Lots of good things that happened in May

We had a happy visit with "our sisters," our missionaries from Quebec, long since home and now one of them is even engaged (thwarting our plans to marry her off to Abe, grrr)

Much hilarity over Clementine's drawings

(this picture is of the Sisters themselves, sharing the gospel of ice cream and flowers. They also have an elder as their third companion! Times are changing!)

Kids clustered round

Oh how we love these girls!!

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More random things:

Matching

A gnome painting the fence?

Ziggy said, "Put this in a chatbook. And write: 'Ziggy thinks this is a scone.'"

Another attempt at writing "Clementine" (she copied this from the label on her cup, and it looks as good as I could do if I were copying Japanese or something!)

"Take a picture of me. I look like Grandma!"

Making a model of a steam engine for school

Teddy's track team picture

Goldie getting a Math award from her young, bright-eyed, and eager math teacher, the aptly-named Connor Darling. We never refer to him by anything but his full name—and we refer to him often—to the point that the little kids will randomly say sometimes, "Is Connor Darling going to be there?" or "Is that Connor Darling's car?"

Daisy and Junie matching

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Ky's last speech (at least in this Debate League)

The little boys at a Primary service activity where they made banana splits for ward members

A fun Mother's Day activity with my boys

Clementine put all these matching headbands in and did her sisters' hair, and then wanted a picture, of course!

Bendigo wearing a suit

The little boys' interest in the guillotine has, unfortunately, been renewed by our school unit on the French Revolution and Regency period in England. (I let Daisy choose our last unit for the year and that is what she chose. We framed it as "French Revolution" for the little boys, and "Jane Austen's time" for the girls. Everyone was happy.) Gus drew this charming picture.

Speaking of charming pictures, this one depicts Dr. Duffy coming at Clementine with a staple gun (as you may recall she got staples in her head after a fall down the stairs last year, and apparently we can now re-live this experience through art).

Ziggy read The Indian in the Cupboard and thereafter had a short-lived wave of enthusiasm for dressing up as an American Indian. He came up with all kinds of costumes. This one involved weaving clothing out of grasses (and let me tell you that it was with great difficulty I talked him out of going naked under these accoutrements).

Gus was recruited for some of the Indian adventures as well.

We went with Malachi to the temple for his Endowment! It was a beautiful, happy day.

Seb taking the little boys to an Aviation Fair at the Salt Lake Airport. He flew in from Denver just for the occasion. So cute!!

This picture tells a story. I will let your imaginations fill in the details.

I looked in the car one day after piano lessons to find that Goldie had done this to it. "I was trying to beautify my environment," she explained.

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I got myself this necklace as Mother's Day present. Can you guess its meaning? (I had had one of these necklaces before, but it lacked a clementine, so I asked the lady on Etsy to make me an updated one!) I said to Sam, "I just hope the boys don't feel bad, not being represented." He said, "I can promise you with 100% confidence that none of the boys will notice or care even the tiniest bit about that." Ha!

Clementine's yellow dress for Mother's Day

Super good bread Sam made for Mother's Day dinner. He made Indian food (three kinds of curry!) and these amazing paratha. SUCH a good dinner!

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Brothers holding hands

Making cookies for the Ronald McDonald room at the hospital

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Goldie's birthday—she turned 13! And seems so much older! But I'm glad she's only 13 because it means a longer time till she has to leave me!

Daisy did Goldie's hair in a Birthday Crown

Goldie's birthday fell on one of our Field Trip days (the last of the semester, actually) so we got to do some fun things. We went to the library…

…and got ice cream at the BYU Creamery! ("This is a gnome," Clementine says.)

Goldie made her own birthday cake (at her request)

A happy day!

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Grinding the wheat (it's loud!)

A picture Zig drew for Clementine (with an attempt at saving this picture from the eventual fate of all pictures. I'm sorry to say that it almost definitely HAS been thrown oute by now)