Isolation

Ali participated in a local theater's production of a play called Isolation. It was an intense three weeks of at least four-hour-a-day practices and then four nights of shows. A few of Ali's friends were in the play with her, and she had fun!

A couple of church young women's leaders came to the shows and brought flowers!

It was a lot of work, but I think Ali is looking forward to doing another show next summer!

Post School Year Clean Up

It feels good to clean out the backpacks and get rid of all that garbage at the end of the school year (here is only one of many piles that we trashed!).

Happy Marry-Iversary!

May 27, 2023 marked a fun anniversary for me- on that day I had officially been married longer than I hadn't been. I dubbed it my "marry-iversary" and went out with my sweetheart to celebrate. It was a fun day to think on what a lovely life we've created together and how grateful I am for him.

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

I'm glad I get to spend my forever with Jason!

Last Day

The last day of school is finally here! We are sure proud of our kids and how well they did in school this year-everyone held onto their good grades (some by the skin of their teeth, but still!) and they all did so many other things that were outside of their comfort zones. Jake did swim lessons; Eli did flag football, learned a new instrument and participated in a musical; Logan did football camp, track and Jazz Band, and Ali did theater crew for two shows, student council and knitting club. Add to that the first year of seminary for Ali and Logan as well as Drivers Ed for them both, and church callings and activities for the older three, Piano lessons for Ali and Eli, and activity days for Jake and it was quite a year of growth for everyone.

I am so glad that I started the end of year ice cream party a long time ago, because now it's just something we do, and the kids don't feel self-conscious about inviting people over. I didn't get a picture of Logan's friends, but here are the other groups:

I sure love these kids and the adventure it is being their mom.

Field Day and Bulldog Bash

I was able to help at Jake and Eli's end-of-year, school-wide celebrations. At the Elementary School I helped with second grade in the morning and fifth grade in the afternoon and it was funny to see how differently they approached it: the second graders took everything very seriously and everyone participated in every game, while the fifth graders only participated if the game appealed to them and otherwise flat-out refused. Silly kids. This was the ice cream relay I was in charge of-I was disappointed it wasn't real ice cream and I'm sure the kids were too!

The Junior High Bulldog Blast was a big free-for-all; there were many activities set up all over the school and outside, and the kids could come and go to activities as they pleased. I had barely walked up to the school when a couple girls I didn't even recognize said, "Hi Eli's mom!" The kind of illustrates how many people know and love Eli, so he obviously had a great time running around and hanging out with lots of kids.

Driver's Ed

Another thing taking up a lot of time in May was the twice-weekly Driver's Ed class and the driving sessions we were able to fit in with their instructors. In hind sight, adding another at least four-hours-a-week commitment to busy May was probably not the best idea, but the other option was to delay them getting their licenses next year by a couple of months at least, and you can imagine how well that option was received. Oh, well. We managed, and now we just have a couple make-up classes for each of them and 6 more driving sessions each to go, so...a lot still to do! But, in only two months of them getting their permits, they both already have more than 10 of the 50 hours required before March simply from them driving places we needed to go- have I mentioned how busy we've been?

End of Track

We also spent a lot of May going to track meets. It was fun to see Logan's confidence improve, as well as see him getting stronger and faster throughout the season.

My favorite part of each meet was watching his face light up when he would catch his first sight of me in the stands; it made all the driving and waiting worthwhile.