End of school year 2020-21

We made it through our year of home school!  We were starting to fizzle out by the end of the year.  We didn't keep up with typing, so we're working on that during the summer.  Savannah was ahead at least - she's on 3rd grade level language arts and math.  Owen and Weston completed their grade level for math, and they also finished their language arts with about a month left to improvise.  I had them writing paragraphs, answering a question of their choice from a list of things I came up with.  They all did pretty well on their online math, although it was a challenge for Weston at times.  Owen did well on everything except spelling.  I gave him a spelling test with 100 words (that he had missed several times) from the year.  He only got 68 correct.  For fun, I gave the same test to Alex, Nathan, and Jared (who aren't great at spelling either).  Alex got 84, Nathan got 81, and Jared got 79.  So they all missed a significant number of words.  Twelfth, handkerchief, cemetery, and bouquet were missed by all of them.  The last three of those can be tricky.      

We did a little celebration on the last couple of days, with bubbles, ice cream sandwiches, chocolate shakes, pizza, and pie.  We had to do 4 different kinds of pie to accommodate all the favorites:  key lime (Owen), chocolate (Savannah), cherry (Jared), and apple (Nathan and Weston). I made some certificates and diploma for Savannah, Weston, and Owen.  Owen graduated from elementary to junior high school this year.  He'll be a big 7th grader next year.  He missed out on a 6th grade graduation ceremony, so we did a mini ceremony at home.  Weston and Savannah completed 4th and 2nd grades.  I had them draw self portraits, which were pretty hilarious.  They also answered a few questions about their favorites and challenges this year, which I read aloud to everyone.   

Savannah:  Favorite subject - Math
                   Biggest Challenge - Independent Writing for Language Arts
                   Favorite memory - Finishing 2nd grade math and going on to 3rd grade math (in the middle of the year)

Weston:  Favorite subject - Science
               Biggest challenge - CTC Math
               Favorite memory - the first time he watched Animals Gone Wild and he got to watch "cute piggies and cute otters"

Owen:  Favorite subject - Science

             Biggest Challenge - "Paying attention in boring history"

             Favorite memory - the time we learned about baby mammals and watched videos with baby pigs and otters

We made it!  It wasn't as hard homeschooling as I imagined, but I'm ready to send them back to school for social interaction.  They are very eager to see their friends again.  They're all signed up to return to school in the fall.  Weston and Savannah will likely still have to wear a mask while indoors, but at least they'll be in-person full day and not on zooms.  If we have to return to home school, at least I know we can do it.      

             

Backyard Re-do

We did some (more) work on our backyard this year.  The pictures from earlier years don't look too bad because it used to be more green.  It's been really dry and dead the past few years, along with many gopher holes, so our yard was looking pretty bad.  I didn't like the old stone grill in the middle of the yard, and I also wanted a larger basketball court (which was just one small concrete square).  I had a vision for the yard a few years ago, but couldn't really get going.  I removed half of the chain link fence that extended all the way to the neighboring back fence (with dead branches attached) in August of 2019.  That was the first step.  Next, we needed to remove the grill, which the boys and I took down in May 2020.  (Alex wouldn't help with that because he wanted it to stay...I was stubborn and determined enough to take it down myself).  Finally in March of this year, we got a quote for the concrete.  I was amazed to find out it would cost about $25,000 for the project (and that was a pretty reasonable price)! We decided to do it.  They removed the base of the grill, the tree stump of what remained of the plum tree, a large bush, and all the existing cracked and old concrete.  In about 1 week, they did the demolition and pouring of the new concrete.  We opted for a stamped concrete for the area by the house, and they were supposed to make it look more like natural stone with some different colors in the mix.  They didn't do a very good job on the stamped and colored part, leaving some large red streaks on one area and some parts of the concrete already chipping.  We let it slide and didn't ask them to fix it, but it looks a lot better than it did before, and it's a much more functional space.  We're working on getting some new tables and chairs and outdoor furniture.  We got a large umbrella, a 10-person table, a grill, a fire pit and chairs so far.  We need to explore gazebos (and lighting) for over the seating area and find some new chairs for the large table.  We also need to try to grow grass again and make it nice and green.  I was going to wait to post pictures until it was just right, but it may take a while for that, so I'm just documenting as it is for now.        

The 2 extra "rooms" in the back might be about to fall apart, but at least we have new concrete in the back right...? 

Gardening 2021

 In April, I decided I wanted to make a flower bed in the empty space where we replaced the fence (and took out some ugly bushes).  Alex and I arranged some stones, put down wire to keep the gophers out, added dirt, and planted some seeds.  I probably didn't choose the prettiest flowers to go there, but the idea was to plant something that wouldn't require much maintenance.  I thought wildflowers would probably grow well.  I also like wildflowers and the idea that they aren't the prettiest flower out there, but they have a beauty all their own.  I sometimes think of myself as a wildflower, so I guess we have a little in common.  

Alex and Savannah also planted a vegetable garden.  They planted green beans, tomatoes, and zucchini.  

It was exciting to watch the little seedlings growing through the month of May.  We had to put a cage over the top because the dog was digging in there.  (I think she still gets in there now, but we can't keep a cage over it.)  The second picture below is what my flowers looked like when we left for Oklahoma in early June.  By the time we got back a few weeks later, the flowers had taken off and growing well (the 3rd picture).  The last picture is the most recent one, a few weeks after the 3rd picture.  It's fun to see the different varieties of flowers popping up.  Unfortunately, a large animal (likely the dog), has broken the flowers on one side of the flower bed, but it's fun to see some pretty flowers in the previously empty space.   

