Summer Trip to St. George and Zions in lieu of Lake Powell

 Our yearly houseboat trip to Lake Powell was canceled at the last minute due to some health problems with my niece. SO Andrew made a spur of the moment decision to go ahead and take Grace and Ryan on a vacation anyway...to visit Ty in St. George. They went to Dixie Rock....

 And hiked in Zions National Park...

And swam in the hotel pool...or in Grace's case tried to drown her brother ;)

Prom, concerts, and a missing camera

I've been waiting to blog until I get my camera back...it has pictures of our Royal Wedding Party on it. I accidentally left the camera in Farmington, and haven't had a chance to get it yet.
So I guess we'll move on....to prom!
Ry went to Prom a couple of weeks ago. He didn't really want to go...money etc. His stipulation was that if there was a Senior girl that he didn't totally hate, who wasn't going to get asked, or didn't get asked, he would ask her and go. And there was such a girl. And he asked her. And they went. They had a ball.
THEN we got to go to the last show choir concert of the year. It was a whole "cabaret" themed deal. Fun songs, fun dancing. They also sang the song that won them 1st place in California last month.
The boy tried out for both Encore Show Choir, and Musical Theatre for next year...and made both. It's going to be a fun, busy year for him!

Sweaty Flowers

This is a mushy, drippy, mom-soaked blog-post about my boy. Read at your own risk.
Each one of my children have their own corner of my heart that they alone own.
But my youngest son has always held a special, different place there. From the time he was born I saw something different in him. He has always loved unconditionally. He has always loved me unconditionally. From the time he could walk, it was always his unconscious habit to bring me flowers. I honestly don't think that as a toddler, he ever really thought "I should give mom flowers." I think it's always been an unconscious gesture of happiness, goodness, and love.
Imagine little grubby fingers clutching stolen weeds from a neighbors yard, or our yard, loving offered up to me. Imagine long spring and summer days spent outside doing the mysterious running around that boys do... he would occasionally pop inside with a purple or yellow or white offering.
When he was old enough to walk home from school, I knew that Spring had officially arrived by the bouquets that would appear in his hands when he walked in the door. Not every day, but often enough. I know that he would wait anxiously for the lilacs that grow wild at the top of the street to bloom...then I would receive those until they were gone.
Twice in the past month I have once again received random offerings of flowers from my boy. Today I came home to a pot of lovely summer colored store-packaged blooms. Just because.
He probably has no idea that I was imagining a chubby, grubby little hand with squished weeds in it....these flowers mean just as much as those long-ago offered ones. They're from the same boy, now a man, who loves his mommy unconditionally.
I'm sure he doesn't know that I cherish each and every day...each and every minute that I have him HERE with me...I'm already consciously, and unconsciously, counting down the days until he leaves me. Roughly 608 days from now. He's been mine alone for roughly 6,325 days....I'm not done with him yet. I still feel like there is so much left to teach him, to talk about, to DO. And, I imagine, still a few bouquets yet to be offered, and received. Maybe one of them will be sweaty and wilted....
I warned you. And, yes, he is going to make some lucky girl very, very happy someday.

Field Trip Friday

When Ry was little, and the other two kids were in school, I instituted "Field Trip Friday". It gave us both something to look forward to every week. Sometimes we would meet Andrew for lunch, and then go shopping, or to a museum, or park hopping, or the library. His favorite place to go was "Map World" inside of the Utah-Idaho Supply store.
Last Friday, Grace had the day off from school, and it wasn't my Friday to work. I sprang Ry from school too, and we spent the day together. It was the best day ever!
We started off with dentist appointments. Both kids had clean bills of teeth-health. Then we went to Paradise Bakery for lunch, followed by a trip to the BYU Art Museum to see the Karl Bloch exhibit. It was amazing.
The next stop seems silly....but then we went to WinCo. Ry had never been there to view the abundant buy-in-bulk part of the store. Who needs 95 different kinds of granola? Ranch flavored corn nuts for $.71? Dark Chocolate covered cranberries? Spices, nuts, beans by the bag-full!? WE DO!
Then I had free coupons for Golden Spoon yogurt...so we drove up the street to the only one in Utah County and each got a bowl of yogurt. For Free. (Actually we felt kind of bad, so Ry put a dollar in the guys tip jar.) As we walked out, Gracie said with a giggle "Look! The spoon is actually gold!" Hahahahaha....
Day spent with 2 of my favorite people. Life is good ;)

