May 2021

May 30, 2021

School wrapped up this week and the kids are pretty excited about summertime. That said, Addie was pretty sad to say goodbye to her teacher and class and there were some tears when she was picked up to go home. We enjoyed seeing Hinckley and Addie dance in their end-of-school dance event with their peers at Dry Creek Elementary. They both looked like they were having a really good time! And Greyson did pretty well sitting and watching as well, he is very quiet and pensive with all the people around. Kassie has some great plans in place for making summer fun, including some cool workbooks that include a sticker chart to a prize. Remarkably Hinckley has already finished it (about 100 pages of worksheets) after 1 day of summer and the weekend. He is really excited about the summer schedule including things like "Mother nature Monday" and "Water Wednesday". On the last day of school, Kassie took them to get smoothies to celebrate the end of the year, and then they played out on a slip and slide that she had purchased in the backyard. All three start swim lessons this week.

We also had a really great visit to the Ashton Gardens to see the lego exhibit there that was incredible! 

Greyson and his music box (an old baby toy that plays songs)

Ashton Gardens Lego exhibit

Ashton Gardens Lego exhibit

Swinging at North Park in Provo

Comfort from little brother

Ashton Gardens Lego exhibit

We were lucky to have Mom and Dad over on Friday night with the kids while Kassie and I got some Indian food and played some games with people one street over. We are preparing for a full return to 2-hour church with no restrictions of any kind, starting next week! 

May 23, 2021

We are eagerly looking forward to June 1 when all church activity in our area returns to "normal" in that there will be no limitations on the number of people, and we'll go back to the full regular 2-hour church and church activities. We are really lucky, and fingers crossed it will stay that way moving forward.

This week Addie and Hinckley had their "field days" at school and are enjoying the end-of-year events. With a break in extracurricular things this week the kids looked to Kas and I as their primary source of entertainment and activity. One day, Addie ran out of the backyard and went to the park without telling us. Greyson came running through the house in his undies (he had peed his pants a few minutes earlier) and went through the front door and ran off to the park as well. There was much chaos. Greyson has stepped up the degree to which he is experimenting with the laws of gravity by throwing his food and just about anything else he can get his hands on to the ground. It is quite infuriating. His examinations of the natural laws extend to human psychology as he relishes grabbing something of one of his siblings and tests out various taunts to see what will get him the most outrageous response. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have to try hard.

Pillow piles with Addie and Greyson

 
On Saturday Greyson and Hinckley helped me rip out an out-of-control sage bush before I mowed our dying lawn. Addie and Kassie had a fun date to Fat Cats to play on the arcades, and then later in the day Hinckley and I biked to Holiday gas station for a treat and then watched Harry Potter 2 in my office. He was pretty into and it was a fun (though very long) date. Afterward, everyone got exhausted and there were some very royal tantrums as we went to the “tree park”. It was a hard late afternoon, but most are.

Ice cream sandwiches at Holiday gas station

Hinckley continues to go on and on and on about his desire for a venom glaive (a weapon of sorts that drops randomly) in Minecraft Dungeons. I hope he’ll get one soon, as I’m about to go nuts with his constant plotting and yearning for that thing. Kassie has been extra busy with primary and HOA responsibilities. At work, another team member announced they were leaving Weave so we now have something like 4 empty roles on the Training team, so my team is very busy trying to cover those responsibilities till my manager can get people hired in those roles.

May 16, 2021

Hinckley was pretty nervous for both his gymnastics and music performances, but it went really well and he expressed some relief they were over but that it wasn’t as bad as he thought it might be. Those experiences are one of the main reasons I feel like it is valuable for him to be doing them in the first place. The more he can do that, the more comfortable he will be in front of people and putting himself out there. He continues to read like a maniac. He had a class party this week which Kassie was able to go in and help with which was really fun!

Hinckley's final "Let's Play Music" recital

Hinckley's Gymnastics showcase

Hinckley at the end of gymnastics showcase

Addie had a great time at her dance concert and expressed afterward that she does want to keep doing dance because they gave her a flower and treats after. We are thinking of taking a break however with basketball or something else. The people here are little nuts when it comes to dancing. I think I understand now why the BYU Cougarettes win every national championship, they have an insane feeder group of girls here in Utah Valley.

Ready to dance!

The "Mermaid Dance" (Addie is 3rd from the right)

Greyson was a good spectator at these events, and loved clapping with everyone after each event. He had a really good time playing in the puddles from the sprinklers when we went to the park this morning, pushing his basketball through them and watching the water lines they created across the court. His will is very strong, and nighttime preparation is almost always like the prime attraction of a major rodeo event as I wrestle him out of and into clothes and such. He has been enjoying pushing the boundaries. The other day he took all of his clothes off outside and was jumping on the tramp...then he came inside and peed all over the playroom. He and Addie also experimented with doing chalk and pouring water on it to get a sort of watercolor consistency. They stated happily they were drawing “bloody noses” and “pee”. He also was asking what his nipples were for. Then he went on to state, "My bristles are for drinking a smoothie and eating crepes!" (huh?!)

Trucks and sand

The joy of basketballs and puddles

Swinging with Nana and Grandpa

We enjoyed having Mom and Dad here for much of Saturday, we enjoyed some amazing Thai food takeout for lunch and it was nice to have them here for a length of time that the kids could show them performances and things and just be with them, including some park time too.

Resting with Grandpa

Blobby's custom swing

May 8, 2021

Saturday was “Mommy day off” and Kas wanted to paint the kid’s bathroom so I took the kids down to 1220 and we had fun with the Kays and grandparents for a few hours. Greyson wanted to go down the BYU path, but no one else did so I went with him and Mom and Dad and we had a great walk in the spring beauty there. It was glorious! And Greyson had a blast with all the things to see and all the adult attention to boot. We came home and watched The Wizard of Oz which they all stayed and watched the whole thing. It was fun to see that again! It has been a really long time.

This week we purchased an alarm clock that lights up green at a designated time, and Addie is using it successfully to stay in her room till 7:00 a.m.! It is a miracle. Hinckley does a pretty good job staying in his room till 7:00 and also encouraging Greyson to stay there too, so that has made the mornings a little more predictable and smooth. Hinckley read Harry Potter 3 this week and really enjoyed that, he continues reading like made and we literally can't get enough books to satiate him at the speed he consumes them. 

Mother's Day morning

BYU Duckpond wih Nana and Grandpa

Boys and video game enchantment

Addie and Sadie time

Addie's blossom