Christian Graduates from Elementary School

 I have had at least one (or more) kids at Webster Elementary for 13 years now.  Today that came to an end.  Christian has loved his time there (as did the others).  His teachers were fantastic and his friends were great kids.

No one is better prepared for middle school than Christian - brilliant, kind, hard working, independent. etc.  We wish you all the best, Christian.  You're going to do great things.

Leading up to the last day, he had a 6th grade breakfast, a 6th grade graduation ceremony wherein he was presented with his diploma by his teacher and the principal, and a 6th grade clap-out where they all marched out of the building as the parents clapped.  It was so fun to see him with all his friends.  I'm so glad nearly all of them are moving onto the same middle school program with him.

His closest friends - Mae, (Mrs. Macek), Jackson, and Alex.

He had the same teacher Bella had in 5th and 6th grade, Mrs. Macek.  She is a wonderful teacher and both kids loved her a lot.  I never got a picture with her and Bella because Bella's 6th grade year ended in the covid shutdown and she never had any graduation ceremonies.  I'm so glad Christian got to do those things.

On the last day of school, I treated them all to a sushi lunch, their favorite place to eat.  Benjamin didn't want to come, but the others were thrilled.  Sushi (and all food) has gotten so expensive!  ($93 for lunch).  Not going to be doing this very often, but it was a great celebration for those who didn't get so much fanfare at school. 

Christian wants to do band, cross country, and robotics next year at school.  For the robotics team, you have to do service hours.  Christian decided to volunteer with the police department's Passport to Safety program.  Every year they put on a huge show in the community with all sorts of safety topics.  Christian volunteered with the bike safety portion and spent the day helping kids navigate a bike safety course.  Peter and I spent the time in and out of police cars and ambulances and watching police dog demonstrations.

 There was a remote control fire truck that spoke, blinked, rolled around, flashed lights, sounded an alarm, and sprayed water.  The controller sat up high on a fire truck out of sight from the kids so they all seemed to fully believe this thing was real.  Peter was mesmerized and a bit afraid.  He kept a safe distance and hid behind me once in a while, but when there was a lull in the action and he was all alone with "Freddy" the firetruck, he ventured to talk to him and they had a little conversation.  It was really cute.

 Finally, I made them both pose with Sparky the fire dog. I'm not sure who was hating life more at that moment - Sparky who had already been posing for pictures for 4 hours or Peter who had adamantly refused all pictures with any mascot all morning long.  I didn't push it with the crash test dummies or McGruff the crime dog, but c'mon it's Sparky!  How cute is he??

We had a church meeting at a building we don't attend much anymore by a large forest, so we decided to take a hike when it was over.  I'd brought a change of clothes for me and Peter, but Christian forgot, so he got to go in his church clothes.  We still had a great time playing in the forest in which we'd spent so much time when they were little.  Christian kept being surprised by how short the distances were compared to how he remembered them.   I miss those days of ice skating on the frozen river and playing on the bridges.  Maybe we will again this winter now that Peter is old enough, if it gets cold enough.

I had to run into the building to change clothes and I found dozens of pictures like this one on my phone.

Christian found the most amazing vines to swing from...

and trees to climb on.

Peter didn't quite dare go as high.

They were having so much fun being silly.

Other random silliness:

We're getting excited for our hiking trip to the upper peninsula of Michigan.  Benjamin was testing out the new pack.

Peter had his final day of our mom-run church preschool.  That has been such a wonderful group.  I'm sad to see it end.  He has the best little buddies in there.

For fun, for the Summer, Bella died her hair dark brown.  Peter loved the idea of dyeing hair, but he wanted blue.  So that's what we did.  Not permanent, like Bella's, of course.  Once he saw it, he hated it and so we washed it out...mostly.  Blonde hair loves color and despite multiple washes, it's still visible.  Hopefully a few more washes will do the trick.  I thought he looked fun.

Spring 2023 Piano Recital

Bella and Christian did a great job at their piano recital last week.  I always love having proof that my money is going to a good cause.  I'm so glad they're still willing to stick with it and keep learning.  Eliciting quality practice time is often a struggle, but I certainly have empathy for them.  I'm impressed with what they've accomplished and how hard they have worked.

