The Last Day of School -- A Reenactment

Why a reenactment, you ask?  Well, that would be because not only did I fail to convince any of the children to pose for a last-day-of-school picture for me, said children failed to even make it to school!  The girls were all done with finals, so technically I don't think they had to be there, but once Alex realized that Isaac was unable to go (thanks to coming home with a stomach bug a couple of days earlier), I knew there was no way I was going to get him to be the lone kid leaving the house that morning.  Womp womp.  I did, however, manage to conduct our annual school year exit interviews, so at least I'm not completely losing my touch.  Hahahaha.  

With that being said, let's get to it!  😊

(Technically, Ethan DID send me a selfie on his last day of classes, but in keeping with the "reenactment" theme of this post, I decided to use THIS picture instead.  This way, we can just pretend that we're right there with him in class on his last day.)

ETHAN

{The record should note that Ethan was highly distracted throughout the whole interview since it was conducted while he was video chatting with us from the MTC while trying to do his laundry and compose his weekly email all at the same time.}

Highlight of the school year: 

ETHAN:  I don't know.  I enjoyed...um...there's a lot to choose from.  Attending the temple, hanging out with friends, seeing family...

Coolest thing learned:

ETHAN:  What a fantastic question! I enjoy trolling.  Statics.  Probably not, but let's go with that.

Favorite class/subject:

ETHAN: Physics 123.  Actually no.  Sure go with that.

ME: What is Physics 123 about?

ETHAN:  Intro to optics, waves, and modern physics

Least favorite class/subject:

ETHAN:  I kind of liked them all.

Biggest challenge:

ETHAN:  The workload...that 6 AM to midnight grind.

Did you make new friends?:

ETHAN:  Of course.  #BYU YSA 113th Ward

One word to describe the school year:

ETHAN:  Riveting...

Most useful thing learned:

ETHAN:  You can do hard things.  BOOM.

Final thoughts on 2021-2022:

ETHAN:  Wish it could last longer.

{Favorite quote from the whole video chat, however, was his take on the food at the MTC:  "Mid, at best.  It's CANC food."  (CANC being shorthand for Cannon Center -- the on-campus dining hall) 😂}

(For the record -- all of the girls' "reenactments" were taken without their knowledge, but are extremely accurate as to what their last day of school looked like.)

GRACE

Highlight of the school year: 

GRACE:  Dude, I gotta think.  Hold on.  Like...like...um...like...um...mornings before school starts.

Coolest thing learned:

GRACE:  What do you mean by "learned"?

ME: Something you didn't know before, but now you do.

GRACE:  Ok, but I kind of knew everything before I started the school year.

ME:  (internally -- LOL)

GRACE:  Oh!  How to cook.

Favorite class/subject:

GRACE:  Subject wise -- Family and consumer science, because it was the easiest; basically a housewife class.  Other than subject -- World History class, because of the people.

ME: (again, internally -- basically a housewife class??  hahahahahaha.)

Least favorite class/subject:

GRACE:  Virtual social media.  Not because it was hard, but because I procrastinated all the work and had to go in.

Biggest challenge:

GRACE:  The dumb English books we read.

ME:  How exactly were they challenging?

GRACE:  Because I had to read them.  {Said with a very implied, "DUH."}

{Lord of the Flies was the only exception to her "dumb English books" opinion.  She LOVED Lord of the Flies.  I can't decide exactly how I feel about the fact that she even created a bit of fan-fiction for Piggy and Jack.  Proud?  Disturbed?  Amused?  All of the above?  Hahahaha.  EDITED:  Grace would like the audience to know that the fan fiction was about RALPH and Jack, not Piggy (she is "NOT a Piggy sympathizer") and that she wrote it as a joke.}

Did you make new friends?:

GRACE:  Yeah -- duh.

One word to describe the school year:

GRACE:  Authentic.  Just kidding; I don't really know what authentic means.  But just put it in there.  I don't know -- nuanced?

Most useful thing learned:

ME:  Probably cooking?

GRACE:  No -- that's what fast food is for.

GRACE:  Oh wait!  In English -- putting on audiobooks at 2x speed so I knew how much time it would take.

Final thoughts on 2021-2022:

GRACE:  Well, now I have to be a senior.

SOPHIE

Highlight of the school year: 

SOPHIE:  Food Safety was my highlight; bro -- that was so fun.  And theater.

Coolest thing learned:

SOPHIE:  We learned about evolution in science and I loooooove that stuff -- it's so fun.

Favorite class/subject:

SOPHIE:  Food Safety or Theater.  Definitely not Algebra 2, bro, that class was awful.

Least favorite class/subject:

{Apparently that would be Algebra 2.}

Biggest challenge:

SOPHIE:  Um...going?  

ME:  (internally -- true THAT)

Did you make new friends?:

SOPHIE:  Yeah, I guess.

One word to describe the school year:

SOPHIE:  Forgettable.

