Conference Weekend

Friday morning started with a bang, with a fun tradition at the older kids' school called "Dancing with the Teachers." Groups/teams/classes put dances together and perform them for the whole school, and it's so fun. Cat was in 3 groups this year: the MS girls' soccer team (which she helps coach), her art class, and the HS boys' soccer team (which she helps manage). Liza practices with the MS girls' soccer team so she was in the first dance too.

For the MS girls' soccer team routine, they used the moves from the "Just Dance"
video for "You Don't Know You're Beautiful" by One Direction. My girls have
been doing this dance for years, so they were probably the most confident dancers
in the group. Can you see both of them in this picture?

The HS boys' soccer team danced to a medley from
The Greatest Showman and rocked it!

They absolutely deserved their big win.

Liza tried out a bonus dance move after the performances.

Then that afternoon, Suz arrived from St. George
and I drove the two of them to the airport so they could
go on their long-awaited trip to Italy!

I had too much of a tickle in my throat for comfort Saturday
morning, so I stayed home from Conference that day.
We enjoyed the sun and did sidewalk chalk for a bit between sessions.
I took it easy that day, drank lemon ginger tea and Airborne water,
gargled salt water, and hoped and prayed that I'd be
well enough to sing on Sunday.

This is what happens when we have Sweetarts Ropes in the house.

Elder Renlund does not approve.

Since it was April Fool's Day, I had to play a joke.
I cut out a bunch of E's using brown construction paper,
then asked the kids if they wanted a Brown E? They did, so I handed
them out. The joke was on me when Luke started eating his.

I was feeling better on Sunday, and I got permission to sing in
MSW and General Conference, and I was so glad! I loved being there
and performing the music I'd been rehearsing, bearing witness
of my Savior in song. "I Believe in Christ" was definitely the highlight.

I drove straight from the Conference Center to the airport to meet
this crazy crew and begin our Spring Break Disney adventure!

Before We Leave March

There are a couple of quick things I want to add to the blog for March. First and foremost - entertainment courtesy of Liza (and her oral surgeon) after she got her wisdom teeth out. I apologize that a lot of what she says is hard to understand. It would be a better video if I added CC but if I wait until I get around to doing that, I'll never post it. Hopefully you'll be able to understand enough to get a laugh out of it.

Also, I found these pictures that Luke drew during Sacrament Meeting. (I'm pretty sure this was in March, though there's a chance it was earlier in the year.) You might get a laugh out of these as well.

Ski Pics!

 Ben, Cat, and Liza did some skiing this winter and here are some pictures to prove it!

Cat and Liza:

Cat and Robert:

Ben and Liza:

Something New

Every so often I'll ask Luke what sport he'd like to play. Last year, the answer was hockey. I looked into it and found out that before you can play hockey, you need to take a few rounds of ice skating lessons. Luke thought about starting lessons but ultimately decided he didn't want to.

But this winter, he decided to go for it. He attended a round of lessons at Provo's Peaks Ice Arena and loved it! By the time his 6 weeks were over he felt pretty comfortable on the ice and passed the first level class.

The Chicken Chronicles 3.31.23

Our hens' egg production started dropping soon after Bandit was re-homed and by winter, it was pretty much at zero.

In February, Ben talked to a neighbor with chickens who was adamant that big feed stores added something to their chicken feed that made chickens stop laying eggs and if we would buy feed from a smaller feed store that made their own mix, our hens would start laying again. Ben laughed at this conspiracy theory.... but figured we had nothing to lose by trying. And whattaya know? Almost as soon as he switched their feed, they started laying again. Within a few weeks, Jack's egg selling business was back on and he was making weekly deliveries to the family next door.

I like seeing the chicken tracks in the snow.

Two weeks ago, tragedy struck. Jack's beloved hen Felix, the Rhode Island Red (third from the right in the below picture) passed away. She'd been acting off for a little while, and Ben and Jack had cleaned up her rear end where poop had accumulated, hoping that would help. But just a couple of days later she didn't go into the coop at night and Ben found her dead on the ground. It was very cold that night, so we don't know if she froze to death or died from some other sickness. We were all sad, but Jack was the most affected. He handled it pretty well, but it definitely bothered him. She was so mild-mannered and a great little buddy for Jack - and a dependable layer.

The whole brood in Oct. 2022

We're down to 6 hens now.

March Miscellany

Luke discovered a keyboard feature on the Tesla and
asked if he could practice piano in the car

The older kids didn't have school during the Juniors' ACT day, so I
took them up to Bountiful Temple to do baptisms. Liza was still recovering
from her volleyball tournament and opted to stay home to rest.

During an unexpected long weekend for Luke and his schoolmates
(days that had been set aside as make-up days for snow days) we had
two of his friends over, and Malachi!

They managed to behead Hector.

We tried to go ice skating as a family one day in March but the
rink was closed "due to inclement weather." We ended up going
for a little walk along the Provo River Parkway, which was also fun,
and much more safe, and provided a better opportunity to talk.

Then dinner at a hamburger place we first enjoyed on the North Shore
of Oahu but which has a location in Provo. Pictured: Paniolo Fries

Luke and I made a paper chain to count down
to his birthday next month.

Liza really enjoyed her Kneaders tomato
soup bread bowl.

It was an epic battle.

Origami flower-making

This was the extent of our St. Patrick's Day celebration: Lucky Charms for breakfast.
(Ben was out of town, and I was focused on Liza getting her wisdom teeth out that day.)

 I like to call this photo Improvisation.

Jack had a sick day.

Cat didn't pack a lunch that day, so Jack and I brought lunch to her
and we ate in the car in the school parking lot. Here she's showing off
her weaving project for her artisan crafts class.

Ben, Luke, and I made playdough for him to take to school for a project.

And he came home with this!

I love Delicate Arch :-)

Oh, wait, did it snow again?

Cousin playdate at Airborne trampoline park

Luke riding on the punching bag zipline thing.

Jack loved just running across the trampoline floor.

We saw Titanic at HCTS and it was so cool!

Luke taught us a new card game called Trash and we're hooked.

Ben made a yummy dinner using his new smoker.

Cat braided Jack's hair.

He was a good sport.

Liza wanted to do Luke's hair too.

He wasn't as cooperative.