I might die... or cry...

I feel pretty sick.
Some pictures are missing.
Ballet pictures.
...and pictures of T applying lip gloss for 20 minutes before her 1st ballet lesson.

I was going to blog them last night, but I can't find them ANYWHERE!

Update

Me: I am still a busy mom and wife. I am still collecting coupons and am actually enjoying doing it :) On my first attempt to use the carefully cut scraps, I saved 50% on my shopping trip! Nice! It's been a month since I started a new book. I started one, but it didn't hold my attention... I'll try it again, soon. I open my doors each morning with the hope that the air will be brisk... no such luck, yet! I keep having great ideas for projects around my home, but seriously lack the vision to get them going. That frustrates me. i hope to be finished with my Christmas shopping before Halloween... doing very well so far! I have a friend who calls me Pollyanna. I like that.

(R and I with Dr. Richard Carmona, former Surgeon General of the United States)

R: ...is now Chief of Physical Therapy at work. It was a long time coming! He's definitely the brains of this operation. R organized a day trip for us all to the Tonto Natural Bridge last weekend. It's one of our favorite family outings! He also takes very seriously his responsibility to lead and guide our family's spiritual growth. He is the one who makes sure we have family home evening and study the scriptures together. That is such a huge blessing for our family.

K: She's in her 2nd year at BYU. K has a great condo and great roommates. In her choir, Singers, she is singing alto for the first time in her life. She loves it, and it gives her a great opportunity to focus on training her soprano solo voice. The Singers will head to England this summer, so K is looking forward to that! Granny & Opa are picking up K tomorrow to spend the weekend with them in SLC. The following weekend, she will be here with us so she can be here for a friend's wedding. Hooray!

L: is as busy as ever. Drum line is pretty much the coolest group on campus. It is so fun for him, but is also a huge time commitment. Marching competition season is upon us. That means extra evenings and Saturdays. He's doing really well in his classes and choir, luckily! L just passed the board of review required for him to receive his Eagle Scout award. Hooray, again! I guess the next project will be driving...

J: Started wrestling at the Jr. High. Unfortunately (for him, not me), he broke his right pinky finger in the first match. (I had to explain to J how fortunate this is that his dad can make his splint in the kitchen and that people pay lots of money for custom splints. He still didn't think it was cool...)

This boy is an excellent student. His teachers really love him. Sometimes, he surprises me in the middle of the day by bursting through the front door and then out just as quickly as he's forgotten a book, or paper, or something. Lucky for him classes are right across the street and he is really fast during his 5 min passing period!

L: Is progressing in karate pretty quickly. His sensei says he's a natural! L just worked hard and received his arrow of light award in webelo scouts. L is my best and fastest dishwasher emptier and potty scrubber... although not simultaneously... ewwww! L likes that his teacher has a lot of their 5th grade homework posted online because it gives him a great excuse to use the computer.



T: has started pre-school 3 days a week. He is in angel school at Rita Lyon's and has fun new friends there. He pays attention well and writes well, too. At least it's legible, so far! He thinks he's outgrown naps, but is sure exhausted by the end of the day. I can still get him to snuggle by me for a bit if I promise some time playing Wizmo's Workhop or Wii. Funny boy! I love that he loooooves to help!


T: takes a ballet class on Tuesday mornings. She absolutely loves it, and that is probably an understatement. She will sit and apply lip gloss or chapstick for as long as I let her. A couple of weeks ago, as she and I watched the homecoming assembly at the High School, she grabbed my face between her 2 hands and said "Mom, I want to be them!" as she watched the pommies and cheerleaders perform. She was mesmerized. T just turned 3 and got a small version of Ariels wedding dress. She wears it whenever and where ever she can!


We are healthy, happy, and mostly, oh so very blessed. xoxoxo

I'm In...

A friend of mine started couponing (is that a word?) about 4 months ago and has started to "save her family TONS of money".

WOW!

