Phone pictures....
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| "I don't need to go potty!" |
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| (the younger kids didn't enjoy walking through acres and acres of gardens as much as the rest of us - this big slide was their favorite part of the adventure) |
Tulip Festival
Ben's brother John and niece were in town over Easter weekend for FanX and we loved getting to hang out with them! While Cassy was out at the Comic Convention on Saturday afternoon we took Cassy to the Gardens at Thanksgiving Point for the Tulip Festival. It was a beautiful day and the gardens were gorgeous. Cat had a great time getting pictures with the big camera (and I took just a few):
Pinewood Derby the Third
At last month's Pack Meeting, Jack received his Webelos patch AND the Pack's honored Spirit Staff. He added a miniature "I Survived" book to the staff to commemorate his month-long possession, which mostly meant that the staff was in the garage so the kids wouldn't cause any harm to themselves or others or the house.
Now I find myself wondering... is this the last Pinewood Derby our family will ever participate in? Will the new whatever-replaces-Cub-Scouts program include this beloved (if not by parents, at least by boys) tradition?
This month's Pack Meeting was the Pinewood Derby, which the kids were really excited about. This Pack distributes a kit to each Cub Scout and a second kit to each family who has younger siblings who want to race. Jack made drawings for his car, and he and Eliza were both really excited about getting the cars ready. Ben took all three younger kids to a neighbor's house who'd offered to help everyone cut the cars, then Ben helped the kids sand and paint the cars and get them weighted and aligned.
The kids were pumped for the Pinewood Derby last week. Ben was out of town and I had to be in Salt Lake to rehearse for the TabChoir Easter Concert, so I just stayed long enough to see Jack compete in his first race, then pick Eliza up at gymnastics and bring her to the church, then I left. (Thank you to Jack's Den leader who took some pictures of the racing and sent them to me!) Jack lost the first race, and most of the races, but he still had a lot of fun. Eliza and Luke enjoyed competing too. From the time the weigh-in started to the time the kids started going home was two hours and 15 minutes. And there were only about 10 Cub Scouts (and less than 10 sibling cars) present. Each car did a LOT of racing.
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| (That night, Jack also received a couple more awards.) |
Now I find myself wondering... is this the last Pinewood Derby our family will ever participate in? Will the new whatever-replaces-Cub-Scouts program include this beloved (if not by parents, at least by boys) tradition?
Spring 2019 Piano Pieces
I've been slow to put this post together because the point of "completion" for these piano pieces was pretty drawn out between the three kids, and I recorded them each multiple times so I needed to go back and decide which videos to use.
Eliza was ready first, doing a great job at the solo festival at the beginning of February and the recital in mid-February. Her challenge after that was to keep playing her pieces well during her practice sessions so that she could perform them at our little recital at Oma's in April. She learned "Ride, Ride" by Kabalevsky and "The March of the Three Kings." (no video).
Cat didn't work as hard as she could have to prepare her pieces during the months she was learning them, and a basketball-induced jammed finger didn't help at all. But she buckled down and worked really hard 1-2 weeks before the festival and ended up playing pretty well. Unfortunately, another jammed finger just before the recital kept her from performing there. Once she recovered from that, she worked on the pieces some more in order to perform them at Oma's, and the residents loved her performance. The whole experience was a great lesson in 1) the importance of working hard when you have the chance and 2) finding out what you're capable of by really pushing yourself.
Jack also didn't work as hard as he could have on his two pieces. When it came time for the festival, one was pretty good but the other was only partially learned. Eleven days later he was able to play the entire second piece at the recital, but it wasn't solid. By the time Oma's recital rolled around, Jack knew it really well and he did a good job on his performance. His pieces were "Tarantella" by Prokofiev (which Cat played several years ago) and "Carnival" by Couperin (no video).
Eliza was ready first, doing a great job at the solo festival at the beginning of February and the recital in mid-February. Her challenge after that was to keep playing her pieces well during her practice sessions so that she could perform them at our little recital at Oma's in April. She learned "Ride, Ride" by Kabalevsky and "The March of the Three Kings." (no video).
Cat didn't work as hard as she could have to prepare her pieces during the months she was learning them, and a basketball-induced jammed finger didn't help at all. But she buckled down and worked really hard 1-2 weeks before the festival and ended up playing pretty well. Unfortunately, another jammed finger just before the recital kept her from performing there. Once she recovered from that, she worked on the pieces some more in order to perform them at Oma's, and the residents loved her performance. The whole experience was a great lesson in 1) the importance of working hard when you have the chance and 2) finding out what you're capable of by really pushing yourself.
