Helena's Birthday!

On Sunday, we invited Kirsten, Paul, Erik, Deanna and their families over to help celebrate Helena's 16th birthday. We had brownies and ice cream instead of cake, since no one in our family likes cake. There were even gluten free brownies for Bill.

The pictures above are of Helena opening her birthday present. It was an iPod touch. This present comes with a story that, unfortunately, doesn't reflect very well on me. About a month ago, I lost my temper with Helena. She had been behaving, well, like a badly behaved teenager and was purposefully using her mp3 player to ignore me. I wish I could say that I was the mature one in the situation. Unfortunately, I acted immaturely and, in a temper, smashed her mp3 player on the table and destroyed it. It is not a moment I am proud of.

After tempers cooled, I apologized for not being the adult in the situation, and she apologized for behaving badly as well. I promised her that I would replace the mp3 player. Bill thought she should have to buy her own (after all, her behaviour wasn't up to snuff either), but I insisted that I replace it in order to set the example of what to do when you have wronged someone. It really all worked out to Helena's advantage, because the iPod touch is so much more AMAZING than her old mp3 player! She was VERY pleased!

But the best part of the evening was yet to come.

There was a commotion outside. We realized that someone else had come over. Helena and I both thought it was her grandma Doril stopping by to wish her a happy birthday.

IT WAS PEDER, JODY, AND THE GIRLS!!!

We had no idea they were coming to town for Thanksgiving! They decided to keep it a secret so they could surprise us on Helena's birthday. It was so wonderful to see them! The girls sure have grown. We had the adults in the living room swapping stories, the girls in the kitchen playing with Helena's old doll house (now part of my "Grandma's Toys" collection), and the boys in the family room playing with Will's old G.I. Joes (also part of the "G T" collection). I think the stress of so much company stripped several years off of Tigger's life. If you click on the photo-collage above, you can see a larger version of it.

Saturday!

It was such a party weekend! On Saturday, Bill and I spent most of the day with Erik, Deanna, and the boys. We went up to the University of Utah in the morning to tailgate before the Utes football game (the last home game of the season) at 2:00. Erik is a pro at the whole tailgating thing! He set up a grill and a deep fryer and got to cooking right away! There were shish-ka-bobs, hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, ribs, beans, grilled pineapple, and homemade fries! And that is only the stuff Erik brought! His U of U friends all gathered and brought food as well!

During the tailgating, I called home to check on the kids. I found out that Will had gotten home and was disgruntled that we weren't there to hear all about his camp out. Poor guy! No one to see him off and no one to welcome him home! They had gone out to shoot shotguns, but ended up shooting 22's instead because they weren't old enough for shotgun (you have to be 14? Who knew?). He managed to shoot a hole in a clay pigeon without shattering it as a whole, so he brought it home to show us. I told him I loved him, would love to see it when I got home, and reminded him to get his homework done, then went back to the party.

The first half of the game was fun. We even had sun shining on us during the first quarter! The second half of the game was a let down because there were no exciting plays, really, and the Utes didn't score again... although they won the game. My favorite memory is actually of standing in the monstrously long line with Bill for hot chocolate during half time. Such a small thing. But it was just wonderful to spend an entire day with Bill that was not focused on home, work, or kids!

After the game, and after Erik drove us home, Helena and I went to Orem to attend Timpanogos High School's performance of 'Aida'. Her childhood friend, Lucas, was in it, so we went to support him. Afterwards we took him out for ice cream. This is the boy who was 'in love' with her when they were in 3rd grade. He used to write poetry and make paper rings for her. Now they are just distant friends.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Bill took Will out to dinner and a movie. They saw 2012. They said it lived up to their expectations completely. Over the top, but fun to watch on a big screen anyways.

I know it sounds like Will was terribly neglected this weekend, but that is only because I didn't get to spend much time with him.  If this blog belonged to someone else (like Bill, for instance), it would sound much different.  Will had a fabulous time at the camp out.  I am proud of him for being able to be self sufficient about Scouting!  He had a great time with his Dad, too.