Sweethearts

Ryan went to the girl's choice "Sweethearts" Dance....she asked him by decorating his room with hidden dinosaurs.
(She works at the movie theater too...he has two friends named Paige...so we call her "Dino Paige" cause she works at the dinosaur museum as well. Another side note: rumors were flying that another girl was planning on asking him to the dance. I got a call from Dino Paige on a Wednesday night...."Sister Ditty! This is Dino Paige....has Ryan been asked to Sweethearts yet???" I said no. "(Relief in her voice) Ok. Can I come in a half hour to decorate his room? I need to ask him TONIGHT!" Turns out the other girl was planning on asking him the next night....she waited too long!! Hee.)
He answered by going into her math class with the show choir and serenading her with his answer. They had a great time...everyone in the group were already friends. They did fondue for dinner; which I think is a great idea! No awkward sitting there watching each other chew...there is something to be actively doing during the meal. Anyway. He had a blast.
Gracie and her BFF, Brynlie, making Valentine cookies.
And that is our February So Far. I'm still trying to climb out of the winter funk in which I've been mired.

17

My boy turned 17 today. His posted his facebook status this morning before he even rolled out of bed: "Now I can legally use magic!"
The truth is, he has BEEN magic for me since the moment he drew breath. I love everything about him. He has a special place in my heart; unconditionally and forever.

A Mermaid and Best Brother Ever

Another Halloween come and gone. For the first time IN HER LIFE Gracie has not had a brand-new costume from the GYMBOREE...complete with matching tights and accessories....she wore the same mermaid costume Jill wore when she was in 3rd grade...
It rained. Ryan arranged for Grace to go with him and a group of his movie-theatre friends to their ward's trunk-or-treat...in Alpine. S.C.O.R.E.
They left at 5pm...and got home at 9pm. Seriously. They went to the trunk-or-treat, then Ry drove through the rain house to house depositing them at the doorways of enormous mansions that gave out full-size candy bars.
Grace highly recommends begging for loot on the east side. I'm not sure she'll ever be able to go back to trick-or-treating in our neighborhood.
AND best brother ever award again to my Ryan.

Zombies

Our first Show Choir concert of the year!
Ryan is in Encore...they did the numbers "Thriller" and "Zombie Jamboree".
Ryan sang and shook his bootee...it was fantastic! Andrew did a fabulous job of taking some video...I'll try to post one tomorrow (mostly for Tyler who is away and would just L.O.V.E. to see it and I'm sure would have some amazing zingers to fling at Ry :)

Absolute-ly

My darling husband had yet another dream come true today...he spent 2 hours at his favorite radio station watching (and listening) to his favorite radio personality, Geoff Lloyd, do the show in London.
He met Geoff, Annabelle, and Nelson.
The coolest thing is that we all (Jill, Ty, Ry, and me) watched it in REAL TIME on the web-cam! Geoff even said (imagine a British accent...) "Welcome to Andrew Ditty from Salt Lake City!"
I can't wait to download the podcast tomorrow and listen to the whole thing again.
And thanks to my fantastic boss who let me camp in her office on her computer to watch it!

On another note: Ryan just called me and has landed a second job. Had the interview at 6pm tonight and was hired on the spot.
Really!?
It's a "seasonal" job just for October...but for a month he's going to be one busy guy. Like he isn't already!?
Good thing he's amazing, wonderful, motivated, and an all around great kid who I'm sure can handle the pressure and craziness. :)

In Which A Blue Slushee is Thrown?

