Just Mowing the Lawn

milo the awsome helping his dad mow the lawn

also - the kids have 1 1/2 hours of school tomorrow and

then we are out until August 21st - hooray!

Spring Piano Recital

Jonah, Bentley, and Maxwell had their Spring Piano Recital

last week. Ruby came to watch, knowing that the next time

there is a piano recital, SHE will be in it! Milo also came to 

watch, apparently with the intention of making it very hard

for the rest of us to listen to the lovely recital pieces.

His turn is coming  . . . 

I've put the performances on youtube:

Jonah's Solo - Book of Mormon Stories

Jonah's Duet - Pow Wow

Maxwell's Solo - Families Can Be Together Forever

Maxwell's Trio - Triple Dip

Bentley's Solo - Fawkes the Phoenix

Bentley's Trio - Chop Sticks Rag

Joy School Graduation!

Last Thursday, we held our final Joy School class of the year,

AND we had our graduation!

Here is the graduating class (plus Milo):

And here are the kids with their teachers/moms:

Ruby loved having girls in her class (last year she was the only girl).

Having a majority of girls (a first in my Joy School experience)

really changed the dynamics. We had romances, betrayal,

princesses, families, flirting, fighting, and making up.

Usually (with boys) we just have fighting and play fighting.

It was a fun year, but like usual, I am glad to have a break. :)

My Joy School kids 2011-2012

Other graduations:

2006

2007

2008

2010

3rd Grade Simple Machines Fair and Recorder Concert - Take 2

Last Friday was a big day for the 3rd graders at our school.

They've spent the last 8 months or so learning to play

recorders. They also spent time at home (some spent

more time than others - we fall somewhere in the middle)

making simple machines.

On Friday we got to hear the results of their practicing,

and to see their creativity in action.

Maxwell knew right away what he wanted to make

for his simple machine. We just had to track down

the necessary parts. I think most of the kids in his class

were hoping that some water squirting was involved,

but the water toy was simply used to raise a platform.

Here's Max with his machine (and pinewood derby car).

Once again, I think that the 3rd grade teacher how takes

on the challenge of recorders should win an award

(or a lifetime supply of headache medication).

The concert was really nice, though.

They played around 15 very short pieces, and it was really

easy to listen to them all. Way to go Maxwell!

A Mountain and a Mongoose

Last week John took Bentley and Jonah to buy new bikes.

Bentley was ready for a bigger bike, and in the past we have

just given his old bike to Jonah. This time, (for the first

time ever) Jonah got to pick out a NEW bike for himself.

Bentley chose a mountain bike with 21 gears. He loves it!

Jonah chose a green freestyle bike because it

says Mongoose (the brand) on the bar. This is his first

experience with hand brakes, and he is getting used to them.

We'd gotten a little lax on helmet wearing, 

but the same night that the boys got their new bikes,

some friends of ours were hit by an SUV while 

riding a bike together. Although one of the boys is still

in the hospital, things are looking up and we are so 

grateful that both of them are alive recovering so well.

Our kids are once again required to wear helmets

and bike safety is a common topic at our house.

Joy School - almost finished! (for this year)

It's my turn to teach Joy School again, 

and we are on the final unit for the year.

The kids are definitely done.

All they want to do is eat snacks and play outside.

Luckily, most of the lessons this time around have

included lots of free play time. Our last class,

and our graduation, are on Thursday.

Hopefully we can all make it through both things!

I took a group shot of the kids last Thursday,

and they all wanted individual shots. Their chosen poses

are unique and telling. Here are Ruby and Milo's pictures.

Exploring Campus

We live so close to BYU, and yet we don't take the kids

to visit campus very often. Probably because it is usually

swarming with students. But things were relatively quiet

after Ruby's recital last Saturday, so we decided to do some

exploring with Greg. The kids raced him up the big stairs

by the Richards Building. They had so much fun that

they ran back down and raced up again. Then, we walked

across campus and showed the kids a few memorable

buildings (the Talmage, the library, the HFAC).

. We spent some time in the gardens by the Museum of Art, 

and somehow not one of the kids fell in the water!

The kids had a great time rolling down the hill by the library,

and saw some students filming a movie outside of the 

Joseph Knight Building (where John and I had church together).

We walked back to our car through the Tanner,

where the kids admired the flags and the elevator.

On the way home, Milo engaged in one of his least

charming behaviors (I took the picture for Liz, she hates it.)

After the excitement of the morning, the dancing girl

sat in the dirt at the bottom of the slide and rested for a while.

and THEN, a friend offered us sod

RIGHT NOW, so we spent the afternoon

hauling sod and picking up rocks and

gathering dirt, and trying to figure out

WHAT ON EARTH we were doing 

so that we could repair our front yard

My Dancing Dreamer

Ruby's dance recital was on Saturday at BYU.

