We were due for an adventure

Brent finished his third year officially last Thursday and we both wanted to celebrate. He wanted a long nap and a quiet house. I wanted a fun dad to take us all on a family adventure. In the end, after a little nagging, I won.

We packed the van with kids and a picnic lunch and headed off Friday afternoon just as the rain clouds began rolling in. I had read a blog about a family outing in Chestnut Ridge Park and have been dying to go there with the kids to hike up to the waterfall of the Eternal Flame. According to this blogger, it was a great outing for the whole family. He had a 2 sons under 6 and had taken them there.

We started off the hike with a picnic lunch in the pouring rain. It got so bad we finally ditched the picnic table for shelter under a tree. Caroline had to go and in the process of assisting her she sprayed all over the back over her pants. Then Camille had to go and I was began thinking that maybe I am not as adventurous as I thought I was that morning.

After about 10 minutes under the tree the rain let up and we took a vote if we should pack it up or proceed with the hike. Our 1.5 mile trail ahead looked really muddy. It was 5-1 to go ahead, Kennon was the lone objector. No surprise.

So, off we went. In 2 minutes we were in the creek, had soggy sneakers, and were all having a great time.

Turns out that almost the entire hike is down the creek bed. I now remembered that he recommended taking this hike in the winter or late fall. We weren't swimming, but let's just say by the end, Caroline wasn't the only one with a wet bum. Marcus was mad he had to be held and couldn't wade with the rest of the kids. Here is a rare moment that we set him down just for a photo op.

The big finale is at the end of the hike. I was busy wading and admiring the view when suddenly I realized my children were climbing up the face of the waterfall! Turns out that's how you get out of there. (Unless you want to hike the mile back through the creek.) So that's Caroline 1/2 way up the wall. When I came later with Brent and Marcus I was amazed that no one fell. It was steep and slippery. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone under 8. But we all made it!
It's hard to see, but behind Marcus and I is the natural gas vent that is lit right behind the falls. I can't figure out how anyone ever found it and lit it in the first place.
I am amazed at the beauties all around us living here in Western NY. There is always an aventure to be found just a few miles away.

I love to write and thus have fully embraced blogging.
But it's hard for me to justify the time commitment unless the primary focus is keeping a family record. Sometimes I think -Why am I making our lives so public? This stuff should just be in a journal. Then I can record more personal stuff and don't have to worry about what is and isn't appropriate.

But I just like blogging a whole lot more. Back in the old days I kept baby book journals and scrapbooks for the kids and a personal journal for myself. The kids got an entry once a month and mine usually once a year, or whenever Brent and I had a huge fight and there was really no one else to talk to.

So I am committed to blogging. It might embarrass us some of the time, bore you a lot of the time, but when I look back and read past posts I am so glad I did it. I have never later regretted a post no matter how silly it seemed to post at the time. I am so grateful that my memories haven't been lost. Whatever gets the job done! And it's just more fun to have an audience -no matter how small that audience may be.

Last week I attended parent teacher conferences for my three daughters. They had such good reports that we celebrated at their favorite chinese buffet afterwards. We've tried to cut back on that place since Kennon turned 11 and no longer gets in at half price, but somehow we keep averaging a girls lunch there once a month. We usually go without Brent and tell him later. If we ask him he'll just talk us out of it.

Kennon missed her teacher conference so she could stay home and babysit Marcus for me. Her teacher first gave me a note she had written welcoming me to her conference. It summed up how she was doing in 5th grade - her strong subjects and trouble spots. I want to save the letter. She mentioned that she loves to write and her letter was long and super cute. She also admitted that her worst subject is spelling. Too funny in a letter including about 50 misspellings. She totally gets that from her Dad. And look how far he has gone. Almost 40 and in Dental school. She has great things ahead of her. :)

I was really looking forward to spending some time with Savannah's teacher. She previously was VERY concerned about Savannah and her reading speed of 174 wpm. Last conference I was blindsided completely when we discussed nothing but RED FLAGS and slowing this girl down.

