Kid activities

We squeezed in a few things at the beginning of March before Spring Break started.

 

Annie got to participate in the Spring Spectacular gymnastics showcase again this year. She had fun and did a great job.

The kids love when Jacob pulls out his puppetry skills/jokes.

 Megan had bug day at preschool and came home as a butterfly. Not sure what this face was--a tough butterfly?

 I got to go to the temple with some of the priests and laurels in our ward. It was so cool to see the priests doing the baptisms.

 And we went out for chicken after we were done for some more socializing since the boys and girls wouldn't even mix in the cars--there was the boys' car and the girls' car. But of course food got the socializing going.

 Annie went on a field trip to a play at the high school and afterwards we joined her at the park for a picnic lunch. Ryan and Megan were happy to join in on part of the field trip.

Then a couple days later Megan was super happy to spend most of the morning at the kids' school during field day. We wandered back and forth between Rachel's class and Ryan's class.

 Megan preferred Ryan's class because she was closer to their size and basically decided she was a part of the class and joined in where she could.

 We went back to Ryan's class when they were done outside and shared some otter pops as a birthday treat, since Ryan's birthday would take place over spring break. It was a big hit.

Before we pulled out of the parking lot my mom (who had been volunteering at field day) came out to tell us that Ryan had hit his head pretty hard on the playground and had a goose egg. Since school was ending in 15 minutes for him anyway, we just brought him with us and went out to eat with my mom to cheer him up.

Later that day we went back to the afternoon session of the field day to see Annie and bring her class some otter pops since it was pretty hot.

Megan was in heaven again being able to sit in Annie's classroom and eat otter pops with the other kids. Her greatest aspiration is to be able to go to the same school as all the rest of the kids, and that day her dream was realized. :)

Ryan's birthday celebrations

Since we were going to be out of town on Ryan's actual birthday, we celebrated Ryan's birthday a week early. We had the family get together Sunday, and of course Ryan was happy to be the center of attention. When it was time to open presents he did Eeney Meeney Miney Moe for every single one.

One of his favorite presents was a Stomp Rocket.

There are super lightweight rockets you put on the launch pad, then squeeze or stomp on the launcher and it shoots off. It was a hit.

The next day some of Ryan's friends came to celebrate with him. They built marshmallow buildings, then ate the marshmallow buildings (and popcorn and Red Vines) while they watched a movie.

Ryan wanted to do an emoji birthday party, so they watched The Emoji Movie, and had emoji cupcakes, much like Rachel did.

We also pulled out the bouncy castle that the kids had a good time on.

End of February

Ryan lost two teeth!

 Both Annie and Rachel lost their first tooth shortly before they turned 5. Ryan waited until he was almost 6. We thought it might help there be less crowding since his mouth would be slightly larger, but so far it doesn't seem to be the case. Oh well. :)

A friend called one day to tell me that she had just witnessed a hawk catch a bird in the middle of the street. We walked down and noticed there were two hawks in the tree. One flew away when we got close, but the other stayed, guarding it's meal, keeping a sharp eye on us.

 For our family home evening activity one week we practiced relaxation. Megan and Ryan had a hard time staying still, but Rachel, Annie, and Jacob floated away into neverland just fine.

 We're hoping this will help them develop skills to help themselves relax all on their own, especially when they're worked up or can't fall asleep.

The youth in our stake got to participate in a Trek this year.

 I got to drop them off and pick them up. Most had a great experience. A few were glad they went, but wouldn't do it again...

 Megan riding her horsey ball in the pantry.

 We had a lip sync battle with the youth at church. The Young Women leaders had the song Lean On Me, so we all dressed up 80s style. It was super fun.

 The kiddos dressed up as cowboys for Rodeo Day. They make cute cow pokes.