29 June 2023

Back in May, we went hiking in Gunpowder Falls State Park.  We found fallen trees to climb on, the ruins of old farmhouses, and tadpoles to catch in a creek.  Lovely day and a lovely hike.  

 

26 June 2023

Last night Mr. Brown gave Bobo a task to do during scriptures, to keep his hands busy. It was grinding animal crackers in a big mortar and pestle to prep them for a cheesecake crust. It was so interesting that the rest of us got out other mortars and pestles from his collection and joined the fun.  Scriptures was derailed and instead we had a great time crushing crackers to powder together. Love it!!

22 June 2023

Nut Brown competed in his first jiujitsu tournament and he won second place in his weight class!  Mr. Brown and I are so proud of him, and he was very proud of himself!  Even though he lost his last match, he didn't give up any points, which is quite an achievement.  He has learned and grown so much from participating in the jiujitsu training at the Texas gym.

21 June 2023

Last night Bobo came tearing upstairs with Nut Brown hot on his heels, hollering about something Bobo had done. He dashed into his room and shut and locked the door, leaving Nut Brown pounding on the outside.  I asked what on earth had happened, and Nut Brown told me that Bobo had closed all his tabs on the internet browser. He had plugged in his wireless mouse, and then when Nut Brown wasn't paying attention he had closed the browser and all the tabs!  Mr. Brown and I both laughed about it, and Nut Brown acknowledged that it was a good trick, albeit frustrating for him.

15 June 2023

 Last day of school and fifth grade graduation for Bobo, who is headed to middle school this fall!

With his friend Everett

Mrs. Kalthof

Mrs. Derby

Mrs. Heilman

This morning, when he came out with his Sunday shirt on, I asked him why, and he said that Mrs. Derby had told them that they might want to dress up, so he did.  He hates wearing his Sunday clothes, so I can tell that he really loves Mrs. Derby.

When they had Teacher Appreciation week, I helped both Bobo and Rosebud write thank you notes to their teachers.  Despite the fact that he hates to write, he did put his thoughts on paper for them.  He let Mrs. Kalthof know that she was the most chill teacher in fifth grade ("will she know what chill means, Mom?") and thanked Mrs. Heilman for letting him read her books.  Then he wrote to his homeroom teacher, Mrs. Derby, and thanked her for the plant (which he was happy to have as a gift for me), and for helping him earn cookies with his behavior at recess, and for "helping me understand my mom's concern and helping me keep track."  Mrs. Derby has been wonderful for him and deserves all the loyalty and affection that Bobo gives her.

He was sad at graduation because of the farewell aspect of the ceremony.  He is very sensitive to the losses that happen at the end of every school year.

14 June 2023

Nut Brown came home with a lot of these from high school. 

and his class placement:

 

13 June 2023

 A friend of our has two cherry trees that are having a gangbuster year.  We are reaping the bounty.  Rosebud was happy to help me pit several hundred!

4 June 2023

 This evening our friends Jon and Megan hosted a welcome party for us combined with a farewell party for another family leaving the ward.  Bobo brought a lego creation with him and lost a piece of it on the lawn.  He asked me to help him look for it.  We started combing through the grass, and he said to me, "I'm going to go pray."  He went off and came back a few minutes later, and we looked on the lawn together.  Almost right away he said, "I can't find it, it's not here, we'll never find it, we might as well quit," but I reminded him that God couldn't help us if we stopped looking.  A couple minutes later, a brother from church called out to me, "Sister Brown, are you looking for something?"  I explained about the lego and he said, "Oh ho, I've been there!" He and his teenagers came to help us look.  He asked Bobo if he had prayed, and Bobo said he had.  His daughter found the missing lego piece thirty seconds later.  Bobo was amazed.  He said right away, "I'm going to go say a prayer of gratitude."  I'm so grateful for the examples of faith that have taught him that God hears and answers prayers.