Ward Talent Show

We had a good time at our ward's talent show--though somehow I missed several pictures!  Ah, well.  Gracie and her piano teacher played a "The Lonely Goatheard" duet that was super fun.  Scott played Greig's "The Wedding Day at Troldhaugen," and Emma was in a skit with her Mia Maid class, about the emotions in your head during a first date (like in the movie "Inside Out.")

Gracie's class did the crayon song from Studio C:

Caytie and her Activity Days group did a Little People skit about ballet and Rock and Roll (which turned out hilarious):

And Ben and Dave graced us with "Grandfather Clock."

My talent was racing home to retrieve forgotten music before they were scheduled to play. 

Marchathon 2017

Note: waiting...and waiting...and waiting...for a band to march by is made sweeter with slushies and donuts.

They finally arrived, and the sweet drum corps brought up the rear!  Scott is the second snare from the left on the front row.

 (Just the front row of snares actually performs in their show.  The others are in the pit, but when marching, they use snares.)

Good times.

Birthday Boy

Guess who's 41?

This guy!

(I told him I was going to delete this picture, but he said to keep it.  So now it's being published. ☺)

Here's to another 41--at least!

Kindergarten Coloring

At first I thought Benson was just being careless when he was coloring.  Then, after questioning, I realized that he really thought corn husks are yellow, strawberries are brown, and peanuts are green.  He has a definite case of color blindness!  Good news: he is quickly learning to read the color labels on the crayons.

On another note:  look at how neatly he wrote his name!  I bet his preschool teacher would be proud.

Labor Day 2017

Our bounce house company neighbors once again hosted a street party for Labor Day--on Sunday--right in front of our house.  It was one of the more quiet years (no band), but we opted to stay inside.  He once again thanked us for the use of our lawn and electricity by setting up a bounce house in our back yard on Monday.  My kids (and Ben!) never complain about that arrangement!

My Big Girls

Stake Volleyball--Go W4!  Emma is far right in the back row, and Gracie is center in the front row.

Emma's scoliosis doctor decided the time was right for her to start using a brace, so a week after school started, we brought this fun thing (technical term: orthotic) home.

She is supposed to use it 18 hours a day.  That thing that looks like a belly button is actually a heat sensor, that records when she's wearing it.  The doctors download the data so they know how long she's had it on each day.  It is as uncomfortable and annoying as it looks, but Emma is an amazing sport about it and I have only had to remind her twice to put in on (on Saturdays).  She's done it every other day on her own without complaint.  She has several years ahead of wearing it.  Sweet girl.

We found out that the koalas who have been on loan at our zoo were going to be sent home, due to road construction next to the zoo.  They're Gracie's favorites, so even though we'd already been to the zoo twice during the summer, we headed there one more time to say goodbye to these cuties.

Bonus picture!  At the zoo we stopped by the discovery house, and they had an African Grey out.  Of course my parrot loving family was enchanted by his tricks.  I love that Caytie was sketching him in her book and Benson was overseeing the operation from the mouth of a shark.

I Missed a Biggie!

SCOTT GOT HIS DRIVER'S LICENSE!

How did I miss this life-altering news?  Oh, that's right--we didn't get a picture of it, so it's almost like it didn't happen...except that IT DID.

In this area you have to call months in advance to set up an appointment for the test, and the soonest one we could get was just before school started--in Waxahachie, which is a little over an hour away.  However, in mid July, a more seasoned mom told me about a driving school here that administers the driving test, even if you didn't do driving school there, and then you just have to take paperwork in to make it official.  It just costs much more.  So I called them up and they had openings right away, and we scheduled it and he went with Ben and drove well and passed the test!  Then they went to the DMV here (the one 20 minutes away, not the one in Waxahachie) and turned everything in, and that night, we watched our firstborn drive off alone.  It was the most terrifying moment of my parenthood so far.  Yes.  Terrifying.  But also liberating and wonderful.  He drove himself to the rest of band camp during the summer, and he drives himself to the early seminary class and he drives himself and Emma home from school and he drives, drives, drives.  We also set up a bank account for him for gas money and whenever we need him to run an errand for us.

Oh, and he's driven on several dates, too.

Yes.  Terrifying.

And liberating and wonderful.

Take Two Tuesday

Caytie threw up only once early on Monday, and her fever melted away, so she requested that she be allowed to attend school on Tuesday.  (She was really, really sad about missing the first day at her new school.)  So we packed her up and sent her off, ready to begin fifth grade.  (She did great, by the way.)

Tuesday was also my first day of preschool.  I was anxious about this year, since I have several just-barely-three-years-old boys, and my new co-teacher.  I will say it went pretty well for a first day, but we have a long way to go before we're running smoothly.  Here is my co-teacher Lindsey playing with Tucker and Savannah, who were both really shy that day.

After preschool, Ben and I took his parents out to lunch, and then they dropped me off and headed to the airport.  We love having them visit.

Then I finally took a nap.

