The Fat Lady Ain't Singin' Yet

But...she is starting to warm up. Sort of. We are/have soldiered through the crazy last days of May and 1st days of June. We are powering on through which is somewhat sad since all of these are great and fun events but they are causing me serious stress and with each one I check off my list/calendar I feel a bit more relief.

So here's what has been going on...

1.) My Grandma turned 90 and we ended up having a full-on family reunion somewhat unexpectedly. But it turned out to be great and my Grandma had a wonderful time being surrounded by family and friends.

Couldn't stop laughing!! :)

All the family that was able to gather...we were missing a bunch. But it was fun to see everyone that was there and to be able to catch up.

We had a big family potluck lunch, a crazy adult/kid kick ball game, and a birthday party with my grandma's friends and neighbors in the afternoon.

I wish I took more pictures...

My cousin Paul and Tyler. Paul is a chef in Portland and he made the most amazing food. His pineapple mint salsa was pure heaven. I'm making it myself as soon as possible!!

Paul's lovely wife Whitney

My cousins Maeris and Jennifer.

Stacey and our cousin Justin.

My Grandma and Jennifer

Haylee, Ashlun, and Ailey...they are all the same age. Watch out teenage boys of the future!!

Kameron and his mean green cast...no swimming for him. :(

Dane and Jennifer's son Jackson

My Uncle Mike and my Grandma. I love this picture!!

 

These guys were hilarious!! Grace, Gabe, Kameron, Reilly, and Zeke. Zeke has grown so much in the past year that I didn't even recognize him. Crazy. There's hope for Kameron...ha ha.

Tyler and my cousin Jaymon...talking about all things engineering. Nerds. :)

2.) Ailey had her 3rd Grade Music Program

Ailey's program was western themed and they got to square dance with boys. Woohoo. This was truly the highlight of elementary school when I was a kid and dreamy Brad R. asked me to be his dance partner. Swoon. Fun stuff.

Ailey and her friends Jordyn and Audrey:

 

3.) Ailey's Choir Concert

Ailey sings in her elementary school choir and they had a concert just a few days after the 3rd grade music program. They sang songs from Annie. So cute.

4.) Kameron had a music concert and we missed it. There was just no way logistically that we could attend. I bribed him with BBQ chips to miss it and he was fine. It's hard to play the fingering on the trumpet in that cast anyway.

5.) Reilly had her big end of the year music department concert down town. She did great. Took no pictures.Such talent at their school...

6.) Bryn had her preschool program. Their theme was the beach and it was ADORABLE.

Bryn knew every word to every song and sang and danced with great gusto!! It was so cute!! She's just like her big sisters.

7.) Kameron had two Field Trips, Bryn had a field trip, and Ailey has two this week.

8.) The little girls had their Ballet Dress Rehearsal and two separate Ballet Recitals. They ended up not being in the same performance making me want to STRANGLE their dance studio owner!!

This was Bryn's very first ballet recital and she did an AMAZING job!! She was the very best one if I do say so myself. She was front and center and knew just what to do and did it!!

Ailey was in two dances and was also the very best one!! She was front and center and knocked it out of the park!! She is so dainty and graceful. It is fun to watch her dance.

Great job Girls!!

9.) And...we had this little event. Farm Chicks!! Only one of the biggest vintage shows in the country. We had a spectacular time. You can read about it here.

Bryn's preschool program was during set-up day so I ran back and forth to attend that and as horrible luck would have it the girls double recital day was the Saturday of Farm Chicks only the VERY BUSIEST day of the weekend so I had to run back and forth for that too. Reilly was supposed to be my back up to help get the girls dressed and hair and make-up done for the recital and she was to take my place in our booth but two people called in sick at her work and she had to come and work during the day. SUCKAROO. But...Tyler really stepped up. I have never seen him look so relieved to see me as when I left Farm Chicks and booked it to the recital to try to catch at least one of the girls and found him applying MASCARA to Bryn. Ha ha. He did a pretty darn good job getting the girls ready!! Big kudos to him.

