The Beginning of our Summer

Summer is off to a really great start! It has been packed full lately, and we are less than two weeks in! We've created so many fun memories with the kids and spent a lot of time outside, so I'll call it all a win!

One morning I took the crew up to Silver Lake. This place is one of my very favorite spots in Utah! The drive up the canyon itself is just so gorgeous, it leaves me in awe every time. And once we got out the car, Chase even kept remarking on how amazing it is to be up in the mountains and how beautiful the scenery is! We met the Bennetts up there and the kids had a really great time together. Chase, Ryder and Hudson kept track of the little guys as they ran ahead and climbed on all the rocks, while Alyse and I very slowly walked around the lake with very independent one year olds.

Every time we visit here I promise myself we will be back SOON! 

Lila had her 15 month well check and she's perfect! She was 21 pounds and 30 inches, which puts her right around the 40th percentile in both. She did NOT like the doctor assessing her at all! Even though he did the whole exam with her in my lap, she was super unimpressed with his stethoscope, or flashlight, or touching her in any way. She's very friendly to people from a distance, but she is very selective on who can touch or hold her and when. She's definitely a mama's girl! 

Hudson's baseball team won the 2nd grade championship! It was so exciting! They were a talented little team, and although Hudson didn't add many points to the scoreboard, he loved being part of it! He cheered for his teammates, had so much fun in the dugout, and had a lot of courage to keep getting up to bat even after so many strike outs. He was thrilled with his trophy! Right after they won, one of the coaches came and got all the parents and families to come out onto the field to make a tunnel for them to run through. It was so fun to celebrate with them! 

 I'm sure Chase was a little jealous that Hudson's team got to the championship game and won! His team got out in the first round of the playoffs. However, instead of showing any jealousy, he went to the other extreme of being SO excited and enthusiastic for Hudson that it was almost a little annoying. I was proud of him though, and Hudson really soaked up the attention. And I love that Hudson couldn't even put his donut down for me to take a picture of him and Richie with their trophies!

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."

 

May

 Oh I love May! The weather is just dreamy, blossoms are blooming, the air is fresh and smells amazing- and it's so full of fun activities with my kiddos! The kiwi crates arrived late one night and I found the kids are 6:30 on Saturday morning busily putting them together. These have been such a fun activity for these smart boys!

We had the cousins over to play one afternoon and I can never pass up an opportunity to photograph these two together. On this particular day they were struggling to share, well, anything. Including the chair. But they did settle on sitting in it together.

She looks so cute all dressed up for church- I love it when I can actually capture her sweetness in a photo. 

Now she's really committed to walking and walks everywhere these days. It's darling, and also so much easier on the toes of her shoes. Also, I'm a little lazy so she doesn't actually wear shoes all that often.

Davis has so much energy, but when he does chillax on the couch he looks so cute and grown up! He actually doesn't watch that much TV, but when he does he takes it very, very seriously.

The big boys started baseball! I love baseball season so much. I love watching my boys play. I love spending so much of our spring outside (it's so pleasant!). I love seeing them learn new things and make new friends. Davis was sure he was playing this year. We've been reading "Froggy plays T-ball" every single day (Davis likes to choose a set of about 5 books that we read over and over for weeks at a time). At Hudson's first game, he stood on the bleachers and yelled "I gotta GET IN THERE! I've gotta hit the ball up, up, up and out of the park!" (Direct quote from Froggy). It was so cute and funny.

But Davis actually meant business. I think he figured that his exclusion from the game had nothing to do with his age, and everything to do with lack of proper gear. So he came to the next game prepared. He wore a jersey. He grabbed this old football helmet. And with his little plastic bat in hand, literally just tried to scale the fence to join the game! (As soon as I snapped this picture I went to retrieve him, and he was almost over the top at the fence at that point). Ben tried to let him play there on the sidelines, but he was adamant that he only wanted to play on the legit field. He's going to be so excited when it's finally his turn!

Of course we had to celebrate May the 4th! It was actually a busy evening full of baseball games- but I did make these R2D2 brownies for the boys after school snack, which they were thrilled about. It was funny to remember this day last year. It was a Monday, but since EVERYTHING was cancelled back then (school, sports, church, all social activity) we had the whole day at home. We did festive brownies AND watched a movie. No time this year! It made me appreciate the sweetness of the time we had together last year, and appreciate the beauty of getting to be involved in the busyness this year.

We had an early Mothers Day dinner with my family. It's always a party with this gang!

Hudson's baseball season was so fun! He hit the ball twice and actually got on base! One of those times he actually got home! He was on a team with lots of good players and they won almost every game. Mostly, he loved hanging out with his team, laughing in the dugout and sometimes playing in the dirt in the outfield. I'm so glad he got on the same team as Richie- that was a blast!

This is Davis's little gang! This group of boys plays together all the time, mostly bopping between our yards. He loves his little friends! Next year they'll all be in school, except Davis, and I'm not sure how he'll handle it!

Lila started wearing little pony tails and pig tails and it's the cutest thing ever. 

Chase's house at school (Isibindi) won their little house challenge, and the reward was a chalk dust fight! He was so excited and came home from school so messy! I made him go straight to take a shower.

Doing Lila's hair became a real highlight of May for me :)

Just my sweet boys dressed up before church one Sunday. We are back to two hours of church! They kids get to go to primary! Davis is officially a sunbeam, or a "butterbean" as he's been calling it. For our first time back in Relief Society we decided to make it a little party and we had cupcakes and balloons and it was so cute and fun! Lindsay helped me decorate like 100 cupcakes and they turned out so pretty, I felt like we were ready to host a wedding or something!

