Thank You, Sweetheart!

As the mother of four children, I have a busy life, and there just isn't much I can delegate to other people.  When my husband asks how he can ease my load, I can rarely think of anything because most things on my long to-do list happen while he's at work.  Recently, though, I thought of something he could do that I would really, really appreciate.

I asked him to fix lunch on Sundays.  For some reason, I don't mind spending an hour cooking dinner, but I hate spending fifteen minutes planning and fixing lunch.  On the Day of Rest, it would be so nice to come home from church and just . . . rest, instead of scrambling to put food on the table for six hungry people.  So Phillip agreed to start fixing lunch on Sundays, and my Sabbath just became a whole lot more restful.  Thank you, Sweetheart.  I love you too.

P. S. You look handsome in your denim apron. ;)

Berry Picking

Playing at home is a nice way to spend most summer days, but now and then it's fun to get out and do something more memorable.

This morning, the kids and I headed to Verrill Farm, where you can pick your own strawberries. The girls went looking for ripe berries in one part of the field . . .

. . . while the boys teamed up in another part.  You can't see any other berry pickers in these photos, but there were dozens of other people there today.  The cashier encouraged us to look on the edges of the field, because the center aisles had already been picked clean.

We ate nearly as many berries as we put in our baskets, which is expected (and part of the fun).  Then I made the mistake of letting Joy hold one of the berry baskets on the drive home.  When we reached our apartment, her basket was half empty, and Joy said she was sick of strawberries.  That aversion didn't last long though. :)

A Special Town Meeting

I attended a special town meeting in the middle school gym this evening.  It was a really interesting experience with local politics and democracy in general.

A business from a neighboring town had circulated a petition that proposed a change to our town laws.  Representatives for each side presented their argument for or against the change . . .

. . . then any citizen who wanted to could walk up to a microphone and voice their opinions.  Most were against the proposal.  One person was for it.  One old guy just cracked a few jokes to make everyone laugh.  After a bunch of people had said their piece, a woman came to the microphone and proposed that we vote on the matter.  The person leading the meeting asked the crowd if we were ready to vote, and nearly everyone said, "Aye!"  Just like that, the discussion was over, and he put the proposal to a vote.

The vote-counting system was pretty unscientific.  The meeting leader asked who was in favor of the petition, then who was against it, and whichever group was louder won.  In this case, it was easy to tell--the nay-voting crowd was several times louder than the aye-voters.  The leader said the motion failed, then hundreds of people made a beeline for the doors to get out of that hot, muggy gym.

Blankets and Blog Photos

We're a few days into summer vacation, and the kids have found some creative uses for our blankets.

Last week they made up a game called "Ghosts."  It's like Marco Polo, only the person who's it wears a blanket over their head.  They talk to the other players, who must respond each time they're addressed, and the ghost follows the sound of their voice to try and tag them.  If a ghost tags you, you have to put on a blanket and become a ghost too.  The last person without a blanket wins.  That may be because we have four kids but only three beige blankets.

The kids also employed every blanket in the house to make a big tent fort.

Meanwhile, I was in the next room taking lots of pictures for my recipe blog.  I throw away ten or twenty photos for every good one I take, but I love how this gnocchi picture turned out. :)

An Out-of-State Organ

This morning we drove to New Hampshire for stake conference (a semi-annual meeting of several local congregations).  I still think it's kind of funny that we go to a whole other state for stake conference, even though it's just half an hour away.

Daniel's Sunday school teacher played the organ for this conference.  After the meeting ended, we went up to say hello, and she gave us a little demonstration of how the organ works.

Joy found it fascinating.

Todd's Musical Graduation

We attended Todd's preschool graduation this evening.  Daddy felt a bit of Mr. Incredible angst about calling it a "graduation," but he still came, and did his best to act like the whole thing wasn't totally irrational.  Thank you, Engineer Daddy. :)

Personally, I thought the ceremony was really fun.  The kids performed several songs their teachers had taught them.

Then they received a delightfully colorful diploma . . .

. . . and gathered for a class picture.

Thanks for everything Miss Julia and Miss Rochelle!  Todd had a great time in your class, and learned a lot about being a good friend to his classmates. :)

Clapping for Anna

School's out for summer!

