Ward 5K

Our ward (church congregation) had our annual 5K. There are a lot of runners in our ward. We are not runners. But, our girls love to bike. So we had them bring their bikes and they went ahead with the fast group while Ben and I walked behind at a slow, leisurely pace.

It was a beautiful day- it was really, really nice to be outside. It is starting to feel like spring. Which means we probably only have one major snowstorm left.

Feeding the Homeless

Through our 4H club, yesterday Audra and I had the opportunity to go downtown and work with a wonderful Catholic organization called "Christ In the City" to feed the homeless. It was truly a humbling experience.

Before we went to the park to do the service, the missionaries at the parish gave us an enlightening orientation, where I learned a lot about the homeless that I didn't know before:

-There are almost 12,000 homeless in Denver
- 56% are male, 44% female
-Reasons for homelessness: 14%- soaring rents, 18% drug addiction (I was floored- I often think the majority have drug addiction, and that is simply not true- MIND. BLOWN.), 23% mental illness, 48%- Family situation forced them out of their home. (numbers don't add up exactly as there is some overlapping of conditions)

WHAT? Half of the homeless are homeless because their home life SUCKS and they would rather be homeless than live with their abusive spouse or parents or whatever?!?!

Talk about a testimony builder for how important family relationships are! I am heartbroken that so many of our neighbors and friends, brothers and sisters, live in households that are unsafe.

-Average age of the homeless is 40
-They are regular people. They aren't invisible (even though they are), and are just going through a really rough time right now and need a little love and support.

Anyway, it was a great experience. I'm glad Audra and I got to experience it together.

Audra was first in charge of handing out oranges, but we quickly ran out. So then she helped put the salad dressing on the salad.

About 300 people were fed! Whew! It was incredibly well organized, Christ in the City does a great job. There was a hair cutting table, finger nail painting, clothes to be handed out. a prayer group, football and frisbee- very well done. Of course, they have about 15 full time missionaries who spend all day every day being with and serving the homeless. It is simply beautiful!

This Is What Homeschool Looks Like

At least for today, this is what our homeschool looks like:

Free ice-cream at Ben and Jerry's with a few of our friends!

Baby Owls!

It's hard to see, but there are three baby owls at our local park. We went over to look at the cuties. We loved the owls, and then the girls loved showing Ben all the cool things at the park. It was so fun for me to watch them drag Ben around in excitement. I see all their fun forts all the time, so it was great for them to show Ben.

We are getting very anxious for spring to come!

Gymnastics Meet

Audra's best friend Chloe had a gymnastics meet, so we went to cheer her on. It was pretty crazy! The world of competitive gymnastics is insane! But, Chloe won 5 medals- including 1st place in all around. Olympics here she comes!

Cross-stitch

Audra wanted to learn cross-stitch for 4H this year, so she and I have been working together to teach her. She is actually doing really well, I'm very impressed. I love passing on some of my favorite hobbies to Audra.

Easter and Conference and April Fool's, Oh MY!

Audra was so concerned about how all of these events were on the same day. For weeks she has been saying, "I can't believe Easter is the same day as General Conference AND April Fool's Day!"

It made for a busy, but exciting, day.

I tried really hard to get a nice picture of them all in their new dresses. It was really hard, though, with the sun.

Finally they got to search for eggs:

I love that Audra still finds genuine joy in hunting for eggs.

This is probably the best picture of them all day- so happy after finding eggs!

Then, for April Fool's Day, I made chocolate covered brussel sprout suckers. It was awesome! Ben bit off the entire  sprout and then after a second said, "Wait- what is this?" He spit it out. I'm so glad I got him- it's the first time I have ever gotten him!

Audra actually liked her sucker. Claire bit off the chocolate to eat. Camille said, "it's an April Fool's Day sucker."

I love doing fun, silly pranks on the kids- and they  look forward to it as well. I do not, however, enjoy mean pranks. So don't even think about it, Ben.

Next, it was time to make the bunny cake. We made it last year and it was a big hit. Now the kids have said they want it to be a tradition.

And then, a SECOND egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa's. My girls were as excited about this tradition as any other. They were so worried that because it was General Conference we wouldn't go over, and they needed assurance that they would still get to go and have their traditions at Grandma and Grandpa's as well.

We also did a lot for the actual spiritual side of everything this weekend. For the first time in a long time, I watched all sessions of conference. While baking or cross stitching, but I did it- and it was wonderful. And we have been talking a lot about the history of Easter- as I posted earlier. It's been a really nice time, but I am VERY happy that we have a few weeks before our next big holiday.