Random

This was taken last Sunday (April 10).  Michael is great at wrestling with the kids and making them laugh.

Last weekend was our big Mahler performance with the Billings Symphony Orchestra that we've been practicing for months and months.  It was in German so the music was hard to learn and not very enjoyable to learn, but it was fun to finally sing it with the orchestra and have it come together.  They brought in 2 guests solists as well, it was fun to hear them.  That was probably my favorite part.  To be able to sing like that is pretty much my dream.  Michael went home that weekend with the oldest 3 to help his parents spring clean, so it was just Stahle-bay and me.  It was fun to have just her but hard to find babysitters!  She went through 3 different babysitters in just 2 days.  She didn't love that.

This is my view.  We only sang for 15 minutes at the end but how great to have a front row seat to the orchestra?  And I loved watching Anne Harrigan, the conductor.  She was so graceful and dramatic to watch.

Easter 2016

My favorite part of Easter this year was the Monday before Easter when we had our FHE on Easter.  I like using the FHE resource book the church published years ago, and they had a lesson on Easter which I used.  We talked about how the atonement consists of Christ suffering for our sins and being resurrected.  I told a story from the lesson about a family who lost their baby brother and how they found comfort in the plan of salvation and their knowledge that because of Christ, families can be together forever.  We ended with the easter church video which is SO beautiful.  I felt the spirit and I hope the kids did.  I remember it saying "find him."  I want to find Christ and be closer to him.  

We died easter eggs on I think the Thur before Easter.  It was chaos.  Always glad to check that obligatory duty of my to do list.  Saturday Michael had to work so I took the kids to a Billings egg hunt at Lewis and Clark middle school which was madness.  I don't know why I do it.  It was supposed to start at 11, so we got there about 10 til, only to find out the newborn-3 yrs olds didn't start til 11:20, so half hour later, Stahle gets to hunt for her 3 eggs she got (all the parents kept picking up the eggs instead of letting the kids do it) then Janelle's age group was next (she cried because of all the kids) and by Stetson and Kandace's turn we'd found some friends from the Y and went over to where they were (way less crowded) and Stetson and Kandace got a pretty good haul.  I wish we'd found our friends sooner.  But oh well. It is always fun watching toddlers do their first egg hunt.

Red Lodge 2016

A few weeks ago I took the oldest two to Red Lodge.  I'd heard on the Radio that it was closing March 27, so we went the 26, which was Saturday.  Michael had heard from co-workers that they were closing even sooner because of the lack of snow this year, but I called to make sure they were open and they were.  They actually stayed open another weekend because they got dumped on the day we were there.  So besides a couple spills Kandace had, it was a great day.  Kandace had a private lesson right when we got there, which gave Stetson and I to ski together for an hour and a half, then we all 3 went.  I was so impressed watching Kandace skiing with her instructor that I felt like she could be pretty independent. and the first time down just the two of us, she did great. She seemed really in control and then the 2nd time and every time after, she seemed to lose control at the end when she picked up speed and didn't know quite how to stop.  We'll have to work on that.  I wonder if I should get one of those things to hook her to me with a long rope so I can stop her if I need to.
For a break we headed to the lodge for hot chocolate which was a hit with the kids then did a couple more runs then called it a day.

I think these skiiers will be getting goggles and ski masks for Christmas this year (and maybe helmets)