Something big happened in May. . . every day! May brought Brigham's birthday, school programs, projects, and field trips. May brought piano competitions, PTO meetings, the end of school, preschool graduation, the end of baseball, and the beginning of swim team. May brought speech therapy for Lydia, Memorial Day, popsicles, fresh flowers, rain, and ripe tomatoes! May brought Mother's Day and my mom! And May brought miracles in Peru. . . when miracles were surely needed.
We're prepared for summer with a stock pile of popscicles. Cheers!
Clayton performed in his last school choir concert. I was impressed with their sound - three part harmony here.
On the last song, the school mascot appeared on stage and the kids went nuts!
Eliza and Lydia were spellbound by the performance.
I taught my last ever preschool lesson in May. I'll sure miss these cute monkeys.
I went to the Butterfly Exhibit at the Museum with Brigham's school class. Best group of kids I have ever been around. The bus ride was so quiet. The students were so respectful and well-behaved. They were always right where they should be. It was amazing.
The butterflies were amazing too.
I learned a few things myself while on the field trip. I learned that chocolate contains insect fragments. Ew.
And that 3-D glasses can be worn upside down. :) I had so much fun with this guy! Glad I got to spend the day at the museum with him and his classmates!
Eliza started writing stories in May. They are truly works of art. This one says, "One day a little girl wanted to play. Her mom said watch out for the wolf. But the little girl did not listen. The little girl cannot do that. The end."
Our tomatoes exploded in May.
Every morning Eliza would head out to pick the reddest ones. It's been quite a harvest. And we've been enjoying lots of yummy salads and pasta.
Swim team started in May. . . it has taken over our lives with every day practice! And with four kids swimming now in four different age groups, I practically live at the pool! Eliza loves it and is doing great!
Brigham caught a frog (or is that a toad?) in our backyard. He kept it for a day as a pet.
It also rained a lot in May. Making everything green and sweet-smelling.
Clayton has been up to more of his "Joke Shop" projects. (Do you remember his marshmallow erasers?) This time he melted popsicles and then injected them into empty markers, creating the first edible marker!
Here he is trying out his product. Can't tell if it was a success or not.
Brigham built a solar-powered car. It actually works!
Our backyard bloomed in May.
Nate organized our ward's Memorial Day Breakfast. He was up bright and early setting up grills. The food was delicious!
The kids had a tug-o-war.
And anyone up for the challenge could take on all these kids at once.
Nate delivered a thoughtful Memorial Day devotional.
And then we ended the morning with a free neighborhood carwash.
The little kids were in charge of drying the cars.
Many hands make light work.
Isaac is out on the street advertising.
Cute Lydia.
We spent MANY hours at the piano teachers house. May was a month of intense piano practicing for Brigham and Clayton who were preparing for the National Piano Guild Competition.
The girls enjoy all Ms. Asya's "fancy" Russian decor.
The boys woke us up in the middle of the night to see the lunar eclipse.
The sky was clear - a perfect night. Even though we were tired, I'm glad we didn't pass up the chance to see this.
School ended in May. Brigham is standing next to some of his art on display outside the art room.
My room mom duties kicked in again for Brigham's class. With a lot of help from other parents, I organized the end-of-the year party and gift for the teacher.
Brigham had such a great year in 2nd grade with some wonderful friends. . . and an absolutely fabulous teacher!
I copied Jessica's idea from last year and put together another recipe book. Yum! These look fabulous!
It is fun to have such an international collection of recipes. I've already tried a few. The corn casserole is so good and mmmm, the mango pie. The kids all had a chance to write a note and draw a picture on thier page. They were so excited to give this gift! Here are a few sample pages. It turned out really cute.
I popped in on Clayton's 5th grade awards assembly. Besides a B in Spelling the first semester, Clayton had straight A's in 5th grade. He got an award for all E's in conduct and an award for Honor Roll. Go Clay!
Goodbye Elementary School! What a great 5 years it has been!
Isaac ended the year with a straight A final average as well. I missed his awards ceremony but I am so proud of his hard work in school. This kid has come a long way!
He's still a stellar reader. He ended the year with 539 AR points!!! That's a crazy number (especially since the goal set for each of the students was 40)
I brought home some colorful flowers from the PTO brunch at the school. Excited to be on the PTO board next year as secretary. Gotta start polishing up my typing!
The scariest news for May came when my dad was in a serious motorcycle accident in a remote area of Peru. By lucky coincidence a pair of medical students from England hopped off a bus headed for Machu Picchu when they spotted the accident and a group of Peruvian villagers on the side of the road. They were able to intervene and helped get my dad safely into a pick-up truck and then, while supporting his neck and back, held on to him for dear life as they bounced and sped their way to a small medical clinic in Urabamba. The doctors there cleaned him up but were unable to stop the internal bleeding. He was later transferred by ambulance to a hospital in Cuzco. When he came to, several surgeries later, he knew nothing of his accident or the medical students who saved his spinal cord and most likely his life. The other coincidence? The clinic in Urabamba where he first arrived, was a medical center he helped build years ago. We are so thankful he was wearing a helmet and know that he was being watched over. He is home now, thank goodness, and we continue to pray for his speedy recovery.
This is a picture my dad took on this trip (before his accident) of a family I met in Peru 25 years ago. They are sitting next to one of my dad's water pumps. . . and are thriving now on the Altiplano. Over the years my dad has helped thousands of families like this in the very poorest places of the world. I can't think of anyone who has done more good. Love you, dad.
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