Senior Night

 I'm very happy that the initially scheduled senior night for Salem Women's Track was rescheduled from last Tuesday to this Tuesday.  Even though it was May 2, the weather was awful! Rain, wind, snow flurries, and uncomfortably low temps were expected. And the parents of the seniors were expected to stay at the meet until the end! 

Well,  someone got smart and actually canceled the whole meet! I was kind of surprised they flat-out canceled the whole meet that morning,  I mean,  those athletes are used to performing in all kinds of weather, but us parents weren't keen on the idea of being out in the cold for an extra amount of time!

We were also relieved that the whole meet was canceled because Victoria had been experiencing some really bad shin splints and extraordinarily tight calves. She had to take a little break from running the 400 and 200 and just focus on throwing disc for the previous two meets.

Of course, on Thursday,  she slashed her right hand on her spikes and had to get it wrapped,  so her throws at Saturday's invitational were not the 95+ feet she was hoping so she could earn her backpack and her name in the records book. Needless to say, she was very discouraged at the invitational on Saturday, not getting her new PR at a meet and not being able to run. She went into the Senior night meet on Tuesday still feeling discouraged because her hand was still wrapped. She was scheduled to run the 200, but for the JV because there are so many 200 runners. I felt discouraged for her. Why did they schedule her to run for JV on Senior Night?! 

As I was rushing to get to her meet to watch her throw, she called me to tell me that they had Varisty throw first for a change and that she had already thrown, and it wasn't good. She was bummed, I was bummed for her. I secured a spot on the bleachers to watch the runners for the rest of the time. The 200 is toward the end. Well, she nailed that 200 with a 29.11 PR in the first JV heat!

I was so happy she could get a little boost in confidence again.  Not long after,  the female senior parents were invited to come to the field. As we were waiting for the small "ceremony " of the side line poster of each senior to be unveiled, with flowers and cookies passed out and a picture of each girl with her parents, a small commotion was occurring. I watched as senior distance runner Jack strode over to Victoria with a huge smile on his face and a poster held high in his hands.  He was asking her to prom! (Now, Victoria knew it was going to happen at some point and kept telling me she was hearing things from her friends who knew when it was going to happen,  so I had been wondering the same thing. ) I instantly became a bubbling little school girl, gushing behind the "promposal ", but trying to keep my cool for my daughter's sake. I only took pictures from afar and from behind or to the side. Vicky's friends took the ones straight on and were so cute all rallying around them and supporting this exciting event. 

So, it turned out to be a pretty good meet after all! She came home with 3 posters, 2 bags of candy,  a Crumbl cookie,  and 2 bouquets of flowers! The next day, she learned she was named "Rock" of the meet for her race! (We're the Salem Rocks).  

There's another invitational this weekend and the cut on her hand has healed.  She's been throwing over 100 ft at practice,  so here's hoping she keeps it up!

The poster we put up.

"Promposal!"

See the play on words?

The poster made for her by her teammates. 

Seniors and coaches!

 

Salem Women's Track Team (one of the best in the state!)

5th Grade Field Trip

 The 5th graders in our district all get to go on a big 3-day field trip to one of the various outdoor educational adventure locations in the area. Austin missed his, due to it being the pandemic shutdown at the time, but he gets to go on the 8th-grade field trip to DC this week, plus a band field trip to Cleveland in 3 weeks, so I think that makes up for the miss. 

Erik's class hasn't gone on as many field trips as his siblings had, due to recovering from the pandemic times, and unfortunately, they didn't do the 3-day field trip, but at least they got to do an all-day one. I was able to chaperone and participate with him. It was a very long day and I've forgotten how different it is to work with a bunch of 5th graders, good and bad, but I really enjoyed being a part of this adventure with Erik and his classmates, teachers, and even his principal. It's only the second field trip they've had since second grade and one of the last hurrahs before the end of our elementary school years.

After the bus ride there, our group started out at the shelter-building station. They had to build a lean-to, cabin, or a teepee good enough for them to get in without it falling. They started with a teepee but decided a cabin would work best. They had a great time working together, even if there were snow flurries falling from the sky and some of us parents were pretty cold!

Erik, inside it after we covered it. 

Exploring the area!

We got to have lunch next. Erik and his buddies chose to eat outside, of course, but after I snapped a pic of them, I ate inside and watched them from the window so I could warm up! That's one of the perks of being with 5th graders. I couldn't have left my preschoolers outside without me there!

The sun came out for lunch, but it was still cold!!

We got to brave the cold some more while the group shot at the archery station. Erik kept shooting high but had pretty good form. I used to teach archery at "Wheel Chair" camp when I was a teen, but I must have forgotten everything I knew because I was awful this time!

The adults' turn to try!

The next station in the reptile house was a nice reprieve from the cold. The temperature was between 80 and 90 degrees and most everyone stripped off their coats, hats, and gloves, except for me. I kept all my stuff on for that hour so I could soak in the warmth! I felt like maybe I was cold-blooded too!

Aquatic turtle

Box turtle

Salamander

Albino Corn snake, just like Kai's.

Boa Constrictor

We were back outside after that, but it was at the fire-building station, so at least we had some heat nearby. They had to collect all the supplies to make a fire and then use flint and steel to start it. We got some small fires going, but it wasn't great. We were still allowed to roast marshmallows at the group fire at the end, so the kids were happy. 

I missed the pic of their little fire. I was trying to help them keep it going!

My friend took this of us eating our snack without me knowing, so I look pretty boring here!

Our last class was the mammal class. They learned about camouflage and the characteristics of some of the mammals whose fur and skulls were on display. They played a really fun camouflage tag game afterward and then we went to the petting farm to interact with all the furry animals there.

