Spring Break

No school this week for Bode and me.  Ashley and the little man went skiing last weekend for a couple days up at Keystone.  They skied with her brother, David, and his two boys.  Ashley took quite a few pictures, but I believe they are locked on her phone.  She did send me the below pic--it looks like Bode still enjoys hanging out with his Mom.

Ashley and Bode returned home on Sunday.  Ashley then left for Florida on Monday.  She decided to drive one of our three vehicles to Florida now and store it at her parents house.  Thus, it's just been Bode and me.  We've gotten so much done.  Well, not really--a lot of Netflix, as the weather was crappy earlier in the week.  However, we did get to the park a couple times and kicked the soccer ball around.  We also went to the store today and got some eggs for Easter.  We spent a couple hours coloring them this afternoon.

On Monday, we took Barkley to get fixed--no little puppies for her.  She was a bit out of it Monday night, but she was back to her old self until this morning.  I think the pain meds were upsetting her belly, as she had no appetite and I saw her often hurrying outside (thank heavens she knows to go outdoors :-)  She wasn't much interested in the egg-coloring.

Joey, on the other hand, is always around whenever someone is in kitchen doing anything.

Fortunately Barkley seemed to get her mojo back later in the day.  She ate her dinner and drank a lot of water, so here's hoping she's on the mend.

Ashley was at the house we hope to buy this morning.  She took some pictures.  First, here's the house from the front.

Next, we have a few shots of the back of the house.  It is on the water, which is very exciting for us.  We hope to purchase some wave runners so we can have some fun.  She's also talked about putting in a pool and some other add-ons--should be a fun getting everything how we want it :-)

    

We have a little beach area, a nice dock, and what looks like very green water :-)  Perhaps that is just how the sun was hitting it because I'm told it is usually very pretty.

Not much else--Bode and I are going to watch Agents of SHIELD here is a few minutes, so I better get ready.  Pleasant Easter to all.

Spring Orchestra

Bode's school orchestra had its spring concert.  We knew about this well in advance, and we often would ask Bode if..."there was anything special he'd be doing for the concert--any solos?"  He would ALWAYS tell us no.  However, we probably should not have been surprised when we got to the concert and saw the program.

Bode had not one but two special events.  We asked him about it afterwards as to why he was so mum about it.  He replied, "You asked me if I had any solos, and I didn't."  Hmmmm....I guess we need to learn to add some specificity to our questions.  Bode was one of the first to arrive, and he quickly settled in and arranged his music.

We then had time for a quick picture on the stage.

Before the concert, the ensemble gathered together for a group picture.

Next, it was time for the performances.  I got a close-up of Bode in action--he's very into it and serious when playing.

It was soon time for the "not-a-solo," meaning it was Bode, one other violinist, and a cellist.  They did great.

Bode also played a rainstick during one piece.  I'm not sure why he did this--his 4th grade teacher (Mr Glisson) is the tall guy holding the big rainstick.  It looked like they were having fun.

We are very proud of the work Bode has done--it is hard to believe he has been playing violin for only seven months.  At the end of the concert, they all took a bow.

Nothing too exciting going on here.  It is the last week before spring break, so we are all ready for some R&R :-) 

Awards

Bode was given a "Bug Award" at school this past week.  Every quarter, each teacher picks Bug-Award winners from their classroom.  The criteria for each teacher is flexible.  This quarter, Mr Glisson gave Bode his Bug-Award for having the highest math score in his class (this should come as no surprise, given Bode's superior blood-line and math-oriented genes :-)

We were able to sneak away from work to come to the ceremony.  While not Oscar-esque, it was still very enjoyable.  First, we have Bode walking up to receive his award.

Next we have the little guy getting his certificate.

The winners from Mr Glisson's class gathered together for a picture with Ms Brisbon, the school principal.

Mr Glisson also gave his students their "double-blackbelt" awards.  The kids can do some extra math work called karate math.  The double-blackbelts are for the students that earned their blackbelts in both multiplication and division.

Bode had a swim-meet yesterday.  He swam in four events, and set personal bests in each of the events.  In the 50-freestyle, he dropped 18 seconds off his best time and swam a 38.1.  In the 25-butterfly, he dropped a second and swam a 20.06.  In the 50-back, he dropped 1 second and swam a 45.  Finally, in the 200-free, he dropped 30 seconds and swam a 3:30 (he said he was exhausted at the end).  He also took fourth place overall, and earned a spot on the podium and a little medal.  He was very proud (as were we :-)  First we have Bode getting his medal

Next, we have Bode on the podium with the other finishers.

Not much going on here today.  I think I'll try to go to the gym and then the grocery store.  Ashley has started packing up some of our rooms in preparation for the big move to Florida.  I haven't started yet, as I will pack over spring break (and hopefully the longer I put it off, the more she will do :-)  Pleasant week to all.