The Shane and Danielle Matheson Family

Perceptions

2011-07-24T16:22:00.001-06:00

My life has been moving at a pace faster than I can deal with. That is why things are falling through my fingers. I will go back and pick up those things, and repair them the best that I can, but until then all of you will just have be satisfied with all that I can do. (even if "all" means part of my list). I saw this today, it bothered me. I borrowed it from a friend, who borrowed it from Jeff Bridge's Website.

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later: The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children.. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly..

45 minutes: The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, and people's priorities.

The questions raised:

*In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

*Do we stop to appreciate it?

*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made...

How many other things are we missing?

I hope I am not missing anything.

Danielle

Vacation 2011

2011-07-03T19:16:00.000-06:00

I know there has been a break in my blogging, we were out of town, and I didn't think ahead and schedule posts for while I was gone. So, rather than advertise that we were gone, I opted to just pretend to be too busy to blog; which in fact, I was! We had planned on leaving on a Saturday, but the Wednesday before our planned departure I got sick. Truly, amazingly sick. I don't get sick very often, but when I am laid flat with a fever and cannot fold more than one or two pieces of laundry without a nap, you know there is problem. Anyway, since I would be travelling mostly alone, I decided to wait until Monday to leave so I was fully recovered. Good thing I did! I still wasn't really 100% by the time we left, but I was doing much better. But, that illness stole two very three very important vacation days. Boo.

We arrived in San Diego on Tuesday, and rested. Well, I also took Dallin to the Mall. He has completely outgrown EVERYTHING. They have 'cooler' clothes in California, so he was happy to make due with just a few articles of clothing until we could get there and get a whole bunch of good stuff. It was the first time I refused to pick anything out for him. It was really fun to see his own sense of style come out. Of course, there were lots of pictures as I picture messaged everything back to his sister for approval. In the end, he was feeling pretty confident. Wednesday I visited my ultra-cute grandma. She has just gotten out of the hospital, so everyone is watching her like a hawk right now. She winds her way through the house with her oxygen tube. I don't know how she doesn't get tangled. Anyway, when we showed up, my Uncle who was her current caretaker was out at lunch so she and I got to visit all by ourselves. We don't get to talk alone much, and she has always been someone I can tell everything too. Not to mention she is just darn smart. She is one of the best people-analyzers I have ever met. It was nice to speak freely without a lot of people around.

On Thursday I took the boys to the chicken Pie Shop. Both cheap and yummy; a wonderful combination. Then we went to the Zoo.

We stood in line for the pandas. It had been a long time since we had done that. I think I am part panda. They are vegetarians and spend their days napping. Yep, although I do like my meat, I tend to eat a lot of salads and a nap a day would make me a happy woman. We also seem to have the same figure. Unfortunately.

Then a trip down Horton's Way. It is the Elephant exhibit, with a nod to Dr. Seuss who lived in San Diego and donated generously to the Zoo. LOVE the lions. They were EATING. It was scary and exciting. This guy is so big. It is hard to see from this perspective, but seriously, Lions are HUGE!

This is the Lioness. Well, one of several. Lions are happy at the San Diego Zoo and Safari Parks. They make a lot of babies. Here is some perspective; her TAIL is at least the size of my bicep. She is all muscle. I wish I was all muscle.

Big guy.

Seriously, she is lean and sexy.

And the elephants. We also saw the leopard, the secretary bird and numerous snakes and lizards. Not to mention several displays about the fossils in the area.

You know how you always saw cartoons where elephants put their noses in water then squirted the water into their mouths to drink? They REALLY do that! And it is SO much cooler to see in person.

Mac rediscovered his camera, and I again was followed by my own personal paparazzi.

And the meerkats were just lazy. I was feeling that way about then.

This was a new one. It was a baby Kimodo Dragon. The guy was in the top of the tree! I guess that is how you keep alive when you aren't big yet.

And then, our traditional picture. Dallin in his new clothes; the big, grown up guy that he is.

And McCade is, well, McCade.

Danielle

Look at this big guy!

2011-07-03T16:45:00.000-06:00

Wow!

I took these pictures the day before Dallin got braces. I wanted his dance pictures to look like he did during recital, that would mean no braces.

What a big guy he is.

What a seriously handsome young man he is.

(Not that I am biased or anything. . .)

I am sure that in less than a year he will be taller than me.

All I can say is . . .
WOW.

Finding people. . .

2011-06-05T18:38:00.000-06:00

Basketball Camp.

Lots of

Basketball Camp.

This week the High School Coaches held their Basketball Camp.

I had three different kids in three different sessions. I ran back and forth to the High School all day long!

At the end, they were exhausted and sore.

But all of them felt it was a good monetary investment.

On friday night Shane and the boys had the Father & Sons Campout with our church. Shane was in charge of the entire activity, which inculded a Breakfast for Everyone in our congregation (we call it a Ward) the next morning.

In case you haven't gotten the picture, (or lack of pictures, or pictures with a phone surgically attached to his ear) he is a very busy man. Things that he cannot do usually fall to me. This was very much the case with this.

However, since I have now had several years of several activities per year as far as throwing together a party for several hundred people, I can throw together a party in less than 15 minutes now.

Except for the shopping. That takes longer.

In the end, it went well and there were very few leftovers. That's when I know I have done well.

As a family, we have discussed planting a garden this year.

There are a few problems with this.

#1 - I have never gardened. I have planted flowers, that was fun. One year I planted lettuce in between my flowers as ground cover.

There was a lot of lettuce.

Good thing we had a guinea pig then.

I quit planting flowers the summer I was in a cast from my achilies tendon rupture. I couldn't do it and my flowers beds were in such disrepair that I just let the grass take them over. It made me sad.

#2 - Shane and I have completely different ideas on what a garden is.

He thinks it is a big plot of land with lots of rows that requires a lot of weeding. It produces WAY more stuff than you can eat so you need to CAN the rest. Canning to me is going to the store and picking up a can. That kind of garden takes up your whole life. I think gardening is some pretty constructed boxes with weed barriers so the weeding is minimal. It grows only what you can eat fresh and only takes a little bit of time.

So we 'discussed' this long enough that there will be no garden for us. However, one of our friends has hurt his knee and he & his family have one of those extra big, have to live gardens. So, in an attempt to give our kids the gardening experience, we offered to help them.

'We' isn't EXACLTY what happened.

Dallin was fairly sick by the time he got home from the campout. He was just plain exhausted. He had been at the Senior Basketball Camp all week (7th-12th grade). That would have been enough, but then Shane had gotten him up every morning to go to work with him. THEN they didn't really sleep at the campout. We left him home.

Tacey hadn't done anything except chase boys and go to Camp, but she threw one of those 15 yr old girl hissy fits and frankly, we didn't want to deal with it. So we left her home.

McCade jumped in the truck all happy.

We = three.

Shane rototilled while Ken hoed the rows and the kids picked up the weeds. Well, they kind of picked up the weeds. They will really regret not being more diligent later this summer. But that too, is a lesson.

Ken's wife, Jen & I planted the seeds.

This is a BIG garden. It is 80x20.

In the end, it looked like this.

I know it doesn't look like much; yet. In a few weeks it will have corn, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, radishes, cucmbers, zuccini, squash, onions, peas, beans and carrots. There will also be a row of sunflowers to offer a bit of shade while we work.

We plan on helping them all summer.

These are the gardeners. That whole thing only took about 2 hours with al the hands working.

I was also told that our presence made for less yelling.

I am all for increased family harmony!

This is Talon. He said he was sick and didn't really help. Sometimes he forgot he was sick. But he did take a nap.

So, backing up. . .

This little cutie is RIGDON. He is my friend Mindy's son.

Mindy is a ROCKSTAR as far as I am concerned.

Her husband left her with her 4 children and went to fight for freedom in Iraq. They have really worked hard and been strong and positive during their separation. They get to see their Dad a lot; Skype is a wonderful thing. But there is a difference between seeing someon, and actually talking face to face; especially when you are going to be away an entire year.

Rigdon's dad got 2 weeks leave and came home for a short vacation this week. The morning after Mindy picked her husband at the airport in the middle of the night Rigdon looked at her and said in his super-cute 3 yr old voice with his super twinkly, innocent (but full of mischeif) eyes:

Mom, Thanks finding my Daddy!

yea, pass the kleenex.

But that is kind of what I have been doing this week. I have this goal; I want to put together a book with pictures and documents for my great-grandfather and his descendants. So I have been doing a lot of online genealogy work. I have found a lot of people.

I found out my grandfather had a younger brother that was stillborn.

I found the great-granddaughter of my great-grandfather's sister.

We have been emailing each other.

I have found that I am frustrated that I can't just get the documents;

they HIDE

they are HARD to FIND.

I am going to keep looking.

Someday, someone is going to say;

"Danielle, thanks for finding me!"

Danielle

Time to get Seussified. . .

2011-05-28T00:12:00.000-06:00

Well, every year a lose my mind a little.

It is a proven fact.

Every year I adapt a book and create a play for the Elementary School kids to participate in. I add some music and voila! We have an instant big money fund raiser for the PTO.

This year I adapted several Dr. Seuss books and poems and added some songs from Seussical the Musical.

McCade recited the ENTIRE text 'There's a Wocket in my Pocket!'

Which of course, involves the Zink in the Sink.

And the Zlock in the Clock

And the Bofa in the Sofa acts like it doesn't even care.

Horton also hatched an egg after Mayzie talked him into it.

He also got seasick . . .

And Gertrude (Well, several Gertrudes) wanted bigger tails,

and several Mayzies helped out.

And of course there was Dr. Drake.

Dr. Drake by the lake.

This is almost my entire cast. There were 87 of them.

Yep. A cast of 87 kids in 3rd-6th grade.

As I said,

Every Year I LOSE my MIND

Just a little.

But we made

OODLES

of money for the PTO.

On the very last day of school there was an awards assembly.

McCade was pretty excited.

He said he had never received an award before.

I thought he had, but he may be right.

He was

EXTREMELY

excited.

He earned his

National Physical Fitness Award.

He had good reason to smile.

Danielle

Finding a church. . .

2011-05-25T19:34:00.000-06:00

Okay, so the kids are out of school; I am out of school and the summer stretches before us. The months are too short, even if the days are long, and I am already wishing that by some MIRACLE they will delay the start of school next August 18th. Anyway. . .

I was Blog Surfing the other night and came across one where the Blogger was looking for a 'new church' because they didn't like the one they had previously gone to. This whole process was made worse by the fact that their 5 yr-old son was insistent that they needed to go to church every Sunday.

I am a church-goer. I go all the time. I also attend meetings during the week. It is safe to say that my church takes up a lot of my life. That's how I chose to live it.

But there is a difference between a CHURCH and LIVING THE WORD OF GOD.

I am active in my church because I believe the things taught in the Scriptures.

I do service because Jesus said 'Love one another as I have Loved you.'

I attend my meetings, of which there are several, because there is a commandment that says 'Thou shalt have no other Gods before me'.

I teach these things to my children and wait for the things they teach me in return. Christ said to become as a little child; meek submissive, humble . . .

I have FAITH. A deep, strong, abiding FAITH that if I uphold my part of any and all bargains, the Lord will always uphold his. I know he may not do it on my time schedule, but that's okay. I never do thing on my kid's time schedules either.

I truly believe we are all equal in his eyes. I just believe that some of us are braver than others and therefore are stuck in amazingly hard situations.

I think that Blogger had the right idea, but the wrong method. The Blogger was involved in a very personal search, but finding a local church that 'fits' isn't the answer. The answer is to find a religion that satisfies their soul. One that has answers that fit all their questions. One that is preached the same way in every chapel that carries it's name; whether it be in South America, South Africa or South Carolina. Heck, PRAY about it. Be SINCERE about your prayer. I bet you are led to where you need to be.

Religion has always been important in my life. It has been the source of pain and contention. It has been the source of joy and comfort. Everyone is at a different point along the path; different things resonate with different people. I do not impose my beliefs on anyone; not even my children. However, my heart is full and my eyes brim with tears when someone I know and love has found the place where their spiritual needs are fulfilled.
It isn't about finding a church . . .it is about finding a home with our Heavenly Father.

Danielle

Service

2011-05-22T20:11:00.001-06:00

School is almost over, and we have been working to finish up the 'lasts'. Last tests, last assignments, last concerts; all sorts of lasts.

In fact, there really wasn't a whole lot to document this week. However, I did take pictures to help out a friend. And then I got to thinking about service.

Anyone who reads my blog knows we spend a lot of time involved with the boy scout program. Every time I help one of my sons, or one of our friends, I think about my Grandpas; who were avid scouters. I know they just look down and smile. There are some amazing skills young men develop when working in the scout program. They not only learn skills that help them become skilled young men at things like camping; but they learn life skills. Goal setting, leadership, integrity, honesty, being dependable, and service are only some the things I see as a result of this program.

Our friend Tate has been working on his Eagle Project. I have become known for 'scolarly writing' skills, so I helped him one night write up his project. Then we, as a family helped him pass out flyers for a food drive; which was his eagle project.

And finally we all helped pick up and organize the food one Saturday morning.

This is Tate. He looks like he is in charge, doesn't he? Leadership.

This is Tate with his self-appointed right-hand-man:Chris.

And the group ready to go run door-to-door.

Dallin ran his legs; but not off.

We broke up into several groups and everyone took a few streets for food collection.

Then we all gathered back at the church and organized and boxed the food and other items the local food pantry said they needed.

We emptied the bags that were picked up from the individual houses.

There were lots of bags.

Every label had to be read.

Every can has to be placed in it's proper place.

Did you know that a vegetable can be hard to define?

IS an OLIVE a vegetable?

There was a snafoo with the packing tape to hold the boxes (the very heavy boxes) together.

Scotch either has decreased the amount of stick on their tape, or we got a bad lot, because the tape was not even remotely sticky. We had to make an emergency run for actually sticky tape.

Through it all, Tate was the fearless leader.

And the people were generous.

It took a lot of hands to do all this work. None of them were going to benefit from this; all this work and effort was for others. SERVICE.

The morning ended with doughnuts provided by our fearless leader. This is Gabe. The doughnut is as big as his head.

Service.

Now the local food pantry will be able to provide food for local residents. Did you know that 11.6% of the households in our community are food insecure? That means when they finish one meal they have no means with which to get the next one.

Can you imagine, looking at your hungry child and telling them there is NOTHING you can do for them?

I cannot think of anything worse than that.

Hunger.

Food insecure people are not only physically hungry, they are spiritually hungry. They must be so sad, frustrated, depressed, scared. . .

I cannot begin to imagine it.

Glad I don't have to.

Glad I could help others.

I don't want anyone to feel that way.

I am even more grateful we have to opportunity to teach our kids to help others.

That's the way it should be.

Danielle

Another LONG week . . .

2011-05-14T21:03:00.000-06:00

It has been a very long week.

I spent Mother's Day catching up on work.

(not what I had planned; I really wanted a good book and a nap. I plan on taking a make-up Mother's Day sometime in June)

Monday is a work day, followed by rehearsal with the Elementary School kids for their play, then a quick run to piano lessons

and then we had
Tacey's Choir Concert.

She enjoys the all-girl choir at school.

I had thought she would lean more toward the Show Choir as she has spent a great deal of her life dancing.

