151/365

This is how Ellie normally holds her marker, pencil, crayon, etc. I always remind her to "hold it the right way" as I've shown her many, MANY times. She'll do it for a minute, then it's right back to her old standby method. Cute girl.  

Tonight we ventured out to the pool about 7:00 against my better judgement (the kids talked me into it). It's been cool all week--highs in the 60's, but the pool is heated. I didn't even wear my suit, thinking they'd be too cold to stay for long. Big mistake! Greyson is a fish! It was harder for me to hold his hand & keep him on the steps so I wouldn't get my clothes wet than it would've been to just be in there with him. Will remember for next time. The water felt great... getting out was freezing!

150/365

 Ellie played at Leah's house today for a little bit. When I picked her up on the way to the bus stop, Greyson was swarmed like a celebrity by the Bird kids. He is pretty lovable... Also, Gavin started "Camp Learn-A-Lot" yesterday, & it goes through June 6. He made this camp shirt yesterday, & we washed it so he could wear it again today. He claims they're supposed to wear it every day... If it's not obvious, it's a cabin with a lake & a camp fire, an airplane in the sky & the sun & a nametag.

149/365

 We woke up to rain, & it continued to rain through the afternoon. Luckily it cleared up before Gavin's baseball practice tonight. Our shakes last night were so good, I couldn't help stopping at Sonic on the way home (1/2 price shakes after 8pm all summer!). They have some good flavors! Ellie got chocolate covered strawberry, Gav got peanut butter cookie, & I shared peanut butter banana with Greyson.

148/365

 We made strawberry shakes (with mini chocolate chips) in the blender for dessert. They were a hit!

147/365

I went to clean the sliding glass door, & Ellie screamed, "CAN I DO IT???"

I think it's officially her job from now on.

146/365

 Helped out in nursery during Sunday School today--fun to see Greyson just doing his thing!

Ellie was a little sad in our after church picture... I'd promised a "special treat" to whoever could be reverent (even a little bit!) in Sacrament Meeting (I'm not below bribery). Gavin earned his Twix bar, Ellie did not. We'll see if it was a lesson learned...

145/365

 1. We went to the baptism of Susan Moses (Ellie's friend, Summer's mom).

2. Came home, had lunch & got changed into our swimming gear... the pool opened today!

 3. It was like reuniting with an old friend... we spent 3 hours there! The kids dried off then warmed up on the concrete. 

4. Spotted this peony? on our walk home. Gorgeous.

 5. Greyson fell asleep in his high chair while I cut up a honeydew before dinner. Poor guy didn't get a nap today!

144/365

 Today was Gavin's class "Authors Party." They've written & illustrated these "Someday" books over the last couple months, & today presented a couple pages each to the audience of parents. Gavin read the whole thing to Ellie & Grey when he got home. His teacher, Mrs. Kober, said he really got into this project... some of his pages were quite long & descriptive!

143/365

Minnie's still alive & well... 3 of the 5 preschool fish have already passed on.

142/365

 Darin was off to China for a 'short' 2-week trip, & Greyson was on a little destructive streak today! He decorated the walls of the hallway with blue dry-erase marker while I was cleaning up after lunch (this is only about half of it... luckily easily removed with a Magic Eraser). Of course he was long gone by the time I discovered it, & when I went to look for him, I found him cuddling up to a pile of (previously folded) burp cloths. Later he was making silly faces at me through the trampoline net, & he wouldn't stand in one spot for a picture for more than a couple seconds! Where does he get his energy??

141/365

 Imagine Dragons concert! We hadn't been to a concert since about 2001 when we saw Everclear at Myrtle Beach. This one was outdoor at the Idaho Botanical Gardens. Perfect weather, perfect company. We started out on our picnic blanket toward the back. 2 opening bands, 'The Moth & the Flame' & 'Nico Vega' (Imagine Dragons' lead singer's wife's band) played from about 6:30-8:30. Pretty good, pretty low-key. But then when Imagine Dragons came on, everyone in the place stood up. We ended up moving up to get a better view & got a spot right by the lights/control tent. They played until about 10pm & definitely lived up to our expectations. Loved it! 

140/365

 First baseball game of the season. Gav did great & had fun!  Darin got to play first base coach too.

139/365

We fulfilled our assignment from Brett & Kristi-Lynn today, to take individual pictures for them to use at the reunion next month. Later, Gavin was my kitchen helper. We made a batch of strawberry freezer jam (he crushed the berries), & we cooked fava beans (a first) from our Bountiful Basket (Gav shelled).