Mom Visit

My mom came for a quick weekend to be here for Mel and Brad's baby shower. We had a couple of days before the shower to prep and play too. The first night she was here we went out for girl's night. Since it was Mom's birthday just a couple of days before we took her out to celebrate! We went to Spaghetti Factory and made sure the waiter (and his trainee) knew we had a birthday in the house. It was such a fun, yummy dinner. We had a blast and Mom enjoyed getting sung to and blowing out her candle. After dinner we did some girl shopping at Ulta (which ended up being a fail for Mom). Perfect girl's night out!

Friday was our big "get ready for Mel's shower" day. We ran errands in the morning with all of the kids and they were really good. After errands Mom spent some time making these fun animal masks with the kids while I ran one more errand and picked up Kneader's for us for lunch. Mom got her hair done while the babies napped in the afternoon. It was good for me to have some quiet time.

That night after dinner Mom and I snuck out to run some more errands. It was easier without kids and we were done before it was too super late. After we got home we got in jammies and did the peel off face masques we bought at Ulta (round 2 which was much more successful). It was way fun. Reminded me of lots of sleepovers and the tube of green cucumber peel off masque we had for at least 10 years. Ha ha!

Saturday morning was a little hectic. I wanted to go to our neighborhood yard sale (once a year in the summer our HOA advertises a neighborhood yard sale and all the houses in our 'hood who want to participate put out their stuff and lots of people come to look), so Mom stayed home and showered and got ready while Ian and I and the kiddos walked around the neighborhood and checked out the yard sales. The kids each came home with something "new" and fun.

After yard sale-ing Mom, Talia, and I headed out for our last set of errands before the shower. We spoiled ourselves and hit the Loft outlet on our way home too. Wouldn't be a weekend with Mom without a little clothes shopping! I got a few cute new tees that I really needed.

By the time we got home and had lunch it was time to start decorating and cleaning and putting the house and yard together for Mel's shower! All the details and the big party coming right up!

Summer In Full Swing

Summer is in full swing at our house! I can't believe the first month of summer is already almost over. Sorry for the lack of blogging, but we have been busy playing! And when we aren't playing I'm breaking up toddler fights, reading books, eating frozen grapes or working out. 

The first day of Summer kicked off with Monday jobs. During the school year we do them on Saturday, but during the summer we don't bother until Monday. Everyone was so good about doing jobs and didn't fuss or anything. The kids all played happily in the basement after jobs. The boys got invited to a friends' house after lunch, which was perfect because I had a quiet house while the babies napped. When they woke up I picked up the boys and took everyone over to the Alpine splash park. We played for a couple of hours then grabbed pizza on the way home. It was a pretty awesome first day of summer. Wish every day was like that.

Later that first week I braved the new Museum of Natural Curiosity by myself with the kids. I knew they wanted to do the water room and the Noah's ark fountain so we went in our bathing suits. It was crazy crowded still but the kids had fun. I kept the babies in the baby area while the boys did their own thing in whatever section we were in. Beckett and Talia both played in the water table. And the fountain was a hit. It was hard getting everyone to leave, but nap time is sacred during the summer so I had to get them home in time for naps. :)

We also watch some TV in the morning and kick around the house playing with toys and occasionally playing (banging) on the piano.

I also LOVE my backyard. I love that it's fenced. We get decent shade in the afternoon. And it's plenty big to run around in. The kids love filling up the water table and splashing and filling up their squirters. Sometimes I even put a little sprinkler on the end of the hose and let them run in it. They love it. And I get to chill in the shade with my book while they get wet and wear themselves out for bed time. Summer is the best.

Tee Ball

Davin started tee ball the last week of school. He is loving it and having so much fun. His friends, Cole and Ella, are on his team and another friend from his Kindergarten class is on his team too. His coach is really nice and he's doing great. He has practice and games on Tuesdays and Saturdays through the end of June. So far the weather has been pretty nice for watching his games too. 

Mel and Brad were able to come watch him play on Saturday after the camp out. They are so awesome to always come and support our kids in their activities! Mel took some really cute videos of Davin playing. It's fun for Davin to try something new too!

Last Day of School/Camping

Friday was the last day of school. They boys only had to go for about an hour and a half. It was a weird schedule though. Davin had to go on the early bird bus at 7:20am and got home a little before 10am. Weston left on his regular bus at 8:50am and got home at about 11am. The boys gave their teachers this cute teacher thank you I printed out and a gift card. I thought Weston's was pretty cute. He's so smart. I don't even know what he's talking about in the "I'm glad my teacher taught me" section! I felt kind of lame because I didn't have any big, fun thing planned for when they got home. They had lunch and then played with friends. 

Ian came home early and we packed up for the ward campout. We went last year but I only stayed for a few hours and then drove home with Talia and Beckett. This year we decided to all stay the night. It was the first time I had spent the night camping in ten years (since we were first married). Every other time there has been a campout I either haven't gone at all or left early because I didn't want to try to sleep in a tent with a baby.

