Spring Favorites

I'm trying to do a bit of catch-up on my blogging today because I have fallen way behind in the past several months.  So, I'm working on posting about the more major events, but I just have to slip in a few pictures and comments about other things we have done this spring and summer on rather more ordinary days!  Every day is precious with my little loves (and my bigger loves!), so I have to capture as many memories as I can!

Here goes:

I always feel a little sneaky and a little irreverent when I take pictures at church...I don't know why!  But here is a photo I snapped of Avery participating in a game in Primary Sharing Time one Sunday.  This boy always has great answers to all the questions in class!  I'm lucky to be his teacher this year. :)

Sundays mean no nap for this little cutie, so I occasionally enjoy the special treat of having him fall asleep in my arms after church.  Adorable face!  And those lips!  I can barely keep from kissing them...they are so bright and plump!

He's getting too big for this, so I'll take it when I can!

Goofing around in his underwear.  Ha!

 

Coco having a pretty party at the hair salon!

One day in school, Courtney made a model of a cell using playdough on a paper plate.  Avery was so inspired by this project that he decided to make a model of his own at lunchtime.  How do you like Avery's edible cell?  I see mangoes and kalamata olives and a whole wheat tortilla and rice and raisins and honey...and who knows what else?  And yes, he DID eat this for lunch!  Science is delicious!

Another Sunday nap on my shoulder.  I'm so grateful that I still get this precious privilege now and then.

Kids are so weird sometimes!  "Mommy!  I can't find my other eye!"  Haha!

And speaking of weird...here is Chase demonstrating one of the few great advantages of wearing braces.  Magnets will stick to your teeth!

Kissing my boy as he plays with my phone camera.  He looks too grown up in this picture!

And yes, I DID take a post-workout selfie while standing in front of a white wall!  In full make-up and earrings!  I was so proud of myself for getting in an afternoon workout that day and I couldn't help myself.  Usually, if I don't work out first thing in the morning, it just doesn't happen.  So proud! :)

The last lacrosse game of the season became family night in the Goodspeed Merrill suite at the Pepsi Center.  Why is it so much louder than basketball?

Daddy-daughter photo op!

Easter Candy!

Waving goodnight to Daddy via text photo one night when he was late coming home.  Cuties!

The first day that it felt like Spring.  We ditched the school books and spent the morning at the park!

Trey is so brave at the rock-climbing wall!  Or at least he's pretending to be brave.  He's not exactly sure!

Courtney hits the slide!

Swinging!

Enjoying a big push from his big bro!

Chase and Avery rode their bikes to the park and raced around while the littles played on the playground.

Such a perfect day for the park.  It would have been a crime NOT to go!

"You know, I'm just going to block you out now because I've gotta concentrate.  Does the air seem a little thin to you up here?"

Showing off the gifts they bought for themselves with Nana's birthday money!

It might be a sign that he's outgrowing the sandbox when his legs reach almost to the other side!

Date night with my Honey!  We were getting very serious at the Air Hockey table.  Fun!

Oh, this kid!  The galloping horsey at Walmart isn't working and he looks so disappointed.  I know, however, that if that thing had started rocking back and forth when he was on it that he would have jumped off as fast as he could!  Haha!

"Mom, I just gotta ride my horse." No wonder some days at school are not so productive.

Another productive day at the Merrill homeschool!

Fathers and Sons weekend!  I took my littles to Panera Bread for dinner while the bigger guys were camping in the rain.  

This will probably be the last year that we keep this little guy home with us during the Fathers and Sons campout.  Next year, they're going to have to make room in the tent for a new little partner!

Cuties!

This picture was taken to show my lilac bush in bloom.  But, I had to put this cute little ornament in the foreground to make it a more excellent photo!

Ready for bed and looking a little soggy!

Funny face!

Reading Mom's Kindle in bed.

Our scoreboard for the final word auction for our Latin and Greek vocabulary words of the school year.  Overachievers!

One Sunday I was teaching the 11-year-old Primary children about Moses.  I asked them to define a "plague."  One boy said that it was a serious illness.  A cute little girl said that it was when water turns to blood (ha!).  Then Avery spoke up and explained, "It's true that most people think of a plague as a dangerous bacterial infection, but in this case the word refers to a widespread catastrophic event."  All the other children stared.  And blinked.  I laughed out loud!  Now, that was a crystal clear definition totally appropriate for the audience, was it not?

Top picture: posed.  Bottom picture: reality.  This was the last week of school.  It was time for a break!

Just a cute picture of a cute boy.  Notice the finger photo bomb (Coco?) on the right of the picture!

This was Coco after she auditioned for the Young Artists' Summer Chorale.  She made it!  And has been rehearsing for weeks.  We can't wait for the first performance!

It's so good to be loved!  But, kind of bad for my hairdo. :)

My Mother's Day gift!  Oh, I have wanted one of these for years!  And finally Costco had them at the right price, so Nate surprised and delighted me with a Blendtec.  Hooray!

And, of course, the kids are THRILLED that I can more easily fuel their little bodies with delicious drinks densely packed with nutrients!

Or...maybe they're a little skeptical about it.  Come on!  Who doesn't love an orange-carrot-pineapple-cinnamon smoothie?

And, in no time at all I had it up to 100 uses.  I love this thing and use it multiple times a day!