Things have changed since then and she has a new appreciation of the kind of student Savannah is. They even really seem to be fond of each other. So we had a great conference and she raved about Savannah being her right hand man. She says she is often so busy helping other kids that she has Savannah take over the rest of the class. Savannah also has taught her tons of Internet skills. I am a little embarrassed about this because it only means she has way too much free at home. But the best part she saved for the end. Mrs. M proudly displayed a list of Savannah's current reading tests scores. Five different tests with scores like - 105, 123, 114, 132.

"Isn't this wonderful? Look how she has improved? She's gone DOWN a ton!"

"But has the comprehension improved?" That was my question.

Then, I asked to look at last falls tests again. I noticed that although her speed had come down a ton her comprehension scores were the same.

So of course, Brent and I talked to Savannah later and found out she is no dummy. She knew what her teacher wanted so she purposely read slow for the tests to please her teacher.

And I thought THAT was wonderful. She's still my little nascar reading. Vroom, Vroom!
Camille came with me to her conference and she hardly said a word once the conference began. She listened though, blushed profusely, and enjoyed the entire experience. This girl is so sweet and I am not sure where it comes from. But every mother of 5, deserves at least one shy daughter.
One really sweet thing about her lately is that she has started spending hours doing her own hair. She puts bows, flowers, and pony's everywhere. Always something new and exciting. Brent always tries to say something but I usually shush him. It can look pretty crazy sometimes but it's shows her creativity and she is so proud of it. I know I will look back someday and miss her hair creations each morning.


Caroline on the other hand. . . I am really concerned about her behavior. She embarrasses me constantly with her questions. She has one for everyone we meet. I know it is a wonderful trait to be curious and maybe that means she is smart, but it's just too much All The Time. While home teaching with Brent this week, she kept repeating the same question over and over again- "Why is your house so messy?"

The woman is older, but unfortunately not hard of hearing, like Brent hoped. She finally looked at Caroline and made up some excuse.

Grocery shopping with her is insane. I have to watch her every second or she starts up a conversation with the person next to us. "Why are you so short, how come you have a balloon, where did you get that candy?" I hear her starting and quickly shush her with "We will talk about it later". But as soon as my back is turned to grab a head of lettuce she asks it again. All I can say is she will definitely take kindergarten by storm in a few months.

On Sundays she has a handful of people that she runs up to, hugs them, and smiles up at them awaiting her treat. They always come through. Yesterday she got a new pen, a box of corn pops, 3 tootsie rolls, and package of smarties. I hate her candy collecting on Sunday. As of next week she isn't allowed to ask or accept any candy at church. It is seriously ruining her Sunday behavior. One of her favorite people is Taylor Hawes. But instead of her saying hi to him, he says that she just runs up to him after primary and says, "Where's the candy man?" As ward clerk he's supposed to know these things I guess. When he doesn't know, she is gone, without even the customary hug. Lately she only wastes a hug on someone who has previously been known for a good handout.

Brent is in the midst of finals and is bored out of his mind preparing for tests. When I think of all the hours he has spent studying for tests in his life it seems like it should just come natural to study. Can it really be that he is about to start his last and final year of being a student? I can't even imagine what it is going to be like when he is a dentist and won't have the excuse . .. "Uh, I have to study."

And as for Marco and Momma. He trashes the house, I clean the house. Don't expect to drop by unannounced and find a clear path through the house. It doesn't exist at most times. I am glad to have the extra exercise keeping up with him. It's nice to burn calories just in the course of my normal day.
You might've noticed that I left out a picture of Kennon. That is because I couldn't find any recent ones. Apparently she is the only one that remembers to take pictures lately and thus misses being in any herself. The only recent solo pictures I can find were from her musical and her birthday. Sorry, Kennon. I am going to do better.

Brent thinks I am too uptight. I get worked up about small things around the house like kids not showering, bedtimes, messy house, outfits matching . . . all kinds of stuff that I "need to chill about" and we'd all be a lot happier. But when he's driving, he has to admit he's the one that is uptight. A light cannot turn red in front of him without him making a huge deal. He can be so upset up by the time we've driven 10 minutes and all because his timing has been bad and the whole world (5 RED LIGHTS) seems to be against him.

