Dance Festival and a Luau

The last week of school we finally had some good weather - just in time for the annual Ridgline Elementary Dance Festival!
Millie's grade danced to Katy Perry's "Firework"
She wanted to wear Sambo's Twins cap for some reason but she looked adorable.

Sambo's grade danced to Usher's "More"
He finally got his chance to wear his Fedora hat and by the way...that kid can dance!  He even broke out "the worm" dance move.

Will's grade danced to "Who Let the Dogs Out"
He was in a hard spot to see him good, but they wore hate with dog ears and black painted dog noses.  He did the dance motions but with zero expression.  Not his favorite thing to do ;)



BS, Quin, and I just enjoyed the show while soaking in some much anticipated sunshine.

The next day was Luau day at Quincy's preschool.  Doesn't she look festive for the occasion?

And I have to mention her constant companion...Tigress {her favorite stuffed animal}

She takes it and her blankie everywhere she goes

Derby 2011

We had the pleasure of going to the Pinewood Derby last month.  This year Sambo drew-up the design he wanted for his car and Grandpa G helped with the cutting/shaping.  Sambo sanded it himself and picked out the colors.  All of this weeks before the actual derby.  I was very proud of us for being so on top of things.
But. The night before the derby I found myself in the garage at midnight spray painting his car silver while getting instructions from BS on the phone {he was out of town somewhere}.  It was down to the last minute before the derby that the darn car still wasn't dry.  Apparently shiny metallic paint doesn't dry quick.  Good thing BS got home just in time to help Sambo with some adjustments and adding weights {ie: batteries and coins}.  He called it the "Jim special" after his Dad. The axels were shaky and BS was nervous about Sambo being let down with a poor performance.
But...it took 2nd every round and 1st one time!  It wasn't enough to get to the final top 3 but he didn't care...in his mind it was a winner! :)

He got the "most creative" award.  Notice Will has learned about the bunny ears and of course thinks it is the funniest thing ever!

This busy boy went straight from his game to the derby

Whatever works!

Graduation

Little Q graduated from Newcastle Preschool a few weeks ago!  She had an awesome experience and got a very good report card!  She is very smart and very social.  She loved going with her friends Hope and Tizer who live really close by.  Here are some pics from her program:

She really did sing the loudest and most smiley

Her teacher Miss Heidi.  She also had Miss Samantha but she had a baby.

Proud siblings. It was held at historic Draper Theatre

Her teacher gave her a lollipop that says "Star Student"

 

This and That

Some random pics from the month of May:

Huge Hail Stone {sitting on a bottle cap}

Millie took this picture from our deck of a beautiful rainbow after one of the many, many rainstorms

And here's the other half.  Of course, Will was set on going to the end for his Pot O' Gold

Look who Sambo spotted at Texas Roadhouse...Jackson Emery!  He's a big fan of the Cougars.

Will took this picture of his fresh baked cinnamon rolls...he has been requesting them for months so he was so happy when I finally made them :)

The River Bandits and The Twins

These two are All-American boys - playing and loving baseball.  Last Spring was their first time playing baseball and they loved it...so they wanted to play again.   BS coached the Twins (Sambo) and enjoyed every second of it.  He is a great coach for sure.  I can't believe how he manages to balance work, school {doubling up on 2 degrees}, church calling, biking and running, yard work, and many kids' activities while keeping me and our family his first priority.

Anyway, it's amazing how much difference one year makes in the ability and skill of these young boys.  They learn so fast, especially the 9 year olds.  Sambo played mostly catcher and pitcher.  He is great at catcher.  He pitches pretty accurate but not very fast.  He wants to work on that.

Will's team was machine-pitch, which is awesome because all of the balls are pitched good and each boy has 5 tries to hit the ball.  It moves much faster and the boys get a fair chance at hitting the ball.  It was especially fun having his whole team from our neighborhood so it was social hour at every game!  Will seems to be a natural at hitting...he has a great swing.

 

The boys played in the Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth League managed by Lone Peak baseball.  All of the games were in Highland/Alpine/Cedar Hills area which was really nice.  Quincy and Will loved playing on the swings and playgrounds, and Millie was great at cheering them on. Several of the boy's games were back-to-back so many of our evenings were spent outside.  On the nice days it was fabulous...but since May hit a record for most rain ever, there were many cold and wet days.  And several game cancellations.

Great job boys!

Gooooooo Mom!

Back in January it sounded like a good idea - signing up for some athletic events to keep me motivated to get in shape.  Lots of emails started floating around from a bunch of my girlfriends about this and that event, and "who's in?" I already knew I wanted to participate in the "Goldilocks" and "Little Red Riding Hood."  Those were no-brainers.  But then I got talked into signing-up for a half-marathon and a triathlon.
Like I said, it sounded good back in January.  But then the months flew by like they always do.  And the weather was cold and rainy.  And rainy and cold.  It was very hard for me to train indoors on a treadmill and not once did I ride an indoor biking contraption of any sort (spin bike, bike trainer, exercise bike).  So I was cramming {which I am very good at...in whatever I'm doing}.

