"They're 2, they're 4, they're 6, they're 8"

Happy spring to you all!  The kids are already playing outside every single day and it is awesome.  Jameson runs over to his friend Johnny's house each day and the 2 of them spend hours outside.  One of their favorite things to do is take their bikes to the top of the cul-de-sac and ride down the gradual decline to the bottom of the cul-de-sac, and go back to the top to do it all over again. We are talking hours of free entertainment here.

In a few more weeks the last house in the cul-de-sac will be finished and Jameson will have yet another friend to play with. Ace will be moving in and is only 3 months younger than Jameson. They are already friends from nursery at church so they won't skip a beat when he finally moves in.  With Jameson's energy and enthusiasm it makes me very happy that we have such a great playing environment for him to grow up.  Running around outside all summer with friends in the cul-de-sac. . .perfect.

Yesterday was Britton's first spring soccer game in Murray so we made it a family affair.  I loved that we were able to swing by Lagoon on our way down and get our season pass cards so we won't have to wait in line when it opens next Saturday.  We were in and out in 5 minutes and I was almost giddy about such an efficient use of our time.  Britton had to be at the field an hour before the game started so we were able to go to the library and visit a park while we waited.

Pretty much the only thing I don't like about where we currently live is the library.  If I could describe our library in 2 words it would be: not awesome.  When Britton and Jenna walk into the new West Jordan Library their little hearts start to pitter patter.  It is awesome and they definitely have library envy when they have to leave.   We hadn't been in the library more than 5 minutes before Jameson had found himself a Thomas the Train and Chugginton book (also a train series).  Korinne was nice enough to read it to him while Jenna picked out some books.

Jameson remembered right away that the park had a train in it.  He walked right in and found it immediately.

Jenna has officially aged out of parks, but was more than happy to sit and read the book she had just checked out from the library.

The weather was perfect.  At this point I was starting to get nervous that I hadn't thought to grab any sunscreen.  After not thinking about it for months it always takes a little while to get back into sunscreen mode. Fortunately it was late enough in the day that we were ok.

Ah yes, here we go again.  I usually try and take a few pictures during at least one game each season. Everyone is a little taller, but beyond that all soccer pictures look the same to me. Britton is still # 22.

  Britton's team started out the season with a 4-0 win. Good job boys!

Action shot. You can see the ball going in the net.

Guess what entertained Jameson after he was done playing at the park adjacent to the field? Yep, trains. We pack a little backpack of toys with us for such occasions and it works like a charm. Britton went through a 3 year Thomas the Train phase as a young boy, but Jameson's obsession far surpasses even Britton's and that is saying a lot!  For family home evening this week Jameson got to pick the opening song.  When it is his turn to pick it is not uncommon for us to sing "The Wheels on the Bus" or something like it as the opening song.  This week he said, "The Thomas Song" and the crazy thing is that we all knew every single word of the Thomas theme song and didn't hesitate before we jumped right in.  When we finished I realized that this just wasn't normal, but it goes show how long we have lived in an Thomas obsessed household.  I grabbed the camera and made everyone sing it a second time as I'm sure in a good 20 years or so it will bring back a lot of memories.  Britton refused to sing it on camera, but trust me, he knows every single line.  While I wasn't able to post the video because it was too large here is the song in all it's glory.  https://youtu.be/EjBTsoYph48

"They're 2, they're 4, they're 6, they're 8
Shunting trucks and hauling freight
Red and green and brown and blue
They're a really useful crew

All with different roles to play
'Round Tidmouth Sheds or far away
Down the hills and round the bends
Thomas and his friends

Thomas, he's the cheeky one
James is vain but lots of fun
Percy pulls the mail on time
Gordon thunders down the line
Emily really knows her stuff
Henry toots and huffs and puffs
Edward wants to help and share
Toby, well let's say--he's square"

Repeat the first 2 verses to end song.

What?  You couldn't sing the full song on demand, too? That's weird. 

Just Jumpin'

It was a week of recitals.  Korinne had her first piano recital since she started lessons in January.

Her teacher is one of Jenna's best friends.  Yes, she is only 12 years old but she is an amazing piano player and gets up at 4:30 every morning to practice for a couple of hours before school. She is a great teacher for beginning students and has 7 of them.  She had to cap her student number so she would still have time to do things like homework, and hanging out with her friends. :-)  I love the set up because Korinne can walk to her lessons, and it's much less expensive than older teachers.  Basically it's a win-win for everyone involved.  Korinne did not want to play in front of people but then Gracie called and told me that she really wanted Korinne to play because she was her best student, but she didn't have to if she didn't want to.  Well, Gracie said the right thing.  Upon hearing she was the best student Korinne decided to go for it and did a great job.

Jenna and Britton had an orchestra concert this week.  Each school year the orchestra puts on 3 concerts during the year and this was #2 of 3.  Sorry, no pictures.  We were rushing home after the concert so I could go to book club. :-)  Britton and Jenna like to trash talk each other over which instrument is better, the violin or the cello.  In fact, they are competitive with each other in a lot of areas so the trash talk spills over to other things, too.  One day they were bantering back and forth and Jenna swooped in with, "Oh yeah, well I'm better at being taller than you." Ouch. Britton couldn't argue that point so the bantering ended right there.  At least they don't get angry with each other, they just kind of chuckle and walk away.