(Then Tessa came home with a fever and threw up, so she stayed home for a day, and then the next week Benson threw up at school and had to come home.  But no one else got sick.  Yay!)

Marvelous Monday

Monday (the 21st of August) was the first day of school--for five of our six.  Poor Caytie woke up with a fever, and then she threw up.  So, even though all six were finally old enough to go, I still had one sweet girl with me.  And Grandma and Grandpa R.  And Ben, who worked from home. ☺

Tessa and Benson were the first to leave.  (Benson is signing the letter K for Kindergarten!)  They were both so excited to get on their way.

I thought I might drive him to school on the first day--not because he needed me, but because he was my last one headed off to school, and there was a "Tears and Cheers" gathering for Kindergarten parents which I had never attended, and this was my last chance.  Alas, he decided he really wanted to ride the bus, and so I refrained from tagging along.

These pictures are blurry because he was so excited to go!  (Definitely not because of my inferior picture taking skills.)

Gracie was next, starting seventh grade at junior high.  (We forgot the fingers, Gracie!)

Scott and Emma were the last to go.  Scott is in eleventh and Emma in ninth--finally in the same school again!  They have been family-less at their schools since fourth grade!  (Scott is in the early seminary class, and Emma is in the later one, so after the first week of school, Scott goes first to seminary and then to band and then school, and Ben takes Emma later to seminary and then to school.)

That day was also the Great Eclipse of 2017!  Oooooooh!  We kept tabs on it throughout the morning, and Ben made a pinhole in paper for our viewer. 

(This is a picture of the paper.)

It was fun to check out how the shadows changed, most notable in this picture of Ben between his fingers and along his shoulders--all bumpy from the eclipse.

Around lunch time it got noticeably darker, like big clouds had just moved in, and it was a bit eerie, but a couple minutes later it lit back up.  Kind of fun.

And the kids made it through the first day of school!  I kept busy preparing for my first day of preschool, but I did miss having my little buddy around.  I'm glad he (and the others!) had a great first day!

That evening for FHE Ben gave the kids their Father's Blessings for school.  It always seems to make all the school preparations seem finished--and enough.  We can calm down and know that we're being watched over.  I'm grateful that we are able to give this gift to my family.

Saturday was a Special Day

Saturday was the big day, and the reason for the Grandparents to be with us--Tessa's baptism!  

(I took this picture a couple weeks before, to announce the date, and she only gave me this one smile before clamming up.  After much questioning, I learned that she really didn't want to wear that dress, which is the same one all the other girls wore after they got baptized.   She said it was too small and the beads were falling off--both of which were true, though I could fix both.  However, being the fourth of four girls is a situation I know a lot about, so I let sentimentality about the dress go and I agreed that she could get a new one, and we were able to find one we both agreed on online that day.)

We had a bit of time before the baptism began to take pictures.  (Tessa's friend Morgan, who was also getting baptized that day, had lots of family coming who were...late.)

(I thought my skirt was white!)

(Sorry this one's fuzzy!)

The program went well.  The kids from both families sang "Gethsemane" while Ben and I accompanied them, and Grandpa D gave his Three Bears baptism talk (Bear Testimony, Bear witness, and Bear His name--for posterity's sake), and Morgan's aunt gave a sweet talk on the Holy Ghost.  My favorite part is always greeting my girls after they come from the font and asking how they feel at that moment.  Tessa said she felt so good!

Tessa and Morgan were born on the same day in the same hospital within the same hour!  Her mom and I met in the nursing lounge when we were in different wards, but after our last boundary rearrangement, we're now in the same ward, and these two are pretty good friends.

It was another sunny and hot day, but we all endured a couple more pictures.

We were ready to have some lunch, so we went over to our favorite Chinese Buffet--and it was closed!  Boo!  So we trekked out to Golden Corral, which most people preferred anyway, and stuffed ourselves.

My parents had to leave right after lunch to go to Arkansas for a conference.  We were so glad all the dates worked out for both sets of grandparents to be here for another baptism.  It really helps to make the day more special.

That evening, we went to a Meet the Raiders night, where all the fall sports teams were introduced.  But first--the band!

Scott is on snare again this year, and in the picture below, he's the third drummer from the left.  This year's show included songs from Holst's "The Planets," "Claire de Lune," and "Moonlight Sonata," so it was pleasing for me to listen to. ☺ (This evening they only played the planets part--Jupiter, maybe?  I'll have to ask...)

They finished with the school fight song.  (Scott is on the back row, to the right of the drummer with his head in the 0.  I can pick him out because he wears sunglasses.)

The marathon week was about over, but we were not done yet!  We enjoyed church on Sunday, and then attended an open house for Kaitlynn, our friend leaving on a mission, who knew Ben's parents from her time at BYU.  (She and her parents would stay at the R.'s house when they'd travel to and from BYU, and his parents would often have her over for dinner during the semesters.)

And then--Monday!  In the next post!