Memorial Day Trip

We hadn't been up north since the holidays so we decided that we should take a trip over Memorial Day.  Thursday was the kids' last day of school.  They were out early.  We went to the park with some friends and then the 3 oldest kids went swimming with Aunt Monique.  They must have been tired because while we were at soccer practice for Truman Prentice fell asleep on the pavement.

Chambers had been sick since earlier in the week and I was even considering not going the day before.  He seemed over the worst of it was he was just tired and grumpy.  Poor kid.

We left after practice and got to Anton and Liz's late that night.  We tried to be as quiet as we could and headed to their nice and cool basement for some sleep.  The kids all did great on the ride up and they all slept well that night.

The next day was Friday and we headed to the zoo with our season pass for the first time this season.  The lion enclosure was done so that was neat to see for the first time.  Cardon especially is at an age where everything is larger than life and so exciting, so he loved every minute of it.  The zoo is one of those places that we all seem to enjoy and I like that the kids are interested in animal life and facts.  The day was cool and overcast and just right to be walking around.  The schools up north were still in school so it wasn't too busy except for a few field trips.

Just a quick thought on this picture.  I went on the carousel with the kids while Jer stayed with Chambers and when they all got off they couldn't wait to tell him about their ride.

Tacy is always so helpful with Chambers.  She wishes he would want to go to her a little more, but he's still pretty attached to me.  I keep telling her that I think he will get better when he gets a little older.

Stopped for a bite to eat while Jer got caught up on some work calls.  Traveling can sure be stressful with kids, but I had the best time being as a family.  It isn't often that Jer can take days of work, so I'm glad he made the effort to take Friday off and we got to be together.

We also spent a lot of time with my brother and his family but sadly I didn't get any pictures of all that fun.  They had a blast catching snails, jumping on the trampoline, watching movies, and hanging out in the playroom.  It's always a little sad when we have to tell them it's time to go home.  Jer and Anton took Truman to "X Men."  And we ate out way to much but it was so good.  I'm thinking I need to get back to the gym now.

We also got to go to Lagoon for the first time this season.

By the end Cardon was exhausted so we called it a day a little early.  Too many late nights and no naps.  We are looking forward to going a couple more times before summer ends.

We also spent some time with Jer's parents and the highlight as usual was riding the four wheeler.  We managed to get all of us on for a ride at one point.  Great way to start our summer.  Excited for late nights, sleeping in, swim team, popsicles, pool time, and not so many schedules.  If only Jer didn't have to work for a couple months!

Heading into Summer

Wanted to get caught up on what we've been doing the last week before summer break starts for the kids.
I have really been trying to get the boys out to enjoy this beautiful weather we have been having before it gets too hot.  In connection with that I have desperately been trying to get away from my phone more.  Specifically facebook and instagram.  I got realizing that I'm constantly checking them for no good reason.  It's like I do it out of habit and I really do feel like it takes up time that I could spend doing other things.  The first day it was hard and weird not checking them, but the last couple days it has been a lot easier.  I am still going to keep up on my blogging, and in the future I might gradually ease back into the whole social media thing, but sometimes I wonder what I really get out of it.

We got out for couple walks and all I could do was smile when Cardon came out like this.  Batman cape pushing his baby in the stroller.

Here is Chambers in the double stroller with his friend Oliver that I watch on Wednesdays.

This is the only picture I have to prove it, but I was in charge of the decorations for the kids' school for teacher appreciation week.  You never know how much time goes into something like this until you get to do it.  I was so ready to be done by the time the week came.  I didn't take pictures but our theme was "superheroes" so I also mounted comic book pages and put them all around the school, hung a comic book banner that promptly got pulled down, and made a bunch of various "POW" signs that were also hung around the school. I won't deny that more than a few times I wondered if all this work was worth it.  Learned a few things for next year.  Like that fact that apparently packing tape is the only thing that works to keep the things hung to the wall!

I was also able to go on a couple field trips with Truman and his class.  One to the Santa Clara arboretum close to their school.  On this one they learned all about the plants and life around Santa Clara and how early pioneers and Indians used the plants to survive.  I was surprised how many of the plants they were able to taste.  My only fear is that now Truman will think he can eat all the plants he sees!  Jer was very nice to take part of a morning off work to watch the boys so I could go.

Yesterday I also got to go with him to the Wildlife Museum.  We have been a few times before but this time was extra special because we got to have a guided tour and then watch a movie on the big screen about the amazing animal life in Alaska.  Afterwards we stopped and learned a little about Life Flight and then headed to the park for lunch.  Truman even convinced me to play four square with his friends.  I remember liking to play that game as a kid so I was glad he got me involved.  Thanks to my mom and sister for helping out with the little boys.

Truman and Tacy have tennis on Monday afternoons after school and I have been trying to take the little boys to do something fun.  This last Monday we grabbed some cheap bread and went to feed the ducks.  The water was gross, but the ducks seemed hungry.  Cardon was excited to see a swan and some baby ducklings.

And in typical Cardon fashion he tried to crawl under everything he saw.

The break was so cheap and gross, even Chambers didn't seem too interested in eating it.

Fathers and Sons Campout

Cardon kept telling us he was going on a field trip and that he would miss us. He was so excited to be old enough to be going camping. He actually slept in the back of the truck with Jer and Truman slept in a tent with the other boys from the ward. Jer spent hours planning and preparing for the activity. He spent so much time being in charge of everything I was a little worried he wouldn't be able to spend a lot of time with the boys. They came home dirty and tired so they must of had fun. Jer cooked some great food and the boys had a blast playing in the water and trying to catch crawdads.   I selfishly told Jer that he isn't to volunteer to do anything else for a while.  Being in charge of  Mother's Day and the Fathers and Sons is enough to warrant a break for a while.

Tacy and I were excited to have a girls weekend with Chambers tagging along.  We went shopping and bought some shoes.  Then we got Del Taco (one of her favorites) and headed to my parents house to eat.  Next we gave each other manicures and pedicures and to finish the late night we watched "Frozen."  I think it was good for all of us to have a little break and do something different.

First Grade Chinese Program

I can't believe Prentice is done with a year of Mandarin Chinese.  The first month was torture for both of us, but since then it was smooth sailing.  She has leaned so much and has been a happy girl going to school.  She was really looking forward to her Chinese program.  She had a small speaking part and sang a few songs and did a dance.  My camera died towards the end and although I had my phone I didn't know if it was worth it to take it from Cardon who was being entertained by games or film the last song.  I opted to leave it with Cardon.  We are so proud of this little girl.  She puts her heart into everything she does and I have no doubt she will be successful in learning to speak another language.  Her teacher Mrs. Jia is leaving when school ends to go back to China and her husband and although Prentice will truly miss her we look forward to seeing who her new teacher will be.

Jer and Chambers are not pictured because for most of the performance he was walking around with him in the back of the gym.