June Happenings

Time for our random tidbits of things that happened in June...  

Where we go kayaking, there are huge frogs all along the banks of the river.  You can hear them croak and ribbit like crazy as you paddle along.  One day Bryan & Miles went kayaking/fishing.  Well, Miles dropped in his hook and accidentally caught a big frog!  Oops!

When we went camping at Simpson Springs, Miles caught a lizard, brought him home, and named him Skunk.  Miles was pretty diligent about giving him bugs to eat and water, grass, and dirt for a habitat, but unfortunately Skunk just wasn't thriving here in Hooper.  We decided he wanted to return to the wild.  So here is Miles with one last picture of Skunk before letting him go.  (I sure hope our Sunny cat didn't find Skunk in our yard later that night, or else Skunk is a goner...we won't mention that part to Miles.)

Governor Herbert came up to Roy High School to celebrate and congratulate the administration & students on their high achievement at graduation.  Roy High had a really low rate of graduation just a few years ago, but with a generous donation from a local businessman and a matching grant from the legislature, Roy High devised a plan which brought their graduation rate up to about 97%.  Because our school, Freedom Elementary, is in the Roy High "cone," our Principal was invited and she asked me to come along to represent PTA.  It was pretty neat to see him speak.

Here's Governor Herbert with our amazing principal, Diane Rockwood (on the right) and our awesome all-day Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. O'Donnell, along with 2 students of the all-day kindergarten.  The all-day kindergarten was one of the uses of the grant money, to help some of the most at-risk kids get caught up before 1st grade.  

Here are Miles and Bree enjoying Bonzai Falls.  We had it set up at our Fathers Day party with the Terry side.  The kids always have fun with the waterslide!

I sat down with the kids at the beginning of summer and we made a list of all the fun things we wanted to do this summer.  They had great ideas!  Most things are pretty simple, like "get a snow cone" and "sleep in the backyard," but some take advance planning, like "camping/water-skiing" and "go to the drive-in."  We have had so much fun crossing things off our list!  One on the list was "see a professional baseball game" so we went to see the Ogden Raptors play.  (I know, not super "professional" or Major League by a long shot, but still really fun!)

The stars aligned and I was able to meet up with 3 terrific friends from high school.  One was in town from Texas, one was in town from Idaho, and one was in town from Arkansas!  I couldn't believe they were all going to be in Tooele on the same day, so of course I went down for a visit.  We didn't have a very long time to chat, but it was so nice to see them all, and even though we've been out of high school 21 (!) years and we all are busy raising families, we really are still so much the same.  It was wonderful to see them.  This is an old picture from a mission farewell of one of our guy friends, taken in 1996, and it's always been a favorite picture of mine.  Left to right is me, Liz Wait Rose, Angie Young Perry, and Lori Vernon Bulloch. .....

...unfortunately Liz wasn't able to join us (she lives in St. George), but our other close friend, Kelley Roberts Grandy, was the one in town from Arkansas and we decided to re-create the old photo with her in Liz's spot.

It was bittersweet to take pictures by the high school since the old high school was demolished and rebuilt in 2002.    I'd say we haven't aged a day!  

And, finally, this last picture just cracks me up!  I think I've mentioned before that Bree loves to draw pictures on her face.  She uses washable markers so I don't care.  She comes out of the bathroom as some animal or another and she always looks cute.  Well, the other day she came bee-bopping into my room, and I--seeing the whiskers--said, "Oh my!  What a cute kitty you are!"  She got very angry with me and said, "MOM!  I'm not a cat, I'm a dog!...See!" and then she lifted up her head and showed me her neck...

...if you can't read it, it says: DOG   NOT A CAT.  And the best part is, it is a reverse image because she wrote it while looking in the mirror!  Oh my heart, that girl is awesome!  I laughed and laughed.  What a smart girl!

