April Wrap Up

Just a few items from April to share. 

Lydia told Lily and Iris she would take them to Pizza Pie Cafe for their birthday, so they went to Pizza Pie Cafe with Shantel. 

The kids eating lunch at my parents house. 

There was a big hail storm that was fun for the kids. 

We also had Juniper over for a few days and she and Lucy loved playing together. (Juniper is covering her ears because the rain/hail is loud). 

This is one of the best stories from the month. We have been working on getting our garden boxes in the back all set up. Shantel really wanted to get some cattle guard to use to make an arch over two of the garden boxes. The cattle guard piece was 16 feet long and we were not sure how to get it home. However, Shantel decided that she really thought we could fit it in the back of the van if we put all the van seats down. I was doubting whether it would really fit there. However, Shantel convinced me to go to the Tractor Supply store and at least look at it. We went inside and bought it and verified we could just return it if it did not fit in the van. We went and bended it to make an arch and slid it into the van...and it totally fit! Shantel was right and was so happy. She sent her family a marco polo so they could watch the whole thing unfolding. We are excited to get that set up in the garden boxes. We've reached a new stage because we had put Caleb and Lucy to bed and then went to the store and asked Lydia and Austin to just watch in case they woke up - it is so nice to be able to run out like that. As a reward, they got to come out when we got home and see that we fit it in. 

April Snow!!!

It has done it, this has been the snowiest year ever! I've been watching the snow totals climb all year and kept saying we'll take as much snow as we can get because we really need the water. The snow has just kept coming and coming and coming! It has been so much fun and I am so grateful. You can definitely tell some people are just ready for the snow and cold to stop, but I just feel grateful. It has also been so so cold. In fact, in March there were only 2 days at or above the average temperature and the rest were below (many significantly below). April has been very similar, just very cold with a lot more snow than usually.  

Shantel and I took this picture one night before a storm and then the next morning to show the contrast. This was a huge winter storm for April (I think around 5-7 inches). Once again the kids got out to play in the snow. 

I love this one because it had dumped so much snow, but then warmed up pretty quickly, but the kids were able to make snowmen, but it was warm enough not to need coats. 

At Easter there were just a few bits of snow left (although it snowed again later in the month too). Finally, by the end of the month we are done with snow. It is hard to say how much snow it was this year. It just kept snowing and snowing and snowing and I loved it. The cold was hard because when normally the kids would have some days in February and March that it was warm enough to go out and ride bikes, there was not any days like that this year. 

As a state we were watching the snow totals (measured in inches of water) to see if we could pass the record from 1983 and we passed it easily. Then there was an even higher record for 1952 that was measured a little differently and that was at 28 inches. We surpassed that as well and ended up with a record 30 inches. Many of the ski resorts ended up with more than 900 inches of total snowfall during the year. 

It is really interesting because Governor Cox asked us to pray for rain back in 2021 and there was a lot of attention and mocking of him for doing so. 

I think it is really cool that he continued even after that to encourage us to pray for rain and snow, knowing that it can make a difference. I feel like God loves his people and that we were blessed with snow that we desperately needed. 

It was such a fun year of snow!

Dad Shed

In the fall, my parents decided that they needed a shed in the backyard and got to work planning and purchasing the materials. When we were there in November, all the adults pitched in to help with the "barn raising" (complete with watching a few good clips from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers). They got it assembled and covered with a tarp and everyone was really pleased with the progress. However, we didn't get it all done - and my dad had a surgery on his hand scheduled. So the day before surgery, Jenna and I brought our kids to play inside while we helped my dad set the plywood and shingle the roof. 


Shingles are actually a skill that I have. When I was about 12, my dad re-shingled our roof in Ephraim and I helped him a lot and learned the process. When we were newly married, Cal reshingled Grandma McAllister's roof and I got a lot of practice in there. So even though I'm not an expert, I felt like this was something I could do to help. The three of us had a great time working together, even though the roof was incredibly steep and there were a couple of times that I thought I was going to fall off for sure. 

It was COLD outside, but we worked until the sun went down and we were freezing and we couldn't feel our fingers anymore. My dad woke up and went with my mom to his hand surgery and Jenna and I finished out the roof by ourselves. It's not perfect, but I think we did a pretty great job and I know my dad is so relieved to have the roof protected and done. I have zero doubt that if we hadn't been able to come help, he would have been out there the day after the surgery with one hand bandaged and the other trying to hold the nail and hammer at the same time. Surgery or not, I'm grateful that my dad taught me skills like this and that he continues to teach me and help me learn new skills. It reminds me of this comic: 

When I remembered that comic and went to look for it, I didn't remember that it had the daughter fixing the roof - but it just makes it even more applicable to this experience and the skills and opportunities given to me by my dad.  I hope that I can give my kids the same opportunities, skills, and confidence. 

April Homeschool

Here are a few highlights from our April Homeschool: 

-Lydia decided she wanted to make a pancake machine and she figured out how to make one out of an old water bottle, some craft sticks, and some rubber bands. It was awesome. 

-Lydia and Austin participated in the W.H.E.N. Book Battle, which was Harry-Potter-themed and was SO fun. They were assigned teams, answered questions about books, and then used wands to transport balloons into their team's quidditch goalpost. David was able to take off of work to volunteer to help at the book battle and overall it was a great experience for our family. 

Austin has been doing great at his piano. We've been waking up early to practice and that's been a good strategy for us. 



Lydia really loves her crochet class at Coop. 


This winter has been so cold and snowy and being able to squeeze in a few bike rides has been SO great. 



Lydia’s RISE test. For whatever reason, I have major sentimental feelings about this day each year. It’s a mile marker that reminds me how big Lydia is getting and fills my heart with pride with how much she has learned over the past year. I don’t put too much stock in these standardized tests, and basically just teach what we want to learn and do a 2 day refresh on how to take a test beforehand, then let the score land where it may. But I think it’s a good experience for her and I’m grateful for the educational support we have through our affiliated programs.
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I love her homemade bag bursting with books and crochet supplies and a little handwritten note filled with luck and love. I love her oversized cardigan and her two French braids.
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And I love that I get to spend my days with her instead of having her gone for this many hours every day.





Yep, Lucy still loving her Music Class. 


Caleb on a Zoom speech consultation, Austin doing his Speech class. Grateful for technology in our homeschool routine. 

Yep, Lydia again looking so grown up and capable! She participated in a "BizTown" group, which met together to learn financial & entrepreneurial skills and then went to a statewide BizTown gathering. It was a great experience for her. 



I don't know why I put this in my homeschool blog post - but I do a lot of cooking/baking and one of the best parts of homeschool is how involved my kids get to be in that. They make pancakes like professionals and always like to help make a new recipe. We've been enjoying these dutch pancakes lately and I love this candid picture of Lucy helping me make them. 

A field trip hike to Jungle Trail




It's starting to get WARM! Lydia's Primary Activity group did a "Chalk the Walk" activity and the girls all got to design and implement their own artwork on a sidewalk panel. A couple of days later the kids asked if they could use chalk on the Farnsley-Becker's driveway. We love the Farnsley-Beckers and how kind they are to our gaggle of children who love their driveway. 

The weather is warming and our homeschool is loving it!