Happy 4th

Pardon the spotty updates. This one will cover a large swath of time.

We went through a somewhat stressful few months since both of us were working, Erika was nourishing a growing baby in her womb, and we received a nasty letter from our HOA about some trees being planted too close to the fence. We cleared up the HOA problem without having to move our trees, thank goodness. And Erika's teaching job ended several weeks ago. So I guess my excuses are running out.

In case I didn't elaborate earlier, Erika did a teaching stint at American Preparatory Academy this past school year. She had the privilege of teaching Thomas's reading class, among others. We really feel good about this school. Our children love it and it really challenges them.


Erika instructing her pupils

A nice gift from the students

Matthew has been a challenging child to parent because he is so curious. If he is the slightest bit tired his curiousity can have a bit of a rebellious edge to it. On the other hand, his curiousity has a strong intellectual facet, as well. His teachers take the extra care needed to harness that curiousity. We burst our buttons with pride when he received the "builder of the month" award at school (i.e., building his peers with a helpful attitude, etc.) He proudly wore his builder pin on his shirt for the next several weeks. Once a new kid stole it (the veterans at American Prep know better) and he was devastated until its safe recovery brought sweet relief.

Matthew Ward is Builder of the Month

Matthew doing some brain building

And, of course, Thomas is doing exceptionally well in school. He was a bit jealous to see Matthew getting so much attention for being a builder. We gently explained to him that part of the criteria for the award is showing improvement and that Thomas couldn't meet that criteria because he was already so close to perfect. That satisfied him. This summer he is working on his spelling skills so that he can test into an advanced spelling class. He has had a few moments of wavering and we told him he doesn't have to do it, but he inevitably strengthens his resolve and appears to be determined to make it into the advanced class. Part of his determination stems from the fact that a few of his friends are in the advanced class. Yet another reason we think this is a really great school for our kids.

A backyard camping trip we took a few months ago when it was still cold out

The boys jumping around (in their American Prep uniforms)

Thomas and friends playing with robots

Last month we took a trip to Lava Hot Springs, ID for a Ward family reunion. We asked some friends if we could borrow their RV. Our friends, the Hancocks, decided they wanted to go, too, so we all went together. Here are some photos from the trip.

Getting ready to travel in the RV

At the Hot Springs (close up)

At the Hot Springs (farther away)

We had most of our meals at the RV

At the family reunion

The kids squished together and watched a movie in the RV

The boys still talk about what fun it was to camp in an RV. After I pitched in for the gas bill, though, whatever dim light of hope there ever was of getting one blew a fuse and burned out. I'm not sure if that light was on the same circuit as the dim light of hope for getting a hot tub, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were.

Fortunately for our boys, our will for taking trips to amusement parks hasn't tripped any breakers. Erika took the boys to Lagoon on American Prep's discount day. Lucky for them the forecast predicted bad weather, but it was wrong. They had the whole park practically to themselves. And Matthew has now grown tall enough to ride just about everything at the park.

Several weeks ago I finally got around to fixing the roof on our treehouse (which isn't actually in a tree, but my gentle-reader will kindly indulge me). The brutal winds here had ripped the manufacturer's fabric roof to shreds. I bought some materials to make a nice sturdy roof and had some help from a neighbor when it came time to screw the beast on (it is quite heavy with all the shingles on). Thomas and Matthew love it, but Thomas has especially taken quite a liking to it. One day Erika found him sleeping in there.

Now that the boys are on vacation from school they are rediscovering some of their toys. The legos, in particular, are earning their keep on our toyshelves.

Thomas's recent lego creations (including an RV in tow)

Matthews lego race-car

On Friday I took the day off of work and joined the family for a morning devotional and breakfast at the church and later we had a bbq and fireworks at my mom's house. During the devotional a friend of mine snapped this photo during the presentation of the colors:

After the devotional we piled into the car and zipped down to Provo to ride a raft down the Provo river. Our guide let the boys do some navigating. I'll give more details, including photos, in our next update, which will hopefully be sooner rather than later. For now I've reached my blogging limit. Oh, one last item of interest: Thomas has been working on some primary songs on the piano. Today at church I started the primary singing time with a brief recital. Thomas played "Come Follow Me," which only a couple of children recognized. I'll definitely have to teach them that one.