There were a bunch of things that were missed...like book club, Seminary Promotion, our Stake's Daddy/Daughter Dance, Farm Chicks Vendor After-Party (we did know that we would be too tired to attend), Kameron had Middle School Orientation somewhere in there and I missed it, and Reilly also missed her Dance Team Dinner and Awards Night and the Scouts had something going on too and I KNOW that I missed something else in there as well. It just wasn't possible to everywhere we needed to be.

It is pretty much more of the same this week but it is winding down. I do see the light at the end of the tunnel. Hallelujah.

Preschool is over for the year and Bryn is sad about that!! She had a great time and really thrived and made good little friends. She loved her teacher and all the big buddies. I am glad that she had such a good experience and that she will be able to go there next year as well.

So yeah...that's us!! I'm exhausted.

Hanging by a Thread

Barely. In case you were wondering...has she gone insane yet? It isn't for lack of trying. Please tell me why the busiest 2 weeks of my life has to include every single one of my four children having multiple...MULTIPLE...performances/events/parent meetings...what have you...every.single.night. Usually there are four things each night that parents MUST be at...and there are only two of us. Why oh why does our stupid school district save everything for a two week time period knowing that is when every recital on the planet will be happening (not to mention the high school and middle schools ) and then Church gets in on the fun. AAAHHHH!! Then throw in an unexpected family reunion, surgery, and every single child of mine having some sort of major melt down...especially my teen... and I am SO OVER IT. So .... I cancelled my own birthday party, bribed one kid with BBQ chips to not go to their event, and have tried to cancel just about every thing else.  So yeah...verdict is in...CRAZY.

But...should you be in the area and in need of vintage/vintage inspired home decor. Here's where you can find me.

Awesomeness

Check out this awesome YW activity that Reilly's Young Womens Presidency planned!! So very cool. It was called Women of Courage and each YW had to pick a woman from the past or present that she admired and bring a quote from that woman. Misty Alger, photographer extraordinaire, along with several women in the ward, made-up, styled, and posed the girls, and then Misty took these amazing photos. I absolutely love everything about this activity and fabulous pictures!

You can read all about it on her blog here. (...and see the other cool pictures!!) Misty is moving to Texas and all I can say is Texas is so lucky to have her. She has been a fantastic YW leader and she will be missed!!

 Not Fun

So my last post was about fun things...this is about something not fun and a big nasty surprise. Tuesday Kameron went in to the orthopedic surgeon to get his full arm cast on and got the crappy news that the bones had slipped and were starting to heal incorrectly. He then got the extra not fun news that he would need surgery ASAP... like early the next morning. Big Big Bummer!! The doctor said that he would definitely need to pin his radius into the correct position...and would MAYBE need a plate inserted as well. We are looking at him being in a cast a long time. All his future appointments and the removal of pins etc. knock him out of his week long Scout Camp too. Seriously...this kid is watching all his summer fun slip through his fingers. Not cool.

Thank heavens that the surgery went well and a plate did not have to be inserted. It is a wonderful blessing that surgery like this can be done and regardless of it's inconvenience it is still pretty miraculous. Kameron was a trooper and very brave. Now he has two seriously gnarly...and manly...large pins in his arm to impress the ladies and an enormous green cast up to his armpit. His buddies were all daring him to go with a pink cast. Ha ha.

Kameron had quite the unexpected support team at the hospital besides his loving parents. It turned out that a friend of ours who is an anesthesiologist was working that day (he wasn't assigned to Kam) but he came in, teased, and joked around with Kameron and had him laughing. Kameron's nurse turned out to be the sister-in-law of his 4th grade teacher, Mr. Weller, who Kameron loved. Even better Mr. Weller has a twin brother (married to the nurse) who used to go into their classroom quite a bit and volunteer and play tricks on the kids by switching places with his brother...anyway...HE works in med surg and was there and came to say hello and to wish Kameron well. We also saw one of Kameron's old Primary leaders who works at the hospital. Aunt Kelley works there and was able to check on Kameron. Then this was the most hilarious... Kam went in and out of sleep quite a few times as he was fully waking up and he would ask a question here and there or say something. One time he woke up and told me that he was seeing double. The next time he woke up he said "I think I see my dentist." I laughed at his odd hallucination until I looked over and there WAS his dentist!! Our dentist was there to do some oral surgery on some kids that needed full sedation and he came right over to see what was going on, why Kameron was there, and how he was doing. Kam told him about his injury and our dentist jokingly said "Let me see your teeth!!"  Kameron obliged and then Dr. G said "Well thank goodness those are fine!!" Having all these people who know Kameron and came to see how he was doing made a world of difference to him and helped him be much more relaxed. It was pretty great.