Who wouldn't want to do that? I do...
So, the other day, when she was here cutting every head except mine and then 1 extra head, too, she explained her method.
She mentioned that she was having a class at her house, being taught by the expert who taught her all she knows.
She invited me and I was busy, dang.
Today, R informed me that he thought this could be really useful for our family and if I couldn't go, he would.
He's brave like that. Rooms full of women don't scare him.
I re-arranged my schedule.
Yes, the method involves a paid website.
Yes, I subscribed to that and multiple copies of the Sunday paper which will be pilfered for their coupons and then promptly tossed in the recycle bin.
Yes, I may have just proved to the world that I am looney. I feel it.
Or, I may actually save a few bucks and get to go on a trip with my hubby as a reward.
That's VERY big incentive to make it work.
I'll let you know how it goes, but give me several weeks to build up my stockpile of coupons before I start the actual savings...

I am a skeptic... R is a believer :)

Things I've Remembered This Summer

#1 I love to read...

I have enjoyed several books, lately, but most recently finished a great 6 book series called The Great and Terrible, by Chris Stewart. Thanks, Dentons for the great suggestion!


#2 4 yr old boys are one of our Heavenly Father's most wonderful creations, EVER!

T is just a busy body, cracking-up, diggin in the sand box, popsicle eating, hard sleeping, snuggly, board-game and wii playing, tree climbing, sister teasing, joke telling, song singing bundle of wonderful who is constantly asking me, "What can I do heyopfuw?" (translation... helpful) Oh, I just love that boy!!!

#3 Summers in AZ are toooooooo hot!

With both of our extended families living here, we keep wondering just who's great idea it was to stay! I mean, come-on, there are sooooo many not so hot much prettier places to live than here! I like it just fine, but when I don't get to escape the heat at least for a few days during the summer, my brain frys like an egg on the sidewalk outside...

#4 Everyone loves to be loved.

It is a common denominator. Being kind to people feels good to them and me.

Dog Days of Summer: Robin Hood Edition

Basically, here is July...

Monday through Friday practices from 3-6.

First, Saturday mornings, and then all day.

R made and donated 10 swords "cause they needed cool ones".

Smiles on the faces of Little John and Gideon (the sheriff's left hand man)

A proud and excited little brother.

...and grandparents...
A week of performances at the Mesa Arts Center.

I just cannot say enough about AYT...
We love them!

The Dog Days of Summer: Bug Wars Edition

WARNING:
THIS POST MAY BE DISTURBING TO YOU.

IF YOU ARE BOTHERED WHEN POISONOUS CREATURES ARE GIVEN THE CHANCE TO BATTLE TO THE DEATH IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE...
STOP READING.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

(And, no, I am not raising anti-social serial killers... we would never think of harming something cute or cuddly... like I said, it's in the name of science...)









This is an emerald jewel wasp...


Carefully saved in a jar on the counter until nightfall, when the boys could catch this...


a scorpion...


Combined into one jar/arena...


Make sure that lid is on TIGHT!


Who won?

The wasp!

How, you ask? After watching a little you-tube video to enlighten ourselves, we learned that the poison that the wasp carries "zombifies" its' prey.That was more than I wanted to know about a creature found in my backyard... we carefully placed the jar containing both bugs in the freezer overnight. We then put the popsicled bugs in the green barrel with all the other organic materials headed to the composting place... good riddance!

She's Developed an Opinion...

"No bows!!!"

...well, ok. If that's how you feel about it...
Luckily, I can still get away with it if she doesn't notice when I tie them in :)

Irony...

For several weeks now, I have been hand feeding a bird.

It's no fancy bird...
It's the fall-out-of-a-tree-too-young-to-fly-or-feed-itself kind of bird.

I taught it to fly
...by making it exercise it's wings
...by giving it that little nudge over the edge
...by even giving it a little toss...
now it can flutter across the kitchen to land on my head
and more importantly,
across the yard.

