Reilly-Palooza




Reilly has been one busy girl the past week and a half. She has had a piano recital, a ballet recital and the Wax Museum at school. Needless to say Tyler and I our extremely proud of our talented and hard-working girl.

Reilly is first on the left

The end of the year ballet recital is always so much fun. I love to see the progress that Reilly makes from year to year. I was truly blown away by how grown-up she is...not one of the "little" girls anymore. It is also fun to watch all the other kids from the studio grow and develop as dancers. We've gotten to watch many of them grow up.

Reilly is the first one on the left

Her class did a beautiful dance to a gorgeous piece of music by Parry. Ailey leaned over to me during the dress rehearsal and said "Do you like classical music? So do I!!" (That had to be documented for the teenage years).

Look how beautiful the theater is--just gorgeous!

We took video and the performance is recorded by the studio but I did get the smallest snippet.



Reilly is blocked by Seth pretty much 90% of the time. Stellar photography skills by me. Thank goodness this was just video off of my camera and that Tyler was filming too.


The Bow

Reilly was excited that not only was my mom coming to the performance and her "friend" Ken but also Valynn and Kaitlyn Holland...they were an extra treat.

Kaitlyn and Reilly

Valynn and me...my eyes are bugging due to the fact that the camera battery was dying and it took forever to take the picture and in try after try one of us had closed our eyes. This sadly was the best of the bunch.

Ken and my mom

Our family

Our little diva (literally!!)

After the performance it was off to Dairy Queen to celebrate by gorging ourselves on fries, onion rings and blizzards.



I was BEYOND excited when the blizzard of the month was none other than my favorite blizzard COTTON CANDY!! A little birthday gift to me.

It's a party in your mouth!!

Earlier in the week was Reilly's Spring Piano Recital. She did a great job and had her two pieces memorized. Good Girl!! Reilly played "As I Have Loved You" and "Sleeping Beauty Waltz" by Tchaikovsky. This year Jodi had each child tell a little bit about the composer of the music they would be playing. I loved that.


Then this morning was the Wax Museum. Each child in Reilly's class had to pick someone from history and then dress up like them and have memorized a two minute speech about them and their lives. Reilly picked Maria Tall Chief the first Native American Prima Ballerina and also the original Sugar Plum Fairy. Reilly was lucky enough to be able to borrow a costume from her ballet studio because you all know my limited sewing skills and it would've been really sad.

Reilly posing before her speech

Reilly was a little miffed I didn't let her wear her toe shoes. I know. I'm so mean.

Maria and her best buddies: Shirley Temple, Sacajawea and Oprah

We've got Laura Ingalls Wilder, Amelia Earhart, Bill Gates, Shirley Temple, and Maria Tall Chief


Reilly...Daddy and I are so proud you and of all your many accomplishments!! We know how hard you have worked this year. We love you.

Hannah Alert: I just made your recipe for Rhubarb Sour Cream Pie last night. HOLY CRAP that is good!! We were singing your praises!!

Dinner Alert: Curried Red Lentils with coconut milk, caramelized onions and cilantro over rice.

36 Big Ones



Yesterday was my thirty-sixth birthday. It feels so strange to type that. 36. I'm not freaking out... yet. Talk to me at 40. But 36... that's grown-up...an adult. I remember telling my friends "My mom is thirty-six" and I was older...not a little kid. To me thirty-six says "Get off your butt and start accomplishing something" but then I look around at my nearly 12 year old daughter, nearly 8 year old son, and nearly 4 year old "baby" and I look at my healthy happy 13 year old marriage and I think. I have been accomplishing things all along. But to utter the words "I'm 36" kind of gets stuck in the throat...like "I'm 24" is trying to come out instead. But it could be worse. Reilly asked me if I was at the age when I would like to forever be twenty-two. Um...no. "Why not?" she said "that's what women do when they are old." Happy Birthday to me. Then when I dropped the kids off at school this morning Kameron said to me "OK...your 96 right?" Nope...36. "Same thing". Again Happy Birthday to me.

