All the Fun Things That are May

Holy smokes April and May have been jam packed! We are down to the last 3 1/2 days of school though, and I think we might make it!

This is Taisha on her way to her 4th grade Idaho program. They had 2 performances, and she had to do a project on Idaho. We did a topography map of Idaho with different dried peas and beans representing mountains, hills, plains, and water. When you're in 4th grade it is a big deal if you are chosen as one of the square dancers for the program... and Taisha was one of them. It was an excellent program. My favorite part though was the guy two rows in front of us who REALLY, REALLY loved the program. I thought he was going to fall off his chair laughing at the Hee Haw - style jokes, and he was a very enthusiastic clapper! He made my whole night... oh and Taisha did too... she made a cute square dancer!

Malia had a bug project due last week, and she was assigned the flame skimmer dragonfly. I LOVED this project (except for when the balloons would pop unexpectedly and that one time I was tying the balloon up, and it about took my nail off!) and I think I have found a new talent! It turns out I am a genius at balloon animals!! (Malia got extra credit for making it's habitat.... warm pond with grass.) (Don't look at my messy counter top... we had multiple projects going on, and my craft cupboard was emptied all over the kitchen! I had a hard time finding a clean surface to put the dragonfly down and take a picture!)


Anaya had her preschool graduation last week as well. They had a little program and picnic. This is right up her ally, and she has been singing the songs over and over for weeks! It was a beautiful day too!



Then yesterday we loaded up the family and headed to Soda Springs (this was the first time the whole family has been in the new van at the same time!) for Jesse and Esther's wedding. Yummy food, great program, and so fun to see the family!

We are all done with the big school projects, and Malia and Kayden have been studying all weekend for the last of their finals. I think the whole family is ready for lazy summer days, and a little less to do, I know I am.

You knew it was coming....

McKay's tooth came out last night... and this was the best picture I could get. He was trying to show off his toothlessness, and so smiling his normal smile was out of the question. It's a good thing the tooth fairy is a little flabby around the middle, because when she got up to go to the gym this morning, she remembered to get that tooth and leave some money!! (That is the ONLY time you will hear that being flabby around the middle is a good thing....)

McKay also had another t-ball practice yesterday. This time I got to stay and watch (last week I had kids at the dentist.) He is so funny to watch. He acts like this is Jedi training, only he's wearing a mitt. When the ball comes to him, he moves out of the way, drops down to the ground, rolls, picks up the ball, and throws it back. The ball could come right at his feet, and he still moves over, drops to the ground and rolls. We might have to work on that... or record it. ☺

Some Firsts and Lasts

We are in May now, which I think is almost as busy as December... but there aren't any presents at the end and the weather is better (depending on the day...Spring in Idaho is a little erratic!) But here's a little list of some "firsts" and "lasts" that have happened over the last little while.

McKay has his first loose tooth! He's so excited for it to fall out and collect some money (he should really consult with the other kids on our terrible tooth fairy!)

McKay also had his first t-ball practice. He was a little nervous, but went, and loved it, and has asked every day if he has practice again.

Speaking of McKay, I had the funniest conversation with him the other morning. I was making breakfast and he was reading to me:

McKay: Mom, what does w-h-a-t spell?
Me: It spells "what."
McKay: I don't know.
Me: No, it spells the word "what."
McKay: I don't know, that's why I'm asking you!
Me: McKay, w-h-a-t spells "what"
McKay (trying to sound it out): wwuh - hhhuh - aaa-ttt. I DON'T KNOW!!
Me (goes over and points to the word "what"): This word right here is the word "what."

Sheesh!

I wrote my last preschool check last week. Anaya goes to kindergarten next year, so no more preschool for me! I have a lot of friends that get so sad when their kids go to kindergarten or start to progress to that next phase. I'm not like that, but it's not because I'm in a hurry for them to grow up... it's just whatever phase or age my kids are in, that's my favorite age. I loved my newborns, loved it when they were toddlers, loved it when they started school, and clear on up. So now that Anaya is taking that next step (and she is so ready), I'm excited to see her enter that next phase, and it will probably be my favorite age =)

Kayden had his last track meet for the year. He had a rough month though. He started out with a cold, and that cold got worse and worse. He never really had time to rest or get over it though, and running outside everyday seemed to make it worse. So for his last track meet he coughed and hacked all the way around, and his time was about 10 seconds longer. He's wanting to start training tomorrow for a 1/2 marathon with Rik.

Malia, Rik, and Taisha had the last of their volleyball games. All of Taisha's games were out of town, and most of Malia's were too, so I'm looking forward to having my Saturdays back! (And Friday nights, since that is when both teams had practice!)


Malia had her first Motown singing performance with her singing group. Her solo song is "Stop in the Name of Love" (which I missed cause I had to get McKay to school.) There are more performances coming up. Here's just a quick clip of their performance. I was a little slow getting the camera going, so it's just the end of Malia's solo in this song.

My kids played Pictureka for the first time on Easter (Easter bunny brought it.) It has been a HUGE hit. It is played ever day, several times. It has been played enough, that Anaya and McKay have the board memorized, and have figured out how to cheat, and I'm wondering if I need to hide that game for a while!

