

Our usual route takes us on a trail up along the bayou, through hanging trees and meadows of wild flowers, over several wooden bridges, and to our favorite park where the girls like to play and feed the ducks and where I rest my legs for the ride back home.

Sometimes I'm crunched for time in the morning and I take off with the girls still in their pajamas.  Biking has now become their favorite pajama-sport.

Lydia keeps growing up.  She's finally big enough to sit in a front-facing car seat.  We really fell like a big-kid family now with everyone facing forward. This month she started wearing her hair in pigtails.  She looks like a doll - I can hardly stand how cute she is (messy face and all).

Here she is doing her two favorite things: reading. . .

and playing with her "dolliebabies"

When it's not raining, the girls love eating lunch outside.  With their dolls of course.

And these last two pictures are surprises - even for me.  Apparently Isaac and Brigham got a hold of my camera.  I'd recognize those eyes anywhere. . .

Happy end-of-April everyone - Summer's just around the corner!

And we can't wait.