Rhys is 9!

We started the weekend with a viewing of Solo given our interest in Star Wars. First time we saw a Star Wars movie not previously screened by us as parents. It went well. We told them what their options were if they felt uncomfortable before the movie started so they would have some control.

On Monday, after opening a few gifts, we headed over to Oma's and Opa's for swimming and grilled burgers which is what Rhys wanted. They made him feel extra special.  We do parties, every other year with the option for us to buy them out for no party. This is the first time someone has taken us up on it. His Lego fund grew quite a bit with the buy out and cash from family members.

 Rhys chose pie for dessert so we came home to shower and indulge. Neighbor hood friends showed up and Rhys decided to share his birthday experience with them so we had an impromptu party.

Happy birthday, Rhys!

Last Week of School

The kids had field day on Friday in which they have a blast, get wet, picnic, and the like. The next 3 days after Memorial Day are useless unless you like fun-games, movies, more games, more movies, extra recess...you get the idea.

Helicopter Seeds

For several springs in a row, I have seen helicopter seeds on walks and runs and every year I say, "I want to collect a box full of those and drop them off a building and just watch them." This year we did!

This is from a maple tree

Here we are on top of a parking structure 4 stories up. We took video but it didn't last long because the breeze sucked them into each level of the parking structure leaving very few on the ground below. It was so fun, though! As we drove down we looked at each level at the approximate place we dumped them and there were progressively less as we went down.

Voicing my Opinion

Yet more worthless STAAR testing this week! Time spent that my kids could be actually learning something new and interesting, but no.

Posted these to Facebook with such sentiments as...

 Because there is so much emphasis placed on standardized test results, teachers spend more time "teaching to the test" and lose the incentive to cover material that is otherwise favorable to the development of a student's understanding of the world.

Because "standardized tests occur in an artificial learning environment: they're timed, you can't talk to a fellow student, you can't ask questions, you can't use references or learning devices, you can't get up and move around. How often does the real world look like this? Prisons come to mind." (Thomas Armstrong) And we all say that education must prepare students for the real world. Standardized tests miss the mark.

Mother's Day!

Spent the day with my family, enjoying them--shouldn't that be every day? Anyway, dinner was my favorite lemon poppy seed pancakes! Yum! I gave my kids large Hershey bars in wrappers that said "you are amazing" and "you are awesome" to thank them for making me a mom!

Good Job!--and Now an Impaling!

Sophie worked hard to complete all of her Faith in God program for primary children, except the 11-year-old section, as she is not 11 yet. The program only requires they finish 2 activities per 4 sections but we made a deal with her that she could get her ears pierced if she did ALL of them (not just the 2 per section) and she did (with encouragement)!

So while the boys camped for priesthood commemoration, I took Sophie to a tattoo/body piercing studio to get her ears pierced. I wanted it done right and I checked them out beforehand to be sure that the place was clean and professional and the setting could still be appropriate for a child. I did warn her that the man who did the piercings had a lot of holes in his face but was very nice and professional.

She said it hurt but she was a trooper. When she got in the car she was between laughing and crying saying that it hurt and I said, she did great and that the evening called for ice cream so that is what we did!

Unicorns Forever!

Sophie and I got some time together at the Mother-Daughter activity at church. We talked about that our differences make us intersting and UNIque (thus they chose a unicorn theme) and that there is no need to compare ourselves to others.

We played how well do you know your mother/daughter in which we got some right but Sophie thought I was a couch potato (hello, was she not with me these last two races?!) and Sophie thought I would like to keep her a baby but was actually looking forward to her teenage years (Check back with me later on that one). We finished with pictures and pin the horn on the unicorn and general weirdness that comes with tweens.

She gave me my mother's day gift early, a jar of nice notes from her. One said she appreciated my humor. Another said that she appreciated that I tried to stay in a good mood when she's angry.

I sure do love my Sophie!

First 25K and a Trail Race at That!

The whole family and the Hancock family went down to Bastrop State Park for Keri and Anjuli's first 25K. Because it was on trail it was more than 15.5 miles. It was 16.8 miles. It was a great drive down and we enjoyed wildflowers along the way. I say it was great because we prayed before leaving home for a safe trip and in Dallas a car on the other side hit another car or divider and for a split second we saw it flipping in the air before hitting the wall in front of us and to our left. It landed in the middle, between the two dividing walls where there was nothing but empty space. Neal and I ducked as I hit the gas. Our car was splattered with some sort of fluid and something hard hit the windshield front and center on the driver's side causing a scratch on the glass. But just as fast as it happened, it was over and we and our car were in good shape. We were not in a place where we could stop so we continued on asking God's blessing over the other involved drivers.

