End of Kindergarten

Only one more day of Kindergarten to go! I almost feel like crying because that means my baby is really growing up. Lilly had her little class play today. She was one of the "tee-pee folk". For the past two weeks Lilly has been belting out the songs and telling me all about this production. I wasn't disappointed. She sang her little heart out and smiled the entire time. As difficult as it is to make new transitions I think this girl is ready to soar to new heights and learn even more.

Weekend Review

What a weekend it was. Cousins have arrived from Mississippi and the constant get-togethers have begun. We tried to pack in as many hours with family that we could.
Olivia and Clara had the honor of performing with CDT at the 100th anniversary for The Church of the Madeline in SLC. It was a unique opportunity. The Childrens Madeline Choir sang while the girls danced in the church. They were beautiful classical pieces as well as some upbeat folk tunes. The outside of the church reminds us very much of Notre Dame in Paris only it's about 1/4 the size.

Saturday night Taylor and I hosted a party for a dear friend who has just been diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. She is only 42 and a mother to three handsome boys. This cancer comes at a very difficult time for their family as they are in the midst of a brutal house remodel. We wanted to gather friends from their old neighborhood to show support and love and to cheer our friend on as she begins this ugly battle against cancer.

I was in awe at the amount of people who came (48!) with only 4 days notice. Everyone contributed to the food and it was an amazing spread. Positive energy, love and friendship were definitely felt and I hope that these feelings will carry our sweet friend forward as she fights back.

It's times like these that I realize we really aren't in control of our lives. It's up to us to live the best lives we can and to love our fellowman.

Lovely Little Lilly

2008 to 2009 has been a big year for Lilly. She moved back to Utah from France. Started kindergarten. Learned how to read in English. Lost her first tooth. Learned how to really ski on her own. Went snorkeling near a coral reef. Started violin lessons. Joined a soccer team. Danced on the stage at Kingsbury Hall. Went to lots of Ute basketball games with her dad. Tried golfing. Slept in every morning (she had afternoon kindergarten!). Played store, house and make-believe with her sisters. Got lots of piggy back rides from her brother. Made her mom smile and laugh every single day!

Lilly's partner in crime and play is Ryan. These two characters have lived on the same street since they were born. Every morning one or the other finds their way to the others front porch in their pajamas planning the days play. Lilly's birthday was no exception. Ryan showed up bright and early to show Lilly that he had lost his first tooth. We invited him to stay for presents and Lilly's birthday breakfast. Life is pretty sweet for these buddies.

The big birthday party was at "Color Me Mine" - a pottery studio. The kids each painted a bowl or plate and had a marvelous time being artists. I love parties, especially for birthdays. I have parties to celebrate my children and to create lasting memories. How is it that growing older is so exciting for a child? When I told Lilly that she was officially 6 she said, "And next year I'll be 7!" I hope that growing up will hold pleasant reflections for my lovely little Lilly!

Catching-UP

Ketchup sounds a lot better than CATCH UP. Which is exactly what I intend to do with this post. It's been 2 crazy months and I've lost track of time, keys, children and multiple responsibilities.
Mother's Day morning was sweet and rewarding. The kids banned together and made me MOM pancakes for breakfast. There were some fabulous homemade gifts which I treasure. Lilly had gathered old chestnuts and put them in her own decorator bag. She said that they were to go in a glass dish that I have in the entry.

I love being a mother. That's not to say I love all of the challenges that go along with it, but overall it's my dream job. Lilly keeps asking me "If you weren't a mom what kind of job would you like?" This is not an easy question for me to answer. I have lots of interests, but I really have always aspired to be a mom. Right now it's fulfilling my needs and wearing me out on a daily basis!

One spring day as I pulled into our circle this is what I saw. Lilly and Sophie giving "pony rides" to the neighbor kids. I have loved watching the kids migrate outside to the most glorious playground in America. On our circle no one even needs a backyard as all of the action happens in the front.
Bear attack? No. Thankfully it was only a wire fence that jumped out and bit Spencer one day as he was trying to come home the back way. Lucky for us no stitches, just a shredded shirt and some nasty scratches.
Memorial weekend getaway in St. George with the Reed family and our cute friend Alysee (from France). We were looking for sun and fun and we found both. Our trip included a visit to Uncle Howard's farm, swimming, golfing, climbing through "the crack", games, ice cream and sleeping in. A great introduction to summer.

May brought another birthday for Spencer. Fifteen candles on his cake this year. We fixed a traditional tarteflet birthday dinner and then watched his baby video. Hard to belive this 5'7" young man was once a 7pound 14ounce baby. Some hightlights of Spencer's year include: Starting High School, Joining the Hockey and Soccer team, taking 4th year French, having his final 9th grade piano recital, going to Las Vegas to watch the "Runnin' Utes", parasailing and snorkeling in Mexico, skiing and camping to name a few.


We aren't giving up on piano yet, but Spencer played in his last recital. He's a talented musician and I love listening to him practice...when I can convince him to do so. We are going for a more relaxed lesson schedule this next year in hopes that he will continue developing his talents. Many thanks to Linda his dedicated and motivating teacher.

Spring is my time of year. I love the flowers, the sunshine, the birds singing in the trees and the anticipation of summer. One night we brought home a watermelon and instead of cocoa and toast had watermelon and toast for a bed-time snack.

