It happened like this…

Let’s see…we had our first big severe storm system of the season. Thankfully the big tornado that ripped through Mississippi crossed the Alabama border to the north of us. We just had lots of thunder, lightning, wind, and rain here. The weather has been gorgeous for the most part. The kids have spent a lot of time outdoors riding bikes and scooters, playing ball, jumping on the trampoline with the sprinklers on, throwing paper airplanes, and to their dismay, mowing the lawn, pulling weeds, and planting flowers. =)

Derek:

1. Is out of town presenting a poster of some of his research at a conference in Denver, CO.
2. Before going to Denver spent a few days in Utah finalizing details for a new tenure track research position at the CARMA lab at the University of Utah (In Salt Lake City). He’ll probably start sometime in August before the kids would start school. So…woo hoo! We’ll most likely be moving soon! =)
3. Feels terrible about missing Ashley’s medical ordeal (see below), the boys’ band festival, Ashley’s choir concert, and the father and son campout this weekend. But that’s okay, we forgive him because we’re so excited to move closer to our families!

I:

1. Am rehearsing the stake choir weekly after church, and am excited for them to sing at Stake Conference in a few weeks.
2. LOVE designing for Jillibean Soup. Do you think Jill would let me stay on the team forever?
3. Celebrated Mother’s Day early by going out to dinner at Golden Corral with the fam since Derek was out of town on Sunday. Not my absolute favorite, but it’s cheap and all the kids can get something they like. The kids were so sweet to me on Sunday, making meals, doing dishes, coloring a big sign and making cards and gifts for me.

James:

1. Rocked the county-wide Battle of the Books along with his 6 other teammates. They were undefeated until the finals where they came in 2nd place (out of 10 teams) by one question. James came home with a medal for answering the most questions on his team. Woo hoo!
2. Bought himself one of The Heir Chronicles by Cinda Williams Chima with a Barnes and Noble gift certificate he had. He ended up checking out the others from the library and finishing the whole series in less than a week. (Also got isolated lunch last week for reading at innappropriate times during advisory period…oops.)
3. Played a duet wonderfully (on the french horn) with Jeffrey (on the trumpet) at the county-wide Solo and Ensemble Band Festival. They earned a superior rating.

Jeffrey:

1. Decided to have me cut his beloved long hair. Now it’s so short he doesn’t even need to comb it in the mornings. Life is easier, and Mom is happier. =)
2. Co-emceed the Court of Honor with James this month. They both received their Star rank and a few merit badges. James made the refreshments (brownies), and Jeffrey played “Taps” on his trumpet while the scouts retired the colors.
3. Discovered Google everything (maps, flight simulator, etc.) after doing a huge project for school and loves to use his computer time on there everyday.

Ashley:

1. Enjoyed the Activity Day Girls mother/daughter meeting where we sewed a pillow case together. She ironed the seams and pushed the foot pedal on the machine for me.
2. Played the part of the wise old owl defense attorney (costume and all) for her GRC class mock trial. The oldest of the Three Little Pigs was charged with murdering the Big Bad Wolf.
3. Shortly after said mock trial, she took a nose dive off the swing at school and ended up with a very scraped up face and a broken right ring finger. She had outpatient surgery to set the bone and put some pins in. She’ll undergo another outpatient procedure in 5 weeks to remove them. This girl has a thing for injuring herself at school at the end of the year. To read about last year’s concussion click here and scroll down to the section about her.

Lexie:

1. About popped when her teacher told her that her baby was coming on Monday. She can’t wait to see pictures of him.
2. Decided she wants to grow out her bangs. She now wears sequin head wraps I got for her everyday to keep her bangs out of her eyes. I hope she can see this thing through because it’s going to take a while. =)
3. Had a blast at her school’s field day playing on the bouncy tents and slides, getting soaked, and sporting a cute temp tatoo on her cheek.

Faith:

1. At 7 months can roll all over, sit up on her own, and eat rice rusks (click here and scroll down to see what I’m talking about) and baby rice puffs (kind of like cereal) on her own.
2. Squeals in her loudest, highest-pitched voice all day long. She thinks it’s so fun, and I think it’s very cute.
3. Has happy feet when she’s in the exersaucer. She loves to bounce up and down.
4. Is becoming more and more attached to her “lovey” (soft pink bear/blanket). See photo below.

We’re looking forward to seeing Derek on Saturday, and are hoping we have no more excitement before he gets home. We’ll be busy in the next few months getting ready for our exciting move. We’ll keep you posted as we know more details.