One down...one to go!

With about 12 hours to spare before the deadline, Ty had his Board of Review and earned his Eagle Scout Award!
Years and years of Scout camps, pushing and pulling him to PowWow's at BYU, one unbelievably time-consuming Project (we gathered, bar-coded, labeled, and entered 8000 books into the computer at our Charter School), 2 years of ignoring that the deadline was approaching, one month of frantically trying to gather reference letters and interviews (thanks Brother Cox!), and squeaking in the Board of Review just before time nearly ran out.
At least now we know what to expect. Ryan has everything done but getting a merit badge signed off. I already wrote HIS parent recommendation letter, and dated it May 30, 2010. I told him he had until then to follow through, and that I'm NOT re-typing it with a new date. It's by then or never :) Stay tuned to see if he gets it done....

Millie

Tyler has been enmeshed in play practices and performances for weeks now...only 2 more performance left! Our po-dunk little High School has one of the BEST theatre/choir departments I've ever seen. This production is seriously akin to something you'd see at the Capitol Theatre. Seriously. There are only 2 nights left if you want to see it!
Ty has had such fun being a part of it. He's a "Muzzy Boy" and is in all of the ensemble scenes as well as a prominent part in the Muzzy-Boy song. Here is his bio from the program...

"This is Tyler's second play at Lehi High. He would like to thank Dallin, Landon, Kenzie, Mom and Ms. Nudd for all their guidance and support. Keep the music alive!"

Latest Quotes

Mom: What time is it?
Ryan: I can't look now...I'm harvesting my zombies!

Ty: Mom?....Ummm....I need to ask you something.
Mom: What? (with my stomach sinking...)
Ty: Ryan! Ear muffs!
Ry: No way!
Ty: Sigh...Mom? I need to borrow your foundation.

(He's in the school musical. Don't worry!)

Grace: Look I'm a Hobo!(5 seconds later) Please give me some money!

Grace: If Jamie Oliver cooked me zucchini, I'd eat it!

Grace: It looks like it has head trauma!

Grace: Just bring the whole thing in!
Ryan: No! He' s just going to put his whole face in in like a wildebeast!

Tyler: I just cleaned my room.
Grace: I don't think I've EVER heard him say THAT before!

Jill: It's as clean as a whistle!
Grace: Jill...a whistle is something you DO. (followed by a long suffering sigh.)

3 jobs

I picked Grace up from school today so I could run in and check on the bookfair at her school. Here is our conversation on the way home:
G: I just realized that you have THREE JOBS!
Me: Oh?
G: Yeah. PTA President, Oxford, and Primary Chorister!
Me: Yep, I guess so. I'm amazing.
G: Yeah...when I grow up I want to be a teacher. I want to teach 5th grade.
Me: That sounds fantastic.

Then we got home, and moved on with our lives. Later I'll have the conversation that MOMMY is the best job and the only one I really WANT to be doing!
The good news is that she's only 8 and realizing that it's WORK to be anxiously engaged in so many things! And is noticing how I spend my time...oh the joy it's going to be in one month when I'll be down to TWO jobs!!

Red vs. Blue

So Andrew came home from church today, and started the bar-be-que. He's standing out on the back patio...suddenly gets the feeling of being watched. He looks over and sees a little boy's face peeking over the fence. (Wait. Let me back up a bit...the house next door is a rental and has had more people living in it than a hotel in Hawaii. We've slowly given up even trying to meet the people who revolve through it.)
ANYWAY. Andrew suffers through being stared at for a minute, and finally says hi to the little boy. Here is the conversation that ensued:
A: Did you lose your ball?
Boy: yep..it's that gray one.
A: Here you go.
Boy: You like the U of U don't you?
A: Yes...did you see our flag?
Boy: Yep...where did it go?
A: Oh, I just took it down for awhile.
Boy: Do you go to church?
A: Ummm...yes. (trying to wrap his brain around the whiplash causing topic change)
Boy: Well, people that like the U swear.
A: Ok...yep. Some people do. I don't.

REALLY!? What the heck? Maybe I'm just hyper-sensitive since I LIVE IN UTAH COUNTY and FLY a U of U FLAG...which believe me is tantamount to flying the Union flag in the heart of Alabama...but...wow. Andrew thought the kid was maybe five.
We're teaching tolerance and love right? Just sayin'.

April Musings

I have not taken one picture in the last month. But here is a little bit of what's been going on, and a few thoughts:
1. Dogs recover crazy quick from surgery.
2. I did not clean ONE thing during my spring break. But I did take each kid out for an outing...
3. Ryan tried out for and made the SHOW CHOIR for next year.
4. Tyler has SEVEN weeks left of High School.
5. I bought myself pink roses and they're lovely and are making my room smell delightful.
6. It's a fantastic thing to have a husband who knows how to use power tools.
7. It's a fantastic thing to have a husband who LIKES to use power tools. And fixing things.
8. I only have FOURTEEN more elementary music classes to plan, prepare for, and execute.
9. My squash and bean plants sprouted!
10. Alcohol is an evil evil thing....and the consequences of it's use is making me unbearably sad for someone I love.
11. The amazing General Conference last weekend gave me the hope and faith to go on...and bear the sadness...and the sometimes chaos that is our life.
12. Grab a Barbara Kingsolver book...you'll be glad you did. I'm reading "Animal, Vegetable, Mineral" and am loving it.
13. I just this week secured my replacement as PTA President for next year! I will NOT be returning for a 3rd year. Hurrah!
14. It's possible to play ZUMA so much that it paralyzes your wrist.
That's all.

Happy April everyone!

A Day just for Grace

It's day 5 of my spring break. Four more days to go!
Yesterday I checked Grace out of school at 11AM and we had a day just for her. First we went to see How To Train Your Dragon in IMAX 3D! Best movie ever! I've never seen an IMAX movie...whoa. It was SO much fun! We forgot we even had glasses on. We wound up holding hands through a lot of the movie...my baby is so emotional about things and doesn't love loud noises and drama. Near the end of the movie I looked over and there were tears rolling down her cheeks. If you've seen it you know why :)
Anyway, we LOVED it. She got her own personal pizza to take into the movie (thank you Larry Miller!) and afterward we went SHOE shopping. Yep, shes definitely mine. It was a perfect day.