June Update

It's been awhile since I blogged. We've been having some June Gloom at our house thanks to a nasty case of the flu. We are all better now and wanted to post a few of the things we've done this month when we weren't sick...

Watching our new Neighbors...
This little mama made her nest right outside of our bedroom window. We watched her patiently sit on her nest...

And then two babies appeared! We watched the daddy bring food and then the mama feed her babies. We all decided we are glad we are people so we didn't have to eat regurgitated food as babies!

After watching the babies grow exponentially, they got too crowded in the nest and flew away. I noticed the mama keeping a watchful eye on her babies from a distance as they were leaving the nest. Such a good mom! I was sad to see this little family go!


Utah Trip
We took our annual trip to Utah for BYU Basketball Camp.

People think I am crazy for going all the way up there for a sports camp, but it is really just my excuse to spend some time with our Utah family and friends. Plus, Tanner really does enjoy the camp and it has totally brainwashed my kids into thinking BYU is the best college! (which it is!)

Playing with cousins at the Park...

We usually make this trip in two days but since our trip was cut short (thank you flu bug) we drove it in one day. Thanks to books on tape it actually was not bad. I was very impressed at how these wiggly boys managed on that long trip. They really enjoyed our breakfast stop at ...
Bob's Big Boy in Baker! In fact, they requested we stop there for dinner on our return trip, which we did!

Random Pictures
When I was sick, Tanner must have kept busy with my camera! There were a million pictures on my camera of the fort he made in the backyard. Thank goodness for the delete button on digital cameras!
The fort...

The proud builder...

We are glad to be feeling better and hope all of you stay well!

The family that runs together...

Well, I guess I can't say we ran together, since the three of us were in three different races. We conquered all the 2010 Fontana Days Race had to offer! It was a very hot, smoggy day (I am sure that if school were in session, it would've been an unclean air day and kids would've had to stay in from recess), but nonetheless we ran, and ran, and ran!

Tanner ran in the 1/2 mile kids dash. He had fun, although he said he got pretty tired and had to walk part of the way.


Ladd ran in the 5K, which he did "cold turkey" (no training). He is paying for that today. But, I know he had a good time because after the race, he said "When is our next race?" I am trying to get him addicted to running. Hopefully running in a race will help feed that addiction!



I ran in the Half Marathon and managed to get my worst time ever for this race. 2 hours, 8 minutes, with a 9:49 pace. Oh, well. I didn't push myself because of the heat and brown layer of smog I was running through (which I felt in my lungs!). Since I didn't push, this has been the best recovery! No digestive problems at all and my legs are only a little sore today. And- no black toenails! So, I guess there is something to say for not reaching your goal!

Surprise! My friend Areli was running in the race, too! I wish I would've known ahead of time- we could've done a few long runs together!

Of course none of us could have done it with out this spectacular cheerleader and his wonderful grandma!

Our cheerleaders had to wake up super early to make sure everyone got to their races on time and then spend all morning in the heat waiting and waiting for me to finish. As you can tell by the below picture, Grandma did a great job keeping these two entertained! Thanks a million, Mom!

We spent the afternoon relaxing in the pool at Bridget's First Birthday Party!

Happy Birthday Bridget!

It was nice too cool off and see family. The boys were especially impressed by the large selection of water guns available.

The boys were really having fun in the pool so I hope to get in lots of swimming this summer!

First Timers

We went to Disneyland last week with three first timers- Scott, Brielle, and Bryce! I think they had a good time, although I think Scott might think we are a little crazy for having annual passes. We are a little crazy for going as often as we do, but at least we are getting our money's worth!

Hunter finally decided to go on Star Tours. A little nervous at first...
But was all smiles as soon as it started and absolutely LOVED it!
He is still too nervous to attempt Pirates of the Caribbean again, so we stayed out to dance with the Pirate band while everyone else went on the ride...

It was fun to see Lawni and her family and get to go to the Happiest Place on Earth with my cute long distance niece and nephew!

End of the School Year Activities

Open House

At the end of the year, our school group hosts an Open House where we show off what we've done throughout the year. It is a nice way to show family members what this crazy homeschooling thing is all about! This year the kids put on a play about visiting the Magical Kingdom of Books and sang our theme song for the year. The kids all did a great job and I was so proud!
Each child displayed their artwork and made a snack that they learned how to make in cooking class. Julie (one of the awesome Mom's I get to work with) put together a DVD with all the pictures from our year. Since the Open House was at our house, Tanner gave tours of our school room. He took this job quite seriously and spent a lot of time with each of his "tourists".
Pictures from our school room:

Magical Kingdom Party

The last day of school, we headed to the park to celebrate the completion of our school year. I read "Oh, the Places You'll Go" and had the kids do a footprint activity talking about what they want to do in the future (this went along with Tomorrowland, our final Land in the Magical Kingdom). I was very pleased Tanner put down going to BYU as part of his future plans and both of my boys said they wanted to be a missionary when they grow up!
We played CandyLand-Magical Kingdom style. This was a fun game that quickly reviewed some of the things we learned throughout the year.
Each of the kids were "knighted" when they finished the game. Hunter was so proud to be "knighted" and kept telling everyone "I won!" Little did he know, everyone won!
We also got to make big bubbles, eat pizza, and most importantly PLAY!

After looking at the pictures from throughout the year, we decided to start a new tradition of lining the kids up from youngest to oldest on the first day of school and the last day so we can see how much everyone grows! Here is our end of the year picture:

Silly Kids!

Happy summer to everyone with school-aged kids!