The Giving Tree

A half-day of school equals mid-day conversations under a tree.

A Strong Woman

Thanks to Peter for capturing this moment.

The Best

These two swing between being worst enemies and best friends. I'm glad I got photographic proof of the latter.

You're a Star

Cooper went grocery shopping with me on Saturday. He saw a display of starfruit and got really excited. After assuring me that he would definitely eat it (we bought one years ago and it went untouched), we added it to the cart.

He was kind enough to share. It tasted like a cross between an apple and a kiwi. Sophie was the only one that really liked it.

But it was a fun food adventure.

Up and Up and Up

Cooper had another race today, this time at Sophie's school, and we went to support him. Cross country runs are 5Ks, so we had some time to wait for him to finish. Thank goodness Sophie's school has a playground.

Also, Cooper shaved 30 seconds off his time and crossed the finish line at 18:42!

First Day, Again!

This is the first time we've had kids transport themselves on their first day. Cooper and Phoebe both got to skip the bus this morning.

Sophie loved both her first day outfit and her first day hair.

Topher was glad we made his bus on time.

Happy first day, all!

That Looks Good Enough to Eat

Tonight for YM/YW activities Cooper, Phoebe, and Sophie decorated mini cakes, which was an idea that Sophie had come up with.

Can you tell which cake belongs to which kid?

School's Out for the Summer!

Sunday Shenanigans

Pre-church selfie:

Post-church faking:

Evening cosplay:

We Will Rock You

Back in January, when we started planning the Easter concert, the question of the kid choir came up. We knew we wanted them to sing a few songs for Easter, but is that all they would do? If so, that would be two seasons in a row of only church music. I suggested that we still have a separate concert for them where they could perform secular music, but we would only do two choir songs and let the kids fill in the rest with solos and small group numbers. I thought this would be a great way to let them learn and perform both kinds of music. So we set the kid concert for the Friday following the Easter concert.

In retrospect, this was a poor choice.

My co-director and I were so worn out by the Easter concert, we really had to drag ourselves to the finish line on the second concert. We still gave it our all, but we were running on fumes by the end of Friday night.

We started by setting up the gym on Thursday. Usually we do this the day of, but Thursday night was our dress rehearsal for the soloists and small group numbers and we wanted them to run through their songs in the proper setup. We only had them come for a short time, long enough to practice their song a few times, then they left and we moved on to the next group. We saved our own kids for last and were there until nearly 10pm.

Topher was so excited for the concert that he wanted to wear his choir shirt to school. This is the sight that I woke up to on Friday morning. I convinced him to change and save the shirt for that night. 

It took most of the day to prepare and gather our supplies. This is after I'd already dropped stuff off the day before.

The kids did a great job. They opened with We Will Rock You (we slipped in this easy bonus choir number) and then sang Better When I'm Dancing. The next twelve songs came from the kids. Then we finished with the whole choir singing Fight Song.

Among the other songs that night, Topher sang Hush, Little Baby while Cooper played the guitar.

Phoebe and her friend Isaac sang Princess Problems from the new Snow White.

Sophie and her friend Gemma sang What Is This Feeling? from Wicked.

And Sophie sang Waving Through a Window from Dear Evan Hansen.

It all went well and we were glad when we finished! I'll post the videos of the songs over the next few days.

Sophie borrowed my phone while we cleaned up.

I borrowed it back to take this picture of the two directors in our new shirt design. Walmart stopped making the green t-shirts (they're only $4 each, we can't beat the price) and some of the kids outgrew them. We had to do a shirt shuffle among the choir and we both gave up our green shirts to kids who needed them. Thankfully, our friend who made the other shirts (her daughter sings in the choir) agreed to make us these new, larger logo shirts!

This choir is so fun and I love that we get to lead it, but it definitely takes a lot of time and energy.

Brotherly Love

It was really nice having Peter here for the weekend. He got his Real ID (the reason he flew home between fall semester and spring term), had his dentist appointment for his mission papers (and a subsequent visit for fillings), and got some much needed sleep. He also played lots of MarioKart with Bryan and the other kids.