It still eats baby bird mash from a syringe and pecks a few seeds.
I have a feeling that it is old enough to not be hand-fed,
but I'm not quite sure how to teach it that.
And, we named it Winky.

While I do see a really great parenting correlation here,
at the moment, I'm not looking for lessons, it's all about irony...

While driving in my van this morning,
I hit 2 birds...2!!!

Who does that?
I have been driving for 24 years and this is a first for me!
One, ran straight out in front of me and ended up a puff of feathers in my rear-view mirror.
The other swooped low across a major road and after hitting my grill, flopped into on-coming traffic.
After the first one, I was in shock.
The second one...
All I could do was scream and then laugh like a lunatic...
pathetic.
My boys, all of them, thought it was hilarious!

So what is to become of Winky?
I would like to know.
He has some outside time each day, but just doesn't fit in with the other birds.(He even flys away from them, I think I need to put a mirror in his cage...)
He doesn't even look like them , really...
he cocks his head funny,
his feathers are ruffled,
and he doesn't keep his wings tucked up tight.
He had no bird mom to teach him bird hygiene or bird posture.

So here I am, a person with NO PETS, raising a wild animal in my kitchen and killing 2 others in the same day.
Yep...ironic.

Les Mis

When Les Miserables came to Tempe in June, R was determined to take our 4 oldest kids.

They all know the music and were as excited as can be.
We realized a week prior, that L had cub scout day camp and couldn't go...lucky me... I got his ticket.(I have seen the show before, and didn't think we needed to spend the $ for me to go with R and the kids.)
The music WAS amazing, but we were disappointed in the raunchiness of a couple of scenes.
I KNOW what the story is... I HAVE read the book... I KNOW it's art...
It just didn't NEED to be so graphic... leave a little to the imagination, please!

Before the show, R got an email announcing a question and answer session with some of the cast immediately following the show.
That was amazing.
We met the crew member in-charge of all the moving parts on the set, the actors who played Combferre, M & Mme Thernardier and Jean Valjean.
They were so kind and happy to chat.

We were all super impressed by this percussion pit. Here's the drum set... This and more all played by ONE percussionist!


At the END of the month, L performed in the school edition of the same play.
Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, but captured a few blurry photos with my cell phone...
He played the bishop, Combferre (a student), and in the ensemble.He had a great time and did a great job.So many people commented to me on his really nice voice...
cause it IS reeeaalllly nice!

After the last performance, all the cast and audience went outside and enjoyed Mesa's great fireworks show.As the fireworks exploded overhead, all the cast sang "Can You Hear the People Sing".

They will remember that forever.

Fun at the Freedom Festival

Huge props go out to Mesa for hosting the Freedom Festival on Main St. Friday and Saturday.
We happened upon the festival by chance
and were soooo lucky we did.

We went on Friday, with hopes of seeing fireworks...
knowing that I was busy on Saturday...
not knowing where to watch them on the 4th.

There were NO fireworks on Friday.
This said, the festival was still worth every minute we spent there.

One area was kids' carnival games and a fishing demonstration. FREE



One area was bouncers. FREE


One area was water slides and water bouncers. FREE


Concerts. FREE.

We played and strolled and danced in the street.


We admired the flags
and memorials of fallen soldiers
and the model of the USS Arizona
and the models of some of the sights in the nations capitol.

We ate dinner and a treat.
(For less than $20!)


We stayed until the last possible minute
and had
so. much. fun.

Happy Birthday America!

Happy July... Where did June Go?

July is one of my favorite months.

I love that July means we are in the middle of the year.
I love July means we are intrenched in summer.
I love that July comes with patriotic celebrations.
I love that July means more sweet corn and watermelon.
I love that July brings a lot of time to splash in the pool with cousins and slip slide at Sunsplash.
I love that July reminds me that my Pioneer ancestors completed the trek.

We are smack in the middle of all of our summer stuff.
Stuff means... summer theater, summer school, and summer schedule.
All important.

