Zoo

We have been trying to go to the zoo once a month before it gets to hot. 

One day we got to see a snake demonstration.

Drayton and Lenny (Dan'es class pet) came with us.

we went another time (again, with Drayton) and MAPS ARE BACK!  Maps was a causality of Covid and I wasn't sure if they were ever going to come back.  We were all SO THRILLED to have them back.   (and not just at the zoo - maps and menus were taken away from everything and replaced with QR codes that liked to apps.  It was so annoying.  But almost everywhere has maps and menus back.  Programs - both at church and performances havnt come back, but that is more becasue of budget or laziness)

Julia and Kinsey came with us.  Julia moved into our ward almost 2 years ago and we had never connected.  Since we ran into each other back in March and realized our girls are the same age and we are both stay at home moms we have gotten together 2 to 3 times a week.  It has been SOOOOOO great!

On another trip, again with Drayton (Before this post I would have told you I have taken Drayton to the zoo once) we saw the bear!

And the otters were putting on a show!

 

Performances

May brings all of the end of year performances.  With Brock not in orchestra and Maddie not in choir our schedule was a little lighter.  Unfortunately I didn't go to some of the performances so I didn't get pictures.

Megan sang in the choir for the spring musical - Beauty and the Beast.

They were supposed to dress up as peasants.  She was the only one that did - and I think she nailed it.

She then also had a choir performance.  We took Dane and Eve to this one because it wasn't so late.

Maddie also came but hung out with Avily in the balcony and got reprimanded by administrators the whole time.  But it obviously wasn't her fault.

She also went to a battle of the books competition that we did not attend.

Noah had his play , which I blogged about earlier, he also went to the Bobby G award ceremony where their musical won a few awards.  He also had a choir concert that Jason attended, so I didn't get any pictures.

I took this picture out of his phone, he is in his light booth.

 

Dane is an artist or engeneenr or something

Having multiple children in very interesting.  You get to see how different circumstances effect interest, access, abilities, and hobbies.  Then there is always the trump factor: how they came into this world and what they are supposed to do.  Dane is very similar to several of his brothers and sisters in different ways but he is also very different in some ways.  One big way has something to do with his "vision".  When he was very little I noticed that he seemed to have a map or gps in his brain.  He understood where he was in a grocery store or neighborhood and how to get to where he wanted to go, even if he had never been there before.  It was crazy.  And now he is doing really intricate, complicated Lego and art projects.  He has a vision of how he wants it to be and then also has the ABILITY to actually do it (a skill that I and some of my kids lack).  It is pretty cool.  There are good reasons that he may be more "advanced" than my other kids.  He is being raised in a more wealthy family with constant access to more supplies.  He has a lot of Legos AND access to lego instruction books (something I "put away" with my others)  he loves to just look through them and read them, but it turns out, he is learning from them.  And he also has more access to arts and crafts since we now have 2 kitchen tables.  Sometimes I wonder if my other kids would have been different had they had access to these things, or if Dane would be if the did't.  but i have lived enough to have gained a testimony of "these are their days".  Heavenly Father sent them to our family exactly when they were supposed to come, in our exact home, income, circumstances, and family placement that they needed to learn the things He needs them to learn.  I believe that if we are faithful not one thing will be denied.

Anyways, I didn't mean to wax philosophical.  Here are some of Dane's creations.  

He often has something he wants to share with everyone at dinner, when we are all together.