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!

Regional Women's Conference (Hairnet Optional)

I joined three women from church on a little road trip today.  We drove to a regional women's conference up in New Hampshire . . .

. . . where I listened to some uplifting talks . . .

. . . and donned a stylish hairnet to pack meals for a charity.

Is this picture random?  Eh, kind of.  The only thing it has to do with the conference is that when I'm feeling peaceful and happy, it's easier to notice and appreciate the beauty around me. :)