First Day of School 2013

 Clark has Ms. Salazar this year for first grade. 

Eva has Mrs. Jensen this year for kindergarten.

Spring and Summer Yard Photos

Ben's smoker/wood fired-bbq

The gladiola sisters

Basil from seed was so successful.  I'll never buy a plant again.

I thought this was italian parsley growing by the hot tub while it was germinating.  I kept going out and tasting it and trying to remember which seeds we planted there.  Turns out, it was Cosmos.

Our tomatoes produced well for a couple of weeks then the bugs took over.

Those are some big boots to fill.

Myra Jane the Hairdresser

When I was in Irkutsk at the tail end of my mission, Sister Kendell and I had an unforgettable discussion with a woman named Ksenia and her daughter, Vasiya.  Only, we didn't know it was her daughter, Vasiya, we thought it was her son, Vasiya.  And in Russian, like in most languages, you use gender specific pronouns--he, she.  But in Russian, not like English, you also make all of the adjectives and past tense verbs feminine or masculine too.  So our flubbing up Vasiya's gender was not subtle.  I'm sure Ksenia was giving us pointed clues while she spoke, but we were too thick to catch on.  Finally, Kostya Cheklistov growled under his breath (in an accent I will always remember) "It's a GIRL!" AHHHHHH.  What a pretty (fem.) little (fem.) girl (fem.) you have!

But don't worry, Vasiya got her revenge on us. While we were talking with Ksenia about the possibility of reincarnation and the chances that Vasiya's body was inhabited by the spirit of a drunken criminal, Vasiya started combing my hair.  And hitting me on the head with the comb.  And going through my purse and stealing my name badge. And throwing my watch across the room, twice. Sister Kendell couldn't stop laughing at one point, and afterwards she confessed that she just watched, amused, while Vasiya soundly licked up one side of the comb and then back down the other before combing it through my hair.  Over and over and over.

Well, fast forward 10 years and I have my own darling imp that is routinely called a boy.  On Sunday, Sister Ayres commented to me that I have a fabulous hairdresser.  I patted my new hair style and gushed, "I know!  Her name is Bree and I love--" "No, no dear.  I'm talking about your little girl.  She was standing up behind you in Sacrament meeting and combing through your hair.  In fact, she was wiping her nose drippings into your hair and then rubbing it in with her fingers." "Oh.  Yeah, that's how I get it to have so much body."

Darling thing.

Family History Month

Our terrific ward primary just concluded it's month-long Family History Extravaganza with a Ward Family Reunion at the Helotes building (it's the church in the stake with a park and pavilion).  All month long, the kids have been researching their ancestors and hearing stories about them.  Eva decided to do her poster on Eva Petrea Giles, Grandpa Bus' paternal grandmother.  Eva was named for her.  She was an amazing, energetic, green-thumbed lady.  Eva loved her.  Clark decided after much deliberation, to do a poster about Henry Francisco, also known as Old Henry.  He lived pretty much forever.  134 years.  He was a child at Queen Anne's coronation in the early 1700s and died the year that the church was restored, 1820.  He lived in England and then migrated to America and was the oldest enlisted man in the Revolutionary war.  He was 91.
It was so fantastic to feel the Spirit of Elijah in our home when we were immersed in this project.  The kids loved hearing stories of ancestors at the dinner table.  There was a story of Isabella Hales, who knew the Prophet Joseph Smith and actually did some laundry for him one day while he was being chased by the mob.  He told her, "you are so sweet Sister Hales, if I could take you with me in my pocket, I would."  She was a tiny, petite woman.
Richard and Linda Eyre's book "The Entitlement Trap" gives a great idea for creating your own family traditions: get a nice, big, leatherbound book and make it your family code book.  Include your motto, your rules, your holiday traditions and your ancestoral stories.  Make belonging to your family official and special by codifying it.  That way, in the angsty teenage years, when kids are wondering where they belong, having a solid family identity will help them feel like their foundation is secure.
So we need to do that.

So the family reunion was really fun.  We had SO many games, like maybe 20.  Things like relay races and shooting ping pong balls with water guns and water balloon toss, swing the nylon-filled-with-a-tennis-ball-to-knock-over-the-water-bottles game, and all the other fun park games.  They took our family pictures and we had a potluck lunch.  Everyone got to announce their family mottos, ours is: "Our Future is as Bright as Our Faith" It's from President Monson.  It was a fun party, and such a great idea.