Friday night Girls' Night!

On Friday, I took Helena out on a Girls' Night as an early birthday present. Our first stop was the spa for a facial. It was Helena's first. She LOVED it! An entire hour of pampering has her hooked and she can't wait for her next opportunity to have one.

Right after the facials, we drove to the movie theater to stand in the crazy long lines for New Moon. Helena loved the movie, I tolerated it. I am not sure they could have found worse actors to portray those parts! Ugh! However, I had a great time despite the lackluster performances just because I got to spend the time with my beautiful girl, and that is worth quite a lot to me.

Once the movie was over, we then traveled to Provo to have dinner together at Tucanos, a Brazilian restaurant. It is the sort of place where you have all you can eat salad bar and a never ending stream of servers bringing skewers of every kind of grilled meat imaginable. Helena's favorites were the chicken hearts and the fillet Mignon. The funny part of that is that Helena passionately dislikes 'steak'. She didn't know what fillet Mignon was, and I insisted she would love it and should have some. She didn't think I was very funny afterwards when I told her it was steak! However, the servers were all impressed with her willingness to try anything, and her healthy appetite.

After dinner, the servers all came over, made Helena stand up, handed her a tambourine, and sang 'Happy Birthday' to her in Portuguese.
I only had one chance to take a picture, and of course, she took that moment to turn her face away. Rats!

After dinner, we wandered over to Borders before heading hope late that night. It was really such a fun evening!


And what were the boys doing? Will had packed himself up while we were gone and went on a Scout overnight camp out in some abandoned rail tunnel. Bill worked late and went to bed early.

"Poor Daddy" and Will in Tight Spaces

This weekend Bill piped the irrigation ditch that runs in front of our house. The weather, of course, was frightful. As Helena and I watched from the comfort of the house, she commented about 'poor daddy' having to work in the freezing, blustery snow. I remarked that he always has to work in the nasty winter weather. We just tend to forget that fact when we are comfortably situated in our warm classrooms at work and school.

Will, meanwhile, was out in the freezing weather helping his dad! He put in a hard day's work and earned some $ for his efforts! The most important job he performed was to climb into the existing pipe under the neighbor's drive and clear out the debris before Bill could connect the new section of pipe to the old.

Will's feet in the pipe...and me discovering that he had his good, school jeans on!

From the other side of the pipe.

Will climbing back out of the pipe. He really is a long, string bean of a kid!

Belated Lacrosse post

Back in September, Will played lacrosse for several weekends. His team was very lackluster. Only he and one other boy were consistently there. Because of that, most games were played scrimmage style and with the goal turned over to create a smaller target. They also played most of these games without goalies. Some of these videos show Will as the goalie, others show him as a defense player with a long pole.

Will is wearing a red shirt and is holding a long defense pole in this video.

This one has Will being goalie. I wasn't a very good videographer and missed the actual moment of blocking the shot, but you can hear a nearby mom cheering for him and commenting about a probable bruise from the block. I try not to comment or cheer too much when I am videoing because I know how loud my voice would sound!

In this one, Will is in the faceoff. To start play, a player from each team face off with each other. The ball is placed between them. They battle it out. No one can come help until one of them has clear possession of the ball. Notice that he is facing off with a long pole. This would never happen in a regulation game. Attack players face off in a regular game, not defensemen.

Will is facing off again in this one.

Will, with the long pole, gets his elbow smashed by a helmet in this clip.

In this last one, Will the goalie blocks a shot with his foot!

Sunday morning

Helena was the only one to make it to church, today. I stayed home with my cold. Bill and Will stayed home out of laziness. Only Helena got ready and went. I am very proud of her for her dedication! I took this picture because I thought she looked especially beautiful this morning. She looks so grown up and ready for the world! I love the red jacket and the matching gloves, tights, and scarf. The scarf is especially beautiful and fashionable, don't you think? I sure do... after all, it's mine. I guess I am glad my clothes are fashionable enough that my daughter tends to steal them.

