Memorial Day and the End of School

Memorial Day my parents opened the pool! Davis has been asking to swim since about February and he was ALL OVER IT! Lila surprised us by mostly really liking the pool and she lasted for a long time (although she didn't love her life jacket).

I wanted to do something fun as a family on Memorial Day morning, and this is what Ben came up with! Family bike ride on the legacy trail. It was seriously so fun! Ben and I don't have bikes, but Chase wanted to roller blade anyway so Ben rode his bike. And then I just pushed Lila in the stroller. It was beautiful and lovely and a great way to spend the morning!

It got so hot that the last week of school the kids were in the pool or the sprinklers every day! This is the best part of childhood.

And then the boys finished up their school year! What a year! Definitely not a typical year and one we won't soon forget! From starting on hybrid schedule, to four days a week, lots of remote learning, masks every day (until the last week!)- these boys had a positive attitude through it all! Yes, they would have loved to go 5 days a week with no masks all year, but they didn't complain. They really made the best of it and have a new appreciation for school.

They had such great teachers this year. Hudson had Mrs. Evans (who Chase also had in 2nd grade) and we love her so much. I might have colluded with Richie and Hyrum's moms to all request her so the boys could get another year together and it was so great. I love that he has these sweet friends. He also made so many new friends and tells me all the time about the girls who chase him at recess (Becca, Megan, Lyla) and he's well aware that they chase him because they all have crushes on him. His reading really took off this year- he started reading short chapter books and ended the year being able to cruise through much harder, longer books. He did so well in math, too. And I always loved seeing his writing. He's really gotten into art this year as well, always drawing different characters or ideas. I love his creative little mind.

Chase had Mrs. Blankinship, who was really nice and really pushed him (a first for him). I didn't request a teacher for him, but he managed to get in the same class as all his best friends anyway, which made the year really fun. Chase struggled a lot with perfectionism this year and being really hard on himself, something we are working on. He was one of only 10 kids in his grade to finish the "read across Utah" challenge, 29 books of varying genres. He finished it by March. So he got a book of his choice and to attend a special waffle breakfast. This kid just devours books, and truly enjoyed the challenge. They also did a lot of science this year, which he really loved. He disliked his music prep class, and tried to form a class boycott against it. It didn't work, their teacher made him go anyway, but she was proud of them for using their vocab words (boycott!). Otherwise I think he really loved 4th grade. In fact, he told me once school was out that "I'm so excited for summer, but I'm sad that 4th grade is over."