Most useful thing learned:

SOPHIE:  I don't know.  Oh!  Um...if you don't do one assignment per unit, you'll still probably end up with a good grade.  Or like two assignments.

Final thoughts on 2021-2022:

SOPHIE:  It was lame.  But also, it was fun...sometimes.

JANE

{I should probably point out that Jane was very vehemently opposed to the "transcription" method of my posting her answers to the blog.  As she said, "that's so corny."  Duly noted, Jane.  Duly noted.  Hahahaha.}

Highlight of the school year: 

JANE:  Going outside for advisory everyday.

Coolest thing learned:

JANE:  Drums or keyboard.

Favorite class/subject:

JANE:  ELA/Advisory

Least favorite class/subject:

JANE:  That's hard.  Math.

Biggest challenge:

JANE:  Waking up.  {Said with a huge yawn.}

Did you make new friends?:

JANE:  Yes; I made a lot of new friends.

(I happened to come across these this morning.  I'm pretty sure they were taken during Jane's Field Day, but I thought it would be a nice visual to go along with making new friends.)

One word to describe the school year:

{So much deliberation, followed by: "what was the question?"}

JANE:  Goofy.  Please don't put goofy -- I was joking.  Ooooh -- Drama.

Most useful thing learned:

JANE:  Uh...probably...wait...um...literally nothing useful.  School-wise -- Math.

ME:  (internally -- ?)

Final thoughts on 2021-2022:

JANE:  Great.

(Playing on the Switch.)

ALEX 

{Before I even started the interview, Alex jumped right in with a very theatrically spoken: "My favorite part of the school year was reconnecting with friends!"}

Highlight of the school year: 

ME: Is that your highlight?

ALEX: Yes -- reconnecting with friends.  I'm just kidding -- Field Day.

Coolest thing learned:

ALEX:  Exponents

Favorite class/subject:

ALEX:  Math or Science

Least favorite class/subject:

ALEX:  Probably art.  It was fine, but the teacher was strict.  I like art.

Biggest challenge:

ALEX:  Anxiety. 

ME:  (internally -- TRUE that)

Did you make new friends?:

ALEX:  {Emphatic head nod} A lot!

One word to describe the school year:

ALEX:  Interesting

Most useful thing learned:

ALEX:  Um...ELA?

Final thoughts on 2021-2022:

ALEX:  Heh heh, good.  It was a good school year, but... {and then he left me hanging.}

(Watching YouTube.)

ISAAC

Highlight of the school year: 

ISAAC:  P.E. -- and I'm missing it because it feels like I have strep throat!  

{As I mentioned at the start of the post, Isaac did not make it to the last 3 days of school thanks to a stomach bug that hit him (and hit him hard) while he was coming home on the bus earlier that week.  In the aftermath, he started to claim that his throat was hurting again, but I'm pretty sure he just didn't want to go back to school.}

Coolest thing learned:

ISAAC:  That's a hard question... 

{followed up with LOTS of thinking, and then -- }

ISAAC:  Color rock.  And also my color pillar in art.  

ME:  (internally -- ?)

Favorite class/subject:

ISAAC:  P.E.

Least favorite class/subject:

ISAAC:  Art -- It's too hard.

Biggest challenge:

ISAAC:  Running away from the 4th graders in P.E. because they were faster than us. 

ME:  (again, internally -- ?)

Did you make new friends?:

ISAAC:  Yeah -- Thatcher, Camden C., Camden S., Barrett...

One word to describe the school year:

ISAAC:  {Lots of thinking} It was fun.

Most useful thing learned:

ISAAC:  P.E.

Final thoughts on 2021-2022:

ISAAC:  I'm gonna miss my friends.

And there you have it! The 2021-2022 school year is done.  And since I'm on such a roll right now of blogging, I'm going to go ahead and start recapping the first couple of weeks of summer vacation before even more time goes by!  Although -- truth be told -- there's not a whole lot to cover.  Thus far, we (and by we, I mean I) have created a "summer schedule" that hasn't really been followed, the girls have enjoyed sleeping in, and the boys have enjoyed sneaking on screens.  To be fair, the first week of summer vacation was a "Freebie Week" -- meaning they could do anything they wanted so long as it didn't cost money and didn't require me to drive them anywhere -- and this past week was Girls' Camp, so there hasn't been much of chance to implement our new schedule completely, but I'm not holding my breath that it will ever be followed to a T.  (Side note -- Grace mentioned something about doing a guest blog post to cover camp, but I'm not sure if she was joking when she offered or if she even remembers saying that.  Hahaha.)  

While the girls were gone, the boys and I had PLENTY of bonding time playing games, doing crossword puzzles, and taking a trip to Barnes & Noble to pick out some "summer school" activity books.  Did they still end up having more screens that I would have liked?  Sure.  But it is what it is, so whatever.    

(A sample of Isaac's crossword abilities.  He worked "REALLY hard" (his words) on filling this one out as he laboriously and painstakingly flipped back and forth from the answer key to the puzzle to fill in all the blanks.  Hahahahaha.)

