HS: May

This month has been full of big ole' CHECK MARKS!  Jacob has completed so many things and it has been really exciting!  The majority of the month has felt pretty relaxed and our workload has definitely shrunk.  It's been nice to take things lighter but I am also glad we aren't completely breaking either.  Just more relaxed.  

Jacob finished his "green book" in language arts and he is THRILLED!  He found out that the next book is red (which is his favorite color) and has been BEGGING to begin!  I feel like I say it every month, but Jacob's growth (especially in reading) has been amazing this year.  And he has worked so hard.  He finished a preschool program, primer program and kindergarten program ALL in less than a traditional school year.  Amazing!  And that was all him.  

I love this picture!  I had Jacob read three different passages on the first day of the "green book" and on the last day - his growth is amazing!  Check out the last one - WOW!

Even though Jacob finished all of the "lessons" in the green book we still needed to review some more of his spelling.  It was actually kind of nice just to focus on that for a couple minutes every day and read from his reader and then be done with language arts.  He finished up all of his spelling this last week but I've decided to wait another two weeks before diving into the "red book".  We have swimming lessons for the next two weeks and between those and driving to and from Logan I just don't want to start something new.  I am pretty confident I will not regret this ;)

Jacob also finished his handwriting practice sheets for the year!  WOOT!  We will be taking a break from official handwriting practice until our new "year" begins.  

For science this month we did an introduction to energy.  This was a really short unit but it is good prep for what we are doing next (which is why I picked it!).  

We talked about what energy is and learned about atoms and molecules.  We built an atom out of playdough and then made LOTS of atoms to make different molecules.  This was fun and Jacob had a blast experimenting with the different shapes he could make.  

Next, we talked about the different forms of energy and made an energy wall!

Then one day we just did a whole bunch of experiments which highlighted all the different forms of energy (except nuclear, of course).  

Of course, the greatest experiment was making S'mores Cupcakes for heat energy!

We also talked about the transfer of energy from one object to another.  

Next up was potential and kinetic energy.  We made origami frogs and a popsicle stick catapult to help demonstrate the difference between the two forms of energy.  

And lastly, we talked about renewable and non-renewable energy.  Jacob and I played many a round of "Energy Conservation Quest" - seriously anything put into game form is a win!

And...we are DONE with energy...ish.  To be continued next month!

This month we highlighted the Last Frontier State - ALASKA!  This was awesome.  I think Jacob fell in love with this state...mostly because of the polar bears ;)  We learned about Inuits (or Eskimos), the northern lights, how the sun never goes down in the summer in some parts, and, of course, had to eat some salmon!

In art, we finished his tree in the different seasons.  He made his autumn and winter trees and they turned out really fun.  They he also learned a little about printmaking and made some fish.  

We also read together, Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson, Johnny Appleseeed: The Story of a Legend by Will Moses, Least of All by Carol Purdy, and are currently reading No Children, No Pets by Marion Holland.  

It's been a great month of learning and it just keeps on going!

Memorial Day

We had a great Memorial Day weekend.  Although, it dawned on me that I completely forgot to do our family history spotlight.  We might have to switch that because I hate to skip it!

Saturday was all about working in the yard.  That seems like that is mostly what our Saturdays are like.  Which I am not complaining (too much).  I actually really enjoy working in the yard but we have so many projects going on it seems like there is never enough time.  

Sunday we went to church and then decided to drive over to Soda Springs to visit the cemetery.  My Papa Joe and Aunt Brenda are buried there and it was sweet to be able to visit them and to talk to the kiddos about what Memorial Day is.  I am really glad we took the time to do that.  We also made a quick stop at my cousin's house to drop something off for her and then went and visited my Grandma Dixie for a little bit.  It was fun to talk with her and it never gets old to me to watch my kids play with the same toys I remember so fondly at her home.  

That night we also had a bit of a surprise when we learned that Daniel and Teresa and their family were in town.  They came over late that night to talk and play games.  It's so fun to spend time with their family.  

Monday was another WORK day!  I was hoping it would just be a morning project (and I felt the project gremlins laugh at me) and it ended up taking the ENTIRE day.  That was a bit of a bummer but I love how it turned out.  I desperately needed a check mark on my to-do list - and I got one!  I painted our front door - and FIVE coats later - it is done!  It looks so good (or at least I think so) and I was so happy to get that done.  

Also, I know my flower pots look pretty sad - it finally got warn enough last week that I thought I could plant them but they definitely haven't taken off yet!

When I was finally rinsing out my brushes at 5 o'clock I was definitely not up for making dinner.  Plus, we have decided that we need to eat out a little more because we've hardly been to any of the eating places around town (mostly because they are only open for the summer and we hate the crowds).  So we packed up the kids and went and tried a new place.  It was good food but we probably won't go back ($10 kid meals are not our thing).  

We are so grateful for the men and women that have bravely fought for our freedoms.  

T-Ball

So I've been feeling a pull to put Jacob into some activities.  I found out that they were doing a little T-Ball Camp for the kiddos at our city park and thought that would be perfect to get his feet wet.  This was really good for Jacob.  Jacob has a hard time inserting himself into social situations.  He loves to be around people but is just unsure about how to "do it".  We are trying to help him out with this.  We love this boy.  

We are hoping to do more baseball fun with him throughout this summer!

Mother's Day

I had a wonderful Mother's Day.  The beginning of the day was very normal and I taught the lesson in young womens.  It was fun to see the cute gifts the kiddos made in Primary for me - especially the questionnaire they each filled out! 

