Fundraiser ~ Katie's Story ~ Mother's Day

 Our ward held a fundraising dinner and silent auction to raise money for the young men and young women.  They asked the youth to donate something or some type of service for ward members to bid on.  Katherine donated a night of babysitting and Kyle donated a homemade cake.  I made one of my most intense and delicious recipes.  He helped me cut the layers and make the filling and ganache frosting.  He wanted cut up candy bars to decorate the top and chocolate chips surrounding the bottom.  It turned out quite well.  He had a few bids and raised $15.  Katie raised $13 for her babysitting services.

 Katherine wrote a great story titled "The Day my School Supplies Quit".  It was a school wide competition for a storytelling festival.  She had to memorize her original story and present it her class.  She won her class title and then went on to win the 6th grade title.  She was picked among 4 students to win the school title.  She presented her story to the whole school.  I was surprised to see how well she composed herself.  Her story was very creative and made the kids laugh.  I was impressed, also with how well she memorized her story.  

Caleb gave me this bag with two huge muffins inside.  It was accompanied by a cute story they wrote about giving a mom a muffin.  (Similar to "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie".)  

The bag is decorated so cute.  It says, "One for mom and one for me."

 For Mother's Day my mom invited us down for a nice dinner.  I appreciated her gesture and it was so nice not to have to prepare a whole meal and entertain my kids.  

They loved playing with Winky.  She's a celebrity.

She has taken a liking to Caleb.  She doesn't crawl onto many laps.  She gets too nervous.  However, she kept coming back to Caleb.

 We played Ticket To Ride after dinner.  None of us could remember the rules so it was a slow start as we tried to figure out how to play.  Soon, we started to catch on to strategies and it got more competitive.  Gma and Kyle took turns knocking eachother's trains off the claimed routes.  

Alas, Katie and Dad beat us all. 

Josh Mission Prep

Josh has been working on the preparation steps for serving an LDS mission.  To sumbit his paperwork, they want a picture of you dressed and groomed to mission standards.  This meant his blonde locks had to go.  He asked that we wait until after Prom.  Here he is waiting for his cut.

Here is the final result.  It was quite a change but I think he'll get used to it.

By now, you are well aware of my photography skills deficit.  I asked a neighbor to take the required picture for us.  She did a great job and we have a few more to choose from that he can put in his mission plaque that sits outside our ward offices.

We are so proud of the decisions he is making.  He has turned into quite an incredible young man.  

We are very grateful for the good examples he has in his family, neighborhood, and friends.  

One of the last steps he needed to take care of was to get his Widsom Teeth removed.  After the surgery, he was still quite drugged up.  He kept saying that there was no way the dr could remove 4 teeth in that short of a time.  He felt like he was under for 5 minutes when he was actually there for 30.  He was mad at the long strings attached to the gauze.  He was SUPER mad that his mom wouldn't let him walk to the house by himself.  It was hard to keep a hold of a strong and determined 17 year old.  

He has recovered very well.  

Here's a picture of his swollen chipmunk cheeks.

Tiffany Lamps ~ Coco Guitar ~ Josh Denist Helper ~ Special Olympics ~ Read With Me ~ Life Skills FHE

The BYU art museum had a Tiffany exhibit.  There were lamps, windows, and murals.  We've never seen one.  They were incredible!  We took a quick selfie and it looks crappy but memories can be shared even if you look a little odd.

Blake has loved the movie Coco.  He finds the small guitar and plays along.  I tried to show him the correct way to hold it but he prefers to hold it the opposite way.

Josh went in for his mission prep dental exam.  Blake was a sweet helper and made sure Josh wasn't scared.  Who looks more nervous?

We got Caleb back to Special Olympics for softball and track season.  He picked softball over track.  To get him to go to the first practice, I had to tell him we would just sit in the car and observe.  After a few minutes I got him out of the car and he even went to bat a few times.                                                

The next week they practiced on an actual field.  They had the players practice hitting the ball off a tee 6 times.  Then, they would have them run the bases.  Caleb has seen too many of his brothers' baseball games.  Caleb would hit the ball and run all the way home.  The UVU volunteers had a blast watching him.

Katie had her 6th grade "Read With Me".  Formerly Moms and Muffins or Dads and Donuts.  Blake loved having Katie read to him.

In preparation for Josh to leave the nest, we have been having "Life Skills" FHE lessons.  This time, I taught them how to thread a needle. knot the end, how to sew on a button, knot the thread before cutting it off, fix a tie that has come loose, and use a hidden stitch to close a ripped seam.  

The kids took pictures for me.  I'd like to say that my pictures are much better but you saw the first picture of this post.

April Fools Day ~ Easter ~ Backpacking Trip

Easter and April Fool's landed on the same day, this year.  The Easter Bunny was busy preparing her 2 oldest boys for a 4 day backpacking trip with their Aunt and Uncle.  The kids were lucky to get their baskets.  We didn't find time to color any eggs.  I hope the kids forgive her.

We woke up to the kids playing tricks on us.  The first of many, was an attack of bugs and critters.

The Easter Bunny left the baskets so Mom could write their riddles.  This year, Mom made the riddles only out of emojis.  

We went to Payson, the next day, to have an Easter egg hunt and to fly kites.  Grandma and Grandpa Clark's backyard is perfect for hiding plenty of eggs.

Josh and Kyle left on the 1st for a backpacking trip to a place called "The Little Grand Canyon".  They went with my sister, her husband, and their daughter.  It took a lot of work to prepare two boys for a trip at the same time.  When they had their packs ready, Blake and Caleb wanted to try carrying them.  

St. George Dance Competition~Josh Antics

 Katie competed in 3 competitions this year with her Junior Elite team.  Katie and I got to drive to St. George for a weekend in April.  We stayed in a small condo even though we only spent a few hours there.  The rest of the time was at the competition or in the pool with her friends.

Katie is 5th from the left in this picture.

Some days, we think we can't live without Josh.  Some days, we know we will be just fine without him bugging everyone 24/7.

Here, he planted Caleb on his shoulders.  Caleb was half giggling, half screaming.   

 I can't remember what Kyle did to deserve this but does it matter.  It was fun to watch.  I intervened before he dragged him down the stairs.

Josh was annoyed when Katie was practicing her piano.  He asked her to play quieter.....She played louder and was smirking at her funny idea.  Josh got out his electric guitar and started playing.  LOUDLY!

She didn't stop so he had to turn up the volume.  

Look at Katie's face.  What do you think she was thinking?  

I think she was looking at me hoping I'd intervene.  I couldn't.  I was laughing to hard.  It was SOOOOO loud and SOOOOO funny.