The Rest of May

Kendall decided at the last minute that he wanted to go to the prom. At first he thought he would go but then after he and the girl he had been dating decided to just go back to being friends, he decided not to. But then a bunch of his friends convinced him to come anyway. There were some kids who had dates in the group and others who didn't, so he decided to join in. He had fun but says he won't ever go to that much expense for a dance if he doesn't have a date lined up.

 Some friends of ours who are crazy about animals and who developed a new hobby of  hatching eggs in an incubator were going out of town unexpectedly right about the time that their newest batch of eggs was supposed to be hatching. They asked us if we would egg sit for them and I thought it would be really fun for the kids to watch that process.

We had a really fun time when hatching day came. Unfortunately only a five of the eighteen eggs hatched  and of those only three of the chicks survived. But they were all so cute and we had a fun few days taking care of them until our friends were able to take them back home.

 I had a fun Mother's Day celebration. Since we didn't get up early enough for anyone to make me breakfast, Kaya decided she was going to make me my lunch. She made a grilled cheese sandwich and bowl of cut up fruit covered in chocolate syrup!

 Kaya participated in her first but certainly not last Girls on the Run event. Ever since Lynnsey participated, Kaya has been waiting till she was in third grade and would be old enough. She trained all winter and spring and then the program culminated with a 5K race in Battle Creek where schools from all over the county came to race. The stadium was packed! Kaya had a blast and can't wait to do it again in 4th grade. And 5th.

One thing that Taylor had wanted to do since coming home from his mission was to take a trip to Binder Park Zoo. We couldn't seem to ever find a free weekend so finally I took him on a day that I was babysitting Mikel and we had a fun day out--even though Taylor wouldn't cooperate for any pictures and actually looks like he's never been more bored in his life!

We had also never taken Taylor to the Air Zoo and they were offering free admission with our zoo membership for the month of May so we took a family day and went there again. The kids all had a great time even though Taylor got sick on the simulators and couldn't do any more rides after that.

 We spent Memorial Day once again at the Marshall Memorial Day Parade. It's kind of a bummer that we can't do the Albion one anymore because the high school band always plays in Marshall and it's a requirement for them to be there. Oh well. It was a beautiful day and the parade was fun as well as the program at the cemetery at the end.

Then we went to Peterson's for our branch Memorial Day BBQ which had a great turnout. There were lots of fun yard games including a massive steal the flag game. Kaya had a marvelous time playing with everyone and strategizing with Elder Courtney--her favorite missionary from our branch. It was a fun way to wind up a busy month!

May the 4th

Our family (meaning my husband and kids--I enjoy Star Wars but I'm not obsessed)is serious about Star Wars. And when I say "serious" I mean they are like super, ultra, mega fans of the franchise. So May the 4th is a true holiday for them. This year we got a special treat when our young men's president Brother Zirkel who is probably even a bigger fan of the movies than my kids, rented out the Bohm II for the evening and the youth and their friends and our family were all invited to go and watch a couple of Star Wars movies. The kids had to dress up for the occasion.

At first, we thought it was just for the youth but then they said we could come too and Kaya was ecstatic. But her siblings all had costumes and of course she needed to dress up too. So I had about 15 minutes to figure something out and we managed to pull together a Jyn Erso outfit for her. She loved it!

We had a really fun night. Kalen and I had just planned to stay for one of the movies so we could get Kaya home to bed but she managed to convince us that it was a great idea on a school night to stay for the second movie, so we wound up being there for both. It was the first time I'd even been in the Bohm II, the new smaller screening room that the Bohm just built next door to the main theater and it was really cool. Plus when you rent the theater everyone gets as much popcorn and soda as they want at no charge. So that was probably my biggest motivation for staying!

A few days later, Spencer was trying to come up with a picture for a band assignment where they were supposed to show themselves practicing their instrument in a creative way. We tried a couple of things before Spencer hit on the idea of a trumpet duel between Obi Wan and Darth Vader. Taylor was happy to get into costume again for some fun shots.

Kendall has been gaining some more acclaim for his baking skills and has been selling things from time to time. Sister Zirkel ordered a cheesecake for her husband's birthday but challenged Kendall to make it with a Star Wars theme. Kendall was happy to oblige!

Les Miserables

Call it nerves or exhaustion after so many days and hours of practice, but one morning of a performance day, I found that Kendall put the milk away in the cupboard! 

But Kendall needn't have worried. His performance was outstanding and the play was really well done. Once again, thanks to Jeff Wilson's Event Photography for capturing some great professional shots. Even if photography had been allowed, my phone wouldn't have been able to get any of these great shots.

All of these actors were in Mrs. Turner's kindergarten class so many years ago. It's so awesome that she still keeps up with them and shows up to support them in all of their activities and accomplishments.