Spring Recital

The kids had their spring piano recital in May.  This time their piano teacher had them select a Suzuki piece and a piece from a movie of their choice to play for the event.  Can I adequately express how thoroughly sick I am of hearing "Everything is Awesome" and "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?"  However, aside from that, Vivian performed her pieces perfectly and Bryce went off hiking with his scout troop and missed the whole thing anyway.

Mother's Day

For Mother's Day this year all I wanted was to have a day off to run errands sans children, take a nap, and to recoup.   AH and I have had a very busy month/year and I can't seem to feel caught up with all the to-do's on my list.   AH gave me this gift the day before Mother's Day - a Saturday to do what I wanted.  I ran my errands, slept from 4-6pm, and felt refreshed all evening.  It was perfection. 

On Mother's Day I enjoyed wonderful messages at church that uplifted me and inspired me.  That afternoon we enjoyed a quick family lunch, some relaxing around the house, and then I demanded that we do a family walk to park nearby.  At the park we had a great time playing tag and even recruited some other kids to join in.  A leisurely walk home, quick dinner, and I was one happy momma.  It was a weekend I absolutely needed - some down time and family time. 

 Beeb, as viewed from the visor mirror.

Deviated off the trail to climb on a fallen log.

 

Rest stop.

Beeb.  I'm glad I took this since she chopped her hair off this week.

Mr. B - his braces make his mouth appear swollen/fuller, but he is still one good looking boy!

Our buddy Mr. L, who joined in our game of tag.

And Mr. D, who managed to stay safe for most of the game.

 

You never get to old for this.

Walking home.

Polar Opposite

If it is possible to have a polar opposite from yesterday, today is that day.  Very productive homeschool day.  Great attitudes from everyone.  Happy happy family once again.  What is it about Mondays that seem to be so hard sometimes?

Some Days Just Blow!

Hard homeschool day today.
 

Hard piano lessons today.
 

Hard getting the kids to eat their dinner.
 

Hard day at work for AH (he's still there).
 

Hard time keeping my temper through it all.
 

Mom is hanging by a thread and counting the minutes to bed time.  I am going to turn it around.  Kids are currently in the shower.  When they are warm, clean, and have their teeth brushed, we are going to lay on my bed while I read "The Girl Who Could Fly" to them and try to end on a better, kinder, happier note.  Over and out!

Beeb's Penguins

Beeb has been very crafty this weekend making a slew of penguins.  I *heart* that girl!

 

 

Patiences is.....

A husband who spent his one free day a week painting the mudroom walls, vacuuming out all the final bits of dust, and then cutting and laying tile for the mudroom floor only to have his wife tell him that she hates the tile (which is the tile that SHE picked out). 

He didn't kill me, or even get really angry. 

He didn't make me feel bad at all, though I am sure internally he was not very happy when I told him.

We hemmed and hawed over it, even brought in part of the cabinetry to see how they look together, and decided to hold off on installing any more tiles while I look for other samples.  It's nice that we now have the new cabinetry onsite so that I can see the samples with it, even in the very room, and get a very accurate look at how it all melds together. Though I hate to put AH through it, I'd rather rip out a few rows now than cringe every time I walk into that room for the next 10+ years.

Crossover

Are you sick of reading about scouting this month?  We nearly are too!  However, this event is the icing on the cake.  Mr. B attended his final Cub Scout Pack Meeting.  He was the center of attention and with the excitement of it all he was barely able to contain himself.

 

First Mr. B received his final four Webelos pins, then his Webelos badge (I got the mom's pin - because they know who really makes this all happen), then he received his Arrow of Light badge (dad got that pinned - though it will be transferred to mom at home). 

 

Know what shocks me about this video?  It's that he is nearly as tall as I am! 

 

The Arrow of Light is a big deal in the world of scouting. 

It is the only badge earned as a Cub Scout that can be transferred to the Boy Scout program.

We are very proud of Mr. B for his dedication in earning the badges.

 

As part of the ceremony Mr. B had his face painted in symbolic colors related to scouting. 

He did not like this very much.

Wiping his face off as soon as possible.

Mom doing a better job at getting the paint off.

Following the Arrow of Light award we moved to the Cross-Over Ceremony, in which the scout leaves the Cub Scouts and crosses over to Boy Scouts. 

 

 

That's it. I have nothing else to report that is Boy Scouts related for the rest of the month!



First Boy Scout Campout.... Sort Of

Mr. B participated in his first official campout as a Boy Scout.... except that we did this campout last year with the Boy Scouts when he was still a Cub Scout.  Ah, the benefits of your dad being a Scout Master.

Our annual sojourn to the Ape Caves for the winter campout was another success.  This time there was no snow and the weather wasn't quite as sunny (though it did not rain on us while we were camping), but we are happy to report that it only rained while we were in the Ape Caves, nobody was injured, and all the scouts completed the hike the entire hike.

 This year many of the boys put up their tents without any adult help!

 

AH teaching the boys how to properly light a camp stove.

AH teaching to boys how he beheads a matchstick using his invisible string.

Dinner time!

 

Entering the cave.

