Bean Museum

Today we went to BYU's Bean Museum with our friends, the Denneys. I have never taken the kids, and so I'm glad that the Denneys invited us to go. We all had a great time!

We had a great time looking at all of the different animals. Benjamin has loved Cheetahs for a few years now, and so he and Joshua really enjoyed looking at the animals from the African savannah.

Elizabeth was excited about every animal and loved being with Izzy. Nathan especially loved the "bug room".

We dig, dig, dig!

We have lived in our house for almost five years. The lots behind us have remained empty fields, until just a few months ago. With summer and the desire for shade approaching, and now the possibility of people being able to look into our backyard easily from their house, I realized it is time for some trees in the back. Of course, I should have planned for this years ago so that the trees would be larger and provide more shade and privacy by now! Oh well!


Last week I bought a flowering plum and a flowering pear tree. Today for Memorial Day, Ryan and the boys worked to plant the plum tree. And when I say worked, I mean that they spent hours and labored very hard to dig up the compacted and rocky soil. It was not at all easy!

Their hard work paid off, and the tree looks great! (I forgot to take pictures of the "after".) I think the plan is to plant the pear tree on Saturday. Thank you, Ryan, for working so hard to make me happy!

Dance Festival

Today was the last day of school . . . already! Every year Provost has a dance festival: the parents come watch each grade perform a dance, and then everyone goes home for the summer. So really the last day of school only lasts about 90 minutes!

Before the dancing started, I thanked all of the parents on behalf of the PTA. Then I "passed the baton" on to next year's president.

 

The fourth graders have been learning the violin this year. They performed a few songs for everyone to start off the festival. Nathan is in the middle of this picture with the star in the middle of his cowboy hat.

 

It was a rainy day and we were all concerned about how we would get through all of the dances -- there is just not enough room to move it all to the gym. Many parents had umbrellas and jackets, and we prayed that the rain would not turn into a downpour. Thankfully, the rain stayed fairly light until we were done, and then it got heavy!

Joshua and the kindergarteners performed the Macarena.

 Joshua stands out in his blue jacket

Benjamin and the 2nd graders performed a Snowman medley. Second grade does it every year and it is always my favorite!

We sat on the side, but from the front you'd be able to tell that the kids are holding the different parts of the snowman. Of course, Benjamin is in the front!

Nathan and the 4th graders did line dancing to the Boot Scoot Boogie. Then everyone was invited to dance with them.

Hey batter batter!

Baseball season is in full-swing! Nathan has two games, plus one to two practices each week. It keeps us busy, but it is fun and he loves it!

So far he's done fairly well with batting. He has a good enough eye that he can usually either hit the ball or get walked.

at bat; he's number 2 this season

waiting at 1st base

coming up on 3rd base

Tumbling Tots

Elizabeth is taking the Tumbling Tots class from Provo city, and she loves it! She gets to go twice a week for about 7 weeks. Her teacher Miss Janice is wonderful, and the kids get to do things like a small balance beam, forward rolls, head stands, swinging on a bar, the parachute, and jumping on a little trampoline.

Her best friend, Izzy, is also in the class. Joshua is not enrolled, but he gets to watch since he is not in kindergarten during that time. Sometimes Miss Janice will let Joshua participate if some of the other kids don't show up :)

Elizabeth has always been full of energy, and I love that Tumbling Tots is a positive way for her to get that energy out! She has no fear, and loves doing every activity!

Solar System Savvy

Last month, Benjamin presented his Great Brain project to his class. Today he received his medal and certificate at a school assembly.

His Great Brain was titled "Our Solar System." He loves to read about outer space, and he did an amazing job researching about all of the planets. For his presentation, he talked about each planet individually. He was able to share facts about size, number of moons, and average temperatures -- all by memory!

He created this drawing to show his knowledge of the order of the planets and their sizes.

sharing about Venus

answering questions from the class

 receiving his award from the principal

Eventful

Today the boys and I stayed busy -- we attended 2 different events happening through Provo City. (Ryan stayed home with a napping Elizabeth.) First, we went to the library for the Children's Book Festival. Each of the boys got to choose a free book. There were various authors and illustrators that were doing book signings, and we stopped to watch an illustrator, Guy Francis, in action.

It turned out that we inadvertently had gotten in line for the boys to request a drawing to take home! It was amazing to see how fast he could draw, and the boys love how their drawings turned out!

There were also various crafts and activities for the children to do. They made capes, bookmarks, and Skippy Jon Jones masks. There was also a game similar to Four Square.

When we were done at the library, we headed a few blocks southwest to the grand opening of the Utah Valley Convention Center. We ate free hot dogs and chips, and toured the new building. It is beautiful!

beautiful view from the terrace

Read Like an Egyptian

Last night Nathan and I attended an event with Rick Riordan. He is the author of many, many books: Percy Jackson series, Kane Chronicles, Heroes of Olympus, and some of the 39 Clues. We are so fortunate to have an amazing public library that put on a fun event!

I've never read his books, but apparently the Kane Chronicles is Egyptian-themed, so the library staff dressed up accordingly. They even put on a mini show in costume before Rick Riordan came out.

Mr. Riordan was very entertaining! Even though I haven't read the books, I loved listening to his stories of how he started writing children's books, why his books are mythology-based, and even what some of his book covers look like in other countries and languages!

I also enjoyed getting to have some special one-on-one time with Nathan! I am grateful that he loves to read, and that we had a great evening together!