Lily got her ballet costume today. I think it's the prettiest one she's ever had. She's very excited. Her class dances around a maypole in her routine. Should be really pretty.

BASEBALL

Wyatt had his first game last night. He was nervous but he did well. He got a good solid hit but the player at second was thrown out and it was the third out. I think his coach is going to be very good this year. Very positive and motivating. We're looking forward to a fun season. Since they both did well in their games they got to pick where we ate after church today. Golden Corral---not our favorite. Not too easy to eat healthy there. I'll have to kick it up at boot camp tomorrow. 3 down now and I wasn't nearly as sore after the third one.

The bottom pic is Lily and Emma at Wyatt's game. I thought it was a sweet pic.

No school tomorrow-yay!

Headed to Chuck-E-Cheese with Jenny and kids. I keep thinking that last time we were on our way to meet her there, we were in an accident and got rear ended. Hmmm. Maybe I'll go a different way ;-)

SATURDAY....SO FAR

Well, it's been a busy Saturday so far. Lily had a soccer game at 9 this morning. It was freezing! Yesterday we contemplated turning on the air and today it's cold! That's spring weather I guess.

Lily did so well at her game---she played so hard and scored a goal!!!! Her second one ever. She got the ball all the way down from mid field and shot it right in. She came very close to 2 or 3 others, but the other team had an excellent goalie in. She was so proud of herself. We won 6-1. I was hoping this would be our last season for soccer, but I'm not so sure now. She seems to be liking it more than ever.

After soccer we headed to the Kid's Resale that Lily's class put on at school. They have been working so hard on it and raised well over $600 to purchase children's books for our local hospital. They had a lot of fun doing it, too.

Wyatt has his first baseball game tonight at 8. It's going to be cold! Guess we'll break the winter coats back out! He's excited.

SCHOLAR STUDENT

Wyatt received a Scholar Student award this morning at school. It recognizes students who are on honor roll all year and have good attendance. They also had to do some community service and then write about it. During the program the principal gave them medals and certificates. Wyatt was happy to get it and we are very proud of him!
I'm off to my 2nd bootcamp tonight and I am SO sore from Monday. Wish me luck!

BOOTCAMP

Oh my goodness----I did my first "boot camp" class tonight. WOW-was it a work out. Actually, I don't think I have ever worked out that hard---and it feels great. It's a small class(tonight there were only 4) so it's basically like having a personal trainer. Have you ever seen the show Workout on Bravo? Those are the kinds of things we did. He switches you from cardio to muscle work about every 5-10 minutes. My arms are still shaking. He said I'll really be feeling it by Wednesday morning---just in time to go back again Wednesday night! They all promised me it gets easier. I had no idea how truly out of shape I am. What a wake up call!

HORTON HEARS A WHO

I love Dr. Seuss. He is my favorite childrens' author and I read many of his books over and over to my kids when they were younger. One thing I love about him is that there is so much more than meets the eye. The metaphors in his writings are amazing. Yertle the Turtle, for example, is a cautionary tale against dictators. The Lorax, my all time favorite childrens' book, contains a strong environmental message. The Sneetches is a plea for racial tolerance. Even the Cat in the Hat's famous red-and-white-striped hat has a political predecessor in the top hat Uncle Sam wears in Dr. Seuss' wartime cartoons. We finally saw Horton Hears a Who this weekend and loved it. There are several theories as to Dr. Seuss's metaphors in this one. One idea is that Horton Hears a Who is a parable about the American Occupation of Japan. Another is that it is about abortion. I think it has many metaphors in it--the one I tend to see the most is faith. This article says it well. It's long, so here is a part that sums it up pretty well:

Horton Hears a Who! is sure to be a zany and delightful romp for children. But it has the added benefit, thanks to Dr. Seuss' deceptive simplicity, of being a conversation starter about deeper topics like the innate value in each and every one of us, the need for persistence in doing the right thing no matter the odds, and, for the Christian parent, a metaphor for faith itself.

Oh, and not to mention, it was just a cute, funny, well animated, well written movie! The kids loved it and definitely got some of the underlying meanings. 2 thumbs up!

SOCCER

Lily had her first soccer game of the spring season today. They lost but did pretty well for only having one practice. She hustled well, but I could defintely tell she has been more inactive over the winter. She got winded pretty quickly. She's going to start doing some time on the treadmill everyday to try to build her endurance up. It was chilly but at least it didn't rain. Another game tomorrow.

