The end of the school year seems to bring a ton of events and fun goings on.
Seth finished up his preschool year with a few fun field trips. He went to the local nursery and planted his own flower, and he also went to the Bean Museum. We had a live animal show at the museum, and we had a lot of fun seeing a lizard, tortoise, and snake. Seth loved his little neighborhood preschool and is excited to attend preschool again next year.
Mark and Dax were busy at their school and they ended with a dance festival. Dax danced to "Do-Re-Mi" from "The Sounds of Music." I won't include the video, but it was clear that Dax knew the dance the very best. Half of the kids stood and sort of waved their arms around, but Dax had the steps down very well. Mark danced to "I Like to Move it" from Madagascar. He looked like he was having a ton of fun with his classmates while he danced on the field. Seth and I had front row seats and we had a lot of fun watching Mark and Dax shake it!
Dax walking across the field!
Dax spotted me right away!
Dax did a great job!
Mark's all ready to move it!
Mark and his friend were having lots of fun.
Like a LOT of fun....
The following week at school, Mark and Dax had field day. Mom helped organized field day and so Seth and Dax tagged along while she kept all the parent volunteers in line. In the afternoon, Dax was able to join Mark's class in the bubble balls and he had a ton of fun. Dax was also a great helper--even when it started pouring rain and he helped run the supplies inside.
They had a lot of fun slamming into each other.
They love these bubble balls!
Dax could barely lift his off the ground, but he had a blast!
The final big event of the school year was Mark and Dax's piano recital. They were able to play some really fun songs. Mark played two Queen songs (We will Rock You and We are the Champions) and Dax played two Beatles songs (Can't Buy Me Love and Let it Be). They both worked really hard and played so well. I am so proud of them. Mark also earned a special gold cup for participating in 3 piano festivals. He has worked hard to memorize lots of music over the last few years for these festivals.
Two handsome piano players!
Mark receiving his trophy from his awesome piano teacher.
Today was the last day of school and I am excited for the summer time to just play!
Mom had a pretty sweet opportunity to go on TV to promote our Utah's Adventure Family website recently. She was on a morning program called Studio 5, and she sat down with the host to discuss waterfall hikes in Utah.
Mom taking a selfie in the elevator after her segment at Studio 5.
Mom did such a great job for her first time on TV. Everyone said that she is totally a natural, and she was invited back in June. We're probably going to make her go, too, because since the day she was on, our website traffic has certainly increased. We are riding a streak of 13 consecutive days with over 1000 page views! That's an increase of around 20%.
We're proud of Mom and all she does for us. And it was really fun to watch her famous video:
I had a wonderful Mother's Day this year. The boys really spoiled me and we had a ton of fun. On Saturday before, we went to check on the owls and the boys were good sports because it was pouring rain the entire time. But we got to see the cute little owlets!! We also spent some time at the dino museum and saw a 3-D movie about traveling to Mars--super interesting. Then we had dinner at Cubby's, which mom loves!
On Sunday, the boys made a special poster for me with very kind notes and a fun pictures of our family. It is still sitting in my room. It makes me really happy.
The rest of the day we just relaxed. We had planned to go on a bird drive, but then it rained and rained. I loved spending time with my family no matter what we are doing.
I love these little owlets.
Here they are with their mama!
These boys are so good to me--braving the rain for some owls!
We had fun at the dino museum!! Watch out!
We watched a 3-D movie in these awesome glasses!
Cubby's is delicious!
Loved my fun card!
Selfies in the Ockey Family are an adventure...especially when we all put lifesaver mints into our mouths right before.
Spring sports always keep us busy, and we know that will just get worse as Seth begins to play. This year we had soccer and baseball for two boys, and quite a few conflicts on game times, which really split us up. Dad didn't do any coaching, though, except for filling in on Dax's soccer a few times.
We started with Mark's soccer, and he had a great season with Coach Clark. Mark is the leading scorer on his team (again) and plays forward. He had hat tricks several times, and his team ended up with only 1 loss and 1 tie. Mom and Dad most liked seeing Mark score with his patented chip shot or left foot. Mark had a great season, although every game seemed wet, cold, or wet and cold.
This is Mark's last game. It was pouring the entire time!
Mark is always hustling on the field!
Well, most of the time! Ha ha...this is him waiting for the game to start!
Dax had a rougher year with soccer this year. His coach was consistently late to games and practices and didn't seem to do much to help Dax learn the game. Dax's team was always on the losing end of a something to nothing score. During the last game when Dad coached, Dax scored two goals in a close loss. Still, Dax loves soccer, particularly defense, and is looking forward to next season.
Dax LOVES to hang back and kick the ball as hard as possible. He will be a great defender!
Dax is always having fun on the field, which is what's really important!
Mark's baseball was another big year. He and his friends Shad and Cael are still together on the Nationals, and they are the "Big 3." Mark has played infield-- mostly middle infield and has been a great fielder. He pitched for the first time this year. In his first game Mark pitched one inning and struck out 3 while walking one and allowing only 1 run. Only one kid hit a grounder to first, which ended up going for a "hit." In his other start, he was outstanding. He pitched 3 innings, struck out 8, walked one, and allowed no runs. It was a no-hitter! Mark has also been a great hitter sending two balls over the heads of the outfielders in his last game to collect 5 RBIs on two doubles.
We have been so proud of Mark and his pitching.
One day there was a double rainbow over the baseball field!
That's Mark with the blue sleeves. I like to caption this picture, "God Smiles on Baseball."
Mark is very focused on the mound.
Mark loves his team and is always cheering for them!
Mark's Team!
My sister, Brittany, came to a baseball game. My boys had lots of fun!
Dax is the star of his coach pitch team. He is easily the best fielder and is usually assigned to first base or pitcher. He likes to bat last on his team so he can clear the bases. Last game he had two great hits that went for a double and a homerun! We feel really bad that Dax will only make about half of his games this year because of our crazy June full of vacations, but Dax is already looking forward to next year's season.
Dax likes playing 1st base.
He is so excited to be playing coach pitch this year.
Good swing, Dax!
Seth has been a great trooper to attend all these games. He is excited to start soccer in the fall and has been practicing a lot. In the meantime, he's enjoyed itty-bitty ball at the Legacy Center.
Mark was talked into participating in the Research Recital at his elementary school this year. The were to choose a topic they were interested in and do research on the topic. After a few months, they presented their findings to some "reviewers" who wrote positive comments about what they did. Mom was asked to be one of these reviewers, and she had a lot of fun listening to all the research projects.
Mark chose the topics of birds since he loves them so much. I think he already knew everything about them, but he did some research on the birds that came to our bird feeder. He created a power point with pictures we had taken at the feeder of the different birds. I really liked his observations that he shared...they were fun!
He also did very well on his presentation. Mark was most excited to use Randy's clicker and change the slides while speaking. We love these opportunities to be in front of people. It's such a good learning experience for Mark.
These are the students who presented in the 1st hour! And the adults who "reviewed" their research!
Mr. Rencher, our principal, presenting Mark's medal.
Mark is in the middle with his awards.
Look at all those kids who did a research project for fun!
