What with all the snow days and such, February pretty much didn't exist.
Well, except for the vacation part.
The kids had missed so much school in February that it was thought they might have to go to school until July.
Turns out that with a little tweaking, the District was able to add only three days on to the school year.
But, that meant that the kids would no longer have "Early Release Wednesdays" (they got out 2 hours earlier on those days for teacher planning time) and they had to add 10 minutes on to each school day.
You wouldn't think 10 minutes would make much of a difference.
It did make getting out of the house in the morning a little difficult for the first week.
Katie's drama teacher received this nice little plaque for their participation in the Disney Performing Arts classes.
It was (and is) displayed in the schools front office.
We also brought home this free souvenir from our lunch with family.
We took it home with the plan to mail it back and forth to each other so we could share it.
The first weekend in March happened to be quite sunny.
Not very warm, mind you, but sunny.
We headed out for a hike/mountain bike ride.
As you can see, there was STILL snow on the ground.
Crazy.
Katie and I walked with Ralph, while the boys rode.
"Whatchoo doin' up dare, Katie-girl?
I wot to git up dare."
Mikey and Huzbend had a good time biking.
Mikey came back with no bones broken and no concussion.
So, I call that a success.
Katie, Ralph and I got back to the car before the boys.
We decided to sit in the back of the car and wait for them.
The sun felt so nice and warm.
I decided to try to get a picture of Ralph's front teefies.
They're so tiny and cute.
I succeeded in getting a picture of:
His boopable nose.
A side shot of his gray muzzle.
His pink tongue.
And this.
My favorite picture of Ralph that I have ever taken.
March = Girl Scout Cookie Sales.
Katie volunteered to do a couple of booth sale stints this year.
Not as many as last year.
We learned our lesson.
It's freakin' COLD at night in March.
Personally, I think she just likes wearing the cookie costume.
They even started sign spinning in order to attract more business.
I'm surprised that no one lost an eye.
Remember that candy making science kit Katie got for Christmas? I mentioned it back in January.
Yeah.
I didn't think so.
Well, anyways, we decided to try our hands at making hard candy this time.
We made lollipops.
We tried.
Hard candy is pretty hard to work with.
It's really hot.
I decided that we were going to celebrate Fat Tuesday this year.
I dug up a recipe for Red Beans and Rice.
(Thank you Guy Fieri)
Mikey just ate the corn bread and the sausage.
No surprise there.
Katie discovered that she likes red beans better than all other beans.
For such a simple meal, it was quite tasty.
Part of the reason we were going to celebrate Fat Tuesday was because I found a King Cake Kit that I could order online that was GF and NF!!
Unfortunately, by the time it got here, it was pretty dry.
Bummer.
The kids had fun decorating it.
Even Ralph celebrated.
It was time to find the baby.
Mikey found him and was declared "King" for the rest of the day.
Which, in reality, was only, like, three hours.
Katie volunteered to help out at a friends old elementary school working with kids to put on a play.
She helped with rehearsals.
Here she is working hard as a member of stage crew.
We went to see the play which in parts was interactive.
You'll never guess who volunteered to get on stage....
Jeez.
They look so old.
At this point in time, these two girls were knee-deep in rehearsing for their upcoming middle school musical.
Within just 3 days time, they had memorized the songs in the elementary play too.
Talented.
It was time for Comiccon.
I was this close to not dressing up this year.
Just not enough time or motivation, I guess.
But, the peer pressure got to me and I pulled together a costume in a few days.
Here we are ready to nerd it up.
I am not sure how we got pulled into this photo op.
I DO enjoy the dichotomy within this picture though.
Makes it pretty funny.
Katie brought back her elf warrior.
Except, we really had a hard time sticking her pointy ears on this time.
So, she just kept her hood up.
The boys stopped at a booth to play some whacky Japanese card battle game.
The Dudes abide.
As always, the 501st Legion's fundraising room was a hit.
