Finishing up April

On one recent Sunday, I got this picture in a text. It seems that Eva and her YW leader, Heather Kendrick, have the same taste in dresses. 

I have been using the rowing machine in the garage lately. I play the dart game. It helps with rowing consistentcy and forces you to do 300 strokes. This is my highest score so far. 

The other day there was a big crash a thte crosswalk that Paige uses to get to school. We came up on it as I was walkign with her to school. There was a car smashed into the metal gate to the arroyo, not to mention a downed sign pole and concrete pillars protecting the entrance. The iron gate was bent so much that the bars could now fit a person between them. I am not sure what happened but to cause that kind of damage a person had to be going pretty fast. And its a school zone, not to mention a pedestrian crossing. One of the people standing by the car was a middle schooler. She looked shaken. An ambulance was coming up as we left. El Paso drivers, man. 

Paige spent her own money and got several more Schleich figures. They are her favorite. 

I have been doing Zumba weekly with some ladies from church. It is good for me and it is fun. Combined with walking the dog for a mile and a half each day, my step count is over 9,000 by lunchtime easily. 

Brendan finally finished his campaign with Paige and Darby and now had started a new one. This time Eva is joining them. They spent a lot of time setting up her characters. They are having a fabulous time and it is so nice to see them build a better relationship through a shared interest. Its been many years that they have had a very rocky one. 

 

Youth Activities

There was a youth temple trip to Juarez scheduled for April 22. My kids were all ready and had names to bring for baptisms. We got this text late into the night canceling it. Tensions at the border continue to rise and the amount of time it takes to cross is hours. Our YW president said the bishop canceled all youth temple trips to Juarez until further notice. In a way it is good. Maybe the push for a temple in El Paso will become that much more urgent. 

The next weekend the youth had a combined activity at the El Paso Food Bank. The kids said it was so much fun last time and even Brendan was excited to go. By all accounts, they had fun this time too. They packaged Cheez-Its mostly. I like it when we have activities that are service projects. 

Belt Test

Paige has been doing jiu jitsu for almost a year now. It was time for her to take her belt test for her senior white belt promotion this Saturday. When we got to the parking lot she started getting very nervous. She thought it was just going to be her and Coach and that he would be quizzing her. When she walked in she was greeted by her friends. They were also there for their belt tests. Coach and some assistants split them into two groups and had them go over basic moves, submissions, and takedowns. They had to show them on each other. It was much more low-key than I expected and definitely not as stressful as Paige was thinking it would be. 

At the end, she had two of her friends get their senior white belts and two other classmates got their belts for the next level up from that. Coach tied it on and everyone clapped. She was so proud.

Here is a photo of everyone there that day. 

Jason said he would stay home because he didn't want to put more pressure on Paige. He thought she would get her belt in class next week when he would be there and so now he is sad he missed it. 

Family Movie Night

There was a new movie coming out and it was based in the world of Dungeons and Dragons. Given that was a big deal for most of our children (namely Brendan in particular) we knew we had to see it. Brendan was a little worried that they would mess things up as Hollywood is wont to do. He knows ALL the lore and details regarding just about everything in D&D. 

When we arrived at the theater, we saw that someone had hidden a small rubber duck in the window. it is becoming a kind of scavenger hunt thing where small duckies are hidden in random places. We were excited to have found one.

The movie was great. Even Brendan liked it. It was something we all enjoyed and will probably purchase when it comes out. On our way out of the theater, we notice this backdrop for the Super Mario Brothers that just came out. Jason thought it would be funny to pose like this in front of it. 

 

Happy Easter

Its Easter!! I had the baskets waiting out on the kitchen island for the family when they woke up. Everyone liked their presents and ate some of their candy. Except for Jason, who does not eat candy (because he likes it too much) so he had other treats. Then we got ready for church. There may also have been some dancing in the kitchen. 

We just had sacrament meeting and no second-hour classes at church today. It was a special Easter sacrament program with excellent speakers and music. I really enjoyed it. 

