Lots of Changes!

Carter got his braces put on Friday, June 27.

Here is the before picture:

And here is after:

The shirt is a gift from the Orthodontist.
I thought it was clever.

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Also, Chelsea got a new haircut last week.
It is short and fun for summer.

Aren't they both darling?

Summer, summer, summer

Everyone loves summer, right? Just the word itself conjures up images of warm, lazy days spent barefoot in the grass or on the beach. A lack of responsibility, of deadlines, of snow.

Take this picture for instance: A young couple walking together in the sand. They look carefree, happy, relaxed. To me it represents the ideal of summer. And yet, it also makes me wonder:

Do they have a mortgage and where is the four year old?

My summer has been less-than-relaxing. As a mother I should expect this, but each Spring I convince myself that this summer is going to be different. This summer we are going to read and do workbooks and play games together and get along.

Yeah, right.

This afternoon about twenty different people asked me to do forty different things in thirty minutes. In the background, Spencer kept asking, "Can I have a peanut butter sandwich and some grapes?" I said, "Yes, just let me do one thing." I then watered the plants (they were withering badly), got the mail ("Kristen, this check must go out today!"), wrote a thank you note (where are the stamps?!), answered the door (Oh good, five boxes of sacrament cups), ran down the street to see a neighbor ("Are you feeling better?"), fielded phone calls for Carter ("No, he's at Ryan's"), Chelsea ("I think she's with Carly"), Tyler ("Yes, I'll tell him you'll be over around 3:30pm), and looked scornfully at the piano that I have yet to practice today.

At some point, Spencer became indignant and wailed: "Where is my sandwich!?" I apologized and quickly made him a PBJ and set it on the counter. Then I swept the floor (for the fourth time), answered the phone (again), and picked up Bryce (who had fallen on a hot wheel). Just then Spencer came over, looked disdainfully at his plate and yelled, "There are no grapes here!"

I must tell you it took every ounce of maternal instinct not to pick up the plate and throw it and all its contents out the patio door (which happened to have been left open in the 102 degree heat). Instead I said the one thing the spirit has whispered to me many times, which was, "What do you think would be a better response?" He smiled sheepishly and said, "Please, may I have some grapes?"

I decided that I needed a break, so now I am blogging and laughing (at all of your blogs -- I love them!) The messy basement/kitchen/laundry will have to wait while I regroup. And, I suppose in the end, the concept of "summer" is not so much a season, but a state of mind. Unfortunately, the sand under my feet is very real. And I am in my office.

Last Day of School

The kids' last day of school was about a month ago. But since Tyler has already blogged about all our exciting vacation adventures, I decided to post pictures of the first and last day of school.

This was the first day, August 14, 2007:

This was the last day, May 23, 2008:

Do they look older?

Pasta -- Yum!

Food tastes best when you wear it.

.

Okay, enough pictures!

Put down the camera and get me out!!

Wait ... if I smile can I have dessert?

FHE

We went to a park downtown for FHE. It is next to the library and several other old, refurbished buildings. It is a beautiful location.

Tyler played catch with the kids while I took the pictures (it's my preferred job).





There are also several neat water features that the kids can play in.


We also had $5 Subways for dinner.

Of course, Bryce had Cheerios on the ground. Yum.

Congratulations!

It is graduation time. And that means many of my dearest ones are deserving of special congratulations.

First of all, congratulations to Clark, Abram and Jonathan for completing their BYU studies and officially moving on to new and more exciting adventures. They all apparently took Jo Dee Messina's lyrics to heart:

"We can load what we own in the back of a u-haul van.

Couple modern day moses, searchin for the promised land.

We can go four hundred miles before we stop for gas.

We can drive for a day, and then well take a look at the map.

I've got a quarter,

Heads: Carolina, Tails: California."

Congratulations to Debbie (mi madre) who has completed another year at Dixie (soon to be the U of U) and makes me feel really dumb with her complex math questions. (How much does the arc of a bridge sag when it's hot?!...Sheesh!)

Also, congratulations to Carter and Chelsea who have completed another year at the Home of the Stallions. Next year is Carter's last year at said institution and I am feeling very anxious about his foray into middle school. (I can't be that old. Can I?!) Chelsea completed the Accelerated Reader program and she gets to attend a special party on Monday. Yeah Chelsea!

And finally,

(Drumroll...........Cymbals!)

a special congratulations to my sister Amber who was accepted to UCLA for next fall. I am proud (and envious) of her opportunity and ambition!

You go girl!

My least-favorite chore

Ode to Laundry

In my eye’s corner it sits, defiant and bold,
An ever-growing mound of clothes new and old.
Oh, organic mountain – thy color and smell!
Each odor and stain has a story to tell.
His jeans boast chocolate, ketchup and dirt.
I see cherry chapstick all over her shirt.
There are jammies, towels, and socks that are scary.
I cannot identify that spot that is hairy.
Each time I walk by, I try hard to ignore
The growing need to address my least-favorite chore.

