finding third position

He complains constantly about piano lessons. But today he brought his trombone upstairs to find a note.

He can play "Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy." How can I let him quit when he is learning the hymns?

surprise at bed time

Last night, just as Josh was going to bed, he said, "oh Mom, tomorrow is pot luck for band."

a new Wolf - just in time for the bears

Just as Boaz turned 9, we finished his Wolf requirements. These are pictures of him getting his badge and me getting the pin.









We were both happy to get it done.

A quilt for Baby Charlotte

I am still down two quilts. The boys are older than Charlotte. But she is my first niece or nephew on my side of the family.

Grandma and Grandpa were a bit anxious.

So, here is the new quilt.

All full of yellows, pinks, purples and greens. A festive quilt.

The triangle shot.

A shot of the quilt back. From this perspective, it looks like a rail fence. I might try a real rail fence for one of the boys quilts. I need to get going on those too.

Catching up on the mustache shenanigans

Craig forgot his razor when we went to Hawaii. Feeling no real burning desire to shave, he didn't the whole trip. I am okay with that. Well, I think he did pick one up to keep it groomed, but he let the facial hair grow.

He wore it as a goatee for a while.

  I like the look.

He also likes to play a bit when he gets ready to shave it all off. He wore this for a whole day before he finished the job. They boys laughed and loved it. He was quite satisfied with it also.

geography project

Josh has had to do a project for Geography each trimester. This tri he decided to do a diorama.

The pyramids are not to scale, but he has learned a bit of geometry as well. His Sphinx is over large, but I think it is very cool. We found some cool textured spray paint and wa laa.

I love it. He thinks it is cool, which is way more important.

the Cauldron

I am the some what dubious owner of a cauldron. It is planted firm in my front yard. I have been wondering what on Earth I would do with it all winter.

Previously it has held petunias. I am not overly fond of petunias. I don't really appreciate the fragrance. Everybody plants them. They do bloom consistently and they come in a lovely array of colors. But they just aren't my favorite.

I decided on a fall flowering vine. The foliage is a lovely sagey green. It grows full and happy all summer. I had some in my window box in Dallas.

The little garden center didn't have any, except in hanging baskets. I asked them to call me if they got any in. Today they called.

This evening I planted them in my yard cauldron with a red geranium in the middle. I think it will fill in full and gorgeous.





Underneath I have lovely moss roses. I am happy.

Last three weeks of school

I rode my bike to work today. I discovered there is a small hill I have to climb to get back home.  This will be good for me. Lets see if I can keep this up for three weeks.

roses and a basket

I have been thinking it would be good to ride my bike to work. But I worried about not having a chain to lock it up. And I wanted a basket to hold my purse.

Craig says this is Idaho, you don't have to lock things up.

Today we went on our first bike ride of the Spring. We loaded up in the truck and drove to the bike/running path that borders the little reservoir her in town. We rode for almost 15 miles. A bit ambitious for our first outing. We stopped for a bit of a rest, and I wasn't sure I could climb off my bike. I'm glad I didn't go running this morning too.

On the trail, I said I wanted a lock and a basket for my bike. Then I could ride it to work.

So while I made two loaves of Aloha bread for the sisters at Church tomorrow, the boys went shopping. They came home with a lock, a basket, biking gloves, and some roses.







I'm a lucky woman and mother. Thank you to my boys. :)

Funny boy

I took this picture a few weeks ago. Boaz was taking his first ISAT test. This is his first year of standardized tests. His teacher did a good job of pumping up the kids for the tests.



He came home for weeks so excited to be able to take the tests.



The first day, I went to the school to be in the class room when the kids came back. I was there for a short break they took in the middle. They had a snack and a breather.



Boaz took the time to pose for a picture. So of course, I snapped one. Here he is in meditation, he learned from Ang, the Last Avitar. But not really the last one, because of Kora.

flowers in my hair

Today I decided to wear a flower in my hair. This is the flower that Sandy gave me in Hawaii. It's a beautiful day and I was remembering Hawaii.

Josh asked me if I was always going to wear a flower on Sunday. I asked if I had worn a flower every Sunday. Then I said that I hadn't worn a flower for over a month.

Then he said that it looks weird. I said that I liked it.

I told Craig and he said that it doesn't look weird. I smiled.

Here is a picture so you can decide for yourself.

laser tag

Boaz is turning nine. So I took boys to Pocatello to play laser tag. Boaz took two friends and Josh took one friend. We have Britney staying with us, so with me, we were seven. Craig stayed home with his bum leg. I'll have to talk about that later.

I have played laser tag before. So I knew what to expect. I dressed for the part. I had Britney take a picture. Black clothes are best in the black lights of the arena.



I am a very competitive person. I'm sure that is astonishing to you all, but it is true. This place has four games. I was very frustrated the first three games. I mean, really, I should have won playing against little boys, right? We were playing as individuals - no teams. But Josh and Seth teamed up. It took me a bit to get dialed into aiming the fun right. But on the forth game, in the words of Josh, I dominated.

That makes me so happy. Craig laughs at me. But I know he would have wanted to win too.

We got our stats at the end. I was second in the first game, third in the second, and fifth in the third. Josh shot me ten times each game and Boaz targeted me too. The invited guests were a bit thrown off by our competitive spirit. Dallin didn't like the individual game. He said several times that he liked teams better. JD hadn't played before. So he was at a definite disadvantage. I told them we would go swimming later.

But I had fun. I do love a good game of laser tag.