Suzuki Piano Recital

Last week Brendan performed his Suzuki Book 1 Piano Recital for family and friends. It was a special evening as we gathered to hear Brendan's growing musical talent! After the performance, we enjoyed refreshments together. Great job Brendan! You are growing up so quickly.

With his teacher Irene Thomas:

Baptism Day

Last weekend, Michael's mother, sister, and niece joined us for Brendan's baptism. What a special, uplifting time it was! Brendan was just thrilled to finally be growing up and to reach this goal in his life. He has worked hard at daily scripture study and prayer recently and seems to be maturing so quickly.

We love you Brendan! Congratulations on achieving this milestone.

Birthday Celebration

Cinco de Mayo marked Brendan's eighth birthday! We celebrated with a family party and scavenger hunt. A special friend inspired the idea of a lego block cake so we made our attempt and hid the blemishes with a dusting of M&Ms.

Eight years has really flown by... Brendan has brought such joy and compassion into our family. He is so very bright and is a great conversationalist, always making connections and insights in daily life. He protects his younger siblings with tender care. Just last week a teacher at Brendan's school pulled me aside and commented that she had never seen a boy give so much love to a younger sibling. Every day she sees Brendan walk Audrey to her kindergarten classroom, hug her goodbye, and make sure she's safely in the room before heading to his class. I had no idea! What a true sweetheart.

Happy Birthday Big B!

Musical Production

On Friday we attended a musical production of Suessical Jr., performed by the second graders at Brendan's school. The performance was well planned and enjoyable, with exciting musical renditions of famous Dr. Suess books such as...

Brendan made a homemade fishing pole prop for the performance out of sticks and twine to use while he sang about fishing in McElligot's pool. Here are some shots of the show (Brendan is in front with the red t-shirt). Great job Big B!

Reading Together

Brendan is such an adoring big brother and often reads to his younger siblings. A few nights ago, right before bedtime, Brendan chose a long picture book and began to read aloud to Madeline. When Audrey overheard the reading, she joined in and all three sat together, mesmerized by the story. Brendan is such a great reader - he creates distinct voices for each character, uses clear enunciation, dramatic pauses, and inflection!

What a joy to see my little ones enjoying time together this way.

Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

A typical afternoon for these two busybodies:

I'm realizing more and more just how short these "adorable" years, as I call them, last. What a good reminder for me to just be a little silly sometimes!

Windy Day Picnic

We recently enjoyed a family picnic on a particularly windy afternoon. We devoured turkey wraps with fruit and then played in the tall grass together. We are soaking in as much of the perfect weather as possible before extreme heat sets in.

Caleb loved the feel of the tickly grass on his hands. He revealed many new and exciting expressions that day. Such a fun, relaxing outing together!