Random Fun

Thanksgiving Bingo

and Pie....

Fun cousins!

Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast...."The best day of my life!", according to Hyrum....

"'cause I got to eat at school instead of doing work!"

Halloween all bundled up ready to Trick-or-Treat

Grandma LOVES the Halloween donut game (where you eat a donut that is dangling off a string). Seriously, she insists that we play this game every year. She is always the champion. How many other great grandmas do you know that would do the donut game and LOVE IT!

Grandma has a beautiful Pagoda tree in her back yard. In the autumn it is magnificent. More on this story later!

We Love You!

This fall, the weather was very warm and then cold....Hyrum was very confused. He walked home from school wearing his coat and boots (because it was snowy in the morning). On his way home from school it was warm again. He was roasting in his winter gear and was delighted that one of the neighbors had their sprinklers on. He came right home and got in his swimming suit. When he asked to go out and play I wasn't paying attention and absently told him he had to get his boots on first. Only when he announced that he would be out running through the sprinklers and he'd be back soon, did I take notice of his clothing.

I don't know if any one else has children that have to wear at least 2 different Halloween costumes in one season (depending on their mood I guess). Good thing we have a big costume box! Mari rotated between Tinkerbell and Supergirl. If you can't tell, I'm Perry the Platypus and Ben is Dr. Doofenschmirtz from Disney's Phineas and Ferb.

Eve's first costume was a purple princess....This Twister costume was more her mood at school

Hyrum waiting for the party.
This was Hyrum's original costume "Mr. Police Man" until my sister Holly gave him a Transformer costume for his birthday. Later, he went trick-or-treating as Batman.

Emma wore her pointe shoes for her costume. She had fun showing her class some of her dance steps. This is the last year all my kids will be in the school Halloween Parade :(

Hyrum was a great soccer blocker!

Emma loves the computer. When she grows up, she wants to be a graphic designer so she can design ketchup bottles (no joke!)

Birthday Buddies!

Cupcake facial!

Everyone is always singing or dancing at our house. Not a meal goes by when someone doesn't randomly get up from the table and start dancing or singing or showing their latest trick. I had a friend call on the phone and said, "Where are all your kids?" "They are here" I replied...."Oh, it just seems so quiet!"....I'm not sure how to take that...but we do have fun!

...and my favorite! I must say that I ROCK at Dance Dance Revolution!!!!

Behold!

Mari is sweet and charming...most of the the time....

We love her very much.

Mari has learned the art of dressing herself...

Mari is an interesting little girl. One minute she's total-girl, the next....well,

A few nights ago she informed me that she didn't want to act like a princess anymore, she wanted to be Spiderman.

She is always singing and dancing. During lunch she kept trying to sing, even with her mouth full of carrots. I kept telling her to act like a princess, not a monster (the song she was singing was more like a grovely growl than a song...but with carrots flying everywhere) She looked up at me with those blue eyes and started singing much more sweetly "We go potty and poop in the toilet. La la loo."

"Is that better Mom?"

Trying not to laugh I tried to explain that we don't talk about that kind of thing.

Looking very confused she said, "But we DO!"

Later, I was in the kitchen making dinner. I hear Mari behind me. She says, "Mom!"
I turn around to answer her and.... there she stands, pants in one hand, shirt in the other. She throws her arms out and says, "BEHOLD!"

And yes, she is completely naked!

Oh Mari. What are we to do with you?

A Tribute to a Special Girl

Emma, my 11 going on 16 year old. You are sweet, responsible, kind, caring, thoughtful of everyone around you. You are always looking for ways to help. On Sunday (fast Sunday) none of us had eaten since the night before. Ben was at the church from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. He had to stay later than expected because of a last minute meeting. He called home to tell us to go ahead with dinner, not to wait for him. Emma knew it was no fun to eat dinner alone, and that Dad had been fasting the whole time too..so she waited to eat until Dad came home. I know she was really hungry, but was able to think of her dad's feelings before her own. Ben felt loved.

We've been catching glimpses of the woman she will become. She will be strong, obedient, and loving. She will accomplish much and help many people. Tonight for family night, we watched the new video clips "We Believe" put out by the church to introduce the Mutual theme for 2011. Emma will be joining the Young Women next month...she is very excited and ready. After we watched, Emma testified to us that she knew that the values and principles talked about in the DVD were true. She knows that she will be happy if she continues to make choices that will lead her to Jesus Christ. I love you Emma!