Joy and I went to Anna's school this afternoon to cheer for Anna in her clap-off parade.  Our town has two elementary schools (one for grades K-2, another for grades 3-5), and it's traditional for family, friends, and younger students to applaud for the second graders on their last day at the younger school.

The dress code is casual, but that family in yellow decided to take things up a notch or two.  I'll bet I could've talked Joy into doing that with me, but I think Phillip would have been a hard sell.

It was sweet to see my daughters holding hands as we left Anna's (old) school.

They also found a tree to climb. :)

Then we picked up Todd and Daniel, and headed to the store for our annual end-of-school-year treat run.  I took the kids to Aldi, gave each of them a $3 limit, and let them choose anything they wanted.

Todd - Grabbed the first yummy thing he saw on a shelf (granola bars). 
Daniel - Opted for a sweet cereal.
Anna - Chose messy, totally-bad-for-you cheese puffs because her mother never buys them.
Joy - Methodically went through the entire store, and opted for a box of 8 ice cream sandwiches because she figured they would last her longer than a bag of chips or cookies. 
Mama - Bought some store brand knock-offs of Girl Scout Samoas, which are DEE-licious. 

Then we came home and traded with each other so everyone got to try everything (and all the kids got their fingers covered with messy fake cheese powder :P ).

Our Daddy Rocks

For Father's Day, I presented Daddy with what is quite possibly the most beautiful cake I have ever decorated.

Eat your heart out, Martha Stewart.  Actually, Sour Patch Kids are a surprisingly scrumptious addition to a frosted cake.  Also, the "I am clueless about CAKE" sign is Joy's addition.  It's an inside family Minecraft joke.

Last but not least, this painted stone was a Father's Day gift from Anna, because her daddy rocks.

Tennis and a Funny Sign

This morning, we gathered up all the things we decided to let go of yesterday . . .

. . . and took them to the donation event at the high school.  Funny how I always feel a bit lighter after I let go of old clutter.

Our next stop was some nearby tennis courts.  Daddy helped Joy practice her new tennis skills . . .

. . . while I tapped balls over the net to Anna and Daniel.  Todd preferred to help out by collecting our stray tennis balls.

On the way home, I got a chuckle out of the sign above this window:  "MIR ASSOC. PARKING ONLY.  DON'T CRY IF TOWED."

Last but not least, Anna's Activity Days group had a party today to kick off summer vacation.  While the adults chatted in the screened porch, the girls had a blast playing on the trampoline with a sprinkler underneath.  Not a bad way to cool off on a hot day. :)

Letting Go of Things

I helped the kids declutter their rooms today.  Each of them let go of some things they had been fond of but don't use anymore, and they asked me to take pictures of them before we stored, donated, or discarded those things.

Daniel's favorite shirt is too small, so we put it in storage for Todd to use in a few years.  Daniel says his favorite part about the shirt was that it had a zipper.

Joy and Anna both let go of school ceramic projects that they put a lot of effort into, but which didn't stay in one piece for very long.  Anna's project was a kangaroo.  Joy's was a "living" teacup that had four legs and its own hand-drawn comic.

Todd loved wearing these snow boots all winter, possibly because they were so easy for him to put on.  They will be too small next winter, though, so we are donating them tomorrow.  I actually had a harder time letting them go than Todd did because they are so cute.  Plus, Todd's name means "fox," and I thought it was fun that my "fox pup" had adorable fox boots.

Oh well.  As I often tell my kids, "It was fun, and now it's done."  Time to let go of old clutter so we can focus on the things we actually use and love.

Sunday in June

I don't know what it is about Sundays that makes me pull out my camera and take random pictures of my kids.  Maybe it's because we rarely have anything planned on Sunday afternoons, and it's interesting to see how the kids fill their time.

Anna read Ella Enchanted. 

Todd made up a Yahtzee-esque game using dice from multiple games on our shelf.  That's fine with me, as long as he puts them all back.

Joy and Daniel played with their stuffed animals.  That red handkerchief in the background is actually a make-believe computer that belongs to Daniel's squishmallow Salleeey, but Joy's enderman likes to hack into it when Salleeey isn't looking.  The handkerchief also doubles as a pretend trampoline.

Speaking of computers, I helped Anna prepare a talk for Primary yesterday, and she insisted on typing it herself.  That's my girl.

