I'm Random Too

Finally.  All the children are back in school on a regular schedule.  First time in a month.  And there's only about a month left before the school year's over.  At least for Lex and Shi.  Mauri will still have another month after that.  I envy those who have all of their children on the same schedule.  Back when I was young, we all started and ended the school year at the same time.

First day of school -- 1975.  Doesn't my brother look thrilled to be taking a picture?  
And yes, I still have that beautiful coral shawl made by my Grandma G.  I am such a lucky girl.  Seriously.

We had a good three months off for summer break.  Those were the days.

My friend Denise wrote on her blog about the randomness of 7th graders (you can read it here), and it made me realize that I am pretty darn random too.  It adds that element of the unexpected.  Spice.  A variance from the routine.  My randomness is not quite as entertaining, but here are a couple of random, ordinary day kind of things that have happened recently (there really isn't a  purpose to my sharing them other than the fact that my life is full of them):

Yesterday I took Shilo to the dentist.  As I was waiting for her, I browsed through the magazines on the table in front of me.  There weren't any People Magazines -- bummer.  I don't know why I enjoy them.  I guess it's because they really do make me appreciate my life.  I spotted a Money magazine with the title The New Ultra Middle Class.  It caught my attention, so I picked it up and found the article.  It's always fun to compare where you are on that scale of perceived wealth.  The article was interesting.  Once read, I flipped through a couple more pages, and found one of those Best Places to Live articles.  I looked for Louisville, CO.  I had heard on the news a few months back that it had made that prestigious list in Money magazine.  It's where Bill's office is located, and very far away from our lovely town of Parker.  It's occasionally crossed our minds (fleetingly) that IF we moved there, Bill's commute would be minutes versus over an hour.  And it DID make the list of the best places to live.  I wanted to see what the article said.  I flipped another page.  Oh, Salt Lake City made the list?  I started reading what it had to say... and came across a sentence that said something like this:  "We didn't choose Salt Lake City only because it will host the 2002 Winter Games..."  WHAT?  It WILL host the games?  I closed the magazine to find the date.  December 2000.  Are you kidding me?  Who puts a nearly 10 year old magazine in their waiting room?  And Money magazine?  Those numbers don't mean anything anymore.  I almost took the magazine up to the lady at the desk to ask her to kindly throw it away, but decided not to.  I know my limits, however, and I know I don't have any space in my brain to place random facts that no longer apply.  Another lesson learned:  check the date on any magazines you read during your time spent in waiting rooms.

Just call him Grandpa.  

Bill was attending a church meeting at another ward a couple of weeks ago, and a nice younger brother in the meeting said, "So, how are the grandkids?"  We laughed and laughed when he told us about it.  I guess that's what gray hair does for ya.  Something to consider as I decide what to do about my own (gray hair, that is).

I got flipped off the other day.  By a woman in a landscaping truck.  She made sure I saw it, as she stuck her entire arm out the window.  I was on my way to take Shilo to swim practice, and we had slowed down to watch a large herd of deer grazing by the road.  We were on a winding road in a neighborhood.  The lady (or should I say "female" -- she certainly wasn't behaving like a lady) was driving too fast anyway, but apparently I was not hugging my side of the road as much as she thought I should.  I have decided that people like that are just unhappy in their lives, especially adults who choose to express themselves that way.  It wasn't as surprising coming from the middle school student who flipped me off for honking when the driver of his car cut me off making a left turn as I was making a right into the same lane.  He was in the back seat and didn't even see (and I'm sure wouldn't even know) whose right-of-way it was.  I hate it when people do that, whether intentional or out of ignorance.  
What happened to WWJD?

Enough random ramblings for today.  I need to get a few things checked off my to-do list.

Monday, Monday

*Received a letter from Elder Syddall -- things seem to be looking up.  Good news.

*Rearranged the Cancun trip --  we will now be going in December.  

Changing the flights was not a happy matter at $100 a pop, but worth keeping the family together for the family vacation.

*Attended Standards Night last night -- inspiring ideas were shared on how to be a better parent.  Now if I can only carry through.

*Talked to Jill (my sister) and Britta for an hour each today -- such an enjoyable use of my time.

*Had a great discussion full of spontaneous testimony with Shilo on the way to buy groceries.

*No major crisis.  Mauri's back on track.  Milk's in the fridge.

Although not all problems have been resolved, it's definitely been a better Monday than the last.

Up Close and Personal

Mauri and I went to see Beauty and the Beast again.

After the performance, Belle was kind enough to pause for a moment so we could get a picture.  

The last time Mauri met up with her was at Disneyland in 2008:

Mauri enjoyed the play just as much the second time around, and is hoping to find the Disney DVD (we had the original VHS from the very first release, but I donated it to Goodwill about a year ago.  I don't think it had been watched for years prior to that) -- I don't even know if it's available right now or not.  I guess we'll start looking.

