crazy hair and sock day...

It's almost the last week of school! Each day this week has been themed - today being crazy hair and sock day. I don't know if you remember earlier this year - Zane chose to have his head shaved like the cartoon Avatar. This time, he decided he wanted "old man hair". Too funny!

the uncalled four...

John has been singing with a quartet of guys (uncalled four - clever, eh?) for a couple of years. They met while doing Music Man - and one other joined them later. They sound really good, and have just been doing "gigs" around town. One of the things they have been performing at is an outdoor market at Tuacahn Ampitheatre. It's been fun to go out and listen to them sing. John will really miss singing with them when we move. I told them they need to record a CD before we leave, but I don't know if they will get around to it. I have a couple of mp3's of them singing but I can't figure out right now how to upload it to my post.

Here's some pictures from his last weekend out there:

science fair...

This year Zane decided he wanted to enter the school science fair. He did all the work on his project. The idea was his own - he wanted to know if rocks absorbed water. His project title was "Rocks That Suck". (I might have helped him come up with that title, a little). He took 5 different types of rocks (one of which was pumice - because I knew that would actually work), weighed them, let them soak in water various times, weighing after each. He typed out everything on his board. Cut and pasted all the pictures and words. Did a GREAT job I think. He got a "Teacher's Choice Award". The teacher's vote on their favorites I think is how that worked. SUPER JOB ZANE!!

easter...

We were really low key for Easter this year. Didn't even do eggs. Lame, I know. But, to be fair, I did get the dye kit out - looked at the directions: "dye will become wet again if eggs are refrigerated" - something like that. THAT went right in the garbage. Who really needs to dye easter eggs anyways. It's not like anyone (but John) in our family will eat them. Waste. Sorry for that little negative rant. Our Easter was nice and cozy - we didn't even make a fussy meal. The kids did the usual look for their hidden basket (that crazy Easter Bunny!), and the easter egg "hunt" outside on the front lawn. We (ahem, I mean the Easter Bunny) scaled way back on candy this year, and honestly didn't miss it. That crazy EB always goes overboard anyways.
Enjoy the photos.

(and I did start what I hope to be an annual tradition of a strawberry crepe breakfast- doesn't this look YUMMMM?!)

the easter dress...

I realize I haven't been blogging much, and I really have a bunch to catch up on still. Here is an "oldie". I really enjoy sewing. I enjoy doing blankets, burp cloths, taggie squares, those sorts of quick things for baby shower gifts. But, I really really enjoy making things from patterns. I love the time and effort it takes and the finished product to say to myself "hey, I made that!". It is a nice feeling of accomplishment. So - I do things like make halloween costumes, and easter dresses. This year, I got a slow start to Lily's dress, and then Easter was on General Conference so - she didn't need a dress for that day, etc. I ended up not finishing her dress until the 3rd week of April - but - it turned out AWESOME! I love it. It is adorable, and "hey, I made that!"

the boring stuff...

So many little things have been going on that I haven't blogged about - don't know why I haven't been into it lately. So here is a long update of what's going on with us, then back to your regular blogging program.

About John and I:
We celebrated our 9th anniversary in March, didn't do anything exciting. We never do. Sad story. One day (maybe number 10??)! John is stressed with his situation, but he really has done a good job lately of staying positive (or just pretending really well)! I am trying to find the time to get my jewelry business going again, but it seems something is always going on. Computer problems have not helped either.

Off the subject note about cockroaches...I don't think I understood before moving to the desert that cockroaches lived here. If I had - I really think I would have thought twice. When we lived in our apt. I don't think I ever saw one (we were on the 2nd floor). Since we have moved in our house - I can't tell you how many I've seen. They are the yucky big black kind. GROSS. But, what is even grosser... they seem to like my BED! I've woken up in the night to one crawling on me, not once, not twice, but THREE separate times! AAAACCCCKKKK!!!! We spray religiously, and don't see tooo many in our house. I've pulled my bed out, scrubbed it clean, taken all the bedskirts off, pulled apart mattresses, cleaned sheets, vacuumed under the bed, everything. Any tricks out there??


Zane:
He has been doing great on his medication. Really, the fits have all but disappeared. He seems to not have any side effects and feel just fine. Occasionally, he has some attitude and moodiness, but I think it is related to the stressful situation we are in, and he can "feel" that. When we are having a bad day - even though we may be hiding it - you can usually bet that it will translate over to him in some way. Things have been so good though, it's almost like all that stuff that used to be a regular occurrence - never happened. He's able to be him, and we love it!!


Lily:
Lily is potty trained! She has been doing great. We started around Spring break time (1 month ago) and she already sleeps through the night dry. She still has #2 issues, but I'm beginning to think all kids do. She already had those issues before we potty trained, so nothing new. She is getting better though. She talks so much now, and just adores Zane. She is starting to get a little bit annoyed with her little brother, which is funny to me. I think she has hit the "terrible twos" which really aren't so terrible. But, she has her days. She LOVES nickjr on TV and really would watch TV all day long if I let her. It is really hard to get her away from it (which means she really does watch a lot more than I would like, or admit!). At least they don't have those yucky commercials. I love to hear her little sing-song voice and her singing is so stinkin' cute!


