The Spring Spectacular

 
Emily loves gymnastics.  She did gymnastics and then we switched to dance to try that for a while, but she really wanted to go back to gymnastics.  So we did!  A few weeks into it, they had an opening in a class for Addy at the same time, so we decided to give it a try for her as well.  Both girls loved it.  After a few short months, they had their gymnastics showcase.
Addy definitely has personality!

Emily loves to pose for the camera!
 

 Addy learned lots of great skills in her class.
She learned balance,

 She learned how to do a forward roll,

She worked on her arm strength,

She learned how to follow directions,

 And she learned how to jump (sort of!).

 At the end, they did an obstacle course that showed off lots of their skills.  Addy was obviously a little distracted by all the other kids around her!
 
 But, when she focused, she did pretty well!
 
 In the end, she learned lots and had a great time! 

And, most importantly to her, she got a medal to show off to everyone!!


 Emily's class was a little more advanced.  They learned a routine on the four different events. 
She performed on the bars,



She performed on the vault,




She performed on the beam,


And she performed on the floor.

Emily also learned a lot, including almost being able to do a cartwheel.  She also loved it and can't wait to get back to it!
Great job Emily!!

 

An Eclipse?!

Chad and I were very excited about the chance to see the solar eclipse last weekend.  Utah had a great view of it, although we were a little off line for the total Ring of Fire.  Chad wanted to get glasses, but I remembered that when I was in elementary school, we used note cards to view an eclipse.  So, I convinced him to try it.  Thankfully it worked and we slowly watched the moon cover up the sun.
The sun went from a full circle,








 To looking like a crescent moon,

 To almost completely disappearing.

 I tried to take an actual picture of it to see if I could see the moon and the sun, but I don't know if the clouds disguised it or if you just couldn't see it through the camera.  However, the resulting pictures were still cool.

 

 Eventually our neighbors wandered out to see what we were doing.  After looking at the note cards, they decided to try looking through the tinted windows of their car, with sun glasses on to protect your eyes.  I'm not sure if it was the safest idea, but it worked and showed a cool view of the moon covering up the sun.

I'm still not sure the kids thought it was as cool as Chad and I, but at least when the next one comes around, maybe they will have an idea of what people are talking about!!

Easter Photos

 I always wait too long to go shopping for Easter dresses, so I can never find the ones that I like in all the right sizes. This year was even more complicated because I had three different categories of sizes that I was trying to match (baby/toddler, young girl, and girl).  So, after looking at several stores unsuccessfully, I finally found some I liked at Kohl's, but of course not all in the right sizes.  I managed to find 2 sets of dresses that I really liked in Emily and Kaitlyn's sizes, but not Addy's.  I decided to buy all 4 dresses anyway and then go check some other stores for a matching or similar dress in Addy's size.  However, just in case I couldn't find one that matched one of those 2 sets, I bought the one set of dresses that I sort of liked that they had in all 3 girls' sizes.  So, in all, I left Kohl's with 7 dresses!  Thankfully they have a great return policy!
Luckily, I managed to find a similar dress, that was just the opposite colors, for Addy at another store, so I could go with the cutest dresses!


They wanted to show off the back also.

I loved this dress and Emily only makes it cuter!

Addy often dares to be different, so her dress being opposite was actually fitting!

 We tried to get a picture of Kaitlyn, but she was not happy about it.

So we tried again,

 And again,

 And again, with only mild success.

 I tried to talk Cole into a new tie, like a bright green, orange or purple one to add a splash of color.  But apparently he's too good for my color scheming and I ran out of time to find one anyway.  So, we went with the black and white square polka dotted one!  It's a good thing he's cute anyway!

 As I was deciding what I was going to wear for Easter, I remembered Chad had gotten me a new dress for Christmas that was...black and white polka dots! 

At that point, I decided we were going to be that cheesy, matching family for Easter.  So Chad willingly found his black and white polka dotted tie.

 Since Cole is old enough to take pictures, we even managed to get one of the two of us.  (This was about the third attempt though.  Thank goodness for digital cameras!)

Since we all matched and looked so cute, I decided we were going to attempt to take a family picture.  Our last one was a few kids ago I think!  Chuck willingly got out his fancy camera and found a good spot for us.  He took multiple pictures for us.  I was so excited to finally have an updated picture.
However, apparently my kids did not want an updated picture because I don't think Kaitlyn looked at the camera for a single picture and Cole did not tuck in his shirt like he was told to.  Oh well, Shot down in a blaze of glory!

At least my kids are cute!?!?!!?  (And I think Kaitlyn is finally smiling in this picture!)

My First Field Trip (As a Mom!)

For the first time ever (yes, my oldest is in 2nd grade!), I went on a field trip with one of my kids.  It was actually a lot of fun!  Although after riding on the bus for just a few minutes, I really wondered if I was going to survive a bunch of second grade boys for a whole day!

This field trip was all about farming and agriculture.  So their first stop was the local supermarket so they could learn all about what goes on there and how their food gets on the shelves.

They got to back in the freezer with all of the ice cream and good stuff!  (Cole is the one in the blue jacket.)

One of the most popular stops was behind the milk aisle.  There are doors that open up so they can refill the milk shelf from the back.  There were a few startled shoppers when the 2nd graders poked their heads out and talked to them as they were selecting their milk!

Another popular stop was the loading dock.  They got to see how the dock raised and lowered depending on the truck that was there.

The best stop of all?  The bakery of course!

Free cookies for everyone!


This grocery store actually has a tv room where they do training and even broadcast food shows.

Second graders love to see themselves on tv!

Our next stop was lunch at the local park.  I began wondering again if I was going to survive these boys!

Thankfully after shoving their food in very quickly, they had some time to run off some energy.

The final stop of the day was the Utah County Farm Days.

This poor sheep had no idea what was coming!

That's right, they sheared the sheep with all of the kids watching and cheering.

The poor, naked sheep didn't not get proper sympathy from the kids!

After that intro, they split them up into groups and talked about various agricultural things around Utah County.

The kids were probably most intrigued by the beekeepers.

 

 Although the baby animals were also pretty popular.

 

 Especially when they discovered that they could pet them!

The adults were probably most intrigued by the mink farmers.  If I recall correctly, that coat hanging up took around 40 minks to make and cost $10,000ish. 

They also learned about fruit trees and fruit farming,

 

 Growing wheat,

And nutrition from a talking tomato.

 They finished by posing for a class picture. (Although is class was split into 3 groups so this is only part of it.)

It was definitely an educational day.  And, thankfully all of the kids made it back to school in one piece!