Idaho

 Johanna got the lead in a play at BYU-Idaho. I wanted to go see her and support her, so I went up there this past weekend with Grandma and Al. Gary & Julie's family were all there this weekend to see the play too, so it was a fun, family-filled weekend! We went straight to Costa Vida to meet everyone for dinner. It was great to see everyone and get to visit. It was so exciting when Julie showed us the shirt that Caleb & Johanna had given her right before dinner!!!

They're going to have a baby in January! They are so excited, and they're going to be the cutest parents. 

After dinner we went and checked into our airbnb, and then headed over to meet the Ham Fam at their vrbo. They couldn't find the check in code, and so they called the contact number from their confirmation email. The woman said the condo hadn't been a rental for 10 months and that there were permanent renters living there for that long. It was a total scam. It was so rotten! Gary and Julie spent the next 2 hours on the phone with vrbo trying to figure out where they could stay instead, and nothing was figured out in that time. They finally bagged it and booked a house on airbnb that was available this weekend. It was so frustrating!!

Saturday morning we went over to their house and had a delicious brunch. Then we went and played pickleball for a few hours. It was so much fun! Gary and I were a good team, and left the day undefeated. :) Ashley and I were a good team too, but couldn't pull off a win against Jacob and Caleb. We made them work really hard for it the second game though. It was a close one. I loved playing with everyone and getting some quality time with the Ham Fam.

That night we went to Blithe Spirit.

Johanna is an amazing actress! The character she played (Elvira, the Blithe Spirit) was the polar opposite of her real character, and she was totally believable as Elvira. That's talent!!

We had another brunch Sunday morning and then hung out at Gary's place until we went to church at 3:00. It was great to get so much time to visit that day. Wyatt fell asleep during church and we were all considering funny things to do to him. We thought a photo bomb with Grandma was probably the nicest option. :)

Johanna made delicious enchiladas for dinner and then we did a Come Follow Me lesson before another group went and played some more pickleball. I didn't have warm enough clothes, so I stayed back and was able to visit with Julie, Johanna, and Grandma. That was a lot of fun. We went over and saw Caleb & Johanna's apartment before saying our goodbyes and heading home to get a little sleep.

I've got to include this picture too. Grandma's knee gave out a couple times on Sunday. She was out walking by herself the first time and fell down. Luckily she didn't get hurt. The second time she and I were in the bathroom with Julie and Paige visiting while Paige showed us a few make-up tips. I saw it happening and was able to grab her before she fell again. I got her out to a chair, but then she wanted to keep visiting with us, so I carried the chair into the bathroom and Kyle carried Grandma into the bathroom. :)

School's Out For Summer

 Thursday was the last day of school! It was bittersweet for the kids and me. (It was all sweet for Paul, no bitter for him. :) He's ready for a break from his classes.) The kids are going to miss their friends and teachers, but are excited for school to be out too. I'm a little worried about keeping the kids busy and entertained all summer, but also excited for life to slow down for a while. May is such a crazy month and a little more free time and family time sounds wonderful to me.

Levi came home from school with Rockwell, and then we went over to the park for a party with some friends from our neighborhood.

Aubrey brought over a bunch of games for the kids to play: volleyball, crossnet, spikeball, and cornhole.

 The moms set up our chairs in the shade and got to visit while they played. We filled up a bunch of water balloons while Natalie made snow cones for the kids.

They played water balloon volleyball, and then had a water balloon fight. 

It was such a fun start to summer break!!

Rockwell had a track meet Wednesday night. It was a great one for him! He ran the 100m dash and won his heat.

He threw the javelin and the shotput.

And did the running long jump.

We'll be in Hawaii during the regional track meet, so this was his last one of the season. I'm glad he and Levi chose to do it and had a good experience.

I rode my bike up the canyon on Wednesday. It was the last full day of school, so I wanted to get up there before summer started. There was nobody at Bridal Veil Falls, which never happens, so I stopped and enjoyed the solitude and beauty for a while.

