April Misc. Photos

Albuquerque Youth Symphony Spring Concert

Tonight we got to hear some very beautiful music from the Albuquerque Youth Symphony.  I am always so blown away by these amazing and talented musicians.  I have really enjoyed watching how participation in this symphony has helped Eden grow so much, and I admire all of these talented young people even more now that I know the dedication and time they put into their instruments.  It's amazing that this combination of instruments can make such beautiful sound.  I have a whole new appreciation for classical music now.  Thanks Eden!

I love watching her up there - the music just flows through her and she is so happy.  She amazes me and I'm so proud. I'm grateful for the opportunity she had this year to be part of the Albuquerque Youth Symphony.  It's a great organization and she has grown so much this year learning to play the pedal harp, and learning to play as a member of a symphony, both things that were new to her this year.  She absolutely killed it.

Shortly after the final concert, they began auditions for next year's season.  The blind audition is actually a very interesting process to watch unfold. She was nervous, but totally nailed her audition song.  We are feeling pretty confident that she will find her place right back with the symphony for next fall. 

What an incredible opportunity for her.  I'm so proud of you Eden!

 

Bentley's YM Campout

This weekend Bentley got to experience his first camp-out with the young men. I've really been looking forward to these experiences for him.  He isn't much of a camping fan, but these times out in nature with the boys are important.  Some of Brad's best boyhood stories are from camp-outs, so I am excited for Bentley to start experiencing these.   And fortunately they invited any dads along so Brad got to experience this with him too!  They camped near the Chaco Canyon ruins and were able to go visit those on Saturday before heading home.  

Brad was good to take a few pictures so we were able to get a little glimpse into the goings-on.

It was chilly and rainy, which wasn't the best, but they forged on!

I have never been out here before - those ruins looked incredible! 

I'm glad Brad and Bentley could have this fun experience together, and glad for the boys Bentley was able to bond with.

Funny stories and lessons learned from this campout:

1.  When camping, make sure you put your shoes inside the tent.  It rained quite a bit in the night so all the boys woke up to very wet shoes.   Bentley = not happy.

2.  When you're the adult, keep an eye on a group of boys who are bored.  Here's some context - on the way to the campsite, going down a dirt road, one of the tires on our car got totally shredded.  Brad had to put on the spare and left the real tire and rim set against the car for the night so he could sleep inside the car.  The next day the adults were sitting around the fire visiting, while the boys were off entertaining themselves, and one leader said, "Ummm Brad, is that your tire?"  Turns out the boys thought it would be fun to see what happened when they rolled the tire off the side of a small cliff.  They had rolled that tire really far and almost to the top of the hill before the leaders noticed.  Brad took off running and yelling at them to stop.  Fortunately, he made it in time to stop them, just before our very nice rim took a long ride off a cliff.  Brad = not happy.

Both learned some good lessons, had lots of fun, and came home with some good stories to tell.

Happy first young men's campout to the both of them!

Baby Turtles

Spring time means more and more turtles are starting to emerge from hibernation.  We are loving these adorable babies so much.  They are so cute, and we love to show them off to anyone who comes over.  It's always the same reaction... "Awe... how cute!"

Sadly though, not all the babies are going to make it.  This week the girls found two, very tiny ones and had a little burial for them.  We have a spot behind one of our pine trees that has become the pet cemetery.  These two babies got buried near Joe the fish.  It was very sweet.  

We have had many deep and profound conversations because of the turtles - the circle of life, and how babies are made are two that come to mind.  Thank you nature for helping me have meaningful discussions with my babies.

Taylor Swift Concert Revisit

Taylor Swift has now released the video recording of her Eras Tour Concert so now we get to relive the fun all over again...... and again.  We try to only do this when our boys are away though ha ha.

  Karly has even made herself a pretty impressive guitar so she can play along.  So cute.  I love it.

Pinewood Derby Contest

 Karly and Olive were both very excited to compete in the pinewood derby this year with all the primary activity boys and girls.  They both put a lot of thought and time into designing and preparing their cars.  Unfortunately for them, they have Brad and I as parents, and not the parents of the pinewood derby championships.  We know we can't really compete with the intensity of some of these families, but they enjoyed the journey and loved their cars.

I really enjoyed watching them on the sidelines as all the kids reactions were so cute with each and every race.  Olive was having a great time, and since this wasn't her first time around, she knew which families would have the winning cars, so she was just enjoying the races she was winning, and having fun with friends.

