Elementary Strings Spring Concert

Sam had his last Elementary Strings concert. He performed with the Combined Orchestras, and Intermediate Orchestra. 

Medieval Kings - played by the combined beginning and intermediate groups

Spy Rock

Digital Dash - this one is interesting because the whole song is pizzicato - where the strings are plucked, instead of played with the bow

Pixar Medley

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Sam will be participating in the Jr High orchestra program next year!

Easter

We had a fun Easter morning and afternoon at home, and then went to my parents' house for Easter dinner.

Getting a family picture

 

Getting ready for the egg hunt in the backyard -  Mike wanted it to be fair, so after the eggs were hidden, he had the kids close their eyes, led them out to the back doorstep, and then did a countdown for them to open their eyes and start looking for eggs

The hunt is on

Candy sorting

Table setting for dinner

Kate made a wreath of chopped veggie and ranch topped rolls

Grammy and Grandpop make amazing food

Andrew and John were able to come

Grandpop made a delicious lemon cheesecake for dessert

Beth got this adorable hedgehog, Tiggywink, for Easter. We were all excited to meet her

Monty was very excited to show off the golden snitch he got in his Easter basket

We decorated some craft eggs with markers. Here are the girls hard at work

Sam making an "Eye of Sauron" egg

Andrew was working on a puzzle

Sam remembered a funny egg from a Fox Trot comic that he wanted to re-create of a dinosaur hatching out of an egg

My kitties egg

V liked Sam's egg, so she made one of her eggs a hatching monster

Getting some Max cuddles before bed

Heading Back Home

We had a nice, big breakfast at the Thunderbird before checking out of our hotel 

Enjoying the beautiful landscape on the drive

The goofballs in the back, hehe

It was a really fun trip!

Day 7: Horse Haven Tour

Our last day at Best Friends was especially fun because it was Evelyn's birthday!! 

We all went on the Horse Haven tour in the morning. This tour was very different from the last time we were here because they have really been building up the separate horse area, (the last time we were here, more horses were kept by the pigs and goats). There is a new Horse Haven headquarters building and a large animal clinic. 

This is a covered arena where they do a lot of training with the horses

Petting some horses

This Horse is named Curly Sue because of her curly coat

Some of the horses were having feeding time

After the tour, we drove on the canyon road up to the Angel's Overlook area. 

One of the things we passed by was the Disney Barn - it was built for a Disney movie before the Best Friends founders bought the land.

We visited Simon's little marker at Angel's Overlook

We had lunch at the Angel Village Cafe. Mike was pretty impressed by what a nice vegan buffet they put on for $5 a person.

Checking out the view from the cafe deck

We dropped Mike and Sam off at the hotel, and took Dorie for a walk before our afternoon volunteer shift.

We went back to Morgaine's Place, and took turns playing with the cats and washing all the windows

Itty bitty Jalapeno supervising Nora while she washes the window

Some cats taking an afternoon nap

Nora was telling this cat about her orchestra tour trip and showing him pictures on her phone

This was one of Ev's favorite cats. His name is Mr. Meowgi, and he is a polydactyl with curled ears, and a bobbed tail

He got a little curious about the ceiling vent at one point

We had a fun and yummy dinner at Rocking V Cafe

They had a delicious GF lava cake, which was a perfect dessert for the birthday girl!