April pictures

And going back even further . . . (same rules--these get re-dated in a couple of days, so enjoy them while you can!)

Theo's grade held a "Biography Tea" at school.  That's Theo on the right, as Marco Polo.  Such a fun day!  I was glad I was able to go in and visit with so many figures from history!

Last year we started the tradition of holding a "Passover" dinner on the Sunday before Easter.  We go through the whole "seder" instructions (as well as I can figure out, being, um, not Jewish) to remember the escape of the Jewish people from Egypt.

Our eggs were really cool this year.  We colored them with crayons while they were hot, so the wax looked really pretty, then we dyed them afterward.  Sadly, I'm not adding pictures of that.  Here's all the kids on Easter morning in their finery.

And here's the whole family in the backyard.  I love these photos, because it's like the one day of the year that nobody forgets a belt or doesn't get their hair curled.

We invited friends over after church for an egg hunt.  Annual tradition?  I think so.  Our kids were mad that they were the only ones who had to stay in their Sunday clothes, but will I let them off next time?  Nope, I'll just make everyone else dress up.  Because how adorable do they look?

I loved seeing the dads out there helping.

Tons of the eggs were just dropped into the overly long grass in the greenspace next to our house.  Luckily they didn't mow it until the next day!  The little kids were so cute toddling around with their baskets--it made me wish for a two-year-old again (a little).

Theo is such a good helper for his sister.

And Addy will help any old baby she can get her hands on.

These fun guys keep their teacher at church on her toes!

And the whole thing disintigrated into a frog-catching expedition (a successful one, thanks to Emerson's frog-crazy friend Jensen) after the eggs were gone. 

I meant to take these on Easter.  But it didn't actually happen until June.  Do you like how I concealed Emerson's missing belt?  Yeah, lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice.

Here you can't see Sera's pink sparkly shoes.  She grew out of the black ones between April and June.  You see what I mean?  Take those Easter pictures on Easter.

Concerts Like Whoa

There are some drawbacks to being married to a fantastic conductor. For example, given his work-schedule, he might become convinced that nights are for living and mornings are for sleeping. He also might become overly fond of his pajamas, possibly to the point that you have to sometimes hide them if you wants to see him looking all hot and adorable dressed up when he gets home . . . particularly when "dressed up" includes a white vest and tie and tails . . . if you like that look, I mean . . . just sayin'.

There are also perks. Many of them. Like getting comped $50 tickets for the entire family (that's $300 in tickets) to see a Philharmonic concert with big-star Broadway performers as soloists in a performance of Rodgers and Hammerstein music at the gorgeous Embassy Theatre. Like getting to dress your kids all up and lead them like little ducks into the theatre, where they ooh and ahh over the crystal chandeliers and gold-leafed woodwork and pick out favorite features for their future "mansions." Like watching them dance and wave their arms to the music, and recognize show-tunes like "Shall We Dance," and "Whistle a Happy Tune," and "Edelweiss" when they're performed. Like getting to applaud your heart out as your handsome husband goes on-stage to be recognized for preparing the choir. Like hearing people talk about how the university choir he prepared for the performance outdid the usual Philharmonic Chorus.

And that's just one concert of eight in one month's time. I admit it: I love spring concert season! Winter concert season can be a bit of a drag, what with holidays to prepare for, but spring concert season? Pure pleasure (for the family, anyway, you'll have to consult Aaron on how it feels for the main man). It sort of blows my mind when I compare what my amazing conductor husband has accomplished with his choirs in this one short year. I know he worked incredibly hard to get them into shape for the first concert we saw this year, at Christmas time. And that concert was good. But to compare it with the concerts that have clogged our calendar this month? Without seeing it yourself, you can't really see the things he's accomplished with these choirs. He's able to elicit sounds so electric, so glorious, that words can't really do them justice.

I'm going to have to squeeze this post between some other posts so he doesn't read it too fast and try to make me delete it. He's quick to play this kind of thing down, and to point out flaws so small that most people wouldn't believe the existence of. But make no mistake, this man of mine knows what he's doing when it comes to music. And after slaving away during this first year, I suspect he's looking forward to enjoying more of the fruits of his labors in the coming years. Way to go, incredibly hot, fabulous, magnificent conductor husband! You are fabulous!!