I think we all hate red lights. But since living with right leg sciatica now for months I too find that a red light can make all the difference. Nothing literally IRRITATES MY NERVES like going back and forth from the gas to the pedal 30 plus times on the way to the piano lessons. Giving up driving isn't a feasible solution and so far Brent has yet to install hand controls in my car. His Dad had MS and had his vehicle specially modified to include hand controls so he could cruise around Basin City without a single lift of the leg.

In the meantime I'm learning to deal by experimenting with left leg driving. My reaction time is slower and I've warned the whole family that until I get the hang of this I may be an accident waiting to happen. Savannah just said, "Make sure you drive the Buick then!"

It's warm enough for some frolicking in the backyard with sprinklers. I kept trying to take some pictures of the kids but couldn't find an angle that had the background I liked.
On one side you can see our clothes hanging on the line. You may think I live in a white trash neighborhood but I actually am the only one who hangs clothes on the line of all our neighbors. I just can't help myself. I feel so domestic when I do it. And it's free and better on our clothes.
Directly behind Caroline in her new suit (that she earned from her mother's store) is our garden plot. Or used to be. We decided it's time to replant it to grass this spring but have yet to get around to it. We almost killed ourselves digging that up by hand for our garden only 2 years ago. How can it already be time to fill it back in to sell the place? This will be my first summer ever IN MY WHOLE LIFE without a garden. I think I will still plant some stuff in spare corners of the yard but no big garden plot. It actually cost a lot to water it here, and we aren't sure it's cost effective. But Oh, it will be missed!

Behind the garden is our old rusty, rotting shed. The floor is rotted, the siding is rusted but it has a brand new roof thanks to Brent last summer. Now its my job to scrape and paint the siding. To the left of the shed is our trailer. Brent pretty much built it from scraps in Washington and used it to transport all our stuff back here. It made the trip twice risking the Buick's life each time. He welded some side wheels so it flips and rolls on back between the narrow gap of houses to the back yard. Not an easy job, though and after loaning it out a few times for people we finally quit advertising our trailer hid it in the backyard where it quickly became a spot to hold stuff we don't know what to do with but don't want to throw away. Like free wood someone gave us when they moved away. Free wood comes in quite handy for tree houses so I am guess I am glad we had it. But very tired of looking at it and the green tarp the last two years.

If you look across the fence you can see Richard's front lawn. We have had our issues with Richard. His dog goes potty all along our fence and it never gets picked up. And in the summer they blow their fans backward out their kitchen window directly onto my clothesline. There are at least 5 smokers living in that house at all times so you can imagine how much I love their air on my clothes.
But He is the nicest guy. He let us park our boat in his front driveway the entire summer. Sadly, the lot was only available because another neighbor secretly reported him and his unlicensed, and rusted 1977 blue _______ (not sure of the make and model) car parked in front of his house. Not sure where he carried it off to just in time to make room for our boat, but now it's back in about 20 pieces on his front lawn loaded on a trailer. He's been going through it now for a couple days and has big plans for the scraps. You'll have to talk to Brent about that as I didn't quite follow it but pretty sure he mentioned something about another '77 he'll be using.
Kennon insisted on running with Marcus straight through at full blast. I never would've thought so but he likes getting sprayed with cold water head to toe as much as the rest of them.
Earlier in the day Caroline and I had played it safe with just a little pressure. Caroline was going crazy that he needed to have his shirt off to go in the sprinklers. But I think he may be taking after his Daddy and if so it's probably best to keep that white body covered as much as possible.

I've started quilting again after about a year long hiatus. I made the mistake of thinking Marcus's room could double as a sewing room. HAH! I finally gave up on a sewing room and moved it out to my room a couple months ago, and now keep it busy. This first one was for Briste who is expecting her first daughter in June.

It was so much fun I kept going. My sister Candice just got this one in the mail. Her little daughter is already a day late. I tied Briste's but got a crazy idea with Candice's and decided to try machine quilting it myself. I can't believe I didn't try this before. It's of course not as good as paying someone over $50 dollars to quilt it on a real machine but I was very pleased with the results. And it took less than an hour to quilt.

