May 2021 Roundup

Our May was a equal parts fun and misery. We had a end of year school activities and celebrations, a visit from grandparents, and a spontaneous trip to St. George, but also sickness and BED BUGS!! (separate post on that coming soon). We made it through though, and are now ready for summer!! We have lots of fun plans over the next couple months and are looking forward to camps, trips and other events that weren't able to happen last year due to Covid. 

Two cuties sitting on their Princess and the Pea throne - couch + little chair + 4 pillows

I have no explanation for why Davey was coloring naked one evening 

Griffin is a cute, busy little guy who is always on the move, getting into EVERYTHING 

The city came through and repaved our entire neighborhood! Hooray!! Our court was a crumbly, gravel mess that was horrible for riding bikes or scooters. The boys loved watching the paving team work that morning and we will all enjoy having a new, smooth road.

Sophie was able to attend Activity Days a few times before summer break. She loves her leader, who is always planning darling activities for the girls. Before school got out she hosted a mommy/daughter tea party at her home. We ate a yummy lunch, learned about manners, and then the girls sang a song about mothers. I was glad I got to hear it then, because we missed them performing at church due to strep.

First splash pad outing of summer! Normally these don't turn on until Memorial Day, but the city activated them early this year and we were excited about it!

Texas has the coolest clouds

The hammock swings and climbing dome continue to be backyard favorites

I found this paper in Sophie's room one day, She was really mad that I wouldn't let her have more dessert one evening and so she made a list of all the mean things I do. Luckily she ran out of ideas after three lines. Hopefully she does not wish death on me anymore either.

The sand pit has been a fun new addition to our Discovery Center. On this trip we made a visit after it had rained the previous day so the sand was perfect for making castles.

Charlie riding his watermelon horse at Sam's Club

Memorial Day was cold and rainy so we met up with friends to see Cruella. I only took the older two kids and Sophie loved the movie, while Davey mostly loved the snacks.

Video clips from May 2021

School's Out Celebrations!

The school year has come to an end, and it went much better than expected!! There were no field trips, assemblies, or parties this year, but there were also never any closures for COVID and Sophie got to attend in person for her entire 2nd grade year, which is a major victory. The school even did away with mandatory masks towards the end of the year, but she kept hers on out of respect for a friend who has a brother with leukemia, plus it also didn't seem worth the risk with just a few weeks left. 

Even more exciting was grandparents coming for a surprise visit! They had asked to come up for the holiday weekend, but I kept it a secret from the kids. Sophie kept asking on the way home from her last day of school if we were going to do anything special, and I said, "not right now" and just took them home. I think she was disappointed, but her reaction was priceless when she looked out the window a few hours later to see that grandma had snuck into our backyard! Best surprise ever!

While grandparents were in town we were able to spend a day hiking at Palo Duro on the Kiowa trail, and afterward we went out for a yummy lunch at Tokyo. On Sunday we played lots of games, worked on crafts and a puzzle, including an "Escape Room" type surprise that grandpa had put together for the kids. What a fun weekend to celebrate the start of summer!

Sophie on the last morning of 2nd grade

End of school ice cream treat at Braums, and yes, she did eat that enormous cone all by herself

Davey showing off his emerging reading skills to Papa

Proof these brothers can occupy the same space, only it didn't last long. We moved Charlie in with Davey to free up room for guests, but those two are just not compatible (fighting, crying, poking, bothering) so Charlie later came in to sleep with us. 

Everyone was obsessed with finding the perfect hiking stick at Palo Duro. Dave found Sophie a strong, sturdy option that she politely declined, haha. Davey found two sticks that he thought looked like guns and he pew-pewed everything in sight as we hiked that morning.

The kids with grandparents while Davey does his best Lion King impression :)

A rare photo of the whole family! It's always hard to get pictures of all of us so I love it when we have someone there to help capture the moment. 

While We Were Away

 While the little boys and I were in St. George, the big kids stayed in Amarillo for "Dad Week" where they did all kinds of fun things. I'm sure part of them was sad they couldn't go with us on the trip, but between school and a few special activities, they had plenty to keep them busy while we were gone.

I left a little surprise for the kids to open each day I was gone, and on the first day they got tie dye kits! (I'm sure Dave was thrilled to do that project with them)

Davey had his PreK graduation on Tuesday night. I was sad to miss seeing him all dressed up and looking handsome in his robes, but Dave made sure to take a picture.

With his teacher, Mrs. Andrea

Dave took them to Chuck E Cheese for an afternoon

Sophie had her field day at school and loved having daddy there to watch her compete on all the games and play on the bounce houses

Davey's preschool had a last day luau party complete with bounce houses and a snow cone truck

Thanks for a great year Sonlight, and next up, kindergarten!!

