She was never one to play with dolls or toys quietly by herself...and she drove me absolutely crazy most of her toddler years. And to tell you the truth, at ten years old, I still can't keep up with all she does. But, I wouldn't want any other daughter. Evelyn is one of a kind, and she sure keeps life interesting... and dramatic.
The week before Easter I didn't see much of her. During most of her free time, she kept busy at the neighbor's house. I was informed one evening that she, and the two other girls who live next door, were planning a neighborhood egg hunt on Good Friday. With the money they earned from their lemonade stand a few weeks earlier, they had pooled it together and bought candy, prizes and supplies for this new endeavor.
They began with advertising, taping announcements all over the neighborhood, even knocking on doors and passing them out individually.
Then they spent hours cutting out 400 laminated eggs. After pricing out how much it was going to cost to buy plastic eggs, they decided to simplify and use paper eggs. They could be exchanged for prizes.
We have had a very rainy, wet spring; however, on this Good Friday, the skies cleared and heaven seemed to smile down upon the girls as they hid their eggs and set up tables at the local school's park. When 4:00 rolled around, the parents and kids just kept coming and coming. There were probably around 65 participants, and Evelyn stood confidently in front with her microphone, welcoming everyone and explaining the rules. She was in her glory:in charge and up front!
The event was a total success, and I'm convinced she is probably going to be an activity director for a cruise ship some day.
The egg hunt commenced a wonderful Easter. After a beautiful service at church, we spent the afternoon at our friend's house, eating steak and drinking mimosas while the kids had a blast in the backyard together. Our friends live down the street from John's parent; and our next stop was to their house for dinner.
So, basically the day was spent going from place to place eating and drinking.
It was a fantastic way to spend the day.
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| Our annual tradition: matching Easter dresses |
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| Once again, Caleb was the only one interested in dressing up for the occasion. |
We've had a lot of rain this April...even a freak SNOW day. This unfortunately has not been great for baseball. Three out of their five games so far this year have been rained out, and the boys have been very disappointed. However, the two games they did play were fantastic. They have improved so much!
A typical game has James pitching, Caleb catching and Levi on first.
They are a mighty trio.
They also play flag football on Sunday afternoons. Their first game was last Sunday. John soon realized upon arrival that his plan of a lazy Sunday afternoon watching his boys from the sideline would instead be coaching right in the middle of all the action!
With their coach out of town, John seemed like the logical replacement.
Dad, baseball coach, flag football coach...he does it all!
And does it well.
Evelyn has been keeping busy with track. Rain or shine, they compete and she has been enthusiastic about the 100, 800 and relays this year.
I love track meets-when its sunny and nice-because of the great community it brings with our school. It's a fun day for everyone. And as one mom commented to me: "my daughter is here for the social," that just about sums a lot of the track season up.
At the beginning of the month, Evelyn and I went on a girls retreat to Seaside with our "Courageous Girls" group. We've been meeting for a few years with these girls and their moms. This was our first retreat and it ended up being a really fun, special time. The rented house was perfect. It was right by the ocean and the rooms were set up for each mom/daughter to share.
We talked about friendship, and hardship. We rode a nine person bicycle; we indulged in ice cream and homemade waffle cones; we played family feud and searched the seashore for treasures.
April is also fundraising month at our school. We do a fundraiser called Hoop-a-thon. It's a fun week, and John and I were so excited this year to be able to go back into the school to help out.
