The Better Butter Battle

Last Saturday we had some friends over while their parents went to the temple. Sophie and her friend Gemma used the time to make this chocolate cake.

And have a butter battle, or course.

Guitar Man

Last week we discovered that Cooper was invited to the senior awards night, but we didn't know why. We attended the ceremony tonight and discovered that Cooper was given a scholarship that he hadn't applied for! We think his guitar teacher must have submitted his name. Cooper was the recipient of the Certificate of Academic Excellence for the C. F. Martin Music Award. As far as I can tell, this comes from the Martin Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Martin Guitar. And it came with a $500 scholarship!

Not bad considering he didn't even know he was in the running.

Lift Every Voice and Sing

Today's major activity included me needing to quickly learn all this music.

My brain is tired.

Too Many Good Things

This has been an incredibly busy school year.

May has been an exceptionally busy month.

This might be the busiest week yet.

Enjoy this picture of Topher at the library while I try to get everything done that needs to get done this week.

A Strong Woman

Thanks to Peter for capturing this moment.

Linguists

Right now I'm listening to Peter speak Spanish while Cooper speaks Portuguese in response.

It's pretty cool.

It's Not Even Mother's Day

I came out of my room one day this week and discovered these signs in the upstairs hallway, followed by the arrows down the stairs.

When I got to the great room Topher, Phoebe, and Cooper jumped out from behind the couch and yelled, "Surprise!" Then Topher handed out the hats he had made for us to wear and pushed play on the Megan Trainor song Mom that was cued on the TV. He said we were having a mom party and he invited us all to dance. When we finished the dance portion of the activity, he led me into the kitchen and gave me an "ice cream sundae" he had made for me. That's cottage cheese, in case you were wondering.

I thought it was so sweet of Topher to put this all together. And yes, I did cry a little.

Wakey Wakey

"Mom, I have a song for you. Can you put it on the blog?"

Feels Like Summer

We've had two exceptionally hot days in a row. It's supposed to get cold again over the weekend, so we tried to enjoy it while we could.

A Little More Sleeping In

Cooper graduated from seminary last night! Due to the eighth-grade pilot program he was in, he actually did five years of seminary. Well done, Cooper!

In the Right Place

I just got this from a friend who was with my middle three at the temple tonight. Our calendar has been packed full, so I'm thankful they were able to make time to attend the temple.

World's Okayest Mom

I had a great Mother's Day. Bryan made a delicious dinner, my parents sent a few yummy treats, Topher outdid himself with how many cards he gave me, and my kids all crowded onto the couch for a picture with me. Also, after church I changed out of my dress and into comfy pants and my World's Okayest Mom shirt.

I bought it for myself.

I think it's funny.

It was lovely to have Bryan's parents here for Mother's Day. Look at this beautiful paper sculpture that Bryan's mom made for me and gave me for Mother's Day! It's the Philadelphia Temple and I adore it!

The First Step On the Covenant Path

On Saturday, Topher was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He's been looking forward to this day for many years. It was wonderful.

Bryan performed the ordinance.

I think it's really special that Bryan has baptized all five of our children.

There were programs here at the beginning of the baptism, but I didn't take a picture until the end. Was I this prepared and organized to bring a lovely tablecloth and potted olive branches? Nope, these were in the foyer, so we borrowed them for the baptism.

I took these pictures before the baptism started. By the time we began it was really standing room only. The chairs are facing the baptismal font. When the ordinance was over, we all relocated to the chapel because we had overrun this room. It made my heart happy that so many people wanted to be there to support Topher.

We're thankful that Bryan's parents were able to be at Topher's baptism. Not only that, but they gave a really wonderful talk about the Holy Ghost. And they had made goodie bags for all the kids in attendance that directly connected to their talk. It was amazing.

This tie and the tie bar were gifts from a family in our ward who attended the baptism. Their oldest son, who is in Bryan's primary class, was one of the witnesses for Topher's baptism. Both witnesses were primary boys that are just a little older than Topher that he looks up to.

Topher tried so hard to be extra kind and helpful the rest of the day. That included helping Papa Ron carry the trash from the church out to the dumpster when we had finished cleaning up.

Topher insisted that we take one more picture when we got home. "We need to take a family picture with all of us in front of the fireplace, now that we're all baptized."

Topher, thank you for making this wonderful choice to be baptized! We love you!

Fun at the Fest

While Cooper was at prom, Topher and Sophie were at our elementary school's annual fun fest. There were several inflatable bouncy houses and games and a DJ running a dance party. Topher spent most of his time on the school playground with friends. Sophie debated if she was too old to attend, but she came at the last minute. She quickly found a friend who needed someone to hang out with.

Have Your Picture Took*

Friday evening Cooper went to his senior prom with his lovely friend Delaney.

His prom-posal included roses and a box of donuts.

One challenge was finding both the right color suit and the right color tie. His date wanted to keep her dress a surprise. Her mom showed me and the girls a picture a few weeks ago, but we were having trouble remembering exactly what we'd seen. Thankfully, she texted me a picture when I promised not to show it to Cooper. We ordered four ties from Amazon and one of them worked!

Even though he went with a group, Cooper drove himself and his date. That meant he needed his in-house tech support to connect his phone to the Bluetooth in the car he doesn't usually drive.

The group decided to meet at a university about five minutes from the prom venue for pictures. I drove separately and got to play photographer. I think Cooper looked quite dapper and his date looked beautiful.

These girls did not coordinate their dress selections. I guess the southern belle look is in right now.

Now that prom is over, Cooper is one step closer to graduation...

*Name that musical, without Googling it.

Seize the Day

Sophie had her spring orchestra/chorus concert. She was the second chair violin in orchestra and has come a long way since she started. For the chorus portion of the evening, the sang the opening solo for Seize the Day. My friend, whose daughter is the sweet redhead who sand at the mic a little later in the song, took this video and shared it with me. I think she sounds great!

Bonus, Bryan's parents arrived at our house a few hours before the concert and were able to attend!

Just Voices

We interrupt this wedding recap for a few concert posts!

On Tuesday, in an act of school-night bedtime defiance, we took our kids to see BYU's a cappella groups Vocal Point and Noteworthy in concert! We drove an hour toward Philadelphia to watch their touring performance. It was such a fun night!

A wonderful bonus was running into my friend Danika from our MBA days.

This is Sterling, the beatboxer for Vocal Point. He was amazing. AMAZING! Topher was really impressed. He talked about doing his own beatboxing and Sterling asked for a demonstration. Topher felt a little overwhelmed at first, but he beatboxed a bit. Sterling was sweet and encouraging and told Topher to keep at it.

Phoebe loved talking to the singers from Noteworthy. She told them that she's auditioning for her school's a cappella group, which is also called Noteworthy. They were so supportive and gave her one of their posters for good luck. Then they made sure that every member of both groups signed it! She said it was the best day of her life.

Peter and Cooper got to meet the director for Vocal Point and Peter shared that Cooper wants to audition for Vocal Point after his mission. In keeping with the pattern that had been established by all our exchanges to that point, the director was kind and encouraging.

It was a great evening!