If you don't see the videos, try viewing this entry on a computer rather than a phone.  When I view my blog on my phone, all the videos disappear.

You know your kids are older when after the recital, they take turns practicing driving while you sit in the back seat!!

Museums and Compromises

The weather has been so perfect lately, that I've wanted to spend a lot of time outside.   However, Peter's on a museum kick where he only wants to go to museums.  A nature center seemed like a good compromise.  We went to two different ones, one day after the other, once alone and once with friends.  It was wonderful both times.  Sadly I missed taking a picture of the giant tree fort that was several stories high and 150 ft wide.  It was so fun for the kids.

When we found this sandbox, I thought how sad it was that I forgot the sandtoys.  Then Peter found a stick and some rocks and played for 30 minutes with them in the sand.  Kids really don't need special toys.

He had a blast playing in this giant eagle nest.  

We also have been going to museums.  This week it was the Ann Arbor Hands on Museum.  He told me the whole time he wasn't interested in playing at the water table and then with 10 minutes to go, he decided he did and he had so much fun he didn't want to go home.  His favorite part was engineering the pipes so the water flowed just right. Exactly the part I like best too.  I couldn't resist letting him stay longer.

School is almost over!

 We have 8 more school days.  That's crazy.  Peter is already done with his first year of preschool.  It has gone so fast.  What a cute bunch of kids those were.  I'm going to miss them.  He probably won't, though!  He liked the kids but he never wanted to have anyone over to play.  I always asked if he'd like to invite someone over or go somewhere with someone from class and he always said no.  They just weren't interesting to him.  Other parents often told me that their child asked frequently to play with Peter, though.  Maybe next year he'll find a friend with whom he wants to spend more time.

The teacher asked everyone to come give her one last hug.  Peter was not interested.  He wanted nothing to do with that huge crush of people.  I thought it was hilarious and so relatable.  I likely would have stood back too.

He as perfectly happy to take a picture with her alone, though.  He really did like his teacher a lot.

On mother's day he was asked questions about me as a funny little mother's day gift.  Here are his answers.  I thought they were really sweet.

End of the school year means end of year band concerts.  Christian's was outdoors and I had a terrible position for a good photo and Bella was so hidden from view at hers that I couldn't see her at all, but all the concerts sounded great and it's always so nice to see the result of all the hard work.  Benjamin auditioned for center snare in drumline next year and got it and he applied for drumline captain and got that too!  So he's head of the percussion section for next year.  I'm very proud of him and his many hours practicing and working on his application. 

Our ward youth and primary has been focusing on the temple more recently.  We had a fun primary activity at the temple last week and the youth got to do baptisms there.  It was Peter's first time at the temple and seeing it in person.  They had little activities like building a temple from sugar cubes and from legos and they did family photos outside the temple.  As usual, Peter refused the photos completely.  We had to sneak one when he wasn't noticing. It was a good day anyway, though.  I'm so grateful to have a temple so close and that my kids love to go there.

I have to describe the funny story that resulted in this horrible hair cut you see in the pictures above.  I took all three boys to Great Clips for hair cuts.  They had three stylists working that day.  Two were good, one was terrible.  She looked about 90 years old, walked hunched over, could barely hold the scissors and was doing a lousy job on the guy in the chair as we walked in.  The older two and I looked at each other and we all knew what the other was thinking.  Sure enough, she finished first and came to get one of my boys.  "Who's going first?" she asked. Without even discussing it, Benjamin and I both pushed Peter to the forefront and said, "He is."  We later discussed it and agreed that we'd figured he'd care the least if it got butchered.  And it did.  It was so awful that I took him to another place a week later and had it redone so he wouldn't look so awful in all his last day of school photos. As we walked out, the older two in nice haircuts and Peter looking like a blind woman had done his hair, Benjamin looked down at him and said, "Thanks for taking it for the team, Peter."

This one from Great Clips:

to this one from a week later:

 

He looks like a different kid!  Much improved.

Last photos.  Peter loves to watch Christian play Legend of Zelda.  Frustratingly for Christian, he has no concept of personal space. :)

We were at the playground the other day and we heard a scuffle in the tree above us and then a baby bird fell out of the nest right in front of us. It was either a squirrel or another bird that was fighting with the momma bird and the baby got knocked out. It broke its neck on impact and it was just about the saddest thing I've ever seen!  We had a burial for it and Peter was very interested in the little bird's developing feathers and all that he'd just witnessed.  