Kameron did well last night considering everything. Today I had him stay home from school and I am really glad I did!! Hopefully tomorrow that blasted arm will be feeling a bit better. Thanks for all the phone calls, texts, FB posts, and Instagram comments. He has gotten quite a kick out of them!!

Love that kid!!

Fun Things

May is packed with lots of activity...just this week alone nearly every single day is a performance, recital, field trip, or party of some sort. Craziness. Here's some of our craziness.

Saturday was Cheerleading Clinic and boy did these two have fun!! They are still cheering all over the place and wearing their spiffy new cheerleading t-shirts to school. The little girls and cheer leaders put on a cute performance after a day of cheering, crafts, pictures, and snacks. A good time was had by all. (It seems like it was only yesterday Reilly was a little girl attending this yearly camp...boohoo.)

Now she's a working woman...

Oh yes...it is official!! Reilly Victoria has entered the workforce. She was hired on the spot. Pretty cool. She is working as a waitress at an assisted living facility and really enjoys it. She is fantastic with the residents and can even earn a little extra cash by playing the piano in the lobby...and she gets free dessert which is pretty cool in and of itself. ;)

Bryn's swim lessons continue and are going well!! She loves them.That is a HUGE relief.

This came and went. Piano Adjudications. Those are some serious business and not for the faint of heart. I was scared myself...and I was just watching.

Reilly might be smiling but she was shaking like a leaf!! It takes a lot to make our fearless girl quake. But...it was good experience and she learned ALOT!!

One week until Ballet Recital Central. Ailey and Bryn are practicing like crazy. They will be performing in Coppelia this year. This was the first professional ballet performance I ever saw as a little girl and it remains my favorite ballet. Dancing dolls come to life..or do they? Awesome!!


The Farm Chicks Frenzy Continues...

This weekend we had to do a dry run and map out our space. All that furniture...only one person's. So we had to tape off space and dimensions for all the other furniture... and all the squares within squares within rectangles are stacks. Furniture stacks. There are still lots of projects in mid-creation...like above photo. It should be a pretty spectacular booth when all is said and done.

Kam continues to hang in there...it is so not fun to have a broken arm. He goes back to the orthopedic surgeon tomorrow. Kam's had to miss out on some fun activities (All-City Track Meet/Swim Team/Band and Strings Concert) due to that darn arm but I guess if there is an upside he hasn't had to do many of his chores. Silver lining right?

My Grandma turns 90 this upcoming weekend and we are having a big family shin-dig to celebrate so times are even more busy...yet sweet.

I am trying to take time to smell these beauties... They won't last much longer.

We do live in the Lilac City after all. 

Later!!

I am taking a break from preparing for the Farm Chicks Antiques Show which may cause me to have a nervous breakdown before June 1st...so much to do!! Either that or Tyler and the kids will kill me before then. It's pretty much 50-50. The tensions are running high!! In light of that I thought I would document some of the unbelievably weird things people have said to me lately.

So I am borrowing Bryn's favorite phrase for the subject matter of this post...

Here are several randomly awkward things people have said to me in the last week. What's up with the universe that people are so weird? They are all people from church so that should solve the puzzle. You know that famous saying that if you say that there are no weird people in your ward that it's because you ARE the weird one. Yeah...well... I never say that.

Case in point #1:

I run into a dude from church and had this unsettling convo...

Dude: Hey-- Sister Johnson!


Me: Hey...how's it going? (I feel weird being called Sister Johnson in the general public and even at church by people who are in my same age bracket and not in the bishopric.)

Dude: Wow. I hardly recognize you!! You look so different when you aren't in your... (I am waiting for him to say "church clothes")...GYM CLOTHES.

Me: (stunned silence)

Dude: I mean I ALWAYS see you in your gym clothes!! Every time I am at the gym... there you are in your gym clothes.

Me: (awkward silence)

Dude: I mean do you live there or something? Ha ha!! I work out and there you are in your gym clothes and when I leave you are still there working out in your gym clothes.

