Marathon May

May always seems to be a bit of a marathon as the seasons change and we reach the end of another school year. This month if felt like the teachers finally decided to cram in all the field trips they didn't take all year long on top of the normal end of school celebrations, piano recitals, little holidays (e.g., Cinco de Mayo, Mother's Day), and countless hours of work on the "farm" to prepare for future summer "harvests". (I say those in quotations because our farm is very small and our harvests are just to enjoy in season; I haven't gotten to the the point where I actually process and preserve our fruits and veggies. Still, there are trees to trim, fields to spray, veggies to plant, bulbs to overturn, new flowers to plant, etc.) This month, we added a couple of graduation celebrations to the mix too! It has been busy and a little crazy, but the anticipation of summer is exciting. We all love the lazy (or lazier) mornings and late, lingering evenings. We enjoy the relief from busy, strict schedules (although we still manage to keep up a good pace). We excitedly anticipate the family visits and gatherings. Now we just need to survive our marathon May!

We started the month by celebrating Dallin and Grant's graduations! Grant graduated from BYU. At his graduation celebration, he and Liz also announced they were pregnant and did a surprise (at least for all of us) gender reveal. It's a boy! We're so excited for them!

Dallin graduated from UVU's School of Business with a degree in business marketing on Friday, May 2nd. Neither Grant nor Dallin were super concerned about any sort of party, but their sweet wives insisted on little celebrations to honor their hard work and efforts. After Dallin's graduation, we met up at Guru's for brunch with those that didn't attend the actual graduation celebration. In the afternoon, all the kiddos and I (while Jeff stayed home with the grandkids) went to see the new Marvel movie, Thunderbolts. We ended the day with a shotgun shoot on West Mountain (and no...for whatever reason, I didn't get pictures of any of that; still, it was a fun day doing things Dallin loves with the people he loves.)

The following Sunday (March 4th) we celebrated Cinco de Mayo with the family. Yes...I know it was technically "May the Fourth" (for all the Star Wars fans), but it was easier to gather on a Sunday than a Monday. I prepared a yummy Mexican meal and 4 piñatas so everyone was sure to get a few hits in. I actually think the older boys were more animated in the whole process than the younger boys.

Jonas had several activities leading up to the last day of 4th grade. In three weeks, he had three different field trips. His first one was the annual track meet. This year, he chose to participate in the softball throw, standing long jump, and 400 meter dash. For a boy who doesn't like to run, I was surprised by his last choice. Yet...he rocked all of it! No, he didn't win any medals, but he was right there with the top athletes. He was just a couple inches shy of the long jump. He threw the softball farther than the average. And, he came in 5th out of the 16 boys he ran with! (And that was without any sort of warm up or training! I was super proud of him for the fun. He kept a good pace and "fell behind" those boys who started strong, but when the time was right, he kicked it in gear and almost passed everyone. He was running in about 3rd place when I could see him just physically hit a brick wall about 50 meters from the finish line. Still, he pushed on and did really well.) I know he was a little disappointed that he didn't win, but I was so proud of him for challenging himself and giving his all. 

Next up, a field trip to the Butterfly Biosphere at Thanksgiving Point. A museum full of sixty 4th graders is always a little chaotic, but it was a lot of fun! They got to see tons of different creepy, crawlies and even held a cockroach (I was ok to tap out on that experience). Jonas loved the conservatory the most though. He was a little discouraged when, after only a few minutes, he was unable to hold a butterfly, but with a little persistence and patience, he ended up getting to hold two. He loved it (especially the big, blue butterfly)! 

We then went to the Springville Museum of Art. We only spent an hour there, but it was fun to watch Jonas and his classmates explore all the art. I even overheard a few of them commenting on how they thought it was going to be boring but were pleasantly surprised. I had a group of 5 kids with me. We'd walk into a room and I would ask what piece immediately stood out to them. Each kid chose a different piece. We'd then talk about why that piece resonated with them. It was actually pretty fun. (I had also taken Carter and Everly to the museum the day before so that I was familiar with the current exhibits. Carter, Everly, and I made a scavenger hunt of our own then we played in the room downstairs.)

Saturday, May 17th, was Jonas's final piano recital of the year. In fact, Mrs. Flinders has decided to not do lessons over the summer so we don't have to juggle that (however, to his dismay, we are still going to practice the piano over the summer and learn some new, fun pieces). Jonas played Drifting by Robert Vandall. He actually really loved learning this piece. It sounds amazing because it's pretty fast paced and all 8th notes, but it was pretty easy to learn. He even incorporated more dynamics into this piece. It sounded so beautiful! I'm really proud of how hard he's worked. I know it isn't his favorite, but I think it has made him a more well-rounded kid. It has also helped him to learn hard work, consistency, and determination.

Thursday, May 22nd, was the last day of school! Jonas survived 4th grade. I actually think he enjoyed it... most of the time. In fact, when I picked him up on the last day of school, he was a bit teary-eyed. He really loved Mr. Fuhriman as a teacher. Jonas was sad that he wouldn't even be able to see him next year because he is moving on to another school. The last two weeks of school were just one big party, but Jonas and his classmates deserved it. They've spent the last couple weeks doing end-of-year testing so it was a welcome break...and a great lead-in to summer. The second to the last week of school the 4th grade teachers hosted themed days. They did a beach day, a Harry Potter day, a Disney day, a camping day, etc. With each theme, the teachers had fun activities like water balloon toss, s'mores, crafts, and movies. The final week of school was all the last assemblies, cleaning out desks, and of course, the pool day. Because of weather, the pool day was postponed from Monday to Wednesday, but thankfully, they still got to go and had a blast! (They didn't need any chaperones so I stayed home...and hence, no pictures.) I still can't believe the school year is over! Honestly, I'm looking at the calendar and realizing how quickly the new school year will happen with everything we have going on so I'm going to try to soak in all the moments of summer - the chaotic and the mundane (although I think chaotic will rule). The last day of school was a half-day. I picked Jonas up and took him out to lunch before returning home to get ready for a little pool party with his basketball team. Let summer begin!

First day vs. last day