However, she loves the difficulty of the this more classical format and the concentration on the music.

I was both surprised and pleased.

She is a Soprano; big surprise; NOT!

She has been given her choice of any of the Advanced Choirs at the High School next year.
Not a bad position to be in;
gives her the freedom to choose what fits best into her schedule.
That is important for someone who is planning on being a
DOCTOR.
Glad she will be able to support me in my old age!

After the Choir Concert we came home to work on a Project for Dallin.

That will be discussed later in the week . . .

Tuesday was another work day, followed by more rehearsal, then off to watch some of Tacey's friends in the end of the year Ballroom Dance team concert.

It was a very nice concert.

This is Tacey's friend Josh in a Cabaret number. It was his final dance. He dedicated it to all those who serve in the Armed Forces. That is appropriate since he is a member of the National Guard.

Tacey and I have decided this is one of the best songs . . . EVER!

Then it was home to work on Dallin's project some more.
He was a little behind in his school work, and hadn't done well on the stuff he had done when he was sick the week before.
So there was a bit of a meltdown because of the pressure.
In our house that means four letters;

M.G.Y.B.

In other words;

Mom's Got Your Back

That means, he did his homeowork with a Cheerleader Mom next to him.
Then he went to bed and Mom worked on the display for his project until the early hours of the morning.

Then came Wednesday.

There was work, but before the work there was another several hours of work on the display.

(Seriously, the display took 4 1/2 to 5 hours. The project itself? 30 minutes, MAYBE.)

After work there was more rehearsal, a trip for a weekly appointment,

and back to get ready for the

TECH EXPO

very big deal in the world of Dallin.

The Tech Expo was put on by the Gifted & Talented Program in the school district.
Not everyone was asked to participate, but Dallin was.
Several VOLUNTEERED to participate,
and it is probable that Dallin would have volunteered as well,
but it was super-cool to be singled out and ASKED to re-create one of the projects he had done earlier in the year.

So, what was this project?

It had to do with alternate forms of energy.

Orginally, hit lit a light bulb using a Lemon.

Yep.

A LEMON.

For the Tech Expo he expanded that to include a potato and a pickle and used a volt meter instead of a light bulb.

He tried all of them at home, recorded and tracked the results, and then

Mom made a display.

Dallin was the one on the spot at that evening though.

He had to present and explain his project to everyone who came by. He had to help them recreate it himself.

Public Speaking

Dallin

*yikes*

Can I say

AGAIN

that this kid never ceases to

AMAZE

me.

He was

INCREDIBLE!

So, we named to project

'Dead Battery got you in a PICKLE?'

Mainly because the pickle was

by far

the best conductor.

On the left it explains what a Battery is; how it works.

Underneath that you have the chart of the lemon experiment.

It shows the volts using several different types of conductors; steel, zinc, thin copper and thick copper.

On the right it tells what he used in his exhibit and why the lemon, potato and pickle worked just like a battery.

It also charts the potato.

Then it asks a question;

"What do you think the

PICKLE JUICE

will do?"

In the center is the chart for the pickle itself,

and the title of the project.

He had a lemon, potato and pickle there

as well as the volt meter

and the bowl of pickle juice.

Everyone came to support Dallin,

but McCade had the most fun.

He spent the night fighting with a radio controlled robot someone had made

and riding this hovercraft one of Dallin's friends had made.

It was a little bit unbalanced so it didn't hover very well,

but it did hover!

Back to Dallin . . .

He really explained his project well

everyone was very interested!

As well as impressed.

He let them do the experiment themselves.

And in the end he got VERY creative!
He used himself as a battery.
He is very conductive.
Thursday was not a work day, but I did go
CRAZY at the GYM!
I haven't been working out the way I had been.
So, I walked a mile UP HILL on the treadmill,
then took a Yoga Class
then took a Zumba Class,
then stayed for an extra Ab workout taught by the Zumba instructor.
Three workouts in one day.
Does that mean I am done for the week?
Then more rehearsal with the little kids.
After that I had church stuff that took most of the night.
Friday:
Tacey left for an over night trip with the school music department
I cleaned,
had rehearsal,
sent Shane and the Boys off to a Boy Scout
overnight campout.
I tried to talk him into taking the dog,
but that didn't happen.
So I was alone,
well almost - the dog was home.
It was quiet.
Silent.
I should have done something crazy,
or productive,
I fell asleep.
Lame.

Danielle

There is always an Army

2011-05-13T17:22:00.000-06:00

When I get up in the morning, I often find an Army has invaded.

They are a mean looking group. They have many weapons. They are disciplined; the are always in perfect formation. They never rest.

There are always casualties. And beasts that they tame.

And air forces.

Someday they will no longer fight in my living room.

I think I might miss that.

New Hardware . . .

2011-05-05T23:13:00.001-06:00

What can you do with an extra several thousand dollars you just have laying around the house?

Some people buy new things; cars, landscaping, new furniture, etc.

Some people invest in

HARDWARE

Like most long-term projects, installation of the hardware can be extremely tricky.

But the result will make all the blood, sweat and tears

worth it.

On this particular Cinco De Mayo, Dallin got his braces.

He brushed his plain teeth one last time.

And I took one last 'before' picture.

He looks tired.

He hadn't really slept, he hadn't really eaten.

He was just too nervous.

Doesn't this just break your heart?

He could not look more apprehensive.

And it begins.

First thing they do is sandblast your teeth.

It feels like you have eaten the beach,

minus the seagulls.

Still, the anxiety was really high.

Then you look like you ate a really blue cupcake.

This is a primer they put on before the glue.

Then the actual brackets.

Dallin got these cool ones that are little,

and have little gates that open and close.

It makes it really easy to change the wire.

That white thing in his mouth is a 'cheek keeper'.

It keeps your cheeks out of the way while they work on you.

He also had a tongue barrier.

It was blue and kept his tongue in the back of his mouth so his teeth remained as dry as possible.

And still there was the anxiety.

So we have the bottom front,

and the top front,

then the back ones on the left,

then the back ones on the right.

The Orthodontist adjusts them before they are set with an ultra-violet light.

Then the wire.

In this case,

he had to spend even more time in this very

uncomfortable position.

Since his teeth tip in towards his mouth, he was unable to bite down without hitting his teeth on the new brackets on his bottom teeth.

So they used the concrete

(or whatever it is they use)

on his brackets and filled his back molars with it.

This built up his teeth so that he could bite without hitting those bottom brackets.

This, like the installation of MOST hardware took longer than anticipated.

We had figured about 1 1/2 hours.

Even though we have the most amazing Orthodontist

IN THE WORLD

poor Dallin was a shell-shocked, tired, sore patient after

THREE HOURS.

Yes, it took

TWICE

as long as anticipated.

Poor kid.

Poor cheeks.

Poor sore teeth.

I gave him the option of staying home, or going back to school.

I encouraged him to curl up on the couch under a blanket.

After a short period of time, he decided to forgo the

Cinco de Mayo

party at school.

Once he had made up his mind,

and got

COMPLETELY COMFORTABLE

and let go of all the anxiety

this is what happened. . .

He earned it.

Danielle

Easter 2011

2011-05-04T23:40:00.000-06:00

The

HUNT

begins. . .

This is a

come-as-you-woke-up

event.

Baskets are ready.

Each find is carefully inspected.

Although the finding can be a bit difficult at times,

In the end, everyone gets all sorts of goodies!

The ones from Grandma & Grandpa are added to the pile left the night before by the Easter Bunny.

And I get a small moment of contemplation.

This year,

the Chocolate bunnies had eyes.

Tacey found this particularly creepy.

She didn't win the staring contest,

but in the end she was the only one left standing.

Did Dallin do any better?

Nope. He didn't win either.

But in this case, it really doesn't matter.

Dallin just devoured the evidence, so there is no way anyone will EVER know what really happened.

On a more serious note.

I am grateful for

EASTER,

for what it was, is,

and always will be.

"In the many trials of life, when we feel abandoned and when sorrow, sin, disappointment, failure, and weakness make us less than we should ever be, there can come the healing salve of the unreserved love in the grace of God. It is a love that lifts and blesses. It is a love that sustains a new beginning on a higher level and thereby continues from grace to grace."

--James E. Faust, "A Personal Relationship with the Savior", Ensign, November 1976, p. 59.

Happy Easter!

Danielle

April Showers . . .Part 2

2011-05-04T23:09:00.000-06:00

April 29th, 7:30 am

Again

*sigh*

Again.

Still not the beach.

Danielle

April Showers

2011-05-04T23:03:00.001-06:00

April 8th, 6:30 am

When they said April showers bring May flowers,

I hope they didn't mean this-

*sigh*

This is not the beach . . . .

Danielle

Spring Break 2011: Final Installment

2011-05-04T22:58:00.001-06:00

On Thursday, I just had to take advantage of the wonderful weather, and visit my favorite tide pools. The kids also love the tide pools. This time Shane was gone working, and Laura was in town, so she and Hailey joined us.

Is this just the cutest? Makes me a little sad he is the youngest; I think he would be a great big brother. Hailey LOVES McCade. He really knows how to be gentle with her and how to play on her level.

Big, mean-looking crab. Can you see him?

McCade preferred to hunt for Sand Crabs, instead of the ones with pinchers. Sand ones are easier to catch anyway.

This trip to the tide pools, there were SO many sea stars!

They were HUGE!

Laura was the only one brave enough to pick one up.

Man, I miss the beach.

I could sit there, on the rocks with my eyes closed,

just listening to the sound of the waves forever.

I miss that sound as much as I miss almost anything in the world.

Okay, maybe not these exact rocks, since they are under water for most of the day.

But exploring during low tide is seriously fun, if not a little bit dangerous.

Closer to the shore is much safer, but not as full of sea life.

Sometimes, being little means you can't do some things.

That can be really frustrating.

Having a Mom who is always armed with a camera can also be frustrating.

But I did find a new favorite photo spot.

Dallin

McCade

And

Tacey

I should have taken three versions of this picture; one with each of the kids in front.

It was hard to get the picture taken when there weren't people walking underneath the pier.

Next time. . . .

definitely,

next time!

Couldn't forget Hailey though!

This day we took Ashton with us.

Tacey loves hanging with Ashton.

Ashton spends a lot of time at the beach; Ashton is very tan.

I used to be tan. . .

Ah, finally, a REAL smile!

I am grateful I have been able to take my kids to the beach so often, even though we live so very far away.

My fondest summer memories are at the beach. I loved living at beach; even with no running water or electricity.

Danielle

Spring Break 2011: Installment 3. A walk (or ride) on the WILD side. . .

2011-04-17T18:29:00.000-06:00

Wednesday came, and I ran again. Ugh, I was starting to get really sore!

But oh, was the doggie happy. It is funny though, he runs in front of me for the first mile, next to me for the second, and I kind of have to drag him for the third!

We packed up Andrea and went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park.

Now they call it the San Diego SAFARI Park.

*Whatever*

As we have been there LOTS of times,

as we take the same pictures in the same places

this might get boring.

HOWEVER. . .

look at the difference in the kids in this. . .

And in this. What a difference a couple of years makes.

Yep. Meerkats again.

This time it as feeding time and the keeper had smeared banana in different spots.

They kinda acted like it was some new form of addictive substance.

This guy even scaled the rock to get the banana.

Maybe I should give bananas another look!

The a hike out to the baby Elephant. He is several months old. Not nearly as new as the baby girafee, or the baby hippo (that we didn't get to see),

but seriously cute as well.

I think he likes it there. Can't you see he is smiling?

He plays well too.

*Can I mention how much I was enjoying the weather? It was 92 degrees.

HEAVEN!*
Though some might think it is the place in the other direction. . .

but after months of sub-zero temperatures it was

SO NICE to be

WARM!

Lion camp was closed for a remodel. Tacey couldn't get near her boyfriend to give him another kiss. Guess long distance kissing will have to do.

Wonder if she would consider that in real life too. . .

Then the tram ride and the

BABY RHINO

Lots of babies.

And the endangered, almost extinct white rhino.

Look now, I don't know how many more times I will get a picture of her.

See the animals against the wall?

In the shade?

Nature isn't stupid.

Also the deer near the tree have a white circle on their rump. That is so as they migrate they can follow each other through the folliage. Makes it easier for them to follow each other.

I am not sure I would want to go through life with a big target on my rear.

They don't seem to mind though.

I guess it is in fashion for them.

The giraffes were having lunch.

And we finally found the Mountain Goats!

Can you?

Can you now?

How about now?
Tricky little suckers!

*This exhibit started with lots of foliage. Within a week they had it looking like this.

They 're-greenified' it. Within a week, again, it looked like this. These animals know how they want their enclosure decorated!*

*The epic tail of the mongoose and the snake*

(Actually the tale of the lizard on the trail who was attacking an earthworm)

Actually there isn't much difference between the two.

It was pretty exciting for the kids to watch the lizard attack and eat the worm.

Well, it was cool for us adults too.

Yeah, at the premiere park for Wild Animals from all over the world, and we get excited about a Lizard.

Oh well . . .

Then we hiked up to see the TIGERS.

They are not usually out, but since they had the Lions away, I was hopeful.

And

We were

SUCCESSFUL!

Baby tiger.

There were three.

Tired mommy tiger.

Can you blame her?

Mommy and one of the babies.

When we got back to the car, the thermostat said it was a

LOVELY

94 degrees.

It was an amazing day.

I understand they had 4 inches of snow in Shelley.

Danielle

Spring Break 2011: Second Installment (All About the Dog. . . )

2011-04-17T17:40:00.000-06:00

Yep, Tuesday was, in a way, all about the dog!

After we had gone to the Zoo on Monday,

we had stopped by to visit my Dad and my Grandma and spent the evening there. While we were at the Zoo, he got to go to the doggie park with Andrea.

*The doggie park is a magical place where doggies get to run around in a safe, enclosed area without leashes. They meet and sniff other doggies, and share all sorts of things (most of them pretty gross). But in Koda's little fuzzy brain, it is magical; and a nice change from being stuck inside in the cold as he has been for the last several months!*

Tuesday we got up and went for our run. We had gone running Monday morning as well, so by Tuesday morning the puppy knew what was coming and was really happy.

*Running San Diego is quite the thing. I can run fairly good anymore. I exercise a lot, though I am not going to win any sort of race anytime soon. They have a bike/run/walk path in San Diego like they do here. The exception is here the path is FLAT and there it is full of HILLS. The easiest place to park is at the top of the hill. So you think you are doing amazing in the beginning, but completely fall apart in the end. It also really makes you sore in different places. I need to run hills more often!*

So after the run, Tacey went shopping with Andrea and Shane, the Boys and I took the puppy to the dog beach. The dog beach is like the dog park but MUCH bigger and full of all SORTS of new things to smell!

Koda is a good dog, but he does forget to behave when there is something exceptional to explore. This would make him exactly like the rest of my kids. . . hahaha!

That is me, Dallin & McCade watching him run up and down the hill. He ran up there to follow a group of dogs, and was having a hard time deciding to come back. If I stay in one spot he will more-than-likely come back, but if there are other dogs he will forget I am there entirely and follow them.

He finally decided to test the water. He wasn't too impressed and drank more of it than he should have. It made him kinda sick later. Serves him right. Who purposely drinks Ocean water? Yuk!

