You know what? It's a brazzle dazzle day!

Pre-Earth Day Hike, April 21, 2009

Since my Earth Day idea (planting flowers) was not as exciting to my children as I thought it would be, I will consider this hike our official Earth Day activity. It was glorious.

Today while Jake was in his little story time at the library, I sat under a window in the sunshine with Finn, looking at books while he crawled around.  I was sitting by the "Y's" and started reading books by Jane Yolen, who wrote the incredible book, "The Devil's Arithmetic."  I have long admired her, and even have a book autographed by her, thanks to my book-loving, librarian mother-in-law, Linda.  Anyway, I picked up her book called Letting Swift River Go.  It is amazing.  I hope you will check it out.

What Jane Yolen says about the book:  "I had lived in the Connecticut River Valley for a number of years, and had known (and visited) that lovely created wilderness, the Quabbin Reservoir. But I hadn't known the human story behind it until the local newspaper did an article. It seems that in the late '30s, the people of the Swift River Valley towns had sold their property and therefore their futures to Boston. Boston, it seems, had a long thirst. Trees and buildings were removed, the people relocated, and then the entire area was drowned to make a reservoir for the folk of Boston, sixty miles to the east. At first I thought I wanted to write a novel. I had a picture in my head of a girl in a boat looking over her drowned town. Eventually (about five years later) that picture in my head became the last scene in the picture book. Barbara Cooney's illustrations are a gift, each one stunningly perfect."

What reviewers have said: "Yolen's poetic narration, in the voice of a woman who was six years old when her family learned they would have to give up their home, recalls the tranquillity of a rural community where children fished in the river and picnicked in the graveyard. ... Cooney's luminous, exquisitely designed watercolors, in tenderly glowing colors, focus on carefully selected details, like loving memories that retain only the most significant particulars. ...A lovely book about reconciling necessary change with the enduring value of what is lost." -- Kirkus Reviews

Sisters...

My sisters Cami and Jaime both have April birthdays, so they often share birthday parties.  We had a great time at my Mom's house.  Amazing food, delightful weather, and wheelbarrow rides from Uncle Tyler!  It doesn't get any better than that.

Just a word about my sisters:  I love them.  SO MUCH.

I'm a soccer Mom.

Owen had his first ever soccer practice and game, back to back on Saturday.  I was pretty nervous to see his reaction to the whole thing.  Anyone who knows Owen knows that he is veeeeery shy in new situations.  Not even just new situations!  Pretty much most situations.

He did cry when we first got out of the car, and said, "I wish I never signed up for soccer!"  But as soon as he was away from me, and listening to his great coach (Bennett's coach from last year, actually), he was totally fine.  

And get this:  he kicked the ball!  Many times!  And he was smiling and having little fun friend moments with kids on his team and the other team throughout.  Phew.

Scary moment...

After Owen's soccer game at Lundstrom Park on Saturday, we noticed some parachutes, or parasails, I think, drifting down to earth from the mountains just to the East.  We watched the first one land beautifully on the empty baseball diamond there.  Then we watched as the second one circled down, closer and closer.  I took this photo of the kids watching his descent.  Doesn't it look beautiful and serene?  Unfortunately, something went wrong when he tried to land, his parasail crumpled up at the last second, and he fell to the earth from many feet above, bounced, landed again, and didn't move.  People swarmed around him from all over the park.  He was talking, but unable to breathe or move.  Bennett, Owen, Jake and Jack had run right up next to him while I was taping (yes, I have the fall recorded), so I quickly tried to remove them from the disturbing scene.  I tried to explain that he didn't need 50 people gawking at him, and someone had already called for help. 

As we were driving away, I did see him finally up on his hands and knees.  So hopefully he is okay.  I know this is a random and unhappy post.  But it was a significant even this weekend, so there you have it.

Congratulations, Michelle and Shay!