Evan:
I already posted a bunch about him on his birthday post, so I will just say I love this kid! He has started to take a few steps (which I actually can't wait for). He loves to be outside, but our yard is not crawling baby friendly at all. Where did my little baby go?

soccer...

Zane is almost finished with the season of soccer. We thought he might enjoy it a little more than flag football, since they actually were going to be playing games, and it's a little more fast paced. Nope, not so much. He "tries" to pay attention to the ball, but is not really interested. He did play goalie once at which he actually did pretty well. Blocked one kick with his whole body and didn't even complain! ;-) He only has a couple of games left, but it might be pulling teeth to get him to go. When the coach asks who wants to sit out, he is the first to raise his hand. Oh well, soccer just may not be his thing (or really, sports in general) but it is still early to tell.

happy birthday evan!...

Can't believe my little baby turned one! His birthday was the 13th. I was trying to catch up in chronological order, but it might take me forever, so I decided I better post this now. We celebrated with just our family. We are going to have some more cake and ice cream this weekend with extended family.

About Evan right now:
He loves to crawl everywhere and he is fast. He cruises on furniture, but doesn't seem to have much interest in learning to walk himself. He can get where he wants pretty fast by crawling. He is sooo happy and loveable, I just can't get enough of him. He is very easy going, and able to entertain himself. He loves to get into everything and adores his older brother and sister. I love to make him smile and get his slobbery kisses. It took him awhile to get a taste for food. He didn't start really eating baby food until 9 1/2 months! He LOVES it now, packs it in! If he can pick it up himself, he will eat it. He says mama and dada but we like to say his first word was: dirt. I asked him while at the park one day if he wanted to get down and play in the dirt, and he repeated right back - DIRT. I kept saying dirt dirt dirt over and over and he kept repeating it. Too cute. He is definitely ALL BOY! Love you evie-evers!!

happy birthday relief society...

During spring break - I had the opportunity to participate in a program that my grandmother wrote for her ward's annual Relief Society birthday dinner. Each member of the cast represented a former (and one the current) general r.s. president. We practiced songs and memorized our parts for 2 months to make sure it was perfect. Each person was to dress and look like the person they were representing. I was Barbara Smith, and my sister was Zina Young.

My sister traveled to and from Cedar City for practices. 2 separate times her new car broke down on the way. On the day of the performance, there was a huge accident on I-15 that kept the freeway closed most of the afternoon. It opened up with just enough time for her to make it to the meeting. She walked in 5 min. before we were to start. There was also another accident that day that killed 2 women in my grandmother's stake (who happened to be attending their ward's r.s. birthday celebration as well). We decided that what we were about to do must be important because *someone* was definitely trying to keep it from happening.

While memorizing my part - I never really "felt" it. This was sort of a relief for me because if you know me at all, you know I am a bawl baby. I was glad that I knew I would be able to say it without being emotional at all. Sitting in my seat on the stand during the program, I said a little prayer to repent for how I had been feeling about the part, and my sort of negativity towards it. I got up to do my part and made it all the way to the very last quote, and choked up. It was definitely the spirit speaking to me about how amazing these women were/are! Thank you grandma for that opportunity.

Here are some pictures to compare - (do you think we looked the part?)

(I still can't get over my hair - I am amazed at how she got it to look like that)

spring break...

Awhile back we had spring break. We did nothing but hang out around home. Unfortunately we had rainy weather the whole time, so a lot of time was spent inside. We managed to make it through without killing each other, so I call that a victory! Maybe we will make it through the summer...

...feeding the local ducks...

Cub scouts...

John is the cubmaster and I am the committee chair in our ward cub scout pack. This means that we have to plan pack meetings (once a month) and some of those pack meetings are pretty special events. In February we have the Blue and Gold banquet which is a dinner for the scouts and their families that celebrates the birthday of scouts. This year is the 100 year anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America so it was extra special. We planned a "Cubby Awards" themed banquet complete with MC (our wonderful cubmaster) and entertainment (by the MC and the wolf pack). I did all the decorations and helped John plan the ceremony. We gave out our cubbies and had a lasagna dinner and birthday cake. Turned out great.



After the Blue and Gold, we have the Pinewood Derby. This is a BIG DEAL to the scouts. Unfortunately this year, John came down with strep throat the day of the derby, so that left me in charge. I REALLY REALLY did not want to be the one in charge, but with a lot of help from my den leaders, we made it work. I think it turned out fine, and the kids had a lot of fun. (*I couldn't find these pics, I will have to upload them later)

Then just a couple of weeks later we had the Scout Expo. Our pack had a booth where the kids could make paper airplanes and throw them through some hoops (and get a piece of candy, of course). We kept it simple, and I think it worked out great. The boys that came had a lot of fun. My kids had a blast going around to all the different activities. There was a rock climbing wall, bounce house, rope bridge, fire engine, water rockets, and Zane's favorite - scuba diving. When it was his turn to put on the gear he said to the person running it: "Did you wash that off really good?" The guy was kinda confused and said "What? The mouth thing? Uh, the water is super disinfectant." I wouldn't want to put that in my mouth either Zane, after who knows how many boys had been sucking on it already. Way to be tough!

