Aunt LeaAnn played in an alumni tournament in Hastings. She had quite the cheering section
A March snow
The boys helped scoop the driveway before Zach got home
The boys play with our neighbors almost daily. They do the most creative things. This activity was board game making. They split into pairs, went to separate rooms, and spent two days each making up a board game. Then they played each other's games.
A few days before Easter we started hiding empty Easter eggs in the yard. I hid them the first time, and then the kids all took turns hiding and finding them with the neighbors.
Nana and Papa brought Easter baskets over
And then they stayed to dye eggs
On Easter, we drove to Lincoln. This was the day after my birthday party, so we got there in time for dinner.
My 40th birthday was on Good Friday, so we didn't have school. The day before my birthday, my room was decked out in birthday decorations. My friend Danielle had come to Hastings and decorated it the evening before. She went crazy with balloons, posters, banners, confetti, etc. My students and colleagues also did a great job making me feel celebrated.
The next day, on my birthday, I got to enjoy a day off of school. I went to lunch with Amy, opened gifts that afternoon, and went to dinner as a family.
The kids got me some of my favorite snacks, the boys got me candles, Monroe got me jewelry, and Zach got me a massage.
The next day we had made plans with a few couples to go out to dinner. I knew we were going out of town, but that's all I knew.
As we stood outside, Monroe and Zach both started recording me. I looked down the street to see a party bus pulling up. I was so surprised! (Zach had even made jello shots earlier in the day and that hadn't tipped me off to something more going on.)
Fongs, Rippes, Sloans, Zachs, Lairds, and Hemjes all celebrated with us!
Zach's jello shots were amazing!
The ladies minus one
The party bus took us to Fyre in Kearney. It was delicious!
my dessert options
(a very important part for me)
40 more balloons
Thank you to everyone who helped me celebrate my first 40 years. It was a great few days!
