Jr. Lilac Parade May 2015

This is the second year the girls have participated in Jr. Lilac Day Parade. 

This year's theme was Round Up.

They dressed up as cute little cowboys and cowgirls and did a dance to Turkey in the Straw.

Anna and Maria love participating every year and I love watching them in the parade. This year Jakey and Skittles were my parade buddies. Luckily there were near the front in the staging so we did not have to stay for all 75 + entries.

Good Bye Ole Friend 4-1-2015

 The nicest car we have ever owned today was a 1997 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer Edition. It was so nice in face that when Dan bought it I was not allowed to drive it. I had a 15 passenger van that I could drive. Seeing how when ever I went anywhere I had all the kids + car seats + all the crap that goes along with taking a small army anywhere this suited me just fine (but secretly I really wanted to drive it )
When Dan passed away the car was passed down to me. We could still not fit all of us in it but it was handy for errands while the kids were in school and got me to and from college for a while.

Then when Daniel got his license it just made sense for him to drive it. It was a stable car with four wheel drive for the winter. He only hit a few things with it (one of them being our HOUSE!!)

Then when Daniel headed off on his mission Benjamin took over  Sonic ( that was the name Jakey gave it when Dan bought it because it was blue and fast, just like Sonic the Hedgehog)

Benjamin was heading home from a dental appointment that did not go so well for him. He was in extreme pain while they were doing a filling and because of such he passed out behind the wheel.

This caused the car to miss a turn, go up on the sidewalk, hit a boulder and roll.

We are so blessed that there no other cars around or pedestrians. The officer that responded to the scene did not cite Benjamin.

Benjamin got pretty banged up, but nothing broken. He went through physical therapy. He hit the seat belt harness pretty hard as the car rolled.

It is scary to see that the only part of the cab not crushed is where he was sitting. The Lord was watching out for him.

We have replaced Sonic with a Ford Expedition. We did not want to go this large but the newer Explorers and cars of similar size Benjamin cannot sit up in. This gives him the room he needs for his height.

Anna and Maria's 4th grade choir concert

Anna and Maria took Choir their 4th grade year. At the end they had a huge concert with other choirs in the area. It was sort of hard to get pictures of them among the hundereds of kids on the stage. Luckily they are fairly easy to spot. They had so much fun at the performance. They love to sing and would practice (much to their brothers disappointment) as much as they could at home. 

Maria is the one with glasses on.

Feeling terrible...

This blog is my family journal and I have not been doing a very good job keeping it up. I know they love looking back at the fun stories and  pictures.

I kept telling myself when school lets out I will catch up them. Well I had a 6 week break and did not blog at all!!

I think it was because I was so far behind I did not know where to begin and so I just didn't.

Enough is enough. I need to document my family, for my family.

So here we go. It will be random and out of order at times, but I will date the top to that way as they look through they can get it in order.

Photos From Jacob's Concert at Ferris

Jacob is in 6th grade. This is his second year of playing the upright bass. He loves it. Well....maybe not so much the fact he needs to practice every day, but he does.

He was so nervous playing in front of everyone there. It was combined with the local middle school and high school. 

 He was tucked up in the back because he plays the upright bass he will always be tucked away in the back. Luckily Ben's camera has a really good zoom function.

 I love the look of concentration on his face in these two pictures.  Such a sweet boy.

 He finally saw me in the audience. I just missed his wave and smile.

All in all the concert was relatively painless, except for the seating. It was made for someone who is about 5'3". I had to sit sideways the whole concert with my knees jammed into the persons back in front of me, and because this was a high school auditorium it had the subtle smell of armpit and dirty underwear. 

Jakey is hoping to continue playing orchestra in junior high. 

Jacob's Concert at Ferris (2)

Jacob's Concert at Ferris (1)