I think the winter is finally over. Thursday afternoon I take the girls to ballet near Delaware park. Since the weather has started warming up slightly I walk the park while they dance. Thursday was sunny as can be. . but FREEZING, and not just a little. I was in long pants and a hoodie for 2 miles and never worked up a sweat at full speed due to an icy wind. I ran the heater in Marcus's room that night.

And then Friday it got hot, I think up near 80. So hot that by Friday night I had a fan blowing some air into Marcus's room. It seems like that is how it goes around here. Straight from winter to summer. No spring!

I have been dealing with unexplained sciatica for 9 months now on my right side. My driving side. Driving around town really aggravates the condition. It's always a new spot from my lower back down to my foot. Burning, falling asleep, tightness, aching. Not agonizing pain most of the time but it just won't go away. It's fine if I am busy running around the house or exercising but as soon as I sit down it comes back. Especially if I need to use my leg over and over again. Lately I am a full time chauffeur after school. Playing on the piano for hours like I do lately for my new calling in primary isn't helping either. Then things got worse two months ago when something happened to my ankle during ballet. I didn't sprain it. It just started burning really bad when I jumped or releve'd. Since then it hurts when I go up and down the stairs, and I can't do any type of jogging.

So I went to see a Dr. with pen and paper last week and wrote down a whole page of what I need to be doing or not doing. He says it is all coming from an injury to my back most likely.
He also referred me to a podiatrist to look at the ankle. The podiatrist says it's all most likely all coming from my flat feet and how severely pronated I am on my right side. But to be sure he's sending me to a chiropractor and for x-rays.

I wish there was a way to get them all together and get a real diagnosis. So far I've been told regular exercise and stretching and heat on my back will go a long way to solving this . . then the next diagnosis was to get some rest and put my feet up and ice my ankle.

It's hard to know what to do. But I am pretty sure that I got a problem that there is no quick fix for. I know everyone has their problems and I guess at 33 it was time for me to join the real world.

One big change for me is following both Dr's advice to wear good shoes all the time. I think my tile floor in the kitchen is really making things worse. Which means that I am wearing my tennis shoes at home! Oh man do I hate this! I have always loved to be barefoot at home and think people who get up and put their shoes on to stay home all day are really weird. But now here I am getting up every morning, slipping in my arch support inserts and lacing up my shoes just to walk around the house. I keep telling Brent that I just don't know if I can do this. I just really like to have wiggle room for the toes ( I love flip flops) and part of being a cute stay at home mom in my head is not wearing your tennis shoes. But I have to say that in the week I have committed to this my ankle is starting to feel better all ready. I have no idea if it will help the sciatica. Actually this is not the first time I have had sciatica for nine months. It is the 6th. But the last five episodes all ended abruptly when I delivered a baby. This time I see no end in sight.

Brent is busy shopping for a home for a us a year from now. When I say home, I mean a state. Unfortunately, we still are pretty up in the air. The plan was always to go home to the farm and we still hope to. But it really complicates things that in the last five years since Brent decided to be a dentist all of sudden there seems to be limited opportunities anywhere in the west, especially eastern Washington. And we would really like to find a place where they needed us, rather than constantly hearing, "Oh, so you are a dentist, too? Everyone wants to be a dentist these days?" Someone told us that there are 20 dentists in our old stake (In Mormon lingo a stake is a group of several church wards. They meet together as a group biannually.)

Marcus pulled the bookcase in his room down on himself yesterday. He has a huge welt on his forehead, but he's fine. I was in the bathroom next to him and heard a crash and found him trapped underneath. When I told the kids what had happened and why I was moving the bookcase out of his room, Savannah said, "Well, of course, mom it's not a good idea to have that in there. It's happened before."

"What? When did it happen before?"

"Oh that's right. You weren't here. Taylor and Laney were watching us."

Nobody told me.

This is the first time I have ever had a kid pull a dresser/bookcase over on himself. He's a boy so I guess it is all new parenting from here on out.

