RCM Success

Calista has been working for several months now, preparing for her first ever Royal Conservatory of Music exam. 

When we first talked about signing her up for the exam, I told Calista I didn't want to fight or nag her. She had to be willing to practice and prepare on her own, with only gentle reminders from me, otherwise we shouldn't do it.

Well, this girl followed through. She practiced in the morning, before school. When she got home. After dinner. Before bed. 

Anytime she had a few moments to spare, she'd sit down and play a song or two.

And it paid off! Her songs and scales were ready to go! Time for the exam.

She was nervous but found it was actually kind of easy because she felt prepared. I love this girl and am so proud of her work the last few months!

And, I suppose I'll add this: we got her exam results, and she passed! In fact, she earned First Class Honours. Way to go, Calista!

School's out!

It is finalllllllly the last day of school! We have finished Grade 7, 5, and 2.

The kiddos with their awards! The boys (coincidentally) each earned the Truth award for embodying the principle. Calista earned Honours with Distinction and the Grade 7 Music Award. So I'm bragging a little bit.

Calista wants to be a an author or a marine biologist when she grows up. She said the best part of grade 7 was lunch and her best friends are Vanessa, Karen, and Olesia.

Her favorite class was band and she doesn't really have any regrets for grade 7 because it was a good year.

Next year, she's excited for seeing her friends again in grade 8.

If she could be any animal, she'd become a cheetah and she's looking forward to seeing her cousins this summer at the beach!

Craig wants to be a chemist when he grows up so it makes sense that the best part of grade 5 was the chemistry unit in science. It wasn't perfect, however: "We had only one little lesson about the periodic table, though it makes up all of chemistry..."

Craig's best friends are Maddy, Mateus, and Steffan and his favorite subject was science! Don't tell him otherwise.

He has no regrets for grade 5 but is not excited for the PATs in grade 6.

If he could be any animal, Craig would stay a person, probably because he's looking forward to playing lots of video games and going to the Ape Caves this summer.

Caleb wants to be a paleontologist when he grows up and the best part of grade 2 was the obstacle course on fun day with the French Fries of Doom.

His best friends are Oliver and Jackson and his favorite subject was science.

Caleb also has no regrets for grade 2 and is excited for a nice teacher in grade 3 ("because I had a really nice and kind teacher this year!")

If he could become an animal, he'd be a friendly T Rex that only attacks bad guys.

Caleb is looking forward to spelunking in a cave this summer.

Bring on summer!

Spring Break: The Good and the Bad

Happy spring break! Our spring break started out really nice and relaxing. The kids and I made a deal that they could have screen time/video games before breakfast and after dinner, but during the day we were screen-free. That way, I have to actually be an engaged mom and not just lazy, we spend time together, and they (Craig especially) gets to do his favorite things and not feel punished.

Of course, this policy does mean the boys will wake up at 6 AM to play video games

and then be tired and want a nap later on.

All of this time without screens definitely means a trip to the library.

Although, yes, they have screens at the library.

And yes, I let them use the screens, even during our "screen-free" time.

They still get lots of books and read, too!

We had a day or two of beautiful weather, so we got outside a bit.

It is such a beautiful day, let's go to the zoo! Happy spring break.

Taking a photo in the whale bones is a tradition,

although, as always, getting pictures of all three of them looking and smiling can be difficult...

The animals were fun to watch and some of them put on a display for us.

Hello, lemur!

These peacocks were trying to outdo each other, I think?

I'm not sure who won, but it was probably all of us watching.

Are the boys who the meerkat is on the lookout against?

Or is it just mutual appreciation?

R2Mouse2 made an appearance again.

Beep, beep, boop!

One of the nice things I didn't realize would happen as my kids get older is that sometimes they volunteer to take pictures of me!

I don't often get pictures of me on these excursions, so it's a nice change of pace.

Seriously, what a beautiful zoo day!

Of course, not every day during Spring Break was absolutely gorgeous. We are in Edmonton, after all. So, we plan ahead. We do things inside... that still almost feel like outside.

Traveller's palm with the kiddos. The sign says it was 6 feet tall when they planted it there in 2016.

We love hanging out at the Muttart Conservatory. It smells so good and feels so nice!

Plus they had silly toys to play with in one room!

Kyler and I left the kids at home for this one:

a trip to the theatre! We saw Sound of Music, which would have been totally child appropriate (and we knew it would be) but we wanted a date night. It was fun!

We headed to the temple grounds as a whole family, part of our Easter prep.

We like to go to the temple and think about Christ and His Atonement.

Also be a little silly and have fun.

There is a playground across the street from the temple, so we checked that out, too.

It might be a little cold, but it was fun!

We also had fun at home.

The kiddos asked me a couple of weeks ago, after watching me make cookies (again) that I promptly packed into a container to give to someone else (again) if I could maybe make cookies that THEY actually get to eat.

Poor neglected kids got their wish.

Calista describing her creation:

"So, he has four feet: one of them is grey, one white, one a light pink, and the last one a milky blue and white with a tiny bit of yellow in it. It's tail is green, like a light green, the only thing that's normal about this crocodile. The abdomen is a light brown. The top of its body is a tan almost color and the body of its mouth is a light grey. The bottom of its body is blue. And then it has six teeth: one is purple, one is green, one is yellow, one is a flower, one is pink, and one is a clear yellow. It has one eye, the base is blue and the eyeball is grey, so it is probably blind in general. He has four spikes: one is dark grey, one is white, one is completely grey, and one is dark grey. So, it's not a happy crocodile, to be honest. He's had a tough life." 

We played games as a family, like Mille Bournes.

I spent over half the game stuck at a red light. Ugh, where's a good Right of Way when you need one?!?

I also made pizza (with a helper).

He helped make the dough and the sauce, and then helped me assemble it all together. With Tigre's help sometimes, too.

And, in between all of the screen-free time, there were the video games.

The boys called me down and I took their picture. When they started laughing hysterically, I realized something was up: Calista is underneath the yoga mat (underneath Craig). Silly children.

The end of Spring Break, we had Easter and I became broken, so not too many Easter photos. Sorry!

Always a good sign when you're doing laundry at 2 AM.   

Easter Monday was the worst I've ever had. Starting the night before, I have threw up at least 8 times, maybe closer to 10+. Of course, I wasn't alone. Craig joined me almost immediately and Calista at around 1 AM. Not exactly the way I want to share with my children. 

As I was laying in my bed between the laundry and floor scrubbing and waiting for my next trip to the toilet, I remembered a scripture I'd read prior to Easter: "And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death;"

It isn't only sin and death Christ suffered for us, but all of these nights that are the worst ever. He is my strength and my light.

And, although Spring Break ended on a sour note, I am still grateful for the fun we had and for our resilience. We survived and the Atonement became a little more real for a few days.

Happy Spring Break.