In case you didn't know, the proper way to hold a lightsaber is with two hands.
Like son......
...like father.
Who doesn't love Porgs?
The babies were cute.
They moved and made little sounds.
Mikey wanted to take them home, but I said no.
Ralph would eat them.
Mikey's favorite part of the experience...
Blast-A-Trooper.
Only one dart stuck.
Can you find it?
He got a certificate for his hard work.
Katie declined to shoot at the troopers.
We said a GIANT hello to Tarfful.
This guy was about 7 feet tall.
Maybe more.
Coulda been 8.
Mikey did a little lightsaber training.
He got to fight a Sith!
Me.
I have no idea what this is supposed to be except extremely silly.
Katie found a new friend.
A fluffy cuttlefish.
Mikey picked up a super special glowy lightsaber.
(kinda like the ones that we took a picture with above)
We took a well needed break to sit down and watch "Twisted Toonz" where voice actors act out popular movies using all sorts of voices.
This year was "The Wizard of Oz."
After dinner, we made a quick stop to check out the Lego displays.
Then, we headed over to watch the cosplay competition.
Crazy.
When there's a "spinny door", you must go through the "spinny door."
And say, "WOO!" when you do.
It was a long day of walking, so I just flew back to the hotel.
Katie had to sharpen her sword.
I tried to give her a hug and a compliment and this is what happened.
Middle-schoolers....sigh.
We got home that Sunday and it happened to be St. Patrick's Day.
So, I whipped up some GF soda bread.
It was actually pretty good.
And, best part, this year it was cooked all the way through.
Yes. I have had that problem in the past.
The first day of Spring brought with it the first bunny sighting in our yard.
Hello Future Ralph Snack.
Katie likes to draw on the white boards when she goes in for doctor appointments.
They're always creative.
And they always include her cadre of Katie-made characters.
Mikey's school had a Throwback Thursday event where kids could dress 80's or 90's.
We introduced him to Chris Knight.
We thought it was very fitting.
Ralph loves laying the grass when it gets warm.
SPRING IS HERE!!!
The end of March brought with it the Festival of Cultures at Mikey's school.
This year, I helped run the event.
A friend of ours hosted a Lithuania table.
Grandma made borscht.
I do not like borscht.
Last year, I tried pickled herring at the Norway table.
I do not like that either, even if it was served on a saltine cracker.
The Festival is fun.
Families host tables and educate about their cultures/countries.
Most tables have food to try and lots of fun things to look at.
There are also performances, like traditional dances.
My kids were at the event.
They were "volun-told" to man the water table and the coloring table.
It was time for dress rehearsals for Katie's school musical!
The musical was premiering the first week of April.
Dress rehearsals happen during her drama class at school.
They invite other classes to come and watch them.
Talk about high stakes.
They perform in front of their peers.
Here she is in costume.
This week was also Spirit Week at the middle school.
Spring Spirit Week ends with an after school party.
There's an open gym, a board game room, a movie with concessions and, yes, karaoke.
Spring is baby season.
Lots of wildlife pokes it's head out to start "gettin' busy".
Birds of prey, like hawks and this guy below, also come out of hiding.
You can't tell from this picture, but this eagle was waaaaaayyyyy across the street on the top of a giant pine tree.
Love my new camera.
We picked up some new phones and took a weekend to learn how to use them.
This is actually not a bad picture taken by Huzbend.
Here's one from my new phone.
We're playing Dungeons & Dragons.
Mikey is the Dungeon Master.
And, then, Mikey got a hold of my phone and took some pictures.
Then, Katie joined in.
It was a beautiful, sunny weekend.
Katie had a very interesting history project this month.
She ended up being partnered with one of her friends.
They had to take a song and change the lyrics to tell the story of an immigration population in Washington State.
There were quite a few starts and stops.
But, they eventually sang it through.
I can't get the whole song to upload.
Here's a little snippet.
