The Renaissance Man Turns Eleven

Look who is 11!  I feel like I should be shocked that he is getting so old so fast.  But truthfully, the shocking thing is that as of last week he was still only 10!  Seriously, he seems so much older than that. 
This kid sort of has it going on-- he's a dancer, a pianist, an actor, a friend, a brother, a scholar, a leader, a performer, a coder, a gamer, a drawer of comics.  He is a freaking pre-teen Renaissance Man!

He is often the only boy in his ballet classes-- I've asked him if that bothers him.  His response? 
"No-- why would it?"

Here are a few pictures from his recent parent observation nights at Ballet West Academy.

This picture is from a recent Newsies rehearsal.  That is going to be fun.

He has a great group of friends who he loves to hang out with whenever he can.

While generally speaking, he is not a lover of animals, he has a soft spot for our cat and her offspring. 

He is a great example to his younger brothers and a master teaser of his older sisters:)

And every so often, he reminds me so much of Clark, I can hardly believe it.

Happy, eleventh birthday, Can-Man!  We love you!

Memorial Day 2019

This was a wonderful Memorial Day for our family.  We arrived a few minutes early to Wasatch Lawns where we meet up with my family and a few from the Clark family.  Standing at the grave of my mom and daughter is always so tender, and sweet, and sad.  Tears are shed for those who we don't have here on earth anymore.  Gratitude is felt for the family we do get to hold.  Faith in what we hope we will experience after this life. 

This moment with all my Foxy Ladies-- Tessa and my mom (an honorary Foxy Lady)

Tessa was born in between Elinor and Faith.

 We planned for Clark to make his weekly phone call home while at the cemetery so he could be with us.  For as boring as you might think cemetery visits for half a day would be, our children seem to appreciate the tradition and even look forward to it.

He was on the phone during this picture yelling, "Queso!"

Greta on a video chat saying "hi" to Clark and singing him a song.

Grandpa showing the kids how this is done.

Aunt Diane sharing a story at my Clark grandparent graves.

My dad and Abe are both growing some scruff.  Dad is doing it for a role in which he will be portraying William Tyndale and Abe is growing it... uh... because he can, I guess.  I was not consulted:)

The Jolley Foxes.

Grandpa and a most of the Cannon grand kids.

Family history stories-- as the girls pointed out, "They are the same stories every year... but we like them."  So they love to hate them?  Or do they hate to love them?  Either way, they are good sports.

We all went out to eat together after the first two cemetery visits.  This was the cousin selfie... which was made even better when...

... Brother Berrett photo bombed!  He is am awesome gentlemen who lives in our neighborhood and we love him and he has the best sense of humor!  He and his family happened to be at the same restaurant at the same time.

You know you are at a classy joint when you can get all the cotton candy you can eat!-- along with all you can (but shouldn't) eat of everything else as well.

Faith was brave and tried sushi for the first time.  She must be Abe's child.

After lunch the diehards went up to Memory Grove to visit the markers for the Utah soldiers who died in WWII, but whose bodies were never recovered.  In this picture the children are spellbound listening to Grandpa tell the story of his Uncle Hugh  (his dad's older brother) was killed in a heroic battle off Samar. 
I LOVE THIS PICTURE.  This is what Memorial Day is all about.

And I love this picture of Dad and Bev. 

And I love the people in this picture and I love Memorial Day.  The end.

Actually, it's not the end, because there was more Memorial Day fun to come.

One of the best things about having a crew of little boys, is having their little friends come over to play.  Boys are pretty great in that they are easy to take care off-- send them outside and let them run and play.  Feed them when they want food.  No drama-- they say exactly what they are thinking and if you are faster, you win!  The end.  No, for real.  That is the end.  If they don't like what they are playing, they go home.  No hurt feelings.  It's a beautiful, thing. 

Jake and Cannon.  We did our annual Memorial Day cookout with the Butterfield family that evening.  We usually go to a park, but weather was threatening rain, so we did it at our house.  Which I preferred because it makes looking after Greta so much easier. 

Faith and Kate.

Ryan made friends with Greta by reading her a story.  Greta has had some minor potty training setbacks.  I believe we shall overcome.  But we'd appreciate any positive potty vibes you can send our way:)

Bethany Graduates

Do you know the feeling when you are running around like crazy, trying to stay on top of everything?  When you don't even have time to think about what you want to do, rather it's just going from what has to be done to what else has to be done. 
Well, I am happy to report, that we are not there right now.  If I am being honest we live in that space for much of the year, so I am taking this moment to enjoy a bit of calm.  Well, relative calm.  Calm for us, anyway.

