Jessie had an assignment to complete a dinosaur diorama as part of her report on the mighty Brachiosaurus. We were very busy the week before it was to appear at school, so Dave (and I) helped J bust out a killer diorama the day before it was due. Jessie has a pretty cool Dad. He whipped together a custom rainbow-colored (Jessie's favorite) Brachiosaurus out of tin foil, toothpicks, and Fimo clay. I couldn't have done better and I consider myself a pretty competent crafter. Toby was feeling left out so he made a "dam-o-rama" with the dino toys. Yeah, that misnomer came back to haunt us when Logan said "dam-orama" in nursery at church and playing at the park. 
Memorial Day meant a bike ride with Dad in the morning while Sydney and I went shopping with Gramma Evie. All the kids love riding with Daddy, so he did laps around the neighborhood and dropped kids off at Bennett's when they got tired. Much to the delight of her father, Jessie loves to ride her bike and was anxious to get out her brand new 21-speed. It's no surprise that Jessie went on a marathon ride with Dadddy on the street. I think as J gets older bike rides with Dad will be one of her favorites. Toby is a good bike rider, and as you can see, Logan loves to do tricks on his bike.
We had a short heat wave mid-May and spent one weekend in Bennett's pool. That Friday afternoon I was going to watch a friend's kids at our weekly park day. It was too hot so we did an impromptu swim at Mom & Dad's. The Thompson kids didn't care that they didn't have swimming suits and Dave was a trooper to watch all the non-swimmers in the pool at the same time. That weekend Dave had an Activator seminar all day Sat. and Sun. so I was on my own. The kids and I cleaned the church Saturday morning (they worked so hard!) and escaped to Bennett's again for swimming and BBQ with Stovalls that afternoon. Getting to church early on Sunday for choir practice went surprisingly well since Dave wasn't home to help. All the kids are getting so big and more independent which makes the mundane stuff like getting dressed and eating breakfast go faster.
We helped some friends move the last day of May. Thankfully, they will stay in our ward at church which seems to shrink more every year. Everyone seems to be defecting to Utah. Blah. (love you Ken&Cassie)
Toby has started reading so well. We tried starting reading lessons a few months ago, but he just wasn't into it and it started to be a battle that I didn't feel was necessary. We took a little break and now he loves to learn new sounds and his writing is much better. I have used this book with Jessie and Toby and I love it. It really breaks down phonics-based reading into an easy program that costs a lot less than the bells-and-whistles programs.
Me, my chillies, and both Mom's on Mother's Day which is about where I left off in May. I agreed to sing in church which meant I had to be there early to practice with my accompanist. Getting anywhere early in the morning is a challenge when still nursing an infant and I barely made it- Happy Mother's Day to me. We hosted a nice lunch with both sets of parents (and Tom & Kristy) after church. Even though we all live so close we don't take enough opportunity to get together and chill, so it was a nice afternoon of relaxation and playing with the kids. Our kids loved having all 4 Grams and Grampys at their house (we usually go visit them) and had show & tell all afternoon. Then it was off to Gram Bennett's for a big family dinner and b-day celebration for Evie and Grace. That monkey in the middle couldn't resist the candles and Grammys obliged.
Every night when we put the kids to bed they listen to these Book of Mormon stories. We were eating lunch at the zoo with Gramma Evie when Toby asked her if she wanted to hear a story. He started telling her about Joseph Smith and I soon realized he was reciting the story from the tapes they listen to at night. He had memorized the entire story and several others and talked Gramma's ear off for at least 10 minutes. I was so surprised and impressed. Toby has an awesome memory and ear for music. He recited one of the stories as his talk in Primary a few weeks later and melted several ladies hearts who were in the room.
Meet Alligator. He loves to people watch with his nose pressed against the glass and trick people into thinking he is only a statue. He drifted up to the surface and touched the glass right in front of Logan. It made Logan step back for fear he would actually reach out and chomp him. We were so close we could have smelled his nasty fish breath. Definitely one of the highlights of the day. 
I think the kids walk through all the animals just so Mom will let them get to this magic place- "the leap pads." It's inevitable that someone's foot goes into the water so nice shoes are never worn that day. 
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