Cole's Spring Swim Meet

April 12, 2014

Last fall Cole swam the 25 meter freestyle in 51 seconds. This spring he swam the 50 meter freestyle in 54 seconds! He basically swam twice as far in the same amount of time! He swam the 50 meter backstroke in 103 seconds. All better than I can do! He's in the neon yellow shorts.

Scheels II

February 17, 2014

 I love it when shopping doubles as entertainment!

Trace is a Star for a Week

April 4, 2014

 Trace has no problem being the center of attention. He loved fielding personal questions from his classmates and having a poster about him in the class for a week.

It was really nice that Grandma and Grandpa Hale were there to see his moment in the spotlight.

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.

Clint the Breadmaker

 Since Christmas we have bought bread from the store twice. Clint has made such delicious bread that store bought bread tastes down right nasty. This bread is as light and fluffy as Wonder Bread but it is whole wheat--wonderful for sandwiches or toast or just eating! This what our counter looks like after a day of bread baking.

He spent a lot of time on the internet researching sour dough bread. He ordered a start from a San Francisco company and nursed it to life. He has several sourdough recipes.

My favorite is his Dutch Oven version. It takes a day and a half and the dough is so low on flour that it has to be poured into a hot dutch oven like a thick batter. The result is a perfect crust with a moist interior. Yum! Have you been wondering why I've gained weight since Christmas? Now you know why.

He also makes perfect French bread which takes three or four days and is wonderful. Maybe I should have him rewrite the post so he can use all the real bread making words like "sponge" and "crumb" and I don't know what else!

We just found out yesterday that Talmage is allergic to wheat and dairy. We bought some gluten free bread from the store and it is pretty much hard and dry and tasteless. Clint has his next bread challenge.

Science Fair 2013

 Cole and his friends, Harrison and Ivy, did a project on the affect of energy drinks on heart rate.

Jack added his dramatic face to his class' experiments with simple machines.

Valentines Day 2014

Utah is all about competitive parenting when it comes to Valentines Day boxes. But I think Jack's pretty much ruled the school this year. This is the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) aircraft carrier. You can't get more Cresap appropriate than that. The cards dropped into the smoke stack. 

 Trace's was a Skylander Portal.

  Cole has a made-up Troll language: "Trollo-lo-lo-loh!" And he loves talking about Trolls. So this is what he wanted for his box.

I wrote poems for each of the boys and gave them a little candy and small toys on Valentines Day. Here are the poems.

Trace, Trace, Trace

What is it about that Trace?

He has us all by the heart

We love him so and that's his art

He never minds a hug

He ends his words with a shrug

He's as cute as a bug

Maybe that's why we love this lug.

Jack Pack, with the full hair

His frienship with all he does share

With energy galore

No one does he bore

On the piano he has rhythm and flare

His drawings are all worth a stare

On the court and in the pool

He is Mr. Cool

A very wise thinker
We think he's a keeper!

Coley Poley, Kolipoki

He's a real good boy

At obedience he is tops

Teaching him's a joy

Brains he has and plenty

But even more, what ups the score

Is this boy can work harder than 20

A great sense of humor

Keeps a smile on his face

We're so glad,

Our family he does grace.

Tal

Getting taller

Getting thicker

At Math and Writing getting quicker

His trademark smile lights the room

He likes games and movies that go boom

He loves his bros, for peace he strives

He'll be their leader all of their lives

Strong of faith and strong of heart

We're so glad of our family he is part

And for the actual romance. Clint and I had a nice date to Ichiban Sushi--the building the Della Fontana used to be in. It was such a nice setting for a quiet talk. We are looking forward to our 20th anniversary this fall! This man tells me I'm beautiful many times a day. He loves me unconditionally. He does my laundry and bakes me delicious bread. He always smells good and looks so very fine. I am blessed. We are looking forward to our next chapter. Whatever that is!?!!!?!!!

Trace plays Jr. Jazz Basketball