27 April 2014

Our yard looked lovely this week with the phlox and lilacs blooming.

One of our school's dedicated parent volunteers organized a mini Battle of the Books for the 1st and 2nd graders. She calls it Junior Battle of the Books or JBOB.  The students read 6 books instead of 16 and the battles have fewer questions, but otherwise they use the same rules.  Gib's team is called "Master Readers."  They won a battle and lost a battle this week.

 There are 5 boys on Gibson's team, including Gibson.  Only 4 can participate in a single battle so they take turns sitting out.  In the photo are Gib, Tayvon, Ben, Solomon and Taiven.  Taiven is hearing impaired.  In the photo above, the woman in the pink shirt is signing for him.

 It's science fair time.  Our elementary school does a science fair every other year.  In the time since the last fair, the school decided to get all picky and scientific-y on us.  No more vinegar and baking soda volcanoes!  Strict attention paid to the scientific method!  Gib is doing a research project on bones.  Helen is researching Arches National Park.  Abe is doing an experiment on frost action on rocks.  The photo shows Helen and Abe working on a model for Helen's project.

This photo is from December 11, 2013.  Brandan set up a blank canvas in a corner of our bedroom and started a landscape painting.

 Brandan had never painted before, but we live next door to a successful artist.  She showed Brandan the tools she uses and gave him some tips on which paints to buy.  Our friends own an art supply store and were able to set Brandan up with everything he needed.  

Brandan started with the sky.  The blank canvas gave him space to experiment with colors.

 It was easy for Brandan to paint for 20 or 30 minutes at a time after work or before bedtime.  He slowly added layers of paint, changing forms and colors as he went.  Gib helped add some color and texture.

 Brandan knew he wanted a bright painting with lots of wildflowers.  He repainted the wildflowers several times with different densities of color.

The finished painting shows a brilliant field of poppies.  It's hard to believe this is Brandan's first painting.  He plans on hanging it in a plain white stairway at his office.  We're going to miss having all this gorgeous color in our bedroom, though, so he's going to paint a smaller landscape for home.

 Here's a close up that shows some of the palette knife strokes and texture-- and Brandan's signature.

20 April 2014

Happy Easter!  We've had a busy Easter weekend with different activities for each person in our family.  The busy Friday and Saturday made Easter Sunday all the sweeter for the chance to spend the day together.

We went to see Little Women on Friday night.  Sofi played Clarissa, one of the characters in Jo's imagination.  She got to be very dramatic since all of Jo's stories are full of "blood and guts."  Sofi is wearing a blonde wig and getting some help from a hag.

 In this photo she is sword fighting the villainous Braxton Prendergast.

 Here's a photo of Sofi after the show.  She was magnificent!

 On Saturday morning Abe, Helen and Gibson hunted for Easter eggs in the back yard.  

Becky thought they might feel too old for Easter eggs, but they assured her they do not.

 Brandan counted the eggs as he hid them and the kids found every single one.

 Abe found the biggest egg.

They have kind of eaten candy nonstop ever since the egg hunt was over.   

 The big egg was full of chocolate chickens.

 At noon we headed to a rock climbing gym for Abe's 11 year old birthday party.  His birthday was 2 weeks ago, but it took us a while to schedule a free weekend.  The party started with a few instructions and passing out gear.  Besides Brandan and an instructor, Blake, Malakai, Brady, Cade, Taryn and Abe are in the photo.

 Helen decided that she would rather free climb than use the ropes.  The gym has a giant boulder in the center to climb on.

 Gibson liked trying to balance on the slack line.

 There were plenty of challenging routes to try.  All of the kids were enthusiastic climbers.

 Here is a photo of Abe in a tight spot.  

 This is a photo of Spencer, Brady, Blake, Abe and Jayden sitting on top of the boulder.

 Abe couldn't decide between a rock climbing party or a Harry Potter themed party.  We compromised with Harry Potter invitations and treats.

 Abe has been very blessed with a great group of friends.  They are good kids who do well in school and in sports.  It was great to hear them encouraging and cheering for each other-- only positive comments all afternoon.  In the photo are Camden, Colton, Abe, Brady, Cade and Ashton.  Jake was also at the party, but not in any of these photos.

