Thomas and the entire second grade of Bristow Run Elementary School put on a musical production called Temples and Tombs.

"Temples and Tooooooooooombs...."

We learned from past experience (they do this every year, so Kayleigh did it 2 years back) that the room gets packed and you can't see a thing unless you are literally in the very front. 2 years back, there were 6 classes in second grade. Now there are 8. So it was standing room only if you didn't get there early. We got chairs - yea! And they weren't too far back. But we couldn't see a thing. We mostly saw Thomas as he filed in and was standing on the raisers, before the next row filed in front of him. After that, it was tiny glimpses of parts of his head. It appeared he was doing the motions and dancing with the rest. There were 38 speaking parts (Thomas did not have a part). If 8 classes have about 25 in each, that's roughly 200 kids. It gets very boring watching a show you saw 2 years back, and not even getting to anticipate our own kid speaking in the microphone. But you may spot his hair if the kids are standing just right...

The room looked a bit ridiculous. It's a gym with a small stage, about 3 steps up at one end. So the room is flat, no angle, impossible to see. The chairs started out packed. But everyone soon realized that you can see nothing from the chairs, so the parents with their cameras would line the perimeter of the room, trying to get a better angle. And the kids soon filled the center aisle, sitting on the floor. Kayleigh had this idea right as soon as we got there and took EV. I think they enjoyed the show there. Some parents joined them there as they realized it was another way to actually see the stage. So by half-way through, the chairs around us were looking much more barren and the people had moved to stand or squat in the aisle.

Kind of a waste, but Thomas seemed to have a good time, and at least we took some pictures. There's always the pictures.

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This is about how well we could see Thomas. But here's afterwards...

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That last one's the music teacher.

Then there was Easter. I guess that was before Temples and Tombs. Anyhow, it was a great day. Mom had sent the girls matching Easter dresses. They had hats and gloves that they wore for a few minutes, pretty much for a few pictures. Except Kayleigh - she actually tried to hang in there. Oh, and EV loved her hat, and kept it on all day. And Thomas had some new clothes and decided to wear his baptism tie with them.

They had 2 Easter Egg hunts, lucky kids. One was in the morning before church. The second was at Aunt Lynne's house, where we went right after church for dinner. She had made some great food and wouldn't let me bring anything. Donna was there as well. Kristin was not - she was sick. Bummer. Was a very fun day though. Including some entertainment by the kids and the dogs with their 2 against 2 tug-of-war. There's a picture of them in the slideshow.

Click on thumbnails. To see all Easter photos, click on "slideshow" below ...

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Wood Floor ... Chad's putting in a wood floor in the kitchen and it's looking super. I'm his helper, which means he could be going faster without me, perhaps. Here's the progression...

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Last of all We miss Melanie. Yesterday, cousins Kristin and Laura came and picked her up and took her home with them for a couple of days. She was is heaven, helping pack her bag and getting her things together to the big event. And I hear she is getting some great spoiling and special treatment over there. The kids are cute - they miss her. Especially Kayleigh.

It was an extremely nice thing to do for her. Thanks, Kristin and Laura. I hope you get some sleep tonight. Good luck.

I neglected to put in this picture of Jennifer. This is my cousin Kent's wife and their new twins. They used to live in this area, in our own Stake as a matter of fact, but then moved to Belgium. And they love it there. Soon after arriving, Jennifer, who has 2 sets of twins in her siblings, found she would be having her own twins. And here they are. Oh, so very cute kids. Looked very much like their brother and sisters. Jennifer came with just the twins to get some things done here. It was nice to see them - we miss the whole family.

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I missed a few cute things going on around here, so here's some random stuff. Click on top of any picture and it will come up larger.

Kayleigh's Science Project

EV's Preschool - 4 R's

Cub Scouts

The picture of the Banquet didn't turn out very clear, but it was decorated so well. Looked just amazing. And the boys did a parade through all the tables with this huge Chinese dragon. It was really something.

Eclipse

And that's some goings-on around here. Chad does not approve of my colors, but I saw it on someone else's blog and thought I'd see what it looked like. Chad helped me figure out how to change the colors but when he saw what I was doing with the colors, he became unapproving. I am not, obviously, a very fashionable blogger.

I had my glucose test today. This is the test I have to take about week 28 where I don't eat any breakfast but drink this sugary, orange drink instead. One hour later, my blood is drawn and they'll test it for glucose. And that's about all I know, since I've never failed it. Yet. The drink is yucky, but I just get it down fast.