School started this week. Ryan is in "Encore" our High School's version of "Glee". It's a show choir. It's the cool thing to do in our school, thankfully, since all 3 older kids have now been a part of it.
Typically, they have matching t-shirts for casual performances, and dresses/tuxes for their formal performance wear. Fine.
The above picture is Ry in his "Encore" issued casual wear for this year. {squint}
What happened to the t-shirt we were expecting? His teacher decided to put the boys in matching PURPLE PLAID shirts. The girls have neon purple cardigans.
Wow. I was giggling uncontrollably when I first beheld this shirt...trying to be supportive. It has actually grown on us, and doesn't seem as horrific as we first thought. The boy is being a great sport. He doesn't mind it. I guess it's more acceptable when the WHOLE group is dressed such.
But I can't help but wonder if a blue slushee is in his future....
(For those of you who don't get this reference; sad. Go rent the first season of Glee post-haste)

3rd and 11th

Grace's first day of 3rd Grade! BTW, she's holding one of two assignments that were done over the summer and DUE ON THE FIRST DAY.
Ry's first day of 11th Grade.
And his own wheels in which to travel to school...life is good.

Birdie

Tilt your head a bit...for some reason the first picture will NOT upload correctly.
Anyway. The boy came home from Lake Powell to...his car wrapped in saran wrap, painted, with posters stuck on it.
I guess his friends missed him :)
Also, they named his car "Birdie" which we (mostly him) emphatically shun.
In my experience, when you name your car, horrible things happen to it immediately. Wrecks, dings, crashes....you get the idea.
It is also the opinion of some people in this house that it's only semi-acceptable for girls to name their cars.
I believe that the T-Bird shall remain nameless.

And he'll have FUN FUN FUN....

Ta-Da! Meet Ryan's new car. Mr. 1988 Ford Thunderbird. The boy has waited and waited for this day. The little mis-hap last June with...umm...totaling Jillian's car put the whole thing on hold. We weren't sure anyone would be willing to insure him.
His cousin was about to enter Army boot-camp and wanted to unload his car. Thanks Sam for letting us buy it!
We thought it was fitting that he's wearing his work uniform in the picture. He is paying for his own gas and insurance payments.
I'm sure this amazing, wonderful, responsible boy will never get the T-bird taken away....

Road Trip

Jillian, Ryan, Grace and I went to Manti!

Jillian said "I thought they only made statues of real people...oh wait. Yeah. Never mind." Hee.
Super fun road trip with some of my favorite people. We got home at 1:00AM...but old pioneer houses were seen, the pageant (although pretty cheesy) was good, Grace didn't get carsick. Good times.

Red, Blue, and Purple

For the first time ever, the older 3 kids all have jobs at the same time! Yay! Jill is at Target, Ty at WalMart, and Ryan at the Megaplex.
Jill gets about 28 hrs a week, Ty is scheduled for more than 40, and Ryan gets roughly 25. Transportation has been a bit of a challenge, but has worked out so far. Everyone's schedules are different every week, but we've also managed to have Grace taken care of between the 5 of us.

The job perks are also fantastic: Ry gets free movies, Ty gets quite the discount, Jill...well, Target is not so perk-y. But we're very grateful for jobs, the means to pay for college, meeting new friends, and being productive. It's shaping up to be a fantastic summer!

Random Summer Boredom Already...and a Nightmare

I grabbed my camera to upload the latest pictures. This is what I found.


There were also a few pictures of the TV...my walls...the dog...clearly SOMEONE hijacked my camera and had a few spare minutes on her hands to goof around :)
This is the picture I was actually meaning to upload and post. When I got up this morning, I walked by Grace's room, and as I always do, I peeked in to watch her sleep for a second. I love her so much. Every morning I look at her little face and say a tiny prayer of thanks.
Anyway. SHE WAS MISSING. I must say, my heart skipped a beat. I knew she wasn't in our bed. I crept downstairs to check if she'd gone down for a sleepover with Jill.
Nope.
I ran back upstairs and decided to check the boys room. I didn't really think she'd be in there. But there she was squished in with Ryan. And Snickers.
I called them after I got to work...it turns out she had a nightmare about 4am and went in to have Ryan save her. He scootched over, listened to her tell the entire dream, then she snuggled in and fell asleep seconds later. I don't know whether to be offended that she didn't come to get me, or happy that she has such love and trust in him to take care of her!?