Boondocks

This year instead of Lagoon, Bryan's work, ES3, reserved Boondocks for a fun company party.  The idea was that it would be more quaint and personal to have the whole place to ourselves instead of just passing by co-workers occasionally at crowded Lagoon.  At first we were bummed out because Lagoon is so much fun (and it's the only day we go all year), but Boondocks ended up being awesome!  Because there were so few of us, there were no lines to anything and the kids could do what they wanted over and over again quickly.

You can't really tell in this picture, but we all got pretty soaked on the bumper boats.  Bree was our water gunner.

We also did go-karts, batting cages, lots of arcade games, mini golf, and bowling.  We ran out of time for laser tag, even though we were the very last people to leave (we were on frame 8 of our bowling game when they closed, but they let us finish.)

Model T

Our brother-in-law Burke inherited a 1926 Model T from his dad, who worked on it with his dad before that.  It has been inoperable for a while now, but Burke got it running and took us for a ride on Tess's birthday.  It was really cool!

I had no idea how different it is to drive it!  Just starting it is a production.  You have to heat up some coils, then turn the crank on the front (Bryan did that part and discovered how difficult it is!)  There are 3 pedals on the floor, but none of them are the gas...that's on a lever you push, and shifting gears is complicated too. (Honestly, I don't remember it at all, and maybe what I've typed here is actually wrong, but suffice it to say--it's complicated!)  :)

It was so much fun to putter around the neighborhood and to hear the horn honk--  Ah-OOOOO-ga!

Thanks for the ride, Uncle Burke!

Happy 11th Birthday to Tess!

Tess had a fun-filled birthday this year, stretched over 3 days.  First we went to Tooele to visit Papa...

...then went to the drive-in with cousins.  So much fun!  We saw Finding Dory and Alice Through the Looking Glass. 

At midnight (between movies--that was convenient!)  I went over and snapped her picture since she had officially turned 11!  The camera flash was pretty bright but she's still smiling!

She had a sleepover with her cousin Adrienne and we all slept in.  Bryan made breakfast (chocolate chip pancakes) and then we gave Tess the choice of going to the air show at Hill AFB or going water-skiing at Hyrum.  She chose the air show so we headed up to base....but after sitting in traffic and not moving at all for more than 15 minutes, still several miles from the air show, we decided to bag it.

So we threw on our swimsuits and headed up to go boating!  I didn't get a picture of Tess in the tube, but here is Bree, Emma, and Adrienne.  (Cousins make the best friends!)

After skiing we dropped Adrienne off and got to ride in their 1926 Model T!  Really cool (more about that in my next post.)  Then we got home so late that we didn't even have birthday cake (and it was her actual birthday...whomp, whomp.)  But we did frost the cake and sing to her on Sunday.  She wanted to help decorate and she decided on a paisley and then just drew pretty designs inside it and all around the cake.  It's just fun to use different piping tips!

Tess's interview had very similar answers to last year's!  She hasn't changed much over the past year I guess.

Tess is 4’8” feet tall.

What is a happy memory you have from this year?  playing with my pets.

What is one word to describe you?    Creative.

Why do you like being a kid?  Because I don't have to go to work every day, and I can play with my friends.

What do you like to do for fun?  Roller-blade, origami, pretty much anything crafty.

What's your favorite thing to do with your friends?  Jump on the tramp and play a game.

What's your favorite thing to do with your family?  A pizza picnic, downstairs.

What's the nicest thing you did for someone?   Babysat for my mom.

What's your favorite song?  I'm Only Human, Stressed Out, Judge, and Ride.

What's your favorite color?  turquoise.

 What's your favorite movie?  Harry Potter.

What's your favorite book?  Michael Vey series, Fablehaven, Harry Potter, and the False Prince.

What's your favorite TV show?  A.N.T. Farm.

What's your favorite food?  French Dip Sandwiches.

What's your favorite dessert?  Cake.

Who's your best friend?  Mari.

What's a talent of yours?  Piano, tumbling, soccer, and volleyball

What do you want to be when you grow up?  An astronomer

What's the best thing about being 11?  I don't know.  I get to go in Young Women and Junior High next year.

