Unicorn World and Brick Slopes

 I took Hannah on a mother/daughter date to Unicorn World while Stephen took the boys to Brick Slopes to look at Legos. Most of the unicorns were for photo opportunities so we took lots of pictures, while Stephen took one each of the boys, except Lucas because he doesn't like getting his pictures taken. Most of the Legos were displays that the boys could walk around and look at. They did get to sit in a pile of Legos and build to their heart's content, but that didn't last long with how crowded it was getting.

Besides the animatronic unicorns there were bounce houses, ridable unicorns, arts and crafts, and games of all sorts. Hannah really had a magical time.

Dance Family Luau

 We had our family luau this last weekend. This is the time where we get to invite our families and show off all the dances and things we've learned throughout the year. Mom and Dad drove down just to watch me, and stayed the night with us. I felt so loved having them show up to support me. And a huge shoutout to Stephen for also supporting me and doing his best with the kids at my performances; it wasn't easy keeping an eye on them and trying to take pictures and videos. 

It was a lot of work and a lot of fun. We had tons of food...that I didn't get to eat. We were busy prepping backstage while our families ate. Stephen brought me a plate of food, but I was too nervous to eat. I have really loved getting to know these women and learning a new skill. I think it's something I will continue to do. 

First Day of School

 Love these kids SO much!! I don't like that they get older every year, but I am so excited to see who they grow into, and what things they will accomplish in their lives.

Zander-5th grade, 10 years old

Lucas-4th grade, 9 years old

Hannah-2nd grade, 7 years old

Grayson-4 years old 

A "Yes Day" With a Black Eye

 The kids begged to have a yes day the day before school started so they could soak in their last hours of freedom. They came up with a list that I approved and we made it happen. First, they asked to stay up until 10:00 pm one night to play games, then the next night they wanted to have a sleep out in the living room and watch a movie on the air mattress with lots of treats. We watched The Adventures of Huck Finn. They asked for waffles for breakfast, they didn't have to do any chores, they got to play video games all day, and they wanted to go out for snow cones but they got to get a size large. Their demands were pretty simple and easy to accommodate. They even got to order off the secret menu at the snow cone place, so that was also exciting.

Hannah has been begging me to braid her hair with three braids so I could then braid the braids. It took me an hour to do her hair, but she loved it.

Lucas was invited to his friend's house for a water party with a few friends that afternoon. When I went to pick him up I noticed his eye was a little swollen. The mom explained that the boys were jumping on the trampoline and doing tricks when the back of his friend's head landed on Lucas' eye. We went to get snow cone after picking him up and by the time we were ready to go home, like within an hour, his eye had tripled in size and was swelling a lot with some bruising on his forehead. By the end of the night the swelling had traveled from his forehead to his eyelid preventing him from opening his eye.

School started the next day and Lucas really didn't want to go. He was really embarrassed by his eye and didn't want anyone to see it. But he had a brown bag he was supposed to put some items in as show and tell so his class could get to know one another better. I suggested he show his eye and tell the story of how he got it as part of his show and tell. That way he can just tell everyone at once and be done with it. I didn't know if he would do it or not, but I sent him to school anyway. I was nervous for him all day wondering how his first day of school went. Then he came home in the afternoon grinning from ear to ear with a dark purple shiner. He said he had a great day and his eye didn't bother him anymore. The swelling had almost disappeared and the color had started to show more. I got an email from his teacher saying Lucas shied away and tried to hide his eye all day until it was his turn for show and tell. He showed his eye and told his story and then he was fine with it. I'm proud of Lucas for being brave and doing something hard. 

Bugfest!

 I can't believe I didn't know Salt Lake had a bugfest! You better bet I bought tickets and was going to go all by myself, but I ended up taking Hannah with me last minute. She loves to look at bugs like I do, more so than the boys so we went together. It was so awesome! It was held in the Natural History Museum downtown and they had lectures and speakers, a bug bar, bug collections, face painting, arts and crafts, and an art gallery featuring bugs. We spent the whole afternoon there. We sat in on a lecture about dragonflies and damselflies, had lunch that included a lemon flavored cupcake with freeze dried ants on it. We sampled the bug bar and ate a cricket salad and Hannah tried the grasshopper taco. Hannah was such a trooper and I loved that she was so willing to  try everything with me. We got our faces painted, and went outside on a bug hunt. We ended up winning free T shirts for turning in our bug list. I learned so much about different bugs and how cool they really are. 

Summer Shenanigans

 Lucas was trying to listen to music on his new smart watch while he vacuumed the floor.

Waiting while Hannah and Grayson had swim lessons

Selfie!

Best friends: Maggie, Wren, Hannah

Last day of school

Playing at Grandma's house

Took these two to see Despicable Me 4 in 3D

I love seeing the kids spending quality time with each other.

Lucas sliced his knee with his knife. Had to get it glued.

Back to school shopping

I put Grayson in the bathtub one night, and went in there about 30 minutes later to check on him. I opened the door and found him in the sink! I asked him what he was doing and he said, "Taking a tiny bath!" He is such a crack up.