Talmage the Teen!

April 3, 2014

Talmage became a teenager! Fully equipped with the required interest in girls, a massive growth spurt, laser arm pits and is that a faint mustache we see?

At his breakfast birthday celebration he got a Nook and a variety of fake mustaches.

 To celebrate we took a couple of carloads of boys to all-you-can eat sushi. For 13-year-old boys, that's a lot!

 Afterwards, Clint took them to the church gym to shoot hoops. The boys loved it!

Grandma and Grandpa Hale joined us for the cutting of the cake. Grandma and Grandpa were serving at the Family History museums on Friday and Saturdays. We enjoyed sharing special events with them!

Cole's Great Americans Program

April 3, 2014

Every year the 5th Grade puts on a Great Americans Program. Cole was chosen to play the part of General Robert E. Lee. He studied up on General Lee's life to prepare for the performance. He had some really long lines and had no problem memorizing them, but performing them was another matter. During practices his delivery was really fast and flat and we were a bit worried. I told him that we normal humans can't hear as fast as he thinks. But come the performance he delivered the lines perfectly with great expression and not a bit too fast. He even got some chuckles. He also worked really hard on getting me to make him a good costume. I ordered the basic uniform and hat from Amazon and made a better quality sash to go with it. I made the beard from a white mohawk wig and added a white stick-on mustache. He looked purty durn handsome.

 Here is Cole between Abraham Lincoln and General Ullysses Grant, AKA Cole's buddy Ethan.

The beard doesn't look the same on Maddy.

 With friends Ethan and Gavin

With Grandma and Grandpa Hale. What a handsome boy that Cole is!

3rd Grade Opera

March 20, 2014

Every year the Third Grade creates an opera, wherein the story is written by the kids and the lyrics are set to music by local composer Masa Fukada. This year the theme was Diversity. Ms. Lofgren's class told a story about the a villian who imprisons anyone for being different. Jack played the role of Bob who was the first convict thrown in jail. They even sang a song about him: "Poor poor Bob. What's going on with Bob?" Eventually they figured out the villain had been bullied as a child and they helped to bring him around to being more tolerant. Jack only had a couple of lines, but he made the most of his presence on stage, rattling the bars and celebrating when new inmates were added to his cell. He always gets a lot of laughs and attention when he is one stage. Grandma Ruth Hale would be proud.

Weenie Roasts at Papa and Grammies

 This was in March. I am so behind!! Cap and Pam have been building a dream home in Cedar Fort (adjacent to Eagle Mountain) since early this year. They drive up once a month, sleep at our house and drive down and oversee construction during the day. Papa assembles the local grandkids for weenie roasts over a scrap pile bon fire every couple of months. The cousins had a blast running through the vacant lots behind their home, but by summer the lots were all developed into smaller houses. It a beautiful location, above the inversion in Utah County, backed up against Camp Williams and with a view of Timpanogoes to the east and the Oquirr Mountains to the west. We really love it there.

Will and Co.

It's a blurry picture, but a good friend like Will has to be remembered. He's the one in the green mask and he's been Trace's best friend since Miss Wendy's preschool. They're building a house in another neighborhood, but it's taking a long time. It's a tossup who'll move first. Jack loves playing with this guy as much as Trace.