Spur of the Moment St. George Trip

In March my parents bought a house in St. George and we were excited about having a new place to visit, but I didn't think it would happen this soon! One night while talking to my mom on the phone, I heard that Nat was thinking about making a trip down at the same time Derek was, and I was like, "well count us in too!" And the next thing you know I was booking flights for me and the little boys to join everyone in Utah just a couple weeks later. 

It was a quick five day trip, but we had a blast playing with cousins and exploring St. George. We managed to fit in two trips to the Town Square splash pad, the Tabernacle, Snow Canyon, Thunder Junction, and the neighborhood pool. There are so many fun things to do in that area! I'm sure we will return frequently as it's a days drive from Amarillo, or a quick plane flight into Vegas and then a shuttle to St. George. 

This boy was so bad on our drive from Vegas to St. George! He screamed for the entire trip, and then fell asleep with only about 10 minutes left. Look how smug he looks about all the fuss he made.

Reading bedtime books with Grandmari while the sun went down

Griffin and I got to take lots of early morning walks because he never really adjusted to the time change while we were there and always woke up too early

These two are the cutest cousins. They always have the greatest time together and rarely fight, which is pretty amazing for three year olds!

Squirt gun fun in the hot tub

Charlie and Briggen had a great time playing with all the rocks in the yard

Popsicle bath to wash off all the dirt and dust

Several of the cacti were blooming while we were visiting and they looked so pretty!

I was able to finish a desert theme puzzle during our trip

We went swimming in the neighborhood pool twice. It's nice because it's a walkable distance if you don't have a car because it was stolen by the golfers :)

TABERNACLE & TOWN SQUARE: Our first full day in St. George was a Sunday, so we made a trip to the Tabernacle for a tour. It's a beautiful building, but of special meaning to us because my ancestor, Miles Romney, was the architect of it's free standing spiral staircases. One interesting thing about the stairs is that when Brigham Young went to check the progress of the tabernacle he said that he balcony attached to the the staircases was too high. From those seats you could not see down to the pulpit below. But since the spiral staircases were already finished, it was not going to be easy to make any changes. After some arguing for a few days, it was decided that the stairs would be saved and the entire balcony would be lowered by 200 strong men holding it up while the posts were cut down one foot at a time until it was in the correct position. Then some steps were added to connect the spiral stairs down to the lower balcony. What a project!

On the steps to the Tabernacle and inside on one of the spiral staircases

The little cousins sitting in the balcony seats

After touring the Tabernacle, we walked next door to the splash pad area to let the kids cool off in the water and burn some energy. The water was warm and shallow, and the little river was fun to play in. Charlie loved it and had a great time!

Griffin on the other hand thought it was the worst and wanted nothing to do with the water. He was much happier eating snacks on Grandmari's lap instead.

Briggen and Charlie had fun floating these boats down the river and then chasing after them

THUNDER JUNCTION SPLASH PAD: Unfortunately a round of stomach flu went through part of the family, so while the sick people laid low, the well people took the kids to Thunder Junction to play. It's a really cool dinosaur themed park with a big play ground, a splash pad area, and a train that goes around the perimeter. It was too hot to spend much time on the playground, but the kids had a good time running in the fountains (even though the water was freezing) and then we changed into dry clothes and rode the train before heading home for lunch. 

We were here during school so it was pretty empty, especially early in the morning

Hiding inside a dino egg

The train was not running the day before, so I'm glad we were visiting on a day that it was operational. Charlie loves trains!!

SNOW CANYON: We spent one morning in Snow Canyon. Nat and Briggen had gone home, but my dad, Derek, Faye and William came with us. We chose to hike the short Pioneer Names trail so we could stay in the shade of the cliffs, and because it's easy enough for little kids. After following a sandy trail you can scramble up some rocks to get close to where some early pioneers wrote their names under an arch rock. Pretty cool! 

After our hike I thought Griffin might like a break from the pack to stretch his legs so I put him down, which turned out to be a bad idea. He hated the sand and rocks, and screamed until I held him again.

On the way out of the park we made an impromptu stop at Jenny's Canyon Trail, which turned out to be a very worthwhile stop. The trail is only about a half mile round trip, but leads to a fun little slot canyon. Charlie had the best time dropping rocks into holes in the wall and then watching them tumble down back to the sandy floor. 

Some tired boys - Griffin has no excuse, but Charlie was a champion and did both hikes all on his own since there was no daddy there to carry him.