Action Shot

Father Photo Shoot

Bryan spent some of our museum visit on Saturday to stage an impromptu photo shoot. Peter was moving too quickly and sticking with his friend, so he didn't sit long enough to join in on the fun. These were taken in a peaceful Chinese Garden Court.

The End of K, 3 and 5

We made it. School ended for the year yesterday. Phoebe chose to wear the same outfit she wore on the first day of Kindergarten. I remembered the outfit too. But without looking at pictures, I have no idea what the boys wore on that first day. I wonder why that is.

I'm happy to say that Phoebe, who was heartbroken about leaving her beloved Kindergarten teacher, was in good spirits when I picked her up at the end of the day. She got to meet her teacher for first grade, and now Phoebe is excited for the summer to zoom past so she can begin her next school adventure.

Shortly before bedtime on Monday night, the kids asked if I would make bread for their teachers for the next day. One batch usually makes four loaves, so I did a quick count: one for Phoebe's teacher, one for Cooper's teacher, two for Peter's two main subject teachers. Sure, I said, I can do that. Then, after I had started, Peter asked if I would make an extra loaf for another teacher that he works with daily. And then Phoebe asked if I would make a loaf for her bus driver as well. So I made a double batch.

I don't recommend going to sleep at two in the morning before the last day of school. You probably won't have all the energy or patience you need for your freshly freed children.

The bread was good though.

We spent our first afternoon of break going through each piece of schoolwork that the kids have been collecting all year. This is usually a project I do on my own as we prepare to move. But we're not moving this summer, and I didn't want to do this work by myself. Peter said we could throw it all away as far as he was concerned. Cooper wanted me to take pictures of every single piece of schoolwork, so we could have a record. Phoebe refused to throw away anything, each piece is a treasure.

At the end of the afternoon, we had filled one and a half trash bags with papers.

After all that work (and yes, it was definitely work), we finally cleared the great room enough to have a celebratory pizza and movie filled evening. 

The kids are all looking forward to waking up today, wondering what we have planned for summer.

I'm wondering the same thing...

The Met

On Saturday we had our first proper adventure in a long while. We drove the two hours into Manhattan and spent the day with our good friends who live in the city. We spent hours in The Metropolitan Museum of Art and just scratched the surface of what was offered. We also took a break partway through the day to play at a fun playground in Central Park, right next to the museum. We ended the day eating tacos in a shop just big enough to hold our party of twelve.

This display held Egyptian Hieroglyphs and felt like we were in an old-school pyramid. You know, as opposed to the new-school pyramids.

More pictures from Egypt, plus a handy padded bar for tired patrons to lean on. Or climb on.

Peter and John stuck together all day. I know Peter had a ball, I hope John did as well.

Apparently this display is talked about in The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan, a book that Peter has read several times and I have only read once and have thus forgotten the details to. When we walked in he said, "It's just like I pictured it!"

There was a lovey Chinese Garden that held these sweet shutters.

We ventured outside to eat and play. The kids all ran and enjoyed themselves immensely while the adults reveled in sitting and chatting. However, after we'd been there for awhile, Cooper came over and said he didn't feel well. His head hurt and he was sniffly. Bryan gave Cooper his grownup-sized sunglasses to help with his headache and Cooper sat nearby for the rest of the park visit. By the time we got home, Cooper was really sick. He missed Primary (he sat in the back of Priesthood while Bryan taught that class and I taught my Primary class) on Sunday as well as his penultimate day of school on Monday.

At least the shades looked cool.

Back inside the museum, we saw some very impressive armor.

And on our way to find the European paintings, I spotted this down a long hallway. I hadn't even known to look for it, but I was thrilled at its discovery! After spending the last few months reading about the American Revolution, this painting was a special treat for me.

Also, it's gigantic.

See?

We finally found the two Caravaggio paintings I'd been searching for, tucked into the European paintings section. After that, we all agreed that we were worn out and ready for dinner. However, there was one more display that Peter desperately wanted to see: Cleopatra's Needle, located outside the museum. So we took a little walk.

