Easter

The week before Easter I got a really nasty ear infection and was put on some heavy duty antibiotics.  Pretty quickly I had a reaction to the antibiotic that was both frightening and debilitating.  Crazy stuff.  By Easter Sunday I was improving but was still unable to do much without just falling apart.  The boys went to church with Mom and Dad while Marvin stayed home to take care of me.  After church everyone met up at Julie's house and I managed to get myself over there.  I SO enjoyed being with everyone, but have to say that by the end of the afternoon I was down for the count.  Seriously down.  I am just now getting back to 'normal' and am grateful for it!

But it was a truly lovely spring day and the weather cooperated for all the kids activities which was very nice.  We were joined by the Matheney family and two friends from Truman.  After dinner Daddy hid the (color coded for each kid) eggs in the yard and the hunt was on!  Then Brenda had a 'task' that each kid had to complete in order to eat their candy.  THAT was pretty fun/ny!  Matthew had to sing the John Denver song, "Thank God I'm A Country Boy', Megan had to do a Tarzan yell, Jonathan had to do a Tarzan yell in reply, Melina had to do 'vogue' moves (but she ended up going another, more impressive route - see photos below), Jackson was supposed to play tennis while singing 'I'll Make a Man Out of You' (but he ended up going another route... impressive?  You decide!!) and Anna had to do the Bunny Hop (which turned into a group event.  Very fun.  Then it was time to color eggs for awhile followed by fishing in the pond.  A full day and the kids all had a great time.  We are certainly blessed with wonderful family and friends.  

Here are a bunch of pictures (very small versions).  If you want to see more photos in a larger size you can click here.  

Yum!

Can you see the pink egg on the fence?

Matthew singing

Megan doing her Tarzan yell

Marvin helping....  :)

Jonathan doing his Tarzan yell

Melina and Megan

There she goes....

Wow Melina!

Jackson doing Melina's 'vogue' moves....

Uhhhh.....

Where does he get this from???

Oh yes!  NOW I remember!!

the Bunny Hop!

Megan

The Reenactment (that wasn't...)

We were all VERY excited about the Civil War Reenactment that was scheduled to take place near here.  Each boy even had a buddy spend the night in order to go with us the next day.  The weather was cold and gray that morning but by lunchtime was clearing off nicely complete with brilliant blue sky.  We drove the hour over to the location filled with anticipation, especially Jonathan who is a diehard Civil War buff and was VERY pumped about seeing his first real reenactment.  We arrived at the location and paid to park in a muddy field then started walking up the highway toward the event.  We could hear gunfire and thought they must be warming up for the Battle reenactment (since it wasn't scheduled to begin for another 45 minutes).  But as we got to the entrance we were told that the battle reenactment was, in fact, just now ending and that there wouldn't be another one.  And furthermore, all events for the rest of the day and the following day were canceled!  What??

This event had been promoted for quite some time and had a professional looking website to go with it, complete with full schedule for 3 days of events.  We had come expecting to see the battle re-enactment, living history demonstrations, and a Civil War era band.  What we got was a mad run back to a field to try to catch a last glimpse of the end of the battle - and a very disappointed young fella.  :(

There are conflicting stories about who is to 'blame' for the cancellation.  I don't know what to believe, nor do I really care at this point.  I just feel sort of gypped.  Luckily, we were given our tickets by a friend who wasn't going to be able to attend so we weren't out any cash.  (Her tickets had been won in a radio station give-away)  But, for those who had prepaid for their tickets, including the pricey tickets for 'dinner with President Abraham Lincoln' and 'dinner with the troops' there were no refunds given - just a raincheck for a future reenactment.  Ummm.... not cool folks.

We took a few photos, got to talk to some of the reenactors, saw some friends from here who were also dealing with disappointed kids and just generally tried to make the best of it.  I came home and looked online for more reenactments within driving distance and found a few that we are planning to attend.  That certainly helps, but it would have been lovely to enjoy the advertised festivities that day.  Ah well....

Here are the photos we took.  Wasn't it a perfectly beautiful afternoon with all that blue sky?

Jonathan and Zack are not very happy....

Poor ole Abe didn't even know that his evening dinner had been canceled!  Our friend was the one who broke the news to him!

He was very friendly and talked with folks awhile.

This reenactor was also very nice and helpful.

The only event that wasn't canceled was the arrival of the Air Evac helicopter.....

Okay... that is nice but not very 1860's!   :)

Jackson's Class Ring

I know that conventional wisdom says that you wait until your Junior year to get your high school class ring.... but Jackson really wanted to go ahead and get his so we did it.  And I am so happy that we did!  It turned out great!  This way he gets to have/wear it for the next three years.  As for sizing, he is probably pretty close to the size he will be and Jostens offers free ring resizing as part of the warranty (just in case).

I love the way he designed the ring with a Taekwon-do figure on one side and the words Black Belt above it.

On the other side he has a photography icon and his name above that.

The top of the ring has his initial embedded in his birthstone.

He is pretty happy about it - and so am I.    :)

Tradition

We Magruder women have a long standing tradition around here.... we gather together at Julie's to help Anna get ready for her school dances.  We have been doing this for a number of years.  It has changed a bit as time has marched on.  What started as a quiet night of Mom, Julie, me and Anna sitting around the table visiting and doing hair & makeup has evolved into a bustling, lively group of lovely young women all getting ready together - excitement overflowing!  You can't help but smile when you are around them.  My job has moved from just helping Anna get ready to helping several of the girls get ready.  You know I live in a house with a LOT of testosterone, so it is nice to have that one day a year when I am surrounded by frills and giggling and beautification.  Although, I look in the mirror and realize that my 'expertise' is definitely spent on others these days.

Grandpa Jack popped in to see her

This afternoon was fun.  I enjoyed visiting with the girls as we put on their makeup... admiring their dresses and appreciating how each of them had a completely different style and color of dress, but how each girl chose the perfect dress for her own personality.  That was really neat.  It was rushed and a little hectic but we got everyone ready and out the door for pictures.  

I have to admit to you, though, that in the midst of all the joyous bustle, I did stop and take a second in the quiet of my heart to cherish the moment... putting makeup on my dear niece Anna's lovely face one more time.  You see, this is her Senior Prom.  This is the Last Dance.  I was bent over her putting on her eye shadow and suddenly I saw all the years before as clear as a bell.  Like a flash.  My little niece, Anna.  The one who loved to wrap big snakes around her neck!  (yes, I said big SNAKES!)  The one who still has Furry Bear (and I am SO glad of that!).  The one who collected rocks and wanted to be an archeologist.  The one with the blond curls and the big smile and a piece of my heart.  Where on earth did all the years go?

But then, as we walked outside to take photos I realized something very important.  This may be the last high school dance, but it isn't the last of the tradition.  There will be other ways and times for the 'Magruder women' to gather together in our ceremonial little way.  Perhaps for even bigger moments.  :)  After all, it's a tradition.

Jackson was the official photographer of all the pre-prom activities.  Here are some of the photos that he took tonight.  You can see more by clicking the link at the very bottom of this post.

You can see more photos by clicking here.