Absolutely Awesome Eight: May Moments & Mother's Day

We have enjoyed many memory-making moments this month!

Watching Tanner compete in his final race at the 5A District Championships on Friday was exciting! With all of the rain and wind raging, I didn't dare bust out my camera to capture the moment. It has been rewarding to see him progress through the season - dropping seconds at each meet (regardless of the not-so-ideal weather). His high school team is strong in the distance events and there were TEN boys who qualified by time (under 5:10) for Districts in the 1600m.
Congrats on a great season, Tanner!

I appreciate the missionary spirit alive and well in Anna. She has a friend at school that does not attend a church and Anna wanted to share a copy of The Book of Mormon with her.

So, she proactively determined to write her testimony inside the cover of a new book. Seeing that she was serious about this, I called the girl's mother to ask permission regarding the exchange. The mother was very touched by Anna's thoughtfulness - and she welcomed the gift for her daughter.

Out of small and simple things...

Aaron has been traveling extensively this month. We miss him when he's gone and are always happy when he returns. He recently sent each of the children a postcard with an invitation for a special family night together upon his return. It's crazy how challenging it can be now to spend a weekend evening with ALL of us together!

I have been working on a little project for Elsie & Anna's bedroom. I was almost finished until Quinn took it upon himself to "decorate" these craft frames himself.
With a black permanent marker.

Without permission, he decided to involve himself at the last minute. Aaron was returning home from out of town and Quinn wanted to show him something "cool". Thus, his idea was born.

I wasn't exactly thrilled to make this surprise discovery, but Quinn was so proud of himself for his contributions I didn't have the heart to disappoint him.

What's a few more coats of paint anyway, right?

Elsie and her four-leafed clover - or "something-like-unto-it."

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

I decided seven-layer dip with chips and fruit salad make a complete meal.

The year-end concerts and programs are already underway.

A couple of Jantzen's buddies spied me pulling out the camera prior to their choir performance.

A special invitation from Elsie to me for our "Muffins With Moms" morning together.

Elsie's first grade class learned sign-language for a song they sang to all of the mothers.

I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only mom to tear up:).

We decorated flower pots and enjoyed a few simple activities before parting ways.

It's been a terrific year at school for Elsie and I've enjoyed helping out as a "reading mom".

Mrs. G's class received the highest scores in the district for reading!

She's been an outstanding teacher.

Anna selected some of my favorite colors for this invitation for her recent recorder concert.

Once again, Mrs. Garner goes above and beyond the call of "teacher duty".

She believes music has an enriching influence in the educational development of children so she provides the opportunity for her students to learn the recorder. (At her own time and expense).

The class played beautifully which is impressive considering the instrument.

Saturday started bright and early with the Bobcat Dash.

This Fun Run/3K/5K is a PTO-sponsored fundraiser for the junior high and students who participate get to drop one test score from the trimester.

Nikki, Haley, Brinley, Aubrey, Madison

What else would get a bunch of teens out of bed so early on a Saturday morning?

Just as Brinley and I were leaving the house, Anna and Jantzen decided to come along and run.

The weather was downright nasty so everybody waited inside the gymnasium until it was race time.

We were short on time since Anna has a soccer game so she and Brinley ran the 1 mile fun run while Jantzen and I ran the 3K.

When Jantzen took off at the beginning, I told him to relax and not go out so fast. Well, silly me. He kept that pace up the entire time and beat me. Hmm, I must not be in my 20's any more!

Hail stones that fell during one of Jantzen's games on Saturday.

It hasn't been an awesome weather sort of week.
But not one of the five soccer games on the schedule were cancelled.
They grow hardy people around these parts...

Brinley, Anna and Elsie all did a fantastic job at the AirBound Gymnastics Recital on Saturday evening. The high school auditorium was PACKED for the performance. It was quite the show. I watched so many back-hand springs I was getting dizzy!