The best part was the other puppies to play with; in his opinion

the BIGGER

the BETTER.

He had good fun with this boxer, but the boxer was a lot more interested in swimming out to get the stick his owner threw for him.

McCade thought he was fun too. He wasn't very dry either.

And Shane?

Well. . .

as you can see, Shane was doing what he usually does. . .

When it came time to walk back to the car I put Koda back on his leash.

Shane thought he would walk right with us

so he let him off the leash.

Koda did a complete 180 and ran back to the pack of dogs we had left behind.

It took a minute, but Shane got him back on the leash.

Koda is lucky Shane didn't tie him to a rock and dump him in the deep water! HAHA!

Then we went back to my Dad's house for a hose and towels.

Had to de-salt the dog & McCade.

Amazing how much a dog and a boy can hate a garden hose!

Then a visit to my other grandma and

MUFFIE!

Muffie is doing well; but I think the surgery on her last knee was a failure.

She doesn't seem to care.

She was really happy to see us!

(If you are wondering if I am referring to Grandma or Muffie; the answer is both!)

The boys played with Muffie and McCade is still her best friend.

Muffie recognized right away that her alpha was there, and amazed Grandma with how good she acted.

It was nice to see both of them.

This time we got out the door without McCade crying; Muffie was upset though.

So yeah, Tuesday was all about the Dog!

Danielle

Oh! And Tacey's Shopping trip that was only going to last about 2 hours turned into an all-day event where she spent ALL her money, plus someof her Aunt's.

Several hundred dollars.

Well, now she has a new wardrobe and saved me the trouble!

Spring Break 2011: First Installment

2011-04-14T13:58:00.000-06:00

After the reunion we continued on the San Diego for Spring Break. I ended up driving the

ENTIRE

way! Well, sort of. Shane was in Anaheim, so the plan orginally was for me to drive to San Diego on Saturday, then drive back to Anaheim on Sunday to pick him up.

In the end, I drove to Anaheim, spent the night, then finished the drive to San Diego on Sunday. Shane paid for the hotel room, then called to tell me where it was. I asked him if they took pets; which they didn't.

The problem was we had Koda with us.

SO . . .

I stuffed him in my purse and sneaked him in. Tacey said it was pretty clear what was in my purse. I was just glad I didn't get caught and he didn't bark! We left the next morning and finshed the drive. (Shane drove that morning. So I guess technically I didn't drive the WHOLE way)

Okay, so we know that my weather-related driving skills are not the most fabulous. When we left Provo it was about 1:00. I was feeling really good, but I was very anxious to get on the road. Normally the drive would take about

9 hours.

I tend to feel better at night, so I was confident we would be okay.

HOWEVER,

it had snowed while we were in Provo. I was

concerned

about the driving conditions. Things started out okay, then the icy rain came, then the temperature dropped and the big fat, nasty snowflakes fell. Then more of them fell. Then they fell faster and faster. I was trying to see the road as well as STAY on it; it was getting pretty icy. That lasted until St. George. Then there was the strong winds that tried to blow me off of the road from Mesquite to Cajon Pass. By the time we got to Cajon Pass, I had been seeing visiblity advisory warnings for several miles.

I couldn't figure out

WHY

they were flashing. As I got to the top of Cajon Pass, I figured out why.

FOG.

Pea-soup fog. Fog that makes everyone drive 25 miles an hour with their hazard lights on fog. Yeah, all the way down a

VERY STEEP,

VERY WINDEY

pass. As I got to the bottom of the pass, it was pretty clear (or unclear) the fog was here to stay. Then the RAIN came.

Not just rain, but "watch out for Noah and the Ark" type rain.

FOG AND RAIN.

So, yea.

EVERY type of bad weather except Hail.

No one died; the car was still in one piece.

GO ME!

Monday we decided to use our San DIego Zoological Society Memberships.

We love those things.

We spent Monday at the Zoo. The plan was to see giraffes, tigers, the new baby hippo, bugs and reptiles.

Of course there are things to see along the way. Like the Koalas.

And Shane, on the phone. *haha*

Dallin says "We have pictures of Dad on the phone every vacation!"

I said "How do you think we pay for vacation?"

Dallin says "Yea, I know."

Good kids.

We visited the Meercats.

The Giraffes.

And the baby Giraffe that was only 4 days old! He was super-cute.

Across from the baby giraffe were the Rhinos.

And there is the Kangaroos.

Check out this guy's

HUGE FEET

he also

uses that amazing tail as like a third foot.

I am not overly-fond of Flamingos. They smell

REALLY BAD.

But as I fancy myself a photographer, and this guy posed for me . . .

National Geographic here I come!

Can you find the animal in here?

The fishing Cat is in there.

He is not your average cat.

More like a Mountain Lion who lives by the river.

Can you see him?

Here he is!
(He also smelled REALLY BAD)

SUCCESS!

The tiger was out. Way up at the top of the enclosure, not close at all,

but still he was

VISIBLE!

Here's a Hippo. But it wasn't the Mommy and the Baby.

We missed the baby.

But this big guy was taking advantage of the bright sunny day.

And here we are taking our pictures in the same spots. . .

The Hippo!

And then a trip to Polar Bear Plunge.

They recently remodeled it. Now Dallin can look stuck in the ice with the Seal.

Mac (with those ears) chillin' (haha!) with the seal.

Tacey with a new boyfriend.

And posing on the silver surfer polar bears.

The polar bears were absent. I dunno where they were, but we missed them.

Ah, then a sky-tram ride across the park.

And a walk into the Children's Zoo to look at the bugs.

On the way there were more Meerkats.

These Meerkats were

REALLY

liking the sun.

They look like people on the beach, don't they?

After that we watched the Sea lion show.

I had to laugh. The people in front of us were using copious amounts of sunscreen.

Coating every inch of exposed skin.

I didn't bring sunscreen.

The kids and I were rolling up our sleeves,

turning our faces to the sun.

ANYTHING

to get

sun.

I don't think those people lived somewhere that gets snow.

Then we walked around the reptiles.

Like the Galapagos Turtles.

They are very large,

and very old.

I dunno if this is the one I rode on when I was little. But since none of them has died since I was 3,

chances are I saw the very one I rode at the Zoo this day.

We thought it might still be too cold for the lizards. But they were out

also enjoying the sun.

Guess I am a bit like a lizard.

Can't get enough sun.

Danielle

Thoughts that are bothering me . . .

2011-04-05T07:32:00.000-06:00

I should post about our amazing spring break vacation. . .
I should NOT post and get to my list of things I need to do. . .
I should contemplate what I am going to make for dinner. . .

But I am going to discuss something on my mind instead.
This has bothered me for awhile; I try not to think about it.

So, We know that Dallin has what is known as Central Auditory Processing Disorder.
Okay, maybe we don't KNOW that.
But I do; because it is the only diagnosis I have and I am going to cling to it for now.
(The neuro-psychologist diagnosed it, not an audiologist. Apparently you only need to know about ears to make a formal diagnosis about how your brain works with them.)
How CAPD was explained to me is that he has no 'sound filter' in his brain. So he hears EVERYTHING, all at once. This was extremely painful for me to watch as he didn't interact socially on the playground in the lower grades. He couldn't distinguish what the other kids were saying, so he couldn't join in. It makes high noise-level classrooms painful. It makes it hard to communicate with him in a crowd. It makes him watch the subtitles on his PSP instead of just listening to it.

It also makes it so he has a hard time with his speech.

The poor kid has been in speech therapy since he was 2. Is there improvement? I think so. But I still have to really look at him when he is talking to understand him sometimes. Will this EVER be fixed?

He is so patient. He doesn't get discouraged. He handled it bravely as we added additional after-school speech therapy this year.

At the same time we got the CAPD diagnosis, we were also told his IQ is amazingly high, and that his 'coping strategies' are well beyond his age. (When he was 8, these strategies were on the level of a 35 yr-old).

Props to him for figuring it out in a world that makes no sense to his ears.

He was also tested and placed in the Gifted and Talented program.

Yep, Special Ed and Gifted and Talented all at the same time. How often does THAT happen?

On to my recent thoughts;
I read that gifted children had some distinct characteristics;

Extremely Curious
Intense interests
Excellent memory
Long attention span
Excellent reasoning skills
Well-developed powers of abstraction, conceptualization, and synthesis
Quickly and easily sees relationships in ideas, objects, or facts
Fluent and flexible thinking
Elaborate and original thinking
Excellent problem solving skills
Learns quickly and with less practice and repetition
Unusual and/or vivid imagination
Interested in philosophical and social issues
Very sensitive, emotionally and even physically
Concerned about fairness and injustice
Perfectionistic
Energetic
Well-Developed Sense of Humor
Usually intrinsically motivated
Relates well to parents, teachers and other adults
Extensive Vocabulary
May Read Early
Reads Rapidly and Widely
Asks "what if" questions
Enjoys learning new things
Enjoys intellectual activity
Displays intellectual playfulness
Prefers books and magazines meant for older children
Skeptical, critical, and evaluative

All these thing are SSSOOOOOO Dallin. But it was the last one that got me.

Asynchronous development

Yep, it is that last one that got to me.

What exactly IS that anyway?

This is the definition I found;

Asynchronous development refers to uneven intellectual, physical, and emotional development. In average children, intellectual, physical, and emotional development progresses at about the same rate. That is, the development is in "sync." An average three-year-old has the intellectual and physical abilities as well as the emotional maturity most other three-year-olds have. However, in gifted children, the development of those areas is out of "sync." They do not progress at the same rate. A gifted three-year-old child's developmental profile could look like this:
Intellectual ability -- age 6
Physical ability -- age 3
Emotional maturity -- age 2

Or this:

Intellectual ability -- age 7
Physical ability -- age 3
Emotional maturity -- age 4

Or this:

Intellectual ability -- age 6
Physical ability -- age 4
Emotional maturity -- age 3

Or any other combination of the three, although the intellectual ability is always advanced. (Some believe that it is possible to advanced physically, but not intellectually.)
The higher a child's IQ is, the more out of sync his or her development is likely to be.

Now I look at everything he does or has done wondering if he is 'out of sync'. Will he get in sync? Yea, eventually. But will it be before he is permanently scarred by the stony path of Elementary School Middle School and High School? I hope so.

I know he will be more successful than any of his peers can begin to imagine.

I know that people discount him because of his speech.

I know he will prove them all wrong.

I know this because he already has.

Just some thoughts.

Danielle

The missing piece of my heart

2011-04-03T16:32:00.005-06:00

Long ago in a land across the great waters our ancient father had a dream.

In his dream the Great Spirit came to our father and carried him away on wings of fire.

The spirit told our father he would lead him to a new land

- A place of bounty, a promised land -

For he had walked in truth and light all seasons.

And so it begins. . . It is the story not just of my people, but people throughout the ages.

There is a time and season for everything.

Seasons of Faith and Prosperity,

Pride and War,

Forgiveness and Rebirth.

I have reached the season in my life when I attended a reunion for a group I danced with in college. (The first time). It showcases the dances of the cultures of Polynesia and the Islands of the Sea, the Latin cultures of Central and South America, and the Native cultures of North America. Being Mexican, I was part of the Latin Section. Okay, so yeah, I am not what comes to mind when you think of a Mexican. You see someone darker, maybe with a bit of an accent.

Those things aside, my DNA, and my importantly

MY HEART

are Mexican.

The problem with not looking Mexican, is the Mexicans don't include you sometimes. And as I live where my husband grew up (and he is not Mexican) I haven't had the opportunity to embrace the culture I so dearly love and so greatly miss, not to mention expose my children to these things.

So, yes. This reunion was important to me.

Thursday night we attended the evening performance of the current group with a smattering of Alumni included. Friday we attended a luncheon. I hadn't seen anyone I knew at the evening performance. There was 40 years of Alumni and their families. That didn't surprise me. However, there were several who knew me and recognized me at the reunion. That did surprise me, though it should not have.

This is Janie Thompson. She started the group. She is almost 90 and is spunky and fiesty and talented. She directed the group for many years.

After Janie, Ron Simpson directed the group. He is a record producer.

After Ron came Randy Boothe. Randy was not only my director, but he also was one of my advisors as an MDT Major. He was also my voice teacher for several years. Sometimes I wonder if he still thinks I am that high-maintenance co-ed. What a pain in the hiney I must have been!

After Randy came Janielle Christensen. She is still the director.

All the directors spoke, but Randy is more of a 'hands-on' type of guy. He writes a lot of music; a lot of music I have sung. I didn't realize how much I missed being spoken to through music until this day. This is how Randy always communicated with me. . .

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/iframe

I can't tell you how many times I have sung this very song. I can't tell you how it makes me cry with happiness. All I can say is it is, with the beats of the drums of the Native, Latin and Polynesian cultures; it is the beat of my heart.

After the luncheon, there were pictures. They split us into 5-year increments. I'd give the year, but you wouldn't believe me since we all age so well . . .

After pictures we went to a Fireside given by the current group members. I remember those days. These are not fully-constructed firesides. You are told as you get there who the speakers will be that evening. Then the speakers are told what they will be speaking on. As scary as that is, it is a very good thing. Things are always better if you speak from your heart.

They spoke to my heart, they filled my soul. I can say they did that for Tacey and Dallin as well. Both of them were wiping away the tears. McCade. . . not so much.

Ah, well. Can't reach everyone.

After that came the Children's Workshops. I figured McCade would get back with the program at this point in time; he got to wiggle instead of being trapped in a chair.

Tacey was ready to go in the Polynesian section.

It was during this I realized why I hold my hands the way I do when I dance; even to this day.

I have Hula Hands.

Even though I am not Polynesian.

It was fun to see the kids of all the Alumni glimpse what we all spent an important part of our life doing.

They had the kids perform for us, but didn't leave them hanging. They helped them as they performed.

And I would like to point out that MANY of the parents there are as camera-obsessed as I am.

(Isn't that kind of funny? They look like paparazzi.)

Tacey did a simple Modern Hula. Then the boys did a Haka which is the Maori War Dance.

That is McCade in the back.

That is Dallin in the back.

They did a horrible job of standing close together so I could get good pictures.

They also stood in the back line all the time.

I guess they think they are tall.

Next the Native section taught an Alaskan Indian dance about daily life.

Next came the Latin Section. See those feet? Those belong to my kids. They were the only feet that actually did it right.

I guess the years of Tap Lessons will pay off!

They learned a Polka from the state of Chihuahua, Mexico.

Again, they are not together and they are in the back.

Again with the beautiful, wonderful helpers.

But all is not lost. As you can see from this picture, they had a camera crew there all weekend.

Yes.

I bought the DVD.

I will cherish it; for many reasons.

This is McCade's 'Haka' Face.

Since it is a War Dance,

the point is

intimidation.

As it was explained to them you make a Haka Face as follows:

Make your eyes as wide as you can so you look crazy

then stick out your tongue like you are trying to lick the floor

Scream really loud.

Dallin's 'Haka' Face.

The final thing was to learn the Traditional Indian Sign Language.

Before I get into the song, and how important it is let me make a comment about this picture.

This is where the bad attitudes came in.

It had been a long day.

It had been emotional.

It had been very snowy.

