tidbits

On Thursday, Eva got this Olympic-style medal at preschool. I was there a little early to pick her up, and all the kids were walking up the stairs with matching medals. I complimented them, and they all started talking at once: "We walked on the balance beam! We went on the slide! Eva has one, too! We thought she was too little, but she did it!"

So, I got more information out of the other kids than she was willing to volunteer, but I could see that she was proud of her medal and even posed for some photos with it. Her teacher said she did great, so hopefully she won't be a problem student after all?

The second day of preschool was delightful for me -- I ran errands, put away my groceries, and vacuumed. When she got home, she played on the computer for awhile and I cleaned my bathrooms and did some laundry. I even found some time to get out some good mail and read. Delightful.

Potty training update: since I made the sticker chart 10 days ago, the girl has only gone 21 times. That's an average of twice a day! Only one accident, so she's staying dry, but... twice a day?? Should I be concerned? She gets quite angry when I suggest that she try to use the toilet, like when it's been 8 hours or so. Good grief.

On Friday afternoon, Lucas set up a game for Eva in the family room, consisting of multiple forts which are homes for each of them, a restaurant, a shop, etc. It includes good mail (he sends her money to use in the places of commerce and for daily "fees"), pretend sleeping and even sleep-overs in addition to the shopping and eating.

They played it for hours all weekend. It's hard to say who likes it more, Eva or Lucas! Eva is so thrilled that Lucas is playing with her, and I think Lucas is enjoying being in charge of all the details of the game. I'm definitely getting tired of the mess in our main living area, but I'm also reluctant to make them clean it up because it's given me a lot more free time!

Max auditioned on Saturday morning for the Utah Valley Youth Symphony. He is hoping to get into the Sinfonia, which is kind of an entry-level symphony that prepares them for the higher level. I hope hope hope he makes it because he really wants this and I think it would be a great experience for him! (photo of him warming up before the audition)

While we were there, we made some contacts and were able to procure a list of possible cello teachers. We were so sad that his teacher moved unexpectedly and we now have to find him a new one.

While we were at the junior high, Max showed me some of the places he took pictures when his digital photography class was let loose to shoot the class digital Rebels around the school. I thought this one was so cool I had to reproduce it for myself! That kid has got an artistic eye. (shot through a hole in a locker that is missing its lock)

Lucas informed me this weekend that his favorite drinks, in order, are:

1. root beer
2. amoxicillin

Yeah, that's right, amoxicillin. Which is convenient, really, considering how often he has to drink the stuff, but -- gross...

Today we attended a regional conference. It was held at the Marriott Center but broadcast to 175 stake centers! I didn't get to take very thorough notes, due to Eva entertainment issues, but I enjoyed the conference. The speakers were Marlin K. Jensen, Anne M. Dibb, Boyd K. Packer, and Dieter F. Uchtdorf.

I especially enjoyed Sister Dibb's talk about making hot, fresh rolls for the Young Women. She told them the reasons she wanted to make rolls for them were: 1 ) because she loved them, and 2) because she wanted them to taste the real thing! She was afraid they had only ever had counterfeits. I loved her take on the adversary's attempts to counterfeit every good thing. (not that store-bought rolls come from Satan!) But it resonated with me.

I finally booked my flight to go help Jessie after her baby is born. I leave in less than 3 weeks! It's seeming so real now.

Off to read more of my book club book and get ready for another busy week!

conceret and yard work

We all went to Max's end-of-the-year orchestra concert on Wednesday night. Eva called it a "conceret". I thought it was pretty interesting, Lucas and Eva less so. (It did run long, so it was a good thing we had her blankie and a lollipop to pacify her, especially since she was up past her bedtime.)


I took video of the orchestra playing, but it is too long for Blogger, and apparently I was too busy doing video and didn't get any stills of Max playing! Good grief. Max just started playing cello at the beginning of this school year and has made a lot of progress -- judging by the beginning orchestra's performance, I would say he's made more progress than the orchestra as a whole :). Listening to their pieces gave me a whole new appreciation for his teacher, as teaching beginners to play stringed instruments has got to be hard on the ears!

His teacher is retiring this year, and he had invited any past students to come and play one final song at the end of the concert. It was interesting in that many of them had not previously seen the music, so they rehearsed it in front of the audience! That final orchestra was so huge it took up almost the entire gym floor (which is why they couldn't have the concert in the auditorium).

Check it out! One of the girls had tied a ribbon to her cello -- it's almost as if we were kindred spirits.

Today I had a delicious stay at home day, and the weather was gorgeous, so I spent all morning doing yard work. Being the bugaphobe she is, Eva stayed inside watching Monsters, Inc. for awhile, then finally decided to join me outside.

How could anyone resist a delightful brand new box of sidewalk chalk?

She actually stayed outside for about an hour and a half, drawing, driving in her Little Tikes car (borrowed from Heidi), and helping me carry the weed piles to the garbage can. We saw butterflies, ants, spiders, and wood lice, and befriended them all!

After Scouts, the boys played with her on the tramp. It's not as fun for the boys when Eva is there, since they can't jump as high, but they are very good to indulge her.

This was her response when I called them all in to dinner.

Our big tree in the front yard is finally getting its leaves. It seems like spring has only just arrived here. Today was absolutely perfect, about 72 degrees with a breeze. But you know what? I just checked the weather forecast:

Friday -- 83
Saturday -- 88
Sunday -- 92
Monday -- 94

What the hell? I feel so gypped that apparently we're going straight to summer...