Memorial Day

We have had sooooo much rain this spring! For some reason I thought the rain would let up for Memorial Day. Nope. I thought it would be fun to stay overnight and hang out in Salt Lake over the Memorial Day weekend. I could lay out on a lawn chair, the kids could swim…nope. It was cold and rainy. I was able to get a good deal on a hotel room through Hotwire. Little did I know that the hotel I ended up reserving (the Sheraton) was one of the main sponsors of Pride Week in SLC! And Pride Week was starting that weekend! Augh! Gay people everywhere. My friend at work always says, "They're gay, it's okay, and they're here to stay." However, my response from now on is going to be "I don't mind gay, just don't display, I don't like the PDA." Clever, eh!? Anyway, we did stay in Salt Lake, but the kids just took a dip in the hot tub and that was it. I thought for sure Chance was going to question me about the large number of men speaking intimately with one another around the pool, but he didn't. ha! We decided to get out of downtown and take the kids to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. That was fun. And yummy. Chance ordered chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake and was pretty much in heaven. We walked around the mall, and Hannah earned a Build-A-Bear for doing a good job on the potty. (Yes, it's really sad that I am still pushing potty incentives on a six-year-old.)

The next day, we decided to eat at The Original Pancake House, a breakfast place in Salt Lake that got awesome reviews online. As we walked through the door of the restaurant, the first person I saw seated was John Stockton. Shawn was surprised I even recognized him; he looked just like a normal dad having breakfast with his family. We happened to be seated right across from the Stockton family, and I whispered to Chance, "Don't look now, but John Stockton is staring right at you!" Chance's face got bright red and he was completely speechless. Not something that happens very frequently with Chance. After the Stocktons left the restaurant, they jumped into a silver Honda Pilot. Granted, it was about 10 years newer than ours, but it gave us a renewed love of our vehicle! After breakfast, we went to the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy. It was a cool place! I think my favorite thing there were the manta rays. They were just freely swimming around in a large pool, so you could reach your hand down and pet them when they swam by! They also had jellyfish that changed colors and glowed, an octopus, sharks – you name it. The Aquarium also offered the opportunity to go in to where they keep the penguins and hang out with them for a few hours, but it was sold out for the day. We were able to see the penguins, though. It is a neat place, a nice change from a regular zoo. It's hard to believe that there is an entire world in the ocean that we rarely see. My pictures are kind of fuzzy because I couldn't use flash and my ISO isn't the greatest on my point-and-shoot.

This gigantic, freaky looking fish was staring at me when I turned around!

See the penguins up above?

Touching the manta rays! Hannah let out a little squeal when one got close to her and everyone started laughing! She was embarrassed the rest of the time and didn't want to walk near the manta rays again.

On Memorial Day, we woke up to SNOW. Yes, snow. It was sort of melting, so Chance, West, Rags and I went on a little walk up to the cemetery. We saw my great-grandma and great-grandpa's graves, and then it started to HAIL. I thought Memorial Day was the official first day of summer?? Oh well. We pulled our hoods up over our heads and walked home.

Last Day of School

I can't believe that school is over for the year!! Augh!! It is really sad because both my kids absolutely LOVED their teachers. I never once had to argue with them about going to school. I wonder if these teachers realize how important they are in childrens' lives. I'm sure they have an idea, but really, they spend so much time with these kids, more than a lot of parents spend with them. It is so crucial to be able to have your child be with a teacher that influences your child to actually enjoy school!! I was lucky enough to have two awesome teachers who did just that for my kids. And check out these report cards. The only reason Hannah has 1's and 3's on hers is because the concepts weren't presented, so 4's weren't given to anyone. I am so proud of them. Chance's homework got a little old for him during the last month of school, and I actually found a few days of homework "lost" behind the piano and in the garbage during that last little while, but he plugged along and got it done. Shawn and I would tease him and tell him that he might actually get a "3" on his report card if he didn't do his homework, ("How on earth will you ever get into BYU if you have a 3 on your report card??") and that usually solved the mystery of the missing homework.

We made homemade last day of school gifts for the teachers. They are called 2x4 gifts. I was quite proud of how they turned out!

Sports

Chance has just started baseball back up again, and this is Hannah's first year of T-ball! Since Chance is obsessed with basketball, the only time he really plays baseball is when the season rolls around. Shawn took him in the backyard to practice hitting and to play catch a little bit during the first week of the season. Chance was getting a little frustrated because he kept hitting the ball to first base and then he would get out. I kept telling him, hello? You never practice, what do you expect? But after that teeny, tiny bit of practice, last game, he hit every ball toward the short stop and he was thrilled! During his second game, he caught a line drive and threw it to first base for a double play! After that play, the look on his face was priceless, and he kept looking over to me and Shawn for the thumbs-up sign. I have to brag - he really is a good little athlete! I love watching his games.

