The rest of April

Great Grandma Garner was down this way from South Carolina and so there was a big get-together. It was fun to chat with her and snap a few pictures. It was Benson's first time meeting her! She has the prettiest snow white hair and I don't think she quit smiling the entire time she was there. I love listening to her talk in her fairly heavy southern accent.


Lindy had her first turn at the dentist. She was so excited! This picture is blurry, but she did such a great job. No fear, just excited to watch Moana while they cleaned her teeth.


Another art class. We learned about Dale Chihuly and tried our best at making some "glass" sculptures. The pieces themselves turned out really cool. I still haven't assembled them into the finished product...


Hopefully our chickens will be producing eggs soon, but in the mean time, I'm getting spoiled with these farm fresh eggs from UNM (where Richie helps). They are so beautiful on the outside, and so much yummier than store bought eggs.


In our science curriculum these days, we're learning about rocks. We tried our hand at making some "crystals" and have had some success there. There was a rock exhibit in south jordan for only $1 for me and the kids! So Friday night, we got all of our chores done because we wanted to see the cool rocks on Saturday morning. The kids ooohed and ahhhed over every single rock. They also thought it was hilarious that some vendors had fossilized dinosaur poop.


Right after the rock show, we went to a tea party! The hospital had invited anyone who had given birth in the last year, to a tea party. I was skeptical, thinking it was just going to be another chance for them to try and sell me something, but it turned out to be the coolest thing! It was at a fancy-schmancy reception center, and as soon as you walked through the doors, there was classical music playing, an all-out photo op of a fairy garden, beautifully set tables, and a full lunch buffet. The kids felt so fancy using glass plates and cups, and grown up silverware. :) I think what made them feel the most fancy though, was when a chef came out of the kitchen, and he was wearing an actual chef hat, like you see in the movies! :) After we ate, we walked around the grounds and explored the beautiful landscaping, and then made a fairy garden to take home! Such a fun outing. Glad we went.


Richie has been working with the kids for about 3 months now getting ready to be in the Bluffdale city art council's play, "Beauty and the Beast". I have been tremendously grateful for his initiative on this front. Being in plays is not in my wheelhouse. (neither is the desire, actually) But I think it has really filled a gap for the kids. They have learned to perform and be in front of an audience, they have learned discipline, and they have had a blast socializing with all the other kids. Richie is a rock star for taking this on. For the last while, they usually only had play practice on Fridays. But this last week, it was every night for around 4 hours. The kids, whose usual bedtime is 8, didn't get to sleep till at least 1030 every night. It was a long week. The day before the first performance was dress rehearsal, which meant full costumes and make up. I giggled all the way through putting eye liner and mascara on the kids and Richie. Especially Richie. After the first night, both Richie and Miles refused the make-up. :)


With the kids and Richie away so much, Benson and I had lots of wonderful quality time together. I remembered what it was like to have just 1 kid! We did lots of bath time as a time filler and because he loves it.


I got to go see the play on opening night. How thrilling to catch a glimpse of my gang in full costume before they went on stage!! I have had very little to do with this whole process, so I was finally getting a peek into this thing that had been taking up so much time. My crew was only in 2 songs, and then the finale, but they performed their little hearts out! I wanted to cry every time I saw them! Gwen was so worried that her "scared" face wasn't convincing enough, so she prayed really hard that she would do well at that. :) I was surprised by how much Miles got into it. Richie had to practically drag him to try-outs. We were both nervous that we were forcing this on him, and maybe shouldn't be. But he ate it up and was so animated on stage! What an awesome experience for my little crew! They were incredibly supported by family and friends who came to see them. Everyone came and they felt so special!


We've reached that point in the school year where I typically burn out. I keep saying "Just ___ more weeks!" to the kids, but really, I'm saying it to myself. The first picture is the younger three playing while I work with Miles. Cuties. The next one is Miles and Gwen on "the repenting step". :) It's an idea I read about in a parenting book. Basically, when there's a problem that involved 2 kids, instead of you having to be the judge, you just send them to the repenting step/bench/chair whatever. Then they can't leave that spot until they have calmly apologized for whatever they did. Wasn't it Elder Bednar that said, "There's no pancake so thin that there still aren't 2 sides to it" ? Anyway, there's usually something they can both apologize for. I still try and listen to both sides of the story so that they feel heard, but after that it's up to them to solve the problem. Works like a gem.