Our 3 big boys are busy with performances and rehearsals with AYT.
L is enjoying his week of performances in Les Mis at the Mesa Arts Center. Every performance is sold out and there are rumors of extending a week if another theater can be found quickly. L is in the ensemble and plays the Bishop and Combferre (a student). You can find him in just about every scene.
Ja and L just started rehearsals for Robin Hood. It will also be performed at the Mesa Arts Center, but not until the last week of July.
The downside of having all these stars in the family is that I have given up any chance of heading out of town to escape the heat...

L is taking summer school each morning. We have found it to be an unpleasant necessity for the kids in high school who take a lot of music and release time seminary. But at the same time, the payback for him is marching band, drumline, and choir. He is so excited for his upcoming senior year!

Summer schedule has been the hardest for me to love. The kids want to stay up late and then sleep in... duh! But with the temperatures soaring, no one has any productive energy after about noon. That means we get the important things done early, or not at all. And for me, that just isn't an option. Some days I feel like a slave driver and it has been hard for me to find a good balance of work and fun. We have tried to compromise by having Fridays officially dubbed "Sleep in Day". It's been very popular :)

One other thing I love about this July... I am about 1/2 way finished Christmas shopping!
Shhhhhh... don't tell...

Monday, Monday

I started the week off by staying up til midnight Sunday night. It seems that J, in jr. high, had a book project due today that takes the place of the class final. I intended to stay up with him for the duration, but at 12, I could no longer keep my eyes opened as I tried to help him type. I told him to keep working and let me know if he needed anything in particular. I would just rest a little on the couch...

I guess at 2, he told me he was finished for the night and we could work some more in the morning.

R found us curled up on the couch and chair at 5 am and wondered why I wasn't curled up by him:)

At 8, I had an appointment for my yearly physical. Pleasantly, I was informed that I was off the hook for a pap smear this year, but was ready for another rite of passage: scheduling my first mammogram. Pleasant, I don't think so, but important, yes. At least it's not the dentist.
(WhichI also need to schedule, but am a huge baby about...)

When I got back home, we finished the book project just in time for me to pack J a lunch and send him out the door. He even combed his hair!

Only a few days of school left and we have finished another year. It always feels like such a huge relief! I do have to admit, though, that since we changed 4th grade schools in January, life has been much more pleasant for L, and for me. He is a happier boy who is enjoying school as a 4th grader should:)

As for summer, 3 of our 6 have auditioned for productions with Actors Youth Theatre. We have had children in their productions in previous years and love them. J and L will be doing Robin Hood in July. L will be in Les Mis in June. Both shows will be preformed at the Mesa Arts Center. With rehearsals, scout camps, summer school and band camp, we will be at home this summer, but at the water park in our "free" time, thanks to Santa.

Besides having these obvious commitments, I am hoping to accomplish other things as well. I have started to accumulate wish lists from my kids and hope to incorporate as many of those summer fun ideas into the schedule.

We will have chores and projects and fun. Hopefully!

First things first, happy end of school!

Flying

I caught T giving this little guy lessons.
It's ok, we all need help, sometimes!

A Life Lesson From Millionaire...

Remember the show?
The contestant is asked increasingly difficult questions for increasing dollar amounts... as the contestant is stumped, they have 3 lifelines to use. Friends who have the answer in a jam...


A recent tough question asked by L after a day of fishing... "Now what do I do?" The question was asked as he pulled 2 catfish from my gallon size igloo thermos. One was dead, one wasn't.


My solution: Phone a Friend...


Joe said he would be right over.

He brought an electric fillet knife in it's own attractive carrying case. This knife had click on battery packs similar to R's power drill and leaf blower.

He demonstrated the procedure and then let the boys try their hand.I love this one with T peeking through!


Before he left, Joe had me grab a pen and paper and write down a recipe. THE recipe. I had written off eating catfish after my one other attempt to cook it for my family. This time, it was fantastic! We all loved it and even T kept asking for "more fish"!

Now, theoretically, we know what to do for next time.
I will still probably still phone a friend!