GO BIG RED

SUMMERTIME

I can't believe it... it's all over... another school year has come and gone. It was just yesterday that we put Nicholas on the bus as a Kindergartener HOPING he would come back on the correct bus. He did! And now he's excited as ever to go all-day and eat in the cafeteria. He graduated with honors! His teacher even commented, "I believe that Nicholas doesn't have a mean bone in his body. He is kind to everyone and he is everyone's friend."

Benjamin was chosen as 1 of the 5 to represent his class in the spelling bee.





He did wonderful - except when it came to an easy word... exercise. He began to spell it - E X E R - and then he paused. That was his mistake, the pause! You could see his mind spinning, thinking. I wanted to stand up at that moment and yell "NO BEN. DON'T THINK ABOUT IT!" Then he continued - S I Z E. The crowd clapped for him and he sat down. Until next year... watch out!





The tomatoes are in full bloom and we have been enjoying BLTs, turkey sandwiches, salads and anything else that you can put a tomato on. You can see the stash behind Nicholas here. The green beans were "nitrate" deprived and are coming alive once again. I do love fresh veggies!

Zachary finished 2nd grade with many honors also. Surprisingly enough, he got his glasses two days ago and can see now!

Summer begins - swim team, swim team and more swim team!

Spring Sing

Last month Franklin East Elementary had there end-of-the-year Spring Sing! Each of the six classes participated in musical numbers. It was held at Mountainview High School.

Now, for the last month or so, Zachary kept talking about going to music class... "Yeah, I saw the music teacher write MY NAME, along with another kid's name, down on a piece of paper. I think I WILL BE THE ONE with the solo Mom." Well, I kinda' agreed with him and smiled and wished him good luck!

Then the afternoon came, "Mom, I DO HAVE THE SOLO!" I about fell over! That's wonderful I exclaimed! I will be sure to bring the video camera. And of course it's video-taped (thanks to Glenn) but I still haven't figured out how to get it loaded (that's Glenn's job), but I did take pictures while he sang.

Picture this... 3 pigs...

And the song begins to tell the story of how the three little pigs make their way into the world... they run into the big bad wolf...

Who will... huff and will puff...



and will blow your house down...



will huff and will puff and will blow your house down... will huff and will puff and will blow your house down... and make me some piggy pie! (notice that pig on the end)


So, look for a YouTube link in the near future... when Glenn figures out this VIDEO-THING! (I know Glenn knows how to do it (he's making me type this) but it's just finding the time to DO IT!)

Joys Of Motherhood

Today was a GRAND day. It began with breakfast in bed followed by a plethora of cards and letters from 4 wonderful boys and a beautiful princess!

During family prayer, which was said by Christopher (4 1/2), he graciously blessed the food and then continued on by saying... and please bless Mother's Day... and please bless my Mom that she will get bigger... (long pause)... and then she can be a train driver... (longer pause)... and she can drive the train and give me rides... He said this all as seriously as possible while Glenn and I were biting our tongues holding back the tears and laughter. He is SUCH a sweet and caring little son.

So, off to church we go... of course the Primary Children (about 70 in our ward) were asked to come to the front of the church and sing a few Mother's Day songs at the pulpit. WHO is the one to stand RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE MICROPHONE? You guessed it - Christopher! AND OF COURSE, THE BISHOP DID NOT TURN off the microphone? YEP! You could only see his forehead from the audience and it was busily bobbing back-and-forth talking to a neighbor kid.

Occasionally you'd see a hand reach up and move the microphone... testing as it were... "What would happened if I TOUCHED IT?!" Of course, with that swarm of children, and standing where HE THOUGHT no one could see him, NOTHING happened when he touched it! So, he did it again... and again... move it to the right and then... move it to the left... still no adult reaction for the leaders were all busy getting the other kids in line! :)

THEN THE MOMENT OF TRUTH CAME -- WAS IT ON? "Well, let's check," thought Christopher! "H E L L O" said Christopher! Suddenly, there WAS an adult reaction! :D But the victory was already won by a charming 4-year old! And after the beautiful songs were sung, this beaming boy came triumphantly marching down the steps, grinning ear-to-ear and asking me, "Mom, Mom, did you hear me at the microphone?" Of course he spoke loud enough, in typical Christopher Fashion, that most of the chapel could hear his gleeful gloating! What a lark! That's our Christopher!

Happy Mother's Day to ALL!

Green French Fries!

Last night we had a delicious dinner of beef stroganoff and green beans! My previous post boasted of the wonderful plants in the garden. They were doing wonderful UNTIL the heat stepped into the picture! (Now the plants are a beautiful YELLOW but the beans are still coming.)

Next year we'll plant them at the beginning of March and have many many more beans! They sure are tasty and EVERYONE likes them! (We don't use utensils when eating this veggie!)