So I've had 5 glucose tests now. Once I got to eat a Snickers bar instead of drink the orange syrup. But they tell me the Snickers bar won't give an accurate result. And every other time I've had this test done I've either gone to a hospital or a blood drawing clinic of some sort (wherever the insurance was allowed) and had to wait the hour there. It's always been the yuckiest test of them all b/c I'd have an hour to sit and anticipate the pain, on top of feeling nauseous from fasting and the sugar rush. Sometimes, the Phlebotomist has left a nice, big bruise on my arm. Which also hurt.

So today was really a highlight. I'm thrilled. They started drawing blood at the doctor's office. So no clinic or hospital. At my last visit, they sent me home with the orange drink. And instructions of when to drink it. So I drank it at home and drove to my appointment. I signed in at 9:05. As I was leaving the building at the end, the same clock said 9:30. This included a regular, monthly doctor check-up. And making my next 2 appointments. They rushed me right along. And I couldn't have been happier. Their Phlebotomist is amazing. Course, I've only had her take my blood now twice, but each time was a success. No missing the vein, no bruises, no sore arm. Just this nice, speedy service. Aaahhh! Can't tell you how great it is. I wish I could borrow her for the hospital delivery day, when they give me the IV.

I'd made plans to go straight to the gym after the doctor. But I really needed something to eat on the way. So I had my first McDonald's breakfast sandwich in probably over a decade. It was surprisingly good. Could have helped that I was starving and dizzy. As I was walking to the front doors of the gym, I felt very guilty carrying my McDonald's bag to the trash.

Since everyone else was gone skiing, it was just Mel and me. She is an angel. She likes to take care of herself. Sometimes this is a drawback as she eats where she wants and sometimes colors what she wants as well. But she smiles for miles. And now chats with people she knows. And has a lot to say. Today, after my piano lessons were over, the 2 of us had a quick and early dinner. Then I went upstairs to clean up some laundry and rooms. Melanie decided she wanted to change her clothes. Again, and again. She tried on about 3 outfits, which she would find herself in the drawer. These outfits included socks and shoes. Then she wanted a dress, which she couldn't reach. I got her one and she found a flashy pair of pants that didn't match at all, but looked very cute. In a clown sort of way. Then she'd twirl and chit-chat with me.

Mel loves drawing on paper. She takes colors, or pen or whatever is available and scribbles in lines, back and forth. She can fill an entire page with blocks of every color she can find. Or if she has a pencil, she just pushes it back and forth and all around the paper. And she's very serious about it. These masterpieces mean a lot to her.

Overall, she's just a charming little person. Who wants to do whatever her big sisters or brother are doing. She's been potty training for a couple of weeks now and doing fabulous. She has some good examples to follow, so maybe that helped it be easier. At night and before bed, her favorite thing is to have Dad rock her to sleep after reading her stories. They have a routine that includes some good songs. Lately I hear "Nephi's Courage", which Mel knows almost all of it by heart. For a long time it was "Star Spangled Banner". (Then when it came on the radio, Mel would say "That's the song Daddy sings to me".) Always they do "I Am a Child of God". She has this low, loud voice. And can make the most of it. She's sweet and we're all just loving her funny moments. If I put her to bed, I usually say, "Good night. I love you SO much." But, she's really her Daddy's girl. Well, who isn't!

Today, Kayleigh and Thomas had their last basketball games. It turned out to be another whirlwind Saturday for me. Started with the ward Easter breakfast and Easter Egg Hunt. And since it was raining (not snowing like the rest of the country) we had to do it all inside. This activity overlapped with the Relief Society canning activity. They had borrowed canning sealers from the cannery and people brought in their supplies to be canned. I was scheduled for that morning. (Will have to finish that project at my house later with the sealer) But finally, we were off to the basketball games.

Thomas was first. That boy loves to play aggressive. And he loves to wait under the basket for rebounds. That's how he gets most of his baskets. The boys his age play surprisingly well. By now in the season, they understand the game pretty well. And they run all over like maniacs. Thomas had blocked shots, some steals and kept his defending really energetic. At the team meeting afterwards, his coach called him "Dennis Rodman". He just loves to play.

Here is Thomas playing at a previous game. In this game he is assigned to guard his best friend, Preston. That was a fun game to watch - had to keep cheering for both sides.

Kayleigh's game was immediately after. She amazed me. Her first game or 2 she barely touched the ball. But then her coaches started letting her take the ball down the court more and more. Her dribbling got better and better. And she shot several times these last 3 games, though none went in. The hoop height for her age group is the highest, the regular height of a basketball hoop on a typical court. Thomas's is lowered. At the beginning of the season, Kayleigh was working on getting the ball high enough to even reach the level of the hoop. I was hopping off my seat each time she shot the ball, just seeing her try to shoot. The fact that it didn't go in didn't really stifle my enthusiasm.

