November Phone Dump 2017

We are just hopping back and forth. Today is another time travel day to last year. I need to get rid of photos on my phone, so it is nice to get all the random things on here. Here are some tidbits from the month of November.

Ivory did a science experiment. She built her own solar oven and then made cookie dough and cooked it in four different ways: Stove, Oven, Solar Oven, and Microwave. I was so concerned about her using the stove top that I didn't ask about the other methods. I didn't know she was planning on using the microwave. And that she planned to cook them all for the same amount of time. She figured out that she shouldn't microwave a cookie for ten minutes when smoke started coming from the microwave. Yikes. Live and learn. And the solar oven didn't do much. It clearly needs more than ten minutes.

I read Everything, Everything and in the book they talk about Phonetic Scrabble. So I played some with my kids and some for Book Group. It was really fun. It is pretty tricky, but all you have to do is convince the other players that your word works.

Pearl was busy growing teeth in November. You can see they are just starting to break through. She is a much faster grower than Daisy.

I was put in charge of a musical number for a gathering. It was fun to ask the girls in the neighborhood to help out and also to use June's violin experience. The girls did several practices and then performed very well. They sang, If the Savior Stood Beside Me. It was beautiful.

We have fallen off the service wagon. It is hard to plan family service. In this case, we planned to rake leaves and then we forgot it got dark early. I came home to find the kids almost finished. But regardless of light, it is always nice to see them out helping others.

June was sick sometime in November. It is never fun to miss school, but she usually catches up on her TV watching.

I found me new favorite picture of the Savior. I need to get a copy of this print. It is beautiful. It went well with the STAR theme at camp, although I never got a copy to give to the girls. But I still want one for my home.

Daisy made a dinner on the lawn one night. It was a busy night, so not everyone got to benefit from it, but Hannah was over and she and June were able to dine outside. I think it was actually a little chilly, but they still look like they had a good time and Daisy was satisfied that someone partook of her decorations.

Daisy was in a school Thanksgiving program. It was a little strange. Something about the turkeys lobbying to not be eaten? Anyway, Daisy did a good job.

Ivory made our Thankful Turkey this last year. The lamination wasn't very good, but the turkey looks great. I like his rainbow feathers.

Daisy and Ivory were just getting into ballroom in November. The program was new and they were learning all the right steps. I went to a little mini performance so parents could see how they were doing. Daisy and Ivory are both very good. Here is Daisy doing the waltz.

Finally, as November slid to a close, we were putting up the tree. We barely got it up in time for December, probably because we were in WA. I love that all the kids are old enough to help. I don't really have to do anything. Just point them in the right direction and they can take over.

In Concert

I believe this is my last school post. We can't forget the end of the year concerts. They are very fun to go watch and listen to.

First up was June. She does such an excellent job on violin. She tried out for the Utah Valley Youth Symphony and was accepted. I really enjoy listening to her play.

Her Chamber Orchestra group has done a great job this year. They had a new teacher and she said that she loved the Chamber group because they just wanted to play. She could give them anything and they would learn it and enjoy playing. They got Superior ratings at all their competitions.

Robyn was also asked to play some percussion during the Orchestra concert. I'm so sad we didn't record Phantom of the Opera because it sounded amazing with Robyn on Crash Symbols.

This is June's last year in Junior High, so they gave flowers to their teacher. June has had an amazing three years playing in Orchestra.

Here is the Advanced and Chamber performing Come Together.

Next was the Band Concert. Robyn does so many things in band. First, she performs with the Symphonic Band. This year, they weren't separated by grade, but instead by testing into a group. Robyn was very happy to be in the top group. This is a piece they performed at competition called Adrenaline Engines.

Here are the symphonic percussionists. This is one of the few times we could see Robyn. Sometimes she gets lost back there.

Percussion always plays a song or two by themselves. I really enjoyed their pick this year. I'll have to ask Robyn what it is called. I don't remember.

And finally, Robyn is also in Jazz Band. They have a whole arsenal of songs for performances. I really enjoyed listening to September because I like that Robyn does cowbell and tambourine. You can barely see behind the piano.

Mrs. Taylor always give out awards to outstanding players in all her bands. In percussion, she gives an award to the best 7th, 8th, and 9th grade player. Robyn got it last year so she was pretty embarrassed when she got it again. But I'm not surprised. She is amazing at percussion.

I love watching these girls develop their talents. I'm excited for next year and more concerts.

Pre-Hike

We had camp the very first week of June, which meant a lot of preparation during the month of May. We went to Heber this year and they had an open house mid May. We had been to Heber before but this time we headed up to figure out where games might be held, measure areas for decorations, but most importantly, do some hiking.

Sister Hale put me in charge of leading the 3rd year hike. That sounds fine to me, but I did NOT want to get lost. So I figured I would just hike it ahead of time so I knew what I was doing. Rebecca came with me since she was planning on being the sweeper for the hike. The sweeper is the person that stays in the back and keeps stragglers moving in the right direction.

Jolene had put together very good maps, so I wasn't too worried about finding my way around. And at the main lodge, they had a model of the mountain with the trails mapped out. It was very cool. I took a picture so I would have it for reference. You can see here where our campsite was and the loop we planned on taking. Because we could, we drove up to a higher campsite to start.

Our campsite was right by the lake. The lake that morning was very misty. In fact, the weather in general was quite cold and yucky. It was drizzling most of the time.

Carrie and Jolene were going on their own hike, but Carrie was so kind to let me use her poncho. Although I brought a hoody, that was just going to soak up all the water as I hiked. I really should be better prepared, but Carrie baled me out. Here are Rebecca and I ready to hike.

