Lauren’s band concert was tonight. It was amazing to hear how much better they sounded since the Christmas concert. They were good then, but tonight they really played so well together and sounded like a group that had been playing together for so much longer. Lauren saved me a seat in the front row right next to one of her friends, so I had an awesome view of the whole thing. Congratulations to Lauren and all of her band classmates who have really accomplished something special in this first year of playing.

The girls had a piano recital today. They looked beautiful and they played beautifully. It was a little dark, so the pictures aren’t great, but you get the idea:

Beth had a busy day today, because after her 5K she had a volleyball game. Her team won the first game with an ace that Beth served, so I guess she wasn’t too tired from the run! Anyway, she had fun playing the game.

It rained just before the race this morning, so we were a little worried, but when it came time for Beth to run, the weather was perfect. And wow, she did great! Beth finished 5th out of 72 girls in her age range, missing the 4th place spot by 2 seconds. She also beat all but three boys in that age range. Not bad for a girl who just started running two months ago.

We had a good time swimming with the heater cranked up. And congratulations to thedonnellys.com for its 750th post!

Jake and Beth ran in the kids marathon today. It was so crowded. They both did great. Good job, guys!! And congratulations to their school (Edmondson Elementary) which had more kids running tonight than any other school!!!

There was a great play put on today. It was really the best of these by far. The kids came up with a sequel to Jack and the Beanstalk. They definitely had fun putting it together and then putting it on:

It was a bit chilly in the pool, but those of us who braved it and went in had a great time swimming tonight.

I got a nice picture of Beth’s volleyball team today and then a few shots during her game:

This morning Beth had a practice 5K for Girls on the Run. Wow, she’s not only fast, she beat everyone by a wide margin. Way to go, Beth!! What a beautiful morning it was for a run, too.

Bunny cakes and cupcakes for Easter!

The first volleyball game of the season was tonight. The exciting thing about this year is that Sabrina is on her team.

The temptation to try out the new pool with this 85+ degree weather on the first day of spring was too great for the kids. Jake and Beth decided that they jointly would be the first ones in. I quickly followed. Lauren thought it was too cold, but then she gave in to the peer pressure. It was a bit chilly in that water, but it was fun!!! Then we hung out by the pool this evening and had dinner out there. It’s going to be a very fun summer.

It’s hard to believe it took us this long to have our first fire at the new house, but we finally did tonight. We were a little light on wood, so it didn’t last a really long time, but the fire was great while it was going.

It was a crazy St. Patrick’s Day around here. We had a wild party, balloon goodness, an early birthday present for Sky-Sky, green pizza and cupcakes with french fries and ketchup. (Actually, the cupcake crew was at it again, and those “fries” were pound cake that Lauren and Christine cut to look like fries and the “ketchup” was mini cupcakes with red icing).

Whenever it rains, a pond forms in our back yard. It’s actually very pretty, and today there were a couple of ducks who decided that it was pretty enough to turn into a temporary little home:

Jake and Beth had a music program called Choices Count, which is one of the two best that they get to do the whole 6 years they’re in Elementary school. As a very cool bonus, the sky turned an amazing color just before the program started and there was a beautiful double rainbow.

The kids and I have a bunch of design projects we want to do for the house. The first project is the easiest, and it involved me climbing on top of the counter by the sink and painting the new family kitchen logo: “just add olives…” on the wall. It was a slow process, but I think I was successful.

We were just messing around and decided to bake a cake today. Then someone came over and messed it up, so we turned it into Jake and Beth’s “Happy Week After Your Birthday” cake, but it really was a sad cake. I hear it tasted pretty good, though.

Tonight was the Grand Ball for Lauren’s cotillion class. She’s been practicing for almost a year. It was so awesome and such an honor to dance with her: