April 30
Happy Spring! It has truly spung here in Lehi. The highlight this week was attending the Saratoga Springs Temple open house with our family. The kids did really well and enjoyed it a lot. They had a lot of questions after and it was great to talk through things with them. Hinckley was eager to sit down in the celestial room and later asked if there was a time limit for how long people could sit in there when you attend the temple. Addie asked if you had to pay to get into the temple which prompted a discussion about temple recommends and tithing. Greyson’s favorite part was all the nice looking drinking fountains, he stopped at least 4 times to slurp up some water as we continued the tour. They really enjoyed it and felt the warmth and peace that comes from that remarkable place.
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| Saratoga Springs Temple Open House |
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Saratoga Springs Temple Open House
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On Monday there was no school due to a Teacher Work day so I took Addie to Chick-Fil-A for a date for lunch and for donuts at the Lehi Bakery. She was pretty happy with that! She had two birthday parties on Saturday and was in heaven with those. We had some of the boys in our neighborhood over on Saturday night to watch Holes and are hoping Hinckley can connect with them more often. Hinckley's recent excitement this week is about coding Python and has started learning that coding language at home. From what he has been able to figure out from quizzing his primary teacher he can get a small micro computer called a Raspberry Pi Pica that he can code using Python so it will power his creation he's been envisioning for a few months. He's been pestering us now to buy his own computer. He and I took some really nice bike rides this weekend and enjoyed the blossoms, snow-capped mountains, and the amazing view of the lake as we rode through the perfect breeze and sunshine. So great!
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| Greyson at Ninja class |
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| On the Ninja line |
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| Hinckley's electrical engineering projects |
Greyson caught me about to recycle a giant box. He and Addie spent a lot of time playing in and with the box, and Hinckley too. Greyson slept in the box for a couple of nights and was sad when it was time to retire it. He had some more fun at his ninja class this weekend and was very excited to tell us about the upcoming showcase where he will be able to demonstrate his skills. He's also been interested in shooting some hoops at the park again so I've gone over there with him and Hinckley a bit.
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| Writing "thank you" cards |
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| Bike ride with Hinckley |
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| Boy in a box |
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| Girl in a box |
Kassie and I enjoyed going to the temple this weekend and eating some very tasty food at a French café sort of restaurant. Yum.
April 23
While cold, this week had moments that felt like Spring. Greyson has enjoyed zipping around on his little scooter, and doesn't seem quite ready to learn how to ride a bike. I'm sure that will change once he sees his friends riding around. He has been extra hung strung lately, and has tons of physical energy that needs good outlets, for which we are on constant search.
Mid-week we went to the elementary school for the Art Showcase where we saw some of Hinckley's artwork and watched Addie perform a song with members of her class and then tell her story she's been practicing for a month or so - "The Ghost and the Bloody Finger". The kids also painted some pictures and did a few other activities. They love doing arts and crafts that is for sure! Addie finished These Happy Golden Years and is on to the final book of the Little House series. It was pretty sobering to read about Pa helping Laura up into the carriage for the last time and waving goodbye to their grown up girl on her wedding day.
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| Water colors at the Art Showcase |
Recently I indulged myself and bought Super Smash Bros for the Nintendo Switch. Hinckley has become very taken with it and is even more happy that he dominates all of us (including me) in it. He is really soaking in the power trip haha. It is fun playing with him despite my getting destroyed every time. Hinckley has finished up his black hole report he's been working on after school and reacted really positively to my feedback on his first draft. He continues to have endlessly complex and interesting questions about the universe and physics and more that even with AI/google I'm pretty useless in answering. He and Kassie has a fun date this week making a cake Hinckley really wanted called "Everything but the kitchen sink". It has potato chips and pretzels crushed up with lots of chocolate, frosting and something like 6 sticks of butter.
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| Bonding over Super Smash Bros |
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| Mom and Hinckley making cake |
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| Stuffy birthday party with cake |
Another indulgence for me this week is a pair of outdoor soccer cleats. I found a group that plays near our home twice a week mid day which is when I exercise anyway! So I played twice outside this week, which is the most outdoor soccer I've played since I was about 16 years old! It is so much fun, and extremely tiring.