Friday, it rained all day. We hung out at the local public library, at lunch at a covered pavilion in the city park, and shopped nearly every aisle of Walmart and ate dinner at a restaurant to stay out of it. It lighted up and ended for the most part that evening and we slept pretty well.

Sophie tending to Hancock #4 at the library

Storm lifting for the evening

Anjuli and I got up before dawn to making it to the starting line. The 50K runners had already been out an hour. My first loop I did great, I walked more the 2nd loop, and the last shorter loop, I ran occasionally. It was super hot after that first loop and there wasn't a whole lot of shade, as we expected as much of the course had been burned in a fire. The race was called the Wildflower and it did not disappoint. It was gorgeous! There were such a variety of flowers and the runners and staff were all very courteous, which is especially important to a snail like me. I had no idea when I'd finish so I told Neal 6-8 hours, given that I knew I'd we walking a lot and was not totally familiar with the terrain. I finished in 5 hr, 28 min, 58 sec which puts me at a just under 20 minutes per mile. I was very happy with that because, I pushed where I could given my endurance and the heat and still enjoyed myself looking at flowers, properly caring for blisters, and stopping thrice to eat a wild blackberry.

before

During

 

After

Anjuli finished way before me but I got to the showers first! We rested a bit and then took off to Lockhart for Kreuz' BBQ (besides yummy, smokey meat, I learned their German potato salad is awesome!) that was delicious and we followed them up with s'mores at the campfire. The flowers to and from Lockhart were gorgeous and there were blankets of firewheel along the roadside.

The next day we went for a short hike for the kids so I could help Brendan pass off a required activity for Scouts. It was fun and we had a safe drive home.

Back in the Race

This is the half marathon that I've been training for after a year and a half break from running. It took a long time and I never lost the weight to be at a safe weight for this distance event. In fact, I gained. So given this fact, I have run intervals at a much slower pace to keep it as safe as I can. This is also the first half I've trained on my own for. I did have my friends, Anjuli and Amanda sign up with me.

It was cold and really windy that morning and that did not change even when the sun came up. I could not feel my fingers or nose the first 2 miles. Mile 8 was all gradual uphill with headwind which was fun to play with and I was glad to see my husband and kids out cheering for me at the end of mile 8 and the finish. They were all wearing shorts, mind you.

I finished way after my friends but Anjuli and her family stayed int eh cold to cheer me in. I was so happy to have them and my own family there at the end. This is the first time Neal was able to join me at a half.

It was a good race. I always give myself a window goal time. My fastest time being 3 hr, 10 min for this race given I was doing 4 min run:1 min walk intervals. The wind was hard but it was also fun and I played with my effort/pace throughout the race. I came in with an official time of 3 hours, 7 minutes, 44 seconds, well under 2 minutes on my best goal time!

STAAR Testing - Our Nemesis

I hate that teachers feel forced to teach to this test and I am not quiet about my opinions on that. I do not get nasty about it to my kids because it would devalue the hard work they put in every day to get by. 

This is what my kids get:

 This is what I rant on Facebook:
"Because you cannot reduce the awesomeness of human learning and experience to a set of numbers. Because standardized tests do not value the creativity, diversity, and actual abilities of our kids OR their teachers."

Again, what my kids get:

 

What I rant: 

"Because "standardized tests exist for administrative, political, and financial purposes, not for educational ones....Everyone benefits except the children. For them, standardized testing is worthless..." - Thomas Armstrong"

By the way, I have teachers "liking" these like crazy.

Easter

For Easter we wanted to include our fellow friends in a service project as a way for all to feel closer to the Savior. When you do good, you feel good. A local faith based food pantry posted that they were hoping for people to donate their plastic grocery bags so recipients could get their orders to the car easily.  We thought this would be perfect for little ones since the items were easily accessible and free. After 2 weeks, the kids were able to deliver a large black trash bag tightly stuffed with clean, hole-free grocery bags and a box of diapers to meet the pantry's needs.  We were so grateful to all the families that participated. Most often it doesn't take much to show a caring heart and to make someones life better. Thank you!

At home we got our visit from the Easter bunny a week early! It brought day packs stuffed with a camp towel, bathing suits for the upcoming season, a couple summer shirts and shorts and, of course, a chocolate bunny and a salty snack.

Throughout Easter week we discussed the last week of Jesus Christ's life and his teachings. We watched bible videos to go along with it. We also posted pictures on a wall in our dining room to remind us of the importance of Jesus in God's plan.

We also put out a jar to put bunny tails (cotton balls) in whenever they showed kindness within our family--something we are ever working on. If it was filled by Easter, we would have homemade cinnamon rolls during our church's General Conference, which fell on Easter. We barely made it. 

