Running with Joy

Joy and Daniel both signed up for the annual elementary-age track meet at the local high school this year.  Joy's relay team won a gold medal last year, and she's pretty excited that she gets to try events like long jump and shot put as a third grader next year.

This was Daniel's first year of eligibility for the track meet.  He was interested in it when we signed up, but when we arrived at the actual field to practice he wanted nothing to do with it.  His big sister took him under her wing, though, and persuaded him to come out onto the field to stretch.

Soon they were running the warm-up lap hand-in-hand . . . 

. . . and Daniel even ran in a couple practice races.

Joy ran about twice as many practice races.  She really had a good time.  

The actual track meet was today, and Daniel decided not to go, after all.  Phillip accompanied Joy (and didn't take any pictures, alas), and she was a disappointed that she didn't win a medal this time.  Still, I really admire her willingness to try lots of different things, and to encourage her reluctant brother to try them, too.  She truly is a joyful influence in our family.

Super!

OK, I just gotta say it:

My kids are super!

Amanda's Baptism

Uncle Rob's girlfriend Amanda was baptized today.

Um, honey, I'm trying to take a sweet, reverent picture here.

Flat Stacy attended the service with us . . .

. . . and Daniel had a great time playing with Amanda's son Ethan.

Then we all went to BJs for dinner, and the kids had a blast playing with the restaurant's revolving door.

Flat Stacy

Joy's class is doing a "flat sibling" project, inspired by the Flat Stanley books. Each student drew a fictional sibling, which was laminated and cut out, and then the students were assigned to write  adventures for their flat siblings, preferably with photos or illustrations.

Joy drew a sister named Stacy who is 16 years old, very curious and observant, and fond of bragging about being the oldest child in our family.  Oddly, for her story Joy decided to make all the kids in our family four years older than they are, and she made Anna a witch.

Here is Stacy, entering the Mechanical Museum on a field trip, where her curiosity about a machine will lead to her falling in and being pressed flat.  Stacy thinks being flat is pretty cool, and even uses her new shape to help out our family's fictional cat Shiny in Joy's second chapter.  In the final chapter, Stacy will get tired of being flat and ask Anna the witch to cast a spell changing her back to normal.  Anna will kindly oblige . . .

. . . but being a somewhat absentminded witch, she'll accidentally change Stacy into a frog before finally getting the spell right.  It's hard to find good help these days.

A Temple and Lots of Games

We watched the Sunday sessions of General Conference at Pink Grandma's home today.  One of my favorite parts of today's sessions was when the Prophet announced that the Church will construct a temple in Haiti's capital.  I have had a soft spot in my heart for Haiti ever since I donated to its relief following the 2010 earthquake.  I am thrilled to know that the people of that impoverished country, who struggle to meet their families' most basic needs, will be able to receive the peace, inspiration, and sacred covenants of the temple.  I'm sure many families there who could never afford to travel to a temple abroad are excited to be sealed together for eternity.

As for the kids, Daniel spent Conference playing Sorry! against himself . . .

. . . and at some point in the day Joy made herself a St. Lucia crown like she read about in an American Girl book.

After Conference, we played croquet with Aunt Lara and her boyfriend Justin . . .

. . . then we bashed an Easter pinata or two. :)

Conference Saturday 2015

It's General Conference weekend, and we spent the day up at the cabin with Papa, Red Grandma, Uncle Rob, and his girlfriend Amanda.

Todd thinks the best part of the cabin is the stairs, no contest.

The big kids played a lot of Candyland (Joy made sure her Creeper felt included) . . .

. . . and Joy and Papa played "Backwards Chess," where you have to capture an opponent's piece if you possibly can, and the object is to get all your pieces captured first.  Papa did his best to coach Joy on the game's strategy, but she still lost by a lot.  After that they played regular chess, and she held her own a lot better.

During the Conference sessions, Joy colored pictures of each speaker, and wrote brief notes on what each one spoke about.  I found the sessions inspiring, as always.

After Conference, the kids were treated to an Easter egg hunt.

That bunny hid some of those eggs in the darnedest places.

After that we played hopscotch.  The end.