I was Michelle's YW leader when she was just a Beehive!  I can't believe she is now getting MARRIED!  Did you know this, Jami?!  Doesn't she look happy?  She is always happy, but recently when I've seen her, she's been EXTRA happy!  The best part about Michelle is that she makes everyone around her happy too.  Shay is a lucky fella.

For those who have asked, yes, I made the above painting in 2006. It is done in pastel, and measures about 11 x 14" I think. It's called Wellsville Spring, and is part of the permanent collection of Bill and Nancy Judd of Coalville, Utah.

Easter Festivities

Bennett pulled his tooth out the night before Easter!  He also bought a clone trooper helmet with birthday money, which he has worn all over town, including the Easter egg hunt at Lee's Marketplace.  And on Sunday, he got to see his friend, Hallee at church.  Also, he got a chocolate bunny bigger than his head, so all in all, Easter was a big hit.

Owen loved getting a marshmallow chick.  He has a book by Kevin Henkes called "Owen's Marshmallow Chick."  His marshmallow chick had a different fate than the one in the book though.  

We wrapped rubber bands around eggs before we colored them, and they turned out lovely!  Of course there was the "incident" of yellow dye being dumped on the floor.

Jake really likes big mascot-typed animals.  Isn't that weird?  He sneaked past all the other kids to get a better look at the Easter bunny.  He had a great time at Easter, and even went to nursery, (okay, I stayed with him) where he learned all about the real reason we have Easter.  He even raised his hand to answer questions!

Okay, it wasn't Finn's favorite day.  Until he got to eat a ginormous sucker.

Baby Animals

We went to Baby Animal Days this year along with about 2 million other people.  It really was so fun, and once the crowds thinned out, it was excellent.  For those of you who have never been to this grand event, allow me to share some of the highlights from our day there.  First, Jake was the only kid to really care about the baby animals.  He loved all of them, but was especially sweet holding a duckling and a little chick.  Bennett and Owen were mainly interested in throwing spears at the wooly mammoth (a fake wooly mammoth if you were wondering), and throwing tomahawks at big pieces of tree trunks.  Oh, and cotton candy.  We watched a blacksmith, saw a sheep be shorn, and were highly impressed by a young man with a bull whip.  It was so loud it totally freaked Finn out.  Other than that he enjoyed himself.  Jason's favorite thing:  the penny farthing bicycle.  My favorite thing:  roasted corn on the cob.  And the teeny tiny turtles.  And Jake holding a duckling.

Springy Things: 2 days with Grandma and Grandpa

Our outings to the farm by my parents' house always reminds me of the little song my mom used to sing us:

"Rock-a-bye, don't you cry, we will go to Granny's. 

Up the hill, by the mill, we will see the lambies!"

The weather was just warm enough to play in the backyard at Grandma's with cousin Porter.
Cousins  in the tub!  They will for sure love this photo in about 15 years.
The boys went for a loooong hike in the foothills with Grandma. Even Jake hiked the 3+ miles.  Later in the day we went to work/play at Grandpa Stick's house.
He is such a handsome man!  I took this photo without him knowing...

Parent day with the Owenator.

We got to go to school with Owen for part of the day last Wednesday for Parent Day.  Owen really loves school, and seriously, what's not to like?  Look at what he does there:

Hangs like a monkey:
Plays with his friends:  (Olivia is in a different class, but we got to see her out on the playground.  So cute!)
Creates amazing works of art:
Feeds the turtle and other pets...
Luckyyyyy!

Adams Art Program

Just before school started I got a phone call from a girl named Melanie, an Americorps Vista working at Adams Elementary this year.  She was looking for help in starting an art program at Adams, and I was, of course very excited to try and help.  I haven't done as much as I would like to, but I'm happy to have been involved at all.  I don't need to get on my soapbox today about how important it is for our kids to have art in school, because all my readers know that, right???  

