Birthdays, Driving, and Houses

So, I wrote a very lengthy and detailed blog post a few weeks ago only to have it eaten by Blogger.  I felt like my dog had just eaten my book report.  It was too traumatizing to re-write.  :)  So this time I shall copy and save this post until I am sure Blogger is going to actually let me share an update here.

Spring break was the first week in April and relatively uneventful.  We didn't go anywhere, which might be boring to some people, (like my kids) but to me it was nice to not be on the go all the time.  Before spring break began all the kids got their report cards for third quarter.  Maddox is doing phenomenally well, as is Alex.  Rhys is doing pretty good with the exception of spelling.  He failed it.  I'll be honest here...I let him.  I didn't hand hold him all quarter to make sure he was doing his homework or studying for his tests.  He's in fourth grade so I really feel like he should be able to do the work and ask for help when he needs it.  Instead he just didn't do the work or study.  When he found out he failed the class he was devastated.  I am truly hoping this will be enough to motivate him to put a little effort into his studies.

We celebrated Rhys' 10th birthday this weekend.  We started Saturday with Rhys' soccer game (his team won) and then came home for lunch, cupcakes, and ice-cream.  Then Jeff took him, a friend, and Alex to play Laser Tag and they had a blast!  (Maddox chose to spend the afternoon with Grandmom, so she wasn't left out.)  Rhys' friend stayed the night which is the first time Rhys has had a sleepover here.  Today was church and dinner at the restaurant of Rhys' choice.  Red Robin...(say it with me...)  YUMMMMM...  Of course the staff sang Happy Birthday to him and he got a hot fudge sundae of which he ate every last bit.

Happy 10th Birthday, Rhys!

I can't believe I am about to write this, but, Alex got her driver's permit on Friday.  She is sooooo excited, and we are excited for her.  And a little nervous.  We have had two practice sessions so far and she is doing well.  Today we went to her high school parking lot which is huge, but as an added bonus they have a road going all the way around the school and various sports fields so she was able to drive on a "street" without actually getting out on a real street.  I asked her if she ever thought she would be able to learn to drive when she was in Ukraine and she seemed certain that this was an opportunity that she would have never had there.  We will have many more parking lot practice drives before we attempt getting on a real street.  Do they sell flashing magnetic signs for the back of your car that say, "Student Driver"?  Seriously.  And before anyone yells at me because Alex isn't wearing her seatbelt here, the keys weren't even in the ignition!  I just wanted a photo of her behind the wheel before she could think twice about it.

Ready to drive!

About a week and a half ago I was rear ended at a stop light.  Nothing serious, but the corner of my back bumper is all pushed in.  I really need to take it in to get fixed, but the last week has been crazy busy and I just haven't had the energy to deal with it.  I'm very grateful it was a low impact collision, nobody was hurt and none of the kids were in the car, but I really don't want to have to deal with getting this fixed!

Annnndddd...we put our house on the market a few weeks ago.  I know, great time, right?  We are building a new house not far from our current home.  It should be ready to close on late summer/early fall.  If we are unable to sell our current home I am confident we can rent it.  We live in a great neighborhood with amazing amenities and rentals here usually go fairly quickly.  It took me a very, very long time to get this house ready to go on the market and that was with the help of my mother.  Honestly, if it wasn't for her help I would probably STILL be trying to get closets cleaned out!  I do absolutely love being in a clean and de-cluttered house, but keeping it clean and ready to be shown on a moments notice is hard work! 

And that's about it for us.  The kids have six weeks of school left and they are counting down the days!  We don't have any big plans for the summer with the exception of a week of camp for each kid and trip down to Florida to visit my mother-in-law.  In addition to getting to see Grammy, we get to spend a lot of time at a beautiful beach that is only about 10 minutes from her house.