Karly on the other hand, hadn't yet experienced the cars prepped by the Pankretz or Beutlers, so she had a lot of hope there in the beginning.  She was so competitive and cute, and so hopeful for her cute little car.  She won a few and was very excited about that.  She was also a very gracious loser as the lead families started to shine through.  This first picture was taken when she jumped and it actually looks like she is levitating!   ha ha

They were so cute celebrating and enjoying this experience with their friends.  I'm grateful for these types of super fun and unique experiences.

Karly's car was a ladybug she named "Little Lady" and Olive's car was the sword from Percy Jackson named "Riptide".    Very well done ladies! I loved their ideas and how they brought them to life!

Well done everyone!  It's such a fun tradition and I'm so glad I could be there to observe their experience. I love my little car racers.

Day in the Life...

Just a little snapshot of a moment in time around our house...... Bentley is cozy under a blanket, with no shirt on, playing video games.  The girls are doing a full blown hip hop dance performance for him.  There are two different kinds of music playing, one on the radio and one from his video game. Both groups are in their own worlds, yet still interacting and bantering with each other.  So funny.

 

Karly's Twin Toes

Today was Karly's lucky day - she was the very lucky recipient of a hand-drawn, one of a kind tattoo on her adorable little twin toes.  We laughed about this one for quite some time.

Her feet are so cute!
 

Playing at the River

Today, with a free afternoon, we made it out to the river to play in the sunshine and mud.  It's just so nice to be outdoors, where it's quiet and we can explore and soak in the sun.  I love to sit back and observe - days like this are my favorite.

Brad challenged Bentley to go on "a Man Quest" which entailed them crossing the river to the other side and back.  The water was very cold, so it was a challenge for Bentley for sure.... he didn't want to do it, but off they went! He needed a little assistance at one point when the current got a little crazy.  Real men know when to ask for help!

I'm happy to report, they left on their quest, and two strong men returned.... I was one proud lady to watch this all go down!  Well done fellas....

 Thanks for the beautiful day outdoors family!

Bentley's 12th Birthday!

 Today is the day we get to celebrate our favorite boy!  Happy 12th birthday Bentley Boy!  I picked him up from school at 12:30 and took him to get his current favorite lunch - Subway.  Then I told him we were going to Costco and he was very unhappy about that.  I tried to reassure him that this would be a very good thing for him, but he just begged for me to take him home.  I had fun drawing the torture out a bit, and not telling him what we were going there for.  He was positive there was nothing there he would want for his birthday, but I knew what I was doing.....

He was very shocked, and very happy that we were at Costco to get him an XBox and the football game he loves.  Oh boy..... I hope I don't regret this.  But for now, his excitement was worth it.  He was very excited.

Later that day after everyone else got home, he got to open the rest of his presents.  Nothing could top that XBox surprise though ha ha

Karly had made him a cute gift full of different "coupons" for playing football with him - all with different amounts of time that she would be willing to play.  :)

Grandma's cards are always a highlight.

He was excited for some new football training stuff.  Good thing he can redeem those coupons and have Karly play with him!

And a new bike, which I was hoping he would be more excited about.  He isn't too into riding bikes......yet. But nobody can be convinced unless they have a sweet set of wheels, right?!

He is excited to get taller.... and it's just not at a pace he would like!  But I say time needs to slow down, so I'm ok with it.

Pretty good growth Bentley!  Someday you'll get taller than me, but you're still going to be my baby boy forever, ok?!

Another donut fan!  It's Krispie Kreme that has stolen a lot of hearts around here.  It does make for a very fun birthday treat.

Then we spent the rest of his bday evening playing Madden on his new XBox. Nobody but Bentley had any idea what to do.

Later that weekend he was able to have a pretty epic football and pool party with all his buddies.  I love when there's a big group of boys over - it's just chaos and a lot of food, but it makes me so happy to see Bentley with the boys.

The swimming pool was just like a pile of wrestling bodies everyone.  They were constantly pushing and throwing people in, and just constant chaos.  It was a blast, and nobody got hurt so that was a huge win.  

They swam the night away and had the best time.

I'm grateful for all these good friends that Bentley has.  He had a great party, and felt lots of love and attention from his buddies.  It was a good time.

Bentley, we are so grateful for you and the special energy you add to our family.  You are so smart, so creative, and so funny.  I love your drawings, stories, jokes, and witty one-liners that catch people off guard.  You make me laugh daily and I genuinely enjoy being in your presence.  I'm grateful for the time we have had one-on-one this year and I'm so proud of the man you are becoming.  I feel grateful every day that I get to by your mom.  You are pretty darn special to me.  Happy birthday my boy.