13 April 2014

Sofi is in her school's production of Little Women.  The show opened this week and runs through next Saturday.  Our family hasn't been to see it yet, but we're looking forward to it.  Becky has been helping out by mending and altering costumes like this knight's jacket.  We don't remember any knights in Little Women.  This version seems fairly dramatic.  Sofi gets to sword fight. 

 Abe can ride his ripstick over his bike ramp.

 We learned Lily the turtle likes to eat cactus leaves.  She gobbles them up like Cadbury mini eggs.  Now we know what the cactus leaves in the produce department are for.

Becky ran the Pear Blossom 10 mile run again this year.  She almost didn't sign up, but was glad she did when she met up with Lynn, an old friend she hadn't seen in a long time.  The miles flew by as they caught up with each other-- it was one of the most fun races Becky has run.  Lynn is delightful, very positive and kind.  She also likes to dress well, and this includes her running outfits.  It's hard to tell in the photo, but Lynn's outfit, fingernails, sunglasses and headphones all match.  She is also wearing makeup and her hair is curled.

 Gibson and Abe both had soccer games on Saturday.  We're enjoying a beautiful spring and soccer is a great excuse to sit outside in the sunshine.

6 April 2014

Gibson celebrated his 7th birthday with his friends at a birthday party this week.  Gibson watched the movie Turbo with his cousins over Christmas break and liked it very much.  None of the rest of us had seen the movie so when Gibson said he wanted a Turbo birthday party, we had to watch it for research purposes.  Turbo is a genetically modified snail who (spoiler alert!) wins the Indy 500.  Turbo's pit crew in the movie has homemade T-shirts, so we started the party painting T-shirts. 

Brandan put together an obstacle course in our backyard.  April's weather can be iffy, but we were blessed with a warm and sunny afternoon.

The hardest part of the obstacle course was using an air compressor to make a balloon go through the basketball hoop.  It was so hard that Brandan counted the balloon hitting the rim as a basket.

 The kids painted pieces of styrofoam.  Gib painted his carefully to look like Turbo.

When the styrofoam pieces were dry, we stuck wheels and eyeballs on them to make wiggly wobbly cars (vaguely snail-like) and the kids raced them.  In the photo are Abe, Ben, Gibson, Kohen, Tayvon and Solomon.

Dos Bros Tacos are Turbo's sponsors in the Indy 500, so we had tacos along with cupcakes and other snacks.

Happy Birthday, Gibson!  This has been a big year for Gibson-- he's taken on more responsibility with a pet turtle and cello lessons, he reads and writes like a pro and climbs trees, bikes and hikes with the rest of the kids.  Gibson lives with gusto!

 Abe celebrated his 11th birthday on Thursday!  He picked brownie sundaes for his birthday treat (yes, it's the same candle in both photos.)  His birthday was packed full with school, piano and violin lessons and soccer practice.  He barely had time for dinner and a treat before bedtime.  Abe can set high goals and then he regularly exceeds them.  His school and music teachers have learned they can push Abe harder than most kids and he thrives.  Abe has a quick mind and a kind heart.

 Helen and Abe both had their syllabus tests this weekend.  They each played 3 memorized piano pieces for a judge and were also judged on their musical theory knowledge.  Helen successfully passed level 1 and Abe successfully passed level 3. 

 Becky got Easter eggs ready for her Primary class this weekend while listening to General Conference.  There are 16 kids in her class so the eggs took up a lot of counter space.

 Each egg has a scripture inside and part of the story of Easter.  Beginning on April 9, the kids will open one egg a day until Easter.  Sofi drove Becky around to deliver all the eggs.

 We all enjoyed General Conference.  Helen took lots of notes as she listened to her favorite talks.  Gibson's favorite part of conference was playing BINGO and the kids' concession stand.  Helen also liked the concession stand and President Uchtdorf's talk on gratitude.  Abe liked President Uchtdorf's talk and also President Monson's talk.  Sofi liked Elder Ballard's talk on following up on invitations.  She plans on sharing Elder Corbridge's talk about the restoration with a friend who is looking for a church.  Becky has too many favorites to list-- one great quote from Sister Stevens, "The gospel is not weight, it's wings!"  Brandan really liked the priesthood session and President Packer's testimony which felt like it may be his last.