Swim. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.

St. George, June 2010...

Mother's Day Highlights

Granted, Mother's day was two months ago... but who's calling the shots around here? Don't worry, it will be brief and somewhat painless.

Mom's favorite gift... 8 sets of Fiesta flatware, inexplicably wrapped.

My favorite gift... Mom, still putting up with us.

The Boy

Evan has many nicknames.

Being our only only child born in the south and tipping the scales at just over 9 pounds, we naturally, initially called him Bubba. When he grew up a little, had blond hair and got playfully into everything. We called him the Cougar Cub or just Cougar for short. I think this was around the time we had to call poison control twice in the same week. (He didn't drink the bug spray afterall. He did eat the nickels)

At some point, for no good reason at all, we started calling him Kevin.

Lately, we just call him "The Boy". "What's the boy been up to today?" I'll ask after work. "Time to get the boy off the computer" she's say as bedtime approaches. While I'm not sure that qualifies as a nickname and it certainly isn't very creative, it seems to fit perfectly. Evan is our one and only boy. And while he is certainly at the beginning of that teenage-boy-everythings-a-one-word-answer phase, he's still the same funny, sweet (talked-us-into-watching-Alvin-and-the-Chipmunks-the-Squeakquel-last-night) kid.

He's just wrapped up middle school where he mostly looked like this.

He'll start high school looking something like this.


He can make pretty much anything out of anything. Paper, cardboard, legos... "Anything" these days is mostly full scale firearms... in this case an M249 SAW.

He's some kind of evil genius at Rummikub. (emphasis on the evil) There are three things you should know about playing this game with the boy. 1)He will take his sweet, exasperating time on every turn. 2) He will win almost every time, usually while multi-tasking with at least two other interests. 3) He will rub it in... usually by loudly encouraging you to "Munch it"!

He's also the perfect size 4... making him fantastic, albeit reluctant model for Hailey's dressmaking.

I just have one question: Based on everything you've read here, should I have not let him get the throwing knives?

Tracy Turns... Older.

In spite of appearances, Tracy does age. Well, she has birthdays. Today was one them. After she opened presents I took a few photos... man I miss my real camera. Do you really have to have an expensive dSLR to have shots in focus? I didn't think so before. As is turns out, cameras also have this self-timer feature... allowing the photographer a full 10 seconds to get in frame with the rest of the group... thus you'll see below, rare photos of the whole family together. More than ever, I love these guys. Happy Birthday Tracy, you deserve better... Or at the very least, I deserve worse.






And just in case you wondered if our singing had improved...

Graduation Elation

This event happened weeks ago, but I've been in denial about the whole thing. Fine. Yes, it's true. We have another kid out of high school. Eden and about 1800 Samoans graduated on the 9th of June. We sat in the cheap seats and watched the whole affair unfold. It went as they all do... long. We are super proud of her though, she made the most of high school... something many don't do. The grandparents came down in support. Tracy put on another cooking demonstration. I think they may be getting the wrong idea about us. I'm certain they don't appreciate the significant role Wendy's dollar menu and Golden Grahams play in our diet. Alas, I digress. We love you Eden... Way to go.

Gone

I appear to have lost my camera. I say "appear" because I'm not 100% sure it's 100% gone. I suspect that this is the case, but the fact just hasn't sunk in. I'm getting close... and that reality, for me, is heartbreaking. Was it stolen? Did I leave it somewhere? Will it turn up? No idea. So, a few final pics. Not the best ones or anything, just the last ones I managed to get.

To and Fro

I've only written about it a little, but in the last while, we've been able to see more family than usual. In spite of how that might initially sound, it turned out great. My mom and dad were able to come down for Hailey's show and we got to stay at their place when we were in Boise for Barb's homecoming extravaganza.

Granted... We eat a lot, make a racket, take up all of the couches, and want to watch completely different stuff on TV. (gasp... even movies). That said, they're good sports about it all and always seem to be willing to sign up for another visit. But wait... they always stay at a hotel when they come here. I'll try not to read too much into that...

See you next week folks!

Big (H)air

A few shots of Ev skating during our time in Boise. Not sure he's the next Tony Hawk, but you've got to give him points for style.

Season's End

Eden's Lacrosse is finally over. So... A few last photos before I forget. We'll miss going to the games. She had a great year... scored 40ish goals, made all-state and won team MVP. Not bad Eddy.

Neighbors

Where's Weirdo?

If you can't find Tracy but you know she's home, look here first. No, she's not hiding from me and the kids, she's standing in front of the vent, trying to get warm. Okay, maybe it's a two birds, one stone kind of thing.

Homecoming

Barb recently returned from a mission in Birmingham, Alabama where she braved bugs, bad weather and a batch of crazy companions. (alliteration completed). We were in Boise to hear her homecoming address... a talk in church where missionaries report on their experiences. To be honest, she did even better than I had expected. Fear and uncertainty had been replaced by hard won courage and conviction. We were all proud.

Almost everyone came out for the talk and the lunch that followed. I think a dinner followed that. And maybe a breakfast. Apparently families really can be together forever. :) Thanks again Jodi and Pete.

I've posted some photos on Flickr... Click the image to see them all.

Post Church

We get out of church at 12:00 and out of our church clothes at 12:03. Is it so wrong to wear pajamas to lunch?

I am the obvious odd man out here... I have a new gig at church and a whole lot more meetings than I used to.

Runaway Project

More late news... yeah, yeah... I already know...

You might remember a post back in January where I told you about an advanced fashion class Hailey was taking. She was to design a collection of 3-5 pieces and ultimately have it shown on the runway along with a dozen or so other students.

I told you it might be more than she was ready for. I said it might be too hard. I thought it might get ugly. And in many ways, it was and it did. She went through a lot of fabric. She went through a couple of meltdowns. She did not, however, ever give up.

The result? The kind of win we all agreed was possible, but uncertain. I don't have nearly the photos I'd like to have... of the process, or the show. But suffice it to say... as family moments go, it was one of the good ones. Siblings, family and friends all came and were not disappointed. It was a beautiful thing to see. She even won an award for her illustration.

She has worked so hard... and come so far. See a little here for yourself.
A special, significant note of thanks goes to Tracy. Part-time counselor, assitant seamstress, full time fabric taxi. Without her steady hand... well I shudder to think...