A few brave boys dared to rest on the "meatball". 

 

Mr. B made it to an upper chamber.

Beeb, always the lone girl, is the bravest amongst them all.  She keeps asking to join Girl Scouts but I can't see why when she gets to do all the Boy Scout stuff with her dad.  Besides, at this age she is doing way more adventurous with the boys than anything she'd be doing in Girl Scouts.

 

Beeb, per usual, was the first to attempt climbing up to the shelf. 

 

It was a great trip - lots of fun for everyone.  AH does a really great job with these scouts and making sure their adventures are challenging but very rewarding.



Boy Scouts!

Last month Mr. B turned 11 and he is thrilled to have graduated from Cub Scouts to being an official Boy Scout.  He was so excited to get his new shirt, sash, neckerchief, and badges.  Tonight he is attending his first Court of Honor where he will receive his first badge, for snow skiing. 

 

Due to the timing of the Pinewood Derby and Mr. B's birthday, he has not completely left behind Cub Scouts as we haven't had a Pack Meeting where he can get his latest Cub Scout awards.  Later this month he will receive his last 3 pins, his Webelos badge, and his Arrow of Light patch.  The Arrow of Light is a big deal since it is the only badge that advances with the Cub Scout to Boy Scouts; it's a life long badge.

 

AH is now his scout leader and I expect that he will ensure that Mr. B gets all the badges, learns all his knots and advances to the ranks of Eagle Scout. (no pressure!)

Spring Fair

Last Thursday we wrapped up our Spring Break outings with trip to the Spring Fair.  The admission for the kids was free but I forgot to buy my ticket in advance, so we had to wait in line for an hour just to get in (so lame, not my best mom planning moment).  Oh well, we still had a lot of fun exploring the exhibits, games and rides. 

 

First stop - paint balling.   Mr. B did awesome and Beeb needs more target practice at home. 

Mr. B's first ride choice involved being suspended upside down.  He loved it.

Beeb's first ride choice was a bit tamer than her brother's. 

This is one of my favorite ride from my childhood.

The hands-down, cutest even was the Alaskan Racing Pigs.  They were so fun to watch.

Beeb did some of the crafts offered in the children's pavilion.

If you are going to the fair you must visit the animals.

And milk a fake cow.

We loved the fair and were completely exhausted by the time we left that evening.  It was a good last outing for the week and still left us a few days to recover before school started back up.

Spring Break

We are in the throws of spring break and I literally had no plan until late last week.  AH and I are entirely focused on a huge landscape project in our front yard, and it is the time of year when all the plants are in stock at the local nurseries.  We need to get planting (which we have been).   This lead to our spending the weekend finishing the job of removing the old trees, finishing the buying of new plants and trees, and planting it all.  It is a lot of work, and we are only about half way done, but I love the feel of physical labor and working with AH outdoors. 

 

In the meantime I quickly scrambled together a list of fun activities for the kids and I to do this week.  Monday was spent shopping for Mr. B's new scout shirt, badges, sash and all other imperative scout clothing.  Beeb's tennis shoes from the beginning of the school year are finally wearing out so we made a stop to get her new shoes.  Her only requirement was that they be some sort of neon color - we went for neon orange. 

 

It was a beautiful day on Monday so the kids spent the afternoon playing with all the neighborhood kids (apparently nobody went out of town this year).  This included playing in the mud and muck that is currently filling our neighbors ditch.

 

Tuesday decided to rain so instead of a trip to the zoo we altered our plans for an indoor location and the Pacific Science Center was it.  The PSC has a fabulous "Spy Exhibit" going on right now.

 

Pedal harder!

What's that smell?

 

Teamwork!

Oops!  It's not so easy all by yourself.

Does she know how to wash her hands properly?  She does now.

How about simulating a big gaping wound?  Gross!

We took all the station quizzes and Beeb and I made the honor roll. 

That's my blur on top and Beeb's cute face on the bottom.

 

The butterfly house is always a must see.  This is probably my favorite spot in the entire museum.

Beeb tried to rocket to outer space.

Mr. B played the piano for everyone to hear.  We'll get our practice time in any way we can!

This cool machine made musical noises as your moved your hands around the clear cylinder.

 

This guitar is a tad to big for Beeb.  Maybe next year it will be just right.

The ideas behind these bowls is to use the wand to draw out the notes as you gently brush it around the edge.  Mr. B decided it's better to treat them like drums.

On Wednesday we headed to Joint Base Lewis McChord to the Military Museum. 

We drive by this museum a few times each year since is right next to the freeway.  Mr. B has been begging to visit it for eons; today was the day  

Not sure it was worth the long drive and the hassle required to get a visitors pass, to even get on base, since the kids zoomed through the indoor exhibits in about 2 minutes.  However, they had a great time exploring the large machinery outside the museum.

 

 

It's only Wednesday and we are all exhausted.  I cannot fathom making it through the rest of the week's activities and continuing to work in the yard each evening (today I actually had to take a nap - but I was also up at 5:30am to fit in a run).  I guess what doesn't kill me will only make me stronger.  Tomorrow we are off to the Spring Fair!