And this last game, she was really driving to the basket. It's another world watching the girls play basketball. They kept getting bunched up and the girl with the ball couldn't pass it anywhere b/c there were just girls from both teams all over her. They just take things slower than the boys. And get balled up. But each time Kayleigh was passed the ball, she'd turn with the it and drive towards the basket. Sometimes her passes got intercepted but she never got bogged down in a ball of girls. Chad's been coaching the kids on some of this stuff, and they really seem to take advantage of his advice.

At her team meeting afterwards, the coach called Kayleigh a "jumping spider" b/c she chased the girls she was defending mercilessly and since she's always so much shorter than they, she would jump around with her arms waving. Like a spider. She seemed to be causing several missed shots - her girls would take shots but Kayleigh was jumping up and down in their faces as high as she could reach. The shots would miss.

A great highlight of these games was our extra spectator, Aunt Lynne. She drove over in spite of horrible traffic on 66, making it just in time to see Thomas come in the game. She was at times a great jungle gym for EV and Melanie, who played all over her lap.

The last time I entered a post was July 2006. Then Chad filled in for a few entries. (But that's been over a year.) Most of my blog became his creation till he decided to put his efforts to better use and created his own blog. Which is quite something, I might add.

Since it's been so long, I don't know where to start. But last weekend we had...

A Fun Ski Trip

We left on Thursday night to drive to Wisp Ski Resort area. In a snow storm. Oops. We meant to get ahead of the storm, but ended up right in the thick of it. And driving ahead of the helpful snow plows. But we got there, a couple hours later than planned, but all in one piece. We were staying at a house owned by the uncle of some friends. Between our 2 families, we had 8 kids. 8 kids - and Kayleigh was the oldest. It felt so nice to not feel guilty when our kids were a bit crazy. Their kids were just as nuts. So everyone was happy. Here's the cabin...

The skiing was fun, so far as I could tell. Heather (the other Mom) and I watched from the car or helped get gear on. The first day, Friday, was very foggy. I had to laugh when they first set off down the hill (there's a parking lot at the top of the lifts, so they could ski down from there). Chad had Melanie, who wouldn't ski without being held on to. The other Dad had his 5 year old, who was skiing for the second time and wouldn't let his Dad let go of him. His other daughter was more courageous, but also only her second time. And then Kayleigh and Thomas. Off they went to head down the mountain. It didn't look like they would be able to make it to the bottom before nightfall. I was laughing.

But it all turned out fine. Melanie and their 5 year old came back soon to the cars. The others lasted longer. We left with the youngest kids and spent the rest of our day back at the cabin. They 5 of them kept skiing.

The second day, it was clear, but being Saturday, more crowded. For the most part, I think all the kids had a great time. Mine loved having other kids to play with. They got a little crazy at the cabin, and there were always some funny stories going on.

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Chad tried making some movies. Here's one of EV.

We drove home Sunday, stopping in Cumberland for church. We love Cumberland. They treated our kids like gold. Kayleigh tells me that including them, there were 14 children in Primary. I attended Sunday School with Chad for maybe the first time since the last time we were in Cumberland.

Stopped for a look around the trains and bridges.

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Now on to This Week

Kayleigh and Thomas had exciting basketball games yesterday. I missed Kayleigh's game (Relief Society Stake meeting - a very good one) but heard the news after. Kayleigh took 3 (Chad says 4) shots. And one was really close to going in. She's getting better and better every game and handling the ball more and more.

I should mention, Kayleigh is the shortest on the team. Probably the youngest (some a couple years older than her). Once she was put against this girl who was, and I'm not exaggerating, twice her height. And she did good. The girl couldn't reach Kayleigh's low dribbling. It's looked like a cartoon.

I did take Thomas to his game. He did something his Dad taught him - he blew around the line of guys waiting at the half court line and drove to the basket. The reason they were all waiting at half court is one of the league's rules. They can't defend till the half court line. So that turns out to be where all the defending boys wait. In a line, somewhat. Not such a good defensive plan, but it tends to intimidate the boy bringing down the ball. The boy would usually stop and try to figure out how to get a pass around the line of defenders. But Thomas was playing more aggressive and handling the ball more. This time he took the ball down the court more and didn't hesitate, but blew around the clustered boys whenever he could. Chad had been coaching Thomas on this, letting the boys be a shield as he'd drive around them. He even said to me after the game, "I did what Dad taught me."Once his defender fell down as Thomas faked him out and Thomas attempted a great lay-up. But took about 4 steps and it didn't count. Fun game to watch.