April Fools?
Went to the Monarch butterfly fest in McAllen
on April 1st at La Quinta Mazatlan,
a nature preserve, and discovered these clocks
on our walk through the trees.
The stilt lady was "growing" leaves...
Some of the parade entries--the orange guy
on the left is "Whata-man" from the Whataburger
fast food restaurant. Recognize anyone else?
The Mayor's Parade was a walk through
the park with the Mayor of McAllen.
He is the guy in the grey tee shirt and
butterfly cape. Anyone and everyone
who wanted could be in the parade!
even the firemen's dog McGruff
in Harlingen. Awesome blueberry pancakes!
Have to wait until next year for more.
wondering what will happen to
Bob's "garden" of mint,
sunflower, and crotons during
the next eight months. :-)
A lot of snow contributed high, fast-running water
in the creek around Ana's house.
April 15th view from Ana's picture window!
Pelicans and ducks enjoyed their morning swim!
on the 16th. We enjoyed crepes afterwards,
but I was too busy eating to take a picture!
Yep, it snowed on the 16th,
We drove to Iowa on April 17th and celebrated Caiden's 
April 21st: We headed back to Ana's with Annika. Tom
That evening we all went to St. Cloud.
Lydia, Claire, Cecelia, and Annika
The girls watched the movie "Legally Blonde" 
Tom, Trina, Jett, and Caiden drove to Buffalo
Good thing they didn't hire Bob to be a lifeguard!
We all ended up at Perkins for supper, and the kids
We had to get all our states represented, too!
The next day we put together the Mexican Bingo
While the kids were in school on Friday, Sara took us
Julia's first communion was on Sunday, April 30th.
Julia wanted her cupcakes in the shape
Congratulations, Julia!
Lydia, Ana, Cecelia, and Claire after church.
so I had to make a snowman after church!
Lydia takes guitar lessons online. Cecelia
accompanied her on the piano for her recital
which was on Sunday afternoon. Took this
video when they were practicing.
birthday a day early because there was a track
meet at their school on the 18th.
Jett, Oliver (neighbor kid who calls Jett and Caiden
his brothers), and Caiden who is now 15 and driving!
Trina's tulips welcomed Spring---a lot different weather
in Iowa! Apparently Minnesota didn't get the memo!
told us to stop for breakfast at Dave's in Charles City,
which looked like a barn inside. Apparently,
the building was a bread warehouse at one time,
but it had great food!
were all "legally" blonde when they were younger!
the next morning.
They decided that they liked the movie
more than the musical! Definitely more comfy. :-)
on Saturday afternoon. Lydia, Claire, Cecelia,
Annika, and Caiden spent some time at the pool.
Trina and Ana were the "lifeguards"
kept us entertained for an hour and a half before
we got our food. The waitress brought muffins
and cookies for us while we waited!
On Sunday, April 23rd, Annika was in a
regional gymnastics competition in Minneapolis.
Anni "flipped" for us here,
went over the parallel bars,and took 6th place for her floor exercise!
went over the parallel bars,and took 6th place for her floor exercise!
Afterwards, Tom and Trina and their kids went
back to Iowa, and the rest of us back to Ana's.
The temperature was 37 degrees for Claire's track meet
on the 24th. We froze, but she jumpedover 11 feet in the long jump and ran too fast
in her races for me and my camera!
cards and had a practice game! Note what we are
using for markers! Thanks, Terry and Lodi
for giving me the game! Ana's girls have studied
Spanish in Guatemala and back home in Minnesota,
but can learn some new vocabulary words
in the bingo game.
On the 27th, we took an early flight
from Minneapolis to DC. Julia and RJ
both had soccer practices that evening,
at two different locations, of course.
We watched Julia, then picked up RJ and
Doug (who rode his bike from work to RJ's
practice field).
to the National Army Museum. That was
the only day it rained all day during our 25-day
trip from Texas to North Dakota.
RJ had a hockey game on Saturday, the 29th,
but again his speed outran my camera.
Fortunately, his soccer game was
canceled due to muddy fields.
The weather was so nice at Doug and Sara's
that we could eat outside in their screened-in porch.
Note that the weather got nicer everywhere we
went--snow in Minnesota, tulips in Iowa,
and, finally, flowers in Mc Lean, Virginia!
There were 66 kids receiving the sacrament
at St. Agnes church that day. Julia didn't
want a big party afterward, but besides
us, her teacher, her godfather Michael, and
her Granddad (Doug's dad) came to the house.
o cross for her first communion dinner.
It didn't take long before the double-cross
became a single cross! Yummy.
