Benjamin

Benjamin's 1st time on the grass--most of our kids were toddling/walking in spring time (he is our 1st winter baby), and none of them enjoyed the feel of grass on their toes.

Benjamin just took right to the grass--rubbing his feet into the cool grass, and picking at the dandelions.
I put the big umbrella up to give him shade--and had a big cooler bag full of water for the boys (and me).

"Mom--why didn't you let me play in the grass before???"

Benjamin--are you ever going to take a nap? Probably not--all the kids in our group keep begging to hold you and are making faces at you. He was getting a little cranky, so I walked in circles with him to try to put him to sleep.

More grass time. I let him play in the grass for about 15 minutes--then he started trying to eat it.

Success at last!!! Now to keep Emmalee from "playing" with him (and waking him up), I gave the task of picking as many dandelions as she could before we went home.

We ended up with 40 dandelions. :)

Track & Field Day

Last Thursday was our Track & Field day. It was the nicest day--Monday was super hot (88 degrees), Tuesday was very windy & rainy, Wednesday was a bit rainy, and Thursday was about 70, with a slight cool breeze.

Our group started at the obstacle course. They group all relatives into the same group. Our elementary is K-5, so 5th graders are the leaders. Zane was one of the leaders.
Emmalee had 3-year old pre-school for 1 1/2 hours during this time. So most of the time I just had Benjamin.

Quick, quick, quick!!! (K-2 could just run down one side).

Callum's turn--he made the basket!

Go, Callum, Go!!!

Standing broad jump--Zane's turn.

Callum tried his hardest--thankfully he wasn't jumping over water, because I think he would be very wet!!

Why is Callum smiling? Guess who is on the other side???

Yep--Zane is (orange hat from Hunter's Ed.).

The "little" kids almost got the older kids across the line!! Callum gets laughing so much that he can't pull!!

Callum either threw it high & not far, or not straight so it went off at an angle. But he has quite the arm!!

Nice release, Zane!!! He placed 1st in the school with a throw of 108 feet, 7 inches.

The long jump was next. When we walked over to the pit, I saw Rusty (he was in charge of this one) and he was standing crooked. I knew he had hurt his back. When he bent down to measure one of the first jumps, he threw his back out. So he ended up being in a ton of pain over the long weekend because his chiropractor was gone for Memorial Day. He did get in on Tuesday.

Jump farther!!! Nice hat, Callum. He is wearing the hat I brought for Ben. It used to be Callum's, and he doesn't really want to part with it yet.

Callum finishing the 50 yard dash, with a grin & a positive attitude!

Run faster, Callum (attempt #2)

Zane had his face of determination on--he doesn't have the best shoes on (skater-style shoes) and prefers to run barefoot. His darn feet keep growing, so I guess we need to buy him some bigger shoes. He did finish the 100 yard dash in 22 seconds.

The kids enjoyed themselves, the weather was perfect, and Emmalee was there for almost 1 hour of the afternoon (just enough time to have fun, but she was definitely ready to go home!). It lasted 2 1/2 hours.

Zane's Field Trip

I have been soooo busy with end-of-the-year activities, gardening, teething baby, and house work. So I am trying to catch up with my blog, but it will take time!

Last week Zane went on his field trip. The 3rd, 4th, & 5th graders went (about 50 total), and I drove behind the 2 buses with Benjamin & Emmalee.

Everyone loved holding & playing with Benjamin.

Emmalee wanted Zane to keep her safe from all the bugs. She is freaking out whenever she sees any kind of bug!!!

We went to Green Canyon Hot Springs first--and toured their hydroponic greenhouses where they grow the best tomatoes (& cucumbers). Benjamin even smiled for this picture. In this green house, the tomatoes are over 6 feet tall.

The 2nd greenhouse has newer plants, so they were only about 4 feet tall. The kids were allowed to walk down the isles. Emmalee enjoyed walking in the "jungle".

This was Benjamin's 1st time swimming (6 mo. old). He enjoys baths, and after the initial "shock" of the very warm water, he had a great time. Zane was lucky because he had both of his parents there (Rusty teaches 5th grade).