Me: (awkward laugh...uh...yeah.)

Dude: Well see you around...probably at the gym. Ha ha!!

EW!! Right? Let it just be known that I see quite a few people from my ward/stake at the gym and it was none of the people I usually see. This was one guy I saw once...once!! I have never even said so much as hello to him in all the time he has gone to my church. AWKWARD!! (Disclaimer...this is none of my friends or even acquaintances husbands. Rest easy.)

Case in Point #2:


 Church member corners me... 

Church member: Hi

Me: Hi

Church member: Where did you and Tyler get married?

Me: (surprised) Um...Utah

Church member: Where in Utah?

Me: Salt Lake

Church member: Yeah...but WHERE?

Me: (quizzical look) Uh...the Salt Lake Temple.

Church member: Whew! Oh great! (visibly relieved)
 
(Clearly Tyler and I must appear rather fringy to this very concerned person. Also, let it be known this was no one in any kind of leadership position. Just a random ward member who has clearly been up at night worrying about whether or not Tyler and I were married in the temple. Glad I could put their troubled mind to rest.) AWKWARD!!

Case in Point #3:

This occurred after Sacrament Meeting last Sunday. We were not sitting in our usual row and ergo were sitting by different people...in this case an old couple and a visiting old couple.

Lady: Points to Bryn... "She is GORGEOUS!! Just beautiful."

Me: Thanks!

Lady: If you ever want me to take her off your hands just let me know!!

Me: (Laughs) I will!!

Lady: She is just BEAUTIFUL!! She looks NOTHING like the rest of you!!

Me: Um...thanks??

Lady: (talks to her friend) Isn't that little girl absolutely beautiful?

Friend: She sure is!!

Lady: She looks NOTHING like the rest of them!!


AWKWARD!! What do you say to that? Sorry Bryn has to live in such a family of trolls and her with her beauty and all. This lady is known for saying blunt/funny things. So I do laugh about this but props to my friends in Relief Society who upon hearing this tale reassured me that I DO have cute kids and that Tyler and I are not hideous. Thanks guys.

*********************************************************

Okay...those were JUST from last week. Here are a couple more from the last few months.

 #1

I am chatting with a guy I know at a store. He is LDS...but not in our stake. Reilly comes up.

Me: Oh hey...this is my daughter Reilly.

Reilly: Hi. Nice to meet you.

Guy: THIS IS YOUR DAUGHTER???

Me: Yep.

Guy: How old is she?

Me: 16

Guy: HOW OLD ARE YOU??

Me: 40

Guy: WOW! YOU'RE OLD!!


Me: Yep.

(This guy is a friend and has since tried to make it up to me...but...I still like to hold it over his head and bring it up whenever I can. BOOM. :)

#2

Whilst chatting with a random ward member...

Person: How old were you when you had Reilly?

Me: 24

Person: How old were you when you got married?

Me: 22

Person: To Tyler?

Me: (incredulous) YES TO TYLER!!

Person: OH GOOD!! (Looks relieved)

(Just because she looks more like me than the other kids let me reassure you all that TYLER is INDEED her biological father!! People have asked me that on a few occasions...CRAZY.)


So now that you know that I am disturbingly always seen in my gym clothes, was married in the temple, am not beautiful...nor is the rest of my family, am old, and have only had one husband...

GO OUT AND HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!! 

Weirdos.

Mother's Day Weekend 2013

We had a jam packed weekend with lots of highs and a couple lows. Things started off great with early Mother's Day gifts from the kiddos. I love Mother's Day and I really appreciate that my family goes all out and celebrates me in style. They are fantastic and I'm a lucky mom.

Bryn's card and little flower seed in a pot

Kameron's sweet Mother's Day gift that he squirreled away out of his Easter basket and held onto knowing that I love those creme eggs. Easter Candy tastes even better when it is after Easter and thus not available any longer. It was still deliciously fresh. Thanks Kam!!

 

 

 Ailey brought me home a lovely card and flower pot with seeds that actually sprouted on Mother's Day. How's that for timing? She also wrote and starred in (along with Bryn) a play about "What is Mother's Day?" Pretty much the cutest thing I have ever seen. Thanks A!!