First was the Thanksgiving Point Half-Marathon.  I have never enjoyed running in the past, but I have never really given it a fair chance.  Turns out, once I ran regularly for a few weeks, I realized it isn't completely miserable.  Just a little.  I'm not a runner.  But I did it enough to be able to enjoy the race a little bit.  Originally I was going to do the Utah Valley half with 2 of my sister-in-laws, but when I discovered we were going to be out of town I registered for this one...it was close and nice scenery.  I had already committed in my mind so I had to follow-through.  Despite the SNOW that morning and the fact that I'm a total rookie, I managed to have a good race experience.  I think I finished in 2:08.  I probably could have gone a bit faster, but I wasn't sure how fast to run for the first half because I had yet to run more than 8 miles total {which I did twice} in my life.  Just inexperienced and little time to train.  The best part of the day was when I turned the last corner and heard my name and saw 2 of my best friends cheering me on at the finish!  BS was out of town and my parents had my kids so they came to support me.  Thanks girls!

Look at the snow on these tulips - race was during the Tulip Festival

Finish line in sight!

I love these girls!

Next was Goldilocks.  This is a fantastic, organized, "cute" event that starts and finishes in Daybreak.  By cute I mean cute shirts, cute water bottles, cute decorations, cute and yummy food {including homemade cookies}, and a cute necklace at the finish line.  We all decided to stick together and rode 68 miles.  It was perfect weather and a great time with friends!

Then it was the dreaded triathlon.  I've only done this once before {3 years ago} and crossed it off of my list so I don't know why I signed-up.  Probably because some friends were doing it and I figured I would only need to worry about the swim.  And this time it was in a pool.  The "Women of Steel" event is in American Fork and is women only.  It was actually pretty nice...good weather and a course that was pretty flat.  Of course the swimming was a joke on my end but once that part was over it was great!  BS even surprised me by showing up for support and taking pictures.  I'll leave the ones that involve swim caps, goggles, and skinnies out :)

Quite a sight - hundred of women in a pool at the same time.  Don't judge my form :)

Coming into transition from biking to running

Clapping for myself at the finish!

Last, it was Little Red Riding Hood which starts and finishes near Logan.  I have done this ride twice before and it is always a great experience.  Nothing wrong with enjoying a nice meal with friends at Maddox on the drive up, staying at a hotel enjoying peace and quiet, yummy frozen yogurt for a good night snack, and riding 100 miles with thousands of women on a gorgeous route with perfect weather.   This is also very organized with a really cute theme each year.  Awesome aid stations and cute bike chain bracelet at the finish.

 I'm proud of our group's efforts and for finishing all together!  Thanks friends!

And thanks BS for your help so I can do these fun events!

Field Trips x 3

In May,  I was lucky to be able to go on 3 field trips...1 with Sambo and 2 with Millie.

The first was with the 5th graders - went to the Bean Museum at BYU.  BS and I used to take the kids there but it has been a few years since we last went...I forgot how fun that place is for the kids.  Almost as good as Cabelas :)

Quincy got to come with us too and of course she was the center of attention.  Millie's friends adored her!  She loved seeing all of the animals and especially having our picnic lunch with all of the big kids.  Here we are on the bus ride down:

The boys and girls in her group thought this animal was hilarious!  

Quin kept petting and talking to this lion

Then the following week I joined the 3rd graders on a trip to The Discovery Gateway Museum downtown.  We have been there several times but it is always fun and we love how they switch it up every few months.  

We also got to go to the Planetarium to explore and watch a movie on the IMAX about space.  At one point I caught myself drifting off to sleep - I was slightly embarrassed until I looked around and found that most of the other adults in the room were sleeping too :)  Something about sitting back in a recliner in the dark at 1:00 in the afternoon.

The next 5th grade field trip was something extra special: an overnighter at Clear Creek Camp near Schofield, Utah.  It is the Outdoor Education Camp for the Alpine School District.  The 5th grade gets to go here each year and stay for 2 days.  It is something they all look forward to.  I can't believe I didn't any pictures except for this one of Millie showing the group flag.  Our group was called the Pillow Pets.  Such an adorable group of girls!  We conquered a ropes course, played Survivor, kickball, learned boondoggle, performed skits, made up cheers, etc.  Reminded me a lot of girl's camp.  So fun!

In all 3 instances, I really enjoyed watching my 2 kids interact with their friends and peers.  And I am thrilled that they still want me to go on field trips with them!  And they want to sit by me on the bus!  And they want to eat lunch with me!  I know this won't last much longer, especially with the older 2 kids, but I am enjoying it while it lasts.

PS: Meanwhile, back at the school, Will was playing piano for his class talent show.  I kept getting text messages from my friend that went something like this:

"Will is playing a Christmas song"

"Now he is playing Row Row Row your boat"

"Now it's Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"

"Still playing"

-Apparently Will  was going through his whole book playing many many songs while everyone waited patiently.  So awesome - but too bad I wasn't there to stop him after 2 or 3 songs!