May- Week 4- Backyard Final Product, Last Day of School, Memorial Day

Bethany working hard to pull up, but can't even crawl yet! 

Tuesday, I had a lovely brunch with my visiting teachers and the two other ladies they visit teach.  Yummy fruit, pancakes, and a breakfast casserole.  TONS of kids between all of us, but so fun! My visiting teacher, Andrea Walker, moved 4 days later.  Gonna miss her. 

Tuesday I also found out the results of my thyroid ultrasound.  It showed I have many benign-looking cysts all over my thyroid.  So the doctor put me on the second to lowest dose of thyroid medication and will follow-up with me in a month.  

That evening, Dan was interviewed on the news again and Ben had his last soccer game of the Spring season.  

 McKenna wanted me to take a picture of her pretty curls after we took out the pigtail buns.  

Wednesday after lunch we picked up friends Camille and Taggart to come to Hogan park with us.  It rained a little on us at first, but thankfully cleared up!  Later Anna fell asleep on me and woke up with a fever.  Thankfully medicine helped it go away quickly.  

 "Hi everyone!" 

 Here's a little progression of our backyard project.  Dan worked so so hard on this! He tore out a fence, broke up and hauled away almost 3 TONS of cement, automated sprinklers, leveled out the ground, and laid sod.  Then, once the sod was well established, he strung some lights!!  This is totally what he's been envisioning for a long time!  Well done my love!  We've already enjoyed several picnics and game nights back there! 

 Thursday, Ben got to go to the park in the morning with cousins Oliver and Henry.  At lunch time, Dan surprised McKenna and checked her out of school early (it was her second to last day of school), and took her and Ben to a Bee's baseball game!  They said it was quite hot and they all came home with little sunburns, but they had a good time. They rode the little train too.  I stayed home with the two cute girls on the bottom right.  :) 

 Friday was McKenna's last day of first grade!! I can't believe it!  She's had such a great year with awesome teachers and sweet friends!  She lost 4 more teeth (8 total), and definitely grew taller! 

 I missed several previous opportunities to take a picture with McKenna and her teacher, so I was brave and sent the digital camera with her to school.  My plan worked!  

McKenna and Mrs. Ally Poulton

 With Mrs. Forbes (the aid).  

The teachers even took a few pictures of McKenna with her friends Camille and Hyrum.

For the last day of school I got to drive carpool, so I decorated the van to look like a party!! 

 The kids liked it except they were all actually a little sad to be leaving school and friends.  

Even though Ben's last of preschool was 10 days earlier, here are his first and last day comparison pictures.  He has also grown lots taller.  

Other poses. :) 

After dinner Friday night, we played at a park in Salt Lake City and then went to Ugurt to celebrate the end of school! 

Documenting Ben's awesome writing and ability to sound things out!  "You are my best friend"

Saturday I went running (did I mention I'm training for a 10k?) and Dan helped two families in our ward move out. :(  The Walkers and Campbells.  We had a picnic lunch in our back yard.  I started sorting through McKenna's school papers then the kids went to the Alexander's house to play.  We had fast food dinner at a park and went grocery shopping.  

Sunday, after church, we headed up to Mantua to be with the available Webster family for Memorial Day.  

Monday morning, Dan went golfing with the guys.  

Everyone else stayed home and had a pancake and fruit breakfast. Later, we met the boys at the White Family Farm (Dan's maternal grandmother's childhood home).  It is a gorgeous farm house with SO MUCH land!  

Really?!?  Isn't it stunning?  And so much family history in there! 

After lunch, we swam and LOVED playing on this new pool floatie!  The uncles were the sharks and would attack the kids sitting on it.  Good times!

 

Later, we went to the cemetery to visit Dan's Webster grandparents.  We heard a history lesson about Memorial Day and some family history stories.   

 Then we went back to the house and enjoyed an awesome BBQ and celebrated the May birthdays.  Anna and Kate got along great playing with princesses.  

We just love making so many fun memories at Mantua!
We made a last-minute decision to spend one more night and therefore be able to help clean up more.  Everyone else had to get back home because their kids had school the next day.  We were lucky that McKenna was done.  

Tuesday we made it home by 9:45am.  We had Henry and Desi Alexander over to play that day from 11-4:30 (their mom just had a baby the day before) and I did lots of laundry.