Bethany requested a night out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse with Abe and me to celebrate her graduation.  And by graduation we mean the end of her senior year of home school.  Hey, its a graduation of sorts!  We had wonderful conversation, looking back over her childhood and talking about what the future may hold at BYU Idaho.

 It's interesting for us to hear the perspective of the graduating senior on what they liked or appreciated about their childhood/homeschooling experience and what they think we ought to change and do differently with the younger kids.  The consensus between Clark and Beth is that we did well, but our strictness was a little much at times.  Even so, we better darn well be at least that strict with the younger kids!

We had a very simple, but very satisfying graduation BBQ for Rachel and Bethany.  Our two families are long time homeschoolers all the way through high school and Rachel's mom was a major homeschooling mentor for me.  Bethany's main childhood motivation to get her school work done was to be able to go play with Rachel and Kara when she finished.  It's been so wonderful to see them maintain their friendship over the years. 

Aren't they darling?

Games are always in order at a gathering of our families.

Here is a blast from the past.  Bethany, Rachel, Taryn, and  Mikayla at their New Beginnings when they were almost 12.

Here are three of those four little ladies all grown up, gorgeous inside and out, graduating, and ready for the next stage of life.  Pretty amazing how that happens.

School Year Wrap 2019

We are quite near to the end of the school year.  Overall, I feel pleased with the results-- relationships are intact, there's been a lot of reading (together and separately) a lot of math, a fair amount of science, an enjoyable amount of history, spelling books are completed, custom planners are filled up and tattered and torn and Bethany is all set with a scholarship to BYU Idaho.  Come Monday morning we will finish reading through the Book of Mormon again.  That's a wrap on the school year!

Peter recently began "Reading Eggs"-- an online reading and math program that George really liked when he was younger.  Peter is so excited to be doing his school.  He is approaching it with all the delightful intensity this boy loves or hates anything.  From the moment he wakes up until he goes to bed he is asking to do it.  A+ for enthusiasm!

Here's a little zoom in of my littles-- I am grateful that they tend to get along together so well.  They are so much like Clark and Bethany were as little people, except they rarely butt heads.

George finished up his My Tech High Electricity class.

I love this picture of this kids this week.  Faith and Cannon are immersed in a pile of Legos building a Lego motel.  George is reading library books to Peter and Greta.  Our cat (did I mention she had more kittens) is laying with her kitties.  The kids are loving being home and being together.  And that, my friends, is the number one reason (of many) that I like homeschooling.

A couple weeks back, on a particularly lovely spring day, we finished reading aloud Around the World in Eighty Days outside under a shade tent.  It's a book I read with the older kids when they were younger.  I think we all enjoyed it and it always feels like an accomplishment to get through a "grown up" book with the kids.  It's harder, but more satisfying.  This week we read The Tale of Despereaux, which is one of my favorites to read-aloud.

Contrary to Peter's facial expression, we really did have a very enjoyable time at the Butterfly Biosphere at Thanksgiving Point.  And get this---- No stroller and NO DIAPERS!!!  We are getting very close to having a potty trained Greta.

Peter was mesmerized by the butterflies.  It was pretty sweet.

This outing was just the three youngest because Cannon and Faith were at another location at Thanksgiving Point finishing up their Maker Space class they took and LOVED this year.

And as if one outing wasn't enough-- we also hit up the zoo this week.  This time Elinor and Faith and Cannon were with me and that made my job a lot easier.  It was way too cold for the end of May, but it wasn't crowded and we had a great time.  The pose of Faith and Cannon in this picture-- sheesh!

I pretty much force the kids into the nest for a picture each time we go.  Whatever... they like it.

Waiting for the sea lions swim by.

Such a treat to ride the carousel at the zoo.  George is happy wherever he goes and whatever he is doing. 

For being one of the Brothers' Fox, Cannon does not enjoy interacting with the animal kingdom.  The petting zoo is of particular offense to him.  Why?  I don't know.

Peter, on the other hand, was very happy to be out and about and walked the whole way.

Faith was Greta's helper.

Now that this school year is done, it's time to start thinking about next year-- what we want to focus on, what we want to do better, what we can live without and what is most important.