An Evening with the Pirate King

When I learned that "The Pirates of Penzance" was playing at a theater in Little Rock, I jumped at the chance to watch a fun musical that I've wanted to see for years.  Phillip was a little dubious when he learned I'd bought tickets for an operetta, and I had second thoughts when I learned it was the first operetta this group had ever put on . . .

. . . but they did a great job and we had a wonderful time!

Recital on the Range

It was the Ellen Smith Second Grade's turn to put on a musical performance at the high school this evening.

Tonight's event had a western hoedown theme.  Here's Cowboy Daniel getting ready to go inside for the performance.  He's been singing western songs around our home for weeks, and he was really excited to perform them for us tonight.

  The kids sang songs like "Happy Trails" and "Home on the Range" (Daniel says that one is his favorite because it's very peaceful).  See if you can spot Daniel with his red bandanna in the front row on the far left.

The kids also danced squared dances (Daniel's in the group on the far right) . . .

. . . and Daniel even got to sing a solo.  He has a very nice, clear voice.

Then we drove off into the sunset (because that's the way to Little Caesar's).

Homegrown Bouquet

What do you do when a few unharvested turnips send up flower stalks in your garden? 

(I'm sure that happens to you all the time.) 

If you're Anna, you pick some turnip flowers and put them in a vase.

Joy and Daniel thought that was so nifty that they gathered a few other flowers around our home to add to the bouquet.  There's a rose from out back, an azalea from out front, and a random purple wildflower from the meadow (I mean, lawn) in our backyard.

Daniel approves.

Glimpses of Spring Break

What did you do for spring break?

The Hendrickson kids made pretzel treats with a wide variety of toppings . . .

. . . played some variation of Follow the Leader (I never quite grasped the rules) . . .

. . . played make-believe with a Creeper and his pal the unicorn . . .

. . . and bounced on the couch.

And that was just Wednesday.

Mario Party Goal Achieved

After weeks of saving together . . .

. . . our family finally filled up our money jar enough to buy Mario Party 10.  The kids proudly presented our savings at the video game store . . .

. . . then we came home to play a few rounds of Mario Party together.  It was a lot of fun . . .

. . . but watch out for Bowser!

Don't Pinch Me--I Have a Green Thumb

I celebrated St. Patrick's Day . . . 

. . . by adding a little green (and a lot of seeds) to my raised garden bed . . .

. . . and my straw bales . . .

. . . while this little guy kept me company on the parsley plant.

Pi Day 2017

Happy Pi Day!  We Hendricksons love celebrations that are geeky and/or involve food, so Pi Day is right up our alley.  It celebrates a famous, endless number, and it's an excuse to eat pie.  What's not to love?

Joy and I prepared a festive dinner and dessert for the occasion. I made chicken pot pie while she cut up some bread as a visually appropriate side dish, and we collaborated on an apple pie for dessert.

Then we had a family pillow fight, just because that's fun.

The end.

Golden Oreos at the Chess Tournament

Joy qualified for her school's chess team . . .

. . . and today was the district-wide tournament.  Of the 56 competitors in Joy's age group, four and an alternate would go on to the next level of competition.

Joy and her opponent are getting ready for their match in the final round.  Each of them had won two games, lost one, and stalemated one against other competitors.  Joy ultimately won this game, but didn't make the team for the next competition.  She had fun though, and she brought a Golden Oreo to eat after every round because she reasoned it would work equally well as a celebration or a consolation.

Back at home I watered my straw bales and spread some compost in my raised bed to prepare for spring planting . . .

. . . while the kids tossed balls around the backyard and played in the big leaf pile.

Field Trip to Heifer's Farm

I've long been a fan of Heifer International, a charity that gives livestock and training to families in third world countries to help them raise themselves out of  poverty.  The family agrees that when the gift animal has its first female offspring, they will give it to another family in their community to help give their neighbors hope and opportunity, too.

Heifer's headquarters is just a few miles away from us, and today I took Todd to visit their urban farm in Little Rock.  I really enjoyed talking with Heifer's employees about what they're growing and the history of this farm (which they just started a year or two ago).

They had a few raised beds (maybe I'll manage to cultivate a garden that productive and pretty someday) . . . 

. . . and about an acre of crops which they sell to local businesses that want organic, local produce.

They also have some livestock at their farm, and we got to pet a goat and a turkey.  Apparently I can do a decent turkey impression, because every time I gobbled, the turkey would gobble back.

Todd's favorite part of the tour was petting Heathcliff the farm cat.  Of course, he also liked watching the clock on the microwave in the farm office.

Oh yeah, and getting into his seat upside down when it was time to leave.  Does he look a little tired to you?  He fell asleep on the drive home.

Joy on the Sabbath

Sometimes Joy just prefers to do her own thing.

This afternoon she reread the last Harry Potter book . . .

. . . while the other kids played Sorry!.

Then at screen time, while the others fired up the Wii U, Joy decided that crocheting sounded like more fun.

Dr. Seuss Dance Party

Last night we attended Dr. Seuss Night at the kids' school.  

 Here's Joy with her favorite teacher: her math teacher, Mrs. Pierce.

Dr. Seuss Night basically involved some math and science activities, and free hot dogs in the cafeteria while we watched some of the teachers dance to fun music.

Our family couldn't resist dancing too.

And Daniel couldn't resist using his potato chips to impersonate a duck.

Speaking of dressing up, the school had a book character parade today.  Students were invited to dress as book characters, and bring along the book they are in.  Anna chose Emily Elizabeth from the Clifford series, and Joy chose Hermione from the Harry Potter series (she's holding the British version of the first book, which a friend gave me many moons ago).