I am actually pleased to have arrived at 36. It could've been all she wrote two weeks due to my freak wheelbarrow accident. What accident you might ask? Now that the horror has passed I will tell you. Two weeks ago Tyler and I were putting in our garden which we do every year but this year I have been extra paranoid about it due to the freaky scary futuristic books I've been reading (post to come) which have kept me up at night worrying about our apocalyptic future.

Anyway...we were putting in the garden when Karma decided to kick me in the butt or rather the head. Remember the little "shiner" incident with Kameron and the black eye given to him by his mother...via a powerfully thrown, I might say, if badly aimed baseball. Geez Kelley, with your "Pisces" intuition that you love to tell me about you might have warned me. Well...at the very moment when I decided to squat down in the garden to pull out a particularly stubborn weed Tyler came rocketing into the garden at apparent jet speed with the wheel barrow. You might guess what happened. That damn wheelbarrow slammed into the side of my head knocking me over.

I don't know what the look was on Tyler's face as he nearly killed me...due to the stars that were before my eyes. But I did hear his bored non-concerned voice looming above me ask "Um...are you ok". Actually no. Was it me sprawled in the dirt crying that gave you that idea? He eventually came to my aid only to be amazed by the injury he caused me. What loving words were uttered. An anguished "I'm sorry love of my life". Nope. A gleeful. "Oh man! Your eye is totally puffing up." That's right people. I had a puffy blackening eye. Karma. The wheel barrow hit me on my eye socket...nearly missing my temple.

Now my friend Karma had some fun with me. Did I get a tough looking shiner? No. I just looked like I had gone crazy with the eyeliner and smeared it out to the side of my head. But in all my travels through the week did anyone...friend, family, acquaintance... ask me what happened. No. I saw quizzical looks. But no one said anything. FINALLY at Enrichment Night my friend, Valynn, with a look of true concern said "DO YOU HAVE A BLACK EYE?" Yes! Yes! Yes! Validation. Apparently I have just looked like a freak with smeared out of control eyeliner to the rest of the world. Nice.

Back to my birthday... I am lucky because I will be celebrating it a few more times this week. Again on Saturday with my husband and then next Saturday for a combo birthday party for me and Ailey with my extended family.

But I did have a fun birthday. I went out to lunch with my friend Janyse. We were supposed to go out for sushi but the restaurant ended up not being open for lunch so we went to a fun chic little eatery.

And guess what?


Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun ....YOU SAY IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY....dun dun dun dun dun dun ...IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TOO!!

The birthday girls

Isn't that crazy? We have the same birthday!! Or as I like to call it "The glorious day of my birth" which I said/sang frequently to annoy my children.

Mary and Ramona wanted to join us...the four of us make up our Relief Society Presidency...I was bummed that the sushi place was closed because Mary and Ramona were sushi virgins. It's always fun to introduce people to the delight that is sushi. But alas they were spared and relieved.

Ramona and Mary

Our family had a lot going on yesterday so we didn't get to fully celebrate. We will do that on Saturday but I did get to stuff my face with fabulous Linnie's Thai food for dinner that night so I was good!!

Thanks to everyone for all the phone calls, cards, emails etc. I really appreciate it!! And...I had a lovely birthday tribute from my sweet brother, Kirk, on his blog. Man...that kid has turned out great! Of course I could've used a tad more waxing poetic on my beauty, charm, wit, and intelligence...you know how my ego loves to be stroked...but I'll let you save it for next year. ;)

Dinner Alert: I've gotten out of the habit of this...It's another baseball/ballet double header. We are packing in the cooler Brown Rice and Chick Pea Salad with Basil-curry dressing.

