Blue and Gold

Last night was our Pack's Blue and Gold. Thomas has been anxiously awaiting this evening for a few weeks now. It was so nice for Joel and I to devote an evening just to him and focus on him for the night. He is such a big helper to our family and sometimes I fear that he does not get enough one-on-one time because he is so independent and the younger ones are more needy at this time. Last night was fun to watch him have fun with the other cub scouts and to have a great time doing the "lawnmower" skit. He was also in heaven as he was able to hold a brand new baby. He walked around cradling the little baby in his arms like he was a pro. He really looked so natural doing so...I wish I had caught a picture of him.

He earned his Bear rank last night along with a Gold Arrow Point and 2 Silver Arrow Points. He also earned the kickball beltloop that we had worked on as a den earlier in the month. I am so grateful he is enjoying Cub Scouts and that I get to enjoy it right along side him.

Piano Celebration

Today Thomas competed in Piano Celebration at Fresno State University. He memorized two pieces and had to play them for a judge. During this portion, we were not allowed to come in the room with him. His performance is judged on a variety of components and then he is assigned a rating of Superior, Excellent, Good, Fair, or Poor. He earned the "Superior" rating and earned a cool medal. Those that earned the Superior rating then choose one piece to play for a recital in the music hall. This video is from the recital. He made a couple mistakes during the recital because the bench was sliding out from beneath him. We were afraid he was going to fall off the bench completely. He did a great job and had so much fun. He has nerves of steal and never really gets nervous. He just loves to play the piano and he LOVES to play the piano for others too!

Big Sister, Mary

Mary is such a great sister to Joshie. The other morning I was busy helping get the older ones ready for school. I had gave Joshie his cereal (he insists on feeding himself now and he wants milk with his cereal) and he was eating just fine. I looked up a little later and saw this. Mary is so sweet and I was shocked that Joshie was letting her help him. So cute!

Our Little Walk

We went for a fun walk this morning. Sammy decided to ride his scooter and he did for most of the walk. Joshie did NOT want to be in the stroller so he walked too. I was really surprised that he walked the whole way. We were about 5 houses from home when he finally just sat down on the sidewalk. He had the cutest tired look on his face. He smiled immediately and raised his arms when I offered to carry him. Mary was a little trooper and walked the whole way carrying her baby and her backpack full of diapers for her baby. It was a beautiful day outside and so fun to enjoy the walk together.

Our Spring

We are so blessed to have Spring in our family. Recently it seems each time I look at her I am simply amazed with the rate at which she is growing and maturing. She is becoming such a sweet girl. She has worked so hard in the last couple years to overcome her temper and to learn to calm herself down and deal with situations in a very mature manner. She is such a pleasure to have around and I really don't know what I would do without her. She is my right hand most days.

She has been so sweet with Sammy, Mary, and Joshie lately. She takes turns letting each of them come in her room with her and spend time with "just Spring." They color pictures, play games, Spring reads them stories, or as she puts it..."we just spend time together." The kids love this time and as soon as she gets home from school they rush to her and ask, "Is it my turn to come in your room today, Spring?" So cute!

She also is such a big helper to me during cub scouts. She takes care of all 3 little ones for the whole hour in the nursery while I am doing cub scouts. That is not an easy task but she does it willingly and never complains even though I know there are times she really does not feel up to doing it. She is very sweet with them during this time and often gives them incentives (you can play with my doll if you stay in the nursery and play nicely). I would not be able to do scouts as effectively without her help.

She is also quite the reader. She loves reading chapter books and comes home excited to tell us what books she has finished. Just last night we found her in room an hour and a half past her bedtime reading "Ramona's World" because she "just couldn't stop reading." She finished the book last night and told me this morning that she could hardly sleep after she finished reading it because she was so excited to tell her teacher she had finished the book.

I love you, Spring. Our Heavenly Father has blessed our family and me with you. Thank you for being our Spring.

Basketball Season

Thomas has been playing basketball for the last few weeks at the High School. The High School Boys' team coach the kids each Saturday. They have drills for about 45 minutes and then they get to play games for 45 minutes. Thomas has really enjoyed being able to learn and play basketball with the other kids.

Sammy's New Haircut

Sammy loves his new haircut. He loves to show everyone his new haircut and he wanted me to put it on the blog so everyone else could see it too!

Making Cake

For scouts our ward has a cake auction fundraiser. All the scouts are asked to decorate a cake with the help of Dad to auction off that evening. Thomas decided he wanted to make a pool table cake this year. He and Joel planned it all out and had great fun working together on it. They even made homemade fondant for the cake. Thomas wasn't so sure he liked making the fondant because he got so sticky but he thought it was cool that they were able to make it. I am grateful that Joel enjoys doing these things with our children. I think they did a wonderful job on their cake.