Bed Head

Cooper went camping with the Young Men on Friday night. He and a few other campers arrived late and stayed up even later. I asked him to take pictures. He sent me a few.

This is where they camped. They cleared brush as a service project.

And this is what he looked like in the morning.

I haven't heard much of a report beyond that it was fun. No news is good news, right?

A Girl and Her Bow

Sophie played in her first orchestra concert on Thursday! She's been playing the violin since the beginning of the school year and this was her first chance to perform on the instrument.

She did a great job!

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.

Plus Water and Shelter

I saw this quote at our local library yesterday.

It speaks to my soul.

La La Land

Saturday night was church prom for the region. It's hosted by the Cherry Hill New Jersey Stake. Cherry Hill is just over the river from Philadelphia. Before traffic our drive was an hour and forty minutes one way. Once we added in traffic and a stop at McDonald's, it was closer to two hours. That's the nature of church dances on the East Coast.

The theme was La La Land. Phoebe asked if we could find a yellow dress to go along with the theme and Amazon cooperated. We added a poofy petticoat underneath and I thought it was perfect! The boys went slightly more casual, but were still dressier than the guys that showed up to the dance in shorts.

We were the designated carpool for the night. Phoebe sat in the front seat with me and played DJ (most of the time) and helped me stay alert. All the boys were good sports and were happy to report on the dance afterward. We listened to and sang along with several songs during our four hours in the car. I think the entire carload added their voices to the Hamilton selections.

Peter took this one inside the dance. It has their whole group, plus a friend from another Stake.

The dance ended at 9:00, but we didn't leave until just after 9:30. There was a Phillies game that night and the traffic coming home through Philadelphia was insane. We pulled into our driveway to drop off two of the boys (they live an additional thirty minutes away and their dad was waiting for them at our house) at 11:34. After they were on their way home we drove our final passenger the five minutes to his house. We were exhausted when we finally made it into the house.

But I'm sure we'll do it again when the opportunity arises.

A Fish For a Duck

Last Sunday Topher ended church with this cute duck in his possession. One of the Young Women in the ward crochets tiny animals and gives them to the Primary kids. Apparently it was Topher's turn. 

As we drove home from church we had the following conversation:

Topher: I'm going to make her a fish to say thank you.

Me: A fish? (trying to understand what this would entail) What materials will you use?

Topher: Paper, a plate, and tin foil.

And that's just what he did. He added the feathers and googly eyes for an extra pop. I drove him over to her house so he could deliver it that afternoon.

According to her mom, this made the Young Woman's day. 

Hope Is a Song

Sophie participated in the Reflections competition this year. The theme was "Hope Is..." She submitted a drawing that was chosen to go on to the Regional level and then the State level. We knew she'd done well, but didn't know how well until we saw the program at the awards ceremony on Friday night. 

This is her piece, Hope Is a Song. If you look closely you can see the song titles that she included. Her artist statement is after the picture.

You may not be able to tell from this picture, but she was nervous to go up and receive her medal and trophy.

Each of the kids had their picture taken with the Principal after they got their awards.

She was happy and relieved when she sat back down.

Great job, Sophie!

Go Go Go

I've spent every spare minute this week working on fixing up one of the rooms in our house. It's going to take several more hours before it's done. My brain and body are both complaining that I haven't rested enough this week. And the next week won't provide much relief.

I'd better sleep while I can.

Waiting For the School Bus

The Great Outdoors

After lots of rain and cold, we've finally had a few days of spring weather. Cooper, Sophie, and Topher have taken advantage of it and played outside everyday this week and a few days last week as well. I love that they still love having a backyard.