My Old Friend June

I have always loved the month of June. June meant that summer was starting and fun times were about to begin. As a child it also meant that it would soon be time to go to the lake for vacation. Growing up in Utah we looked forward all year to going to the lake. Stacey, Kelley and I were lucky. We used to get to go to the lake for a whole month by ourselves to spend time with our grandparents. I think my grandma wanted to give my parents a break so for what ever reason we used to head up to the lake in June...stay the whole month...and then my parents would come for the last week (usually around the 4th of July) and we would all head home together. I have such amazing memories of those summers at the lake.

Our cousin, Tania, lived in the town I live in now which is about 30 minutes from our lake house and as soon as she got out of school...school gets out much later here than it does in Utah...she would come and hang out for the month too.

Tania, Kristin, Kelley and Stacey

When we started coming for a month my Grandpa hadn't yet retired and so he would work during the week and then he would come out on the weekends. My grandparents hadn't built their house yet so we just stayed in the original cabin. There wasn't even a bathroom...only a two seater outhouse until I was around twelve.

Lilac Lodge back in the day

We had some of the best adventures at the lake with our grandma. We used to go to my Grandma's house in town once a week to wash clothes and for my grandma to run errands. That meant that we only got an official bath once a week too. The rest of the time we just swam in the lake and when we started getting grubby my grandma would hand us a bar of soap and some shampoo and we would lather up and then dive off the dock. It was awesome...those were the days.

There wasn't a TV so we read lots of books, were addicted to Archie Comic Books, played lots of games (innumerable games of "War"), cracked marbles, had lots of bonfires, went night swimming, swam in the rain, ran wild, made forts, dove for treasure which we were sure had fallen into the lake, fished for "Walter" the ginormous bass that lived under the big dock, hunted turtles, caught frogs, watched for falling stars, and listened for our echoes when we would yell from our beach and the sound would bounce of the cliff wall across the lake. It truly was a child's paradise.

My grandma taught us all to dive, to row, to tread water for hours, taught us all about our ancestors, and taught us the importance of family.

She also had some special treats that she would make. We got to drink Hot Tang when we were cold or if we had been night swimming or swimming in the rain (that was such a treat but only if there wasn't any lightening.) When we were hot and hungry she would make us chocolate malts (which she called "malted milk") and buttered cheerios (in a pan you melt butter and add cheerios and stir them around until they are nice and crisp...then you salt them...yum.)

She also made the BEST fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green punch, Rice Krispy Cookies (made with peanut butter and Karo syrup), and french bread EVER!

My grandma turned 85 last week. She is now blind, fragile, and in an assisted living facility. To celebrate her birthday we decided to have a "slumber party" with my grandma. Tania, Stacey, Kelley and I decided to come out and spend the night, make our favorite "grandma" treats, talk about old times and laugh. My cousin ended up cancelling so it ended up just being me, Stacey, Kelley and Stacey's little girl River. WE HAD THE BEST TIME!! Kelley and I "kidnapped" my grandma from her old folks home. When we told her what we were doing she literally clapped her hands with joy!!

When we got out to the lake my Uncle Steve was there testing out his "new baby". A vintage 1977 racing boat. It is beautiful. Creamy white and chrome with gorgeous white upholstery.




We hung out with Steve and Margaret for awhile and then it was time for a cooking tutorial from Grandma. She was teaching us how to make her famous fried chicken. It's a lot harder than you think. I don't know how people cooked like that all the time. We were exhausted making fried chicken, homemade gravy, mashed potatoes, collard greens, and mint herbal iced tea. My grandma was laughing at our exhaustion and said that she also used to get up and make a hot breakfast for my grandpa and the kids every morning and would fix lunches for everyone. She told me that we have it way too easy. No kidding.

Kelley learning from the master how to fry chicken

Kelley and I exhausted from slaving over a hot stove. How many people does it take to cook a typical dinner my grandma used to make...THREE...actually four counting my grandma yelling out instructions!!


