April 2021

 April started off in a really weird way.  Avian and I needed to get some things from Walmart so we drove over only to find that the Walmart was closed. Both entrances were blocked off.  Something big has to happen to close a Walmart.  Sure enough, on the news that night they showed footage of a disgruntled employee that had driven his car into the Walmart and caused all sorts of damage. Luckily he chose a time when there were not a lot of people in the store and very few employees as well.  This pandemic is really messing with peoples' minds .  

April 2 I gave a violin concert for Mom for her birthday.  She wanted the Braham's Lullaby and I hopefully gave a good performance.  I am still new at the violin thing and am trying to get better.  She, of course, loved it because that is what mothers do and that is why we all love our mothers so much.

April 3 was the first day of General Conference.  In between sessions we sent to the Gibson Antique Mall to walk around and well all the cool booths with things for sale. It was a cool place and there were a lot of things that sparked memories of my childhood .

April 4 everyone had a day off (MIRACLE) and we decided to head to Blowing Rock.  It is so relaxing to be in the mountains.  Blowing Rock is a favorite location.  There is always something new to see.  This year is was Ruth the cat.  The gift shop always has cats around, but Ruth is new and just a kitten so she was really playful.  The kids loved playing with her.  As the kids get older they are more interested in the history of things so we visited the small Blowing Rock museum and looked around for a bit.

Such beautiful views.  

We have a Weenig family joke surrounding Big Foot so I had to take a picture of this shirt.  

Avian on top of Blowing Rock

Family picture on Blowing Rock

Back at home I need to stretch my legs from the long drive.  I ended up crossing walking paths with a former neighbor, Carolyn Spence, and we walked together so we could catch up.  Back at home I fixed an Easter dinner for the family and watched the second session of conference.  It was a perfect conference/Easter weekend.

April 6th started with a morning walk.  The temperature is perfect in the mornings and since were on Spring Break, I didn't have to be in to the school bright and early.  That afternoon Avian and went in search of new pillows for the three kids.  All of them were still using pillows from when they were small.  It was time.  AND Kohls was having a pillow sale.  WIN-WIN.  We were also in search of the perfect pair of shorts for Avian.  We ended up at the mall and found several pairs that they thought would work out splendidly.  We did a little grocery shopping and ended the say with sushi.  

April 7th I took my annual trip to the dermatologist.  This year he found two lesions he thought were suspicious.  His new weapon of choice is nitrogen.  It stings pretty good for a couple of minutes and then turns into huge blisters that eventually pop taking off the top layer of skin.  All in all it is better than having him cut a piece out of me.  After the dermatologist I introduced Avian to Scrubbing Bubbles as a new method of battle with the scum in the kids' bathroom.  It was awesome. Avian LOVED them and the bathroom is nice and clean.  Take that soap scum!

That night we had the Cuillard's over for an empanada dinner.  It is always fun spending time with the Cuillards.  They are what we call good people.  

April 9th Steve and Nick finally to the tree stump out of the back corner.  Nick's workout area is starting to take shape.  

It was a lot of hard work, but it will be worth it in the end.  

April 10th Steve and Avian wanted to go on a road trip.  They decided that Asheville was the perfect destination and had a great day looking at antique shops and goofing off.  

April 11th they ended up going back because one of Steve's wood contacts in Waynesville had some spalted maple discs for an amazing price.  They took the truck this time so they could haul the wood home.  

April 13th Jeremy fixed Brazillian stroganoff for dinner.  We also found a website with all his favorite recipes from his mission.  

April 15th Nick got his first Student of Course pin for Nascar II and now he has been bitten by the bug and studies really hard for all his courses.  

Proof that I finally got the mozzarella to work. It was a lot of work and I definitely need to practice it more.  

April 16th Avian took on the project of custom making a sweatshirt from one of their favorite video games.  I was a day-long process and involved taking a sweatshirt apart and dying the different parts different colors and then sewing it all back together.  

Dying the different parts

Rinsing everything out.

The finished project.  It turned out really well.  Several of their friends want one now.  

April 22nd I got to go hang out with Misty Ball at their new house.  I was so excited to see her after being apart during the whole quarantine time.  She is always so much fun and the time flew by.  

April 28th - school is really busy as we approach the end of the year.  So much is going on.  That night we had a Relief Society activity.  I was in charge of  coming up with 5 different cards the sisters could make for their ministering sisters.  We mailed them out in an effort to reach some of the sisters who have been difficult to contact.  We found that some of the addresses were not correct and are working on finding the sisters so we can visit them.   Avian came and helped since I couldn't be at all five tables at once.  Makayla Gilbert also came and presented the ward missionary plan for using social media to spread the gospel.  It was a fun night. 

April 29th was the Concert on the Green.  It was amazing to see everyone all together to cheer on the band for their final performance (only performance) of the year.  

Knight Watch marching in to open the show. 

Waiting for the cue to start playing.  

This was Avian's first year with the high school band and they loved every minute of it.