I don't feel good...

No, it is not Swine Flu. I know that is the first thing everyone thinks of these days.

I can feel a sinus infection/head cold coming on. I actually noticed it yesterday and thought, 'I should get some sub plans ready just in case.'

I didn't.

So, last night I slept very poorly because I was congested. I got up at 3 a.m. to take a second dose of decongestant. This morning I did not want to get up! I ended up dragging out of bed 1/2 an hour later than usual. I really didn't want to come to work today.

Yet, here I am. I thought about finding a 1/2 day sub and going home early, but couldn't find one. So I get to put on a smiley face and try not to let the kids drive me bonkers.

I guess it is just as well, since I have a city art council meeting to attend tonight.

I think I'll try to find a sub for tomorrow.

The Teen Years

How well I remember my 16 year old self! So confident that I understood everyone in my world. So certain I knew better than my mom. She was so OLD! She couldn't possibly understand how tough high school is these (was those) days. Always nagging me to do better in school. Always wanting to talk about this future I ought to be planning for.

I didn't want to talk about the future. I just wanted to be popular. I wanted to be able to go places and hang out with my friends. I wanted to say something spectacular in class that would get me noticed and admired by that cute guy sitting over there. Who wants to look all nerdy and serious in school? That was for geeks like Kristen H (who got a full ride scholarship to Harvard, by the way)! I wanted to have people come over to my house to hang out without feeling embarrassed about all my brothers and sisters or the worn out look of the house. I wanted to have fun RIGHT NOW; not nose to the grind stone all the time so I could get into a college somewhere so I could take even harder classes and have my nose to the grind stone for another 4+ years!

Helena thinks about me the same way I thought about my Mom.

It turns out, life has a way of moving on whether you are ready for it or not. I graduated from high school completely unprepared and wondered 'now what?' I didn't want to be more responsible and more mature. If I could have gone to high school for another year I probably would have, just to put off growing up a little longer.

Because of my lack of preparation, I did not go to college right away. I procrastinated until my Mom finally put me in the car and made me apply for a job at Dairy Queen. My parents had to push me to apply to the local community college (Bellevue Community College), then my dad marched me right back there when I didn't sign up for enough classes to make it worth my money.

Community college was not a very fun place. There was no sense of community like there was in high school. Kind of ironic since community is part of the name. Some of the teachers were pretty far out there, too. No one in my classes had the same schedule, so there was a room full of people in the cafeteria, and no one to eat lunch with. There were lots of working adults at the community college. Not my idea of fun filled friendship opportunities.

When I finally got my act together and applied to BYU, I was pushing 21. Past the 'Teen Years' in age, but not in maturity. I worked my butt off and saved every dime. I was thrilled to be accepted, and finally hoped to have the fun filled college dorm life.

My first year at BYU was a mixed bag of moments of fun punctuating the near constant homesickness and worries about classes and finances. I had room-mates that were on scholarship and only needed to focus on classwork to keep their scholarship. I had room-mates who were fully funded by mommy and daddy, so they would go out partying nearly every night. And all of my room-mates were younger than me.

What is the point of this long winded blast from the past?

Only that now I am seeing it from the other side. I am the Mom, now. I am now realizing that my Mom was right all of those years ago and I was an immature teenager who was wrong.

Sorry Mom.

Why are these teen years so critical right at the moment when the person needing to make rational, mature decisions is at their most irrational?!

One of those days

Yesterday was a grumpy day for me.

I had a frustrating time with the first graders painting for their first time. It is always a challenge to get 24 6 and 7 year olds to follow directions all at the same time when something as distracting and fun as paint is on the table. Some of the kidlets are none too bright, as well. If they forgot what to do, all they needed to do was look at the color wheel on the board that showed how to make orange, green, and violet using the primary colors of red, yellow, and blue. Then they could mix primary colors on their papers to make their own secondary colors. Yeah. Too difficult for several little ones that I am guessing have never touched art supplies outside of school. That was a difficult afternoon! Plenty of messed up paint trays and screwed up papers.

