The Music Man

School being out means that we've got more time for other hobbies, and for Ellis that means more musicals! For three weeks he went to daily practices for a kid's production of one of our favorites: The Music Man!

This production was especially fun because Ellis is now old enough to be in the plays where they enter and exit and the stage, and the kids are starting to get better at being in character. Ellis was cast as Marcellus (Harold Hill's old friend) for his main role, but he filled in for several other roles as well. Our favorite was as a member of the school board, who form the famous barbershop quartet. Ellis was, of course, ecstatic to be on stage again, and he certainly shone brightly up there!

The cast

Ellis' friends are always so good to come see his performances! Pictured here are Daniel, Ellis, Jake, and Hank.

Ellis in costume

Hamming it up!

Isn't he the BEST music man?

Farewell to the Seversons

In our three years in Evanston, the Seversons have basically been family. From the day we arrived, their boys and ours hit it off, and play dates and babysitting and carpooling have happened several times per week. 

So, we did not take it lightly when they announced they were moving to Midway, UT. Of course, it's partially our fault, since we told them they should look into Midway in the first place...bad move on our part!

Of course, Jenn was put in charge of planning the farewell party. And, of course, it was all Chicago-themed:

Chicago cookies

Illinois wall hangings

For the third wall hanging, we had everyone at the party sign their name in gold ink within a stencil of Illinois. It turned out looking really cool!

These boys...they just love each other!

Silliness in the back of the van

Trampoline time!

 

Snack break

Girl's night farewell party

One of our favorite things about the Severson boys is how much they love Archer. He's always surrounded by 6 entertaining boys when they are around...

...and he loves it!

Sam and Andrew have perhaps had the most time to hang out together, since they weren't in full-time school and went to the same pre-school. There was a time when Sam thought Andrew was way too young for him, but in the end these two became great, goofy friends.

This was the summer of Pokemon, and we got in lots of trades with the Severson's before they left! (and have been trading cards via mail ever since...)

 We were so happy to have the Severson boys at our house a lot in the last week before they left as Sarah and Ben packed up their stuff. We needed to get our fill before they left!

Eventually, though, the time came to truly say goodbye.

 

The boys in front of the Severson's house

Last joint-selfie!

Luckily for us, FaceTime has allowed the boys to keep up their friendship pretty well even since they left, but it's certainly not the same without them!

Friends All Around

 Man, these boys have a lot of fun friends!  Which is exactly what I have prayed for, so it fills my heart with happiness.

This is Ryder and Jake, two of Ellis' best friends from school.  I think these are the two friends whose hair Ellis was trying to emulate.  

And Ellis' Recess League soccer team.  This is the group that he was "The Ref" for this year for so many games, spent countless nights making yellow/red cards, lineups, and game plans for, etc.  Ellis also planned play dates with almost every kid in this group.  He is lucky to have such a fun group of friends at school!

Here are Henry and Ellis with a few of their Cub Scout/church friends.   

 And Sam with his preschool friends on the last day.

 This is Henry's soccer team and his amazing coach who had such a great mix of yelling and giving sincere, positive feedback.  At first I wasn't excited about the yelling, but I actually think the boys really responded to it. I don't really understand boys, but I think yelling motivates them somehow?  :)  He gave Henry the "most improved" and "hardest worker" awards, because Henry really got in there and worked this year!

 Good game, good game!

 Ellis' soccer team buddies.  Orange CRUSH!!!  Missing in this pic is Harry, the kid who scored like a million goals.  These guys had a great season and pretty much dominated every team they played.  Ellis really got into it and developed a few versions of his signature victory dance for any of his goals.

And I had to add this picture of Henry and the friends he made during the week at Apps & Coding camp.  I never heard anything about these kids during the week, but on the last day, they were all super friendly with Henry.  They were all saying they can't wait to see him again and hang out other times and in other classes (which I doubt will happen, but you never know!).  I think they had all bonded over their computer-geekiness. :)

Recent Cuteness

The latest cute moments are as follows:

The time when everyone gathered around Archer in the gym after church, and H, E, and S showed him off to their friends.

All the times when the boys carry Archie around like it's no big deal.  He's not quite half their size!

Like this time - when Ellis chose Archer as his buddy at the playground.  Ellis is really loving his role as Archer's caretaker, which is SO great for everyone involved.

Sometimes we call him Archie-boo.

The time Sam made this cute diagram to document the life cycle of a butterfly (at preschool).

The time (which is nearly every time) that Archie just looked at the camera/phone and gave the perfect smile.

The time Sam was in denial about summer, and he wanted to wear long sleeves and long pants every day, even though it was in the 70's and 80's.  So when I pushed him on it, he pushed back by getting in his winter gear because he was sure he would be freezing on this 78 degree day.

The time when Henry's friend Jamila put a Henry sticker on Archer's head.

And the time when Ellis and Sam took to pushing the baby swing like maniacs, and the boy in the next swing over was fascinated/jealous.