Jameson's hair was getting pretty long so we decided to shave it off.  I wouldn't mind letting it fro a little bit, but he is very uncooperative when it comes to washing, combing and keeping oil in it, which is essential if you want to grow it out.

Maybe some day he can have it longer, but that day is not today.

 

Adam put up the trampoline yesterday.  This was one winter we probably could have left it up, but how could we have known it would be so mild? Actually, I think it's good we put it away for the winter because every spring it feels brand new all over again and the kids absolutely love it.

 

Even though we have been experiencing spring like weather for a few months now, it is still nice to know it is almost officially here.

"Where is them?"

 This is what Jameson says when he is looking for someone.  I enjoy hearing all of the different word combinations he comes up with when trying to communicate.  I need to remember to write some of them down because they are pretty funny and I know it won't last forever.

 

We actually had a snow storm on Monday and Jameson was pretty excited to get out and play.  Snow storms have been few and far in-between this winter so he made sure to get out early before it started to melt.

 

Fortunately he was ok with me watching him from the window. I'm not quite as enthusiastic about playing with the white stuff as he is.

 

A few months ago Jenna learned about cake decorating at Activity Days. As luck would have it the YW decided to do the same thing this week so Jenna got to work on her skills yet again.

 

Here she is with her latest creation.

No one was more pleased with the fruits of her labors than Jameson.

Notice how he dug right in.  Yeah, it was a mess.

The new high school being built by our house is coming right along and will be ready for the 2016-2017 school year.

 They sent out a card this week asking for everyone to submit ideas for the name, mascot and school colors via an online survey.  I must admit that ever since they announced they were building a new high school I have spent way too much time thinking about those 3 things. Why? I don't know.  I just think it's cool to have my kids go to a brand new high school and I don't want the name or school mascot or colors to be lame.  I've had some ideas but I'll be interested to see what comes in. Oh, and I may or may not have volunteered to be on the selection committee. :-)

Jameson and our neighbor Johnny have played together pretty much every day this week. They are a good match because Johnny is such a "go with the flow" kind of kid that he is able to take Jameson's intensity all in stride. When Jameson refuses to play anywhere but our house, Johnny doesn't have a problem with that.  And when Jameson decides everything they do and screams and laughs at ear piercing levels, Johnny is just happy to be there and doesn't get upset or frightened. See how this works? They are kind of like the ying and yang--opposites in every way, but able to balance each other out.

 

Yesterday Adam and I did something we rarely ever do, we went shopping for clothes. . ..on purpose.  I had a $15.00 off any purchase with an additional 20% off everything coupon at Kohl's so we decided to get Adam a shirt or 2 since he hasn't had any new clothes for a few years. Well, Adam spent a LOT of time looking at all of the possibilities and trying everything on to make sure it was comfortable and fit just right.  This meant I spent a lot of time trying to sleep in the one chair I was able to find in the store.  Believe me, if he had a man purse I would have been holding it.

Neither one of us like to shop so watching us in action is kind of funny. He got some much needed items that he was happy with and I'm off the hook for another few years. :-) Win-win.

Epic

On Tuesday Jenna became one year older and another year wiser.  She started the day out with an early breakfast with Dad before school.

 

Her friends decorated her locker and she came home with lots of candy and a few gifts. After her favorite dinner of basil pesto pasta we had to hurry and open gifts before we all headed out for the joint YM/YW activity about family history. Since 4 of the 6 of us had to be there Korinne and Jameson got to tag along just for fun.

Jameson has a hard time when it is someone's else's birthday.  He thinks it should be his birthday all over again.  He "helped" Jenna open her presents, even when he didn't have permission to do so.

Jenna likes to use the word "epic".  Everything is epic to her, especially her birthday. "Oh Mom, it was epic!"  I love that she has so much enthusiasm for life.

Jenna got a pair of brown boots, headphones and some jewelry.  She was a very happy 12 year old.

For Jenna it is all about the ice cream. Why would you need cake if you can have ice cream??  For months she has been saying, "All I want for my birthday is to have as much ice cream as I want."  Apparently our "2 scoops and no seconds" policy isn't her favorite.

 She got her own container of cookies and cream ice cream.  Best. birthday. ever.

 

The party didn't end with there.  She had a friend party on Friday night and about 10 of her friends from school came for a night of pizza, Studio C, and games.

 

The girls came ready to party.  The decibel level went up considerably when they arrived and didn't go back down until everyone was gone.

Jenna with her 2 BFF's Sydney and Gracie.

 

Like I said, the girls came ready to party.  The pink food coloring used in the frosting didn't wash off  very well, but that didn't stop them from getting wild and crazy with it.  The parents of the girls involved were not at all surprised their daughters were in the "fun".  It's par for the course with these ladies.

Perhaps it was good that Britton was out on the Klondike campout that night.  It all might have been a bit much for him.

It was held at a location that was just over a mile away from our house, so the boys hiked in instead of going in cars.  No snow for the Klondike this year, but it was still a bit nippy getting down to 24 degrees.

Jenna went to her first day of Young Women's at church today and loved it.  We're entering a new phase of our lives with 2 kids involved in weekly activities and summer camps and firesides and such. Life just keeps getting busier.