Jocelyn first grade program

This year I have been so thankful for Mrs. Spainhower. She has been the perfect match for Jocelyn and such a good teacher! Jocelyn is smart and funny and anxious and shy...She is delightful but needs a teacher with a soft hand and good boundaries. She found all of that in her class this year. She was able to make good friends and feel at home. She loved her homework...on occasion she even prayed for more...She is reading up a storm and is awesome with math as well. I couldn't have asked for her to have a better year, a better teacher, or a better place to learn. Her she is at her 1st grade program and it was great!

The final graduation

So bitter sweet..So so so bitter sweet. 

Miss Megan is the perfect preschool teacher. She is kind and gentle and never raises her voice. She teaches what kids are interested in learning about...like garbage trucks and pets and fires stations...But she also has boundaries and helps them learn how to sit and wait in line and take turns and how to play nice on a play ground. She has been such a good influence for all of my kids. 

They have found a safe place to feel loved away from me and learned how to be separated from me so they can go on and be successful without being anxious. That is such a gift. All of my kiddos have been academically and socially prepared for kindergarten. Creed was able to count to 100 without skipping or missing and earned his kind sized candy treat. He has been working his way through take home books. His writing has so improved! Its sweet that he and all my kids got this advantage. Sweet. She is the sweet.

The bitter is that it is the end of an era. Creed is the last little Weight to graduate from the busy beehive preschool. We won't get to see Ms. Megan three days a week. My kids are growing up and I'm not ready for it. It is a little bitter. 

But I am so thankful for teachers in my kids lives that love them and teach them the things I can't. I'm so thankful we had the opportunity to be part of this little school with all these little buddies and all the awesome memories.  

PS-It was SOOOO cold and rainy on graduation day that we were lucky to get any pictures...

All about my mom...more or less...

So in church for mothers day the kids filled out a questionnaire. It was super funny and telling. My children know me in some ways especially well and really really not in other ways....like I am not 85 years old...but I do really like laser tag (courtesy of Creed). I do like to eat salad but homework isn't really my favorite to be involved in though I do make sure it gets done (courtesy of Jocelyn who incidentally does LOVE homework)...Taryn's gem (that I couldn't find for the photo) was that I laugh when Creed says funny stuff...which is very true and very often...and I do love to each chocolate (as does she)....

Anyway I am thankful for these kids that made me a mom. I honestly feel so lucky that they are mine. There's never a dull moment in our family. I am constantly pushed to be better and reminded that I'm so not perfect and at the same time I feel loved all the time...

Tap Dancing Recital

Jocelyn is a tap dancing machine...She knows the steps and how to use them. This fall because of Jocelyn's joint problems I didn't sign her up for soccer or two of her three dance classes. I didn't want her to overdo it and not be able to do anything...So her favorite activity is tap dance so tap dance was the only one we continued. She had her annual de file (recital). She was a little nervous before the show but she is getting braver and didn't even need too many extra hugs when I dropped her off...Dancing is good for her in a lot of ways and I'm glad she's got a great studio to go to.

Father's and Sons...last man standing

Brent took Creed to the annual Father's and Sons Camp out up in the mountains. There's a stream to fall in and sticks to run around with. Its a little boys dream come true...and it was SO highly anticipated...He had tons of fun last year and he talked about it pretty constantly for like 2 weeks. Unfortunately it got a little chilly the week of the camp out. When the boys got up there it was breezy...more like tornado than gentle breezy. Creed REALLY wanted to sleep in the back of the truck rather than a tent so Brent honkered down and did what he could the break the wind around Creed and they cuddled up for a looong night. By 700 when Creed woke up Brent stuck his head out of the back of the truck and there was only one other father son combo there instead of the 50-60 people there the night before...apparently tents blew down and pretty much everyone had had enough half way through the night... Creed slept soundly the whole night...Since everyone was gone and the wind was still tornado ish  Brent and the other Dad decided to hit Denny's for breakfast rather than fight to make it in the weather...Creed loved every second and it didn't disappoint at all...Brent came home and needed some serious nap time.

5th grade radiant roadrunner

The end of the year program for 5th graders was pretty awesome this year. They did a flash mob with a dance choreographed by two of the students. It was so fun. Taryn was also awarded the annual radiant roadrunner award for going above and beyond with her learning this year. She really is a good girl and she really knows how to work so hard for what she wants. Knowing how to work hard will really take her places. If I could chose a quality for a kid to have being a hard worker would definitely be one of the top qualities. I love this girl...And her new glasses too...both pairs!

First Swim of the Season

They looked as forward to it this year as they did last. We were hoping the pool cover would extend the usable season since the pool isn't heated and it did. Despite the cool spring the pool was swim in able in early April. The kids are in love and they all slept really good that night....we're in love with it too!

Iron Man John

My brother is a SERIOUS rock star. He totally spanked the St George Iron Man. He swam, biked 56 miles, ran 13.1 miles all in less than 8 1/2 hours and lived to tell the tale. He was so inspiring. Iron Man races are not for the weak...in any way...You have to be tuff as nails physically but also super tuff mentally. The race really tests a persons grit.
The Fergusons and Thompsons came and we all got to cheer him on at his bike to run transition and the end of the run. The kids had a great time making signs and yelling really loud and jumping up and down...The race just happened to be on the hottest day of the year so far which was kind of a bummer in the hydration department but John finished strong. It was seriously such an awesome thing to see him running across the finish line.
After the race we whisked john home and into the pool for a swimbq (the kids word for swimming and barbeque). John relaxed in the water and Brent grilled a big old man sized steak. John really did recover very quickly and the kids now have a new idea of what an iron man is....and that is a great thing!

