May Tidbits

That one time I got the Wordle in two guesses!

Grandma Wuehler makes these books for the girls and they absolutely adore them!

I was preparing a Sunday School lesson on the Isrealites who created a golden calf and then danced around it naked. The word "naked" in the Bible can also mean "vulnerable" as in vulnerable to sin.
Me: How often do you see naked people in the Bible? *thinking of Adam and Eve*
Gita: *mournfully* Well there are no pictures in the Bible...

The name of the game in May was Open House at the schools. Liesel's teacher told me this essay got a lot of comments!

Their music room blows me away! We basically just sang although I think we had a unit with a recorder which was a lot of fun. They have keyboards! And drums! And ukuleles!

The dry ice bubbles were so cool!

Sydney proudly showing off her locker.

I love the Gita feels she is loud and creative, athletic and strong!

Speaking of that creativity, she made this 3-story treehouse which has an elevator running through the center. 

Brigitta's artwork also made it into the Dole Mansion exhibit. We happened to run into her art teacher while we were there!

Brent straight up fell asleep in the middle of scripture study. He works hard- crazy hard. For many reasons, this month-end has been particularly challenging for him.

He spends nothing on himself. He doesn't game. He doesn't golf. He doesn't buy expensive cars. He quietly writes checks for Girl's Camp and dance costumes. So I'll forgive him sneaking in a few winks during family scripture study.

Sydney: Not everything can be solved by washing your hands Mom.

Whitney ordered a trucker hat for Dakota and she looks so hilarious in it!

Saw this hairstyle on Pinterest and just had to try it!

Summer workbooks arrive in the mail. Just look at that furrowed brow! Sydney is a brilliant girl who fights against these every year. Let me tell you how this ends... you are finishing that workbook!

We really loved seeing Whitney and Tim when we went to Iowa City for his graduation. Grateful for loving extended family that are cheering my girls on!

In Gita's Primary class, they were given a phrase to draw. Gita's was "Jesus shows the way." I love this drawing and am keeping it. In case you can't read the pink sign, it says DANGER! The sun is wearing sunglasses to boot!

Liesel's Girl Scout troop donated boxes of cookies for Teacher Appreciation Week. Since she is the only one from her troop at her middle school, she and Brent set it up on their own. She was a VERY popular student that day!

I got my mile back! Since having Covid-19, my lung capacity has never really recovered. On this day I had the wind at my back the whole way and I just decided to go for it!

I was so excited to hit that milestone again!

The girls had to dress in specific colors for school. Luckily I have amassed bows in every color of the rainbow. They made the perfect finishing touch!

Liesel had her 8th grade dance. We tried shopping for an appropriate dress but were coming up dry. I decided to spend the money and do eShakti where you send in your measurements and they make the dress to your specifications. Liesel came out from that dance elated and I'm so glad she had such a good experience!

Isn't she lovely?

Our end-of-the-school-year teacher gifts were Crumbl cookies. The girls had a blast putting them together and you can't help but smile at those pretty pink boxes!

We ran into some old college friends at a stake activity. I was chatting with Steve who asked if I could believe college was so many years ago and I said, "Uhmmmm, yes. I absolutely can. A lot of stuff has happened since then." From then on, things got REAL and we talked about our aging parents, health issues, raising kids... tempus fugit! We had such a lovely evening hanging out with these two!

Made me laugh!

The great backpack cleanout! Honestly I think what takes the most time is the girls going through files of years past and reminding themselves of things they did when they were little.

End result. I'm really glad we do this- so many happy memories contained in these file folders!

Gita fell IN LOVE with her tap costume! She was so excited about the feathers.

Katrina blew through town as she helped my parents drive to Maryland for Reagan's graduation. I'm not sure how this began, but I love that it happened. Katrina has one girl and three boys so I'm guessing she doesn't get a lot of girly time. 

51 weeks a year Brent keeps our kitchen well-stocked with the best deals in town. But for just 1 week, at the beginning of every summer, the girls and I load up on whatever catches our fancy. Each girl is allowed 1 box of their favorite cereal so naturally they get the family size. It may be reckless and irresponsible (and it surely gives Brent an ulcer) but it's one of our favorite ways to welcome summer!

Happy Memorial Day! I'm a sucker for nautical colors...

Gita's impression of how Dakota walks.

Liesel's Middle School Graduation

Proud Mama Alert! Yes we were that family cheering crazy loud for our girl- I don't care if it embarrassed her a bit. Ever since elementary school Liesel's teachers have noted she's got the brains, it's just a matter of applying herself and the ADD is always a significant barrier. Throw in a pandemic where learning is online and that could have completely undone her academic career. Liesel didn't let it though- she forged right ahead.

