Our Life Lessons: March 2020

February came and went. Below are highlighted below going from youngest to oldest then our family.

Hurricane

Mayoral Campaign - In 5th grade the school class, they learn how a city government works. Hurricane decided to run as the mayoral candidate for his classroom on a whim. No one else in the class had decided to step up to try. He gave a speech and got embarrassed but then won the nomination for his classroom. There are 3 classrooms meaning there were 3 candidates for the mayor position. He then panicked. We decided to do some food bribes. Hurricane said bribes work in real campaigns. We made cookies with the saying "Hurricane is the RIGHT cookie for Mayor!" and a note card with gum on "Chews Hurricane for Mayor!" He needed to write a speech and woke up early to write the speech only to learn it was a snow day. He gave his speech the following Monday with the vote happening at the end of the day. He did well on his speech. The gum was passed out in the morning and the cookies right after his speech. We learned Tuesday that he won.

Valentine's Box - This was our last year of Valentine Day boxes. Hurricane wanted an epic one. I was thinking something simple. It wasn't simple. We ended up making The Monster's Book of Monster from Harry Potter with fake fur, teeth, the whole nine yards. He loved it.

Battle of the Books Semifinals - Hurricane joined the school's Battle of the Books (BOTB) team this year. For BOTB, he read 10 different books then at the library had a competition for answering the questions against other schools. His team did really well and made it to the semifinals. They lost the semifinal battle. He did a wonderful job reading and participating on his team.

Underfoot

Sacrament Bread - The Deacon's Quorum wanted to learn how to make bread for the sacrament for an activity. They were hoping that the bread would be good for Sunday but 5 days with homemade is too many. On Sunday morning, followed through with the assignment and baked bread. He did a really good job.

Dungeons and Dragons Meeting - Underfoot has wanted to have a D&D night for a LONG time. He FINALLY made it happen. There were 4 other players, and he was in heaven. He made a quest and had a lot of fun.

New Cello - Underfoot has grown about 3 inches in the past 3 months. He has grown so much that the 3/4 cello was too small, but we were told it wasn't an immediate need. Then his case zipper broke and it forced the issue of the cello. We decided to take the leap and buy a 4/4 cello. Underfoot tried out 2 cellos that he named Vogel and Martinez. He ended up choosing Vogel, the German cello.

Dermatologist - Underfoot has been struggling with some skin issues. After getting a referral for a pediatric dermatologist, we got some answers. Underfoot has a few things going on for him like dermatographism, cold induced urticaria, and excema on his head. He now knows how to treat what he has and we are relieved to know he is going to be okay.

Court of Honor - Underfoot completed his Eagle Scout rank in December. This coming Saturday he will be awarded his rank. He's excited!

Sweetheart

Belgium Fence - Before it started snowing in February, Sweetheart put in posts for the guides for the trees. He cemented the posts into the ground then it got cold and the fence has been put on hold until things thaw out.

Supper with Tim - Sweetheart got to meet Tim, a friend from Tucson, for supper when Tim came for a work trip. They got to talk politics and other exciting things that I don't know about. It was good for Sweetheart to see him.

Wendy

Birthday - I had a wonderful birthday and felt very spoiled and loved. Grateful for the kindness from others.

Birthday Visit - The day after my birthday some ladies gathered for a birthday lunch. I invited my friend, Shaulan, from Arizona. She made arrangements to come to lunch. Big thank you to her amazing husband who encouraged her to come and makes it possible through his job for her to come. The lunch was wonderful with the ladies. Spending the day with Shaulan was awesome!

Book Club - As a group we read The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. I liked the book once I got into. To live in Alaska takes skills and courage.

Completed CEUs - Every year I do 20 continuing education credits to keep my license current in counseling and social work. Some years I complete them early. This year I did it by the deadline. I learn a lot from some of the courses I've taken and it has made for wonderful conversation between Sweetheart and I.

PVA changes - February was filled with meetings on how to improve and change the Parent Volunteer Association at the boys' school. I have been serving on the PVA board this year and some very major overhauling has been done. Next year will look a lot different than this year did.

Family

Super Bowl Party - We watch one professional football game a year. This year we actually had a team to cheer for since my sister and her family live in Kansas City. The game was a lot of fun. It also doubles as our friend's birthday party. I made some wonderful treats for the food competition - cupcake footballs, deviled eggs, and a berry layer cake.

Changing Beds - We have 2 sets of bunk beds - one is easy to make and the other is really hard to make. One Saturday we changed the beds so the boys could make their beds easier in the morning. It took a few hours. The boys are so much more successful at making their beds.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo - Checked off our bucket list! It has been there for 3 years. We splurged and fed the giraffes. It made us giggle as the giraffes devoured their treats. We enjoyed the day. On the way home, we got ice cream at Josh and John's, our favorite place in Colorado Springs. Hurricane decided that he wanted the vegan ice cream. Underfoot and I weren't fans.

Seed Starts - Tomatoes, peppers, flowers, onions, and other goodies are some of the things we started. The boys decided to start a bunch of extra seeds so they could potentially sell the plants. The seeds have started to sprout. Hurricane is fascinated by the process and has taken one of the plants as class plant.

Men Helped with Move - Underfoot and Hurricane love to help people move. They ask to go with Sweetheart with there are moves As a group, they helped our friends load their truck to move to Utah and as a bonus they got pizza too.

Pancake Day - Hurricane LOVES pancakes. IHOP has a free pancake day which was supper that. Hurricane got his pancakes. He was a happy boy.

Star Wars Film at the Colorado Symphony - The movie was played with no music in from the soundtrack. The symphony played it. After intermission, the conductor greeted the audience with "Hello Nerds!" and shared about the music. The last 58 minutes of Return of the Jedi is non-stop music until the end.