Under the Sea

It's summertime so that means theatre camp! The show this year was The Little Mermaid. Sissy was one of the daughters of Triton and she did a great job. I always love watching her on stage. 

Practice was all day, everyday, for a week. Most mornings after we dropped Sissy off at the theatre, Baby and I would go on an adventure walk. She loved sitting in the big rocking chairs near the theatre and running wild through the park. It was a glorious way to begin each day.

I was slightly worried about how Baby would behave during the actual performance, but she was a superstar. We ate popcorn so that helped. 

It was another successful show for Sissy!

After 4 performances in a row, we celebrated with pizza and Bottle Caps.

Cuz that's just what you do.

Congrats to Sissy!

Papa

We had a marvelous day celebrating the father in our house. I always love Father's Day because I know there will be steak. Sure...I have to go out and purchase it, then I have to prepare it, but hey, it's still steak!

We ate the steak while sitting on the porch. We also had rolls with apple butter. It was delicious!

Baby and Sissy drew cards for their dad.

 

Baby also drew a little something extra for herself. 

And then the nerds got to work doing nerdy things. I don't ask questions.

This is what the nerdery produced! I must admit that it looks pretty cool.

It was a productive and lovely day. We sure love Mykey and we're blessed to have him.

Happy Father's Day!

TWO!

My Baby turned 2-years-old! It is baffling how quickly the years pass. The colossal enigma is that we're 2 years in and I still haven't shed one single pound of baby weight. Odd.

So my Baby turned 2 and I'm still a chub.

You're all caught up.

Nevertheless, it was a most delightful birthday. Do you want to know the most delightful part of all? I didn't have to spend any money on gifts. Not one single penny!

You may think that I am a cheapskate. You would be wrong. I didn't buy her any gifts because everyone else did it for me. I didn't feel inclined to give the kid more presents than necessary. I'm practical, you see. Practical to my bones.

I did make her an adorable cake though. Sissy helped.

It's a dog. 

We went to my cousin's house since his son and Baby are birthday buddies. He was turning 13. That's even more hurtful to a mother's heart. His cake was Nintendo themed.

Baby had a fantastic time opening presents and singing Happy Birthday. It was magical.

She received a shopping cart and bath toys from my parents.

A stable with lots of horses from Sissy's best friend.

A dollhouse from the lady down the street. We were out for a walk and she offered it to us since she is moving and didn't want to take it with her. Score.

A SuperKitties copter from my cousin that sings that most annoying song. "Kitty cat! Kitty cat!" He did it on purpose. And also from my cousin: a BYU shirt. He definitely did that on purpose.

It was a nice time celebrating our little miracle. I'm incredibly grateful she's mine.

Happy Birthday to Baby!

50 Big Ones

Sissy went on a backpacking trip with the youth from our ward. 

It lasted for 5 days and they hiked 50 miles - some of it on the Appalachian Trail. 50 miles! It was the first backpacking experience of her life and she was a trooper. Her friends all dropped out after the first 2 days but Sissy trekked on in solitude. And guess what else? It rained and rained and rained. Those poor hikers were soggy and stinky when they arrived home. Emphasis on the stinky part.

We were able to meet up with her halfway through the week for dinner at a place called Beauty Spot. It was comforting to lay eyes upon her. 

As we were getting ready to go home she gave me a hug and whispered, "Take me with you."

But...I didn't. She was so close to finishing and I knew she could do it. I didn't want her to regret coming home early.

When we picked Sissy up at the end of the week, our first stop on the way home was to get frozen custard. And then she hit the showers. 

I am incredibly impressed by her perseverance and determination; especially when the weather conditions were so poopy. 

When it was all over, Mykey used his new CNC machine to make magnets for all of the finishers. They looked pretty darn cool.

Hooray for Sissy!

Finita

You can mark 6th grade as finished!

It was a bit of a rocky transition from elementary school to middle school. It was an even rockier transition into the hormoneees. 

BUT - we survived! Sissy did tremendously well academically and found herself a group of wonderful nerd friends. They filled up an entire table in the lunchroom. I was happy for her.

We celebrated by driving directly to Wendy's after school for hot frenchie fries.

And then Sisiy and I went on a date that evening to a performance of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by the homeschool kids in our ward.

It was a delightful way to kick 6th grade out the door.

Congratulations to Sissy!

Moving Schmoving

This is the song that never ends.

I thought moving a few miles down the road would be easy. "No problem!" I said. "I can take all the little stuff in my car as we need it!" I said.

What a dummy. The problem with the little stuff is that it multiplies. No matter how many trips I make back and forth to the condo, there's still crap to gather up.

Why do we have all this crap?!

I suppose I do appreciate that I didn't have to box everything up all at once but sheesh. I'm not convinced that piecemeal is any better. Here's the real problem: moving sucks.

And here's the worst part - our dadgum washer and dryer didn't fit in the new house. Those machines were the cause of much contention with the movers. They banged up my walls and outside steps getting them onto the truck, they dented the back of the washer, and they banged the walls trying to get them into the new house.

And then they didn't fit. (Insert swear word here. Or a couple. Or a lot. Dealer's choice)

Guess who has to purchase a new set of slimmer appliances? I do. 

And guess who has to wait 2 weeks for it to arrive? I do.

And guess who had to go to the laundromat with her toddler to wash clothes? I did.

Baby thought it was a grand adventure. 

I had to make small talk with a man who claimed to be an origami master. He declared that he can do folds that only 3 other people in the world can do. Hmmm. But he did give Baby a dollar so that was nice. (I bogarted it for myself)

I had to make small talk with a woman with an impressive goatee. She was suspicious of all the other laundromat patrons and counseled me to make sure no one ran off with my towels. Or my daughter. Hmmm.

I had to fold my underwear in public. Hmmm.

It was a tense morning and the escapade cost me nearly 50 bones. To wash clothes!

To recap: measure the opening for your washer and dryer before you move. 

And moving sucks.

Awards

I received a message from one of Sissy's teachers that she was receiving an award at the year-end ceremony and we were invited to attend. I was also told it was James Bond kind of stuff and not to tell Sissy. 

It's exhilarating to keep a fun secret.

Sissy knew about the ceremony but was told that it was just for awards that the students were voting on. You know - things like most likely to be an author, etc. 

I played along and did very well with my secret mission. I'm good at this spy stuff.

We arrived at the auditorium and after some pomp and circumstance, Sissy's name was called for her award. And then she was called again. And again. And again. I beamed with pride. I made that kid! (Well, my sister helped but we won't go into that now.) Hmm...creepy.

Anyway, there I was admiring this kid that I made with my husband and my sister.

Sissy took home 4 awards and was voted most creative by her peers.

I was a super proud mama.

And then at swim practice that night, she was given her ribbons from Saturday's swim meet.

This girl is on fire!

Congratulations to Sissy.