We love the tradition of gathering our families together and remember those who went before us. This year we kicked off the Memorial Day weekend by meeting with the Maycock clan at the Ben Lomond Cemetery. We talked about Joseph Richard Hammer and Ina Bell Hammer who are Natalie's great-great-grandparents.
Joseph Richard Hammer and Ina Bell Wilson grew up in Utah, but spent most of their married life in Idaho. They were hard workers, and had 13 children who all lived past childhood, which is amazing. When they were older, they moved back to the Ogden area, and eventually to Pleasant View, where they lived until they passed away. It is said that Joseph had a hearty laugh that everyone loved. Natalie told Dax that he has that same laugh!
The Maycocks love this tradition and they are so kind to come and support Natalie. There were 38 people who gathered and talked about these wonderful ancestors. It was a lot of fun to see all of the family. Natalie loves that everyone stands around and shares stories about the Maycock history. It makes putting it together all worthwhile.
Everyone gathered together to learn about our ancestors.
We love preparing a little presentation for this event!
This year for Memorial Day we met in Nephi to discuss Dad's Grandpa's Grandparents. Henry Goldsbrough and Ellen Jackson were true pioneers. They came by boat to America and then pushed handcarts across the plains. Ellen was Henry's fourth wife, and she died giving birth to her ninth child. What I love most about Ellen is that she wrote a short history of her experiences toward the end of her life that tells of many of her experiences and her testimony.
Henry was 35 years old than Ellen, and they met in Utah.
We had a beautiful day for our little Memorial Day service, and a lot of people showed up. There were about 28 Ockeys there, including Dad's Uncle Don who doesn't get out much anymore. It was fun to have both Grandpa and his brother there, and four of Dad's sisters made it. At the end Grandpa took us on a walking tour of the Vine Bluff Cemetery to show us were some of the other Ockeys are buried. The boys were really good to tag along and listen to his stories.
We were lucky to have a little shade. It was a really nice program.
We're glad to take our kids into the cemetery rather than on a vacation for Memorial Day.
We had a pretty good turnout this year.
Grandpa is 5 years older than his brother, but not nearly as tall.
We are so happy that we started this tradition four years ago.
Ellen Jackson is my favorite relative. She was a hat maker, mother, poet, artist,
and came across the ocean and the plains alone at age 16.
After the program we had lunch with Grandpa at a restaurant in Nephi. Then we headed down through Sanpete County. We wanted to stop by Dad's Mom's and Grandma's graves. The boys like to see these amazing women's graves, and we are so glad because they were such important influences on Dad.
Grandma has been gone for 11 years, since just before Mark was born.
The boys always like to go to Centerfield to see their Great-Grandma Benson's grave.
When we go to Sanpete, we like to stop at the Temple.
Our boys are learning to love Memorial Day.
On the way back to Lehi, we ran into bumper-to-bumper traffic starting at Nephi. We decided to drive west around the lake, which seems a little longer. We were happy to see several herons and a mother pronghorn with her three small babies. It turned out to be a really great day.
Each of the boys had an end of the year program. We kicked off with Seth's end of the year preschool program. I love this program because it's so cute, and it is so short. It's just perfect for the kids and their families. Seth knew the songs very well, and performed amazingly. His teacher, Miss Tina, told me that Seth had said he was "so nervous" at school. I thought that was funny because he is always performing at our house! Seth is looking forward to preschool with Miss Tina next year.
Seth is so fun to watch perform.
Seth was one of the flag bearers at the beginning of the program.
Tooty Ta is always a fun song at the preschool program.
Seth is such a great son.
We are so glad that we found Miss Tina!
Dax had a dance festival the last week of school. He was dancing to a 1940s song, and the teachers asked that they dress to match that decade. Luckily, we were able to borrow some items, and despite Dax's major fit before school, he looked very dashing in his suspenders. Dax knew his dance well, and did great in his performance. My favorite part was how he was looking for me at the beginning of the dance, and then when he finally found me, a big smile spread on his face. It made me happy to see him so glad to see me.
Dax is trying to spot Seth and me in the crowd.
He looked adorable, but don't tell him!
Dax was a great 1940s dancer.
This is his Michael Jordan pose at the end of the dance.
At the end of the Dance Festival, the teachers always perform a song. It is the kids' favorite part of the festival, and the teachers' song was from the '80s. So everyone was dressed in their best '80s clothes, and the principal came out with his boombox just like John Cusack does in the movie, Say Anything (which I have never seen, but I've seen the clip of him doing that a million times). Well, Seth thought that was the funniest thing, and he loves Mr. Rencher, so when we got home, he went right into his room to recreate the moment. I laughed so hard, and had to send a picture to the principal. Mr. Rencher said that it made his day!