He also found out about a third level in our house last week for the very first time. Marcus hadn't ever been to basement. We just took the gate off above the stairs a few weeks ago thinking he would no longer fall down them, and we are so sick of stepping over it constantly. But for all he knew those steps just went to the back door. I never planned on sharing the extremely cluttered and dangerous basement with him for at least another year.

Well, the other day I came down from upstairs and couldn't find Caroline and Marcus anywhere in the house. I finally heard some noise in the basement and Caroline called up to me that she brought him down there and "He loves it, Mom!" I went down and he was circling the room like a mad man. Right past the work bench with all Brent's tools, all the kids art supplies, the jars of canned food, the toys we haul down there of his when we get sick of them kicking around, and really tons of garbage we have no where else to store. It was all I could do to drag him back upstairs and keep him out of there since then. Thanks so much Caroline.

Just imagine though how exciting for little Marco to find a brand new room in his house. Since I got married I have had reoccurring dreams that I suddenly discover a new level or hidden room in my tiny house that I live in. This is like my favorite dream ever! I once dreamed I suddenly had a double decker single wide, and it was awesome, let me tell you.

He also got his first haircut. (Kennon has pictures on her blog and I am sure would love the traffic) We buzzed the whole thing without a guard, just like Daddy does. It was my idea actually. Brent was against it insisting that he didn't have enough hair for a cut. Someone told me that if you shave his head it will grow back thick and even. Still waiting on that one. It's been a few weeks and he looks like a cancer patient. No one even noticed though.

Kids Spring Break

The kids are all back in school after 10 days off for Spring Break. And it was actually mostly bright and sunny. . and COLD. What looks like nice warm sunshine out your window ended up being quite deceiving. How could the wind still be so cold in the middle of a sunny April day? Everyday I sent the kids back inside to take off their shorts and put on their coats.

One day Brent came up with a new idea and harnessed up his kids and helped them repel out of the tree house. Camille was first and bravest as usual.

While Brent was in school, we went to the park a lot. I usually am not that excited about hours upon hours at a park unless I can be running around or doing something active myself while they play. But lately with Marcus I just love it. Because he loves it. I just stand there mesmerized watching him enjoy every part of being outside from the slide, to the swing, to just watching a squirrel or bird pass by.
One of our favorite parks around here is Delaware Park. It's the one with the very large "Naked Man" that greets you from the freeway. We have yet to drive by without Caroline calling out, "Naked Man" and then they are all giggling. And It so happens to be on our way to church. We snapped a picture of his less graphic side last week when we spent a morning walking around Hoyt Lake in Delaware Park. I just figured it has been such a big part of our lives here that we needed to preserve him in our memory book.
Anyway that is definitely not the reason it is our favorite park. Rather it is because:
It's close
Home of the art museum that has free family night every Friday, the history museum, and the second oldest Zoo in the country.
In the summer people race boats around the lake
A walking/biking/rollerblading path surrounds a city golf course. I haven't passed by once, even in the dead of winter, that I haven't seen at least one faithful runner. It inspires me to stop hibernating. (On my side of town I feel like a freak to be out walking/jogging around. I always run around our little park while my kids play and you wouldn't believe all the people who ask Kennon, "Why is your mom running?")
Shakespeare in the park every evening for a couple weeks in the summer
Live Jazz music every Sunday night for a time in the summer
Variety of dogs strolling by that keep Marcus entertained
The slipperiest slide we have found yet
Beautiful in the fall for family pictures
People who hang out there seem to embrace the city they live in. You don't have to drive very far on almost either side of the park and things get dicey. But adjacent to the park the homes are well kept and historic. I think this neighborhood may have been the one that gave Buffalo the reputation for being the home of Good Neighbors. If it weren't for the situation in Buffalo schools we totally would've loved to buy a home in this area. Well I would've anyway. Brent was kind of stuck in the $30, 000 price range.