Anyway, we got up to the camp site at about 5:30. We picked up McDonald's on the way and ate in the car, so we didn't have to worry about bringing/cooking food when we got there. Ian set up our new family tent while I chased Beckett around and kept him out of trouble. The big kids immediately found friends and things to run around and do. There were only a few other families there at 5:30 and I was worried it was going to be kind of a flop, but it started to fill up a little later and there ended up being a great turn out.

Everyone just visited and chatted and ate. We hung out around the fire and the kids played soccer and parachute and kickball. The ward planned a fun balloon popping game, but my kids did NOT like getting their balloons popped last year so they didn't really participate. Talia guarded her blue balloon very seriously so no one would come close to her and pop it. Beckett loved popping his balloons on purpose and went through a few.

There were several dogs running around, including a giant great dane. I thought it was hilarious when Beckett went up and stared him down. After the stare down the great dane layed down and let Beckett pet him. It was really cute. Talia was not a fan of the dogs running around. They made her nervous.

After it got dark we made some smores and got out glowsticks. I had a nice time chatting with friends and Beckett didn't fall in the fire so it was a success. Most people left when it got dark, but about 10 families stayed the night. Around 10pm Ian and I put all the kids to bed in the tent. Beckett cried for a little bit before falling asleep, but not too bad.

Ian and I stayed up way late playing games and chatting around the fire. The stars were gorgeous that night too. I was so tired, but I didn't sleep hardly at all. When we got in the tent Beckett woke up crying. I checked on him and he didn't have any blankets on him. Poor thing! It was pretty chilly. I spent the whole rest of the night trying not to move and being cold and having to pee. I finally fell asleep though for a couple of hours before Beckett woke up again. It was lighter out by then but still really early. I pulled Beckett in bed with me and scratched his head until he drifted back off. We both dozed for another hour until Talia and the boys woke up at 6:30ish.

The ward provided breakfast. Then we mostly just packed up and headed home. It was a fun time and I'm glad we all stayed, but man, camping is a LOT of work. We got home and I had three loads of laundry to do and lots of dirty children to bathe. And we weren't even gone 24 hours! Also we didn't have to bring any food or mean of cooking and the back of the van was all the way full.  Hmmm. We'll see if we can manage a 2 night camping trip sometime this summer.

Kindergarten Graduation

Davin had his kindergarten graduation on May 29th. My neighbor watched Beckett and Talia for me so that I didn't have to wrestle them through the little program. It was so nice to just get to sit with Ian and focus on Davin. He was adorable. When they walked in he had his arms folded like he was walking in church. Then as soon as he spotted us he just lit up and waved and smiled and posed for pictures. 

All of the kindergartners stood on the stage and a few gave some lines, then they all recited a couple of poems and sang a couple of songs throughout the program. At the end they handed out "diplomas." I loved how they did it. They just had the teacher read off the name and another helped hand the diploma to that kid (they were grouped on the stage by class). It went quickly but we still got to hear each name and they got to get a little scroll (which was just a blank paper).

After the program we met Davin in his classroom for some refreshments. He got himself a brownie and we took pictures with his teacher. It was a perfect little morning with my Dav man. I'm so proud of the work he did in Kindergarten and I'm excited to see him move on to first grade to learn and do even more. I'm also really grateful he had such a wonderful teacher. He will miss Miss Johnson and having his cute buddies, Ella and Cole, in his class. Yay for a wonderful year in Kindergarten!

Dance Festival

Every year the kids' school puts on a dance festival. Each grade learns a dance and then performs it for the school and the parents during the last week of school. Weston and Davin both worked hard practicing their dances and had a lot of fun performing. I was glad I could go watch them. The weather was perfect that morning and Talia and Beckett were both pretty good. Having fun music to listen to helped. I think my favorite (besides my kids' performances of course) was the fifth grade dance to What Does the Fox Say? It was so funny and since the school is Fox Hollow they have a fox costume and the fox came out and danced around with the kids. Super fun.

Weston's grade danced to Dynamite. He was pretty focused on the steps and didn't see me. He did a good job though. Davin's class danced to Splish Splash. It was adorable. Kindergarteners just are always cute. Davin got to stand next to his buddy Luke and they were both super into the dance. That afternoon when we were talking about it he was like, "Mom did you see my freestyle?" I did and it was awesome. Love that kid!

Gymnastics Meet

Jump Up gym held an end of the year exhibition meet for Davin's gymnastics class. It was fun to see him show off the things he has learned over the past few months. It was also a nice way to end his "season" since he will be taking the summer off. He might join back up in the Fall, but right now he needs a break. 

Davin is still leery of heights and opted out of the flip on the rings, but he did do the entire high bar routine, including the flip! Way to go Dav! I think his favorite was the floor. He did an awesome handstand into a front roll. He was so excited to get a "medal" too. After the meet he told me, "Mom, I didn't think I would win this but I did!" Haha no need to remind him that everyone got the same medal. :) I'm proud of him for sticking with it even when it was hard and scary. Good job Davin!