Latergrams: In which spring turned to summer (with BONUS CONTENT exclusive to the blog!)

 Surprising fact #278 from Henry's archive of knowledge: Today, when Archer spit up all over me, he said, "well, at least he's not a Northern Fulmar! They can shoot vomit up to 6 feet and it usually kills their enemies." #truths

Fun opportunity to direct this cute children's choir at the Interfaith Awards Ceremony at the Baha'i temple today (with Ben on the piano). These kids had so much energy and sang their hearts out!

Beautiful spring day in Chicago! We knew it would come! It was nice to have an excuse to spend time outside at the stunning Baha'i temple. 

Proud winner of the cake-decorating contest at the Blue and Gold fiesta. I will admit to helping with this cake, but Henry honestly did 80% of the green frosting. I'm happy that he was legitimately excited about doing it and really got into it! You know, a hobby we both enjoy together. 😊 #cactuscake#cubscouts #blueandgoldbanquet

Spring flowers and the temple always remind me of my grandma. 💗 Felt her love and lots of peace today. Why do I not come here more often???#ldstemplechicago #innerpeace#innerstrength #mormontemple

 Decisions, decisions.#samtheswordfighter

 Very specific request to make his hair match the guy on "boy band break-up." How did I do? #studioc

 This boy has decided that he is now officially a big kid. He wants to walk ALL the time (while holding our hands), and then this week he decided he is too big for puréed food. He wants (and demands) everything we are eating. Why should we deny him oranges, lasagna, and peanut butter sandwiches just because he only has two teeth?#growingwaytoofast

 Note to self: always check the weather before signing up to bring snacks on the day @beniverson is out of town. When you have the snacks, you can't watch the (soaking wet and muddy) game from the car. 😬 Luckily, Ellis still had a great time winning 15-1!#lessonlearned #muddysoccergame#soakingwetfansection#fairweathersoccermom

 Currently, his favorite thing ever is being the DJ. Using multiple sources on the iPad, he can find any song he wants, and then he loves to blast the music, jump around, dance, sing, pause for costume changes, etc. Sometimes I require headphones. 😊 #djsamo

 Thanks to these monthly photos, my bedroom rug is getting vacuumed exactly once a month. ☺️ We are loving this boy who seems to be so excited about growing up: rolling, scooting, sitting, and eating anything that can be puréed! #lovehim#archerbythemonth #archergriffin#eightmonths

 And this: so happy to have a fun way to play outside with the big boys. And Mom is happy to have her arms free for a few minutes! #swingtimespringtime

 BONUS: This is what the spring blossoms looked like on my jogging/biking trail.  The splendor only lasts for about a week, and then they turn to a dull reddish brown.  It was perfect timing to seize the day and enjoy them for Mother's Day!

I got to open my Mother's Day present early so we could enjoy a date night on the trail with Archer as the third wheel! 😉 #babyseat#thuleridealongmini #springcolors💚💗

Caught Sam peeking over at me several times during Sacrament meeting to get the likeness just right. 😍#motherportrait #firstforsam#itreasurethis

 When people find out that I have four boys, there are usually a lot of raised eyebrows, gasps, and laughter. My new response to "Four boys???" is, "Yep! I won the boy lottery!" which I think is absolutely true. I feel so lucky and blessed to have these four unique personalities and adorable little men in my life. #lovethem #fourboys#mothersday2016

 #wackywednesday

 Making the most of our mango. #bigboyfood #slipperyfingers

 Thought I got unlucky and stepped on the pointiest Lego in the house. Then I realized this was embedded in my foot. Then we proceeded to have a conversation about the pros and cons of having our bedroom floors covered from wall to wall with debris. #momlife #ouch

 Proud of my little actors in our "Juan who works at Cabo" reenactment.#wardvarietyshow #studioC #copycat#obsessed

 And we thought Ellis was the only one with acting skills in this family! #henryisjuan#juanwhoworksatcabo#justafterremovingthemustache 😕

 Grandpa is here!#bringonthelaughs

 Grandparents in town means missing a few hours of school for some Lego time!#legolanddiscoverycenter

 Master builder workshop.#legolanddiscoverycenter

 Builder in training.#legofamily #fourthboy

 Sorry for the #overgram, but Archer is in heaven and suspended in air over the Legos! #crawlingskills#corestrength

 Bonus pictures of cute boys enjoying Legoland together!

 Henry could have done this water area for a few more hours.

 And Sam was super proud of his tower that kept getting taller and taller.

 Picked up some extra bikes and had a fun afternoon ride through the forest preserve during preschool.  #bikethepreserves#chicagosmoovebike

You're a wizard, Sam-o.

