May

 What a month!  It was full of so many activities.  On May 1st we had our maple tree cut down.  Joseph was afraid it would fall on our house during a storm so instead of leaving the tree lopsided we just had it cut down.  It was very interesting to see the men at work.  I learned that the men climbing the trees are call "tree surgeons".  We had a full amputation performed.  The kids were entertained for hours watching the process.

Our yard seems so much bigger now.

Lincoln got his first "love" note from a girl.  I thought it was so sweet.  I'm sure the hearts don't really mean anything, but it was cute that one of his friends gave him a note.  Annika is always making notes for her friends, but this was the first time for Lincoln to received a note.

My kids went to a birthday party for a friend.  We are friends with the entire family so all of my kids were invited, although Kimball was at track practice.  They had a great time.  We love our Dolson friends!

Brooke, the birthday girl, and Eden hanging out while I took Lincoln and Annika to soccer practice.

I love Mother's Day!  I love the sweet notes and crafts the kids make for me.  I love how they try so hard to make the day special for me.  Their excitement makes me more excited.  The picture below was the best we could get of a picture of me with the kids.  Three out of 5 isn't too bad.

Some of the little gifts I got.  Those gel pens have been so fun and the kids love to have me color with them!  Just a disclaimer on the candy...I eat far fewer sweets than I used to and I usually just eat two Dove chocolates after my lunch and dinner so this bag will last for a while.  

Since it was Mother's day I did eat a bigger dessert than 2 chocolates.  This was a tuxedo cake.  It isn't picture perfect, but it was a nice cake to try.  The white chocolate ganache helped make the cake feel more special than just a regular chocolate cake.

Track was in full swing during May.  Kimball competed in different events throughout the season including:  55 meter hurdles, 200 meter hurdles, 4x 100 meter relay (once), long jump and high jump. He had a good track season and I think he would participate in track again.

Annika learned how to put her hair in a ponytail this month.  I haven't had to do her hair for weeks unless she feels like something other than a ponytail. I love how Annika is so independent and willing to try new things.  I was much older before I started doing my own hair.

These are just fun pictures on the stump while we waited for Rebecah's soccer practice to end.

Kimball had his first Covid vaccine mid-May.  He complained about getting the shot, but that was just to be difficult.  When it came time for the shot he was very calm.  After his first vaccine he was extra tired and his arm was a little sore.  He had his second dose yesterday, June 5, and he has a slight headache, but nothing to complain about.  I'm glad I can have 1 more family member vaccinated.  I'm eager for approval for the rest of the kids to get the shot.

Lincoln loves to help with yard work and spend time outside!

Sweet Annika making funny pictures!

Joseph and I went on a hike to Great Bear Recreational Trails.  We walked about an hour and it was very pretty and shady most of the trail.  

Joseph turned 40 on May 24th!  Joseph didn't want a big party or anything.  He is a little boring and unexciting because he says his birthday is just a regular day.  I didn't want it to be just a regular day so the kids and I tried to make it fun.  We filled 40 red balloons with strips of paper with reasons we love Joseph.  We also made him a big birthday banner and we hung it in the garage.  The kids were SO excited about these surprises it was hard for them to keep quiet, but they managed.

We spent a Sunday morning while Joseph was at church meetings making the banner.  

Joseph has a very difficult time deciding what he wants to eat for his special day so the kids and I gave him a few options and had him choose.  I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast, buffalo chicken wings for dinner with cottage cheese on the side.  Joseph is the only one who eats cottage cheese in our family so I don't always remember to buy it for him.  For dessert the options were pumpkin pie, cherry pie, two different types of chocolate cake and apple crisp.  Annika came up with most of the suggestions.  She was really wanted Joseph to pick the chocolate cake and hoped if there were two cake options it would win. Joseph picked apple crisp.  Most of the family doesn't like apple crisp; they ate the ice cream that went with the crisp.  I think Joseph and Kimball were the main ones who ate it so it lasted quite a few days.  Joseph even had it for breakfast one morning.  