After work, I got so busy cleaning the garage that I forgot to run an errand for Bill, leaving me feeling bad for having let him down.

He breezed in and out of the house so fast last night that I thought he was mad at me, making me feel even worse.

Oh. And the kids were on a rampage of bad behavior towards each other last night.

HOWEVER

Kirsten stopped by and visited for a while with her baby, Tori. It is always great to have a visit!

Her dogs and my dogs had a great time playing together.

And... Bill came back home with a treat for me! It turns out he wasn't mad at all, just in a hurry to get to the bike store before it closed for the day.

Band Bash

Will in his fancy duds for the AFJH/AFHS Band Bash.

Close up of a handsome musician!

I just wanted to give you an idea of the numbers of students involved in band in American Fork. There were over 600 band students performing in 9 different bands that night! 4 of the bands were Junior High bands... Cadet Band (beginners), Concert Band (intermediate), Symphonic (inter/adv.), and Wind Ensemble (adv.). Will is in Symphonic this year as an 8th grader. They sounded pretty darn good!

I don't know the names of all the High School bands. They all sounded wonderful to me! At the end, all the students grabbed chairs and stands and shoved them out of the way so the marching band could take the floor and perform. They are really quite extraordinary! They sound better than many college bands! All of the marching band members play in other high school bands. Some are even freshmen that still attend the jr. high.

There were some bands not performing that night, as well. The jazz bands were not represented, nor the steel drum bands. And the truly beginning elementary bands were not there as well.

Afterwards, we went out to dinner at JCW, a local burger joint, and had a great time. Now we are looking forward to the Holiday concert!

On Public Education in America

I hear a lot of complaining about education in America. If not from the news media, then from frustrated parents who think it should be done differently, or better.

I am not denying that there are gaps in the system, and it is true that quality of public education has a lot more to do with where you live than anyone cares to admit. The nicer the neighborhood, the better the schools. The bigger the town, the more curriculum options offered. (Move to a large town when your kids are in high school!)

Just recently, one of the foreign exchange students was over at our house visiting with Helena. She is from Germany and needed a signature from the High School German teacher...our next door neighbor. He wasn't home, yet, so she and Helena were swapping cultural experiences at the dining room table while eating the remains of a cake.

I couldn't help but overhear as she explained the educational system in Germany.

In Germany, by the time a child has reached fourth grade, he or she has been evaluated to determine which secondary school he/she will be permitted to attend. Those who have done well will be sent to the premier curriculum and complete through 12th grade and go on to University.

Mediocre students will be sent to the 2nd tier curriculum to study through 10th grade and go on to a trade training school somewhere.

Poor students in the FOURTH grade, will be sent to the third tier secondary educational system to study until the 9th grade, then be sent out to work the least desirable jobs in society.

Now, I ask you, what do you think? FOURTH grade as the determination of a lifetime of opportunities or lack thereof?!

Our system is certainly not perfect, but it does leave a lot of room for personal growth and personal opportunity. I am so grateful for living in such an inspired country. I am glad that I 'survived' public education. I even managed to get myself into University, despite my 'mediocre' performances throughout public education. And I am glad my children are being given the opportunity that so many other children in this world are denied!

Happy November!

Ah! It is November already! Soon 2009 will only be a memory.

Bill sent text messages periodically to let us know how the race was going. This morning he sent the message that they had completed the race and his team took 3rd place! He will spend the rest of today resting before driving home. We expect him sometime tomorrow morning.

Today is a day of rest. In between bouts of resting we are going to have to get the house and laundry in order. There is that 'ox is in the mire' scripture quote people like to bandy about when referring to working on the Sabbath. If that is the case, my 'ox' is in the mire every week! I guess I need to do better at keeping up with chores (and getting some help from the kids) during the week. Heavy sigh. I really would like Sunday to be a true day of rest.