EARTHQUAKE

So, Lily comes into our room this morning at about 5:40 absolutely terrified saying her room was shaking. She was trembling so bad it took me at least 5 minutes to calm her down. She was glued to me the rest of the morning. We told her it was just the wind. When I wake Wyatt up he very casually says, "Mom, did you feel the earthquake at 5:40 this morning?" Like it happens everyday around here. I told him no it was just the wind. He was insistent so I looked on line and found this.
5.4 earthquake rocks Illinois; also felt in Indiana Apr 18, 06:04 AM EDT
WEST SALEM, Ill. (AP) -- A 5.4 earthquake in Illinois has rocked people awake as far away as Indiana, surprising residents unaccustomed to such a large temblor in the Midwest.
The quake just before 4:37 a.m. was centered 6 miles from West Salem, Ill., and 66 miles from Evansville, Ind.
There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Wow-they were right. I didn't feel it at all. I'm not sure if Jeff did--he is still in bed--but I don't think he did. After Lily got up, she told me pictures were rattling against her wall and everything. I don't know how I didn't feel it.

UPDATE:
I talked to my mom in Kentucky. They felt it strongly all the way there. It woke them up. Jeff said he and I both sat up in bed because the window was rattling and we decided it was the wind. Then Lily came in. I don't even remember that. My dad, a geologist, explained earthquakes to Lily. She was picturing a huge crack in the ground with cars falling in, etc. I think he made her feel better about it. She gets very concerned about things like this.

Lily got her tap costume today. It's the gold one in the picture. Kind of hard to see. Very sparkly and fringey. Right up her alley. The theme for tap is Broadway. The colors are going to be all gold and black. They are doing a version of the song "Hey Big Spender" with feather boas and top hats. It looks like it's going to be very cute. The ballet costume hasn't come in yet.

CHICAGO

dolphin show at Shedd Aquarium-that's Lake Michigan through the windows
cute Beluga whale
at the aquarium
Giordano's Chicago style pizza--yum
Navy Pier

New hairstyle for Jess
American Girl Place
"horse racing" at ESPN Zone-they had so many unusual games there that we had never seen before
Shedd Aquarium
huge Komodo Dragon

Navy Pier
Navy Pier with skyline in background
Navy Pier with Lake Michigan in background
The kids loved all the taxi rides we took-they thought it was great that you just stick your arm out and one pulls over for you
Jess in the hairstyling chair

We had such a great time in Chicago. Our goal was to give the kids the full Chicago experience and I think we did---and they loved it! We ate at some of our favorites and places we thought they would enjoy---Portillo's, ESPN Zone, Giordano's . We went to the Shedd Aquarium which the kids loved and, of course, American Girl Place where Lily got her doll's hair done. She loved it. We also just walked around the streets and shopped. We had to hit the Ralph Lauren store on Michigan avenue since Jeff now gets a 50% discount there. We found some great things for the kids. Our hotel was great, too. The pool was on the 27th floor with floor to ceiling windows with views of the city--they loved that. It was a great time and the kids already have planned what they want to do next time we go.

It was a great Spring Break and went so fast. Back to reality now and a super busy last 6 weeks of school!

SPRING BREAK...SO FAR...

We've had a fun and relaxing Spring Break so far. Tuesday we went to Cool Creek Park with Tracee and the kids. We took a picnic, visited the nature center and took a short hike on the trails. The weather was chilly at first but warmed up.

Yesterday we went to Bounce Planet with Jenny and the kids. We had never been there before and it was great. The kids got lots of energy out. As you can see, Wyatt hates to have his picture taken. I feel so bad having so many of Lily on here, so I tried. Oh, well.

Lily's friend Tori spent the night last night. They had a good time.

We're heading to Chicago tomorrow for a couple of days. The kids have never been and are excited. We're going to the Shedd Aquarium and maybe the Museum of Science and Industry. Lily is dying to check out the American Girl store. We have nothing planned there, but we might try to get her doll's hair done if the wait isn't too long. The kids are just excited to be in a big city and take a cab ride. Hopefully the weather won't be too bad. It's supposed to snow on Saturday!

SCHOOL STUFF

Wyatt had to write a letter to his role model. He chose Jeff Foxworthy! He had another book he did about himself and said he wanted to be a comedienne and a lawyer. The teacher wrote in the margin----- SAME THING! How funny.

He had a project in which he had to write about his hero. He picked me----aaaww---how sweet. Hopefully you can read his writing-he should be a doctor with that writing! You can click on it to make it larger.

He also had a big project in his reading class. He had to write a non-fiction book. He chose Nickelback. He loves them. I think what his teacher wrote is funny.

SOMETHING COOL

Well, we have something very cool going on in our community right now and it makes me so proud to call Noblesville home. Check out this story. And here's another one. I really wouldn't be surprised if it ended up getting national attention. You can also check out his CaringBridge website here to learn more about him and his story. He was a cadet teacher at our school last year when I worked there also before he was diagnosed.

PARENT NIGHT AT DANCE