Topher requested that we save our traditional Resurrection Rolls for when Peter was here. So, a week after Easter, we gathered around the table to tell the story of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection using marshmallows, butter, cinnamon/sugar, and crescent rolls. It sounds kind of irreverent, but it's a great object lesson.

We were all sad to see him go back to school on Monday afternoon. Topher was especially upset. He burst into big sobs and wouldn't stop hugging Peter.

We love you, Peter!

Saving the Day

Sophie did a great job as a "sassy" hero. You can find the hero theme song HERE.

Acts of Service

Sophie is playing the lead in her school musical (in two of the four shows, all the speaking roles are double cast) and they open tomorrow night. She wanted to review her lines this evening after rehearsal, but I was making dinner, Phoebe was doing homework, and Bryan was picking up Cooper from a track meet. Topher offered to read opposite her. She reported that he did "a really good job."

This picture makes my heart happy. Yes, it's so cool that she's got this role. And it's great that Topher can read well enough to do this. But the real joy comes from watching Topher serve his sister.

On the Eve

After our Christmas Eve soup and bread, and opening Christmas pajamas, we watched The Muppet Christmas Carol. They all started out on furniture but ended up on the floor by the end.

Topher asked if we could put out milk and cookies "for Mom and Dad." We did, and he then declared it a new tradition he had started.

We finally chased all the kids to bed and got to work setting out the stockings. Do you notice an extra one up there? Bryan's brother Paul joined us for Christmas this year. We loved having him visit and made sure he had a stocking as well.

Even doing our four gift rule (want, need, wear, read, not including gifts from siblings and grandparents) the tree was full. Gifts for eight people take up a lot of space.

We set out the stocking supplies and were in bed around 1 o'clock in the morning. Thank goodness our kids have never been the type to wake up at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning. Santa and Mrs. Clause needed a solid night of sleep.

Christmas Eve Jammies

Merry Christmas!

Enjoy It While It Lasts

The high today was 64 degrees and the low was 44. Tomorrow the high is forecast to be 46 degrees and the low will hover around 27. I'm never ready for the temperature to drop so low. The kids took advantage of the relatively warm day and spent time outside. It helped that our school district doesn't hold school on Veteran's Day; there was more time to be outside.

Starting Again, Minus One

We spent the last week and a half in California and Utah. We flew back home yesterday so the kids could start school today. Well, most of the kids started today. We left Peter back in Utah so he could move into his apartment on-campus and then start his classes at BYU next week.

Has it registered that Peter has moved out? Not really. It kind of feels like he's on a trip. Though, his all-night packing right before we flew to California means that he left his room a wreck. I spent most of today cleaning it. I've filled four kitchen-sized trash bags just from his side of the room. So far. Maybe all the sorting of stuff will help it sink in that he's in college.

Here's our first day of school picture!

Everyone had a good day. We celebrated by going out to dinner and then getting ice cream, both at places that aren't peanut-safe. We all felt weird, like we were breaking the house rules. And we kind of were, at least the old house rules.

Idyllic

I took the younger four to a friend's house this week so they could run around this gigantic yard and I could get a lesson in building bookcases. My friend supervised the kids while her patient husband taught me beginning woodworking. She sent me this picture after we were back home. The kids were all eating Otter Pops, or the east coast equivalent.

This picture makes me smile.

The Six-String

Cooper is taking guitar this semester so he's been practicing around the house. That has prompted Peter to play a lot more. Phoebe and Topher have also been inspired to start learning the guitar. You may not be able to tell from this picture, but Topher's playing the E minor chord. That's the only chord he knows so far, but he can find it without help. Maybe next week we'll learn another chord.

It Looks Like Winter

We got a huge snow storm this weekend. After watching it fall, the kids were desperate to get outside. We only had a short window to play, so we bundled up quickly and they enjoyed the snow.