Marvelous March Madness

March is of course is my favorite month cause it is my birthday month!  But that is at the end of the month, so we have a few days to get through before we come to that.

I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that Lucy's 6th grade year is coming to a close.  I mean, it just seems like yesterday Lilly was getting her 6th grade Promotion picture taken and here we are doing it again for Lucy.  Today, Lucy was amenable to letting me curl her hair.  Wish mine would look this good when I curl it.  She looks so grown up!!

First up is the 6th grade soccer tournament.  Lilly chose not to play last year, but I really encouraged Lucy to do it, especially since she enjoyed the football tournament so much earlier in the year.  Her excitement wavered back and forth during the practices but she really shined during tournament play.  All in all, Gowan did very well and ended up placing second for the girls side.

We have had a fairly cool spring here on the surface of the sun.  Last year March was HHHHOOOOTTTT early.  Not at night, it still gets down to the 50's, but the daytime temperatures have been extremely nice.  Unfortunately, that means the pool temperatures also are on the cool side.  That doesn't stop Ben and his friends from testing the waters so to speak routinely.  This was a quick in and out that day.  HA HA!

Lucy was not the only Wellons playing for her school this month!  Lilly was a key player for her middle school soccer team as well!  She has made great strides in her game and we are super proud of her.  Crane Middle also made it to the final game of their tournament with the same outcome.  Runner up!  Not too shabby!

On the last free weekend for Jim before WTI, he decided we need to go see the "valley of the names."  Not exactly sure what that meant, we agreed.  Some more readily then others.  Turns out, just a few miles outside of town, north of the Quechan Indian Reservation, there is a stretch of land were people have outlined their names in rocks.  It goes on for miles!  Some people have really planned well and brought their painted rocks with them.  We, however, didn't really have much forewarning, so we gathered up leftover rocks on site. Now, we have officially left our mark on the town!

March also means it is time for WTI (again).  Thankfully it is our last WTI EVER!!!  I know most of you have no idea what WTI stands for or even means, but to us, it means 6-8 weeks of Jim working extremely hard and for long hours and basically not being around (even more then usual).  Here is to the final one!

March also sees our Weblo I bridging up to Weblos II.  I will admit, I have no idea exactly what that means.  But he was pretty excited about it so YEAH!! 

Next up is the Air Show!!  Last year we were all supposed to run a 5K with a route on the Yuma Runway.  Well, the girls backed out at the last minute, so only Jim and Ben ran it.  I was determined to not be left out this year!  Lucky for me several of my friends also wanted to run it because both Jim and Ben said they were not going to run slow.  Well I ended up beating both of them! Yeah me!!

After the race, Ben and I headed home to round up the girls and then we hit the air show.  By far the kids loved the static displays and the demonstrations the best!  Somehow I was able to keep them out of the bouncy house area.  My wallet thanked me!

Last month the girls were confirmed at our very special Yuma church, Trinity United Methodist.  Ken Ellis, married to Mary (one of the ladies who taught the confirmation class), is a master artist and he has a scroll saw and made the girls these lovely crosses.  He presented them with a different one at the confirmation and then found a pattern he liked better and made them each another one!  We were floored by his generosity!!  The crosses are truly breathtaking!

The last week of March coincides with the first of two weeks of spring break for the kids.  Last year we ended up in Northern Arizona checking out Flagstaff and Sedona.  This year we decided to head to Los Angeles to check out the sites.  I have been before, but the kids hadn't.  We are running out of time here in the west so why not?! Jim was not able to join us - what else is new.  He asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I told him it would be for him to be able to spend it with us.  Maybe next year...

First up on the bucket list was the Hollywood sign - CHECK!  We also hit up the Getty Observatory which unfortunately was not opened on Monday but we toured the grounds anyway.  

The next day we decided to head up to Venice Beach to see the sights.  The kids loved hanging out on the beach.  We decided to rent some bikes and cruise up to Santa Monica Pier.

  

One of the coolest things we did while in Venice was to check out the canals.  My sister-in-law MC used to live in the area and told us it was a must see.  Turns out she was right, not that we were surprised! MC has all the inside scoop.  I mean it isn't an official attraction or full of tourists or anything like that, but it was a nice little walk around a cool neighborhood.  

After the beach we decided to get a little culture and headed to the Getty.  The kids enjoyed looking at all the art but really enjoyed the grounds.  

Two days of driving in LA traffic was enough for the kids.  When I told them we could head into Beverly Hills it was a loud resounding NO that came back.  So we decided to hang out at the awesome hotel that Jim put us in for the day.  

It wouldn't be a trip to LA without going to the walk of fame, so not quite on our way out of town we went down to check it out.  It was pretty dirty and gross but CHECK!  So long California!  Thanks for all the sites!!  

We got back just in time for the kids to dye some Easter Eggs.  This year we decided to use the shaving cream method.  Turned out pretty well! Not sure how much longer they will agree to continue to indulge me in this event.