We started going to Grandma's for come follow me study again. It was good to be back with family and the kids got to meet Drew for the 1st time.
We bought a new picnic table for the backyard and we are loving eating meals outdoors and it has also been nice for crafting and playing games.
One day our friends the Gourleys invited us to walk to get school lunch. We had to walk all the way to Columbia Elementary! It was a 2 miles walk by the end.
At the Jordan River trail they had a fun story set up for reading. Each page was posted a few feet apart. We loaded up bikes and kids and went to check it out. Ava was into the book, the older kids just wanted to take off on their bikes. Poor dad had to run to keep up with them.
Popsicles with friends...
These kids were on a bug hunt....
Sadie and her friends
(Phoenix, Sadie, Victoria and Harlie)
When they are supposed to be doing Saturday morning chores....
Ava loves empty boxes! She and Dad built this rocket...It even has a box for storage....
Mother's day breakfast in bed....
What a great view!
Sadie spent her own money to buy these fun glasses. They are just for fun and fashion.
We have been making lots of cookies during quarantine...
Finn climbing in Grandma Terry and Grandpa Roger's tree...
When you realize the Barbie hammock makes a great mask...
(only in the middle of a pandemic)
This girl loves her "cukes"
Grandma Claudia and Grandpa Bruce came for a lunch and outdoor play date....
It was so good to see them and you can always count on them to bring fun things. Bean bags with Grandpa and crafts with Grandma. The kids loved it!
Ava wanted to do an animal report just like Finn. She chose to do her report on tigers. She learned lots of fun facts and made a great poster.
Playing Go Fish with my Ava girl...
video chats with Aunt Wendy...
I tried a new craft with the kids...window clings made out of puff paint. I think I had more fun than they did. It proved to be more difficult for them. They had fun making a mess though...
When you see this on the toilet paper roll.....
Don't worry, I gave it a sniff and it was just puff paint.
Crazy girls...
Friday nights are for movie nights!!
This is our new normal at the stores....This was at Costco, they have these signs on the ground to keep people 6' apart while in line to check out.
Finn is constantly on his head!
Cute Lyla getting her hair done....
Tickling feet with his head after bath...
Just Dance on the Wii...
Ava HATES getting water in her eyes, but she has really been wanting to take a shower. This was her solution...
Ava graduated for preschool! Miss Tami had short 10 min time slots for each student to come and see her, and get their certificates. Ava was given the good listener award! Grandma and Grandpa came over since it is just down the road from their house. We had to get a picture with Grandpa Roger and Ava because he so kindly picked her up from preschool everyday. They had lots of fun afternoons enjoying ice cream and such...
Ava got to pick where we stopped to get dinner. McDonald's it was, we brought it home for a picnic. I can't believe she is going to be going to Kindergarten in the fall. She has grown a lot this last year and I think she is ready to go!
We have pretty much finished up school from home! Most things now are just optional, for fun things. I loved these memes about teaching kids from home....
This was my view for the last couple of months. It was usually me and Finn working together on his stuff to make sure he got it all done. Sadie pretty much took care of all of her work and only occasionally needed help. Finn really did not like doing this program called extra math. It is basically flash cards and you just type in the answer. He does a great job at it, but for some reason he really didn't like it. Notice the Swedish fish next to the key board? I totally bribed him with them. For all the answers he got right in a row I gave him a fish. At one time I had to give him like 30!
Memorial Day Weekend....
On Saturday morning we headed to the cemeteries. I know that these loved ones are not here at the cemeteries, but I love the opportunity this gives us to talk to our kids about our family members that have passed on and even touch a bit on the plan of salvation. It was a beautiful day and was not very crowded at all! After we enjoyed a BBQ and Grandma and Grandpa's.
These two are too cute!
Brian's Taggart Grandparents...
My Dad "Grandpa Bill"..
My Grandparents Grandma and Grandpa Childs
My Grandparents, Grandma and Grandpa Kimber
Brian's Albrchsen Grandparents...
Tiffany and cute "baby Drew"
On Memorial Day we hiked to Bell Canyon Reservoir. It was such a great hike! We had never done it before, but gave it a try. It was a bit steep in the beginning but the kids did fantastic!
The kids were excited to have giant rocks to climb.
Sadie noticed some cut marks in some of the granite rocks. We learned about this last year when we hiked the Temple Quarry trail. This is where the pioneers cut in the rock to get stones to build the Salt Lake Temple.
The scenery at the reservoir was unreal! seriously beautiful!
After our hike little miss Lyla didn't want to take a nap in her bed, but she fell asleep quickly while snuggling me.
She is a silly girl that keeps us laughing!
I love our yard in the spring time! I always tell Brian that if we ever decide to move, we should sell in the spring because the yard looks so nice.
Cousin Day at Manila Pond in Pleasant Grove...
Aunt Julie invited us to join them at the pond for a fun day in the Sun. We had such a great time! It felt good to be out and to be with cousins again. Life felt "normal" for the first time in a long time.
Lyla spent the 1st hour sitting on my lap. I think she wasn't too sure about this place. Finally I took her down to the water and she discovered this was FUN stuff!
Earlier that day I had read a post on Instagram about these fun rocks that people had painted and put out on a walking trail for people to see. They were really close by where we went with cousins so we stopped on our way home. It was just a quick 10 min stop, but I am glad we did. The rocks were so fun!
I thought Grandma Claudia would love this one....
Finn built his own rock tower...
We headed out on another hiking adventure on a Saturday morning. We are hoping to do this more often this summer. This time we went to Lisa Falls, up Little Cotton Wood Canyon. We had never been there before. It was a super quick 5 min hike up to the falls and we had fun playing in the water. Today's trip was a little more difficult because Lyla was tired (after not sleeping well the night before) and Ava scratched her leg and was a little whiny about that. We had a good time though and were glad we ventured out.
More fun with friends....
Finn climbing the tree at the school.
3 silly kids in the tub!
Church at home has been a roller coaster adventure. Some days were better than others. Often it felt like as soon as we were ready to start church was exactly when the fights broke out, someone was usually standing on their head or doing gymnastics. It seemed like the kids organized who's turn it was that week to be grumpy and confrontational about church. I never thought I would miss trying to keep kids quiet and reverent on a church pew. However, there were also some beautiful moments when the spirit could be felt strongly. I am thankful for Brian, who honors his priesthood and can bless our family with the sacrament in our home. Church meetings are supposed to be resuming next month, little by little. I look forward to joining with our friends and neighbors again, but will always remember these special days of church at home with cute/crazy kids.
Restrictions because of Covid 19 are slowly easing up and life is beginning to feel a bit more normal. We will see what the next few months bring. Again we are thankful for our health and for each other.