Summer Piano Recital

On June 3rd, my piano students had their summer recital.  Those performing were: Xander Mancillas, Carson Otto, Alyssa Meadows, Rachel Rushforth, Ethan Rushforth, Kaiya Peterson, Michelle Gorman and Marcus Gorman.  Jessica Rushforth, Rachel's mom, also played Moonlight Sonata, which I had helped her with.  I played Rachmaninoff Etude Tableau No. 4 in C# minor.

All of the students did well, I learned that I need to give them more time, and easier songs if I want them to memorize them.  It has been such a great experience to teach these kids and see them progress so quickly.  I feel like all of them are gifted.

This summer I have started doing piano time with Clark.  Instead of a weekly lesson, we are sitting down every day and practicing and advancing together.  So once he masters the concept, we move on.  I am excited to see how this goes for him.  I would love to see him really excel with some personal tutelage.  I think so much time is wasted with the schedule of weekly lessons and then practicing in between.  When kids are constantly challenged and learning at the same time, it is much more engaging.  I just don't know how any one would be able to bring their kids by daily for a practice session.  I guess the ideal is for parents to also play--they sit along side and help them move along. Anyway, I hope it lasts more than a few weeks.

Mishcago

April 16th, Sara Pearl and I boarded a non stop flight to Chicago.  It was about time she met her namesake.  Sara Jane Sorensen Soelberg and I hit it off immediately when she moved into the Edgemont 7th towards the end of High School.  There was something between us that followed us down from the Premortal World.  And that something sparked right back up when I got in her car at the airport.  Just heaven to talk with and laugh with and philosophize with and eat naan with.  

The first day was Tuesday, and it was the *first* sunny day in Chicago that year.  So we took advantage of it and rode the train from their house in Downers Grove to downtown.  I loved the train. I loved that they could walk one block from their cute house and get right on it.  We left the house like 6 minutes before the train pulled in.  We walked around the windy, windy city (Sara informed me that it got its nickname not from the weather, but from the politicians that were all full of hot air).  It was cold for the Texan girls, but those Soelbergs weathered it nicely.  Jenna even had a skirt on.  Which, you know, is drafty.  We saw some brightly painted bikes, and my favorite, the Chicago Tribune building with hunks of rocks and bricks and sandstone and pyramids and granite etc. collected from pretty much every noteworthy place in the world (including Temple Square.  I can just see them jumping over the temple walls with chisels in the middle of the night).  It was amazing.  We saw Millenium Park and the giant metal bean.  I think we figured out it's shape.  We just didn't figure out when the aliens were going to come charging out of it and take over the world.  We got handfuls of free chocolates from the Ritter people passing it out on the street.  We also got free chocolate at Ghiardelli.  I had my first H&M experience and Sara and I bought matching purple striped cardigans.  I also got a white one (because I always need a white one) and a lavender jacket sweater thing.  And nail polish for Eva, which I promptly forgot at Sara's house--a present for Jenna!  Then we met up with Joe (Sara's husband) at Gino's East for some Chicago Style Pizza.  My first.  It was yummy and thick and gooey.  And they put the sauce ON TOP! 

 Jenna and Libby and baby Sara

The BEAN!

That night we went to bed early because I am still like 6 years old and start yawning at 9. Though we did manage to make some dandelions out of yarn and sticks that are now adorning the pink shelf in Sara's room.  So cute.

Wednesday we stayed in and crafted all day.  It was so much fun.  We made Happy Birthday banners out of felt.  Sara is one of the most classy crafters I've ever encountered.  She IRONS the stuff before she puts it together.  She does things right, you know?  I learned quite a lot about how to approach projects from her that day.  Plus we just talked and talked and realized that we have almost everything in common.  Even after 10 years of not seeing or speaking to each other.  We've jumped on the Minimal Running bandwagon, the whole foods bandwagon, the Ira glass bandwagon, the happily married, raising independent children bandwagon.  I felt so strangely at home and comfortable with her.  Just like, oh I'll just do the dishes, dig through your fridge, send my baby up to play with your kids.  I want to be her neighbor.