The dinner turned out pretty good except for the fact that Kelley bought all chicken thighs (gag!!)...in our boneless skinless chicken breast world...chicken parts can be confusing. :O AND...as Stacey, Kelley, and I all hate dark meat we sent most of them home for Stacey's husband, John. The potatoes and greens were FABULOUS. Kelley also learned how to make a delicious "lip smacking gravy" and it was heavenly.

The finished product...yum.

We spent the evening interviewing my grandma: asking her tons of nosy questions, filming her, and taking lots of pictures, looking at lots of pictures, hearing a lot of stories, and telling my grandma how much we love her and appreciate all that she has done for us. This was the first time in over a year I felt like I had my "real grandma" back. She even gave Kelley a tutorial in square dancing which had us all running to the bathroom...my grandma included...from laughter.



We made chocolate malts but as we were all still stuffed from dinner we decided to forgo the buttered cheerios. I think I did a good job on those. My grandma gave them her seal of approval. Then it was time to change into our jammies.

This was the first time I have tried using the timer and a tripod. But after a few hilarious attempts we figured it out.

First attempt not so good...but...no pun intended...it is a keeper because you can see how hard my grandma is laughing.

Good luck trying to get a picture that everyone is happy with especially when laughing...this was as good as it gets...after about 12 shots.

Our funny face picture...hmmm...I don't know what I am doing...and apparently Kelley thinks a funny face is flipping off the camera!! :)

It was pouring rain that night and my grandma mentioned how much she missed sleeping in Lilac Lodge on the sleeping porch listening to the rain. We told her no problem. We fixed her up a bed and lots of blankets (it wasn't that cold), hooked up the baby monitor so we could hear her and tucked her in for the night out in the "honeymooner" on the sleeping porch. The "honeymooner" is the only room on the sleeping porch with a door. All newlyweds get that room the first summer they come up after they get married. My grandma went to bed with a huge smile on her face. It smelled so good out there and the rain sounded awesome on the metal roof. Stacey was up a few time in the night with River and would go and check on her. She did fantastic.

The next morning Grandma taught us how to make French bread and Steve, Margaret, and Tania came out for the day. It was a wonderful weekend for us to celebrate our Grandma.

We love you Granny!!

I Heart The Stinklemans

Kirk and Jayme apparently had a little too much time on their hands one day and made this little video called "People Watch With The Stinklemans Episode 1". As people watching is an art form in our family this had me laughing until I was crying.

Have A Great Weekend!!

Memorial Day Weekend

Yum...tofu corn dogs. They are actually delicious.

We had a fun weekend out at the lake. The weather wasn't that great but it had a few good moments here and there. We headed out on Saturday afternoon and met my mom, her friend Ken, my grandma, and Kelley out there. We stayed Saturday night, Sunday night, and left on Monday afternoon.

The lake was still very chilly and it was pretty windy but we put the boat in and cruised the upper and lower lakes.

Kameron trying to soak up the few rays of sun that were out.

Hideous picture of me but it was fun to be out on the water driving the boat.

Kameron and Ailey getting in on the action.

I love this picture of Ailey and Granny cuddling in the boat. Even though my Grandma is now blind she still likes to go in the boat and cruise past all the houses and cabins and wants to know what is new with all of them. Ailey was so cute and held Granny's hand the whole time.

The water was very high...no beach whatsoever...the water came all the way up to the steps up to the yard. There was a little bit of beach over by the Memorial but the water came almost up to the cooking pot.

Reilly was the only brave soul to actually get in the water. She went for a quick ski run. Reilly just learned last year and was anxious to see if she could still do it. She popped right up on her first try. She circled the lower lake and then fell not too far from our lake house but she got right up again and skied on home. She was even actually trying to improve her technique by standing up straighter and fixing her form. She did a great job!!

Oh wait...Ailey got in but VERY VERY briefly!! Brrr...

We had a great bonfire on Sunday night. The weather was perfect. Tyler and I sat out by the fire until very late.