Chance's team is the Atlanta Braves

T-Ball is co-ed for kindergarteners. Hannah showed up for her first T-ball game and she was the only girl on the team! I thought she would be nervous, especially as the only girl, but two of the boys on her team were in her kindergarten class so she felt comfortable. Since that first game, there have been two other girls who have come. One of the little girls on her team is a diehard ball player, who brings her own pink batting helmet. Then there's Hannah, who wears her pink and purple mitt on the wrong hand while in the outfield, and chats with everyone who runs to her base. She had a little bit of nervousness, and when she would run from base to base she would say "ow, ow, ow". We couldn't figure out what she was doing, but it was just a nervous reaction because everyone was watching her! Hannah loves every second of it, and that's all that matters! I can't believe how different it is for me to watch Hannah play rather than Chance. With Hannah, I just laugh at how she doesn't care about where the ball is. When Chance was that age, I was so afraid that he was going to miss the ball and be made fun of by his teammates! I don't know if it's a girl/boy thing or a first child/second child thing, but it sure has been fun to watch them both progress. And I have relaxed in the meantime.

Hannah's team is the Texas Rangers

West-a-boy

West-a-boy's two bottom teeth finally poked through! He is so much happier! I watched as his teeth were starting to come through, and it looked so painful. So red and swollen. But now they're through and he looks so cute! The other day I was counting to myself (don't ask me why...) and I was saying, “one, two, three.” Every time I said a number, West would say “Ugh”. So it went something like this:

Me: “One”

West: “Ugh”

Me: “Two”

West: “Ugh”

Me: “Three”

West: “Ugh”

Me: [laugh]

It was kind of cool because I think he understood (or was at least familiar with) what I was saying! Also, now that he has teeth, he suddenly has an intense love for Cheerios. The sad part about West growing up is that he wants to feed himself his bottle rather than have me hold him and feed him. That makes me sad, because it seems like feeding him his bottle is the only time I get to even cuddle with him anymore. But he throws a fit until I let him hold his own bottle. It's crazy how quickly they grow. He is also giggling and laughing a lot more, especially when Shawn pretends to drop him! Ha, yes, it's scary to watch but cute to listen to. West is definitely all boy – he loves being roughhoused and played with. He loves his "jump jump" (jumper) and loves walking around the hard floor in his rolling walker. It's funny, because he will follow around anyone who happens to be in the kitchen! You turn around and there's West! You just have to be sure he doesn't run over your feet with that walker thing because it hurts! West also loves to press every button on the remote control, which reminds me a lot of how Chance was at that age. Another thing that is funny about West is that he sneezes when he sees the sun! Shawn has always said that the sun makes you sneeze, and I have always made fun of that assertion. Shawn will be outside and be squinting around, looking for the sun so that he can sneeze. He looks ridiculous and so I tease him. But honestly, every time I take West into the sun, he sneezes!! Maybe it works for some people, who knows.

Alice In Wonderland

Hannah has been attending this little play group called Up! With Kids for about five months. She had her performance two weeks ago and it was very cute! She had to sing a solo in front of a large audience! I was so proud of her. She looked adorable, and had various parts. She was not only Bo Peep (this is who she was to sing her solo in the Toy Story scene) but she was also a Hedgehog (doing a somersault during the croquet scene), a flower in a flower garden, and part of the Jabberwocky in the final scene! She had a fun time acting, singing, and dancing, but the next day she told me how glad she was that it was over! Hannah is funny. She is very laid back and can handle stress really, really well, but I was glad to see that it actually did take something out of her by performing! Grandma Debbie, Grandma April, and Grandpa Bryan all came to see Hannah perform, and they were so proud of her! I don't know if we'll be doing another Up! With Kids play, however. It was cute, but I think I'd rather send my money to dance or tumbling. Maybe I just don't get the whole drama thing.

Music solo as Bo Peep: "Sometimes I have trouble falling asleep, but it's not so bad...I don't worry and I don't weep, in fact, I'm glad!"

Speaking part as Bo Peep: "I'm Bo Peep, and these are my sheep. We're Company B. "B" is for Bo Peep. Company B, Atten-TION! * "Oh, the poor dears, would they like to play with my sheep?" * "That's perfect! My sheep will help them go to sleep!" * "They're the boogie-woogie-bugle-sheep of Company B!"