Midweek May-hem

Field Day 

 Addie, Anna, Hannah

 The fire department obliged - and the kids loved getting wet/soaked.

 My first year as a volunteer (no more babies = other moms call me now) I was in charge of setting up and running an obstacle course.  Another mom and I had 5 different groups rotate in every 20 minutes.  According to the participants (3rd and 4th graders), it was the most physically challenging event of the day.  This picture shows a classic Quinn outfit.  It did not matter that I explained how hot a day it would be - he chose to wear a thick long-sleeve shirt & heavy gym pants (backwards, of course), sunglasses, a ball cap and snow boots.  He also carried a lunch box around for hours - melting in the heat.  By the time the last group rotated in, he was SO done with the entire ordeal.  Quite frankly, so was I.

 He got a 'second wind' once Aaron arrived on the scene with pizza for lunch.

Each year parents are invited to join their students for lunch on the lawn.

 The Dunk Tank is a rite of passage - and only 4th graders are allowed the honor.

Jantzen has been waiting a few years for this moment...

Landen, Jantzen, Jace 

 Face-painting

"Anna is Rad"

Elsie

Monday evening was our semi-annual neighborhood clean-up.  It's getting easier now that the kids are getting older.  And the weather was decent.  And Pizza Pie Cafe provided yummy pizzas afterwards.  Too bad I didn't know such would be the case before I made the effort of preparing dinner!

Tuesday.  Aaron left early in the morning for an important business meeting in UT.  Lately, Aaron has been to the office by 6:00am so I've been running the older kids into town for school every morning.  It takes a chunk of time - and sometimes I have to wake Quinn up - which isn't a good thing.  Needless to say, I told Anna I wouldn't be able to come help with math that morning.  It was a good call.  I got the floors mopped instead - and that helped restore my sanity a bit...

I always have to think ahead and be prepared for Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.  It didn't help that Jantzen's soccer coach threw in a last minute practice - in the middle of everything else I was trying to juggle (no soccer carpool).  Brinley's ortho appointment, Anna to gymnastics, Jantzen to soccer, Elsie to the junior high for a recital, Brinley to gymnastics, Tanner to piano lessons and then the YM/YW/Scouts combo.  Hallelujah - Aaron made it back in time for Elsie's singing/bell ringing concert.

 This group music class has been a nice "break" for Mom.  Typically, our children begin private music lessons when they start kindergarten.  I guess the four oldest have worn me out because I just didn't have the heart to sit through daily practice sessions with Elsie this year. 

Gwen & Elsie
"Let's Play Music" - 2013 Recital

Tanner (cello), Brinley (violin)

The Jr. High School Orchestra Concert was tonight - and bravo to both of them!  

They played beautifully - and can feel good about the hours of practice they've completed.

One more Mother's Day gift worth mentioning...

This is not just any pile of dirt.

It's one of the HUGE beds we have in our HUGE yard which requires a HUGE amount of effort to maintain.  Since we are on the "5+-year plan" in getting a yard put in, I've worked hard at keeping the dirt looking nice:).  Big time manual labor - even with Preen.  Anyway, Aaron made arrangements with a guy in our ward that has a tractor tiller - and surprise!  I was SO HAPPY to see this machine work its magic...seriously, the best gift.