And yet to myself, I pause, look and think,
“Am I alone, responsible for all this stink?”
There are certainly many who contributed much:
church tights, swimsuits, gym shorts and such.
I know they can help to haul, lift and hoist.
Although the task may be a bit moist.
As a team, we can work to get this job done.
And then, after that, we will go and have fun.
So to my brood I call and invite to the feast,
“Let us all come together and conquer this beast!”

Author’s subscript:
Tyler, Carter, Chelsea, Spencer & Bryce,
this means YOU.

Piano Recitals

Carter and Chelsea had their piano recital on Friday.

Chelsea showed her excitement prior to the event.

Me: "Chelsea, scoot closer to Carter and smile for real."
Chelsea: "Yeah, whatever. Is this better?"
Chelsea's gum: "Chew, chew, chew."
Carter (silently): "Lets see, 15 students, 2 or 3 songs each, approximately 2 minutes per song, plus those extra long songs at the end, add the getting up and down, plus the teacher's introduction, means I have about 72 minutes until Iceberg..."
.

The theme this year was "Duets," so each student got to play a song with their teacher. Chelsea played, "Pipes and Drums" and "The Little Lotus Blossom"

Carter played "Go the Distance" from Hercules.

A photo of all the students & their teacher.

Afterwards we all went out for shakes at Iceberg, which has become our post-recital tradition.

Chelsea was surprised by the size of the "Mini."


On Saturday, my piano teacher (the kids and I have different teachers), held her recital. She had asked me about a month ago about my playing in the recital but I was hesitant because I have only been taking lessons since January. And, being the only adult student amidst many more proficient younger students is somewhat daunting. But then this morning she called again and said, "I'm printing out the final program, are you sure you don't want to play!?"

I decided the best way to overcome my fear of playing in public was to play in public, so at noon I agreed to play in the recital at 4pm. What a Crazy! I hadn't practiced the song she wanted me to play all week, so I had a quick cram session and then we headed off. It was more terrifying than I imagined, but it was also over quickly (all a blur). Tyler was supportive, he had both the still camera and the video camera (I felt like the three year old at her first ballet recital), and he told me I did well. I am still too nervous to watch the video. That is for another day...

Down & Derby

Saturday was our Cub Scout Pinewood Derby.

This is Carter's third year participating.

He has won first place the last two years.

.

This year he took second in the overall race.
The winning car was just .0003 of a second faster.

Chelsea a Spencer also participated.

Chelsea made a Sweet Pink car.
Spencer's was of course, a Spiderman car.

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Chelsea took first place in the "Pink" division.

Spencer took first place in the "Family" division.
These four cars were all from our family.
Cars from left: Mom's, Dad's, Chelsea's & Spencer's.
(Many thanks to our resident expert, "Pinewood Grandpa,"
who made all these cars possible.)

There were also some yummy treat racers the kids made.

"Go Bunny Go!"

My Mimesis

My friend Bethany (who I miss dearly and who lives too far away!) tagged me with this meme (I looked this word up and it means, "a cultural idea that is transmitted by repetition.") Unfortunately, it has taken me several weeks to respond. (Sorry -- Spring Break!)

Here are the Rules:

1. Link to the person that tagged you. (http://bethcallister.blogspot.com/)

2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.

4. Tag at least three people at the end of your post.

5. Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

6. Let the fun begin!

Here are my six:
1. My life is incredibly exciting. And by exciting I mean predictable. Whenever I grab my keys and head for the garage Spencer asks me, "Are you going to Target or the gym?"

2. I love mountain bike riding. I am also very good at it. I am so good that I can often ride in circles for two hours and still not find the trail, Tyler, or the truck.

3. I love it when Bryce is so tired that he giggles when I put him to bed. (Tyler often does the same thing.)

4. I love banana cream pie. (But I rarely eat it, because then I just have to go to the gym again.)

5. I like beads. This is an interesting one because I was a real tomboy growing up (and by "real" I mean I had people ask me if I was a boy or a girl), and I'm not really a jewelry fan (I own one ring, and one pair of earrings.) But there is something about the size and texture and sparkle and merriment of glass beads that is mesmerizing to me. I can't explain it.

6. If I could have any job in the world I would like to be a National Geographic Photographer. I'd love to travel the world and I'd love to do it on someone else's dime. The picture below is a NG photo of the Irish headlands. Isn't it breathtaking?

Okay, that's plenty about me. I'd now like to tag: Tyler, my sister Cami, and my sister Gina.

Spring Break

The kids are on Spring Break this week and we have been enjoying the beautiful weather. Spencer asks each day if we can go to the park. Sometimes we take a picnic lunch and spend all day. Other times it is just for an hour or so.
But it's always fun!

Swinging is Spencer's favorite. But not mine.
We have an agreement that I will push him until he is high and then he has to do the rest. He does a good job.

Carter is in to basketball currently. Luckily there is a basketball court at the park, so he can play while the others swing and slide.

Here he is taking his turn in a game of 'horse.'

Swish!

Chelsea introduced Bryce to the slide.
He wasn't sure at first.

But she was very reassuring.

Hope you all have a great Spring!