My Little Man

We attended a baptism of a friend's little boy. Hyrum is usually very social with everyone, complete strangers are his best friends....but tonight he was acting funny. He was a bit shy, making polite conversation, using his best manners, and sitting still. (Anyone who knows Hyrum knows that sitting still is not one of his best qualities.) I didn't realize why this sudden extra charm until I noticed that seated directly next to Hyrum, on the other side, were two beautiful teenage girls.

I caught Hyrum's eye as he was trying to figure out how to talk to these girls. He was so nervous! I've never seen him like this before. It was priceless to see this little man start to come out.

Hyrum pulled me down to his level and whispered in my ear, "Mom, being around pretty girls makes me jealous!"

"Jealous? What does 'jealous' mean Hyrum?"

"Jealous means....uh....I don't know....I just feel kind of.....nervous."

"It's okay, Hyrum. You can be nervous. You just remember to be yourself. You are a good boy!"

These girls were eating Hyrum up. He sat taller that night.

Payday

Emma and Eve playing their jazz duet "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"

Our concert was NOT a disaster. In fact, it was really fun. There was only one accident...and unfortunately it involved Eve's cello. 5 minutes before the concert, someone tripped over her cello, landing it face down, bridge popped out and broken in 3 places.

It was a mad dash...I rush to Eve's cello, pick it up, and try to find all the pieces of broken bridge, 2 moms from the front row get down to help me look. Poor Eve looks heartbroken. I comfort her and take her cello off stage to try to piece it together.

Meanwhile, one of Eve's friends named Kyle (a violinist) and a bunch of other friends are surrounding Eve trying to tell her that it will be okay. I'm still working on the cello when I look up and Eve and all these kids are gone.

Kyle realized that there was another cello at the very top of the back stage storage closet. Somehow, all those kids hoist Kyle up and he retrieves the cello for Eve to use. Team effort, not just for sports.

This is one of the many reasons I love teaching orchestra...because it attracts such high quality kids. They really care about each other. They are friends outside of class and in. They have a place to belong.


Eve was smiling again....and I was able to balance/fix her cello just in time to start the concert.

The kids did great! The parents seemed pleased. The kids seemed really proud of themselves. Many teachers and the principal commented that this is the best the orchestra has ever sounded. I'd have to agree.


We celebrated our concert the next day by having a party before school. I brought donuts and chocolate milk. We had orchestra store, music, hula hoops, basketballs, scooter boards and a gym full of wild and crazy orchestra kids. Some of the teachers in earshot of our party poked their heads in and said, "Party on! You all worked so hard, you deserve to have fun."

Another perk of being a teacher is the great Christmas gifts. One sweet cello named Austin gave me a beautiful black and white musical patterned fleece blanket. Others gave chocolates, candies, lotions, candles.....and best of all, cards.

Here are a few: (spelling and grammar unedited)
"Thanks you for teaching the orchestra. I really liked practising with you...." Marcus

"Thank you for all the extra practice and help . Your a wonderful orchestra teacher."
Love Lauren

"Thank you for teaching me how to play my cello. You are a great teacher." Austin

And, my favorite:

"Thanks for all the help in Orchestra! I've had a great chance of showing my songs to the world." Bianca

Our very large orchestra will be even larger starting in January. I've had calls from 8 more parents informing me that their children will be starting with us when we begin again.

BRING IT ON!!!!!

One More Reason to Love Elementary Orchestra

Ben had me listen to this tonight...one day before our Orchestra Christmas Concert. I couldn't stop laughing.

Somehow I felt relief. I've been so occupied with thoughts of "Will we be ready for our concerts?" or "What if the violas revolt?" or "What if I'm tuning their instruments and someone's string breaks and they can't play?" "What if the parents don't think their students made enough progress to make it worth their time and tuition?"...."What if, what if, what if"....

I've done the best I can to help them prepare. Most of them have been practicing every day (Really!).They are all so excited to perform (most of them are performing for the first time ever)....

After listening to this music bite, I am reminded why I am a teacher...because I LOVE to watch my students learn and progress and develop a skill in something that is tricky. Even if our concert is not perfect, or even beautiful, I just have to look down at those beaming faces and know that it's all been worth it!

Gentle Autumn

I love the colors of autumn

The crisp apples and mountain air,

The tricks AND the treats (chocolate donuts are my favorite!)

Raking up falling leaves

and jumping in them.

Warming up after final garden chores.

Long walks with friends,

Take a deep breath and begin to relax....and yes, football season!

beauty,

mischief,

grace and charm,

joy!

Autumn is the ending of one adventure,

And the beginning of another.