For the past nine years I have been an art volunteer at the elementary school. Our art director Sabrina has been a joy to work with. Spring Art Night was exceptional. The art from each grade donned the halls and the school was transformed into a regular art museum. Here are a few pieces I worked on with Olivia and Clara's classes. My mind is already spinning with summer art ideas and things to do in next year's classes.


As a Kindergartner Lilly got to dance on the big stage at Kingsbury Hall this spring with Virginia Tanner Dance. She has been lucky enough to be in the same class as her cousin Camille. Her other cousin Isabel also performed the same day. Lilly's dance was about flowers...how fitting for our little Lilly. She had a small solo moment and executed with great grace and beauty.

Tuesdays and Fridays this spring were spent at the soccer field watching Spencer play on the JV team. He was easy to spot with his bright green shoes and #29. This is the sport he loves and we love watching him.
We brought our new puppy Charlie home in April. He has added a whole new element to our home and lives. The kids have been begging for years to get a puppy and I don't regret it one minute now that we have him. He is the first one to greet us when we wake up and he stands at the window by the door and crys when the kids go to school.

Lilly came with me to pick him up. He cried and cried when we put him in his kennell. She said, "this dog really likes his freedom!" After a few more minutes she asked me how long dogs live. I told her and then she said, "I'm gonna bawl my eyes out when he dies!" I guess you could call it love at first sight.

Charlie is our official dish washer. Any chance he gets he jumps in and starts licking. Good thing the dishes get sterilized! This dog is hilarous. He loves candy and can sniff out anything sweet in a wrapper. I had purchased several candy bars and he found the stash. I found him after he had opened the package and he was licking the goods. I took it away from him and went back to my business. A few minutes later he was sneaking past me walking very funny. When I approached him he was hiding another candy bar trying to hide it from my view. Funny boy.
We had a marvelous time vacation in Cancun Mexico with the Ensign family for Spring Break. Our trip had several snafus. For starters I learned at the Dallas airport that my passport had expired and I couldn't go on the trip! We had about 10 minutes to adjust suitcases and then Taylor took the 4 kids and headed off into the sunset. I was stuck in the Dallas airport. I found my way to Houston where I stayed by myself Saturday and Easter Sunday and then went to the passport agency and got a new passport and then met the family in Cancun on Monday night. There were so many funny things that happened on this trip that I might just write a short novel to give the full details.

Early in April Olivia and I attended the LDS Church General Young Womens meeting. It was at the Conference Center. Now that she is 12 this was her first time getting to go. We had a great time together and I loved the goals that they challenged the girls to work on: 1) Read scriptures at least 5 minutes a day 2) Pray every day 3) Smile. Easy steps that I have found truly lead to personal happiness and inspiration.



Since we knew we were going to be gone for Easter we had a Randall family Easter dinner and egg hunt the week before we left. When I look at this picture with the grandkids I'm in awe as all of these kiddos came from Taylor and his 4 other siblings. Great fun!


That about sums up our spring. I know summer doesn't officially start until June 21, but once June hits my mind is there! Now I feel so much better after CATCHING UP on all our fun.

April Fools

April 1st brought SNOW...grrrr. You can't fool me, my mind says spring, but Mother Nature says snow. This was perhaps the most miserable April Fools Day joke ever. I tried to pull a few jokes on the kids and they loved it. In each lunch bag I put a raw potato, rotten celery and old sliced lemons. At the bottom of the bag I left a note that said, "April Fools! Your real lunch is in the office". It was a hit.

I took Mom & Paul along with my father-in-law Reed out to lunch, but no April Fools joke ensued. We had a fun time visiting and being together. Tomorrow Mom has her big surgery to repair her rotator cuff, fix the shoulder break and repair the bone dammage. I'm hoping by the time Spring decides to really shine forth Mom will be on the speedy road to recovery.

Dirty Dishes

This is what my kitchen counter looked like at 8:00am. It never really improved the entire day. I took this photo to remember the chaos, but order flew out the window and chaos has ruled king today. My mother never went to bed with dirty dishes in the sink or on the counter. When it was my night to do the dishes I would often ask if I could wait until morning when I wasn't so tired. No she said, you will feel worse waking up to a mess. I'm not quite as militant as my mother in this regard...I wish I was. She's right. Clean counters and a clean sink help clear the mind and allow mornings to take on a newly awakened freedom. Here's hoping for a more organized tomorrow!

Lunch Lady

I realize that neither one of these girls looks very sick in this picture, but they were both home from school yesterday due to sore throats and runny noses. After laying on the couch and feeling the effects of boredom Clara organized a game of "school". She was the teacher and Lilly was the diligent student. They asked if I could take care of the "lunch room". I put on my hair-net and got to work. When they came in the kitchen for lunch they were surprised to find lunch set out "cafeteria style" complete with cooked peas, mac n' cheese & fruit cups. Had I known it would be such a thrill for them I would have done this years ago. Lilly said, "this is the neatest lunch day ever!" Clara invited her prized pupil to eat in the "Teachers Lounge" with her. Such simple pleasures...I have to admit that being the "Lunch Lady" was pretty dang fun!