We came home, had lunch and put Sarah and Benjamin down for a nap and then I went to lay down in bed too.  It felt so nice to just lay in bed and relax.  I enjoyed it so much - I never left!  Once I heard the kiddos getting up, I turned to Mark and told him what I had planned for dinner and he went off to take care of kids and make dinner.  I felt a little guilty but, if I am being honest, it also felt pretty great!  It was nice to have an afternoon off and just do absolutely nothing.  

Mark made a yummy dinner and we both had an equally good laugh at his rolls (for some reason they didn't rise at all and looked quite sad).  It was a low-key relaxing kind of day.  

I am so grateful to be a mother.  It has always been my dream job and it still is.  These children are apart of who I am and I would be lost without them.  I love them forever and am so grateful that I get to spend my days learning and growing with them.  

This year, the Church released a video about being "just a Mom".  I loved it.  As what seems to be the world we live in, I know there were some that didn't appreciate it or didn't agree with what it was saying or portraying.  But I loved it.  I've actually had people get upset when I respond that I am "just a Mom" saying that I am more than that.  And I appreciate and understand what they are saying.  But I've also always had a really strong testimony of what motherhood is.  Being a mom truly is all I've ever wanted to be.  I've told Mark that if my obituary only comments on me being a mother and wife I would be okay with that.  I believe that role to be divine and I love being "just a Mom" because I have always known that that title means a lot.  I felt like that video spotlighted that.  I love being a Mom. 

I am grateful for the many amazing women in my life.  I would't know how impactful mothers could be if I didn't have an incredible one to learn from.  My mother is kind, selfless, creative, faithful, strong and supportive.  I have an amazing second mother that teaches and guides me.  I am blessed to have wonderful women surround me and am so grateful.  

Elder's Quorum Secretary

Last month, Mark was released as the Ward Mission Leader and two weeks ago was called to be the new Elder's Quorum Secretary in our ward.  He gets to work with some truly amazing men and is grateful to learn and serve the men and families in our ward.  

Art Institute

Uggg...I am SO behind in blogging!  

AND I realized that I never finished writing about our trip to Chicago!

Our last day in Chicago was more laid back-ish which was good because we were tired.  We slept in, or Mark slept in (the children have destroyed my ability to sleep in apparently), grabbed some breakfast and then walked over to the Art Institute of Chicago.  This place was amazing!  And ENORMOUS!  I felt like a kid in a candy store.

We immediately were overwhelmed with how much there was to see but I knew our first stop HAD to be the Impressionism section.  I have been obsessed with impressionism art ever since I can remember.  I love how it makes me feel.  I was so excited to see everything.  It did not disappoint.  We saw Georges Seurat's A Sunday on La Grande Jatte - 1884.  It was so interesting to see close up - and HUGE! 

And they had an entire room dedicated to Claude Monet who is my all-time favorite artist ever.  I was in heaven.  We saw several paintings from is water lilies series (which are my favorite) as well as his Stacks of Wheat. 

We definitely took our time in this section and we have no regrets about that.  We then went in search of some other must-sees in the museum. 

Next we headed over to the European Painting and Sculpture section, and most notably saw El Greco's The Assumption of the Virgin.  This was also a very large piece and was very interesting to learn more about. 

We went and looked at some of the medieval armor which was really interesting.  They had it displayed so cool and I definitely learned a lot. 

The Ando Gallery was...different.  This was one of those things that I know I was not getting (I struggle with contemporary art).  But we saw it, took it in, and moved on. 

We then walked through the Asian Art section and saw the Buddha Shakyamuni Seated in Meditation.  It is so fascinating to see art from all corners of the world and time.  Their current exhibit was about China - specifically their bronzes.  This went really well with the exhibit we had just seen the day before at the Field Museum. 

Next up was the American Art exhibit.  This was a bit of a downer.  We were really hoping to see the American Gothic painting by Grant Wood (you know the one with the man and woman farmer with the pitchfork).  But, sadly, it was on loan to another museum so we didn't get to see it.  We did see Archibald John Motley, Jr.'s Nightlife painting.  It was interesting to see his colors and style. 

We were definitely getting worn down at this point.  We had packed a TON into this weekend and I think we were just tired.  We grabbed some lunch to refuel and we kept going!

We stopped and looked at Marc Chagall's American Windows which were multiple stained glass windows that were really interesting to look at.  Who doesn't love stained glass?!

Last up was modern and contemporary art.  Guys, I want to like and understand this art.  But I just don't get it.  I really don't.  I don't know how you can go from pretty much any other art period of the world and then look at contemporary and modern art and have the same feeling.  I think it will be forever ingrained in my memory an experience I had while I was on an AP Art History trip in San Francisco my senior year of high school.  We were in a museum in the contemporary section and there was this huge canvas that was entirely blank but had a giant red dot in the circle.  And there was someone sitting in front of it...crying...because they were so moved by it.  I remember standing in front of it trying to understand and I just can't get there.  Anyway, that was a tangent.  BACK TO CHICAGO.   Also, if I have offended anyone with my opinions of modern art, I apologize.  Teach me.  

We did get to see quite a few Pablo Picasso paintings, most notably his The Old Guitarist.  Mark and I tried really hard to get some feeling from Joan Mitchell's City Landscape and I think we just concluded that we are country loving people.  They also had a couple of Andy Warhol prints.  

Long day but SO good.  The museum was incredible.  We then went back to our hotel and grabbed our bags and hopped on the train back to the airport.  We landed in Salt Lake at about 9:30 that night and headed back up to Garden City.  A BIG "thank you" to my parents for watching our kiddos for us so that we could enjoy this amazing weekend.  It was amazing to spend some time together and especially to watch John Williams.  It was definitely a once in a lifetime thing for me (and second for Mark ;)).