Spring Break really was nice. I decided beforehand that I was going to enjoy each day and not just being dying to send them back to school. And I knew that I didn't need to leave town to be a fun mom. There is plenty of stuff to do around here. I may have overdone the park though. The last day I said something about going to the park and Camille said it sounded boring!

The last 3 days Brent left us to fly with a couple classmates, Josh and Vera, and a local dentist in his private plane to Tennessee to spend the weekend offering free dental care. He even got to do some flying after all these years too poor to be a pilot anymore. AND he pulled EIGHTY ONE TEETH in two very long days!! So many people that were in dire need to have their rotten teeth OUT! Brent was glad to help but came home feeling really bad that now they have no teeth at all and no money to replace them.

Third year has been a major year for Brent in the process of becoming a dentist. After three weeks in Alaska this summer I'm thinking he's going to feel about ready to start getting paid to year from now. It was such a big decision to begin the journey to becoming Dr. Casper, but now it's down to one year it seems like it has hardly been any time at all. And either way we have loved the experience it afforded us all .

Dr. Angelo and dental students -Vera, Brent and Josh Twiss

I am the leader of the healthy eating group in my ward. Last night was our second class. We focused on how important it is to keep on trying to encourage our children to eat a wide range of fruits and vegetables.
My family always hates it when I am getting ready for one of these because I go way overboard for a couple weeks before. Lately my craze has been adding finely grated carrots to everything.

Caroline's PB & J sandwich, last night's spagetti sauce, my homemade mexican rice. They are all eaten up just fine until a shred is detected.
This morning I made oatmeal pancakes and skipped the grated carrots, although I think they would have been a great addition personally.
Here is the recipe. They all ate them and liked them, though they still felt it their duty to complain.

Oatmeal Pancakes

2 cups milk
3-4 Tbsp. butter
2 c. oats
Microwave these ingredients till butter is melted.
Then Add the following ingredients
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour (I used 1/4 white, 1/4 wheat flour)
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp soda
1 tsp. baking powder.

I added about 5 craisins to each pancake after I poured them on the griddle.

Way better than a plain old white flour pancake and much more satisfying and healthy.

Easter Greetings

For the first time here we didn't have snow for Easter so we were able to have a real outdoor hunt. Although the snow had melted it was still pretty cold.

Savannah and Kennon filled and hid their younger sibs eggs. Savannah decided to be creative and filled this one with a fake bloody bandaid for them.
Marcus got a candy "DUCK"! Still his favorite word ever. He was astonished to be able to bite the head off of this one since it looked just like his rubber ducky.

Boys are just as fun to dress up as girls I am finding out. I'm lovin' my boy in camo and out on a hunt.
Camille made a basket for Marcus this year. He started collecting eggs as instructed, but soon lost interest and just watched the neighbor's dog race back and forth behind the fence. That is until he dropped a plastic egg and his favorite gold fish spilled out. Startled he picked one up and popped it in his mouth, but kept walking. He walked about 10 more feet before the taste finally registered, then did a 180 right back to the spot to eat up the rest. Now he is going all over the house stealing eggs and popping them open.
Stubborn at 13 months old and unwilling to take a Easter picture with his sisters.
Caroline and Camille were excited about their recycled Easter dresses from their older sisters.

Kennon and Savannah were twins for Easter. And so far there hasn't been a single fight over each other's dress. I think I may be on to something here.

I led the primary choir for sacrament meeting. I love the control I enjoy with 4 out of the 20 children mine. I made sure they knew it well and sang loud even if all the other kids were shy or forgot the words after a two week break. Caroline as usual was just a little too loud. She was smiling and hamming it up the whole time. Max, a sunbeam, was in front of her with both hands over his ears. His mom asked him later why. "Caroline was singing really bad!"

Spring Formal

Every spring the Dental school holds a formal at the Pearl Street Bar and Grill downtown. We've never gone yet.

But someone finally convinced the planners that they needed to offer a mormon price that leaves out the bar. I think it was Brent.

So he had to take me then. We couldn't get any other mormon couples to come along. Maybe that's because they didn't have anything to wear that didn't either scream "I wore this to my high school prom" or "I am going visiting teaching". I didn't either.