But this was,

of all things,

the thing to learn.

But you can see the bad attitudes in the eyes.

Later that evening while we listened to a CD with 'Go My Son' on it,

they were singing at the top of their lungs and doing the sign language.

Mission Accomplished.

Go My Son

Go my son, go and climb the ladder.

Go my son, go and earn your feather.

go my son, make your people proud of you.

work my son, get an education.

work my son, learn a good vocation

Climb my son, go and take a lofty view.

From on the ladder of an education.

You can see to help your Indian nation.

Reach my son, and lift your people up with you.

Isn't that what we have all been told?

Go, do your best.

Do your best for yourself and your family

because you would not be who you are without them.

Go do better for those that come after you.

After that we went to Brick Oven for Pizza.

As we tend to eat at a lot of PIZZA PLACES.

They did like this one a lot.

It is a Provo institution.

The Homemade Root Beer was also a big hit.

So was this guy.

No, it wasn't that Tacey thought he was hot.

(She didn't)

It was that he made AMAZING things out of balloons.

Tacey got Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

Pretty darn amazing, right?

Mac got a Giraffe. No surprise there. It was simple.

So simple the guy really didn't want to do it.

But he did.

Props to him.

Dallin got an Alien with a Ray Gun.

Pretty Darn AMAZING!

The next day the Alumni performed.

All of this will be on my DVD.

The Alumni Banquet, the evening performance of the current members, the Luncheon, the fireside, the children's workshops, the Alumni Showcase and the devotional.

All will be treasured.

As I said; this made me feel like my heart was whole again.

These cultures, these people are my brothers and sisters.

How I miss them.

Danielle

Back in February. . . .

2011-04-03T15:28:00.004-06:00

Back in February, (yes, I am still trying to catch up. . . )

Dallin received the rank of Star at a Court of Honor. I am seriously proud of his accomplishments. He is a hard working Scout, and fully anticipates having completed his Eagle by the time he is 14. All of my Grandpas would be so proud!

This is the 'Ah MAN! Mom has her camera. I know she is going to take a ton of pictures. I hate it when she does that. It is SSSOOO embarrassing' look. I get it a lot from my kids.

He is a really amazing young man. I have been thinking about this a lot lately. . .but that is a different post. Let's just say that as I think about his disabilities I wonder how much MORE he would accomplish if his ears and brain worked together better. I found him watching a movie with the subtitles on yesterday. He did that because it was hard for him to hear it all. . . and still, at the age of 12 he has straight A's, all advanced classes, plays numerous sports, is responsible in his home and church responsibilities, I could go on and on and on . . But as I said, that is a post for another day.

Tacey had set a goal to make a couple of quilts. I have a pattern that is easy, and forgiving, so I paid for the fabric (fabric=not cheap)and she began to work.

This project took a lot more time than she had anticipated.

In fact it was much more difficult on the family than anticipated.

She did work very hard. She spent the Super Bowl cutting the squares of fabric. Then she began working on a Thursday afternoon. She worked all afternoon Thursday, all afternoon and night on Friday, all day and night Saturday and then all Sunday afternoon.

Finally, it was DONE!

There was blood, sweat and tears.

(Not just hers. . . as her frustration had an effect on the entire family).

There was even a moment when she yelled at me and said;

"If you would have just done it FOR ME, like I TOLD you to, then I wouldn't be having this problem right now!"

Yep.

And she is still alive.

Go Figure.

And no, I didn't do it for her.

I refused. . .

this was HER goal and she needed to do the whole thing herself no matter how much it hurt the rest of us!

It made me think of my Heavenly Father . . . how often am I saying;

'Well, if you would just DO IT FOR ME I wouldn't have a problem!'.

I wonder if watching me mess up in my life is as painful for him as watching Tacey was for me.

The blanket was for her best friend. No your eyes don't deceive you. Her best friend is Nathan, a very tall young man who was going in for surgery the next day. He needed his whole foot/ankle reconstructed. A Basketball injury last year was much more serious than his parents EVER dreamed, and so his hard-fought-for position on the JV Basketball team turned into a series of games dressed in street clothes on the bench. It was sad, indeed.

He did love his blanket though!

His Mom sent pictures right after surgery with him using it.

And the our family lived through it!

Danielle

Blue & Gold 2011

2011-03-17T19:29:00.002-06:00

Another year, another Blue & Gold Banquet.

This one I approached with a bit of sadness . . . it was the last one. It is hard to believe Cub Scouts is over. I officially became a Cub Scout Mom in October of 2006, now in February of 2011 I have no more Cubs. In a way it is a relief, but it is also sad to see it go.
I am really proud of the boys; they were the most decorated Cub Scouts I know. They worked really hard in their scouting programs.
So this Blue and Gold was the last cake. I talked McCade through the cake batter; but he did it himself. I made the frosting, but he frosted them himself. I did put the numbers on, but the CONCEPT for the cake was ALL his. The theme was 'Turn Back The Clock'. I think he did a great job!

As I look at this I remember the exploding volcano cake, the fireworks cake, the dragon cake, the American Flag cake, the 'Don't Tread On Me' cake, and the checkerboard cake with this final Blue & Gold clock ending our run. That's a lot of cake.

He is a very Handsome Cub Scout . . . last time to wear the Shirt that has been through so many Day Camps, Scout Sundays, Pack Meetings, and Den Meetings. So glad it is washable.

McCade earned his Arrow of Light. It is the Highest Rank in Cub Scouts, and is the ONLY Cub Scout award that can be worn on the Boy Scout Uniform. His buddy Connor also earned his Arrow of Light, so got to have their ceremony together.

(In keeping with Church Policy, there are no open flames, so they were battery powered lights).

The Arrow points the way to the path of truth. Follow this path and grow to be a strong and honest Man. The Sun lights the path so that you may never lose your way. The first candle represents Wisdom. It does not mean superior knowledge, it means putting right use to the knowledge you have. The second candle represents Courage. Courage doesn't mean you meet danger without fear; it means you meet danger in spite of your fear. The third candle represents Self Control. Self control does not only include you temper, but control and direction in all things you do. The fourth candle represents Justice. Justice is the practice of dealing fairly with others without prejudice or regard for race, color or creed.

The Fifth candle represents Faith. It is believing in something you can't physically prove is true. The sixth candle represents Hope. Hope means to expect with confidence. Always hope for better things to come. The seventh candle represents Love. There are many kinds of Love; Love of family, love of home, love of your fellow man, and love of God & Country.

To live by these virtues is to live a life that is successful and joyful.

The Arrow of Light is an award he has earned the right to wear for his entire life.

I think he was more excited about his cupcake though. . .

McCade's 11th Birthday

2011-03-17T16:43:00.004-06:00

Today is St. Patrick's Day!

But that is not what this post is about.

As I said before, I am a bit behind. So, here is all about McCade's Birthday.

Mac's birthday fell on a Sunday this year; Sunday is a busy day around here. Church takes several hours and sometimes there are other things. (This year we were participating in an Eagle Scout Court of Honor.)

So, we spread the Birthday Festivities over several days.

On Saturday we took McCade out to eat at his Favorite Restaurant; Chuck-a-Rama. Yep. An all-you-can-eat-buffet. I guess there is more than one reason he thinks Las Vegas is the best city in the world! Dallin did the best job at eating our money's worth. I think he ate for several people. It was nice not to have anyone complain about the menu! Everyone could get basically anything they thought they wanted!

Sunday I made sure he had his favorite food for dinner. Well, some form of it at least! His FAVORITE thing is Pizza. I made homemade Pizza Pockets; that way everyone gets whatever they want! Hhhhmmmmmm. . . I see a theme. . .

McCade asked for a Peanut butter - Chocolate cake. So that is what he got; *sigh* gotta love the double digit candles!

He wanted to light his own candles; heck, we let him. He is a Boyscout! I figured as long as there wasn't any lighter-fluid around he would be fine.

We must need to work on his wind-power. It took two tries to get the two candles out. HAHA!

Shane always takes it upon himself to buy the 11th birthday presents for the boys. Well, to be more accurate he took care of Dallin's and now he has taken care of McCade's. Shane picked up the traditional present on Monday. McCade almost waited patiently.

But was sufficiently excited when he saw his present to make his Dad's day!

A little about McCade Right Now:

1. Your hair? brown
2. Your Mom and Dad? you're one of them
3. Favorite Food? pizza
4. Favorite Drink? Mountain Dew
5. Biggest Dream? earn video games back
6. Hobby? it would be video games if I could play them. . .
7. Fear? Tie: between Snakes and Heights
8. Where you want to be in 6 years? playing Basketball
9. Something you aren't? Dallin
10. Your Mood? Happy
11. Favorite TV show? America's Funniest Home Videos
12. About your life? Hard, Good at times, Tiring and fun
13. Missing Someone? Larry
14. A place you go over and over? Bed
15. Collector of anything? Giraffes
16. Wanted superpower? Shape Shifting
17. First thought when you wake up? I'm Hungry
18. Any bad habits? Beating up my brother
19. Bad habits that drive you crazy? Not doing my homework right away
20. 3 best personality traits? friendly, kind and animal lover
21. 3 worst personality traits? messy, drama king and easily bored
22. One thing you wish you could change about yourself? Be smarter
23. If you had 3 wishes, what would they be? be a shape shifter, be rich and more wishes
24. If you HAD to change your name, what would you change it to? Mr. Cool
25. Favorite song? Can't Buy Me Love by the Beatles or Life is A Highway by Rascall Flatts
26. You get in trouble for: Not doing my reading
27. Ninjas, Pirates or Aliens? Ninjas. Why? 'cause I wanna flip like they do.

For the record; McCade got an unacceptable grade last quarter in Math. Part of the punishment for less-than-his-best performance was that he lost all access to video games. He's hoping that this weekend he has earned them back.

I did take him shopping for some new church shoes and some new clothes a week later. He has become very concerned about how he leaves the house recently. I am hoping that continues!

Happy Birthday Mac!

Danielle

3.14 pi & pie!

2011-03-14T21:52:00.001-06:00

I have had lots of thoughts recently. . . so many Blog Posts to catch up on. I have lots of excuses for not accomplishing this task yet;

1. Hard Drive on Laptop died a very quick, yet painful death. Thank Goodness our computer Doctor is AMAZING and saved all but a few few files stored in its memory.

2. Laundry

3. As it was in the process of dying I was afraid to empty the camera with all the pictures THIS YEAR so far. I take a lot of pictures. There was a high probability an amazing picture or two could be lost! I couldn't risk losing them by loading them onto a sick computer.

4. When the new hard drive came to live in my computer it took HOURS to download all the pictures and video.

5. Laundry.

6. Basement still under construction

7. Laundry & Dishes

8. 3 kids; one who is now driving herself around in her *amazing* car, one who always needs to be taken to the Library, and one who cannot be left to his own devices. . . although when I do allow that I usually get a good giggle.

9. The Refrigerator went to sleep for 3 days. Used all my blogging time walking to the outside fridge and freezer getting the stuff I needed to feed my ravenous 12 yr-old.

So, I made a BIG decision. Start where I am and slowly catch up. So, chronological this is not. Entertaining and informative? I hope so.

There has been a lot said recently about the silent stalkers of Mormon Mommy Blogs. I guess I also fall into that category; as a blogger as well as a stalker. I bet you could find Mommy Blogs from every religious affiliation; not just Mormons. Basically the articles say we are a bunch of women who have taken society has told us and decided to do the opposite; put off our careers but not our families. Actually be proud of being a Wife and Mother first. If that is how I am labeled, then I admit it; guilty.

I am the Mom that drives the kids to school and WATCHES them walk inside. I am the one that knows all of their teachers on a first name basis, as well as the secretaries and principals. I am the Mom that checks all the homework. I am the Mom that drives to and watches almost every dance lesson, football practice and basketball practice. I am the Mom that fails to make her kids do the chores they should; its just easier than the tension I feel making them do it right. I am the Mom that runs with the dog as often as possible. I say it is for the exercise; it is really for the peace and quiet. I have to have 30 minutes a day without Disney Channel ringing in my ears. I am last to bed, and second one up. (Hubby grew up on a Dairy farm. How does one compete with that?) I bake my own bread because it is cheaper. I make brownies from scratch because Brownie Mix is too expensive. I want to eat more salads. I am the Mom that knows all of my kid's friends; most of them think I am cool. I am the Mom that writes nasty letters to idiot-politicians. (I write a lot of letters). I am the Mom that volunteers ALL THE TIME. I am the Mom that sees the lines around my eyes and wishes I still look like I did 10 years ago. I am the Mom that refused to believe that my children are mediocre. I am the Mom that expects my kids to ALWAYS do their best. I am the Mom that will move everything to provide my child an opportunity to try something they are interested in. I am the Mom that wonders what kind of career I will find waiting for me when my kids are gone, and what I can do to prepare for it.

So yea. According to society I have it all backwards. Yep. It's okay. I'm cool with it. Heck, I even have the teenager stamp of approval.

So, what is an overly-busy mom to do?

Well, today I made waffles for breakfast (the kids ate the waffles, I am only allowed unsweetened oatmeal). Got everyone ready for school, got myself ready for school, woke up the lazy doggie and made him go outside to do his *business*, cleaned the kitchen, handled all last minute financial crisis (MOM! I need lunch money!), dropped them off and unloaded my stuff into my classroom all before 7:50am.

Then I taught music to 3rd, 4th and 5th graders, with a break for lunch. (yep, more kids. See why I exercise?) Lunch turned into a discussion with one of Teenager's friends about the merits of Debate vs. Sports championships in the long run. Lean Meat on homemade wheat bread; no mayo all the while wishing it had lettuce and tomatoes.

After school there was a meeting with the High School Choir Teacher, a tap class, beauty treatments for dance pictures, personal driver to and from Piano lessons and the library.

Next was on to the current holiday.

I was informed at breakfast that today was pi day (3.14 as in March 14th). Smartie-pants gifted child was pretty excited about it. SO what is an overly busy Mom to do? Well, she pulls the left over Mashed potatoes from the Sunday Night Dinner from the fridge. Nope, not enough. Must peel and boil more. Did that, mashed them. Added them to the leftovers. Then made trip to the store for other NECESSARY pi-day supplies;

Chicken Pies and Mashed Potatoes for Dinner.

And the bonus Fruit Pies for Dessert.

Yep, on SALE for $0.59.

All fully microwaveable.

Went to the trouble of heating up the Chicken ones, but for Dessert everyone was on their own.

HAPPY PI (PIE) DAY!

My excuse? It was cheap, easy and festive.

I seek after these things.

Danielle

hold out a little longer. . .

2011-02-04T21:21:00.002-07:00

I have taken video.

It is Basketball video.

It stars the kids.

I have not had the time to upload it from my camera, then put it on youtube in the restricted format, then post it on the blog

but

never fear

I will do it.

Not today.

But

it will happen.

Danielle

I did not elect this idiot. . .

2011-02-04T21:03:00.002-07:00

I have been on a major soapbox this week. I am sorry. My kids can recite to you all of my points and why they are absolutely, 100%, undeniable, completely verifyable truth.

Well, maybe it IS technically just my opinion, but that does not detract from the fact that it is still

TRUTH.