We've been really busy with scouts lately so we are looking forward to the summer break!

catching up...

I need to blog everything that's been going on in the past month, but we are having computer issues again. So without pictures, I am going to list the things that have been going over here (so I don't forget to blog about them when I am back)...

Blue and Gold Banquet
Rainy Spring Break
Potty Training
Zane update
Crafting
RS Program
Anniversary
Cockroaches (yeah they are at it AGAIN)

Ooooohhhh so exciting, I know you can hardly wait.

*edited to add:
Soccer
Pinewood Derby
Easter
Science Fair
Scout Expo
Lily's Dress
Evan's Birthday

Yikes, I am behind!! Lots of posts to come.

sillies...

I have stuff to post, just haven't been in the mood for some reason. Here are a couple of funny things I've been meaning to write down on record.

While shopping at Tai Pan (a home dec type of store/warehouse) with my mom while she was in town:

Me: Zane, I've told you, PLEASE don't touch anything.
Zane: Grandma just touched that.
Grandma: I just pointed at something, I didn't touch it.
Zane: THAT'S AIR TOUCHING!

Zane has been into telling jokes lately, and it has seemed to rub off a little on Lily since she LOVES to do everything her brother does.

Lily: Knock, Knock
Me: Who's there?
Lily: Zane
Me: Zane who?
Lily: You know Zane.

Pretty good for a 2 year old I say! What cuties I have!

we're in trouble with this one...

Time to fix all those childproof latches on the cabinets. How old is he? Yup, 10 months. We're in trouble.

phoenix in february...

We took a last minute trip to Phoenix over President's Day weekend. We sure do love it there. Of course it helps that it is 78 degrees in FEBRUARY! We had a nice time just hanging out, swimming, eating, shopping - the usual. John, Grandpa, Zane and Lily also took a trip to the Western Wildlife Zoo and Aquarium which was neat. We have never been there before. Lily for some reason became terrified of trains on this trip. She wouldn't ride the train at the zoo, or the train at the park by my parent's house. Hmm. We have had a lot of stress lately, so it was nice to take a break!

zanes talk...

Zane is giving a talk on Sunday and I thought I would just share it here. We mostly wrote it, but it definitely was with Zane in mind. He added the last line himself. As he read the part about how he feels our Savior's love he said "Yeah, that's true! I do feel His love when I'm with my family. I'm feeling it right now!" What a sweetheart.
Here it is:

This past summer my Great Grandpa Ellwood Rasmuson died. We went to his funeral in Logan. We were able to see his body before he was buried. I had a lot of questions. I wondered why he looked so different. I wondered if he would be able to walk again. I wondered if Grandpa would still be sick in Heaven. I wondered what would happen to his body when he is resurrected.

Jesus chose to come to Earth so that we can be resurrected and live forever. He chose to suffer for all of our mistakes and then die for us. What He did makes Him my Savior. This is how I know Jesus loves me. I feel His love when I share my love with others. I feel His love when I come to primary. I feel His love when I am with my family. I feel His love when I repent after making a wrong choice. When I repent I am showing my love and thanks to Him.

I know that my Great Grandpa made good choices while he was on the Earth. When we are resurrected we are made whole again with perfect bodies. My great grandpa will be well and be able to walk. I want to make choices so that I can return to live with Heavenly Father and see my Great Grandpa again. I know that my Savior lives.

cookies!...

I've been wanting to make sugar cookies for awhile. I just haven't gotten up the "will" to do it. They are a lot of work! Since I have a KitchenAid now, I have no excuse. I got a new recipe from my sister, and we got to work. The kids loved helping and this recipe made a TON of cookies - complete with super yummy frosting. I thought for a brief moment about giving some of them away, but I think we will keep them for ourselves. I know - selfish. But YUMMY GOODNESS to last for DAYS.

movin'...

My little man is a movin'! He just started really being able to consistently pull himself up on the furniture on Monday, and now he is cruising everywhere. He's already bumped a few times, but there's only been minimal blood. I can't believe he is doing this already - ack! But he is definitely cute doing it...

9 months...

Evan is 9 months now and boy is he busy! He is crawling everywhere and getting into everything. Books are being pulled off the shelves, toys dumped out of baskets, little pieces of food off the kitchen floor are being put in his mouth, cords are being pulled, plugs are being played with, and bathroom doors must be shut. Love this crazy little man! (Just wish he would let me sleep!)

happy birthday?...

In the craziness of December, I somehow missed posting a Happy Birthday to John! He turned 29 (again!) Love you!