John and I took the four boys (and Greg) to watch.

Her dance was titled, "My Dancing Dreams."

Here's a link if you want to see her in action.

She made cards for her two teachers this year, and even got

to say hello to her teacher from last year.

We were pretty happy with the recital planning, 

because Ruby got to dance in the same show as two of

her favorite friends. It was pretty close to perfect!

Just like our Ruby.

Bentley and Emery

Bentley is a 4th grader this year,

which means Utah history.

I think it's kind of interesting - I studied

Idaho, and John learned about California,

so the few tidbits that trickle down to me

from our Bentley are often new (to me).

For the last month or more, the kids

in the class each chose a Utah county

to research and report on. 

Bentley chose Emery County.

He was up late the night before his project

was due (of course), and was pretty 

silly by the time he was finished putting it together.

In contrast, he was all business the next day

at the 4th grade County Fair when he

shared his report with the parents, siblings,

grandparents, etc. of his classmates.

I think his favorite fact about the county

of Emery is that there is a city there called Elmo.

The Kitchen Table

 - where Mikey and Milo eat breakfast together

(for the last time before the wedding and Mikey

leaving for the summer - for the first time in Milo's  life)

- where Ruby and Stuart share a snack

- where the kids watch Barney (of all things)

on the kindle while I'm making dinner

Ruby's Last Dance Class

The day after we got home from the wedding

(12 hours after we got home, actually),

Ruby had her last dance class of the year.

It was a parent observation day, so I got to watch!

Watching Ruby dance is kind of like watching

Jonah play soccer. They are both so happy to be 

doing something that they love.

About a month ago, I asked Ruby is she wanted to try

something new - like soccer or tee ball.

She said she just wanted to do dance and cheer.

Until tonight.

I took Ruby with me to buy Bentley a new mitt for baseball,

and Ruby found a pink "diva" mitt and a floral purple bat.

Suddenly she has a keen interest in baseball.

Maybe next year . . .

Missing Tooth

During the dinner before the wedding reception,

Maxwell lost a tooth. And it stayed lost.

When we got home, he wrote this note and left

it under his pillow for the tooth fairy to find it.

"Dear tooth fairy,

I lost my tooth

in Gelbert (Gilbert), Ari-

zona. if you

want you can look in the

curches (churches)."

I think he was worried that the tooth fairy 

wouldn't believe that he lost a tooth without

the tooth under his pillow for proof.

Luckily for him, the tooth fairy had no desire

to go searching churches in Arizona for lost teeth,

and Max got his money without further difficulties.

Mother's Day

This was our Mother's Day in pictures.

We also went to church and watched some of

Anne of Green Gables. We listened to an abridged audio

book of the story on our trip, and I was excited to 

introduce the kids to one of my favorite books/movies.

(I kinda wanted to name a son (Maxwell) Gilbert. I just love this story!)

I got an early Mother's Day present before our trip

(a Kindle Fire - mostly for the kids on the drive, but now it's mine!),

and onion goggles for a gift today. Cutting onions from 

now on should be pretty painless.

John and Bentley made dinner, and I made myself this cake

for dessert (using Elizabeth's fancy vanilla instead of almond).

It was really good.

Happy Mother's Day! 

Hope you all had a wonderful day.

Wedding Week Recap 5 (and final)

One week after the wedding and I am posting

my final wedding recap/collage!

(I spent the week reporting on the wedding,

while the newlyweds spent it driving east.

Tonight they are in New York with Spencer and Brianna!)

top row - Ruby sleeping next to "her" bouquet

- five kids ready for the longest drive EVER

- rest stop photo attempt

- Ruby climbing

row two - the boys and John checking out the scenery

- climbing kids - they saw a lizard!

- Milo running away while we try to load every in the car

- Hoover Dam (the statues from Percy Jackson)

(I thought we could pull off the highway, park, take 

a few quick photos, and be on our way. Hoover Dam

was a major production - security, parking garages, crowds.

I had NO idea. We didn't take the tour or visit the museum,

but it still took us an hour to "take a picture.")

row three - John and the kids with the big bridge

- a safer way to look at the dam

- Hoover Dam

- the kids have to climb

bottom row - why take the stairs or the elevator when you can climb?

 - last stop before HOME

(Kanarraville rest area- one of my favorites)

- nearly 13 hours later we are almost home

- Warren's family made it to our house a little after we did.

The first thing Ruby did when she woke up the next morning

was to show her cousins the bouquet. 