We are Sowing

According to plan, yesterday Mauri and I went to the park, took a nap, then tackled a sewing project. Mauri has wanted to sew again ever since we made some pajama pants together last summer at Grandma G's house. She was excited to choose some fabric (from my somewhat limited collection), and decided to make a flannel blanket for her Webkinz.

She helped cut the squares.  She figured out the pattern for her quilt.  She sewed the pieces together.  She loved every minute of the project.  I loved that she was so happy.

From start to finish, it only took us about an hour and a half.  Such a small amount of time for such feelings of 
accomplishment and joy.

Mauri loves her mini quilt so much, she has decided to keep it for herself.  
Maybe she'll occasionally share with a Webkinz or baby doll.

It was the most well-spent hour of my week. While we were sewing, I was also sowing... the seeds of time, attention, and love. Mauri's spelling on her list was more accurate than she knows {wink}.

Are Day

It's already looking up today.  It helps to have a plan, and Mauri has made sure that we are going to have a great day.

She gets her list-making skills from her mom... I usually leave them laying around all over the place.  Here comes the sun.

Just one of those days...

The yucky kind.  Where life feels hard and stressful.  There are actually many days like that, but some just seem worse than others.  Today is one of those.  Here is a list of my worries:

Taylor had a rough week in the mission field.  He is in a new area and has a new companion (who is also new to the area).  They have had difficulty finding their way around, and are living in a place that is less than desirable.

Britta's broke.  She wants to find a new job, but is waiting for help from her oh-so-busy dad to get a resume together. 

The next cheer season is about to begin, and at a try-out meeting last night we were told that the girls can not have Fall Break off of cheer, and if they are gone during that time, they will be removed from the team.  I have planned a family vacation to Cancun over Fall Break.  The travel is already paid for.  The reservations are made.  When I mentioned to my family that we may have to find a vacation alternative, they were disgruntle.  When I asked Lex if she was willing to miss the vacation for cheer, she didn't know.  I feel responsible.  I'm at a loss for what to do.

Shilo missed her assessment at swim because of her involvement in the school play, so last night at swim practice, a lot of the kids in the Queens group had been moved up to Kings, and Jacks had been moved up to Queens.  After a full week without practice, Shilo felt sluggish.  She will miss the make-up assessment on Thursday, and practice for the rest of the week because of the play.  Who knows when she will be able to be assessed and hopefully move up.

Bill called yesterday while I was out walking, desperately needing me to give him some info he needed for a meeting at work. I was too far from home to help in the time he had available, so there was nothing I could do.  Later that night, when I came home after the cheer meeting, he was cleaning the cooktop (I had put some cereal on the stove that morning, and then walked away.  The milk and cereal had boiled over and made a huge burnt mess on the stove.  I had scraped the bulk of the burned stuff off, but didn't have time to do a thorough job).  As he scrubbed away, I sensed that it had not been a good day for him either.  It probably wasn't the best time to bring up the vacation dilemma, but I wanted to discuss it as a family and hopefully get some input and ideas on how to resolve the problem.  It only added to the stress, so the topic was quickly put on the back burner (haha).  We managed a respectable dinner and FHE despite the earlier tension.  But nothing has been resolved.

Mauri was supposed to be grounded today (I've told her many times recently that when I tell her to do something, it's not just a "suggestion").  However she convinced me to let her go with her friend to Party On today, and she will gladly take her grounding tomorrow.  I was weak.  I gave in.

The sun will come out tomorrow, I just know it.

High School Musical

Saturday evening we attended the Legend/Cimarron Spring Musical:

Shilo decided to try something different this year, and signed up for Set Crew.  It's been a learning experience.  Some of the things she has shared over the past few months of preparation and practice:

1.  Set Crew requires a lot of time, but you don't get to enjoy the feeling of being appreciated on stage.  You actually do your best NOT to be seen (she was disappointed that I saw her -- I told her I was LOOKING for her.  Plus I knew WHEN to look for her.)

2.  Sometimes things happen that are beyond your control.  Like when you are told there will be 10 students on Set Crew, so you get to school early the day of sign-ups to get on the crew you want, and then, before you know it, there are 21 members on your crew.  Too many cooks in the kitchen.  And bossy too.

3.  When you are on a crew, some people think that you tried out for the play and didn't make it.

4.  When someone gives you a new job to do at the matinee because the person that was supposed to do it isn't there, that doesn't mean you should plan on doing that job at the evening performance.  In fact, you may even get reprimanded for trying to do it.

Life is just full of lessons, isn't it?  I think it's been a good exercise for Shilo in working with and getting along with people.  And now she knows what it's like to be behind the scenes.  In the shadows.  And she will appreciate (probably for the rest of her life) the effort given by those who are unseen at any musical or play she attends.  As will I.

The play was awesome.  More than I expected.  Probably the best high school musical I've ever attended.  
(And remember, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th graders...)

Kudos to the cast and crew.

After the play was over, we celebrated Shilo's hard work at Red Robin (it's close and open late).

Four more performances to go.