Lincoln lost his 3rd tooth.  He lost his first 2 teeth last May so it was time to lose another one.  He has 2 other teeth that are loose.

Rebecah had to quarantine for school much to her dismay.  She lucked out and only had to quarantine for 5 days. By the time the boy's family notified the school there were only 5 days left of the quarantine period.  Rebecah was SO bored during quarantine.  She missed her friends, school, and not being able to go anywhere.  To help with her boredom I suggested that she make a tree for each of the seasons.  She liked the idea and so did everyone else. 

Rebecah's Trees:

 

Lincoln, Annika and Eden making their winter trees.  We have made the Winter and Summer trees, but still need to do Fall and Spring.  We are taking our time.

Soccer practice started at the tail end of April and games started in May.  It makes for a busy Saturday morning sitting through 2 games, but we usually luck out and the games overlap a little.  It is so fun to see the kids developing as soccer players.  While Rebecah says she prefers to play defense, she is a really good mid-fielder.  She does great passing the ball and isn't a ball hog.  She scored a goal in one of the games which was super exciting.  The coach wanted every player to have a chance to score a goal this season so when a penalty shot came available Rebecah was the woman for the job.  She kicked the ball and it went in!  We were so excited for her.

Lincoln and Annika are on the same soccer team, thankfully.  They excel in different areas and it's so fun to watch them.  For being an introvert, Annika is very good about going after the ball and she is fairly athletic, too.  Lincoln is so full of energy.  When he plays defense and doesn't have an opportunity to go after the ball he is jumping up and down in excitement.  The coach wants each child to have a chance to play goalie so Lincoln and Annika each took a half.  They let in a lot of goals.  They stopped a lot of goals, too.  Their team isn't the most talented team, but since none of the kids could play soccer last year they are basically starting from the beginning this year.  

Both Rebecah and Annika and Lincoln's coaches are wonderful.  While I'm sure the coaches would love to win every game these two men do a great job about encouraging the players and helping them learn skills and how to play over winning.  Some of the coaches in the league are so hot headed and yell. It makes for a very uncomfortable game.  I know my kids wouldn't do very well if they were on a team where the coach yelled a lot.  I always tell my kids it's more important to play and have fun than to win.  If they aren't having fun they won't want to play.

I love that Annika's red hair makes it easy to spot her in the pictures!

Lincoln had a coupon for a free ice cream.  He was so excited to get 2 scoops!

Kimball likes to bake on Sundays to prevent Sunday boredom since we don't play sports, have screen time or watch non-religious movies on Sunday.  Kimball decided he wanted to make a 2 layer red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting.  He made it all by himself with some verbal instructions from me.  He did a great job and the cake turned out really well for his first attempt at a layer cake.  He was very excited with the results and it tasted great, too.  I forgot to take a picture of the final product.

For Memorial Day we went to Green Lakes State Park. It was too cold to swim, thankfully, so we walked the lake trail.  Green Lake just fascinates me!  Kimball had to do an Earth Science picture scavenger hunt for science this year.  Green Lake is a meromictic lake which means that there is no mixing of the surface and bottom layers.  Green Lakes is one of my favorite places to visit for a pretty walk.  The kids and I walked the trail around the lake while Joseph spent the hour mountain biking.  It was a nice outing. 

We have 3 weeks of school left. 

April

 April was a good month.  We had a lot of activities.  The most important event of the month was celebrating Easter.  I didn't take one single picture Easter weekend, but I LOVE Holy Week.  We read about Christ's last week out of the Bible the week leading up to Easter Sunday, we listen to a special song about Jesus each day and watch a bible video that correlated with our reading.  It's probably my favorite week of the year.  The kids seem to enjoy the songs and videos, too, mainly because they like to see if I'm crying through the songs.  General Conference was the same weekend as Easter so we had an extra special weekend listening to the words of our Church leaders.  

