Late Night S'mores

August 30 was National Toasted Marshmallow Day. There were late night s'mores... for some. Some went to bed (that would be me).

August 31 was National Trail Mix Day. We had trail mix for after school snack.

September 1 was Chicken Boy Day. We had chicken drumsticks. It was also No Rhyme (Nor Reason) Day which is as good an excuse as any to put together a puzzle while listening to a radio mystery show. It was a 100th Anniversary Pleasant Grove City Strawberry Days puzzle from an Eric Dowdle painting (that's a mouthful).

What They Missed- August 7

Saturday, August 7-

I accomplished nothing that day except being sick. Not fun. I did feed my baby and managed to make lunch but it was mostly fend for yourself for the other boys. 

Jr. Jr. made me a get well card with snowmen on it.

I didn't feel up to looking at the calendar, though I knew that it was National Lighthouse Day.

 

Jeremy and Jr. were more productive and finished the balloon sculpture. It was for the fair's centennial (which was actually last year but they had to cancel last year so...) so they made a scene of a farmer and tractor and vegetables of 100 years ago meeting with the same of the present. Pretty cool.

Jr. made the seat of the tractor. Jeremy said he did it just like he would have done. Good job, Jr.

 

Nichole wasn't feeling well that morning so she didn't go work with Jeremy and Jr. She was fine later which is a good thing since they had to drive all the way home the next day.

Jr. and Jeremy got her a Get Well card.

Catching Up- May

May is always crazy anyway with the end of school. This year, with the boys' school closing and combining with another, there was a week toward the end of the school year where they got out early every day so their teachers could pack up their classrooms and have everything moved to the new school building.
But for now I'm going to start with earlier in the month.

Let's talk about May the 4th. I mentioned about how in April, Jeremy did balloon sculptures for the Tulip Festival. For the Tulip Festival in May, Jeremy was asked to do something May the 4th related. This is how it turned out.  I love it.

Throughout the year, Orem is celebrating its Centennial. We celebrated the kickoff party in January. May 4th was the birthday celebration. Even though it was really close to where we live, I was having a day and didn't feel up to taking the kids over there.  We did, however, watch the fireworks that night.

We celebrated Cinco de Mayo with a new enchiladas recipe. Everybody liked it and we've had requests for it since then.

This year was the Museum of Natural Curiosity's 5th Anniversary. Jeremy made an arch with their monsters on them. I like how it turned out.

Our family joined in our ward campout and had a nice time.  The kids had been wanting to go camping since we didn't go camping last year. We all helped set up the tent, even the two youngest, until they got distracted with an earthworm.

The kids made me breakfast in bed for Mother's Day on May 12. Jr. was in charge and directed everyone as they helped. Jr. Jr. gave me a card he made at school.

The day after, Jeremy sent me off on a birding field trip with Utah County Birders.  It's a long day trip. I love it. It's a great Mother's Day gift. He did the same for me last year.

Nichole had another orchestra concert.  This time it took place on May 14 which is Dance Like a Chicken Day. We kept telling her she should get up in the middle and start dancing like a chicken but for some reason she didn't do it.

We were invited to an author's tea in Jr. Jr.'s classroom.  Each of the children wrote a book about an animal and was able to read it in front of the class and parents. The books were even hard bound and the children were able to bring them home. Jr. Jr. did a great job reading his book about seals. His voice was very clear.

Lucky and I took some time to play at the Museum of Natural Curiosity. Lucky went on all the rope bridges in the jungle by himself. I was there to meet him at the end. Great job, Lucky.

Jr. did a report about Switzerland. He had a lot of interesting information and afterward, he was able to share Swiss cheese and Swiss chocolate with his class. And us.

Just like at their old school in PG, Jr. and Jr. Jr. had a dance festival at their school here in Orem. They did a good job. Way to go, boys. You've got good rhythm.

Jeremy and I went on a few dates to celebrate special occasions in May.  We went to see Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame and Jeremy took me out to eat for my birthday.

We also spent an evening out birding, just the two of us. That was relaxing.

For my birthday, the boys helped me make cupcakes.  I wanted to combine my cake with scripture study (from The Friend, May 2019, "Family Night Fun"). The boys wanted to help frost the cupcakes.  It was fun to see how they decorated them.

I couldn't find enough candles for my age so I just blew out a scented candle. Then Jr. played "Happy Birthday" for me on his ukulele.

My ministering sister brought me flowers and fudge for my birthday.

We made a new friend in our yard.  A racing pigeon.  It showed up a couple times in our backyard and just casually walked around. It got close enough were able to get a good look at its band and report it to the American Racing Pigeon Union (AU).

For Memorial Day on May 27, we went up to visit Grandpa Telford's grave. We took time to talk to the kids about their great grandfather and a little about their heritage and namesakes.

At the end of the school year, there was an awards assembly at the elementary school.  Jr. received a few awards then participated in his 6th grade graduation. Great job, Jr.  Great job.

The kids went to their last day of school (I have pictures of the first day of school in my post on November 30, 2018) and the rest of that day we spent getting Nichole ready because the next day, her grandparents came to pick her up to take her on a trip with her two cousins her age to Oregon.

Farewell, Nichole.  We'll blog about you more in June... along with other things that happened.

Orem Centennial Celebration

Well, it's later.

Orem City turns 100 this year so there will be activities and events throughout the year at different venues.  Yesterday's was the Opening Kickoff Party at the Orem Fitness Center.

Jeremy spent three days building balloon sculptures for this event representing different aspects of Orem's history and values.

From left to right: "Famous for Families" The children running around represent Orem being known as "Family City U.S.A."
"Celebrating 100 Years of Orem" From 1919-2019, this shows Orem's mountain logo and celebrates the centennial.
"Good Things Grow Here" The fruit at the top represent how Orem used to grow and ship fruit to all over the nation.  Now, other good things grow here such as schools, businesses, and good people.
"Birthplace of Silicon Slopes" Technology is represented by the computer beneath the fruit.  A lot of technology companies began in Orem then moved to other areas of the state and country.
"Always Moving Forward" The red train represents the "Orem Line" which was a big part of helping the original city grow.  It was such a big part, the city was named after the man who was responsible for the railroad coming to the community, Walter C. Orem.
"UVU Wolverine" Not a part of the history a hundred years ago, but definitely a big part of the community.  I remember when it changed from Utah Valley State College to Utah Valley University and opportunities grew for those now attending university instead of college.  Many community events are also held at UVU.

There was a Centennial Kickoff Ceremony with entertainment and an unveiling of a book by author, Charlene Winters, all about the city of Orem.  There was also an unveiling of an Orem Centennial painting by artist Eric Dowdle.  The painting was also made into a puzzle.  We got one and it's really fun to see so many things we recognize in it (including the building where we go to church).

After the program there were a lot of free activities and snacks and swag.  It reminded me of Vernal Holly Days except that it was all indoors.  They even had a trivia scavenger hunt where you could learn about the city of Orem's history and get a ticket punched for each question you answered.

It also didn't last as long as Vernal Holly Days.  Since Jeremy wasn't working during the event, we stayed as long as we wanted and left before it ended.
It was a fun event and I'm glad we got to help celebrate Orem's Centennial as a family.