Encore!

We had the BEST time on Friday night...we went to see Ty perform at the high school. The show choir is called "Encore" and he has been a part of it all year. (Jillian was in it her senior year too!) We keep commenting on how lucky he is to be involved...especially since the show "Glee" is one of the most popular t.v. shows!?
The entire concert was just the show choir doing number after number...most of which they had arranged and choreographed themselves. It was a blast. Ty MC'd, and had a solo in the song from Rent called "Seasons of Love". Suddenly as he was singing that song, it occurred to me that he is days away from graduating, and leaving me. He's been mine for roughly 9,460,800 minutes. We're entering a new season. Tears started streaming down my face, and it was all I could do to keep from inelegantly wailing in the middle of the auditorium. I've been so proud of him this year. He has done his best, gotten good grades, been reliable and responsible, been involved in so many good things. It's been a great year.
This last picture is 2009-10's Encore group...singing with 2010-11's Encore group. I know it's blurry, but yes, those are MY BOYS right next to each other in the middle singing their little Bass hearts out. Ry is the blurry dark curly one standing up, Ty is sitting down....
Ryan is going to have such a fun year next year!

Slouchiness

We were gathered in my room for family prayer Sunday night. Ryan had been playing with Grace for a couple of hours, and after prayer they were headed back downstairs to finish whatever it was they were doing...(playing Princess Monopoly I think)? On her way out of the room she said to Ry, "You're the best brother in the WHOLE world!"
Then, noticing Ty sitting on the floor, she pops her curly little head around the door frame, points a finger at him, winks, and says "You're no slouch either!"

!?!?!? Where in the world did she hear that expression! But she's so sweet....she is always careful to not hurt feelings or leave anyone out :)

Sleep Texting

Ryan sent this insanely crazy text to one of his friends last week....a girl he met at BYU Chinese camp two summers ago. He and these two girls were hanging out almost every weekend...but then they graduated from High School early and both started at BYU in January. The two girls had a bit of a fight a couple of weeks ago...I think Ry was bugged by it? And that they've been too busy to spend the amount of time together that they used to...he is also clearly distressed by the Mark Twain book he has to read for English......But I digress.
HE SENT THIS TEXT WHILE HE WAS ASLEEP. Seriously. And a bunch of the words were written in Chinese....I've put English translations in ( )... Here goes:

"Bekah i just have sooo much ai (love) for you in my linghuun (soul) or xin (heart) i don't remember which. I just feel like there is this large ocean rift of something bad like macaroni salad rushes in waves between us but wait vampires have no fluids so maybe it is tomato juice or large poufs of marshmallow taffy where I walk but oh no my foot is stuck help i can't get it out but any ways it is a large crevice where small asian children rhythmically jump out and say to you bekah! And then they jump back in but oops they forgot to say how much ryan misses you so with a skip and a jump they hop back in the crevice. And i want you and shayn and me to go to sam wellers book store and have everything be peaches and cream and we will all be the zui hao (best )of pengyous (friends) again like nothing has changed.
but hopefully nothing has changed bekah michelle nothing has changed because sometimes the world is odd and pushes down on the stretching cat in the sun life but the cat still has animal magnetism so everything is ok. Nigger baby! says mark twain in a novel i must read for english. Moving on.
Bekah is a remarkable person. And I never want to stop being pengyous (friends) with her. or shayn. They came together in a package. Because i love them so much it makes me want to gush flowing streams of Rainbows and Butterflies. but i don't so no. sorry. i can't. find your own R and B. and now everything is fine it is just difficult sometimes to sort through the convolution. THE END."

Wow. Just wow. We have laughed ourselves silly over this one. He now puts his phone out of reach before he falls asleep :)

He's a Sweetheart...

The boy was asked to the upcoming girls-choice "Sweetheart Dance" at the High School....his first "official" date! Although he does hang out with members of the opposite gender quite often in groups, so it's no big deal, really. I did tell him to tell her that his parents only allow him to date in groups...so she'd better get a big group together!? He said "mooommmmm...." so I know I'm doing my job well!