First Day of Vacation

After Josh's science fair project, he was really excited to make homemade root beer with dry ice.  When the first day of summer vacation started with "So, what are we going to do today?  I'm bored." I decided it would be a perfect time to try out the root beer recipe.  We had to go to three stores to find the root beer flavoring and I was expecting it to have a lot more bubbles, but Josh and his friend Wyatt loved it still.

Last Day of School

As much as the boys love school, I still think this is their 3rd favorite day of the year (after Christmas and their birthdays).

Jake's class sang a medley of songs including God Bless America.  That hat left glitter everywhere!

Josh recited a poem while standing on his chair before getting his awards.

Jake's pretty excited about graduation from Kindergarten while his aide, Mrs. H., and his teacher, Mrs. Jarvis, look on.

Josh with his teacher, Ms. Milam, and his aide, Mrs. Conwell

Memorial Day Weekend

We spent Memorial Day weekend with family hiking, feeding the chipmunks, and swimming at the Mt. Princeton Hot Springs.  The waterfall was impressive, the chipmunks were scared, and the hot springs were perfect.

Josh in front of the falls.  He loved climbing to the top with the older cousins.

Jake in front of the falls.  He enjoyed running away from me on the trail.

Aunt Tamara's enjoying the view opposite the falls.

Cousins Hyrum and Cedric

Josh's patience paid off while feeding the chipmunks.

Easter

For Easter this year, we did our traditional dying of the eggs with our friend Kirby and her two daughters Hailee and Zoey. The boys liked experimenting with new new techniques such as paint and glitter while Hailee was pretty focused on mass production.

Then on Sunday, the Easter Bunny left a yarn maze for the boys and their cousin's children (or to be technical--their first cousins once removed.  Google is wonderful).

Kelly, Juli, Josh, Beckham, Aubryn, & Jake

Just getting started

Still excited

Getting a little weary

Totally sick of it

Still excited

The reward!

Totally worth it!

Death of a peep

I can't ever resist these lollipops!

Family Photo Shoot

The boys' cousin Juli took our family pictures this weekend. She does amazing work! Although it helps to have the two cutest boys on the planet too. I just wish I had heard my mom's voice saying "stand up straight!" when she took the shots of me. Where are you when I need you, Mom?

If you would like to see a preview of the pics, click here: http://julimckendrickphotography.blogspot.com

Science Fair

 Our annual school science fair was at the end of March.  We had a great time completing the experiments, not so great time making the boards.  Both Josh and Jake do a really good job speaking in front of the judges.  Josh's project was about dry ice.  He wanted to know if hot water made is sublimate (not evaporate) faster than cold water. 

Jake's project was about carbonation.  He wanted to know which type of pop would explode the most when shaken before opening.  He had a fantastic time shaking and making a mess in our bathtub.  I still find random drops of cola on the shower curtain, the table, the ceiling.  They both received 2nd place awards including Jake's first trophy (which he decided is too small). 

Ski Trip

When I took the boys skiing this February, we got a little more adventure than we bargained for. Since it had been three years since our last ski trip, I signed both boys up for lessons. Josh got a 1/2 day and Jake got an hour plus daycare. They were both so excited and I was happy to have someone else teach them. Not only would I get a couple hours down the mountain on my own, but they would actually listen to an instructor instead of their mom. We drove up to Monarch bright and early on a Saturday and got everyone outfitted with skis and in their classes. I went down one run and got back in line to go again. A very friendly older man wearing an 80s style one-piece ski suit (it was teal green and purple--awesome!) joined me on the next lift ride. At the top of the lift my name was printed on the message board calling me to child care. I figured that Jake had taken a minor fall or was tired and they needed my permission to stop the lesson. When I got to child care they told me that Jake had passed out and was at Ski Patrol. When I got to Ski Patrol they explained that he passed out near the end of his lesson probably due to altitude sickness. It never even occurred to me that altitude would be a problem since we already live at 5200 feet. But because he's so small and hadn't eaten very much that morning, going up to 10,000 feet really hit him hard. So we got him a giant cookie and some chocolate milk and he was good to go. He went back to the day care while I skied a little bit with Josh before we decided to go home. Josh is doing great and ready to tackle the green runs now. Jake was very unhappy that I didn't take him out on the snow again. It was just getting too windy to stay. Can't wait to take them again--after a bigger breakfast though!

Josh mastering the slopes

Josh loved riding this caterpillar conveyor belt.

Jake on his way to his lesson. Aren't those tiny skis cute?

Still smiling after his visit to Ski Patrol.