Q1 Kid Dates

 Here are a few pictures from our Q1 kid dates. We are really trying to be more dedicated to making sure we do all our kid dates this year and giving our kids some one on one attention. 

In January Shantel took Austin to do the Canopy tour at Thanksgiving Point and he loved it. Then they spent some just playing at the Children's museum. 

Then I took Lucy to get ice cream and play at the Thanksgiving Point Children's Museum. 

I also took Caleb to the Children's museum in January.

In February, Shantel took Lydia to see the movie Wonka in the movie theater. They both really really loved it and had a great time. 

Lydia also took Caleb on a date and went to the arcade. He really wanted to win a Nintendo Wii on one of the games and was bummed he couldn't do it. But by the end he learned that he really loved do to the Skeeball. 

Homeschool March

I have been so incredibly grateful for our homeschool routine over the past several months. The passing of Sue has significantly impacted me and our family, which is understandable, but that impact has been more severe and far-reaching than maybe seems expected. I am still just so sad and have been struggling to juggle the balls that normally are so easy for me to handle. But homeschooling has been such a balm for our family. We have our basic routines that we are sticking to, but we have the time and space and grace to move at the pace that we need right now. 

Some of that just looks like reading books on the couch together or snuggling up to watch a Disney movie. Some of that looks like baking in the kitchen or going to a park. 

Some of that looks like taking a whole week off and going to DISNEYLAND! (This was clearly our favorite part of March - it was so good for our hearts and for our family.)

Even with the week off and with the slower homeschool routine, we had a lot going on in March. Here are some highlights: 

Homeschool: 

We started a new science curriculum called Seasons Afield, which I learned about at our homeschool retreat in February. It's a literature-based curriculum with some neat seasonal science themes and I'm really excited about it. This is a picture of when we directed tulips, but we've also gone on nature walks, read stories about flowers, and learned about other spring-related science. 

Mini-coop is going well. We've been doing some fun STEM things lately. 

Lucy has been continuing her "vision classes" where we are working with a specialist in Alpine School District. More than anything, it's been good for me to learn from her what levels of things I should expect, things to watch out for, and tips for helping Lucy be successful next year. 

Field Trips: 

We went to the Family Search Center in Lehi. They did a neat little presentation and then let the kids do some family history activities on large screens in their center. 

Another member of our homeschool group, Amy Hart, set up a field trip to a pop-up interactive art display called "Dreamworks Immersive Art". I was so grateful that Amy took the lead on setting this up and was so happy to just show up and the kids had a good time. However, the whole experience was a little too bizarre (edging on creepy in places) for me. The kids favorite part was this ball pit - they loved it so much. I hated every second of it. David's germaphobe nature has been rubbing off on my and I could barely handle letting the kids touch all the grody things and play in the germ-infested balls. I coated them with the complementary hand sanitizer and when we got home I stripped them down and put their clothes straight into the washer and made them take showers immediately. It was awful, ha. (For someone who tends to lean toward the "not a germaphobe" end of the spectrum - this was significantly anxiety inducing for me.) I think part of it was just general grossness, but most of it was that we were leaving for Disneyland the next day and I did NOT want my kids to get sick on our trip. We still laugh about this field trip and looking at these pictures makes me cringe. 

We went to the Ogden Nature Center and it was so nice to be outside in the fresh air. Last year when we came it was a winter wonderland - covered in snow! But this year it was dry and signs of spring were everywhere. 

To end, I wanted to add this cute picture of Lydia and Lucy. The girls decided that they wanted to go on a "date" together and so I drove them to Tower Ice Cream, dropped them off, then came back an hour later and picked them up. They went inside by themselves, paid for their ice cream, enjoyed their time together and were ready for me when I came back. They were so sweet and I was so proud of how confident and capable they were. I really wanted Lydia to have a sister and was worried about the age gap. I shouldn't have worried though - these girls are the best sisters and their relationship is my favorite.  I love how much they love each other. 

Shantel's March

A few things from my March: 

We hosted a stake primary training for all of the Primary Presidencies and Music Leaders. We focused on the roles and responsibilities of the primary, had a demonstration of how to utilize the newly installed televisions, and participated in some great discussions. I feel like it went really well even though we didn't do a lot of prepwork or fancy things. 

The day after the training was my half-birthday - March 15th. At our house, we do Nothing Bundt Cakes for our half-birthdays, and when David walked in with a little cake for me and our family to share it genuinely made me so happy. I had forgotten that it was my birthday, but he had not, and that meant the world to me. I didn't take a picture or anything, but the family sang to me, told me they loved me, and let me blow out a candle on my cake. Then I got half the cake and everyone else split the other half and it was just so sweet. Because I didn't take any pictures, I thought I'd share this most recent picture of David and I at the La Jolla beach because I love it so much and I love him so much. 

On March 29th, I was at our Friday Coop teaching my classes when all the sudden I started not feeling very well. I pushed through until the end of class and then made it to the bathroom where I stayed while everyone else cleaned up. I could hear the kids outside looking for me, so I gathered myself up - got them in the car and drove home. Man, I was so sick I barely made it home! I texted the people that I was supposed to be meeting for a field trip (Tracey Aviary) and told them that I couldn't come then I dragged myself up to bed and basically asked Lydia to take care of the kids by putting on a movie downstairs because I couldn't function. I slept for most of the afternoon but kept waking up to my watch alerting me that my heart rate was too high. I felt awful, but the kids seemed fine, and I was grateful that they were old enough to mostly be okay while I was suffering in bed (ha - I'm mostly being dramatic - but I really was grateful, they did a great job and although they popped in an out occasionally to ask me a question they were kind and took care of each other while I slept). I mostly am adding this here because about dinnertime there was a knock on my bedroom door and it was my sweet friend Dani. She had gotten my text that I was sick (but did NOT know how sick I was) and had picked up dinner for us and a few things at the store. It was so kind, it made me cry. She sat by me on my bed and took care of me for a few minutes (helping me know whether I should be worried about the heart rate thing), then went back downstairs to get my kids settled until David got home, and then left us with the most delicious food and a heart full of warmth. I want to be a friend like her and I am SO grateful to have her as a friend. 

Also, do not worry - I survived, high heart rate warning and all.