Anyway, I was beyond flattered to receive the award of Adams Volunteer of the Year for my help getting the art program rolling for grades 1-3.  Rachel Hall received the same award for working with grades 4-5.  It was very humbling, and I didn't feel like I truly deserved it at all.  There are so many amazing volunteers at the school, and Melanie is far more responsible for the success of the art program than I am.  So I was really honored.
Here are Bennett and Hannah Gibson, trying out a project before it is presented to the 1st graders next week.  They are learning about Eric Carle's cool collages.
And here I am with Heather Albee-Scott and Melanie Champagne after receiving my award from the school board.  These girls are absolutely amazing, and  I am so glad they work at the school my children attend.  Not to mention they have become my great friends!  It is so great to be part of this community within the school.  Our family has really benefited from getting involved and seeing the great people who work with Bennett.  (And soon Owen!)  Jason serves on the community council, which has been pretty interesting for him too.
It is nice to feel like you have something to offer, even if it's something small.

Chicken Tenders and Tender Mercies.

Love can be found in the most random places.  Sometimes it can even surprise you at KFC, which is where I found it tonight.  Allow me to elaborate.

Jason is out of town for a couple of days, and one way that I cope with him being gone is going out to eat once during the time he is away.  Tonight was the night.  Of course I don't want to take the kids anywhere nice.  But we're trying to stay away from fast food.  So we drove around for a few minutes, thinking, thinking.  Owen asked, "What's that place over there?" and pointed to KFC.  We'd never been there, so I thought we could try it out, though it is not my first choice. (Sorry, Kate.)  My intention was to stay in the car, drive through, and eat at home since it's too cold for a park.  However, when we pulled up to the window, I had absolutely no idea what to order or what anything on the menu was since we hadn't been there in recent memory.  So I ended up pulling through the drive-up and parking so we could go inside.

The kids were oh-so-excited about their laptop meals.  It took forever to order, and by the time I had finished, there was a massive line behind us.  I felt like I was holding up the world, though it wasn't really my fault; the cashier girl was just very... thorough.  

As I ordered, Jake started crying out about dying of thirst, so I held him while I finished, and then carried him and sleeping Finn (in his car seat) to a table.  I felt so many eyes on us as I lugged the kids across the place.  Not  mean eyes, but eyes nonetheless. 

The kids had beautiful behavior for a full 10 minutes or so.  Then things began to unravel, as they always do.  Jake fell off his tall chair.  His wailing woke up Finn who joined the chorus. Owen was asking over and over how to figure out the word games on his laptop meal, while I tried to console Jake, shovel food in Finn's mouth, and clean up our mess.  I just wanted to get out of there so bad.  I remained pretty calm outwardly, but inside I was raging.  In those situations, I wonder if people think any of the following:

a.  She obviously has too many kids.  

b.  She has no control over her kids. 

c.  Why on earth did she bring all those kids to dinner by herself?

d.  When are they leaving?

Maybe they were thinking all of the above.  I just threw everything in the garbage can and picked up Finn, ready to run, when an older man walked up to me and touched my arm.  (Here is where I get really emotional, just remembering his face.)

He said, "I just want to tell you that you are doing a good job." He patted my arm and really looked into  my eyes as he said it.  "Look at these good boys!" he laughed, "Hello boys!"

Bennett and Jake said hello, and Owen stepped behind me.

"Well, I always know when it's time to go," I said, my eyes almost-- ALMOST filling with tears, "We always make a memorable exit."

"Oh no," he said, "You just enjoy this.  You are doing a wonderful job.  It just takes me back, and I had to come over here and tell you how I admire you."

I thanked him sincerely and told him goodbye before heading out the door to cry.  My heart was over-flowing.  Seriously, who was this guy?  An angel?  Really, I think he was.

I smiled at my boys, now happy and darling again.  I was astonished at the 180 my attitude had taken.  Of course as soon as I opened the door, the boys ran out across the parking lot like I had never taught them a single word about cars and safety, and I got a crusty look from an old lady backing out.  

It seems like a dream when I think about that man saying the things that I needed to be told.  I am so glad Owen wanted to go to KFC.  Good choice, Owen.  Angels eat at KFC.