On Thursday, Oma and Opa stopped by to visit and share baskets with the kids. Thank so much!

General Conference was historical and wonderful! We sustained the new prophet, President Nelson, two new apostles, and other church leaders. Changes were announced for priesthood holders and the organization of their groups, as well as, changes to visiting teaching, home teaching, and ministering.   Our prophet also announced several new temples to be built in the future, including the first in Russia.  What a wonderful time in the church and for our world. To see so many blessings and promises being fulfilled is exciting.

One of my favorite quotes from President Nelson was when he counseled, “In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost. My beloved brothers and sisters, I plead with you to increase your spiritual capacity to receive revelation. Choose to do the spiritual work required to enjoy the gift of the Holy Ghost and hear the voice of the Spirit more frequently and more clearly.”

Now to do the spiritual work and more consistently.

Unplanned Mud Run

My trail run accidentally turned into a mud run! I was seriously stuck! My faster friend had already passed through (obviously on a more wisely chosen path) so I said a little prayer and not more than a few minutes later she was returning saying the trail ahead wasn't worth it, then realizing my predicament, bwahahaha laughed at me for some time, took pictures of me, and then set to work helping me, tossing small logs to get footing on and a long stick to pull myself upward on. 

 Although one shoe was sucked off by the mud I did retain all shoes and socks. One sock was not wearable so I did 6 miles without it, stopping often to shake out dirt and clods. All in all, I finished 9 miles of all trail--longest trail run for me ever! Yay! 

A huge thank you to Anjuli Hancock for being God's answer to my prayer and Neal for being the amazing man that washed out my shoes while I got a hot shower!

Brace Face!

Food Holiday: Banana Cream Pie Day

These boys got together to play and make banana cream pies for their families today!

Sweet Release

This February, Keri was released as Relief Society president, after serving 2 years, 8 months. Grateful for the learning and blessings and happy for the change.  She is looking forward to putting more time into helping her kids through a rough academic year. Looking forward to seeing what the Lord wants next of her.

Rhys: Mom, Look What I Can Do!

Just what a kid ought to be doing! Good for him!

Love

He sure knows how to speak my love language! He looks for opportunities to serve and help. Here he is filling my gas tank for me in super cold weather. I make sure the kids see it for what it is. I say things like, "Did you see how daddy installed all the new smoke detectors? Isn't that romantic!", without an ounce of sarcasm. I love him!

Orthodontics

December 27th, Rhys gets his expander placed and a list of items to avoid eating.

December 28th, we make an urgent visit to the orthodontist to have a Lego removed from said expander.  Sigh.

That was a first for the orthodontist. I suggested they add Legos and non-edibles, in general, to the list.

Christmas

Enjoyed a Christmas Eve visit from Opa and Oma. I made candies this year instead of cookies. My aunt, Sandy, would make the yummiest buckeyes that I'd want to monopolize when we visited at Grandma (Lena's) house on Christmas day. This is the first time I made them. Also, maple walnut, Martha Washington's (cherry, coconut, and pecan), and peanut clouds with marshmallows.

We made pie (frozen, thank you very much) and Rhys prepped the carrots for our reindeer friends.

In the morning, after yelling at the kids to get back to bed at 3:57 am (beating their old 2015 record of 3:59 am, heaven help us!), we enjoyed cinnamon rolls, open presents, and played. I finished my new Christmas puzzle.

Kitties

Peter Pan

Sophie was not thrilled that she got a lesser part in the fall school play, this year. She was chosen to play a pirate, one with a few lines. Once again, despite not feeling overly special, she still did great on stage. She really shines in drama. Friends played fairies, mermaids, and lost boys.

Kicking off Chistmas

Christmas Tree Lighting
Ran into so many friends. Kids didn't care if we saw Santa this year and I don't think it will be long before Rhys has it all figured out about the man in red. Got to see Sadie, not pictured below, sing at the event with the Story choir.

Rudolf Run
We didn't run but Neal did course monitoring as the city called on CERT to assist and the kids and I cheered on all the 5K participants to the very last one. So great to see so many friends, neighbors, and acquaintances from work and our community.

 We also got a chance to enjoy the nativity exhibit later that day, and Neal again served as ambassador to welcome visitors and slap hands that crossed the ropes. However, he said a friendly reminder did the trick.

Activity Days for Girls and Sidekick Rhys got to sing Christmas carols at a few senior living centers. Our awesome sister missionaries accompanied them with the guitar.

A much anticipated date with Neal - Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Made the scarf for the occasion. Meanwhile, mom had delivered the scarf I made for Jolene, my sister, a fan of the grinch.

We also attended the Polar Express themed ward Christmas party which was a real hit. Rhys said he wanted to see Santa, but really only for the candy cane.