The boys are helping Papa put in a huge garden at Aaron's. Their plan is to have a little farmers market in the fall and sell all the produce. The boys have big plans of what they'll do with all their money! Davis is the most enthusiastic helper.

Chase's baseball season has been a real growth opportunity for him! They let the kids pitch this year- which is a huge challenge. Chase got to pitch in a few different games and did great! He's been practicing pitching at home with Ben and he's got quite a good arm. He's also hit some great runs this year. Chase's competitive side has really come out and sometimes he's struggled to control his emotions when the game didn't go well, or he struck out, or had unfair calls made. I think he's learned a lot though! 

For Chase's 4th grade county report he got Garfield county- which is kind of nice because we actually visited it earlier in the year! That's where Bryce Canyon is! He had to choose a special project to do about his county and he chose to make a diorama. I love how it turned out! Literally all I did was make the salt dough and buy him paint, he did the rest by himself. For a kid who doesn't necessarily love an art project, it was fun to see him enjoy doing this.

The cutest little spectator at brother's games!

I snapped this photo of Hudson on first base! This was after he got his 2nd hit of the season. I wish I could have captured his face when he actually hit the ball- mix of surprise and excitement!

May went so fast! It was so busy with school, end of year activities, baseball and playing outside in the beautiful weather as much as we could. Over the last few months we've been playing the game of "this time last year" and remembering what the world was like. May was a big month of settling back into mostly normal- baseball resuming, 2 hours of church, mask mandate went away. We are getting back to normal and it feels so good!

The Rest of April

 Maybe our biggest accomplishment all month- Lila started really walking! It was so exciting and she's so cute walking around like she owns the place!

The kiddos had a morning over at Nana and Papa's to work in the yard. At the end of the "work party" (Insert child asking me, "Why does Papa always call it a work PARTY?") we pulled out the swing. So many cousin memories happen on this swing every spring/summer/fall. They were all so excited to get it out!

And the baby girls were twinning on accident so it obviously called for a picture.

Lila now wants to use a spoon to feed herself. It's super messy, but she stays pretty content the whole time.

This is so DAVIS. He spends most of his time in his Spider-Man outfit, and he loves that Bei Bei so so much. This sweet child makes me laugh all the time!

Mark and James taught Davis to climb the tree! He now spends a LOT of time up there! He's a little monkey. Also, since the beautiful spring weather has shown up we spend every morning outside, usually with some little friends and it's glorious. I never realize just how much I've missed the warmth and sunshine until it comes back. We've literally been spending almost every minute we can outside this past month!

Also, because of Ben switching jobs we were uninsured in April, so all month I was a little nervous this would be the time that someone broke an arm or something. Thank goodness we had zero health problems all month, but the extra tree climbing did make me a little more nervous!

My Grandma White's birthday is on April 15. I had been thinking about her a lot this year especially, so I wanted to do something to honor her on this day. I thought about what she was really known for- 1. her amazing cooking and 2. serving others. So Davis and I spent the morning making cookies and then we dropped them off for a few different people, my mom, and some neighbors. It was such a sweet way to spend the morning with my sweet boy (Lila was there too, but she wasn't helpful) and to honor my Grandma that I didn't get to know nearly well enough.

This is SO Chase and Hudson. I mean, we just bought a couch that seats like 12 people and is super comfortable. We have 5 bedrooms that were all empty and quiet at this time. There are chairs in the front room he could have used to do his reading. And yet he chose to lay on a hard bench with his head two inches from Chase's butt. Okay boys, you do you.

I think I took this picture because she's just. so. cute. Really I just squish her all day and tell her how much I love her.

Chase mowed and edged the lawn for the first time of the year (you can see him in the top corner) and of course, our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man can never miss an opportunity to help mow.

We had Nate and Halie and the girls over for Sunday dinner (Nate and Halie were babysitting while Will and Kate went out of town) and it was a wild Sunday dinner for sure! I took this picture of them all on the couch, and while it's not the best photo, it does kind of capture each of their personalities.

And then the babies both wanted to be in the cozy coupe. This really made me smile because we have an almost identical picture of Will and Ella doing this Christmas 1987 in Will's cozy coupe. Felt like a Circle of Life moment.

Here Nana and Davis are fixing his Spider-Man costume. He's actually wearing it WHILE they are sewing it, just slipped the top part off to fix a glove.

This is just a normal day with Davis. He loves these headphones and always puts them on to do his "work" or his "homework". Ben has a pair of noise cancelled headphones he wears all day, so he likes to be just like his dad. 

Oh melt my heart Lila! She's grinning from ear to ear here because she's looking at the goats that roam the marsh behind our house. She gets so excited when she sees them! This girl loves animals. 

Like this neighbors cat. We actually know the cat now better than the actual neighbor. The cat is named Reese and Lila loves him. He's way too nice to her and puts up with a lot of tail and hair pulling.

My boys are both getting so dang good at the piano. Hudson gets so frustrated while practicing a lot of the time, but it's pretty great to see his progress. And Chase is just so amazing at it. He's been working on learning the whole, real version of Fur Elise and it's beautiful. Chase can literally just conquer any piece he puts his mind to. He's told me that he really likes playing and it's relaxing for him and calms his mind. 

While Davis and friends rode their scooters all over the church parking lot, Lila pushed her stroller. I have so many pictures of her on my phone, but I can't help it. She's just the cutest little thing.

This was a fun little reminder that came this month- Chase got mail. It's actually from a neighbor who lives two houses away, but it was fun for him to get something in the mailbox- especially a sweet little note. Makes me thankful for the village of people I have looking out for my children and helping to lift and raise them.