Mom and Ken

This picture cracks me up!! My grandma eating a gooey s'more. Growing up she was the S'more Nazi. She used to yell and scream at us that we could only have two s'mores or we were going to get sick and she enforced that rule with an iron will. So I was laughing at her with marshmallow all over the place. I begged her to say on camera "YOU CAN ONLY HAVE TWO S'MORES!!" but she refused!! :(


Ailey and Kameron helping my mom make pancakes for breakfast. We came up with the best creation. My grandma had a ton of rhubarb and so we made rhubarb pancakes. They were so good with lots of cinnamon and sugar. Yum.

Reilly and I helped my mom and Grandma get all the flowers ready for the cemeteries and we delivered them all. Reilly felt very grown up to be helping. It was fun to talk to her about all our loved ones who have passed away. All the flags everywhere were beautiful.

Since the weather wasn't the best for being on or in the water we spent a lot of time playing our new favorite game: CROQUET!! Stacey gave Tyler a croquet set for Christmas and it got a lot of use this last weekend.

We had a blast playing lots and lots of croquet...

The Master

The enthusiastic novices...even Ailey had fun whacking the balls around.

I hope everyone had a fun weekend!!

Proud

This week has been full of proud moments for our family. It has been exciting around here.


It's Been 8 1/2 Years In The Making...POINTE SHOES!!


The day that Reilly has been dreaming of for a long long time became a reality on Wednesday afternoon. She got fitted for her first pair of pointe shoes. The girls from her ballet class that were moving on to pointe all met at the dance store where they were given a lesson by the owner in the construction, care of, and history of pointe shoes. He even tore one apart so they could see all the components that go into the shoes. It was very interesting. The owner is a former dancer and he does a fantastic job.

Reilly patiently waiting her turn

Reilly tried on four different style of pointe shoes to see which ones fit her foot shape the best. Here she is trying out a demi plie.

And up she goes...VERY EXCITING

Even Ailey and Kameron are impressed!!

Trying them out at the bar

She ended up choosing the Bloch Balance European Shoes. The owner removed the nail in the shank so it would conform more to her foot.


Reilly with Dodie her main instructor as she is quizzing her if she knows how to sew the ribbons and elastics onto her shoes. Rule #1: MOMS ARE NEVER ALLOWED TO DO THIS!! The girls must know how to care for their own shoes.

It was so exciting for our whole family to share that moment with her and to see all her hard work pay off in accomplishing her goal. But now the real work begins. She gets to wear her pointe shoes on the last day of class and then she has a 2 week dance workshop right after school gets out where she really gets to start using them.

REILLY WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!! WE LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!!

Kameron's First Music Program


Last night was Kameron's first music program at school. He was very excited to go and he did a great job. The music teacher put on a very cute program. The kids were all dancing and singing. I really think Primary helps kids learn to belt out the songs. Kameron's teacher told me a few weeks ago that the music teacher was really impressed by Kameron's enthusiasm.

The program was called "Feathers, Scales and Furry Tails". Kameron has been telling us for weeks that he was a wolf...a brown wolf. Hmm... Not even his mask, the fact that he danced with other "bears" and the fact that he did a dance called "The Country Bear Dance" could convince him that he was a bear. He was adamant that he was a WOLF!! You be the judge.

Looks like a little brown bear to me. How does he already have crud on his shirt??

The pictures I took turned out AWFUL. Luckily Tyler did a great job of filming Kameron. I really need to go over my photography notes on f-stops and whatnot.


Kameron is the brown bear/wolf right behind the little girl white bunny. Here's a little video I shot of Kameron.

He's on the far left and swings his partner in the Country Bear Dance

This picture makes me laugh with Eli T. dashing through the background!!

Kam, you did a great job and we love you very much too!!

We are heading to the lake on Saturday...I hope we end up with some decent weather. It's looking iffy right now.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!!

Dinner Alert: Another dinner on the go...what should I pack my cooler with tonight? I'm thinking Taco Salad.