Until three days before when Brent decided to ditch class and went to the mall to find something for his date. He called me and said he was headed home early with 8 different versions of the little black dress -all from the Sears clearance rack and ranging in size from 4-12.

I'll never tell which size fit. But I will tell you it was only $15.

I had a great time in my $15 dollar dress Brent picked out for me. I even danced in it long enough to get splashed at least a hundred times by everyone's drinks around me. The rest of you might not notice because your a little drunk but it's approximately every 5 seconds that you get hit.

I think this is our first picture ever where we are holding drinks. They are just diet Cokes. This is Shady and he's a real Egyptian. Brent can't wait till he opens up his practice someday. Shady Dentistry.

But Alas, Brent's old ears couldn't handle the loud music and he kept complaining that the floor was too sticky and messing up his moves. :)

So we mostly hung out on the sidelines. It was fun. Thanks for the date honey.

I am really loving General Conference morning on the East Coast. We lounge around till NOON when it comes live on LDS.org. Of course I do have Kennon begging me every 10 minutes to get off the computer, take my jammies off and take her to the church to watch. Our ward does a pre-breakfast and she's social and always wants to go. But as usual she can't coax any of us out of our PJ's and into the car. Much better to watch on the couch and have Marcus nap in his bed.

We had such a good Saturday yesterday. BEST ever for Conference Weekend. I planned Marcus's naps for each session. Caroline did this and that but was quiet, and all three of our older girls sat on the couch with a notebooks for the entire 4 hours!

Savannah was practicing her artwork she admitted but the other two took notes on all the talks. Kennon is planning a quiz for family night so she even has what color of ties the general authorities wore listed. It really was a miracle AND it's all a true story.

This is what happens if you make it a tradition every year. Eventually they start to join in. Of course I made the traditional cinnamon rolls and had treats and that helps to sit around and rot your teeth and stuff your gut all day.

Here are some pictures taken over the last couple weeks when we have been lucky enough to have sunshine and warm temps all at the same time.
The only time Marcus isn't screaming for something is when he is outside. He's all boy now it's spring. Or whatever you call this. It was snowing yesterday and as you can see we all wear jackets.

My mom and I at our park.

Grandpa took the kids out every day to play.

Kennon took all the pictures. Next time I go on a cruise I am bringing her with me.

Camille suited up to relearn bike riding after one long winter.

Suessical -A Family Affair

Kennon and Savannah were cast in their grade school musical last fall. Then Caroline was hand selected to play the elephant bird. Realizing what they had done the directors quickly came up with a part for Camille, making a special exception for a first grader to be in the show. Since returning from our spring break vacation I have spent every afternoon at the school with all 5 kids till 5:30 just so Caroline could the fine art of practicing popping out of the egg. All the egg popping practice payed off and she was the cutest elephant bird ever.

The other girls made us pretty proud also.

My parents took a break from the busy B & B business to fly in for the performances this week. It meant so much to our girls that they came. They missed the last performance to head back to Washington. Grandma is surprised here after finding out that after a year of not seeing her granddaughter, she is almost as tall as she is.

Kennon said later that it made her really sad when she looked out during the bows the last evening and didn't see Grandpa up leading the standing ovation. I have no idea where she learned how to strut her stuff so well onstage. It's almost like it was just . . . NATURAL? Acting or not we all had to admit this birdy's got talent.

"Mazie La Bird"

Each performance Savannah did she gained confidence and by the last performance she stole the show. Which is pretty hard thing to do for a girl with a one feathered tail.

"Gertrude McFuzz"She won the Horton Award for best performer so it's not just me saying these things. She went to bed that night bawling her eyes out because she would NEVER sing her songs again. She has always had a hard time with goodbyes. I didn't take it too seriously because she once cried as much for a tooth as it was placed in the envelope for the tooth fairy. And it wasn't even hers. It was Kennon's first tooth but she just couldn't bear the fact that that it was taken away FOREVER!