Jack also didn't work as hard as he could have on his two pieces. When it came time for the festival, one was pretty good but the other was only partially learned. Eleven days later he was able to play the entire second piece at the recital, but it wasn't solid. By the time Oma's recital rolled around, Jack knew it really well and he did a good job on his performance. His pieces were "Tarantella" by Prokofiev (which Cat played several years ago) and "Carnival" by Couperin (no video).
Uptown Girl
I love Cat. I've always loved Cat. But as she grows up, I find that I also just like her more and more. Recent development: Cat has decided that she's tired of the current popular music that she's been plugged into for the last few years. It's boring, and there's too much cursing.
So she's been building up a new playlist that consists mostly of 80s music. And she can't believe that her friends don't know some of the "awesome" songs she now plays on repeat. And she did this without any prompting or advice from me. Isn't she great?
So she's been building up a new playlist that consists mostly of 80s music. And she can't believe that her friends don't know some of the "awesome" songs she now plays on repeat. And she did this without any prompting or advice from me. Isn't she great?
Fun with Luke
Have you ever noticed that when you put your nose to someone else's nose and look at each other's eyes it looks like the other person has just one eye? Luke and I started calling this a Cyclops Kiss. He showed Eliza how to do it.
Luke put together a store because he got a printout of small paper bills at school and enjoyed cutting them up and figuring out how they should be used. He and I made a couple of signs for his store, Chick McWhy, then he was the store operator and I was the customer buying toys, chicken nuggets (cost: $30), milkshakes (cost: $1), hamburgers (cost: $10), and fry-swords (cost: $3).
A couple of days later, Luke had left his money out and Jack tore it when he was upset about something. I insisted Jack tape it back together, and when I saw how Jack taped it, I tried to have him re-do it, correctly. I looked to Luke for backup but when I asked him what he thought about his money looking like this, he said it was "awesome."
Weekend Happenings
Well, we had a good weekend, though I have very few pictures to show for it.
Cat went on a field trip to the Salt Flats, which was really just for fun. She loved using my big camera to take pictures of her friends, then edit and send out the pics. She lamented that it took so long to edit and share the pictures, thinking she has a taste of what it would be like to work as a photographer.
That afternoon we had the cousins on Ben's side come over to play. The toddler wasn't able to come, which made Eliza really sad, but lots of basketball and "Cover Your Assets" and other fun helped to make up for it.
On Saturday we were mostly hanging out around the house. We all took it easy in the morning, took our time doing cleaning jobs, and Ben bought a used mower so we could finally cut the grass at the house. All three older kids were anxious to mow-for-money and it only took about an hour and a half to finish the front and back.
That evening we finally had our traditional Conference Crepes (circumstances the weekend of conference prevented it), which were a hit, then we finally watched a couple of episodes of "I Love Lucy," which I'd been hoping to watch with the kids during Spring Break. They loved it! And they asked if we could watch more the next day. Success!
On Sunday afternoon all of the extended family (except one cousin) on my side came over for dinner and it was so much fun. It was the first time we've all been together in a while, even though we all live along the Wasatch front. It's always a riot when there's a big group of us together - I haven't laughed that much in a long time. AND I met my cousin's fiance. It was a great dinner.
Cat went on a field trip to the Salt Flats, which was really just for fun. She loved using my big camera to take pictures of her friends, then edit and send out the pics. She lamented that it took so long to edit and share the pictures, thinking she has a taste of what it would be like to work as a photographer.
That afternoon we had the cousins on Ben's side come over to play. The toddler wasn't able to come, which made Eliza really sad, but lots of basketball and "Cover Your Assets" and other fun helped to make up for it.
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| Lazy Saturday Morning |
On Saturday we were mostly hanging out around the house. We all took it easy in the morning, took our time doing cleaning jobs, and Ben bought a used mower so we could finally cut the grass at the house. All three older kids were anxious to mow-for-money and it only took about an hour and a half to finish the front and back.
That evening we finally had our traditional Conference Crepes (circumstances the weekend of conference prevented it), which were a hit, then we finally watched a couple of episodes of "I Love Lucy," which I'd been hoping to watch with the kids during Spring Break. They loved it! And they asked if we could watch more the next day. Success!
On Sunday afternoon all of the extended family (except one cousin) on my side came over for dinner and it was so much fun. It was the first time we've all been together in a while, even though we all live along the Wasatch front. It's always a riot when there's a big group of us together - I haven't laughed that much in a long time. AND I met my cousin's fiance. It was a great dinner.
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