I was looking for Rockwell and Tessa one afternoon and found them like this, laughing and talking while they ate popsicles. It was so fun to see them just hanging out together like that. They're growing up so much, and I hope they stay good friends as they do.

6th Grade Graduation

 Rockwell had his 6th Grade Graduation this week!

The 6th graders sang a couple songs, Mr LaBare gave a speech, the Hope of America Awards were given out, and they had a cute slideshow with a picture of all the kids from kindergarten and then from 6th grade. I loved that.

Rockwell did a dab as he was walking through the arch to get his diploma from Mr LaBare. It was funny to watch what each of the kids did during their little moment of fame. :)

We got to visit with the Allsop's for a bit after the graduation. We're grateful for the good friends Rockwell has made in elementary school.

And we're proud of all the hard work he has put in the past 7 years at Northridge. He's learned and grown so much, and is ready for 7th grade!

Gymnastics Meet

 Tessa had another gymnastics meet at Arete. (Damon was planning on competing too, but ended up sick on the day of the meet. Poor kid.) Tessa did awesome, as usual. She works so hard while she's at the gym, as well as practicing at home. The coaches did their testing a couple weeks ago, and Tessa and Morgan made the Silver Team. That means she'll be on a competition team and start competing against other gyms in a few months. It's quite a commitment, but she's all in for it. Gymnastics is her happy place. 

Her first even was the vault, and she rocked it. She scored a 9.8!! It really was beautiful.

Next up was bars. She did amazing on this too. She was pretty disappointed that they didn't do the routine she thought they were going to. We're not sure why they changed it, but right before they started the coach told them they were just going to do the same routine from last time. She's learned and improved a lot since the last meet, so it was disappointing to not be able to do the new skills. Oh well.

Beam was next. She was frustrated with herself for falling off the beam after her tuck jump, but she got right back up and finished the rest of the routine beautifully. I'm grateful she doesn't take it too hard when things like that happen. The beam is very challenging, and she really did great on it!

The last even was floor, and she did awesome on that too. Her form is great, and it looks like she has a lot of fun on her floor routines.

She had quite the cheering section this time. Grandma & Grandpa Ham, Mel, Amarie, and Caitlyn all came to support her. Thanks for coming guys!

We're so proud of you Tessa! You work so hard, and it really pays off!!

Everyday Adventures

 Rockwell and Levi are doing track in Orem this Spring. He enjoyed his first meet. He chose to run to 100m, throw the javelin and the shot put, and do the running long jump. He's really enjoying that the coaches are having the kids learn how to do all the field events this year. In the past, it's just been running at the practices.

Damon and Sonny took golf lessons at their school. He thought that was pretty fun.

Tessa got to dog-sit Sadie last weekend. She was so happy to get to play with her again.

Damon, Tessa, and I went to Wyatt's break dance recital. He has such talent and is so fun to watch!

We went to Carrie & Levi's on Sunday to celebrate Mother's Day for Grandma Clark. The kids loved playing out in their yard while the adults played games inside. It was a really fun night.

The kids were really excited about Crazy Hair Day at school last week. I think they turned out great. I worked up a sweat trying to get them all done before school that morning, but it was worth it. Haha! 

Paul did such a great job on Rockwell's haircut the night before. Rock loves it!

Tessa was excited for her colorful octopus.

Damon was a little bummed that his teacher asked that the kids didn't use color in their hair because it gets all over things in the classroom. He had planned to have each ponytail be a different color. We'll have to do that next year.

Richmond had a sleepover Thursday night while his parents were away celebrating their anniversary. He and Damon had so much fun! Turns out Richmond loves mac & cheese like Tessa does.

They thought they were so funny with this bum picture! :)

We were finally able to get an appointment for Rockwell to do baptisms for the dead in the temple. 

Paul was able to baptize him, and they both said that it was a great experience. I'm glad that Paul was able to be there with him for his first time there.