All Of May

Wow am I behind.  Here is a summary of all of May (in no particular order).  I was on the road every week of May and I was only home to work in the office four days.  One of the places I traveled to was Northern California.  I have never seen the Redwoods in California, so after visiting a client I drove to Muir Woods to check them out.  I also needed a run so I changed into some running clothes.  While paying the registration fee to enter the park, I overheard the ranger tell another person about a really steep hike that climbed over 1,000 ft.  Most of the hikes appeared to be quite short, so I opted to run the Stinson Beach trail which was over five miles.  I planned to run there and back and get in a 10 mile run.  Well I found the 1,000 ft incline!  It was so hard to actually run, and was more of a brisk hike.  When I got on top of the mountain the scenery was unbelievable!  I could see part of the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, the ocean, Redwood forests, and off in the distance was Stinson Beach.  

The Redwoods were really cool.

I ran along the top of the mountain for a while, then ran down a steep trail to Stinson Beach.  It was a great run, but I was pretty gassed and worried about the return run.  When I got back on top of the mountain I could see two cruise ships headed out to sea.  It was so much fun to run so hard and be rewarded with such amazing vistas.

After checking my map, I opted to run another trail and finished inside Muir Woods.  That is where the big redwood trees are.  It was really an amazing run.

Alyssa had a fun teddy bear picnic at the end of her preschool year.  She and her class, along with parents, ate a picnic lunch at the park and then had fun playing games.

Logan took a field trip to the zoo.  Jill went along and watched a group of 4th graders.  They were excited to see the animals, but had to spend some time visiting science exhibits that taught about water, recycling, and conservation.

Southland Elementary was also at the zoo, so Hyrum and Logan got to see their good buddy Greg.

After the zoo, his class crossed the street to This is the Place Monument.  They have been learning about Utah history this year so this was a perfect end to the field trip.  They even sang a song or two about Utah history.

We haven't even had much time to show pictures of Landon's last soccer season.  He played again and had a great year.  Landon is such an athletic kid.  He has a lot of natural talent, and he works hard to be good at whatever he does.  He played soccer and flag football this spring.  Surprisingly, none of the games conflicted.  He was busy but really enjoyed playing.

Alyssa had an awesome dance recital.  She works hard to be a good dancer and follow what her teacher asks.  While some girls just stood on stage, Alyssa was on task and danced her heart out.   I recorded each of her dances and will keep them in my video file.  She danced to "Mickey Mouse's Birthday Party" (ballet), "On Account of I Love You" (tap), and "Cuddly Duck" (tap).  Here is a picture of her in her last dance number with all of the other classes.  She makes a very cute duck.

Oh yeah, the boys also played flag football this spring!  I've been horrible at keeping up the blog and have missed so much.  Here are some pictures of the boys playing flag football.

The flag football season was compact, they only played for a month.  They played two games each week, and had practices just before the games.  It was a little tricky to juggle the two schedules, but we were able to make it work.

Both boys played really well and had a good season.  Logan loved the chance to play multiple positions and thought it was a lot of fun to run the ball.  Flag football was good to get them excited about playing football again.  In August they will play big boy football (again for Logan, and the first time for Landon).

The Payson Temple had an open house before it was open for business.  We drove down to the temple on Saturday of Memorial Day weekend.  Sure enough the cops were out in full force.  Did I get a ticket in my Camaro driving 30 mph over?  No.  I got a ticket driving a minivan going 11 mph over.  What a joke.  Now I have to be extra careful driving my Camaro, because I can't get two tickets within a short amount of time. We went the last day of the open house, so it was crazy busy.  Luckily, though, the tour ran smoothly.  The lines were long but moved pretty quickly.  The temple was beautiful; we had a great time touring it, and then had lunch after.  It was a great opportunity to be in the temple with our children.

Landon's class also had an end of year field trip.  He went to the Natural History Museum at the University of Utah.  Jill also went with his class and watched over some of the kids.

On May 20, Alyssa graduated from Miss Karie's preschool.  The graduation was held in the indoor pavilion at the CR Hamilton Park.  She and her class participated in a program and even put on caps and gowns for a portion of it.  She looked so cute in her cap and gown.  They sang songs, recited poems, and even showed off their tumbling skills.  Alyssa and Calli recited the poem "Easter Bunny."  She had worked hard to memorize it beforehand and did a great job.  Her cartwheels were some of the best in the class too.

One by one, the children received their certificate from Miss Karie.  She was a great teacher.  Alyssa really enjoyed her.

I was traveling for work and had been unable to reschedule my trip, so I missed the graduation.  I was pretty disappointed, but Alyssa was understanding.  She was happy to have Jill in the audience and Grandma Bunkall.

Alyssa loved going to preschool with her friend, Calli Chandler.  They became even better friends over the year.  She also loved making new friends at school.  Alyssa has become quite social and always looked forward to preschool.  Now, she is ready and excited for kindergarten!

 Soon I will have loads of pictures for June, which was also jam packed with tons of fun.