See the obelisk in the picture? That's Cleopatra's Needle. Its twin lives in London.

We then hiked ourselves over to an allergy-friendly Greek place that had zero seating. Deciding that was not an option, we moved a few doors down to this restaurant that touted itself as the best of San Franciscan cuisine, which had then been transplanted to NYC. That makes our adventure bi-coastal, right?

After walking back to our car, we made one last pit stop at the museum.

We ended our fun day by driving through the Lincoln Tunnel for the first time (our previous visits took us across the George Washington Bridge) and a quick pass through Weehawken, NJ, notable as the location for the disastrous duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton.

We had a great day and loved seeing our friends!

Open Your Eyes!

Tomorrow is the last day of school. We are all ready. On Friday afternoon, the kids had a picnic of produce on the deck, ready to celebrate the finished antepenultimate day of school.

Also, pictures are better when the subjects can actually keep their eyes open long enough to snap the photo. Pesky wonderfully warm and bright sun...

Feats of Strength

To the Point

I'm sick. Stuffed-head, drippy nose, watery eyes, just-want-to-crawl-into-bed sick.

So that's what I'm going to do.

Goodnight.

Not Exactly Makeup

Sophie had a little ink, a little ink, a little ink,

Sophie had a little ink and used it on her face

When her siblings found her out, found her out, found her out,
When her siblings found her out, they to their mom did race.

Mom came in to see the art, see the art, see the art,
Mom came in to see the art, and then she took some pics.

Mom and Sophie washed it off, washed it off, washed it off,
Mom and Sophie washed it off, but there the ink still sticks.

Go, Speed Racer

A member of our ward hooked the cub scouts up with an awesome activity for our May Pack Meeting. We gathered at a local hobby shop and trouped to the big back room. Three of these huge tracks were setup, ready for slot racing cars. We stuck to the green track, which was perfect for novices.

The scouts had a grand time remotely driving the cars around and around and around the track. The adults stood at the corners and spent most of the half hour quickly grabbing cars that had spun off their own slot before another car struck the disabled vehicle or the hand of the previously mentioned adult, then placing the car back on its line, ready to speed off again.

It was kind of harrowing for the grownups.

Luckily, no serious injuries were sustained during the races, at least not to the people. Those poor cars took quite a beating though.

Hold On

Each evening, after we've read scriptures as a family, prayed, and gotten everyone pajama-ed, we get the girls to sleep. They say their prayers, we sing to them, sometimes a story is told, then Bryan plops down next to Phoebe and I lie on the floor next to Sophie's bed, ready to hold her hand.

Tonight, after staying with this arrangement for the duration of a few classical pieces of music that Bryan was streaming off his phone, he got up to begin the bedtime routine with Cooper. I announced that I would hold Sophie's hand for one more song, then I would go cuddle Phoebe for a few minutes.

Not wanting to let me go, Sophie tightened her grip on my hand. She stayed that way until I announced that the song was almost over. Then she smiled down at me from her toddler bed and said, "Okay, I will let you go. I won't hold on so tight." And she loosened her hand, still holding on, but in a more relaxed way.

I looked at her as she closed her eyes, the memory of the smile still sitting on her lips, and I heard her words again in my mind.

"Okay, I will let you go. I won't hold on so tight."

Unexpected sadness settled down on me. Oh, I thought, she will let go someday, I'm not ready! Keep holding on!

But someday, she will need to make her own choices, be an independent adult. How will it happen? Will it be a gradual release, dropping one finger at a time as she steps toward adulthood? Or will it be in one great rush? Will I watch as she bolts into her future?

She's only three, she's still far away from that. And yet I understand that the time will speed by and as I work to catch up, she, and her siblings, will be grown.

I will hold on as long as they need me. Then I will wait, for I know from my own experience that sometimes, even as a grownup, I need to reach for my Mom's hand. And just as she is there, ready when I need her, I plan to be here, ready to hold on tight.