At home, Eva helped me with Easter dinner. We had ham (which turned out the best I have ever made), green beans, scalloped potatoes, and homemade rolls. We invited over Chelsea and Leo Ingram since Andrew is not in town and they were going to be spending the holiday alone.  After being stuffed we just sat and talked with Chelsea and the girls played with Leo. there was quite a bit of tickling and wrestling and chasing.

Darby came out to show me that they had made an Octonaut wedding in the bookcase. Clever.

It was a fun Easter filled with food, family, and friends. I am so grateful for the people who brought the Spirit into the sacrament meeting. I am thankful for Christ and His sacrifice for me and for everyone in this world. Happy Easter!!

 

Easter Party

Primary went all out for the Easter Party this year. It is our last one with a primary child and Easter Egg Hunt rights. There was yummy food, an egg hunt, carnival games, a bouncy house, the Easter Bunny and even a petting zoo. The girls loved holding the chicks and petting the bunnies. 

Eva and Darby helped with the carnival games as the youth were asked to do. Paige got a decent amount of eggs at the hunt. They asked the high schoolers to set up the hunt for the older primary kids around the church so they were harder to find and the eggs for the younger ones were just in the field and easy to find. Sadly, some of the YM raided the eggs  for candy and more than a few were found by the primary kids to be empty. Lame. 

We spent most of our time talk ing to friends in the ward and helping the little kids. A lot of work went into this and it was a great party. 

Good Friday

Jason's friend, Ed, invited him to hike up Mt. Cristo Rey this morning to see the Christ statue. This mountain is in Sunland Park, New Mexico and is just across the state border from El Paso. It is a 29 foot tall limestone statue of Christ on the cross. It has been there since about 1940. Apparently it is a big deal amd tradition to many in the area on Good Friday. Jason said he saw peopple hiking with no shoes on and even one man carrying a cross up the mountain. He also said it was a pretty arduous hiike. You can see in the pictures that a lot of people were there for the sunrise. 

 

Art and Song

Darby has had a lot of competitions lately. The Hornedo Choir was part of a district competition and received sweepstakes (the highest level). They also had the UIL (University Interscholastic League) competition yesterday. It is the biggest competition they have for the year. They received sweepstakes for their age level in this competitions as well. To earn a choral Sweepstakes trophy, the choir must earn a first division (superior) rating for their concert performance and a first division rating in their sight-reading performance from a panel of three judges. At least one of the selections they sing has to be a cappella. 

The Hornedo Choir was also given the opportunity to sing the national anthem at a Chihuahuas baseball game in May. We are going to go to watch that and I will write more about it then.

Also one of her art pieces was also chosen by her art teacher to go to the District Art show. She was judged but didn't win anything. She said it wasn't her favorite piece she had done that year and didn't seem too upset. Here is an instagram post from the district and her piece is in the top left corner. 

General Conference

I don't have any pictures of General Conference this time but I wanted to remember some of the themes I noticed. First, there was a lot of talks about avoiding contention. I think our world could use that right now. There were two talks on patriarchal blessings, which was unusual. Eva is trying to decide when she wants to get hers so I thought that was interesting timing. Another theme I noticed was finding peace in Christ and repentance. That is another timely message for the world we live in today. Of course, another main theme was the Easter story and Christ's resurrection. All the sessions were amazing and I loved it.

President Nelson announced more new temples but not one in El Paso. I was thinking that it wouldn't happen this soon anyway even though other church leaders who have visited the area have given hints, especially if the Saints in this area do family history and temple work with the temples we already have around us. It is a stake goal to have every adult and youth submit and take at least one name to the temple. Our family has done that. Many others have too. 

Elder Holland was not in attendance at the conference because he and his wife have COVID. On his instagram page he wrote the they are both doing well and even joked how nice it was to spend conference sitting with his wife for the first time in many years. I did miss hearing from him though as his talks are always enlightening.