Go the Distance

Today the kids and I attended the annual track meet for our city's three elementary schools.

Daniel had no interest in participating, but Joy competed in the long jump, then after the younger kids had finished their shorter races she lined up for her turn running the 100m dash.

And they're off!  Joy finished dead last in her heat, but she had a smile on her face.

After that race I thought it was time for us to go home, since Joy had only signed up for those two events, but she told me she'd really like to run the 400m as well.  She noticed in practice that many other girls got tired out before she did when they ran around the track, so she thought she might do better in the distance race than she did in the sprint.

Joy spoke to one of the officials at the track meet and persuaded them to let her run in the 400m.  About an hour later, she lined up with eight other girls in one of the 400m heats.  Daddy arrived just in time to cheer her on and video the whole thing.

Joy spent most of the race somewhere in the middle of the pack, then sure enough, some of the other racers started to slow down and she began passing them.

On the home stretch it looked like she was going to earn a respectable fourth place, but with a big burst of speed at the end she passed the girl in front of her and placed third.

This track meet awarded three medals for every heat, so Joy had earned her place on the podium.  We were all pretty excited.

A Tour of South Pasadena

Today I helped chaperone Joy's class on a field trip.

Their teacher led them on a walking tour of our city, stopping periodically to tell them interesting facts about some of the older buildings. 

Highlights included the Rialto theater (parts of which have appeared in numerous movies and TV shows) . . .

. . . the century-old Fair Oaks Pharmacy and Soda Fountain (which serves a delicious banana split) . . .

. . . the Walking Man statue at the train station . . .

. . . and a cross marking the site where Spanish monks supposedly held the first Easter celebration in California.

Joy also asked me to snap a picture of our street, just for good measure.  It may not be featured on a typical tour of our city, but it's historically significant to us. :)

The Best-Dressed Creeper in Town

Joy made a felt coat for her Creeper and a little necklace for her snake Tourmaline this week . . .

. . . then she invited her well-dressed friends to join us for lunch today.

Vintage Cars

Phillip was going through some old boxes last night and found a couple of pinewood derby cars from his cub scout days.

We thought our little wheel toy boy might enjoy them, and sure enough, Todd has had a great time playing with Daddy's old cars today.

Losing Our Marbles

Joy brought some marbles home from Activity Days this week, and asked me to teach her how to play marbles.  I did my best to remember the rules my dad taught me when I was a kid . . .

. . . and the whole family has gotten into playing marbles this weekend.

We use a pretty small circle, since the kids are still learning how to shoot straight.

It's always a bummer when your shooter gets stuck in the ring.

Spring Break

We had a low-key but fun spring break this week.

The kids went scooting at Lacey Park.

Joy got stuck in a tree and I had to help her down.

One of the kids took random pictures with my camera (this shot is surely entitled, "The Cupboard Beyond the Chair").

Last but not least, Joy used some components from our Engineering Ants game to build a flying contraption for her toy Creeper.  Off he goes, into the wild green yonder!

Conference Bingo and an Art Lesson

We spent a wonderful General Conference weekend at the cabin with Papa, Red Grandma, Aunt Heather, and Jacob.  It was one of the most uplifting General Conferences I can remember, and I especially appreciated Elder Holland's talk at the very end.  Just as I was beginning to wonder how I would hang on to the inspiring messages I heard when the distractions of normal life set in tomorrow, he addressed that very concern and reminded us that God doesn't expect us to become perfect all at once.  He merely asks us to improve one step at a time, and even if we stumble He gives us credit for trying.

Every Conference I try to find ways to make the experience fun and engaging for my kids.  This time I gave them Conference Bingo cards (with a word like "Faith" or "Prayer" in each box), and let them use coins for markers when a speaker said one of their words.  I told the kids they could keep any of the coins on their cards once the session was over.  Joy and Anna got really into it, but Daniel decided he'd rather play board games by himself.  I feel a little guilty about essentially bribing my kids to listen to the prophet and apostles of God, but I see it as a stepping stone toward listening to the talks for their own sake.  If you have another approach that works for your kids, I'd love to hear it.

Between sessions, Papa taught Joy how to draw two-point perspective pictures . . .

. . . while Red Grandma played foosball . . .

. . . and read a few stories.  I love Conference weekend. :)