Emmalee was nervous about swimming. She wants to be able to touch at all times. This pool is nice because about 1/3 of the pool is quite shallow. After she figured out she could touch, she had a blast.

Zane after going off the diving board.

We ate lunch at the pool. I bought 20 pounds of tomatoes--they were 99 cents a pound, and we gave about 5 pounds to Rusty's dad. Then we made a huge batch of salsa (and froze a bunch).

It sure was nice to have a "family" outing. (Later that evening, Brienna & Ethan both came to the pool for YM/YW) Poor Callum--he was the only one that didn't get to swim there on that day.

I followed the buses. Green Canyon is about 70 miles from our town.

Then we stopped at the Teton Dam/Flood site. I was excited because each time we have stopped, the weather has been terrible. Last year it was raining & soooo windy. Unfortunately, it was really windy this year (although the sun was out & it was a mild/nice day). This was the best picture we could get (because "the dirt keeps poking my eyes").

Emmalee, Zane & his buddy--Matthew. You can see the middle of the remains of the Teton Dam in the background.

After the Dam site, we headed back to Rexburg to go bowling. We usually get a behind-the-scenes tour of how the pins are set, but they were busy with another field trip, so we just bowled.

Look how cute those little bowling shoes look on Emmalee!! All the 8 pound balls (the lightest ones) were being used, so we ended up using a 9 pound ball.

I helped her roll it down the lane. Thankfully, Zane's bowling group had the bumper guards up so Emmalee did well--hit pins every time & even got 1 spare!

Zane has decided that bowling is fun, but he is more accurate when bowling on the Wii.

Benjamin liked playing on the floor--the carpet had bowling pins, balls, & stars on it . He kept trying to grab them & pick them up. Although he really didn't get play very much on the ground because everyone wanted to hold him--including Emmalee!

I stayed in Rexburg to do a little shopping when the buses left to head home. It is about 45 minutes back home, but it had been a while since I had to shop with just the 2 little one (and no older ones to help with them). So I didn't do much "shopping"--just getting a few things on my list.

Benjamin

Look at what Benjamin's doing now! He is standing--while I was teaching piano, he was kneeling by the couch, and then just stood up!!!

He is very proud of himself!!
See--I can do it again! Standing is fun!!

But NOW what do I do? (He let go, fell backwards and conked his head).

Now Mom had better do some more baby-proofing!

Piano Recital--Teacher's Perspective

The piano recital was a success!!! Ten student performed--but only 7 of them are my students. I invited anyone in our community that has been "taking" piano lessons to take part. The other piano teacher didn't require her students to perform, but for my students, there is no choice. I think it is important to learn to play in front of an audience. They all received a big Symphony candy bar with a tag that says "Spring 2009 Piano Recital--'Noteworthy' Performance". This is a nice-looking group of kids!!

I didn't have as many students this year because I coached volleyball in the fall & then had Benjamin, so I didn't want to take as many afternoons teaching.

We had a lot of people in the audience--we had 37 total--all squeezed into our Relief Society room in the LDS church. Rusty actually didn't make it because Benjamin and Emmalee were sick Sunday & he stayed home to take care of them.

Piano Recital--Brienna

The last of my children to perform (Ethan said the treat wasn't worth having to perform).

Brienna has been practicing faithfully--unlike her teacher (me) with giving her lessons (oops). She really didn't need any music--I guess just having her music setting on the piano gave her comfort.
She played "Chopsticks" & "Pachebel's Canon"--excellent :)

Piano Recital--Zane

Zane decided to play in the recital because he found out there were treats for performers.

He played "Marine's Hymn" &"The Star Spangled Banner".
His haircut looks nice!

Piano Recital--Callum

Our Piano Recital was yesterday (Sunday) and 3 of the kids played. I only am putting one child per post, since the videos can take a lot of time to download.

Here is Callum.

He doesn't like to practice all the songs I assign him, prefers to play only with is left hand, and only gets a lesson once in a blue moon (maybe I need to bill & pay myself for their lessons)!
But he was all smiles! Here is his video:

He is awesome!!