I spent a good deal of time emailing this letter, or abreciated copies of it, to the entire State Board of Education, all of my State Representatives, and the local newspapers. I was going to send it to all of my local schoolboard members, but I see most of them on a regular basis (small town) so they already know how I feel. Or they have wives that are Facebook friends and/or follow this blog.

So, yea, this is another forum to annoy those who love me with my only true perspective on this situation.

Much has been said about Superintendent Luna’s proposal for educational reform. Discussions are heated in both directions, as they should be. Indeed, when considering the basic right of free education for our children, it is a very emotional issue. As I look at a few key areas of Mr. Luna’s plan, I find myself becoming emotional in response to what I feel is a basic lack of understanding on Mr. Luna’s part.

Let’s preface this by saying that I am fully aware that there have been major economic issues effecting public school funding. I have seen class size in our local schools increase, I have seen necessary services for students cut; all of this done as there was no other option. However, the basic structure of what constitutes a useful education has remained intact. Mr. Luna’s plan has several aspects that attack the basis of this structure putting our children at risk.

I am the parent of a High School Student. My child does well academically; there has not been a GPA below a 3.897 since the fourth grade. My child also participates in a significant amount of extra-curricular activities in both private and school forums. Being attentive parents my husband and I, in conjunction with our child, decided that enrollment in an online course would allow more time in the current class schedule. In addition, satisfying a graduation requirement online would allow more time for electives that will aid in college acceptance. This began our struggle with an IDLA online Physical Education course.

The idea was a good one; the time spent in sports and other physical activities outside of school would be used in place of attending a regular Physical Education class. However, this has not been the case. My child, who regularly appears on the Honor Roll, cannot raise the grade in the online course above a 78%. Why is this happening? Well, I can see several reasons.

First of all, the web site is not clearly constructed. When my child ‘logs on’ and accesses the class, it is not uncommon for the required reading to be inaccessible on the website. There seems to be an inordinate amount of technical difficulties. In addition, it is not always clear whether or not there is an assignment attached to the readings. We have also found that the link to the assignments is difficult to find within the layout of the website. My child is as literate in technology as most students are. In addition, a long running history of academic excellence shows responsibility when it comes to coursework, yet I continually receive notices from the online instructor informing that several assignments are missing. Searching for the links to these assignments usually takes longer than the completion of the classes themselves. We have also had frustration as live chats are scheduled, but we are not notified in a timely fashion; I have opened my email in the evening to find a notice that a chat had been scheduled for earlier that day. As of now, all of these chats have been scheduled when my child is at school so attendance would not been possible even if we had been notified in enough time to attend. This is also reflected in the grade.

Second, the lack of personal contact makes communication difficult, if not impossible. It is quite often my child has a simple question on an assignment. If this type of question arose with a traditional classroom, there would be a simple answer and work on the assignment would continue. In the online class, if there is a question my child and I find we are guessing at what the teacher’s response would be. Yes, the teacher is available by email, but even a speedy email response takes 12-18 hours. Yes, the teacher has provided us with a phone number, but as my child is extremely active the time usually spent working on the online class is on the weekends and extremely late in the evening. I do believe the teacher has done the best possible job within the given framework, but I have found that there is truly no substitute for personal contact. Yes, I am aware that a significant amount of college coursework is offered online. However, when you attend a University such as ISU, and participate in an online course, the professor is available during their office hours for this personal contact. This is not the case with the IDLA course.

Third, it is my belief that given the logistical difficulties within an online class situation, requiring student to take two online classes per year will prohibit students from achieving adequate academic levels to go to reputable Universities, much less attend these Universities on necessary scholarships. If a student who has a long history of high academic achievement is unable to succeed in this forum, what is going to happen to the average student? Or the student that is in need of an IEP?

The right to a free education is the right to learn those skills necessary to perform as a meaningful member of society. Those skills are different for each person. Within a traditional classroom setting, with a reasonable number of students, a good teacher is able to address those individual needs. In an online class a teacher is no more able to access the needs of a student than they are able to access the needs of someone sending them junk email. Distributing laptop computers to all students opens unregulated access to a virtual world where persistent dangers lurk. The computers at the schools are highly filtered, providing protection to the students. It is the responsibility of the parent to regulate the use of the internet at home: if the internet is even available. However, any student with access to a mobile, unmonitored computer is compromised. Mr. Luna’s plan would expose all High School students to dangers they may not be aware of, and are not equipped to handle.

It is my sincere hope that Mr. Luna will abandon his plan, as it is clearly not in the best interest of our students. No one benefits from increased class size. No one benefits from a lack of inter-personal communication.

Well, perhaps someone does. I am certain those companies that provide these online courses will profit, and as Mr. Luna has accepted a significant amount of campaign funds from these companies I am sure he will profit as well. Nonetheless, my current High School student, and my two other children who will enter High School in 2013 & 2014 will find that Mr. Luna’s plan has been to their detriment.

Sincerely,
Danielle Matheson
Shelley, Idaho

For those in need of translation, IDLA=Idaho Digital Learning Academy. IEP=Individual Education Plan.

I have attended many an IEP meeting. I have to go to them and discuss all sorts of issues with the Speech Therapist, the school councellor, and several of Dallin's teachers every year as they renew 'the plan' to help him with his speech. It is amazing the amount of paperwork necessary to provide 20 minutes of speech therapy once a week.

Many students are on an IEP. If they have any sort of learning disability that requires an aide to pull them out to help them beyond what is offered in the classroom it is addressed in an IEP. An IEP is NOT eco-friendly. My last one was 12 pages long.

Well, now that I have once again stood upon, and stepped down from my soap box I will temporarily be quiet.

But it will only be temporary.

Danielle

The blog post to catch up all blog posts . . .

2011-01-16T15:18:00.006-07:00

So, yep, it has been awhile.

Has it possibly that our lives have been SO boring, that there is nothing to post?

Nope. Not hardly.

Okay, so sit down, get a snack, a drink and make sure you have plenty of time. This is the longest blog post in

HISTORY!
So, as Tacey is on the Freshman Basketball Team, there has been a significant amount of Basketball watching. They did call a foul on this shot. I know you are thinking; 'Of course they did! That is a obvious foul!'.

However, it seems you must also

fail

a vision test to become a referee.

Different team, different game, can't remember if physics were in Tacey's favor on this shot, but we will assume they were.

Out-running the rest of the players. That is one of the reasons they like her; she's fast.

Okay, so early in December we (Me, McCade & Dallin) had the 5th grade music concert. I need to have at least one concert, per grade, per year.

I really HATE trying to squeeze a concert in during the already busy Christmas Season, but those 5th graders this particular year are definitely on the difficult side. I was certain that trying to keep focus and perfect music until the spring was going to be next to impossible.

So, Christmas Music it was!

Shelley High School has 2 gyms, so Tacey was at practice until the concert started (practicing in the OTHER gym. Nope, They have no auditorium, but they have 2 gyms - go figure). She & her friend Abbey showed up to watch the concert in their post-practice beautifulness. haha!

McCade had a solo, no nepotism, I promise. The kid has talent.

I had 64 kids audition for 3 solos. I managed to narrow it down to 10. Everyone sang solo, they sang much shorter solos than I had originally planned. I was honestly SHOCKED at how many auditioned. I anticipated having a hard time; breaking little hearts is never easy, but I was extremely overwhelmed. It seriously sucked to be me that day.

Dallin helped out with the 6th Grade Honor Choir. He also did a very nice job. The 6th grade Honor Choir sang harmony opposite the 5th grade. They were amazing, and I was VERY pleased with them!

Okay, so I never post pictures of myself. (Self-Image issues, haha.) But, okay, here I am running the show.

The next night was the Ward Christmas Party. Dallin had to explain to Santa what a KINDLE is. I guess the elves take care of technology, and he takes care of delivery.

And you are wondering why McCade looks so serious?

Well, maybe because he has been having a problem with lying.

(Actually, he doesn't have a problem with lying AT ALL. He does it really well, without any thought, those tall tales just POP right out of his mouth!)

ANYWAY,
Santa KNEW that McCade was having issues, and had a little talk with him about it.

Because Santa knows EVERYTHING!

Then came the Christmas-Present-Before-Christmas.

All the kids decided that among the things they wanted for Christmas was a trip to a CHARGERS game. So, I braved the snow and ice, drove the Las Vegas, met Shane there and we went to San Diego for a Chargers Home game.

*Side Note - we also used this trip to return Muffie to her Mommy. Thankfully, she responds very well to doggie Valium. We stayed the night at the Southpointe Casino in Vegas; Shane does a lot of work there. After we were confirmed in the room, Shane realized they don't take pets at the Casino. Problem, right? So, he called the guy he works with (a coordinator for the casino) and told him the problem.

His business associate had a solution; he said

"Just throw the dog in a duffel bag and sneak it in! That's what everyone else does!"

HAHAHAHAHA!

So that is what we did! I have to say that Muffie is the most 'vocal' doggie I know. BUT, she did not make a single noise while she was in the bag and was carried through the casino, not one noise all night in the hotel room, not one noise when she was back in the bag and we were sneaking her out. It was AMAZING!*

As for the game, we had what most people consider not-so-good seats. They were labeled as LIMITED VIEW.

Yep, the view was limited, by the

PLAYERS.

HAHAHA!

Here we are in our seats in the 6th row. Andrea got to go with us.

See how close we were? I will admit that there were times during the game that Shane leaned over to discuss what was happening with Dallin, but Dallin had missed what was happening.

This usually because Dallin was too busy watching the Cheerleaders.

Shane finally gave in and asked which Cheerleader Dallin thought was cutest. Dallin went several shades of red.

Just a comment about Tacey's shirt.

That is THE shirt.

It is the shirt my Grandpa, the biggest Charger Fan ever seen on this planet wore to every game. He's been watching them in High-Def on the big screen in Heaven for the last 10 years, but his shirt went back to a game. I also wore on of my Grandpa's shirts.

We were completely 'in' with our Charger-wear.

They played San Francisco. The Chargers kinda let up a little in the 4th quarter, and let the 49ers finally get a Touchdown. In the end it was almost a complete shut out, and to make the whole thing better, all the REALLY exciting stuff took place right on front of us!

The next day we relaxed at the Wild Animal Park; how we love San Diego!

We have all our traditional picture spots.

McCade had to hatch out of the egg, again . . .

So, occasionally I take AMAZING pictures.

Like National Geographic amazing type pictures.

This is a Tenrec. He is from Madagasgar. Isn't he cute? He looks sleepy because he is nocturnal, so it was WAY past his bedtime. He looks like a cross between a hedgehog and a porcupine.

You can tell this a MALE because his eyes are kinda puffy. When he comes across a female he rubs his eyes and they excrete a white, milky substance. He rubs that all over himself, and it makes him

SERIOUSLY SEXY

at least as far as a female tenrec is concerned!

So, I am not one to carry change at the Wild Animal Park, I carry my ID, my Season Pass, the debit card (if the kids are lucky) and my camera, THAT IS IT! However, Tacey took her wallet in this time. She had quarters, so the kids got to use the Footsie Wootsie for the first time.

That was entertainment.

Tacey began a love affair with a Lion.

I hope that is the most kissing she does for awhile.

And this is a picture I take every time.

This is one of 8 Southern White Rhinos left in the world.

Look now, because you may never see one again.

Of the 8 left, 6 are female, and 4 of the females are beyond breeding age. They have been working to try to breed the other two, but so far, there have been no Southern White Rhino babies. It really doesn't look promising. They have the Southern White Rhino 'in the bank'. But if they are all gone, I am not sure how they will get an embryo through gestation. The researchers aren't sure either, but they have them 'in the bank', hoping for a time when they can figure it out.

Yep, National Geographic!

This is the

sexiest

Male Giraffe at the Wild Animal Park.

He is on loan from Busch Gardens, and within 3 months of arrival ALL the females were pregnant. Now there are all sorts of very-cute baby giraffes wandering around!

Yep, that is a Cheetah just feet from the kids.

His tail is longer than his body, his head is a lot more square then you would expect. he is nervous and jumpy, and has a best friend/companion that is a Black Lab.

No one else wanted to go, but Tacey and couldn't leave San Diego without a trip down Christmas Card Lane.

Again, Tacey got 'Elfed'.

And we posed with our favorite cards.

Tacey wanted this one in honor of her friend Josh. When she goes to his house they watch a lot of Veggie Tales.

And the Beauty & the Beast fan stopped to join the party.

Then Tacey posed with her future husband; Superman. She kinds fits in the Justice League, doesn't she?

On the way home we came across this sad but funny flyer. Can you read it?

It says Family Wreath 1996-2010

"After having our family's wreath up for only one night, a heartless coward stole the family's heirloom from our yard which it had adorned for many christmases.

To the Cold Hearted Grinch who stole our wreath:

You can go Fa-la-la-la-la yourself!"

Funny, sad & tragic; but still funny.

So then we had to return to reality; a snowy, cold home in Idaho and school that didn't get out until December 22nd.

On the up-side, Ben and Laura came to Idaho for Christmas and spent some time with us; for which we were grateful.

First thing we did was go sledding.

I took everyone to Pillsbury Park because it has the perfect Haley-sized hill!

We only had one sled, but MOST everyone shared well.

(That is code for Dallin & McCade could share with everyone EXCEPT each other)

Tacey had fallen on her head the day before and didn't think sledding would be fun. As she had a concussion, I agreed sledding was a poor idea.

*Back story*

Tacey went to grab the ball, and the girl on the other team didn't want her to have it. So the opposing player jerked away, but Tacey didn't let go. Tacey held on to that ball, but the momentum flipped her completely up in the air so the bottom of her feet were facing the ceiling, and then gravity took over and she landed squarely on her head. She had all the symptoms of a concussion, EXCEPT the uneven pupils. She talked a loopy all night; like she had a berr or two. Mostly her friends laughed at her, and we kept her up for quite awhile making sure she was okay. For the next few days she had a sore neck and a headache. Not a big surprise. She also doesn't remember most of that night. I wish I could be confident this is the worst that will ever happen, but I'm not.

Dallin and McCade do play football . . .

Haley LOVED it!

Some kids had come before us and had built this jump.

Haley didn't weigh enough, so she never actually caught any air.

McCade did!

Laura did!

Dallin did!

Then we settled down for a quiet Christmas at home.

Christmas morning Dallin had KINDLE from Santa

Tacey had a guitar from Santa

McCade had a camera from Santa

The traditional down the Hallway Picture.

McCade in amazement

Tacey wearing all her stuff at once

McCade showing off his new gear

and becoming our own

personal

papparazzi.

You really have to lock the bathroom door now!

Dallin with his Kindle. I will say that he manages to use that even more than the papparazzi uses his camera!

The guitar was used a lot in the begining, but it is begining to catch dust as I feared.

We'll see, maybe things will change when Basketball isn't so time-consuming.

*SHORT BREAK*

The Saga of the Stupid Fruit Plates

When we got married, we got the usual assortment of presents; among them was a set of flatware we thought was

oh-so-NOT-attractive.

We tried to return them, but with no success, we couldn't figure out where they had come from. So, we decided to use them first.

Since things break, they would be the first to break, then we could move on to the stuff we liked! Well, almost 19 years down the road, I think

ONE

of the dishes in this particular sest has broken.

