March is always a very busy month for us.
I have always hated the chunky railing that goes from our eat-in kitchen into our family room. I mentioned to Joseph a few years ago that I would love to have it gone. He finally did it!! I love it and the two rooms feel a lot more open without the railing. Joseph was good about including the kids in the project.
Lincoln helping to take down the railing.
Eden and Joseph scraping off some cement.
Finished product.
For the school musical the kids have three dress rehearsals from 3-9 after school. I volunteered to help serve the kids dinner during these dress rehearsals. Rebecah loved having me there and it was fun to see her interact with her friends. I grabbed this picture of her in her costume. I was very relieved when she told me that the ladies in charge of costumes decided improve the costumes. No ugly orange for Rebecah as you'll see in later pictures.
Joseph took the big kids skiing. They had a lot of fun
even though Kimball refused to pose for a picture.
We signed Eden up for a 6 week ballet class. She loved it and her teacher, Miss Erinn. On the last day of ballet the girls had a little recital. Eden was in the back so I couldn't get any great pictures of her, but she had a fun experience. Miss Erinn is the daughter of one of Eden's preschool teachers so that was extra fun.
Orchestra concert.
Kimball played the bass and the bass guitar in the concert. It was fun to watch him perform. He says this will be his last year in orchestra so I was glad I could attend his concert.
St. Patrick's Day promised to be beautiful and sunny with temperatures hovering around 70 degrees. The weather did NOT disappoint!! I picked Eden up from school and we went straight to Green Lakes State park. It was a wonderful day to walk the lake trail. Eden had so much energy and loved the walk. The next time we have a nice day I think we'll go back and walk the extra mile loop around Round Lake. I think Eden could easily do three mile round trip. Half of Green Lake was still covered in ice so that was a different perspective.
I was so glad Eden and I had this beautiful, fun day together. It all went downhill later in the day. I had a mild sore throat for two days and at times my nose felt stuffy, so I decided I better do the responsible thing and take a Covid test. I was SHOCKED when it came back positive--I didn't feel that sick. I doubted the first test so I took a second and it was positive, too! Where had I gotten Covid? I have been the most cautious of any in our family, I interact with the least amount of people, and I am still wearing a mask in public even though it is no longer required! (The kids still wear masks to school even though it is no longer required. I'm not taking chances after our experience in December. Covid cases are on the rise in our area again so it's only smart to have them wear masks another month or so.) My isolation didn't feel too bad since I had already had symptoms for a few days and the isolation period was decreased to six days with four days of mask wearing after isolation. I did my very best to stay away from my family, but there is something about my bedroom that just attracts children! I kept having to remind the kids that I had Covid and they needed to stay away from me!! Thankfully, I didn't have any awful symptoms. A slight sore throat, stuffy nose occasionally and fatigue. I also was able to avoid the biggest symptom of Covid...boredom! I'm a homebody and I love to read so having an excuse to stay home with extra time to read was heaven! I also limited my time in the kitchen as much as I could for a full 10 days. No extra baking for me. Everyone else tested negative. The three little ones had a cold with a cough at the same time I had Covid, so I actually tested a few times just to make sure they were still negative and they always were.
This is a picture the school captured of the String Fest dress rehearsal. I love that Kimball went straight from track practice to this rehearsal and is still wearing his prescription sunglasses!
I have missed all of the other String Fest concerts Kimball has been in. I guess there were only two previous concerts, because Covid canceled concerts for two years, but I was glad I could attend String Fest. It was my first day out of isolation. I wore a mask at the concert and Joseph picked seats where I wasn't sitting near anyone other than my family. String Fest is where all of the orchestras in the district get together and hold a concert. The groups don't play many songs to keep the concert at a reasonable length, but the music sounded so good!
The middle school musical this year was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Rebecah was very excited to be cast as Issachar's wife. The musical practices are intense and most weeks Rebecah had musical practice five days a week. The musical is such a wonderful experience for the kids. It was good for Kimball and it was good for Rebecah. Rebecah made a lot of new friends and strengthened old friendships. It was SO fun to watch Rebecah perform! She always had a smile on her face and loved dancing and singing.
Aren't these an improvement on the orange tunics?
Rebecah with Melanie Dolson. Friends since Kindergarten!
Rebecah is with Caitlin Klei. They were in preschool together, but Caitlin is a grade younger than Rebecah, so it has been nice for these girls to renew their friendship. Caitlin's mom just so happens to be one of Eden's preschool teachers this year.
Ava and Reece, two of Rebecah's friends that came to watch the show to support their friends.
Rebecah and Gianna
The musical director gave awards to all of the cast members.
Rebecah's award was "Best Team Player".
Joseph and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary. I had Covid when we were supposed to attend the symphony, so Rebecah went on our anniversary date with Joseph. I made a cheesecake stuffed chocolate cake with a white chocolate mousse and dark chocolate ganache with Oreos sprinkled on top. It was really good!
Rebecah went to the temple for the first time for youth baptisms. She had a wonderful experience and is asking to return as soon as she can. Joseph was able to attend with her, but he forgot to document the special occasion with a picture.