Happy that the soccer games were warm and dry enough for Archer to get his first taste of grass! He was wearing these jammies at the game, and some people we were talking to assumed he was a girl. 😉 #prettyboy #soccerbaby#grasspuller

 I have about a million pictures of Henry doing this, but Ellis has never been a reading addict... Until now! He's determined to read all 26 of the A-Z Mysteries series! And so for the first time ever, we keep finding him curled up with a book. I'm so happy to see him get into reading! #bookworm

Henry, Ellis, Sam, Archer, each at 8 months. #myfoursons

 "To me, clowns aren't funny. In fact, they're kind of scary. I've wondered where this started and I think it goes back to the time I went to the circus, and a clown killed my dad." --Jack Handey. Thanks, @katij42 for the, uh, neat birthday present. 😳 #deepthoughtsbyjackhandey#happybirthdaytome

 One of the things I like about Ellis is that he is the kind of kid who practices goal celebrations in the backyard. That came in handy today when he netted a hat trick.

 Walking into a room and finding this. ❤️ #brotherlylove #bigbrother#somuchlove

Watching the big boys.#waterfight #memorialday

 The weather was perfect, and we spent nearly the entire day in the back yard reconnecting, recollecting, theorizing, brainstorming, playing, eating, and especially laughing with friends. So glad @thejacobpriestexperience would make the drive from Iowa and@klgardiner and @jdgardiner came up from Peoria to make a fun birthday weekend for @beniverson !#memorialday #healthykidsunite

 Can't believe a year ago Sam was my baby! #bigandlittle#firstgrocerycartride

 Archie grew up SO much in the last month! Suddenly he is army crawling everywhere, trying to walk, and demanding every kind of table food he can attempt to mush in his little mouth! He is keeping me on my toes, and still keeping stars in my eyes. ✨🌟💫#archerbythemonth #ninemonths

 Last day of 4th and 1st grade! Sam brought "the brothers" a last-day marshmallow, only to find out they had already eaten pizza, Popsicles, and ice cream at school. It was quite the celebration day! #lastdayofschool#bringonthesugar

 Just calculated that I will be taking boys to Cub Scouts for at least the next ten years. 😳 It has taken me a while to get used to it, but I love that it gets my boys outside, stretches their comfort levels, builds friendships, and makes them happy. #futurecubscouts #fourboys

 Two Cub Scout Twilight Campers this year! Ellis was so excited to join as an honorary Tiger. Rock climbing, science, rope bridge, archery, sling shots, etc. #boyheaven #cubscouts #twilightcamp

 I can't believe my sweet little Sam (who was just born yesterday, right?) had his last day of preschool yesterday. As in, he is no longer a little kid and is ready to move on to the Big Kid world. He has grown so much and has been challenged, nurtured, and loved in Miss Nancy's classroom. It has been amazing to watch his development and growth over the last two years! Thank you @nwmyers for everything you have taught him!#montessoripreschool #readyforanything#mybaby #samo

Repost of Nancy's comments about Sam's Hundred Board.  So proud of him!

 Ice skating camp this week! I was so excited to find this camp that includes ages 5-12 and runs Monday through Friday from 8:30-12:00. Keeping them active, busy, and using muscles they didn't know they had!#summerskatingcamp #oneweek#iversonseversonboys#wecandohardthings

Future Olympians, to be sure.#summerskatingcamp @sarahseversonfam

 Having a vanilla ice cream cone in honor of my Grandma June Allred who would have turned 100 today if she was still alive (she served these every time we visited her). The Hartigan's workers got a kick out of us ordering four vanilla cones in a row!#grandmajune

 Celebrating the last soccer games of the season! I am proud of my boys for their hard work. #shakeshack#soccerboys

 The future of fort-building (Henry is inside!). #crazyboys#summercreativity

 Henry getting his geek on at this week-long Ultimate Apps and Coding class, which he loved!

 These two headed out on a flight to SLC this morning. Ben has a finance conference in Park City, and he took Sam along to go to "Grandma Camp," which is a fancy name for getting passed around among relatives' homes. We will miss them like crazy but happy they get to have this adventure!

 With Ben and Sam gone, we have been indulging in some big-kid game nights. Ellis is enjoying his trial run of getting to stay up until 9:00. We have played The Skull King (slightly more kid-friendly version of Wizard/Hearts) for three nights in a row because it is legitimately fun and addicting!#ilovebigkids #gamenight

I didn't understand it 14 years ago when my brother @friff14talked about it nonstop, and now that my boys are officially obsessed, it still doesn't make any sense to me. But it sure keeps them occupied! #pokemon

Must. Buy. More. Pokemon.#moneymoneymoney #lemonadestand

 "I'm going to wear these sunglasses every time I take a drink so I look epic." #samquote #costumeman

Sam and Zach learning from Grandpa that even at the fish farm a fly rod works best. The trick was to not set the hook if a little one bit it, and to wait for the big ones instead. #itssunnyinutah

Could there be a picture that captures summertime better than this? I think not. #fishfarm

For Father's Day, I let my dad hold my fish for the picture. #ProvoRiver#econconference #weonlycaughtone

The end of "Grandma Camp" and Sam is all giggles. #oneononetime

Picturing @lindawiverson and@nediverson up on this stage in Nauvoo. Seems like a good fit to me!#youthconference