They have lived through four moves, three kids and my amazing ability to ALWAYS be clutzy. So, in an attempt to be grown-ups, Shane bought me the white Corelle we had always talked about.

I opened the first box, and

BAM

the first plate

JUMPED

out of the box

fell to the floor

and broke.

No, it was not funny.

No, we did not laugh.

Stupid Fruit Plates live 19 years

Corelle lives 19 seconds.

I did have one victory that day!

So, have REALLY been working on my bread-making skills.

(That means I was trying to gain some. Bread is something I have NEVER been able to do.)LOOK!

I made these rolls!

From

SCRATCH!

Like with flour, and yeast and stuff!

They were so yummy!

Ben & Laura stopped by later in the day to open the presents I was holding hostage. I don't let anyone open ANYTHING before Christmas.

(I think Laura looks just like my Mom in this picture.)

Sinced then there has been more basketball . . .

More injuries, though none of them as scary as when Tacey was flipped over and dropped on her head.

And now we watch Dallin and McCade play as well.

Dallin didn't play in their first game, he went Cross-Country Skiing with the Scouts, so Mac represented for both of them.

He can set a screen as well as his sister!

He is still using his whole body to catch passes, BUT he is on the floor a lot less this year.

IN FACT,

the only time he was on the floor was when he actually got pushed!

Progress!

Shooting the ball; didn't go in. But as you know, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take!

More Tacey Basketball. Tacey really made this girl mad. She was the coach's daughter, and Tacey's defense was really on. Made this girl exceptionally angry!

So there you go!

As you look back over the blog, take special note of Tacey's nifty-new Basketball shoes.

They are the ONLY set in existence.

Her Dad loves her, and is a big softie, and let her design them on the NikeID website. She chose the style, the colors and has SHS monogrammed on the outside & TM on the inside.

Cost?

Too Much!

Coolness factor?

Priceless!

Danielle

A flurry of Basketball and the epic blizzard of Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-23T15:44:00.002-07:00

Last Friday Shane and I took the trip to Preston, Idaho. Tacey had her first game that day. You know, she gets nervous like the rest of us, but she was VERY nervous this day. It was a bit weird when we got there; they ran the JV and Freshman games at the same time in two different Gyms. That was a bummer because the other teams couldn't cheer for them. The Freshman team is very much a training team this year; there is lots of potential, but it was made known to them that they were using this year to train them and build for the future teams. Well, Tacey likes that idea, as do ALL the girls. They are a very coachable group. They came into this game with the coaches not expecting a lot from them. HOWEVER, the seven of them that have played together a lot KNEW they could win and had made up their minds to do so.

First there were captain duties to attend to!

Because they were running two games at once (which Shelley NEVER does) there was no one to keep stats for the Freshman team. As Shane's cousin is the JV coach, and his Uncle is the Stats keeper, he got asked to fill in for the game. This is the picture of the major injury this game. This is just before the girl stabbed her in the eye. She came up blind, with her contact folded in half and lodged up behind her eyeball. That is also the Varsity and Freshman coaches watching her. They immediately pulled her out and she sat down on the bench. After a few minutes she ran to the locker room. I ran after her. Her contact had finally come out, but she didn't have any solution to help her put it back in. Going on in the game without the contact was not an option as it was her bad eye that got stabbed. The father of one of her teammates had solution and eye drops in his car. He ran and got them for me, and we managed to get the contact back in with a great deal of pain. She was bouncing around and screaming because it hurt so bad, but she wasn't going to sit out the rest of the game! She later had a knee injury, but she muscles through all of it, and was fine the next day! (Except for the broken vessels in her eye and the big bruise on her knee!)

She recovered nicely, and went on to play a VERY good game. She was aggressive, shut down several of the other team's baskets, and shot more in that game than any 3 games last year. Okay, she didn't make any. BUT they were completely accurate, just lack the arch to make them drop. That can certainly be attributed to the adrenaline and nerves, so we expect that should improve.

She really took leadership as well, both on and off the court.

She never let down - not at all while she was playing.

In the end they won 33-29 in overtime! Yep, yep! It was also the FIRST time since she has been playing school basketball, that her team has won their season opener. Should I also mention that the JV lost 33-32 by a free throw in the last 3 seconds, and Varsity got spanked 62-39? I guess the Preston Varsity team has several girls that can make 3 pointers. That is all they did the first half of the game: shoot 3 pointers. So, in the end, the little team that wasn't supposed to do well was the only one that won! I talked to Tacey's coach after the game and she said the level at which the girls played was completely unexpected. She even admitted to them that she didn't expect them to win. Tacey and the other girls knew they were capable; they set out to win and they DID!

So, Sunday night snow began. Monday it was deep and cold. We went from a very chilly fall, to this in just 10 hours. McCade broke off the long icicles and wanted to eat them. I told him I didn't think that I would suck on ANYTHING that rolled off the roof. *yuk!*

You can see how the 40-50 mile and hour winds formed the icicles at an angle.

The discussion about whether or not it was a good idea to eat the icicles continued. . .

and continued. . .

The snow covered everything; so I decided to work on my picture taking.

Seriously, this bugs me. They plow, and move all the snow into the middle of the street. Then they bring this truck along that scoops it up and puts it into a dump truck. The problem is; I never see anything other than the plow. They leave the big piles there. Can you say 'Unfair temptation for small children?' or 'Driving hazard'?

It snowed all day yesterday and all night last night, and all morning this morning; television kept being interrupted by severe weather update. There was a Blizzard warning, and they closed ALL roads. The winds were 60 mph and above. By lunchtime the boys went out to play where the backyard used to be.

McCade standing in the snow. It doesn't really show how deep it is,, because he's standing on some of it.

It is well above his waist, so he can't walk in in. It is more of an army-crawl situation.

And Dallin has the snowball makers doing what they were created to do.

This is the perspective shot. The BBQ is at ground level. All that snow in 36 hours! I would say there is a good 3 feet out there.

Poor Shane had to drive home from Salt Lake in it last night. He barely made it. He plowed his truck through drifts as tall as the truck is. Then he spent most of the afternoon playing with a snow blower. Poor guy. Good thing he likes snow.

The kids are not as happy though. School is out for the week, but if we HAD school yesterday and today, it would have been cancelled. McCade is behind on his reading, so I keep sending him to do it. Tacey not only had Basketball practice and dance cancelled for the rest of the week, she also had her game cancelled. Both of them are in bad moods. Dallin has escaped into a book, and I am wishing they would all find some happiness somewhere. So much for a nice, peaceful vacation! As far as the snow goes, there is no end in sight. This has really screwed up my exercise routine!

Danielle

Muffie Video for Grandma

2010-11-14T18:16:00.002-07:00

Watch Muffie's Right leg. This was the better of the two legs.It gives you a perspective knowing they were both buckling.

Whoa! so much to catch up on!

2010-11-13T21:57:00.003-07:00

Backtracking, backtracking, backtracking. . .
Well, neither the 5th or 6th grade football teams made playoffs, so the season ended with consolation games. Both teams played hard and the made the best of their last moments in pads.

McCade played hard; did a very good job. He had a good season, and says he also loves football. I don't know if he is counting down the minutes until he gets to play gain like his brother, but he is definitely planning on playing again.

That's him, #50. And this is the final score. At least they showed that other team team that Shelley doesn't get beat in their own house!

Dallin got to do what he LOVES most in the world on his birthday; play football! The coach was aware it was his birthday and asked him to be one of the team captains for the final game.

Quite an honor.

Ummm, here's to hoping he grows? That guy is a lot bigger than Dallin. He didn't let him by though! He got to play all of the second half. It was the best birthday present ever.

Yep, a good game. Shut them down. So their last two games the other teams were unable to score. Nice!

Some of the boys decided to drench the coach.

. . . and they did sing Happy Birthday to Dallin. That is the face of a truly happy birthday boy!

The moments where he is this unguarded and this happy at the same time are very rare. I enjoy this picture.

Dallin and his coach.

We also have a temporary house guest. Muffie, my Grandma's puppy is staying with us while she has some surgery done on her back legs. They wanted to charge my Grandma a TON of unnecessary money to fix her, AND Grandma wasn't/isn't really in a position to take care of her while she healed. SO, Muffie has come from warm San Diego to the frozen tundra to have people make her legs hurt; basically she is going to HATE my house! She had her first surgery on October 18th.

They didn't shave the bottom part of her leg; Tacey says she fits in here because she looks like she is wearing a fuzzy boot!

The yellow tape is holding on her pain patch.

She has really recovered quickly, which is good since we are having the same operation on her OTHER leg on Monday. She doesn't like it when I put her in the car anymore. . . .

And of course, I HAVE to catch up on HALLOWEEN!

Can you read Tacey's shirt? Yep, she went as America's Next Top Model.

We pretended to have a photo session.

Her modeling skills are far above my photography skills. . .

Dallin figured 'If it isn't broke, don't fix it!' and went as Indiana Jones again. He looks good!

And well McCade . . . well McCade couldn't decide what to be. He had absolutely no idea. However, I had the epiphany of the season! How cool is THIS costume!

You are thinking, what is this? Ah ha! It is SO simple! He is . . . . . .

WHITE TRASH!

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Man, I am funny. He thought he was just trash, but to those that would understand I explained that he was actually WHITE TRASH. Yep, I am still laughing!

The first weekend in November I collected my birthday present from Shane; a trip to NYC to see shows. I will say that I had a AMAZING time. Shane, well, Shane wishes the whole thing had never happened.

We flew out of SLC and as we passed Pocatello he looked and me and said "I forgot my coat!" Yep, not good. Also not good was that he ALREADY had a VERY BAD cold, and also forgot his glasses. I figured it would be okay. We would just buy him a coat when we got there. It isn't like Manhattan is full of stores or anything!

Well, I appreciate that Shane is careful with the money; it's not like it grows on trees or anything! But the first day there it was cold, rainy and windy. I was fine in my full length leather coat, he was freezing in only a light rain jacket. I tried to buy him a coat! REALLY! I did! But he didn't want to buy anything he already had at home, and really had his heart set on a particular KIND of coat. This particular KIND of coat is the ONLY kind we DID NOT find in Manhattan. So he got colder, and colder and sicker, and sicker... and no coat was ever purchased. Boo.

Okay, so I took no pictures in Manhattan. One of the things I like when I am in NYC is that all the street vendors and whatnot leave me alone. Why do they do this? Well, I would like to believe it is because I look like a New-Yorker. Maybe it is just a fancy delusion, but I enjoy it. Real New Yorkers DO NOT take pictures in Times Square, or in front of the Marquee (They also don't jump when they see rats). You will have to imagine me as a bored looking, know-where-I-am-going-and-what-I-am-doing New Yorker! Yep. I fit there.

That first night we saw The Addams Family: The Musical starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Newirth. It was incredible. Nathan Lane is amazing, the entire cast was hysterical. Definitely a go-see.

The next day we took a QUICK trip to Washington D.C. and RAN through all the sights and the ENTIRE Smithsonian. Good thing I have a heavy, regular exercise habit! I don't want to look like a politician, so I took pictures here (where they were allowed anyway. . .)

I saw the Capital

I like all the museums, but the Art, American History and Natural History were my favorites. My favorite painters are DEFINITELY Seurat and Monet. Thinking I might need to start collecting some prints.

Remember this elephant from the second Night at the Museum?

I thought of McCade when I saw this Giraffe. I would have brought it home to him if I could have! It wouldn't have even begun to fit in the front door though, much less the house.

This cheetah knows the value of food storage.

This tiger was jumping right out of the wall!

The Washington Monument!

This is my attempt at an 'artistic' photograph of the Washington Monument. ha!

And last, but certainly NOT least, the White House!

Back view.

Front view.

That night we drove part of the way back to Manhattan and stayed in Philadelphia. We got up the next morning and drove the rest of the way, excited to see some more shows. HOWEVER, when we go to Manhattan, Shane realized he had left his wallet in the Hotel in Philadelphia. Another not-good thing.

We saw Billy Elliott that afternoon, and Shane left me in Manhattan and drove the 2ish hours back to Philly to get his wallet, then back to Manhattan to get me. What did I do? I wandered around with the million people there for the NY Marathon the next day, then I went to go see American Idiot by myself.

Billy Elliott; AMAZING dancing. That 13 yr-old-kid made the Broadway dancers look like amateurs! The singing wasn't fabulous, but the set was a star all by itself.

American Idiot; an interesting morph of the Green Day album, Rent and Cats. Actually think the Broadway cast sang/performed the songs better than Green Day; the dancing was a cross between Contemporary Dance and Hip-Hop. The set was very Urban and media-based. It was a big change from the stuff I normally see.

After the show got out I had to wait for Shane on a street corner! HAHA! I was trying really hard not to look like a prostitute or an easy target for a mugger!

The next day was the last one, so we were going for the show I had spent FOREVER talking Shane into seeing. I REALLY wanted to take him to see Phantom of the Opera. I have seen it, but it was like FOREVER ago. (I would put a number on it, but it would give away my age which I deny at every given opportunity). We were going to see it the previous night, but Shane went to get his wallet. I was VERY UPSET to learn that Phantom of the Opera was COMPLETELY DARK that day. Seriously? NO PERFORMANCES AT ALL. Boo. Boo. Boo.

At this point I was beyond frustrated at trying to make the weekend good for Shane. He was hideously sick, nothing was going right for him and now Phantom was dark. I gave up on the TKTS booth and went and paid full price for tickets to The Lion King. It was pricey, but I made sure we had the best they could offer; 6th row. It was worth every dime. I hope that kind of made up for the horrible time he was having.

So, yea. I had an amazing time (when I wasn't worried about Shane and his ever diminishing health), and Shane had a horrible time. I must say though, he kept up a happy face for me. He really spent the entire weekend worrying about NOTHING except my comfort and happiness. I appreciate that, in even the face of double pneumonia. He is wonderful to me.

Now we are back, life is rushing on, and I have finally found a few minutes to update this. *sigh* I've hardly taken any pictures the last month! What is wrong with me?

OH! BUT THAT WILL ALL CHANGE VERY SOON!

While I was on my way to NYC I got a phone call from Tacey. She was having some sort of freak out-meltdown on the other end. It took awhile to calm her down. I was getting very worried; I knew the final Freshman Basketball team roster had been posted. Did this mean she hadn't made the team? I couldn't imagine that happening, but weird things happen sometimes. When I finally got her calmed down, she told me that not only had she MADE the team but she had been asked to be

CAPTAIN!

WOOT! WOOT!

Here is to my children getting their Dad's athletic abilities!

haha!

Danielle

Mourning. . .

2010-10-24T20:10:00.003-06:00

My thoughts are all over today, and I thought I would place a few here. One of Tacey's friends from school, not a really close friend, but someone she knew, laughed with, was silly with, talked with, someone she KNEW, killed himself Friday morning. She called hysterical from school, and I went to pick her up for the day.

When I arrived at the school, I didn't even need to enter the building to feel the grief. It was an absolutely physical sensation that brought tears to my eyes. I checked in with the office, and then went to find her. Kids were roaming the halls crying, kids were sitting at desks crying, some of them were collapsed in the hallway from the overwhelming emotion they were feeling. Mostly, they didn't know how to handle the grief and shock they were feeling.