I got to help showcase the fur and was told to put it on my back like a cape!

Passing around another fur for them to touch.

The kids were kinda loud, so this llama wanted nothing to do with them!

Erik put his hat on this goat and I missed the good shot!

Feeding the horse.

Lazy pigs!

Dinner was in the cafeteria and was provided by the camp. This part was Erik's worry about the trip. Sure enough, the food wasn't anything he wanted to eat. It was fried chicken, seasoned fries (as opposed to fast food french fries), and corn. Plus, there was a little salad bar that made me very happy with the quinoa salad and fresh broccoli, cucumbers, and other good salad toppers. There was a pile of fresh fruit by the salad bar and a milk station that I thought Erik would enjoy. While he did grab an apple and tried the milk, he ended up just eating some of his leftover snacks from lunch. It was good for him to see how he could possibly manage when he's a little older and has to eat dinner away from home and without his family near. He'll be able to do it, even if he doesn't have extra snacks to eat. If he was hungry enough, he would have at least eaten the apple and had more milk. 

After a group photo and a little free play on the grass, it was time for the hour drive back. Since I drove there, Erik was able to come back with me, rather than going back on the bus. It allowed us to not have to go pick him up from the school, probably 15 minutes after I arrived home, since that's how far behind the bus was from me on the way there. I was glad we could get home and get warmed up! I really enjoyed spending this time with Erik and loved how happy he was to have me there.

The 3 fifth grade classes! Erik has one teacher, Austin had a different one, and Victoria had the other one! (Kai was at Gallimore for 5th grade).

Swim Season

 Austin completed his final swim season at Discovery Middle School. He improved so much this season! He had great self-motivation and drive that led to him getting noticeably stronger. I think part of it was getting the muscle back in his arm after his bad break. Another part was probably due to the fact that he's close friends with some of the best swimmers on the team. He moved up quickly to be just below those top swimmers and he hasn't been on a swim club like they have. He started waking up at 6:00 a.m. a couple of months ago and doing a strength training workout and then making himself an egg sandwich. I have been so impressed with his determination and self-regulation and it has paid off!

On his first meet, he shaved off 7 seconds from his 50 butterfly. He improved with each meet, looking better and stronger. In the final meet, yesterday, he shaved off 12 seconds from his 200 freestyle and came in first in his heat! For most of the meets throughout the season, he was coming in 3rd place for either his individual swims or the relays as well. It was pretty funny that I could count on that, though there were a couple of 4th places.  Discovery came in 3rd out of the 5 middle schools yesterday for the league meet. Another 3rd! 

Austin's thinking about swimming at the high school next year, along with joining the cross country and track teams. If he doesn't swim, then he'll definitely dive!

Here's his 200 where he came in 1st. 

Easter

 It's kind of weird to not have spring break connected with Easter like we used to, but we still were on our spring break high, so that's good. The kids don't have off on Good Friday,  but Jason and I do, so we finally got to work on our apple tree that was uprooted during the ice and heavy storms immediately following. We also cleaned part of the church since we couldn't go for our commitment the next morning due to the temple trip we had planned months before.  

The little piles of sticks we made look like big nests!

I wanted to have a time when all 4 of my kids could do baptisms together before life gets even busier and then Victoria goes off to BYU I. It was the perfect way to spend the morning before Easter. Jason baptized while I watched. I didn't need to do anything because of the youth group that was there. 

Our eyes aren't used to the sun!

Afterward,  we grabbed lunch from Chick-fil-A,  as promised.  Then Jason, Victoria, Austin, and I went to the church for choir practice.  With our travels and General Conference,  we weren't able to practice much together and since our ward is shrinking,  which also greatly affects the ward choir, they planned the practice around us.  I actually had to sing first soprano, which had some high F sharps in it, so you know they were desperate!

We managed to dye Easter eggs in the afternoon.

I love Kai's Spidey egg!

Sunday morning quickly came and we had to attend church early to warm up our voices. The service was amazing and we sang beautifully if I must say so myself. The best part was after our very vibrant and enthusiastic version of He is Risen, Victoria's good friend Max, who played the accompaniment, let out an audible burst of relief. He is an amazing pianist, but I think it was definitely challenging for him.

We had a relaxing time at home reading some scriptures and watching some videos about Easter. We did an Easter egg hunt in the yard and there were more places for eggs to hide with all the stick piles from our tree project. The best part about the hunt was that I hired an 8th grader who I met at the Spring Craft fair and who is in the orchestra with Austin, to crochet these adorable little stuffed gifts for my kids. Being Victoria's "last " Easter at home as a kid, I wanted to make it special. They loved their little "stuffies" and this girl has some incredible talent!

I suggested she make Korok (Child of the Forest), for Austin, though I needed help figuring out something from Zelda for this. I'm totally clueless about video games!

"Baby Yoda" or Grogo for Erik was easy enough to decide. 

Victoria is like a ray of sunshine and needed something for her apartment. 

A black cat for Kai was also easy for me to decide.

We got to eat dinner at a friend's house that evening. Jason was released from the Bishopric when a new Bishopric was called a couple of weeks ago. We ate at the new second counselor's home. They're the main family holding up our primary and they have a foreign exchange student from Switzerland who's super good friends with Victoria, so it was fun to eat and visit with them. We had ham, funeral potatoes, Swiss bread, and I brought raw carrots and cucumbers, along with roasted carrots and green beans. The dessert was a carrot cake. We gotta honor those bunnies with carrots!

I was so happy to be able to spend a memorable weekend with my family for Easter!

Happy Easter!