Last Day of School

Anna and Dallin have done so well this year in school. Anna loved her teacher, Mr. Ailshie and anything he said was the absolute truth! Her reading progressed very well throughout the year (once I discovered “Branches” books, which are easy chapter books with pictures on every page). She thought she was so special to get to stay up late with a headlamp. Hehehe. It’s been a stretch for her this year, making some new friends and learning some new skills.

Dallin absolutely worshipped his teacher, Ms. Beck. She was an angel who commuted daily from Provo and never had intensions of teaching kindergarten but was willing to help out in a pinch. She got a difficult class, if I had anything to say about it! Dallin did his share to make it hard on her, but after we had some good talks, he started behaving a lot better! He’s improved so much and will only read his beginner books to me if I scratch his back. That kid is so funny!

For the last day of school, my friend had the brilliant idea of renting a bouncy house and giant water slide! The party lasted for 6 hours or as long as the kids could stand. Bevan went with the kids and said it was crazy. I was sad to miss it, but glad they had a blast! What’s in store for summer? Maybe some summer school, walks to Ridley’s, filling up the kiddie pool (if it ever warms up). I still need to buy that huge box of otter pops and fix the hole in the kiddie pool. I think I’ve got time. It’s supposed to rain again next week. Where are you, summer?!

Dallin turns 6!

I can’t believe Dallin is 6! We celebrated over at John’s house with a Memorial Day barbecue and cake! I love that he shares a birthday with Dad. It makes it all the more special! I remember the last time his birthday fell on Memorial Day itself. We were having a birthday party at the cabin for Dad and I went into labor after eating a hamburgers and jalapeno poppers. We watched Dad blow out his candles and then left for the hospital. He was born 3 hours later! He was in a hurry, I guess. And that’s how it’s been for the last 6 years: hurry, hurry, hurry! This kid never slows down, except when he sleeps. He’s still obsessed with trucks, heavy equipment, and emergency vehicles. He loves riding his bike, scooter, or anything else that moves fast. If he has to walk, he runs! This also translates to endless eating. The kid has a bottomless pit of a stomach to accommodate the fuel he needs to keep going. He’s just finishing up a full year of all-day kindergarten! It’s been wonderful watching him grow and learn.

Vivaaaaaa Las Vegas

It has been the cloudiest, rainiest, snowiest (yes, SNOW!) May that I can remember.  It started right before Bevan's marathon in Ogden and lasted for 2 weeks!  We were so excited to get out of it again by another trip down south.  This time was all the way to Las Vegas for cousin Amanda's wedding!  Well, she's actually Bevan's cousin's daughter... but the extended family is so small, everyone gets invited!  Yay!

We decided to stay in Mesquite because it was less to drive on the first day and a whole lot cheaper than Las Vegas itself.  I'm so proud of the kids for traveling so well.  Our ONLY stop was in Cedar City for pizza dinner in the park.  It was an amazing park!  The only way to convince the kids to get back in the car was the option of swimming if we got to the hotel in time.  It worked and we were heading south again in no time!  It was still light by the time we made it to Virgin River and the kids were bouncing out of the car!  In a whirlwind, we got them all changed and off to the pool.  30 seconds after they left the room, I got a real phone call from the room below us, asking us to pipe down.  Oops, sorry!  We walked on tippy toes the rest of the evening.

Saturday brought the most perfect weather!  "Unseasonably cool" in Las Vegas means perfect for us.  It might've reached 80 degrees.  That's it!  I've never visited the Las Vegas temple and it was amazing.  I hung outside with the kids while Bevan went to the sealing.  The groom has a huge extended family, so I'm glad we were there for Amanda.  She was so beautiful!  I think it's so good for the kids to be at the temple.  I remember as a kid, going to the temple grounds for older cousins/ siblings weddings and I loved that. I hope this left an impression on them.   The reception was a little chaotic with an open pool, white tablecloths, and a red-sauce spaghetti dinner.  Oh, boy!  I'm sure it was a relaxing evening for some.  I was anxious to get back on the road.  Congrats Amanda and Kyle!

Ogden Marathon

This man of mine is just amazing! He can run a marathon with little effort or training. Ogden seemed like a good situation because of the timing. It’s towards the end of his off-season so he had extra time while he wasn’t working. Running at 7am seems like such a luxury in our current situation. For me, it’s either 8pm or 5:30am! Those times don’t make for many social runs, that’s for sure! Anyway, he felt ready (enough) for this race. Nora was so gracious to host our family for a night. The kids were in heaven with their cousins and new toys. Baby Tommy was busy in the kitchen, opening cupboards and playing with everything. Dallin was obsessed with video games while Anna drew and painted on anything she could find. Drew was mostly upstairs. I’m not sure what he did up there. Needless to say, they didn’t even notice when we were gone. It was great.

Bevan said it was snowing at the starting line, up past Hunstville. Yikes! Fortunately, it was dry most of the race, with some rain in Ogden Canyon. Even the finish line was dry, which was a miracle. I think it was pouring everywhere else in Weber County! His official time was 3:20:27, which isn’t his best, but he felt good about it. We hung around at the finish area while he got a massage and changed into dry clothes. After a protein bender at In-n-Out, we headed back to Nora’s. It took several more hours before the kids could be convinced it was time to go home. Bevan probably won’t do this marathon again, but it was nice to have something to train for!

ASLA in Pleasant Grove

Oh, the Utah chapter of American Society of Landscape Architects conference is always memorable. I get to pull out my one pair of nice dress pants to sit and sit and sit. It was in Pleasant Grove at this tiny convention center in the newer commercial district. This year was extra tedious with sessions on designing outdoor office space, the threat to licensure in Utah (whatever that means), and how to meditate properly. The only bright spots were our soggy field trips over to Doterra headquarters and then to a place called “Evermore”. It’s an old world, Gothic-styled European village with extensive landscaping that’s WAY over-planted! Both excursions mostly taught me how much money can be wasted these days.... and how amazing my rain jacket is!  The conference ended with a raffle. As usual, I won nothing. My highlight was when it ended. I was able to drive up the I-15 corridor to Nora’s house with very little traffic! It was wonderful. At least I have 6 CE credits now, to renew my license next year… you know, just in case I ever have to use it.