Wrecking Ball Wilson

Looks pretty serious, doesn't he?

And he is. Watching him in his practice runs around the track, you'd assume that we aren't gonna be sticking around the races for long since he just sorta takes it easy. Races are a different story. The kid is insane. Unfortunately since he is still young he doesn't have the experience and know-how of how to stay centered over his bike, and how to absorb some of the "air" that he catches. So he crashes and burns. :(

This last Thursday, he had two chances to make it into the semi's. He made it to the rhythm section in first place in his 1st moto. Then came the wreck. But he jumped right up, back on his bike, and finished 3rd. Then on to the second moto, which he took easily since he'd already beat the kids he was racing against once. And happily for all of us, he stayed off the ground!

Semi's time, and he made it down the starting ramp, and up the first hill and then his handlebars took over and he flew over the front of his bike and landed hard.....mom's nerves don't like this. Despite the full-face helmet he hit and skinned his chin. There was no jumping up and finishing the race after that one. But he got a round of applause when he got up, and told the announcer when he was asked that he'd be back.

This week's plans now include taking him to a 2-day BMX clinic. We are hoping with the extra time on the track, and some pointers from some experienced riders, that the crashes will decrease and that the extra "oomph" he puts out in the races will net him a win or two. :)

The Beauty of Organization

I finally finished a very long put-off project this week...

For months, the kids basement playroom has been uninhabitable.

You could not see the floor. They could not use the toys. It was completely beyond the point of them being able to clean it up, and I didn't want to do it and avoided the chore for as long as I could. I planned on getting it done before summer break, but put it off.

Then it was summer break.

The kids were home 24-7.

Then the weather changed, and we had the rainiest June ever. So, not only were the kids home....they were stuck INSIDE! Amazing what a little motivation for peace will do to kickstart me!

After a major purging, many trips to DI and the ward nursery bin, and a number of full garbage bags, the playroom is clean, neat, organized, and beautiful. The kids have also been threatened to within an inch of their lives instructed that they need to do their very best to keep it that way.






To address any questions that may arise from these photos:

• Yes, I am aware that the kids still have too many toys.
• Ellie has been wearing dress-ups since she was allowed to access the dress-up box again. She may never wear normal clothes again.
• The mural? I started that thing when I was pregnant with Jared. It's still not completed. He'll be six in a month. I have a serious problem with follow-through.
  

"Katie Cricket"

Piano recital time again. Last year's selection was Matt the Cat....this year, Katie Cricket. Honestly, I don't need to hear either of those songs again. :)

The only thing I wish is that she'd play her songs at her recital like she plays them at home, with the rhythm even, and the dynamics correct. It seems that once she gets on that grand piano and she can see into the piano box and see the hammers going as she plays, that ALL her attention goes to that curiosity and her playing doesn't get a second thought! I guess we'll just have to replace our digital piano with a baby grand so that playing on one at recitals won't be a problem. (If you watch the video, it's the videogpaphers fault...mine...that it starts in the middle of the song! I'm still trying to figure out what I'm doing.)

Little update....

I've been a slacker as of late. Sometimes I find that it's easier to sum up the goings on in life with a facebook status or "tweet"! So, blame the invention of those social networking sites for my lack of verbage here. :)

How horribly boring too, as I have no pictures for this post!

It doesn't feel like I live in Utah lately. It's been unseasonably cool(not complaining about that!) and WET around here! It has rained almost every day of the last month....CRAZY! It will be nice to see my electric bill though, since the A/C hasn't been running. I can't remember when the last time was that I ran the sprinklers. It really is quite strange. Last night as we were getting ready for bed and the rain was pounding down on the roof, I asked Ron if we ought to start building an ark soon. :)

Jared is quite sad about the rain. Between other commitments for us, and all his t-ball games being scheduled on Thursdays, he hasn't done one BMX race this summer. He was going to skip his game tonight to go race, but now the rain has soaked the track to the point that they don't think they'll be racing tonight.....poor kid! Oh well....I suppose we'll just keep trying!

Riley is making sure we all know that she is bored out of her mind. Not that there isn't plenty of stuff around here for her to do, but none of it has been deemed "fun" enough for her to bother with. The other day she wanted to go to a friends house because she was "tired of sitting in front of the TV getting fat". So she went. I had to laugh when I found out what they did.....yep, sat in front of the TV at her house! :D A lot of her hours at her job (selling concessions at a local pool) have been cut. It seems the pool isn't too busy when it's cool and rainy, and there isn't a real demand for snow-cones then. She has Girls Camp next week.

Nicole is missing school...she's a bit of a social butterfly, so I think she's getting tired of having the same people (us!) around. We've been to the library and picked up some books. I've been having her help me try and get the playroom organized, but sometimes, I need the kids not around me so I can fill boxes and bags with things for DI. She's excited for the Mother-Daughter Enrichment meeting tonight. She'd be even happier if we could have a fun day at the pool, but again....the rain.....