So if anyone is looking for a guest performer Savannah is ready and willing to dress up and sing it all again for you. I think we are covered for the family reunion talent shows this year.
Camille's last minute addition to the play involved carrying a heavy tray piled with cotton candy and popcorn. Somehow we ended up with one shy daughter and I love her for it. Kennon was soloing during Camille's two minutes on stage, but all I could do was watch sweet Camille walking around trying desperately to do it all right and not get in anyone's way.

"Circus Girl"She was happy to be in the show but was as nervous and could be up on stage. It didn't help that she could barely balance the tray and had circus performers bumping into her the whole time and giving her dirty looks to stay out of their territory.She hated the bow tie I picked out for her and had her art teacher make her this one for the last night.

Caroline on the other hand was right in her element. She got her own mike headset for her three little words, "An Elephant Bird". She pops out of the egg, stretches, smiles, looks around, then waits till her mother just wants to scream, "Caroline say it!"

Once she has built enough suspense and has every eye in the room, she is sings it out loud and proud. Here's the story real quick how she got this pretty costume, instead of a boring one I had planned for her.

"The Elephant Bird"

The week before I was late for the dress rehearsal already, when I noticed that Caroline's white leotard had chocolate on it. I hand washed it and threw it in the dryer. When I thought it had been long enough I sent Camille down to retrieve it. Still wet. So I started blow drying it not wanting to run down to the basement again. After a couple minutes I decided that this was something Camille could do while I got Marcus's diaper changed. Two minutes later the blow dryer shut off and Camille came in . . . and announced she had something that she didn't want to tell me. The good news is I got the chocolate out. The bad news is Camille added about ten large holes with the blow dryer. So Caroline and Camille decided to put on the soggy, holey costume backwards to hide the holes that were across the front of it. Now she had a saggy, soggy crotch and a skimpy hindend that showcased her little mermaid panties peeking through behind tights with a run in them. And I actually put her on stage in that! I didn't know what else to do. Turned out to be a great way to get a new pretty costume.

Marcus hated the show and I hated involving him in it. The kid can't stop hollering out for one minute. I watched one of the performances through the crack of the door in the hall!!

The last evening one of the teachers helping out backstage saw me peeping through again and swooped off with him. I didn't see him again till he came out with the teachers for the bows. I almost broke down and snapped a picture then. All 5 were up on stage.



No pictures from the show since it wasn't allowed (even though as I stood in back with a crazy 1 year old I saw cheaters snapping all over the place.)

I know Savannah doesn't agree but this little guy and his parents are glad that all good things come to an end.

You wanna see the beach?

So, here's the beach. This is Grand Cayman's 7 Mile Beach. On board the ship they encouraged you to book a shore excursion that would get you there for about $35 each. Cheaper to rent a moped. Then, once on shore there were taxi drivers begging us to hop in for a $4 dollar ride each to the beach. I asked one driver which way the beach was. She pointed. We walked that way. Turns out the first mile of the beach was just a 15 minute walk away.

You will have to settle for this swim suit shot. All the others we took were inappropriate. . er I mean had Kashann in a bathing suit in them.

After Brent snorkeled for a half hour and got his sunburn, we read our novels we had picked up in the ship library. We almost made it through two novels each. We had to give them up the last day without finishing the last ones. Brent only had a couple chapters left. It was sad.

Does anyone have "The Host" for me?
And here is the Norwegian Jewel. For anyone taking a cruise let me give you my take on NCL. We have taken three other cruises before -NCL, Princess (that was Brent's), and Carnival.
Good entertainment most nights and not near as skimpy or crude as a Carnival cruise. Comedians weren't allowed to swear like they did on Carnival.

The Food was excellent and in my opinion better than the Carnival Cruise I took before. But it's Freestyle Dining now on NCL. That means you can eat whenever and wherever you want. Four of the restaurant choices are free. The other 8 restaurants they MAKE YOU PAY FOR???? They have a $10-25 charge per person and unfortunately every single one of the shrimps Brent and I were salivating about on the drive down ended up in those other restaurants that we refused to pay for. I am still trying to get over that one. A cruise just isn't a cruise for me if I don't eat at least one plate of shrimp a day.