It was a busy, beautiful, family-filled week.

I'm so glad Mike and Jenny got married.

Wedding Week Recap 4

First up after the wedding was a dinner at the church.

Some kind sisters provided sandwiches and lemonade

(and a nice, cool cultural hall for relaxing).

The first two photos in the collage were from the dinner,

and the third was taken outside the church.

The rest of the pictures are from the reception.

It was beautiful. Lights and candles everywhere

(my kids kept blowing out the candles), delicious

food, and lots of great people to visit with.

My four brothers. They're awesome.

Random reception pictures - including Ruby with the 

bouquet and the bride and groom getting ready to leave.

Wedding Week Recap 3

Mike and Jenny's wedding was at 3pm, so we had

all morning to relax and spend time with family.

The kids and I spent time in the pool with Mindy,

Brianna, Spencer, and my Mom. Then, the kids at lunch

in Grandma and Pa's motel room while John and I took

Milo to run errands and to find the Temple.

After lunch we all started getting ready for the main event.

Brianna came to our room to do Ruby's hair. It looked great! 

And then Ruby had a pillow fight with her brothers.

The basic idea of the hairstyle survived, but it wasn't the same.

Jenny's younger sisters watched our five kids,

and Warren and Becky's three kids while we were in the 

Temple for the sealing. I think they spent most of the

time in the Visitor's Center (it was HOT).

Eventually, the Bride and Groom 

made their post ceremony appearance.

Everyone started taking pictures, and then Milo

decided he couldn't wait any longer to congratulate the couple.

He loves his Mikey and Jenny.

Mikey and Jenny had some of their photos taken earlier

in the week, so we did a few quick family shots,

and then drove to a nice, air-conditioned chapel for a dinner.

more to come . . .

Wedding Week Recap 2

We left for Arizona just after school let out on Thursday.

We drove as far as Kanab that day, then stopped for the night.

The drive to Kanab was on a little highway, through small

towns, up and down mountains, and around sharp curves.

And for the first time ever, our kids felt carsick. 

We stopped a few times to let them out to walk around,

and made it to our hotel without anyone getting really sick.

I wasn't crazy about our hotel in Kanab, but it was 

a place to sleep (kind of - Milo was restless, and

Jonah woke up REALLY early the next morning).

After breakfast, we set out for Mesa.

This time, the kids had trouble with their ears.

Milo cried most of the way from Flagstaff to Mesa.

Once again, we stopped a couple of times to try to

make things a little easier for everyone.

At one of the stops, John and Milo walked around.

Just before they got back in the car I noticed the sign

at the bottom right of the collage. I was happy I'd stayed

in the car. The picture just above the sign is one of my

favorites from the trip. Each of the kids struck their "cool pose."

Unfortunately, our stops made us late arriving in Mesa.

Jenny's family had invited all of us to a dinner at their home,

and we were nearly an hour late. Great first impression, huh?

Their home is beautiful, and the kids loved the chickens,

goats, swings, food (especially the whipping cream), and

the neighbors' swimming pool. Poor Max was still in pain, 

so he missed out on most of the party, but he did get some

quality time with his Pa. Just before we went to the hotel 

for the night, Spencer and Brianna arrived!

My favorite photos in this collage:

2nd from the left on the top - Milo had been super sad,

but he was so happy to see his Mikey

top right - Greg and Bubba (awake this time)

3rd row, 2nd and 3rd from left - Jenny's cannonball, Bentley dive

Okay - I like all of the photos. We had a great time.

Wedding Week Recap 1

The week before the wedding brought us visitors!

First, Warren and his family (and Mikey) stopped by

to pick up Greg and to spend the night before going on 

to Las Vegas (and the Heart Attack Cafe). A couple of 

days later, my parents and Mindy stopped by before

they left for Flagstaff. I forgot to take pictures during my

parents' visit, but here are some photos from Warren's stop.

top row - Jonah's treats for his last soccer game (he missed it)

Mikey, Warren, and my boys playing Magic

Greg watching the intense game of Magic

middle row - the exciting conclusion

Bubba was bored to sleep (or he really likes Greg)

the grown up boys play 2 on 2 magic

bottom row - Bubba, Ruby, and Kylie

Bubba tries out the walker

Ruby likes to stay close to babies  - she loves them

May Five

Mike and Jenny got married on May 5th,

so we spent the weekend going to and from Arizona.

I couldn't choose just one photo, so here are 

three pictures for my Five post.

(updates to come)

I think this was in Cameron, Arizona

the bride and groom with the nieces and nephews

between the wedding and the reception - a couple of Milo impersonators