Ellie is thrilled with the playroom overhaul as there are all sorts of toys that she never even knew we had! She is also getting a little too confident and trying to head out front on her bike without me knowing, which has led to a few problems..... :) It's so hard when she sees the older kiddos head out on their own, and that meanie mom won't let her follow! Oh well.

Life in a nutshell. Trying to get ready for Father's Day this Sunday (don't forget!). Oh, and hoping that it dries up a little around here....for just a few days!

The Queen is In.

It might be worth a try.....

"The Little Mermaid"

Last week, Nicole's dance studio presented "The Little Mermaid" as their end of year recital. Nicole has had such fun this year taking dance. I think the funniest part about watching her dance is that she gets a little distracted by the other dancers, scenery, and what not that she is always looking around while doing her little dance steps. I guess the realization that she is part of the show and she needs to dance for the audience will come with maturity!

The show was really fun, and I enjoyed it, twice! I of course took pictures, which was interesting as I hadn't ever attempted taking pictures in a dark theater with no flash. After the first set of botched ones, I figured out where to set my white balance and such for a better looking outcome....of course once I had figured out the settings, when Nicole came out for her longer dance piece, she was right behind someone else and I couldn't even see her! Murphy's Law?!

Act 1 - Under the Sea
Nicole the Jellyfish

I love this one! She was watching the bubbles coming down from above! :)

Act 2 - "Les Poissons"

(I love her tongue sticking out! Concentrating on her moves.)

These were the botched ones, previous to figuring out where the White Balance, ISO, and shutter speed really needed to be. Oh well! Live and learn. :)

We were sure proud of Nicole for all the work she put in all year, and especially that long day at the theater (dress rehearsal, and two performances all in the same day!). She's excited to get started back into it next year.

Homemade Hot Fudge

This is the yummiest, easiest recipe for hot fudge sauce ever, and you probably have the ingredients for it right now!

Homemade Hot Fudge

1 cube butter
1 c. chocolate chips
1 c. evaporated milk
2 c. sifted powdered sugar

Melt ingredients over low heat. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes, stirring continuously. Add 1 t. vanilla. Serve warm over ice cream.

Riley - On to High School

How beyond weird is it that Riley will be a sophomore in high school next year?!?!?!!! It feels like it was literally two years ago that we were delivering her to Kindergarten. I have a feeling that these next three years are going to go even faster. Riley is somewhat excited to be heading to high school....excited that she won't be in a school with uniforms anymore, but not excited about the change in venue of a new school. Although she already knows a lot of kids there, so it won't be as bad as she imagines!

I was able to get two shots of Riley on the last day of school. The first she was hanging with some of her friends looking through the yearbook, and the next......

Riley was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society! :) We hope she continues to work hard in HS and keep her GPA up. Most of all, we hope she has fun. You only get to do it once, and it's the best to spend it making good friends, having lots of good clean fun, and learning as much as you can before "real life" hits!

Apology to my "Google Reader" friends

Just wanted to throw out an apology to my Google Readers.....I switched my blog posts back to short feed for good now. I found out a while ago that it's just safer that way, as in, people have a harder time stealing your pictures.....now, I don't think people actually would want to steal any pictures of mine but there are weird people out there so I want the added protection for my family...so, from now on, you'll have to click over to get the whole story! See you on my blog! :)

Nicole: Class of 2020

This first lovely photo is what Nicole brought home after emptying her desk the last week of school....I'm not sure how she fit anything in there! Little bits of crayon, a dried up glue stick, markers without lids, all sorts of papers, a plethora of books, a broken pencil box, her Hannah Montana journal (wherein she proclaims her love of all things H.M.), winter gloves, and three socks(?!)...from off her feet at various times of the year.

I added to my list of things to work on with her this summer: Organizational Skills


Next we find Nicole with her teacher, Ms. Smith. Loved her. She is such a fun teacher that instills a lot of "hands on" learning and just a general excitement for education. She was also very helpful in pointing out a few "things" we needed to work on throughout the year, and was great to keep me updated on how Nicole was performing. Nicole is a very smart little girl, almost too smart for her own good, but needs to work on some social skills pertaining to working with others. Ms. Smith was very attentive with Nicole on these things and was just wonderful. She is moving into the Jr High this next year, and we are sad that Jared won't be able to have her as a teacher.

Nicole's class TA was Miss Gail. She was a no-nonsense kind of lady, which put me off a little bit at the very beginning, but she did it with enough love that the kids just loved her. Nicole especially enjoyed watching TV at Conference time trying to spot Miss Gail, as she sings in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir!


These are Nicole's little practice poses and shots for me against the black sheet. I thought hers turned out pretty cute. Welcome to second grade, my little lady!