It had rained pretty much all day on Wednesday (good thing we went downtown the day before!) and all night too.  Thursday morning I woke up thinking, "Man, with all of these thunderstorms, it is amazing that they don't flood!  The ditches would be overflowing in Texas" then I went downstairs and the girls were excited that I had finally emerged-- "LOOK AT THE STREET!!!"  It had flooded.  The street was a river, rising up past the sidewalk.  We kept track of the progress by looking at the back tire of their van and their neighbor's For Sale sign.  It went up and up and school was cancelled,  highways were shut down, flights were grounded.  They even had to reverse the course of the Chicago River to get all of the runoff into Lake Michigan.  It was AN historic event.  They had neighbors out in their swim trunks and coats scraping off the drain covers with snow shovels all morning, and at some point, it worked, and the street drained.  By 12:00, we were in the car headed for a luncheon with some of her friends. The girls got a free day off of school.

 (that's a street under there)

That night, we helped their neighbors a few doors down who had a basement swimming pool.  Three feet of water, easily.  They brought something like 20 loads of laundry over to Sara's and stacks of photos that needed to be laid out and dried.  See why I would want to be her neighbor?  Just not in THAT house. Then we watched more of This American Life, the TV series that she had on DVD.  I got to see Ira Glass for the first time.  He looked much younger than I expected.

One of our projects, besides the dandelions and the banners, were garden markers.  Sweet Sara had mined my pathetic little Pinterest boards for possible projects, and came up with the very one I was most excited about.  And, my classy crafting friend did much more than go to the Goodwill and pick up some old spoons (which was my plan).  She found silver plated gumbo spoons.  They have the nicest shape when hammered flat, and apparently the silver plating allows the stamp to show up.  This is probably why most of my projects don't work out that well and all of hers do.  She does some research.

So we kept trying to make these spoons.  We hammered them in the rain, and then had to call it a night.  Then we stamped them the next morning in the SNOW.  Sorry Mother Nature.  We needed these spoons. Her's said "You Say Tomato", "If You Carrot All" and "Cool As a Cucumber".  Mine said "Pepper", "Zucchini" and "Tomato". Gumbo spoons really are the cutest.

Also that morning, we went on a run, which was so fun.  Sara had some new minimal shoes that she kept wanting to try out and I spent the run spewing out every running fact I could grab onto in my mind.  She's such a good sport.   And to reward ourselves, we walked over to the Bakery on Main Street and bought a bunch of donuts for breakfast.  They were so freaking good.  The girls' school didn't start until 8:30 which kind of blew my mind.  Their mornings were so peaceful and happy.  So unlike ours.  Trying to get four kids up and going at 6:35 every morning just starts my day off frantic and usually it keeps going at that rate.  But her girls woke up on their own, had a nice breakfast, changed clothes as many times as they needed to--all without yelling.  Granted, they are 9 and 7 and mine are younger, but it still added "Late-Starting School" to my list of requirements on where we will settle.

We ate well, laughed a lot, shared problems and concerns without guilt or remorse.  I couldn't have asked for a better get-a-way.

Meanwhile, back at home, Ben and the kids had a terrific time.  I was kind of hoping that he would really struggle and get a lot of empathy for my life and how it is difficult sometimes, but something even better came out of it: He loved being a full time dad.  And the kids loved being with him.  And he got to know Myra the chatterbox even more, especially when she asked him "when is mommy coming home from Mishcago" every 10 minutes.

A fellowship in Downers Grove? Sign me up!

Went Private

Yep,  it finally happened, we went private.  While I was visiting my dear friend, Sara, in Chicago, she showed me her yearly blog book which immediately inspired envy and covetousness.  So I've decided to resurrect this old thing solely for the purpose of family history keeping, and only for the eyes of my very favorite people.  Feel free to check in, or not.  But when you come over next year, I'll show you my blog book!

I have a new blog (since this one gets no attention)

It is called In Defense of Women and I'm pretty stoked about it.  Come by and join the conversation.(Oh, and these beautiful paintings were done by my handsome brother, Jethro Gillespie).

BlendTec Twister Giveaway

There is a giveaway on Discover Your Happy for a BlendTec Twister.  I really want it.  :)