Friday night was the Fathers and Sons Camp Out for our ward. Kameron was super stoked to go camping with his dad. Sometimes it is a bit rough being the only boy with so many girlie things that seem to take precedence around here. When "guy" things roll around Kam is all over it!! The girls and I had plans for a fabulous "girls night" here too. We had movies and snacks galore. So everyone was happy.

Unfortunately it was short-lived. We had barely started watching movie #1 when I got a call from Tyler saying they were headed to the ER. Kameron and some of his buddies were playing football out in a clearing. Kameron was running backwards getting ready to throw a pass when he stepped into a big gopher hole or something and down he went...Snapping his wrist in two places. What is it with the Fathers and Sons Camp Out? It is rapidly becoming the most dangerous stake activity. No joke. Someone ALWAYS gets hurt!!

Kam had a heck of a long wait in the ER and was quite a trooper. He was pretty happy to get into the exam room with a heated blanket and some pain killers. He ended up having a little procedure done with some anesthesia and getting his bones set. Lucky for him there was an orthopedic surgeon on that night!!

Our family's 12-year old broke arm curse continues... I broke my arm at 12 around this time of year, Reilly broke her arm at 12 at this exact time of year, my brother Kirk and my sister Jordi all broke their arms at 12 at this time of year. Very strange. ;)

Feeling better

He is still in his temporary cast while we wait for all the swelling to go down. His fingers at church were like little sausages. Poor kid. In case you were wondering...he doesn't seem to have any cast claustrophobia like his dear mother. Or as my mom said to him..."You haven't gone all cast crazy like your mother have you?" Nice. Well, it is still early... ha ha.

Saturday Brynnie started her first round of swim lessons. Elle has already had a round but she re-did the first group again to help Bryn not be afraid. Turned out not to be necessary. For a kid that screams bloody murder to have water so much as touch her face in the bath tub...she swam like a fish. Leaped in...went under water a few times..no tears, no drama...What the heck?

So cute!!

Later Elle came over to our house to play while Kelley went on a date...Oohhlala... and Bryn got to return the favor. They both got bikes for their birthdays and Elle is a bit of a hesitate rider and has of late been flat out refusing to ride. Bryn, on the other hand, is absolutely not a hesitant rider!! She's getting to be a bit of a terror. She likes to go fast but is slow to grasp braking. Tyler and I get quite a work out chasing after her. We headed to the big parking lot at the middle school to let the girls ride their bikes on a flat wide open space. Just like I knew she would...Elle did great. Bryn jumped on her bike and took off. What else could Elle do but get on her bike and take off after her.

They definitely earned those ice cream sandwiches!!

On Saturday poor Kameron's track season came to a screeching halt do to his bum arm. He was not too happy about that. He had a big meet on Saturday and All-City is next weekend. He got to deliver the bad news to his coach, get his picture taken with the team, and then moped on home.

Happier days...

Sunday was awesome... Tyler and the kids brought me my favorite breakfast in bed. Strawberry Shortcake!! That's a breakfast food right? They had gifts; they had cards; they had flowers. They really spoiled me!!

Reilly gift of my favorite flowers along with a very sweet and hilarious Mother's Day FB post. She makes me laugh!!

We took some funny pictures before church...see above. I had been laughing so hard I was crying and trying to stifle it for the picture. My kids are flat out crazy and I love them dearly. We also took some pictures for the grandmas.

Then it was off to church. Ailey and Bryn sang with the Primary kids to all the mothers in Sacrament Meeting. Delightful. My favorite part of that was watching Ailey maneuver herself to be right next to her favorite boy while singing. It took some doing and she is a tenacious little thing!!

After church we had a bonfire and roasted hot dogs (real and tofu) and ate out on our deck for the first time this year. Reilly made a fabulous salad with two kinds of homemade dressing and Tyler made Brazilian Lemonade. Fabulous. Then they all cleaned it up, took baths and showers, and I took a 2 hour nap. It was a great day!!

Hope all you amazing mothers out there had a wonderful day!! You deserve it.

Happy Mother's Day!!

Wow!!

Photo by Keith Currie

SERIOUSLY!! 

How gorgeous is our girl??!! Love her.