What we're up to

In addition to graduations and championships and musicals, here are the my corner goings on:

1. soccer - even with Strider's school playoffs going on, Princess was in her first season of soccer and is tearing up the field and loving it.  In April I said "Do you want to try a dance class this year"?  She said "Soccer!  Soccer!".  She handles the ball really well for a kindergartener.

2.  coach pitch baseball - Jedi is in baseball at our rec center.  Strider coaches.  It's a ridiculously dumbed-down version of baseball and is organized batting practice instead of actual games, but oh well.  He is a total star and hits the ball into the next diamond with every at-bat.  I feel bad that we didn't put him in actual little league this year, but next year he should be awesome there.

3.  we made an official girl room/boy room -  Man alive, is it ever tight to have the three boys in the tiny room, but it was long overdue.  The room is so small I literally can't get a wide enough angle to show all three beds.  Strider has spent two+ weeks staining and finishing the triple bunk (yes, all stacked together) bed for them.  With near constant rain for a month it was a bit tricky to complete the task.  But it's finally done and they spent last night in it for the first time.  Jedi is in heaven to "move up"; Princess is bummed.  She misses talking to him as she falls asleep.  Still have a TON to do. Namely, we don't have dressers yet. Bugs and Jedi both had their drawers built into their old beds, so we need a new solution.  So the whole family room is covered with boy clothes), but the bed is in place.

4.  band concert - Bugs had his spring concert last night and it was short and sweet.  Really - it lasted 20 minutes.  Talk about efficiency; that's my kind of concert.

5.  field trips - The kids have been going to the landfill, a Bees game, Hogle Zoo, and This is the Place Monument, all in the last two weeks.  Bugs is also preparing for Mill Hollow camp in a month.

6. scouts - Potter finally completed his swimming merit badge!  He has tried many times before but finally passed it last week (we aren't the best swimmers around here).  He will be able to advance to Life Scout now and Bugs is ready for Tenderfoot.  So exciting to see them move through the ranks together, now with two boys in brown shirts :)

7.  car troubles - we were plagued with car problems for back to back weeks at the end of April/early May.  SO much frustration and money.  We hope to be okay for a while now.  (Please??)

8.  butterflies - for Easter the kids got a butterfly pavilion.  We patiently waited for the caterpillars to do their thing.  As of typing this we have 3/5 butterflies emerged.  Still waiting on two.  The kids are loving this.

9. bats - Jedi has been immersed in a year long project for third grade.  He was to become an expert on one subject.  He chose bats.  Holy moly, I never knew how much work it would be. But he finished the presentation last week and had the fair to show it off to the student body yesterday.  He did a wonderful job (and I'm GLAD it's over).

10.  rain - what we haven't been up to lately is gardening.  We have been swamped with endless rain.  While normally a blessing in the desert, we are wondering how short our growing season will end up to be.

So, we've been a busy fam but are trying to juggle everything.  It's worked out pretty well for the most part.  I tell you, I get more appreciative of my mom every day.  How she did this with six kids in even more activities I will never know.