We also dyed eggs, hunted for candy and the little ones had a visit from the Easter Bunny that was organized through our Town Council.  I have never been a big Easter Bunny fan.  It never crossed my mind when I was starting my parenting journey to include the Easter Bunny so most of my kids have learned about the Easter Bunny later in their childhood, but they have never lacked for candy. 

Joseph borrowed a riding lawn mower and a lawn flattener from some friends.  He and the kids had a wet day flattening the yard.  I missed getting a picture of Rebecah driving the lawn mower all by herself.

Here is Kimball in his football uniform.  Eden found the pads later and had to try them one.  Who wears the pads better??  

We had a really warm day in early April so we met up with some friends to enjoy the play ground at one of the local schools.  

On the last day of hybrid learning Joseph had a large quantity of mulch delivered.  Joseph was working most of the day and with rain in the afternoon forecast the kids and I decided we would surprise him and move the mulch to the various beds around the yard.  Lincoln was a really good help loading the wheelbarrow.  I didn't realize how much he was helping until he took a break to play and I was left doing all of the shoveling myself!

The girls helped to spread the mulch around after I would dump it.  Rebecah was really good at helping during her break between classes.  Without the help from the kids I would have had to work another hour+ to finish the job.  Joseph was pleasantly surprised when he got home.  

The kids returned to in-person learning full time this month.  The elementary started the second full week in April and they love it.  They are so happy being at school every day and learning from their teacher.  I guess they didn't like "mom" school very much even though I just had them do the work the school sent home.  The big kids returned to school the third week in April.  They are still home on Wednesdays so the teachers have a day to meet with any students that remained remote.  Rebecah loves being back in school.  Kimball, not so much, but it's only for 1 quarter.

The little ones had an opportunity to take 1 week of swimming lessons.  I wish we could have fit 2 weeks into our schedule, but with the other kids having after school activities it was hard enough for me to get everyone picked up and dropped off with Joseph working during the 4 days of lessons. I know a lot of families live day in and day out going from one activity to the next, but I hate living my life by practice schedules.  One of my favorite parts of the Covid pandemic was not feeling guilty for not having my kids participate in smorgasbord of activities.  Now that restrictions have lifted in our area the kids are back to activities, but I'm trying to protect our family time as best I can.  Family time is sacred time!

The swimming pictures aren't great, but I had to take them from a distance through the viewing windows--Covid precautions.  The kids enjoyed lessons.  Annika was by far the bravest of the three kids and she made the most progress.  The others made progress too, just at a slower pace.  They are all geared up for more lessons this Summer.  

Annika floating

Eden with the swimming coach.  Lincoln to Eden's left and Annika next to him.

Football ended for Kimball and he was so sad to see it end.  All practices were held at the high school stadium which was really nice since it's only a 5 minute drive from our house.  Kimball's team ended the season with a 4-0 record. Track has now started so Kimball is still busy after school each day.  

Rebecah is helping more and more in the kitchen.  I always call on her for help if I'm running behind in my dinner prep!

I love watching my little girls play together.  They love to be crafty together and make creations.

Joseph and I went to Green Lakes State Park.  I walked the lake trails for Green Lake and Round lake.  It was only a 3 mile loop so it took me less than an hour.  Joseph spent that hour on the mountain biking trails.  We weren't exactly together, but we were both doing our preferred form of exercise.  

We always seem to end up at Green Lakes on cloudy days, but it really is pretty and the lakes are just amazing from an Earth Science perspective.

Rebecah started musical practice this year.  The musical will be a little different this year.  The cast will do 3 songs and then the rest of the show will be more like a Variety Show with different performances from students.

I had my second Covid vaccine this month.  I was lucky that my only side effects from the shot were a headache and tiredness.  I'm glad Joseph and I are now immunized.  

March

 March was filled with a lot of small, memorable events.  