(This was hilarious -- while quizzing Isaac with these Brain Quest trivia cards, I asked him the Language Arts question from above.  "Fix this sentence: 'We saw two mouses running through the field.'"  His response after a long pause of deliberation?  "We saw two mouses running through the sewer."  Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.   Another hilarious response from a different Language Arts question? ME:  "Fix this sentence: 'I have buttercups in my stomach.'"]  ISAAC: "I have Reese's cups in my stomach?"  Hahaha.  For the record, his answer probably makes a whole lot more sense to him than the "correct" answer of  "I have butterflies in my stomach."  While his Language Arts skills might need some work, his brain is still a marvelous thing to behold.  Hahaha.)

The only other thing of note from the month so far was the library's summer reading kick off event a couple of Saturdays ago.  Although we weren't able to wake up Sophie and Grace in time to come with us, Jane, Alex, and Isaac enjoyed the outing far more than I was expecting, so I'm counting that as a summer time win!  Hahahaha.  With only a couple more weeks before we head out for our road trip, it feels like the summer is already halfway over and I hate that!  Here's to hoping the next several weeks don't fly by too quickly.  

(We waited in line for 20+ minutes to get this balloon animal for Alex and a balloon sword for Isaac.  I couldn't complain because at least I was inside the library where there was air conditioning.)

(It was a HOT day, and by the time we left, tempers and crankiness were beginning to flare.)

The Send Off

Tuesday, May 24th, saw us waking up EXTRA early (we're talking 4 AM, peeps) to give Ethan the send off he deserved as he flew out to Utah to enter the MTC!  I don't think any of us were exactly thrilled that Ethan's flight left at 6 in the morning, but I was pretty ecstatic that despite the early hour, there weren't any mutinying children refusing to come with us to the airport to see him off.  Winning!  Hahaha.  I have to say, it was a pretty surreal vibe watching him check-in and then head off to the departure gate on his own, but it helped knowing that he'd have family on the other side to pick him up when he landed.

(Ignore the total creeper vibes of trying to sneak pictures of Ethan from afar.)

While the rest of us headed back home to catch a few more zzzz's (minus Isaac, Alex, and myself), Ethan made his way to Salt Lake City, where his grandma and grandpa and cousin Hannah picked him up and then took the scenic route back home before stopping at a Freddy's to eat lunch.  Where apparently, there were like 25 middle schoolers at the same time just vibing (as Ethan put it) with no teachers or parents.  He and Hannah thought that was odd enough before the juxtaposition of 10 cops showing up on their lunch break made the mood even odder.  Hahaha.  

(A look out in Draper.)

(Not pictured:  the 25 middle schoolers and 10 cops.)

For his "last supper" before entering the MTC, Scott's parents put on a Taco Tuesday feast for all of the family in town -- which just happened to include my mom and brother Jacob who had flown out that week to do the temple work for my grandparents!  And since Freddie and Emily -- and now Kristin and her crew -- are local, it was twice as much fun for Ethan to have representatives from both sides of the family for one last gathering before getting his MTC on.

(L-->R: my mom, Jacob, Ethan, Freddie, and Emily)

(L-->R: Scott's dad, Ethan, my mom, and Scott's mom)

(About to head across the street and enter the MTC.)

(Ethan with his Aunt Kristin, Uncle Blake, cousin Hannah, and grandparents.)

To close, I'll leave you with Ethan's parting thoughts from the email he sent out as his first week at the MTC was winding down:

"...I entered the physical MTC Wednesday afternoon and the campus is absolutely beautiful! We took a few pictures on the temple grounds before saying goodbye. It was awesome getting to meet our district in person! I love them all so much! We've loved having classes together, growing closer to Christ, and feeling the Spirit. Today was our first in-person P-day, so we went to the temple this morning together as a district at 8:30 and then after lunch we went and played some sand-volleyball together. Anyways, hopefully this wasn't too long. Just want to leave with my testimony. I love teaching and helping people come to learn the gospel that I absolutely love! I love learning in all of the classes that I'm in and am so grateful that I get to grow in my testimony of Jesus Christ. I'm so grateful for Him, and all He's done for me. I'm glad I get to grow closer to Him on my mission and help others do the same."

One of the teaching buildings at the MTC.

A mural of the sons of Mosiah:  

(*Sons of Mosiah - This is a group of people found in the Book of Mormon (Another Testament of Jesus Christ (basically it works together with the Bible)). The Sons of Mosiah were initially really rebellious against religion and the commandments of God but who had a great conversion story. They then became missionaries for Jesus Christ and helped convert many people {this was around 100 BC})

Ethan and his companion.

Ethan's district in front of the Provo temple.

The Provo Temple

(*Temple - This is a place where members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints go to perform sacred ordinances (religious rituals where we make promises with God). You can learn more on temples.churchofjesuschrist.org)

* Ethan has included helpful definitions and explanations in all of his emails home, so that anyone who isn't a member of our church will understand what he's referring to in his messages.