april showers brings lots of activities

 additional april activities numero uno

athena blythe had a fun run fundraiser at her preschool. they had a pep rally and she talked about it for WEEKS. it was the funniest, most heart meltingly adorable thing to watch her run in it. she's all arms and legs when she runs. she smiled non-stop. this is how she gets away with all the stuff she does, she smiles that goofy smile and you laugh while you're trying to punish her.

now whenever she runs anywhere, she shouts over her shoulder, "I'm having a fun run!"

one of my biggest goals is to get my kids involved in athletics or physical fitness as young as possible. i'm pretty sure based on my genes, they'll never be Olympian superstars, but i don't want them to be afraid to try. i'm still afraid to try. it took me weeks to work up the courage to TRY the hex bar for dead lifts. and guess what, i love dead lifts with the hex bar. imagine if i instilled in my kids at a young age to at least TRY things? we could all be hex bar deadlifting for family home evening soon!

i had just come from the gym, which is a common look for me. sweaty bohemian? three times that week when i showed up to places completely groomed, i had people stop me and say, "there's something different about you, what is it?" "ahhhhh, you're all put together! look at you!"

i'm more known for being harried and gross than polished and presentable. and i actually shower at the gym on a regular basis. 

because i love the 70s:

 and sweatbands:

activity numero dos

reagan and scouts is an enigma wrapped in a conundrum. he loves being there but actually participating is difficult and like most things will probably most likely struggle with understanding what is involved in fully participating for the rest of his life. but, he loves being there. and he loves obliterating personal space boundaries. thankfully, his leaders are very loving and patient.

he earned something here. i'm not sure what because i'm a terrible scout parent. 

no personal space here.

activity numero tres

scarlett was in a theatrical production of peter pan through her drama class. it was the bomb dot com. she's been practicing for weeks and months to immerse herself in the role of "fighting bear". at first, she was a bit disappointed at first with being cast as a boy. we talked about her versatility as an actress and her willingness to take any role during her class rehearsals has allowed her to stretch herself as an actress. i hated being cast as a boy too. i'll never forget having to be Count Basie in the 4th grade famous missourians production. i was sad because it was clear as day that the class favorite girls got to be girls and the less fortunate looking girls with large red plastic glasses and terrible perms got cast as men. not that i still have issues with that. 

scarlett was sooo good. animated! knew her blocking! good use of physical humor! i was itching to join her. 

instead i just embarrassed her behind the scenes. 

the show was produced at riverside military academy, former home of former school president, general sandy beaver. a funny name. but i wouldn't say that to his face. there's probably a good reason they call him general. 

riverside military acamdemy is located in picturesque gainesville, ga at the foot of the north georgia mountains. we ate at honeybaked ham! it's one of my favorites! i milked that birthday week for all i could!

my wonderful mom. her goodness knows no bounds. her dedication to her family is unrivaled. she's got some really dopey kids but she did her best.

for a mere $32,000 a year, you too can send your son here for school!

activity numbero quatro
after scarlett's hit production, we all went to our ward picnic. no one mowed the back lawn so it was practically a jungle and the kids played in the georgia clay. it only took THREE baths to take care of all this! 

priceless