We had a very mild winter with less than 60 inches of snow.  Once the snow fort started melting and it wasn't safe to use anymore Joseph and Lincoln went out to destroy it.  They attacked it with a hatchet and machete and had a fun time time.  It was just the thing for a 6 year old boy!

We received word that the school district got the green light on a Spring football season.  I was hesitant because of Covid, but to keep the peace I signed Kimball up to play.  I had Kimball try on his football girdle--the pads that the players wear underneath their pants.  He said they were probably too tight, but he didn't take them off right away because he and I started talking.  After 20 minutes or so I noticed that his legs were looking blueish and swollen.  I told him to run and I meant run to his room to take off the pants as fast as he could.  The pants had been so tight that he had cut off the circulation to the lower half of his body.  About the time I noticed his legs he said his legs were starting to feel numb.  Once the circulation started to return he was in pain.  I called my favorite Orthopedic PA to ask his advice.  At first he said everything was probably fine but then he called back a few minutes later and told me to have Kimball elevate his legs and ice down parts of his legs to avoid some more serious complication.  After a few hours Kimball was fine, but we went out an bought a bigger football girdle.

You can see some of the discoloration in the next two pictures.

Rebecah had a mini-room makeover.  We updated her bedding and painted the walls to match.  The curtains hadn't arrived when I took this pictures, but they are gray just like the walls.  It is a much more grown up look and she likes it.

We video chatted with Joseph's grandma one Sunday evening so the kids could hear some of her stories and "meet" her.  It was fun to hear a little about her life.

We decided to ditch the 5 point harness car seat that we had in Joseph's car.  Eden doesn't ride in there very often and legally she can ride in a backless booster so we upgraded.  Eden was SO excited at the thought of having a booster.  Joseph took her on a little date to Chick-fil-a to try out her new booster.  She is still in a 5 point harness in the van since it is safer.

Rebecah's friend had a mini birthday part with 3 friends at a local ice cream place.  The girls had a lot of fun laughing together and eating their treat.  Rebecah and Melanie have been friends since Kindergarten and I love that they are able to maintain their friendship even when they aren't in the same classes at school.

Lincoln got up early one morning and decided to read his scriptures with me.

St. Patrick's day can not be forgotten in our house.  I feel like my kids expect it to be a grand event.  Eden asked if she would get a present and the kids asked for special foods for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!  I made spinach (green) muffins for breakfast, shamrock sugar cookies for lunch and dinner was alfredo chicken with kale pizza with a mint oreo cake that I created.

I thought the mint oreo cake looked really yummy.  I'm considering making a non-mint version for Mother's Day since I don't like mint.  

Family time playing Uncle Wiggly.

Lincoln just knows that women like flowers. We are just beginning Spring, but Lincoln found some tiny flowers and brought them to me and even put them in some water so they wouldn't die.

Joseph wanted more storage in our garage so he installed some shelving over the garage door.  He tried storing some kids before the garage things.

Joseph and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary.  We made egg rolls and ate white chocolate raspberry cheesecake.  It was a good day spending it at home with the kids. 

Remember when I mentioned that I agreed to let Kimball play football to keep the peace?  Well, a team member tested positive for Covid so the entire 70 man team has to quarantine for 10 days.  The boys will miss their first 2 games.  This is our first experience with quarantine protocol of any kind and we are finding that we don't really like it.  Kimball doesn't want to be confined to his room so we have him wear a mask if he is in the same room as us.  He also eats separately from us, too.  He is missing hugs from his mom and he doesn't like all of the reminders to wear a mask.  Hopefully he won't develop symptoms.  He has 5 more days to go.  

Since Kimball is in quarantine I took the girls to visit the Sacred Grove in Palmyra and Joseph and Lincoln stayed home with Kimball.

We took a picture on the same long last year, but we are missing half our family!

Kimball is staying busy helping Joseph with some home repairs.

It has been a good month for us.  Next week is Spring Break.  We didn't have too many plans, but all plans we might have made are canceled because of Kimball's quarantine.