Spring Shenanigans

Time just keeps marching on and I have a lot to post about. 

Mariah and Chet were super excited to dress up as Star Wars characters on May the 4th for their online video chat that they do for school.  

I had to take a picture of Mariah's chalk art because I thought it was the most stereotypical ten-year-old girl drawing and it makes me smile. Oh, and don't forget to "dream big". 

We did Spring Soccer this year and four of the five kids played. It was so nice to bring them all to one place at the same time. All during the fall season Eliza begged to play soccer so she was excited to finally get her chance. But that excitement soon waned. Most days she asked if she could not go to soccer and there were even a few days that required bribery on my part. One afternoon Austin found her hiding in her room and she told him that maybe if she hid I would forget about her and she wouldn't have to go to soccer...that girl. But her little team needed her and once she started she always did a really good job and usually had a smile on her face. She was especially good at running to her coach and giving her a high-five, regardless of which team scored. 

Austin thrived on his team, probably because the players were actually his age this time. Fool me once... His coach gave each of the players a turn to be the "captain" and even had an arm band for them. Austin loved that. He scored several goals and it was fun to see how much he has improved just in the last six months. 

He was captain this game and took it very responsibly. 

Mariah and Chet were on the same team again and had a blast. Their team wasn't as good this season and I was so proud of how they handled it. They were able to celebrate the successes they had in each game, regardless of the score. They were each other's biggest cheer leaders and it made me so proud to see how they supported each other. Chet has stopped jumping up and down with excitement during the game and loves playing goalie. Mariah is really good at putting herself in the right place to steal the ball. Although she got slammed into a few times by players much bigger than her which affected her confidence a little. I wanted to run out there and say "Don't you know she's just a little girl?!" But I didn't because I figured Mariah wouldn't appreciate that very much.  And I was so busy running from one field to the next that I don't seem to have a picture of them...you'll just have to use your imagination. 

Mariah and Chet performed in their Piano Recital and did great. I'm really proud of all the hard work they've put in to become the players they are. 

I took some pictures on Mother's Day to make up for no pictures on Easter. Tanner was on call so I did church solo and my kids seemed to decide that the best way to celebrate me was to test my patience as much as possible. But we made it through and still all loved each other at the end of church. Tanner made dinner that night and I felt very loved. 

I'm so grateful I have the opportunity to be a mother. I often feel like I'm still a child myself and it's almost shocking to remember that I have five innocent spirits that I'm in charge of. It's very humbling and forces me to rely on my Heavenly Father in this divine role of motherhood. And I'm grateful for the rockstar of a partner that I have in Tanner.  

We got new chicks and the kids have done such a good job taking care of them. Their names are Beatrice the Brave, Barbara, Rosie, Rhonda, Goldie and Griselda. I think we'll have to keep getting chickens every year just to see the names the kids come up with. 

The middle three helped me wash the car on a warm day and there was just a little bit of fighting over the hose and no one cried, so I called it a success. 

Mariah and Chet have been covering Zoology in their science this year and to celebrate the end of the year they had a costume contest. I was busy getting ready for our trip out west and said they would need to do their costume on their own. They decided to make a giraffe. Besides helping glue the ears and horns on a headband, it was all done by them. It's amazing what kids can do when they put their mind to it. 

One of Tanner's co-workers gave him some "failed" macaroons and Mariah and I made some chocolate buttercream and thoroughly enjoyed the cookies. I told Tanner he should tell his co-worker that we would take her supposed fails anytime.