We had a really nice Mother's Day. I got to sleep in (I haven't had a good sleep in since General Conference.) Anaya made my bed for me (you should see what a good job she does making my bed!) and she gave me a hula hoop performance... which is exactly what I wanted! Rik upgraded my cell phone so I can keep up with my texting kids better. Anaya and McKay both made me flowers at school that had candy for the middles. They both told me that they made the flowers for me, and the candy was for them... funny. Taisha made me a card and signed it "from your most awesome child, Taisha," and I have to agree. Last Tuesday the Young Women invited their moms over for dinner. They made the food, and it was really yummy and a lot of fun! Kayden woke up this morning and said, "It's Mother's Day. Am I supposed to do anything?" I told him I wanted a hula hoop performance from him...

Gymnastic Recital

Taisha had her gymnastics recital the other night. The picture with her teacher in it is Taisha back hand springing. She has the last of her volleyball games tomorrow. I'm kind of getting excited that things are winding down. There's still a huge list of things to get through, but now that it's May 1st, the end is definitely in sight! Yippee!




When I can, I've been trying to get some reading in. I finished the Rangers Apprentice series (had to get the last books from over seas, since they don't have them in the States yet...totally worth it! I LOVE this series!) I also finished the City of Ember books. The last book was the best, and I kind of had a hard time getting through the other three. I had struggled understanding their (the people of Ember, the Builders, the people of Sparks, the people of Yonwood, etc;) thinking through most of the books. The Yonwood book was my least favorite. After that I read City of Bones, City of Ashes, and City of Glass. I really enjoyed these books! They are rated PG-13 in my opinion though, just a little language and a few innuendos. I started on the 4th Fablehaven book today (I love that series). Another book that I read a little while ago was Graceling, another PG-13 book. The language is just fine, but there is just one little side story that makes it PG-13 in my opinion. I really enjoyed it though, and I'm looking forward to the next one coming out (not as much as the next Hunger Games though... I will be standing in line for that one....it's still one of the best books I've read in a while... ) My PG-13 isn't as bad as the movies PG-13, there seems to be a lot of filth, crude jokes and skin in PG-13 movies, and the books aren't like that, but they aren't like Princess Academy or Goose Girl (if you've read those, you know what I'm talking about.) Kayden thinks I should read Percy Jackson and the Olympians next, because I told him I like mythology, and they look like they'd be a quick read. Rik just finished the Land of Elyon series, and he liked them a lot (I think mostly because the main character is named "Alexa.") Kayden read those as well. Kayden just read the two 13th Reality books that are out, and he read those really fast... so they must be good. I buy most of my books, so if you need something to read, stop over and borrow a few.

Happy Easter and Birthday and Birthday!!

Ya, I know, I'm just barely getting around to posting Easter and birthday pictures... But here they are:


Weeks before Easter all my kids kept asking me if I picked up the yarn, and did I get big skeins of yarn, and so I decided I couldn't string the house again this year. I don't mind doing repeats, but I don't like to be predictable. So for the little kids, Rik took pictures of different places around the house, and the pictures were their clues. Pretty simple. For the big kids, I sent them on a "one word" scavenger hunt. Like here's an example: Kayden walks up the stairs and says, "Mom, are you kidding me?! My clue is "wall?!"" With only one word, the clues were a little on the broad side. It took them about an hour to finish up. I had clues like shelf, basket, fake flower, window, Junie (it was on one of the Junie B. Jones books), chair, pillow, blanket etc; The kids liked it, and it was really easy for me. This is a good thing, because lately (like the last 3 years), I have had so much going on that I can only focus on one thing at a time, or one day at a time. A few years ago I decided my calendar was making me grumpy every day. I would wake up, take a look at it, see all that I had to do for that day, get overwhelmed, and grumpy. So I decided to do away with the calendar and just wing it day by day. For the most part this works out ok for me. But occasionally I schedule a dentist appointment at the same time as preschool, or visiting teaching at the same time I'm teaching piano lessons... but I can usually work it out. But I seem to have a hard time planning past today... ya, I know, it's because I not actually PLANNING anything. So that meant that Easter was shopped for and planned the night before Easter, and the boys birthdays were done at 1:00 in the morning the day of their birthdays. It all worked out though, and I guess that's how it's going right now.

We did all the normal Easter things, coloring eggs, Easter egg hunts, new church clothes, and yummy food. I wanted to try something a little different with the food though. I thought it would be kind of interesting to focus a little bit on Palm Sunday and Good Friday, so that the kids knew why those things were on the calendar. Then I thought we would try some traditional Jewish food for Sunday. I told Rik about my plans, and he said that didn't sound very good, and he wanted BBQ hamburgers, which is traditional... um... July 4th food... but ok, so that's what we had!


McKay's birthday was the following Wednesday. He turned 6. Can I just tell you how much he has changed in a year? I am so proud of his accomplishments of the past year! He is doing so well in school, and has FAR exceeded how I thought this year was going to go. I took him and his friend Tate (both born with the "Star Wars" gene) to ride the bumper cars. He wanted pancakes for dinner (which is what he had for breakfast too... he can eat 6 in a sitting!), and he wanted rice pudding instead of cake. He got a new bike this year, partly because he outgrew his old one, but mostly because he learned to read this year, and kept asking me why his bike said "Girl Power" on it. Darn those hand-me-downs from your sisters!