We have some other things in harvest season - apples, peaches, apricots, and avocadoes (in process).  When we got back from Oklahoma, there were rotten apricots and apples all over the ground.  Savannah and I counted 546 apples that we picked up off the ground and threw away.  I picked up about 415 rotten apricots.  Unfortunately, that was all the apricots on that tree (but I discovered another tree behind the trampoline that produced apricots a little later).  We had lots of green beans growing, but no tomatoes or zucchini yet.  We also have grapes growing, as well as lemons and tangerines.  

I gave away a whole box of apples to the local Food Bank.  Alex made pies and delivered some before we left for Oklahoma and one for our last day of school.  I also made 5 apple pies to give away, 2 pies for 4th of July, and 1 pie for Weston's birthday.  Savannah and I delivered 100 peaches to 10 friends, and we still have a lot of peaches growing.  We can't keep up!  We are winding down on the apples. We enjoyed some yummy pie from them.  

Seminary

Nathan completed his third year of early morning seminary and Jared finished his first year.  They studied via zoom or independent lessons for most of the year, but got to start meeting in person for the last couple of months.  They met at 7:10am (school classes started at 9:00am, so it was a significantly earlier start for their day than their peers).  Both Nathan and Jared were extremely diligent in always attending and doing their independent study.  I may have mentioned this before, but they were very obedient in doing what their teachers asked them to do.  They asked them to sing aloud an opening hymn before they started their scripture study.  It was fun to hear them singing in the morning.  No one would have known if they didn't sing, but they did what was asked of them.  Nathan was in a class with juniors and seniors (this wasn't all of his class pictured below).  Jared was with the freshman and sophomores (that was most of his class, so there was a good group of them).  Their teachers were awesome, and they did a good job teaching the Doctrine & Covenants this year.  It's been nice to have our family Come Follow Me lessons coordinate with the seminary study, because the boys would sometimes bring home thoughts from seminary to share. 

One bonus for the last couple of months of in-person seminary was that Nathan was able to drive Jared over to the church.  We didn't have to drive them over there! 

JV BB

After Jared's lack of a decent cross country season, we weren't very hopeful that Nathan would get a basketball season.  We were pretty happy when the restrictions eased enough for him to play, and he got a fairly normal amount of games for the season.  They got to play 12 games - four of them were non-league games (which they lost all of those).  Of the 8 league games, they won 6 and lost 2.  Nathan's game high was 8 points for the season, but he contributed a lot to defensive play.  He still has a nice shot and usually scored at least one 3 pointer.  He says his thing is "3 and D".  He usually got about 9 to 14 minutes per game, but playing about 22 minutes in two of the games.  They only lost by 5 points to a top-notch non-league team, with an impressive come back, as they were down by 21 at half time.  The most exciting and memorable game was a win to a cross-town rival.  They were down by 8 points at half and came back to win it by 2 points.  They ended up losing by 2 points to that team the 2nd time they played each other.  It was so fun to watch him play, even though he usually didn't get a lot of time.  He worked really hard though, and he was just glad to be able to get out on the court again after covid restrictions.  He did have to get tested for Covid twice a week, so that was a little annoying, but it wasn't that big of a deal - small sacrifice to do something you love.  

We're hoping he gets to play next year - it will be tough to make varsity!  He played JV this year, but I don't think they bring seniors down to play JV.  He has 14 summer league games starting in a few weeks, so at least that will be like another season for him.  He loves it!        

 

15 years

Jared turned 15 years old - hard to believe he's approaching driving age (he'll be able to get a learner's permit in November).  We didn't do much to celebrate, but he got his requested meals and chocolate cake and ice cream.  He wanted German pancakes and bacon for breakfast and shepherd's pie and rolls for dinner.  He likes chocolate cake with vanilla frosting.  He's still a big fan of Twix.  

Jared is our very responsible and dependable kid.  One recent story about him - one Friday night we had watched a movie.  It was about 10:00pm and we were trying to decide if we were going to watch something else.  Jared piped up and said, "It's time to go to bed.  We need to go to sleep at a decent hour so we can get up tomorrow and be well-rested for the day."  We were pretty surprised that he would say that, especially on a Friday night!  He is a great example for his siblings.  He also is good about getting himself up in the mornings and doing whatever he needs to do.  We love Jared!     

 

Mother's Day 2021

Some of the young men at church participated in a special night honoring their moms.  They showed a video they had previously made of them talking about the things they love about us.  They also did little spotlights on us and gave us roses and chocolate cake.  I loved it!  Nathan talked about how patient I was with the five kids, how we both like sports and I'm always at all of his basketball games, how he likes talking about current events with me, how most of his big spiritual experiences have been with me, and how he appreciates the sacrifices I make and all the things I do around the house (that go unnoticed).  From my spotlight sheet:  

- One chore that I do exceptionally well - cleaning the living room

- Favorite animal - elephant

- One time I drove him somewhere special - basketball tournaments

- One activity we like to do together - watch basketball 

- Favorite characteristic about me - hard-working

- One thing I do that nobody thanks me for, but should - cleaning the bathroom

- One gospel principle learned from me - the importance and power of prayer

- One of my many talents - great writer    

I also got special treatment on Mother's Day with bacon, eggs, and cinnamon rolls for breakfast, Mongolian beef and egg rolls for dinner, cheesecake bars for dessert, and some chocolate and cards.  One little story about the cinnamon rolls - Alex asked the night before what I wanted for breakfast.  In my mind, I thought of cinnamon rolls, but didn't want to coach him through how to make them.  I asked for bacon, eggs, and pancakes.  About 5 minutes later, our friend called and said he was bringing some cinnamon rolls over!  How did he know I wanted those...?