May 2018

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mother's who have touched our lives!

The last few weeks of school flew by! Kimball had a music performance (5th graders on recorders!), and an award ceremony. He got awards for getting all A's and B's, getting the required AR points each 9 weeks, math achievements, and he was the only student to receive 400+ AR points this year. During the award ceremony, Becca looked through the crowd and saw Kimball, and suddenly took off for him. He picked her up and held her in front of all his classmates, and it was the cutest moment! He also had a piano recital.

The LDS church announced that in 2020 they will no longer be part of the Boy Scouts of America. Kimball was furious, and it started us on a serious search for a new troop to join this coming fall. After Cameron painfully stepped on a toy car, Kimball exclaimed while laughing "I love car-ma!" Another time, Kimball was teaching the lesson for family home evening, and he started off by saying "and now we'll learn about the army of helium." He has always insisted on brushing his hair straight back, but after watching Boss Baby, one day he started parting his hair to the side like Tim...so handsome!

Cameron earned enough points to go to both the AR and Think Through Math parties. He got fantastic grades and grew so much this past year. Just after school got out, he saved a turtle from Duke's clutches in the backyard. The kids made it a little habitat for a day or two, then we released Torry the Turtle in a little pond near our house.

Cameron has been trying to save up for a Hot Wheels track, but with limited allowance money, and a limited capacity to not spend everything he earns, it's been slow going and slightly frustrating. One day we were going to various garage sales, and I felt like we should visit one more garage sale. Lo and behold, Cameron found a $2 bag full of Hot Wheels tracks. It was a sweet testimony that Heavenly Father cares about little boys and their love of Hot Wheels.

Lily has LOVED having her brothers home. It's also nice that everyone gets to sleep in a little later. Now that she doesn't suck her thumb anymore, we were finally able to paint her fingernails. When I asked if she wanted her toenails painted, she told me no, because "I suck on my toes." When she stands on her very tippy-toes, she can finally reach the light switch in our bathroom! Often times, when I have to go somewhere, Lily will often tell me "I'll stay home" or "I'll stay in the car." It's surprising, especially since she won't even go in the bathroom by herself.

Silly little Becca figured out how to use drawers to climb. She loves getting on the table and standing there triumphantly. She had her 15 month appointment and screamed at the doctor the whole time. She started saying "thank you" in the cutest possible voice, but stopped after a couple of days. She is our clumsiest kid so far. She falls daily and gets so frustrated. One day she fell on cement and had a horrible scab. We started to wean her on the binkie, and it was rough, but she goes without most days unless she's sleeping, or we're trying to shush her at church.

We found a piano for $75, but it got some cracks in the move. Still, we are loving having a piano, and it's being played frequently by everyone. We also got a new trampoline which has provided many hours of summer fun, and we finally put a slide coming off the deck (our childhood fantasies are finally being realized). Dale and I got to go on a date to Chilis and to see "Solo" in theaters.

Thankfully the kids handled the transition to summer well, with minimal fighting and being pretty good about doing chores. The house is chaotic, but everyone is healthy. :) Here's to the rest of summer!