Kayden's birthday was the day after McKay's and he turned 15 this year. So far he has been a pretty good teenager. He cares about his grades, works hard and meticulously, has the cleanest room in the house, serves at church, seems to have found his niche running on cross country and track, and is very responsible. He does seemed bugged though. Bugged by his siblings, bugged by his parents, bugged by some school assignments/teachers/classes, bugged when he has too much to do, and bugged when he has nothing to do. I was telling my mom about one of his "bugged" moments, and she reassured me that they out grow that. She told me that when they get home from their missions and right up until they get married, they are a lot of fun! WHAT?! That's all I get? And I have to wait how long?! My mom needs to work on her pep talks I think... Kayden wanted Texas Roadhouse for dinner, and asked for strawberry shortcake for dessert. He got private driving lessons for his birthday. Ya, I know... I can't possibly be that old. He'll be driving all over by July (with a responsible adult.) I guess that's what happens when you start having kids when you're 13... or something like that... We got a new van a couple of weeks ago. I decided that with Kayden driving, I wanted something a little more reliable and safe. Not that I'm worried. Much.

Maybe I need some Focus Factor....

Our ward is in charge of the program for the May stake baptisms, so I started calling the families that had kids being baptized to get a program together. The first house I called, I got an answering machine, so I left a message. I also got an answering machine at the second house I called, I left my message and then ended with: "...I say these things in the name of.... What? Huh? That was weird!" Then realizing what I said I start laughing. "Huh, that's funny." Then there is an awkward long silence while I try to think of something funny and smart, and not idiotic to say, you know, like "Huh, so apparently I'm just too spiritual for my own good," but I just tried to end my message with a prayer for crying out loud... so nothing smart came to mind, so I quickly mumbled "Alrighty then, I'll talk to you later!"and hung up the phone. (Um, ya, I have no intentions of calling them back now...) Oh good grief.. I'm such a dork.


So I'm thinking I'll get some of that Focus Factor so that maybe I can pay attention enough to remember when I'm saying a prayer, and when I'm leaving a message AT A REAL PERSON'S HOUSE!! I'm telling myself that it was a kind of long message and the machine probably cut me off before I got to the "and I say these things...." part, and definitely before I started talking to myself on the answering machine.

My tulips are poking up in the front yard! It's been beautiful the last two days, and my kids have loved being outside again. Less than two months of school left! Yippee!

Yippee! I was allowed on the computer!

We've been on Spring break... and the weather has been windy/rainy/snowy/haily/coldy, so that means my kids have been indoors and on the computer, the same time I want to be on the computer! But I managed to sneak in a few minutes (and by a few minutes I mean that McKay is right here waiting to get on the computer because he needs to know which arm Ben 10 puts his watch on. Important stuff when you're 5.)

I have been really enjoying the small break from school. At the end of the quarter we get hit with all sorts of projects and extra homework assignments.

A few weeks ago the girls went to the David Archuletta concert that was here in Idaho Falls. The tickets sold out in 3 minutes, and they were so excited we got tickets. I dropped them off about 3:30 in the afternoon (no assigned seats for this concert...) and the concert started about 8:00. The weather was beautiful that day, so they just sat outside in the sun, not too far down the line, and watched the craziness! And it paid off, they had great seats. I hung out down there for a little while, and was a little jealous I gave my ticket to one of Malia's friends. But I'm pretty sure they handled the screaming girls better than I would have.


A little while ago Malia was made the Beehive president (which would be really cool, if she wasn't the ONLY beehive in our ward right now...), and she got to help plan a trip to Salt Lake for the Young Woman's conference which was last Saturday. There were three girls and their moms that went (we have a really small group of youth in this ward, but really nice, good, strong kids.) We got to SLC and did a little shopping, ate at The Garden Restaurant up on the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial building, took a tour of the Beehive house, hung out on Temple Square, and then went to the conference center. We were kind of all shocked with the seats we got. We were 12th row from the front, right in front of the Prophet. It had an amazing feeling being that close, and very memorable for Malia. After the conference we went out for pie and lots of giggling, and made it home about midnight. I really enjoyed the day with Malia and the others that came.

The view from our seats.

On Monday, Targhee had a two-fer deal going on lift tickets, so Rik and Kayden headed off to go snowboarding on the BIG mountain! They both came back sunburned, stiff, tired, and in love with that ski resort! I didn't send my camera with Rik, but when he got home he said it was beautiful up there, and he wished he had the camera.

Speaking of Kayden, here's a picture of him running. He's liking track a lot, but would like it even more if it would warm up a little, so he's not running in the snow!


The kids head back to school tomorrow (ya, I know, weird to go back for Thursday and Friday.) We're down to the last 2 months of school. I'm assuming Spring will get here one of these days too... hopefully sooner rather than later. We seem to be battling ear aches and coughs here the last week, and some warmer air (but NOT warmer WINDY air) and some open windows would be really nice.