How we spent Father's Day

We had a fun and busy Father's Day this year. We traveled to Driggs for a missionary homecoming. The drive was gorgeous, the rain poured down, the kids played and had fun, and the grown-ups did a lot of catching up. But, we forgot the camera, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

When we got home, everyone was exhausted! To get to the homecoming on time, we had to get up pretty early in the morning. So, we all napped. Well, everyone except Bria and Max who were busy concocting up a Father's day feast reminiscent of presents past. They are so cute!

After naps and gift giving, Dave (being the fun dad that he is) offered to play Boochie Ball with our kids. What is Boochie Ball you ask?

This is Boochie Ball:

Boochie Ball is a silly twist on the more traditional Bocce Ball. It is really fun to play and our kids ask all the time if we can play (during winter and summer). We don't play it very often, so they were thrilled when Dave offered to take them outside to play.

In a hopefully not too confusing explanation, this is how you play.

First, one player tossed the orange dice. You want to toss it far enough to make it a challenge to reach, but not so close that Logan fetches it and brings it back.

The dice has direction for how to determine the winner and how many points they get.

After the dice is thrown, each player tries to get as close as they can with both a ball

and a ring

But, here's the trick....depending on the number of points you have, you have to throw it with a twist (like over your head, laying down, with a sound effect, while screaming, etc.).

After playing for almost an hour, Max finally came out on top with 11 points!

And, we can't forget Logan who had his own ball and ring to play with.

Happy Fathers Day to the most amazing husband and father!!!

Mr Incognito

Logan found some disguise glasses around our house. He decided to wear them. And wear them. And wear them some more. He wore the glasses most of the day - two days in a row.   He's such a cutie!

Parlez-vous français?

The kids and I have been dabbling a little bit in learning French. I studies French almost all of high school and even have an Associates Degree in it. I am a very uncomfortable French speaker and am nowhere near being fluent, but I decided it would be fun to teach our kids a little bit of French. If nothing else, so that it can expand their horizons and open up the world to new cultures. It's so incredible the world of language learning resources that the internet opens up! They are EVERYWHERE for kids and adults. We found a downloadable French children's CD, and Bria and Max started picking up the words almost immediately. We decided that it would be fun to share some of the songs they learned at the Primary Talent Show.

Our brave Max went first. He is usually a pretty cautious kid, so I was surprised he just jumped right in. He couldn't remember the little introduction we told him and almost lost his way. But, eventually just dived right into the song.

Bria decided to tackle a pretty hard song. She literally listened to this song on repeat for weeks to memorize the words! She sang "La Toute Petite Araignée" or "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" (which, by the way, climbs up your NECK in the French version. I think I'll stick with the water spout).

And, we can't leave Logan out. He, of course, is too young to actually participate in the talent show. But, that didn't keep him from showing of his crazy dance moves on the sidelines.

Dave's Challenge

Dave is an amazing school counselor. Really. Amazing. From my viewpoint, it's been really fun to watch - someone finding their true life calling.

This is Dave's first *real* year as a school counselor, but he also worked as a counselor for a year and a half before this. Last school year, he started Rachel's Challenge at his school. This school year, he continued the program. All year, the school kids wrote acts of kindness on paper links and made huge chains in their classrooms. At the end of the year, they piled up the chains (all 6,880 of them).

Lined all the kids up for a parade.

And finished with a big bouncy house party

Oh....and the news came out!!! Here's a link to the article if you want to read it.