Water under the Tramp

Only two more weeks of school...HOORAY! I really need to decide what our next school year will look like. I hear class sizes might be limited to 9 kids, meaning the kids will attend school on rotation...that sounds like a disaster. We made it through this past week. Thankfully, the work load is mostly fun activities focused on keeping the kids reading, writing, and working on math. Phillip is still the hardest child to motivate. He refuses to work unless I am sitting next to him. He lost out on several after school activities this past week because of his stubbornness. Everett got to make a catapult and homemade ice cream for STEM learning. Friday afternoon Ronald Reagan hosted a fun teacher parade. We got to wave and yell as the teachers and staff drove by. All the kids were excited to watch their teachers drive by and get a car honk. Amelia strengthened her inner nerd this week, she watched all the Anne of Green Gables movies from the 1980s! I must say it was fun to watch the movies again and laugh, cry, smile, and frown over all that magic.

We invited over the Palmers to try our hand at making Macrons (again) using the Italian meringue method. The recipe flopped...it was messy and time consuming to weigh everything and work the recipe in the proper manner. The shells turned out all puffy and half the shells were half baked. Once again the buttercream Mia made was amazing. She made a fresh lemon frosting....swoon. We still ate the treats and enjoyed our work. The French were appalled over our efforts. I even turned out half of the batter into a 9x13 pan to make a macron sheet cookie...that even flopped because it was half-baked inside with a crunchy shell. The purpose however was met...to develop friendships with our newly acquainted cousins. Sweet Eli colored lots of papers full of my favorite colors! Hyrum showed Everett some awesome soccer moves.

I convinced the kids to let me take photos in front of our pretty snowball bush. I had a series back on Sidney of the kids in front of the pink cherry tree blossoms, the series is back on but snowball version! I can't wait to update the series after 3 years. Josie was quite unhappy about participating until I bribed her with bunny chocolate leftover from Easter! That kid will do just about anything for chocolate. Hummmm....I wonder if she would eat her veggies or try a strawberry if I bribed her with chocolate?!

Mia organized a fun fashion show this week. Evelyn finally decided it was fun to change her earrings. She changes her ear fashions several times each day lately! Her favorite is a large pair of silver hoops! The boys got into the fashion show by coordinating their special stuffies with fashionable outfits. Even Dog Vader got some decor.

Justin and I got the old (new) trampoline dismantled, Esther helped take down the frame while they were here on Wednesday. The wind about carried away the tramp early that morning. We felt a little self-conscious carting an entire tramp into the store. Thankfully, they accepted the return with no questions. Everett helped me put the new trampoline together. All the other kids helped for 1-2 minutes then ran off. He stayed with me for a couple hours until the job was completed. That kid is golden. Putting the safety net on was quite the wrestling match...Justin got punched in the face quite on accident. The new trampoline is much heavier and sturdier. It can hold the weight of all the kids plus water as they jump with the sprinkler running.

Saturday we celebrated with the Call family as Gary was baptized. The ordinance was broadcast via Zoom meeting to family members. We're so grateful we could participate. We enjoyed a yummy lunch at Costa Vida picnic style. The kids and I biked to the gas station for treats in the late afternoon. I had quite the workout, my bike barely coasted down the hill with the bike trailer attached. The rear brake was fully engaged and the trailer had a flat tire! No wonder my heart was thumping. The Ostler's invited us over for s'mores and bonfire fun after dark.

I am thinking about my mom and grandmothers today. I have exceptional women in my life to lead and guide me. Justin taught me something this morning. He quoted President Kimball saying that the creations of the Lord started with simple and ended with the most beautiful and complex. Phillip commented that Eve was the most complex of all the Lord's creations...yep! Those women are complex and beautiful creatures. So sweet. Evelyn had a tear in her eyes while we sang "Love is Spoken." She offered a lovely prayer with tears in here eyes. That more than anything warmed my heart. Seeing her tender heart touched with love for me, her mother. I am so blessed! Justin brought home some pretty flowers over the weekend. I had a vase ready and waiting! Ha ha. He presented me with a new set of gleaming knives to replace my worn out set. Can't wait to slice up my fingers.

* Josie calls the snowball tree (when it had green bunches of flowers) the Broccoli Tree
*Phillip was asked to share something with his class in a Zoom meeting: "My Dad is bald on top, like the shiny bald with short hairs by his ears..." LOL...guess he was out of other interesting facts.