It makes me wonder about the youth today. I would like to say this was a random event, but it wasn't. Suicide is all to common here in our little town, it also seems to come in waves. Is it because the 'die' so often in video games that they do not understand the permanence of such an act? This young man had attempted to kill himself with an overdose, but when he awoke the next morning and was still alive, he used a gun. Tacey keeps asking me 'why'? I have no answers for her; I don't know why anyone would do something like this. Helping her through this, like many other things, was not in the Parenting Manual. All I can say is; I took her from school that day so I could be the one to help her grieve and come to terms with what her friend had done. She has come to me several times in the last few days and continued to open up to me about all that she is going through. She will be going to the viewing and the funeral, but she will be accompanied by one or both of her parents. She may be a mature 15 yr-old girl, but she is not equipped to deal with this on her own. Heck, most adults are not equipped to deal with it.

To me, the saddest part of the whole thing is that this 16 yr-old young man, so handsome, talented and smart, could be so sad; yet there was no indication of it. That he could have no hope. No hope that things would get better; that his only release from what was hurting him was to kill himself. I am a woman of faith, and I PRAY that if any of my children, or any of you who read this EVER feel this hopeless I will know. That I can be a voice of love and consolation is what ever sea you are drowning in. That is my prayer.

With love,
Danielle

The Face of Football

2010-10-03T16:06:00.000-06:00

'nuf said.

Danielle

Just For Laura - SPUD DAY!

2010-10-03T14:46:00.002-06:00

Ahhhh, Spud Day.

Spud Day; the day we wait for all year long. Where all things potato are celebrated and therefore mocked by myself and my sisters, and now my daughter.

I am posting this mainly for Laura because she is as big a fan of Spud Day as I am! The rest of you just get the benefits of our obsession.

The theme this year was

SPUD PARTY USA!

Gotta love it! As always the parade began lining up in front of the house early. We gave the Dance Studio permission to decorate, store and line up for their float in our driveway. I will point out that they had permission, but that didn't keep people from feeling like the side access driveway was just another piece of sidewalk that just HAPPENED to be black and just HAPPENED to run RIGHT THROUGH the yard. I had the Dance Studio owners move their cars on to the driveway to make it stop. I also made a point of saying how much I DID NOT appreciate the foot traffic through my yard as a WHOLE BUNCH of people were walking through. I didn't end up with a house that was egged, toilet papered, forked or stink bombed; it is all good!

Here is a Spud rocking out. . . . . Those are some mad Guitar skills!

And the Cub Scouts marched for the 100th Anniversary of Scouting. They just looked so patriotic. Some times I think the things I love most about Spud Day are things like this; moments where the world seems like it is still as innocent as it once was; not the one I know exists now.

Yep, these people brought their goat to the parade. I bring my dog, they bring their goat I guess. I wonder if the goat sleeps in the house like Koda does. . .

Here comes the Dance Studio.

There is Tacey doing her Parade Drill Routine. They did an exceptional job. I do wish, however, that they would have spread their lines a further apart. Then I could have seen her better!

Ahh, again we have cute Kelsey Cox as the official Cox Honey Bee. I do admit, I had never had Cox's Honey before. I bought some the other day, and maybe it is the lack of sugar I have had in my diet, but I SWEAR it is the best Honey I have EVER tasted! You are all getting gift boxes of Honey Christmas. . .

The candy, Yep, the candy. We left with Ice Cream buckets full of candy.

He's holding a ton of candy, it weighed him down and he moved out of the picture. But believe me, it was a LARGE handful.

Okay, there is a Reverend who is working really hard to start a Baptist congregation in Shelley. However, I think the fact he was leading an

ACTUAL BIBLE STUDY

ON THE FLOAT IN THE

MIDDLE OF THE PARADE

is going to make people wonder if he's any fun!

Yep, got to get noticed to get Candy. . .

At this point in time McCade was playing the role of Little Jake in a local production of Annie Get Your Gun. Between school, football & the play he was VERY tired so I didn't wake him up so he could go ride on the float. He was VERY upset with me. When the float passed by I let him go run and jump on it. He rode it for about two blocks then I made him jump off and come back. It was a compromise, he still wasn't really happy with me, but he would NOT have been happy AT ALL if I hadn't let him get the extra sleep.

The free potatoes. . . a MUST on Spud Day! This is Tacey's cute friend Sarah. She has lived in Shelley for quite awhile and she had NEVER had a potato with cheese and sour cream on it! actually, she had never been to Spud Day wither, and I find that wrong on so many levels. I am surprised they hadn't revoked her citizenship. She gave the fattening toppings a big 'thumbs up!'

Tacey got a temporary tattoo. I was NOT pleased with the placement of the tattoo. I gave her permission to get it, but I figured it would go some place that wouldn't be quite so risky to show. I have now learned. IF I even let her get another temporary tattoo, I will be VERY specific about WHERE she is allowed to get it. *sigh*

Miss Russett making sure the mashed potato pit is ready for the best part - the SPUD TUG!

This is my neighbor, Holly. She ends up in the Spud Tug every year. This year she and her team won the Junior Division! GO HOLLY! She still ended up in the potatoes though, her friends 'helped her out'.

And the best part; the Missionaries.

Okay, I was disappointed in the Missionaries this year. They ditched their suits but still retained the 'shirt and tie' look by wearing T-Shirts that had ties and name tags printed on them. The back of the T-Shirt had the tags of their entire team on them. I can't help but wonder; Pocatello, Idaho isn't high on the list of Missions a Person dreams of going to. Do they warn them about the Spud Tug when they get transferred to Shelley?

Getting the potatoes into the pit. . .always a highlight.

At first the Missionaries did a 'demonstration pull' against employees from the local Channel 3 news. You will notice the anchors are no where to be found. They went into the potatoes a bit quickly, I think they lost on purpose. . .

In the end, not only did they NOT wear their suits, they didn't end up in the Potatoes AT ALL!
Total Rip-off!

This is the team that ended up winning. That guy on the end was crawling along the dirty, slightly mashed potato infested ground.

It was a Happy Spud Day!

Missed You LAURA!

Danielle

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

2010-09-09T21:44:00.002-06:00

Dallin participates in the Gifted & Talented program in the school district. He has ALWAYS enjoyed it. In previous grades it was just an afternoon a week, but now that he is in 6th grade it is an actual class that he gets to get on a bus, ride to a different school to a special classroom/lab. He finds this really cool.

Recently they had been learning about water displacement, Archimedes principle, density. . . things like that. The project that did to help them utilize this new knowledge required them to build a boat. To make the project even MORE exciting, he was only allowed to use a cardboard box and 1 roll of Duct Tape.

Today was the launching; I went to go watch armed with my camera. (Not that you would expect anything less, right?) I must add that we had two BEAUTIFUL days before today; the weather was clear and it was between 70 & 75 degrees. TODAY, it was 48 degrees, cloudy, windy, rainy and the water in the OUTDOOR pool was only 65 degrees. BRRRRRRRR!

This is Dallin and his partner Paytin. I told him he was lucky she was a tiny girl; he could have ended up with one of the heavy football players from his team! That is their boat; number 83. I should remind you that 83 is his football number; it was also his Dad's football number.

Yea! It floats! There were some different constructions, but box-shaped seemed to be a common theme.

They look VERY pleased that it is floating.

HA! It took FOREVER, but I got the video to upload AND embed! Woot! Woot! Enjoy! (Yes, you do hear Tacey yelling. I got her out of class to come watch. Should have probably gotten Mac too. Oh Well. . . . . . )

Dallin got his boat to the other side of the pool; he got extra credit for making his own paddles. When he got to the other side his partner joined him in the boat.

Unfortunately, by then the paddles were almost gone. They really didn't have much of a chance once they could no longer move across the water.

Like the Titanic, the cold water was the un-doing of the boat. Here he is about to abandon ship.

He couldn't jump fast enough.

That's a pretty big hole on the bottom.

He then joined a bunch of kids (5, ALMOST 6!) in another boat. They were seeing how many people they could put in the boat and still have it float!

At first it seemed to go well.

But again, slow sinking proved to be a powerful thing.

In the end, there were kids with hypothermia symptoms, so we pulled them out of the pool as fast as possible. They were having fun, so it wasn't as easy as it sounds! No one died; all boats were eventually in soggy pieces, and the Mom's all had a great laugh! It was a good day!

Danielle

Football; McCade

2010-09-05T22:16:00.004-06:00

McCade has played more football this year than Dallin, merely because his coach took them to the Jamboree. The Jamboree allows each team to opportunities to 'get out the jitters' and try their newly acquired skills on another team. They get 15 minutes at Defense, and 15 minutes at offense no matter the outcome.

McCade is number 50. He, like his brother, plays defensive end. He also plays on the Offensive Line and is on Kickoff return. Here he is in action.

Okay, I have to explain this picture. The rules of Grid Kid football give weight limits for each grade. For 5th Grade, up have to be 125 lbs. or below to play; if you weigh between 125 and 135 lbs. you can only play offense. IF you weigh MORE than that, you have to play up a grade. This kid that is blocking McCade is actually a 4th grader that didn't make weight and had to play on the 5th grade team. IN FACT, my friend did the official weigh in that day, and this 4th grader tipped the scale at 254lbs. Seriously, I have no idea how that kid passed his physical. Anyway, to have McCade trying to block a kid that is 3 times his weight; THAT was really funny.

I'd explain what is going on in all these pictures; if I knew. But, I just take them; I don't claim to understand the intricacies of football. SO, if you can figure them out; GOOD JOB!

HAHA!

Danielle

Football; Dallin

2010-09-05T22:01:00.003-06:00

Dallin LOVES football. I mean, he REALLY LOVES football.
I have tried to figure out why he loves it so; he has a large team. He doesn't start, so he doesn't see as much playing time as some of the other team members. These things don't matter; he simply loves it.
I have thought long and hard about this, and I think it is several things. First, he really enjoys the technical side of Football. His little (actually, really BIG) brain really understands the game. At any given time he can tell you who did what, why they did it and what they could have done to make the play more successful. Unfortunately, his body does not move as quickly as his mind; yet. ( I am VERY hopeful). He also enjoys the feeling of being part of the team. And, then there is the added bonus of getting to hit people for no reason in particular. But, I think that may be a 'boy thing'.

In any case, he is a handsome football player and looks really good in his gear. Here are several pictures of him in action. He is number 83; his Dad's old number.

That's him in the front of the huddle.

He works so hard at Football. I have great hopes that he will continue to improve and play for as long as he wants to!

Danielle

Court of Honor

2010-09-05T22:00:00.002-06:00

Dallin had the advantage of going to Scout camp this summer because his Dad went. Usually Boyscout Camp is reserved for those Scouts 12 and older. Today we had a Court of Honor; he has been a Scout for almost a year now as his birthday is in October. He has worked really hard and today was the payoff. This was the first of many Courts of Honor I am sure he will participate in.

That is his Scoutmaster presenting him with his 4 Merit Badges he earned at camp; Wilderness Survival, Emergency Preparedness, First Aid and Leatherworking. First Aid and Emergency Preparedness are required for his Eagle. Has 11 required Merit Badges, but must earn a total of 21 for his Eagle. Really, as long as he is active in the Troop he will attain everything he needs to and have completed his Eagle Project before he is 14. We are very excited!

He also completed the ranks of Tenderfoot, First Class and Second Class. These are super-cool since I get pins to wear to show his accomplishments as well.

We are VERY proud of him.

Danielle

First Day Of School 2010-11

2010-09-05T20:51:00.001-06:00

Thursday, August 20, 2010. The dreaded day; the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.

I have to say that I was no more exited about it than the kids were. Yes, it did mean I also had to go back to work, but I really do enjoy the adventures we have when we are home and this particular summer break felt extremely short.

Tacey is now a Freshman in High School. She started the day dressed in her signature color: pink. We had some issues with friends this summer; not big ones, but enough to help her realize who was a real friend and who wasn't. She has started the year with a positive attitude and has quickly made new friends in the Sophomore, Junior and Senior classes. I anticipate her having an amazing year.

McCade is in 5th grade, and after A LOT of hoop-jumping within the system, I had him placed in the appropriate math class. He isn't the most dedicated of students sometimes (even though he is amazingly smart), so his 4th grade teacher had NOT recommend him for Advanced Math. I would normally take a teacher at their word, but his test scores were so high, and he did so well EVEN THOUGH he didn't pay attention in class we really felt he needed to be in a situation where the VERY BEST was expected of him. So far, so good. I wondered at first how he would do, now that they have changed the 5th Grade format and he would have 7 different classes from 6 different teachers. But after some thought, and watching the way he excelled at Music Camp, I think this might be a good thing. I think the opportunity to wiggle and move and completely change environments to go to a new class will help him focus.

Dallin is in 6th grade, in all advanced classes and has been re-approved for the Gifted & Talented Program. He opted for Drama & Art as his electives; there wasn't a lot of choice. I think he is also going to have great year. He also has 7 different classes from 6 different teachers. He even gets to ride the Bus to a different school for his Gifted & Talented class; it takes the place of his Science class. His current project is to build a boat from only cardboard and duct tape. Good thing he can swim!

As for me, I finally have classrooms, and the school district has lost all the sheet music I ordered last fall. I have two new principals to work with; and it already looks like one of them is going to drive me nuts.

Here we go!
Danielle

Football - with pads

2010-08-15T18:43:00.002-06:00

Football with Pads started on Monday; the conditioning was over. Dallin's team picked up where they left off. BUT, this year they have him in a new spot that he likes better - Linebacker.

McCade was pretty excited about his pads. Andrea was amazed they make pads that little!

This is McCade taking his first tackle. I was waiting for tears and whining, but it didn't happen. He really 'took it like a man'.

This is McCade delivering his first tackle. He thought it was great fun.

The coaches are still trying to decide where to place everyone, but so far it looks like McCade might be a Running Back. Good thing he doesn't mind being tackled!

Dallin had the first big injury of the year. He got his helmet locked with another helmet at practice. He didn't even complain; the coaches didn't know he had this massive goose egg until after practice. They have both become good little men (at least when it comes to football!)

Danielle!

Pigeon Rescue

2010-08-15T18:35:00.003-06:00

Okay, so the pigeon has now found a new place to live. Shane's cousin raises pigeons, so rather than just give him an express ticket to heaven, we decided to hand him over to an expert. The problem was - we had to catch him first. That doesn't seem like a big deal; catching a pigeon that cannot fly, but it was quite the adventure. There was a lot of screaming, funky dancing and general laughing was 'herded' the pigeon into a box.

We took him over, and found out he was just a baby and probably broke his wing when he jumped out of the nest or was hit by a car as he was learning to fly.

It is nice to have him out of the garage, and to know an expert has control of his fate now. Taking care of 3 kids is enough for me!

Danielle

Fouls in the Garage. . . again

2010-08-08T20:07:00.003-06:00

Remember the chicken incident? Here we go again. . .

This is the pigeon that has decide to live in the garage. What is it with fouls and my garage? I also have a group of digger bees that have decided to live under the concrete slab out the back door. I don't want to kill them; they are good Bees. I think there must be a sign somewhere inviting strange wild creatures to come live on our property!

Maybe that is how we got the kids. . .

Danielle

Here we go! Football!