Tess is a tremendous help to me around the house.  She is now old enough for us to leave her home alone, or even to babysit Miles and/or Bree.  It is a life-saver!  Her 5th grade year has, in my opinion, been her very best year.  Best at school, with friends, around the house, etc!  She is wonderful with our little pets, and Parker is her best buddy.  She takes him for walks more than anyone else and Parker really loves her.  And we sure love her too!  Happy birthday Tess!

Dry Bread Pond

We have found a new camping spot that's pretty good.  It is up in Monte Cristo, called Dry Bread Pond (funny name...)  Anyway, our neighbors, the Ashbys, joined us for an over-nighter this weekend.  They have a daughter Tess's age and a son Miles's age.  We had a really fun time!

This was our first camping trip with Parker.  He did great!  We just brought the kennel along for him to sleep in at night and he was such a good traveler.  (When we had our Millie dog years ago, we couldn't go anywhere without Millie getting car sick and barfing all over.  And then eating the barf and barfing again.  So dang gross!)  Parker just snuggles up with the kids on the couch of the motorhome while we drive.  He's a good dog.

Happy 5th Birthday to Bree!

Bree had a fun birthday this year!  When you turn 5 in the bamatamb household, you get a "friend party," and Bree was so excited for hers!  We planned a really fun water party for outside, with a waterslide and sprinklers under the trampoline and on the the playset....and then the stupid weather didn't cooperate and it poured rain instead.  I was super bummed out.  :(   But first look at this cute face, opening presents...

When the water party flopped, I had to quickly improvise and come up with ways to entertain a bunch of 5-ish year olds.  Luckily I feel pretty comfortable doing that!  We just played your basic party games, like "Button, Button,"  "Hot & Cold," and "Pin the Crown on the Princess."  (I quickly taped up one of Bree's gift bags, which of course had princesses on it!)  We played dress-up and then danced to "Just Dance" on the Wii.  Then we had pizza, watermelon, cake, and opened presents.  And finished up with a pinata.  Pretty fun!

Bree wanted a princess cake and I decided to go the easy route and just bought princess cake toppers.  I didn't want a cake-wreck on my hands!  (Check out the Cake Wrecks blog  if you're bored, it always cracks me up...)

Here's Bree’s birthday interview:

She is currently 38 lbs. and 3 feet, 6 inches tall

What is a happy memory you have?  My doll that I got when I was born, the one with the curly hair.

What is one word to describe you?  the best daughter ever!

Why do you like being a kid?  Cause I can fit through things, and stuff.

What do you like to do for fun?  Play with my mom.

What's your favorite thing to do with your friends?  Play "Back to the Future."

 

What's your favorite thing to do with your family?  Family Home Evening.

What's the nicest thing you did for someone?  Load the dishwasher for my mom and dad.  (Hmm, funny, because she's never done that!  She does empty the silverware though and it's super helpful.)

What's your favorite song?  Red Lips and Rosy Cheeks.

What's your favorite color?  Pink and purple.

What's your favorite movie?  Princesses movies.

What's your favorite book?  All of them!

What's your favorite TV show?  All of them!  Like which ones?  Ready, Jet, Go!

What's your favorite food?  Mac & Cheese.

What's your favorite dessert?  Brownies and ice cream.

Who's your best friend?  Aisley.

What's a talent of yours?  UPSTART.  (Her online preschool program.)

What do you want to be when you grow up?  Police Officer.

What's the best thing about being 5?  My birthday.

 

Oh, how we love our little Bree-toe! I get sad to see her growing and learning so much more because she's really not a baby or even a toddler anymore! Her cute little mispronunciations are getting less and less frequent and it kind of breaks my mama heart. But she is a joy. Almost always happy and makes friends with everyone she meets. She is reading quite well and she's so excited for Kindergarten this year! She has been my little sidekick at the school this year, so she already knows so many teachers there. She will do great. Happy birthday Bree!