We have tried getting rid of this wheelchair so many times but no one wants it so friday Kelly put it on the curb for the trash.  Peter began to cry when he saw it.  He insisted we keep it and it turns out, he can drive himself in it now!  Last year he always sat on someone's lap, but now he rides around the yard for hours having a grand time.  Guess the chair is staying a little longer after all.

Bella Turns 15!!

 I feel bad that it's taken me this long to post about Bella's birthday.  Things have been really busy around here with all the end of school activities for 4 kids in 4 schools. 

Bella's birthday was on a Tuesday - a day of tests and school, so she chose to celebrate on the prior Saturday instead.  We sang and opened presents. She requested that she not have her cake until her actual birthday, but have pancakes with her candles instead.  They had to be "white, fluffy, IHOP worthy" pancakes, not the whole wheat ones I always make.  I delivered.

Bella requested about $600 worth of gifts (!!!!) and so, needless to say, I had to say no to a lot of things, but she was a good sport about it and still showed a lot of gratitude for what she received.  Can't blame her.  You don't get what you don't ask for, so shoot for the stars, right? She got a new saxophone case with backpack straps so it'll be easier to carry at band camp, a new music stand, the newest Zelda video game, a new pro controller for the switch, pants, socks, snacks, and a sushi bazooka - a tool for making a perfectly round sushi roll.  Bella is the queen of making sushi.  She makes a California roll as good as any professional sushi chef.

Of course, for lunch, she wanted to go eat sushi.  She got to order whatever she wanted and the tempura was the big winner, in addition to a sampling of other things.  

Peter loved it too, but he had eaten too recently prior and so he mostly just caused us trouble and disrupted a lot rather than ate.  

That evening we ate at home and relaxed.  A very chill day over all but Bella said that's how she wanted it.  Her real party will be a trip with friends to Cedar Point, a local amusement park, later in the month. That should be a lot of fun.

Other than Bella's birthday, we've mostly just been doing the usual - sports, jobs, music, school, church.  One night was fun when Benjamin and Christian had a joint concert with both of their schools in one location.  That was fun to watch.  Benjamin performed with both the wind ensemble and the marching band.

It's a recruitment night for the younger grades - come play with us and see how cool we are compared to you.  Join us and you can be cool like us one day.  It works every time. Christian can't wait until he's in high school.

Christian has become really interested in football.  He asks me to play with him every single day.  I'm really terrible at it but I enjoy spending time with him because I see how close I am to the day when he'll never ask me to play again. His throws get better all the time, that handsome boy.

A couple funny Peter-isms to close:

We were cleaning up the basement and I needed to take a new roll of toilet paper from the storage room to the bathroom, so I asked Peter to do it.  I said, "Please put this in the cupboard above the toilet."  You can see here the cupboard I meant.  The picture shows the toilet open, but to clarify, that's because of what happens later in the story.  In reality, when he came into the bathroom, the toilet was closed and three different things - lotion, wipes, etc. were on top of it.

He was happy to help and excitedly ran upstairs, coming back down a while later, saying with confidence, "I put it in the cupboard above the toilet."  Perfect....I thought.  Later I used that toilet and as I went to flush, I felt a great deal of resistance as I tried to push down the flush handle.  I thought it was weird but didn't investigate until the toilet wouldn't stop flushing about 15 minutes later.  I opened the back to find this:

This was apparently what Peter understood by the phrase, "cupboard above the toilet."  He had actually removed the wipes, lotion, etc. and then removed the heavy porcelain cover on top of the toilet, placed the toilet paper in there, and replaced the cover and all the items, just as they were.  I couldn't help but be proud of the little guy for his hard work and determination.  Sad to lose a whole new roll of tp, but I have to admit I was a proud mom anyway.

I have been teaching Peter a little piano out of the kids' beginner book.  He doesn't have the finger strength or hand-span or attention span to really learn, but he loves to play and I think he also loves to feel grown up enough to have lessons.  Since I've been doing that, I'll often find him at the piano alone, having gotten the beginner book out, reviewing the songs.  So cute.  I just love this little guy.