Blue and Gold Cake Buffet

We went to our ward's cub scout Blue and Gold Banquet this evening.  I'm not sure why they called it a "banquet," since we didn't eat dinner.  Tradition perhaps?

They did have a cake pot luck, though.  Every family was encouraged to decorate a cake that illustrated some virtue in the Scout Law (e.g. thrifty, reverent, clean).  This assignment stressed me out for days because I have the cake decorating skills of a kindergartner.  How the heck was I gonna make a cake that symbolized some abstract concept like "courteous"?

Fortunately, I had a flash of inspiration at the store today, when I saw a big bag of chocolate candies.  I made a sheet cake, and encouraged Daniel to make some symbolic candy design to illustrate a Scout Law virtue.  I suggested a happy face for "cheerful," or maybe two happy faces for "friendly."  He went with a check mark for "obedient."  Done.

Other cakey contributions included a gluten-free vanilla cake with a "helpful" pulley on top, and a Chewbacca cake because Chewie is "loyal" to his friends.

Another cake had "trustworthy" army men, whom we can trust to obey orders and defend our country.  There was also a "brave" lion tamer; you have to be pretty courageous to stare down a lion.

Presenting England

For weeks, Joy has been working hard . . .

. . . on her sixth grade country expo poster.

She printed some of the pictures and maps, but many of the graphs and factoids were hand drawn by Joy, our artist in residence.

Today was the day for sixth graders to set up their posters in the middle school auditorium.

Joy was there to present her poster (and some crumpets we found at the grocery store) while wearing traditional British attire (read: the dress her geeky mother made when she belonged to a medieval club in college).  The fan isn't part of her costume--it was just really hot in that gym.

Joy's poster was right next to her friend Vivian's.  Vivian looks pretty thrilled to be on camera, doncha think?

Rock Paper Conga Concert

Anna has been really excited for us to attend her second grade concert this evening.

On the way into the auditorium, we bumped into Anna's friend Dhruthi.  What are the odds of two classmates both wearing bright yellow shirts to a concert?  Pretty high, actually, because each of the six classes was assigned to wear its own color.

We chose some seats near the front, and found ourselves sitting next to one of Todd's friends from preschool.  Now that WAS a coincidence. :)

Up on stage, the second graders played on the risers while they waited for the concert to start.

At the beginning of the show, Anna's music teacher explained that each class would be showcased in one of the songs the group performed.  For example, one class performed a folk dance while the other students sang.  Another class rang chimes in the final song.

Anna's class's turn in the spotlight came during an Asian song, which paused periodically so her class could play Rock Paper Scissors (did you know that game originated in China?).  If a student lost, they had to put their hands on the victor's shoulders and walk behind them for the rest of the song.  At the next pause, each victor would find another victor to challenge, and anyone who lost (plus the person behind them) joined their victor's train and snaked around behind them until the music paused again and the leader found someone new to challenge.

At the end of the song, two semi-finalists (each with a long train of shoulder-holding classmates behind them) played one last game of Rock Paper Scissors, then the trains dissolved and the kids performed the song a second time. 

The first time they performed the song, Anna lost her first match and had to be somebody's caboose for the whole song.  The second time they performed it, she actually made it to the quarter finals, with her family quietly cheering her on.

Recursive Bows at Archery Club

I was running (very) late this afternoon.  When I came barreling into the middle school parking lot, expecting to see Joy standing all alone with an annoyed expression on her face . . .

. . . I found her shooting arrows with her archery club instead.  She hadn't mentioned that they were meeting today.  Turns out I was 20 minutes early instead of 20 minutes late!

Joy likes the fact that her friends Arcadia and Vivian are in the club with her.  She doesn't like that they use recurve bows instead of compounds (since she is a math/computer geek, she calls them "recursive" bows; I don't think the nickname is intentional).

Aldi, a Doorknob, and a Field Day

Three snapshots from today:

Anna had a field day at school, and got a rainbow painted on her cheek.

I've started shopping at Aldi as part of a family experiment to see how much we can cut our grocery spending.  I'm amazed at how much money we save there.

Todd slammed our front door this afternoon, and the doorknob came flying off.  I hope maintenance will get it fixed soon, because if we all leave the apartment, we won't be able to get back in!