On Saturday I took the kids down to Provo for Addie’s ice skating class and afterwards we went to BYU campus. The art activity I thought was happening at the MOA actually wasn’t…but the kids were content to do the sculpture garden scavenger hunt and look at the modern art exhibit again. They had a ball so that was good. We also explored the new Music Building which was memorable as we found our way onto the stage of one of the smaller recital halls and then later got stuck in the dark for a second. It brought tears and screaming but we found our way out! We also spent a few minutes looking at the HFAC destruction and it was interesting to think about all the memories from the bosom of that old building such as my film lectures/tests and many practicing sessions by the musicians of our family.
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| MOA scavenger hunt |
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| HFAC remains |
April 16
This week we had our "mocktail" party in which we invited about 12 people over for some drinks, snacks, and simple icebreaker activities. I read a book called "The 2-hour cocktail party" which lays out the whole plan. It went well and was pretty fun! We think we'll likely do it again. The kids watched
Big Hero 6 up in my office and did a really good job staying quiet. Addie read Greyson some books and Hinckley took a group picture for the whole group. Success.
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| Mocktail party |
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| Ready for the party |
Another interesting thing this week was I went to donate blood and due to some complications nearly passed out. They were unable to get me hooked up properly and after lots of pain my body went totally rigid and I couldn't move for about 30 minutes. I stayed conscious and eventually after drinking lots of juice and tons of deep raspy breathing all feeling was restored and I was able to get up and leave. It will be a while before I'm ready to give blood again!
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| Weird picture of me trying to smile while going into shock |
We made a few purchases this week to keep us all active. Greyson got a scooter so he can catch up with his friend who is always flying around the park nearby, and we finally got Hinckley a new bike that fits his growing stature. I got a walking treadmill for my desk and am hoping that helps me live a less sedentary life and so far I'm enjoying it a lot! Addie started her ice skating level 2 lessons this Saturday and despite her dreading/fearing, it was happy afterward. She has been working on her animal report diorama for the Artic Fox this week which she is really excited about. I started the "Learning Challenge" with Hinckley which is basically me assigning him homework. He is hoping to earn an engineering online course if he can complete the learning challenge by the end of the school year. He continues to be obsessed with black holes and the movie Interstellar.
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| Ready for the egg drop |
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| Hinckley's egg drop |
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| Greyson at the top of the Warped Wall |
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| Addie's first day of level 2 ice skating |
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| Hinckley's new steed |
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| McDonald's ice cream date |
Much of this week was great weather and it is SO nice to be able to let the kids go out in the backyard or over to the park with friends and have them run free. It is wonderful!
April 9
This week was Spring Break for the kids. The first couple days it just snowed and snowed and the kids spent a lot of time outside building forts, snowmen, and other such creations. I've never seen so much snow this late in the year.
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| General Conference forts |
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| Greyson's home brew |
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| Spring break snow - Greyson about to faceplant |
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| Spring break snow fort at the park |
Greyson has been really into making Nike gear. He has made a number of Nike wristbands out of paper and marker, and also made a tape ball that he colored blue and wrote “Nike” on. It is pretty cute. His arm seems to be doing well, and it is hard to hold him back from things he is dying to do (jump on tramp with multiple people etc.) The doctors just don't want him to risk hurting it again so soon after the break. He loved having his siblings around more this week with no school. Hinckley’s little motors arrived in the mail this week and he was excited to experiment with those. His main wish in life now is to meet Mark Rober (YouTube engineer sensation and BYU alumni) and ask him all his questions. He built a fort for all the kids to sleep in this week which was memorable for them, including Addie who got the 10lb weight on her toe the next morning during a fight with Greyson. Addie continues to enjoy the Little House books and was eager to wear a dress with flower print and have french braids so she could look like Laura and Carrie. She continues to express every thought and idea to use in many words and had a lot to say during Spring Break and Easter.
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