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Isaac has been learning about the Civil War in school this last month.  Isaac’s teacher had each student draw a commander/battle.  The class was divided into Union and Confederate and their tables were named after the 5 bloodiest battles in the Civil War.  Isaac was JEB Stuart at the Battle of Antietam.  The kids in the class all wore hats to signify which side they were on and they earned class points for their groups.  On March 26th, all the 5th grade classes reenacted battles from the Civil War using marshmallows.

Isaac’s school is Foothill Elementary.  It’s name comes from the fact that it’s in the foothills of the mountains just West of Provo Canyon.  The views of the mountains around the school are breathtaking.

The Civil War reenactor who came to the school to talk to the kids the day before heard about the battle and asked if he could come back for it.  He led the Union in full costume.
The first battle was the Battle of Fredericksburg.  The kids spontaneously started singing The Battle Cry of Freedom at the top of their lungs as they waited to begin.  It was awesome!Duct tape + Ziplock bags:

Nicole was out at the playground on the other side of the fence so I went over and talked to her through the fence.  She put her fist through one of the openings and said “Mom, feel how strong I am!”  

This is Isaac and some of his best friends in the neighborhood.

This is the confederate force getting ready for the Battle of Gettysburg. Their charge up the hill to Gettysburg was the best charge of the afternoon. The Battle of Wilderness:

As far as my kids are concerned, if you feel warm outside, you should immediately change into a swimsuit and play in the water.

My neighbor has three big fruit trees.  We offered to prune and spray them in exchange for a share in her fruit crop.  It was a great deal since she’s a single Mom who has gone back to school.  The pruning left big piles of branches all over the yard.  I arranged to have my kids and her kids load all the branches into my father-in-law’s truck.  I bribed them with the promise of a snow cone party after the job was done.

This was our work crew:

The snow cone party was a big success.

While the kids were still enjoying snow cones, Charlotte’s BFF Alyssa and her sister came for piano lessons.

This is Charlotte and Lucie.  They are really good friends and spend a lot of time together.  Lucie lives next door.  I love the smiles on their faces in this picture.

I had Ila go outside for a picture.

Thomas was jealous.  He wanted his picture taken too.

He especially wanted me to take a picture of him making this face:

My boys love horsing around together:

The neighbors put a sprinkler under their trampoline and invited the kids to come over and join in the fun:

The Webelos have been working on their Sportsman Activity badge.  This is some of our Ultimate Frisbee practice.  You can also see the section of fence Zach is repairing.
Thomas was outside with his grandpa when we moved to the front of the house to play a game of Ultimate.  I couldn’t resist snapping a few pictures of my handsome little guy.

He had fun running through Grandpa’s sprinklers and getting soaking wet.