Mr. Rencher as John Cusack.
Seth as Mr. Rencher as John Cusack.
Mark participated in the Highland Music show this year. The theme was Stomp!, so every grade level performed different songs that involved a strong rhythmic beat. The 4th grade did the "cup game" where you pass cups in a circle (at least, that's what we called it growing up). They did a fabulous job. It was fun to watch the whole class because Seth and Mom have been in the classroom a lot and grown to love them as much as Dad and Mark do. Luckily, Dad saved them an awesome seat in the front row! For a special number, a little girl in Dad's class named Jackie played her ukulele. She rocked it, and Dad teases Mark mercilessly about Jackie. It's a constant joke in our house, so I am including a picture for memories' sake.
Jackie with her ukulele.
Mark wouldn't look at me for a picture!
He was a great singer, but loved the cup action the most.
It is a bittersweet ending to this school year for Dad and Mark.
I helped at Field Day again this year, and was glad that I got to watch Dax race in the 50 yard dash. He ended up winning for his class! We are so proud of Dax for having the determination to race so hard. Also, I loved that his class was cheering so much for him! You can see him burst from behind in the video below. Seth and Dax also had fun playing in the bubble balls. Seth could barely move in them, but Dax was flipping all over.
Dax loves the Bubble Balls at Field Day!
I could hardly capture pictures of him. He was moving so fast!
Seth loves being part of the school. He loves his big brothers so much!
The last end of year event was Mark earning his Arrow of Light. We are so proud of Mark and how hard he has worked in Cub Scouts. We are mostly proud because of the things that his leaders share with us about Mark: that he is a great example, a wonderful helper, is kind to the other cub scouts, and that he takes the time to involve the leaders' little children who are there. We are proud of him for developing those characteristics which definitely reflect a lot of the Arrow of Light values.
The Cub Master tells what each color of feather represents.
Mark wrote them down when we got home because he wanted to remember.
Mark added each feather on to his arrow through the ceremony.
Spring soccer has been very exciting, and very frustrating. When we got the schedules for all three boys, we immediately started to compare them. It seemed that every weekend had at least one overlap, and many had two. For example, last week, Mark played in Highland at 11:30, Seth played in Lehi at 12:00, and Dax played in Alpine at 12:30. This made it impossible for us to see all our boys play. In fact, because Dad goes to all Seth's game to coach them, Mom drives the other boys, and she only got to go to one of Seth's games all year! That has been the frustrating part of soccer.
The boys have been really good, though. Mark scores 2-3 goals every week, and his team has only lost or tied a game or two. Mark's best moment was on what we've started calling a "classic Mark goal." He pushed the ball all the way out to the right around the defenders, turned, and chipped it in the back corner. This particular shot had to be 30 yards from the goal! He sailed it up over the goalie and right into the back corner of net. Mark is a great leader on his soccer team, and it's fun to see him celebrate his team even when he doesn't score that game.
Mark has great control of the ball.
Mark can take the ball down the field, and then dish it off to someone else to score.
I captured this shot when he was right in front of me! I love the other boy's reaction!
We have been so grateful that Mark has had the same awesome coach for several years now.
Seth usually scores 2-3 goals per week, and his team has only lost one game. Before one game, we were all splitting up and Seth assured everyone he would score a goal for them. In the car he said, "Dad, I promised everyone a goal, so that's 4 goals I need to score." He went right ahead and scored the four goals. Best of all, he kicked one ball right in front of the net and his little friend, a girl who hasn't ever scored before kicked it into the wide-open goal. We were really proud of Seth for that assist, and his friend's smile was totally worth it. Mom really missed watching Seth play this year, but was glad she could make it to one game!
Seth was number 5!
Seth was one of the best dribblers on his team!
Seth loved having his Dad as coach!
Dax usually scores a goal, but he always plays goalie in the second half. He is the best goalie in his division, because he is fearless, and he can really clear the ball out of the goal. Last week, he took over at goalie and his team was behind 5-0 at halftime (Dax played defense in the first half, so he didn't score.) During the second half, he stopped every shot on goal including a one-on-one against a huge kid that had scored 4 times. Dax rushed him and then dove and got a foot on the shot just in time to send it wide of the goal. His coach was really excited! Mom gets a little nervous when Dax plays goalie, but he always does an amazing job. Dax also had a hat trick in one game!
Dax was the only one I got a picture of before soccer started.
Dax plays well on offense and defense.
Look how focused Dax is at goalie. And Mark is standing by to offer advice!
Dax has a great drop kick, which is one of the reasons he is an awesome goalie.
All of our boys have really excelled at soccer, and we love going to the games. But we aren't sorry that soccer season is over!