The hike was actually quite nice. The lake is the lowest point in the valley so everything is uphill for a while, but we expected that. From up above you could see the lake below and next door another lake that is not owned by the camp I believe.

There was a little outlook area at the top. We found these cute stones that girls had left before. They looked like little prayer rocks. And to the left, you might notice a nice pile of deer poop. There was poop all over the trails. Piles and mounds of it. You definitely had to watch your step. (Later, when we went back to camp, the trails had been cleared very well. I don't know who scooped all that poop, but bless you.)

We were also looking for a nice place to have a mini devotional when we came up later. Some areas in the trees had fallen logs that would be good for sitting on. And I was hoping there would be more leaves in a few weeks to provide more shade.

As it was, we got snowed on. The rain and mists finally turned to snow. It wasn't awful to hike in since we were plenty warm from the exertion, but it made the trails muddy and slippery. Some of the down hill was a little tricky. Finally we got back to our car. We navigated the trails just fine and we were all ready for the actual event in a few weeks time. We even had a little cheerleader at the end who greeted us with enthusiasm. I think he was proud of us. He was the only critter we saw. I think the rest were waiting for a warmer day.

Adios Mayo

Sure, it is July and I might be a little behind, but nothing too bad. Nothing a little me-time can't clear up. Although I don't really get a lot of me-time. A girl can dream though. My family may want to leave and go camping for a week and I'll insist that someone needs to stay home to flush the toilets and check the mail, and I would sit and blog to my heart's content. Like I said...dreams. Nothing fancy.

May was such a beast last year because I fell behind and didn't catch up until later, so I'm happy to say that I was on top of May for most of the month. So I may be wading up to my shoulders in blog posts to be written, but I'm not drowning yet.

Let's go back and look at the tidbits of May. All those minor details that inspired the camera to come out even though they may not warrant a whole post of attention.

We have some lilac trees on the side of the house. Sometimes I don't even see them bloom since I am not outdoors all that much and certainly not on the side of the house, but with a new A/C unit that went in, I was over there and took a picture to enjoy the beauty.

I found the family hanging out on the roof one day. If you notice, June is enjoying time up there, but still studying her heart out for the AP Biology test. (She got her score back today - a 4!)

Our dryer broke...again. I can't really talk about how awful it is to replace the dryer every YEAR right after the warranty expires. This time, we just bought a cheaper machine with a huge warranty. Why can't things last? But this picture is really about Robyn's hair. I'm not sure how her bun is that big, but it is epic.

Pearl got her hair cut. It took me a long time to convince her, but it looks so cute on her. You can't really tell here...she is still a little drowned rat, but when it is dry, it is very fetching.

Only three sleeping pictures this month. What is this world coming to?

Robyn got ahold of Pip and braided her tail. I'm not sure Pip noticed, but it is hard to tell...she always makes that face.

Daisy and I went on a date. We shopped at the mall and went out for ice cream. A girl after my own heart.

Daisy's grade did a mountain man day where they played a whole bunch of games and traded items at the park. I came and did a station where they played flag tag. It was really fun and I played with every group. I was a little worn out after nine groups but it was worth it. Daisy exchanged soda which went over well. This was Daisy's favorite item that she exchanged for.

Ivory had her last orchestra concert. It might be the last ever since she isn't planning on taking orchestra next year. She is going to do choir and percussion instead. She doesn't have room for three music classes.

I bought a wig for a certain future event, but everyone tried it on for fun. Tyler looked the best by far. Does he remind you of anyone? Napoleon Dynamite maybe?

Still love this little nest that Radi found in the tree. The eggs hatched and we saw the baby birds later all squished inside. It is special to watch nature at work.

Pip...such an easy dog to love and hate at the same time. She is the best snuggler and the kids adore her, but she still pees on the carpet when she is too lazy to go outside. I'm counting down to Grandma taking her again, but I will miss her.

We were talking about how people can't lick their own elbow. Then we talked about armpits. Did you know that Pearl can lick her armpit? (Actually, I think most people can lick their armpit...they just choose not to.)

Roses in season again. These color changing roses are my favorite.

Towel head alert. Sometimes you need to play on the computer so much you don't have time to take the towel off.

I tried something new on June's hair. I'm not even sure what it is, but I love that she will let me experiment on her.

 Mr. Glassford at our school was nominated for teacher of the year. He is seriously amazing and deserves it more than any teacher I know. I saw a picture of him in the hallway and look who is in the picture with him...

We went over to the neighbors for a BBQ. It was the Pacanos, Dutson, and Cazier families. I love their hammocks. Can you see little heads sticking out? They would wrap themselves in and hang upside down.

I went on a date with Pearl too, since I was behind. We got our nails done. It was so fun, although at Chelsea's house it was super cold, so Pearl was a popsicle by the time we were done. But such a good result.

Sister Cazier, who currently resides in Minnesota saw some storms roll through her area. She saw some Shelf Clouds come through. They look apocalyptic, but they are pretty harmless. But they do look like something disastrous is imminent.

And to end the month of May, here are the recycling dumpsters that Ivory helped paint at school. They did a service project to make them look nice. I think that is a great idea and they turned out very cute. I barely grabbed these pictures before the rain began and I hauled Ivory out of there.

May was a good, busy month. In general May is not my favorite since the end of school can get a bit hectic. This year we added in play practice as well, so it was a little over the top, but I still look back at this month with fondness. Thanks May. See you again next year.