2010-08-08T19:55:00.002-06:00

So Monday I dropped Dallin off at Football Practice, then took McCade to his and stayed to watch awhile. It was pretty funny, and I expect to have a great football year! McCade has no inhibitions, and Dallin is determined to be more aggressive. So here we go!

On the first day; here is McCade doing his High-Knee runs.

His Butt-Kicker runs.

His Karaoke footwork.

Backpedaling (running backwards).

Sprinting. He always runs like this; looking sideways. He would be faster if he looked forward as he ran!

Dallin doing sprints

Catching the ball. . . well, almost catching the ball.

He spent a lot of practice like this. I wasn't sure what was going on until later when he

BARFED

all over!

I guess he spent most of practice feeling dizzy. He didn't eat well that day, and it was hot; he learned he needs to take better care of himself the hard way!

Danielle

The Last Day

2010-08-08T19:32:00.003-06:00

The last day must have a ton of fun packed into it, right? Our day began at the Wild Animal Park. We hiked down to the tram; I like to start there because it is bang for your buck; lots of animals in a short period of time! On the way there we passed the Lions; it was

FEEDING TIME!

wicked cool. . .

They were loud, and fighting, and you can't see but the Male was not letting the females have anything. Greedy guy. . . Tacey was a bit concerned!

McCade was hot & grumpy.

Dallin was his usual agreeable self!

We stood in line, but not too long. Shannon, Tacey & Andrea had fun together.

Grandma & Grandpa.

Okay, so I imagine myself a photographer. I am not; but I am trying. I like this picture I took of this flower, so you get to enjoy it too. I would like to point out that I have done NO editing to this picture, this is how it came out of my camera!

So, Shannon was squeezing water at Tacey, so Tacey did it back; but things didn't go as planned because the water didn't hit her AT ALL! So she immediately tried again! This was the result!

Good thing Shannon has a sense of humor!

On the tram ride we saw tons of animals like Cheetahs

Rhinos pretending to be rocks, or rocks pretending to be Rhinos; I am not sure which!

Vultures

Wilde beasts

Giraffes

Yea, can't remember what these guys are called. But he looks pretty fierce in his mask! Maybe I will rename them Zorro Antelope.

I LOVE the Wild Animal Park!

and it is easy to see why.

I have been spoiled by both the Zoo and the Wild Animal Park my entire life. I cannot even CONSIDER another Zoo; they all look mean to me after the amazing care they take of the animals at these conservation centers.

The kids wanted to take their grandparents to their favorite watering hole; I've posted pictures of this place before.

Tacey was not as excited about getting wet as she had been in recent years.

Even Dallin looked a bit unsure, but McCade was already drenched.

Tacey liked to help him get wet by holding him under the bucket when it dumped. There are no pictures, but the NEXT time the bucket dumped I jumped in and held HER under. Everyone laughed very hard; even Tacey (which surprised me since she is a moody teenager!)

This is a good look for Grandpa!

And of course, there was ICE CREAM!

And Bat ears as we left; we had a very long drive the next day. And Grandma had BBQ Chicken and Potato Salad at home; YUM!

It is always sad to see it end, but Football has become a priority!

Danielle

Only Two Days left for 'Family' Vacation

2010-08-08T19:18:00.002-06:00

After we dropped Shane off at the Airport, he was tied up in Las Vegas for a few days. During that time I let the kids be sick; I figure you can't fight a losing battle. He finally was able to return Thursday Night. So that left us two days. We started Friday at the beach.

One day, I am going to take a vacation with Just McCade to a beach resort so we can body Board and sit by the water all day for an entire week! He's my child who has the same deep love for the Ocean that I do. I really crave hearing the waves as I wake up in the morning and go to sleep at night. I really miss the Ocean. . . Now that he spent so much time at the beach; McCade has the same cravings. We could be there all day and all night.

His wave skills were greatly improved!

Yep, he's definitely my kid.

Tacey did inherit the 'I want to always be tan' gene; I think I am the only one in the family that got that one!

Dal had fun too. . .
Then we stopped by to say goodbye to Pama at her house, then visited Big Grandpa & Grandma Jo while she was in the hospital.

That night the girls went one direction, and the boys went another. Shane, Dallin, McCade, Scott and Grandpa went to the PADRES game in Petco Stadium. They had a BLAST!

Andrea, Shannon, Tacey& I went to see the touring company of my favorite musical - In The Heights. Okay, I will be honest; I saw the Original Broadway Cast, and this cast was not at that level, but they were still very good, and the story still made me cry.

Andrea took this picture inside the Theatre; she immediately got into trouble. HAHA!

And McCade, well his fondest wish came true at the game. I gave each of the boys $20.00 and told them to spend it however they wanted. McCade has ALWAYS wanted a foam finger - and he FINALLY GOT ONE!

Danielle

Vacationing as a family

2010-08-08T19:01:00.003-06:00

When Shane and Dallin finally made it into town (late Monday night) we had a lot of fun to fit into not a lot of days. Shane was headed out for Las Vegas the next evening, so we spent Tueday doing a family activity; or activities.
We started at the Mormon Battalion Visitors Center in Balboa Park. It is newly remodeled. Actually, it is more then remodeled. I don't thing anything is the same. It is pretty darn cool, and it was fun to see my friend Kymberly Luke Mellon in the newly shot movie!

They took our picture as we became honorary members of the Mormon Battalion!After that we went outside to pretend we were living back in the time of the Mormon Battalion! We panned for gold. . .

Pumped the water; It was a lot of wet work, but that was okay, because the kids were hot.

Took inventory of our riches. . . .

Rode in covered wagons (That was the 'cushy way'; they really walked)

And then posed for the pictures I always make them let me take!

(It was VERY sunny, and it was the middle of the day, so looking relaxed to have your picture taken? Very hard to do.)

Group Picture!

We were worried about the cannon in front . . .

But hey, we had a big metal Mormon Battalion guy to watch over us!

After this we made our requisite trek to the candy store to get fudge, we also got Tacey some Aspirin; she wasn't feeling good. Then we went to RUBIO'S because it was. . .

FISH TACO TUESDAY!

Oh how I dearly love fish Taco Tuesday. . .

Then off to the Zoo for animals and Ice Cream.

Then we took Shane to the Airport.

It was a nice day. However, the next day not only was Tacey still fevered and sick, McCade had joined her. I would LOVE, one day, to have a vacation where someone isn't sick. Maybe that will be when I go alone. . .

Danielle

Surf Camp

2010-07-23T19:34:00.002-06:00

So this year, Dallin was going to Boy Scout Camp with Shane, the EXACT same week Tacey was going to Girl's Camp in California. So it was decided that I would drive Tacey to California (with McCade and Koda), while Shane and Dallin stayed and went to Boy Scout Camp. Well, my Mom felt bad that poor McCade had no camp to go to that week, and suggested a Day Camp. We looked at several, but easily decided the COOLEST one would be. . .
SURF CAMP!

Seriously, learning to surf is a very cool thing to do! And I was excited that he FINALLY had something that he could do, that NONE of his siblings had done before him. Sometimes being the youngest means you have to live in very uncomfortable shadows. Now McCade has something all his own; SURFING. He went happily all week, spending his days at the beach learning some MAD skills. I followed him the last day to get evidence of his newly developed talents!

They always had a snack break after the bus ride there; bus rides can make you exceptionally hungry, you know? McCade ate, applied his sunscreen (he was VERY diligent about this; he went through three bottles in a week) and then looked longingly at the shore as he waited to go down to the beach.

When it was time to go, he was first in line.

After a swim test, they had a sand castle building contest to see which group of campers went first. He must also have mad castle-building skills, because his group went first. *I take full credit for his sand castle building abilities.*

He also played a bit of beach soccer.

Time to take to the water with a board; he even remembered to put his leash on his ankle.

Yeah, big board. I think MUST have been an eight foot board. Look at how short he is next to it!

It was big enough he had a hard time getting his arm around it.

In the end he dragged it; you can see the marks from the fins on the sand.

Negotiating the waves. . . .

Paddling. . . .

AND

SURFING!

Should I point out that he is in water about 12 inches deep? Probably not. He just looks too darn excited at the fact he is actually standing up!

Paddling again. . . .

Standing up on the board. . . that is a tough skill to conquer! (Ummmm, see how close he is to shore? heehee) At least I will never worry about him drowning while surfing. . .

Going for the stand up. . . he couldn't look like he was having more fun!

Closer look at the pure joy the beach brings!

Uh-Oh! starting to tip!

Hanging on! As you can see from the kid next to him, he doesn't have far to fall!

In the end, it was an amazingly fun week. He loved every minute of it! I am glad he did!

Danielle

Rise Up and Sing 2010

2010-07-19T21:37:00.002-06:00

Last year I was hired to work at a Vocal Music Camp here in Southern Idaho for a week in the month of July. It turned out to be a wonderful experience; both for me as well as Tacey. She came along and participated in the camp. This year, as I knew better how the camp runs, and what they had to offer I took McCade as well. Again, we had an amazing time.We left Shelley on Sunday evening; also bringing along our friend Alexis. We were up and checking in at an early hour; by the end of the day when we arrived back at the Hotel, I had tired kids that were actually VERY excited to do their Music Theory homework. Alas, I fear the homework excitement won't last; especially into the school year.

McCade didn't actually have homework, but he was exhausted nonetheless. He was concerned at the beginning of the day that he would not make any friends. I was confident that he would make friends quickly, and since his classes were tailored to boys it was only a matter of minutes before he would have friends.

Tacey took composition as her Music Theory class this year. I think she found it enjoyable if stressful.

There are 6 class periods offered each day; depending upon the age of the child they are eligible for 4, 5 or 6 hour blocks. These classes must include Master Class, Music Theory and Musical Theatre, with Choir, Acting, Choreography and Opera among the electives. Camp begins at 8:45 with vocal warm ups, then classes start at 9:00 and go until noon. Then there is 45 minutes for lunch, and then a sing-in. Each day there is a recital after lunch. Monday it is the faculty, Tuesday it is a guest artist, Wednesday it is a Comedy recital (We were the biggest hit of the comedy recital this year), and then Thursday is a student non-master class related recital. After that we return for another 3 hours of classes. This year I taught Intermediate Music Theory, Beginning Girl's Musical Theatre, Boy's Musical Theatre, Beginning Acting, Choreography and Advanced Girl's Musical Theatre.

Thursday Night we had the Master Class recital, and BOTH Tacey and McCade did amazing jobs.

McCade sang a song from the Musical Working by Stephen Schwartz; Neat to be a Newsboy. He was VERY nervous, and despite a small 'forgetting' incident at the beginning was the hit of the recital.

He did have amazing stage presence.

And had the added bonus of being allowed to throw newspapers off the stage over the accompanist's head. Definitely a bonus for a 10 year-old boy.

Selling newspapers! (Not to mention the song!)

Before the throw. . . after the throw.

Tacey sang one of my FAVORITE songs; Children of the Wind from the Musical RAGS also by Stephen Schwartz. I guess I was in a Stephen Schwartz mood this year!

Okay, I will say she LOVES this picture; and yes, it is impressively dramatic. The 'Mom' in me likes all the pictures. The VOICE teacher in me sees something else in this picture; we will leave those thoughts out of this blog. haha!

Friday morning is spent in Dress Rehearsal for the final concert of Friday afternoon. This year Tacey was asked to play the lead in the Opera; The Merry Widow. BOTH the 'Mom' and the 'Voice Teacher' believe she did an amazing job.

Opera Divas get to wear great dresses and TIARAS!

There were performances by both the boys and girls choirs. McCade LOVED Choir.

The concert ended with the Musical Theatre pieces. This year I chose to do stuff from The Lion King. This is The Circle of Life. McCade is there on the left with the giraffe visor on his head.

This is Tacey in Can You Feel the Love Tonight?

McCade and a cutie little girl named Kate in I Just Can't Wait to be King.

More I Just Can't Wait to be King. Aren't they just the cutest partners?

And the finale version of The Circle of Life.

Don't you just love the visor?

This is McCade's best buddy from camp; Todd. He is about a year older than McCade.

Two peas in a pod.

We had 6 different visor designs; aren't they cute? Okay, they are a bit dorky; well, a lot dorky. HOWEVER, if the purpose of the class was to try to re-create the Broadway show to a certain extent, then these did the trick. In order to SEE the animals, they had to use and hold their heads just like they did on Broadway with those amazing headdresses!

We loved Rise Up and Sing 2010, and look forward to NEXT year!

Danielle

Tacey's Summertime Activities

2010-06-30T22:16:00.003-06:00

SO . . . we know Tacey has been working - not necessarily working hard, but she has been working.

She has also *YIKES* been spending a lot of time at her DRIVER'S ED class. She now officially has her permit, and can drive with Shane and I. I would have pictures, but I am too busy watching her to think of my camera!

She has also been trying to keep improving on her Basketball Skills. She was invited to participate with a bunch of the High School girls in what really amounted to a scrimmage against Pocatello High School.

This is Abbey and Tacey showing some mad teamwork!

And check it out! She is DRIBBLING! (She really doesn't like to dribble; she's afraid of losing the ball!) BUT, here she is; dribbling with her LEFT hand even!

She LOVES defense. She has no problem getting in some one's way!

HAHA!

Danielle

More about my Robins

2010-06-30T22:05:00.002-06:00

Well, here they are, all being teenager-ish already!

When I looked at them they were starting to get a bit 'ancy' in their nest. I noticed they were changing places a lot, and I even caught them standing on the sides of their nest which I learned LAST year is a sure sign that 'flying day' is near.

Mama Robin is never happy when I am taking pictures - even though I am YARDS away. I try to get in and out quickly so that she can get back to taking care of the hungry kids!

Danielle

All about nature

2010-06-30T20:49:00.001-06:00

HOORAY!!!!

Last year I had a pair of Robins decide to make their nest in the carport. It is a really good place; protected from the elements, no cats becuase there is a nice, yippy dog, a LOTS of grass with LOTS of worms.

THIS YEAR THEY CAME BACK!!!!!!

I was SSSSOOOO happy. Again, there was 3 babies.

They are so funny. . . sleeping with their mouths open, all they do is eat. (kinda like my kids. . . hmmmmm)

Big news. Dallin went on his first campout WITHOUT his Dad. ALthough he missed his Dad, he was VERY excited to be 'grown-up' enough to do it all on his own. He is such a big guy now.

Danielle

Finally . . .nice weather for Baseball

2010-06-30T20:42:00.002-06:00

Tacey loves her job for Parks & Recreation. During the summer she makes a little extra cash by being an umpire for little girl's softball, and T-ball. All-in-all it is pretty easy; especially T-ball. At least she doesn't need to worry about whether it is a ball or a strike! The funniest thing about this picture is that the 'catcher' has the same face she does. Haha!

Ahhhhh, finally. A picture of Dallin playing Baseball. He really worked hard this season, and did a very good job. He has gained a lot of confidence; he even runs with a whole different attitude. It is fun to watch him find self-confidence.

I am really impressed with the amazing young man he is growing up to be.

McCade had a baseball injury this night. At least he got a base for it!

Can I just say that the WORST part of baseball is that we MIGHT get one game with good weather. This was really the first one that was comfortable enough to watch outside, not from the car. Sheesh!

Danielle