Iron Man Creed...in training

Creed was into showing me tricks today....like when you get yourself dressed you can sneak no underware. ..and when you ride a bike you can stand on the middle bar and balance one handed....and when you ride a bike and mount/dismount while its still moving like you're an iron man...and when you ride a bike and try to kiss your mom at the same time...but that last trick doesn't end how you might hope it would...

District Science

Jocelyn attended the district science fair and she did such a great job. I was worried she wouldn't talk to the judges and if you don't talk to the judges they can't see what you learned. My worries were put to rest as I watched her smile and tell them what she learned despite it being out of her comfort zoneI don't know if she was whispering or using an audible tone but she was moving her lips....and she was so cute doing it. This kid....she is really truly smart but more importantly she is curious. She is really truly so cute but more importantly she is kind. This girl is stubborn and  persistant which is hard but great too since she applies those qualities to learning too. I am a such a lucky mom to call her mine. 

She's BACK!

At the end of April cousin Rachael got back from her church mission in Mexico. Since it had been a year and a half we decided to make a quick trip up north for the weekend to see her. It was so fun to see her again and hang out with the cousins for a day....it was actually more fun to hear her and hang out with her since she pretty much couldn't speak English anymore....and her English words were really heavily accented. 

Anyway we went shopping for a few hours Saturday morning then played at Trafalga (laser tag is the highlight and somehow we never get a picture) in the afternoon. That night we drove up to Heber to visit Papa and ate at the train restaurant...because its a tradition and they have awesome shakes...And Papa surprised Taryn with the gift of Grandma Weight's sewing machine after she mended some sheets for him. She was SO excited....she still is....

Sunday we visited with family again and hustled home. One the way we saw an AWESOME complete double rainbow. I don't think I've ever seen one before. It was cool enough we had to pull over and take a picture....Anyway it was a short but sweet trip.

Little moments of happy

Sometimes the best things in life are really simple...like froggy books that are "hilarious" and bike helmets like firefighters...simple and happy.

Easter

So school was out for an extra day over Easter weekend so the kids and I had time to feed ducks, go to the library, and dye Easter eggs. It was a good time and not too stressful. We did miss having cousins around to dye eggs with...or even a grandma to dye them with...but it was still fun and sometimes its nice for the kids to just be friends with  each other.

Cedar Pockets...easter weekend tradition is back baby...and the art festival

My kids think once we have done something that makes it a tradition...then they beg to do it again and again because its a tradition....

But Cedar Pockets really is an Easter weekend tradition. We missed the last two years though because last year we were still moving into our house and the year before it snowed so the river would not have been super user friendly...

This year it was moving so fast and was so high because of the super wet year we have had so far...in fact it was so fast and strong that we didn't really let the kids in it but they still had fun on the beach with friends. After playing in the sand for several hours my brother came and joined us and we roasted hot dogs, smores, and anything else that could be...It was super fun and a great change of pace. 

When we got home we unpacked and showered and went to the annual art festival. It is always so fascinating to walk around and see what artists bring...There were several booths featuring pictures of New Mexico (places that I totally recognized) and that was really fun to show the kids...There were also lots of cut outs for pictures and bands playing and yummy foods. It is always a good time. I love the downtown area of our town and the cool fairs and festivals. It helps make this a great place to live.

Track and Field and Snack day

The elementary school held the annual track meet in April and Taryn as usual only signed up for one race (required) and two field events (also required)....but she does love the track meet because there is a snack bar open and they sell Takis....and cotton candy....and pop...And she can eat treats and chill with her buds in the sun shine all day and not do any school work...Creed had fun hanging out with his best buddy whose sibling was also in the track meet. And I don't know how Taryn actually placed in any of her events because she just doesn't care...she so did not inherit my competitive sports genes...in a lot of ways that is probably good...she has more fun and doesn't take it at all seriously...she just doesn't like to sweat that much. She did spend more time preparing her sporty outfit than she did stretching or preparing for any of the actual events. The funny thing is that she is pretty coordinated and could be sporty of she wanted to... I love this kid...she makes me laugh. And she is the one in the middle wearing blue...

No time for pictures

Our Miller cousins came for their spring break and it was a party. Such a party that we didn't stop to take too many pictures. There were lots of bike rides...Creed loved riding with the big boys...And both he and Jocelyn did great on the loooong ride we went on...(despite a crazy crash...but Jocelyn recovered with only minor bruises...the fence might not be quite the same though...)

 We went hiking on the hills. We went out for dinner and Michele was a good sport about the Thai food...we loved it...They brought their new dog dozer and again Creed was super happy about that. We celebrated Aubri's birthday by swimming at Sandhallow and BBQing. 

And poor Michele finished the week in the ER being totally allergic to something (not the Thai food)...and hopefully she'll be brave enough to come back and not break out in hives again...Anyway it was a good time. The only bummer was the Weight kids had school all week so it cramped our playing time.