 

Liesel graduated with 3 of 4 possible honors: High Honor Roll, National Junior Honors Society, and the Citizen award. Ahhhhh I'm so PROUD of her for all that!!!

Here she is standing in recognition of participating in Science Olympiad (also the blue-ribboned award around her neck).

My friend Annemarie caught this pic of her walking back to her seat after being recognized. Annemarie's son was also graduating and since he is the very last name, when he was called absolutely everyone cheered. It was hilarious and Andrew had the biggest smile on his face. 

We gave her some pretty pink roses and a gift card to Ulta.

Ms Wetzel was Liesel's Science teacher as well as Science Olympiad. 

Now it is on to High School where I know Liesel is going to just crush it!

Girls on the Run

We have been big fans of Girls on the Run for years. I particularly love their message of kindness and girls empowerment. We plan to have all the girls participate, but we knew it would really be in Gita's wheelhouse. She's also participated in her school's running program and been a top scorer for many years. Her legs are practically pure muscle- all that time at dance and on the trampoline maybe? Anyway, she was really excited for GOTR this year!

They choose their running buddy early on and she really wanted Brent to go with her. He threw out his back a few days before and it hadn't quite healed enough for him to pound the pavement so he was an enthusiastic supporter on the sidelines. He said Brigitta was phenomenal! He really wants to do it next year. We'll see if we can get him to wear a tutu like some of the other dads...

Gita was pretty spoiled with fantastic coaches who really made it fun. I was there for the practice run and they took such fun jumping shots. I can't stop laughing at Gita in these. You can tell she was having the time of her life!

 She has one more year of GOTR and I can't wait to sign her up again! This is such a great program.

Uncle Tim's Graduation

We are kinda sorta super proud of Tim as he graduates from medical school at the University of Iowa. So proud, in fact, that we couldn't help but bestow many lei's and gifts to show our love for him and admiration for all of his hard work. By the end of the night, he really stood out in the crowd:

I did the leis made of money and as it turns out- money is rather disgusting. My hands smelled like sweaty pockets and they were black from grime. The lei's themselves smelled too and I felt a little bad about that. The girls helped me with the leis made of candy, which was actually a lot of fun. Ages ago Reagan had pinned the Human Organ lunchbox on Pinterest and it seemed fitting for the occasion (and a convenient way to pack all those leis!). 

Tim had the good fortune to have one of the most beautiful nights for his graduation and we all dressed in black and gold. As we left the hotel, we were asked if we were headed to a wedding- haha! Quick sidenote, we stayed at the ONLY hotel we could find after realizing things would be a bit crowded  at my parent's house which was the Drury Inn & Suites which was very nice. Anyway, if we were going to the graduation, we were going to cheer for Tim. 

Dr. David Asprey put on Tim's hood and he commented on how he brought his cheering section with him. While getting through the names took a chunk of time, I have to say the program was incredible. One of the speakers talked about how much they had all been through, and some of the things they have not yet (like notifying family when a patient has passed). 

While I have heard of the Hippocratic Oath, that was another part of the program that gave me pause. Here it is:

Physician's Oath

I do solemnly swear by that which I hold most sacred that, as I enter the profession of medicine, my primary responsibility will always be toward my patients. I will regard my patients as fellow human beings and will do everything possible to preserve their dignity.

I will try to treat and prevent disease, maintain health, and aid my patients in realizing their life's potential so far as is possible with the skills of medical science.

I will seek to inform my patients fully about their illnesses, and I will always remember that the final decision regarding their own life rests with them.

I will never knowingly do a disservice, and I will do everything possible to preserve the privacy of my patients.

I will perform my professional role to the best of my ability, but I will never hesitate to call upon the assistance of other physicians or health professionals when indicated.

I will try always to cooperate with my fellow professionals and will seek actively to improve my profession and the service it delivers. I will remember that I am a participating member in a larger community; and, as a trusted servant of that community, I share responsibility for the planning of social policy toward constructive goals. 

I pledge to continue to educate myself throughout my career and continually to engage in a critical re-examination of myself as a rational, emotional, and spiritual human being.

Something about that first paragraph gets me all teary-eyed. I feel like the world would be a vastly different place if we all treated each other like fellow human beings and did everything we could to preserve each other's dignity. 

Speaking of teary-eyed, Whitney was rather weepy as she watched her husband celebrate his MD degree. 

Reagan wisely told her it's her degree too. 

 

It's definitely been a long row to ho for these guys and I'm so happy for them to celebrate a win.

Brent ushered the girls to the car so I could play cameraman for Tim and Whitney and his parents who were also there to support him. We stopped by Jimmy Jacks for ribs and then had dessert with everyone. Whitney played the most beautiful rendition of A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman on the violin as a surprise for Tim which was just lovely. I found it on YouTube:

We love you so much Dr. Tim! So grateful we could be there to celebrate you!!!