Bed Head

Cooper went camping with the Young Men on Friday night. He and a few other campers arrived late and stayed up even later. I asked him to take pictures. He sent me a few.

This is where they camped. They cleared brush as a service project.

And this is what he looked like in the morning.

I haven't heard much of a report beyond that it was fun. No news is good news, right?

A Girl and Her Bow

Sophie played in her first orchestra concert on Thursday! She's been playing the violin since the beginning of the school year and this was her first chance to perform on the instrument.

She did a great job!

The Six-String

Cooper is taking guitar this semester so he's been practicing around the house. That has prompted Peter to play a lot more. Phoebe and Topher have also been inspired to start learning the guitar. You may not be able to tell from this picture, but Topher's playing the E minor chord. That's the only chord he knows so far, but he can find it without help. Maybe next week we'll learn another chord.

Plus Water and Shelter

I saw this quote at our local library yesterday.

It speaks to my soul.

La La Land

Saturday night was church prom for the region. It's hosted by the Cherry Hill New Jersey Stake. Cherry Hill is just over the river from Philadelphia. Before traffic our drive was an hour and forty minutes one way. Once we added in traffic and a stop at McDonald's, it was closer to two hours. That's the nature of church dances on the East Coast.

The theme was La La Land. Phoebe asked if we could find a yellow dress to go along with the theme and Amazon cooperated. We added a poofy petticoat underneath and I thought it was perfect! The boys went slightly more casual, but were still dressier than the guys that showed up to the dance in shorts.

We were the designated carpool for the night. Phoebe sat in the front seat with me and played DJ (most of the time) and helped me stay alert. All the boys were good sports and were happy to report on the dance afterward. We listened to and sang along with several songs during our four hours in the car. I think the entire carload added their voices to the Hamilton selections.

Peter took this one inside the dance. It has their whole group, plus a friend from another Stake.

The dance ended at 9:00, but we didn't leave until just after 9:30. There was a Phillies game that night and the traffic coming home through Philadelphia was insane. We pulled into our driveway to drop off two of the boys (they live an additional thirty minutes away and their dad was waiting for them at our house) at 11:34. After they were on their way home we drove our final passenger the five minutes to his house. We were exhausted when we finally made it into the house.

But I'm sure we'll do it again when the opportunity arises.

A Fish For a Duck

Last Sunday Topher ended church with this cute duck in his possession. One of the Young Women in the ward crochets tiny animals and gives them to the Primary kids. Apparently it was Topher's turn. 

As we drove home from church we had the following conversation:

Topher: I'm going to make her a fish to say thank you.

Me: A fish? (trying to understand what this would entail) What materials will you use?

Topher: Paper, a plate, and tin foil.

And that's just what he did. He added the feathers and googly eyes for an extra pop. I drove him over to her house so he could deliver it that afternoon.

According to her mom, this made the Young Woman's day. 

Hope Is a Song

Sophie participated in the Reflections competition this year. The theme was "Hope Is..." She submitted a drawing that was chosen to go on to the Regional level and then the State level. We knew she'd done well, but didn't know how well until we saw the program at the awards ceremony on Friday night. 

This is her piece, Hope Is a Song. If you look closely you can see the song titles that she included. Her artist statement is after the picture.

You may not be able to tell from this picture, but she was nervous to go up and receive her medal and trophy.

Each of the kids had their picture taken with the Principal after they got their awards.

She was happy and relieved when she sat back down.

Great job, Sophie!

Go Go Go

I've spent every spare minute this week working on fixing up one of the rooms in our house. It's going to take several more hours before it's done. My brain and body are both complaining that I haven't rested enough this week. And the next week won't provide much relief.

I'd better sleep while I can.

Waiting For the School Bus

The Great Outdoors

After lots of rain and cold, we've finally had a few days of spring weather. Cooper, Sophie, and Topher have taken advantage of it and played outside everyday this week and a few days last week as well. I love that they still love having a backyard.

Fathoms Below

On Friday evening we supported Peter by attending the high school production of The Little Mermaid. It was a fantastic show! It was definitely the best one I've seen at this high school. The energy level was consistently high and the choreography was a step up from previous shows. A student always serves as the musical director. This year's student in charge played Prince Eric and is also a student director of the men's acapella group and sings with a very prestigious local Bach choir. All that to say, the show benefited and was very strong vocally.

Peter was the tallest sailor on board the ship with Prince Eric. He was also the only sailor allowed to draw on a tattoo, and only for the last show since he's a senior. As long as it was made out of eyeliner and for a play, it was fine. He adopted a great stance onstage and mimed calling out orders and testing rigging while dialogue was happening in a different part of the stage. Being a background actor takes a lot more creativity than you might think.

A banner of each of the seniors hung inside the theater. Sophie and Topher found Peter's during intermission.

In addition to playing the first mate (according to Peter, the role was assigned by the actor playing Pilot, not the directors), Peter was the only Lobster in Under the Sea. That song was crazy! The kids had incredible amounts of energy, the fellow playing Sebastian has a gorgeous voice, and the costumes were colorful and fun. Glow wands had been sold in the lobby before the show and audience members were encouraged to turn them on and wave them during this song and Kiss the Girl. In addition to all of that, umbrellas that looked like jellyfish dropped down and hung from the catwalk in the middle of the house ceiling. Bubbles came pouring out soon after. Topher was so excitedly aggressive that he knocked into the woman sitting in front of us while he tried to pop the bubbles. (I apologized.) When it was all done I sort of wondered if I had been to a rave.

Peter was a wonderful dancer! He looked like he was really enjoying himself onstage. His siblings all loved the show. The only reason Topher isn't in this picture is that the night had gone on too long for him and he had gone outside with Bryan to retrieve the van. Cooper and Phoebe loved it so much that they went again on Saturday night. Sophie would have as well if we'd let her. 

Peter has loved getting to flex his dramatic muscles in high school. I know he looks forward to additional theatrical opportunities in the future. Well done, Peter!

Charcuterie

I was so exhausted from our long week that I let myself take a nap on Sunday afternoon. When I went to sleep (Bryan napped at the same time), Topher was sitting at the end of our bed watching If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. When I woke up an hour later the TV was off and he was gone. I pulled myself out of bed and called down from the top of the stairs.

Me: Topher buddy? Where are you?

Topher: I'm down here!

Me: Okay, what are you doing?

Topher: I'm making a feast!

Me: Uh...

This was his feast. He was very excited about it.

He even added grapes and cheese later to go along with his pepperoni and Ritz crackers.

Totality

On Sunday evening, after General Conference and dinner, Bryan had a text conversation with his brother Spencer. Spencer asked what our plans for the eclipse were. Bryan said we didn't have any. He had bought eclipse glasses, but the forecast called for a pretty significant cloud cover, so we figured we wouldn't see anything. I had already decided to keep the younger kids home from school since they wouldn't be watching the eclipse there and would be coming home on the bus while the eclipse was happening. In case the clouds cleared I didn't think it would be safe for their eyes. Spencer, who lives in Indianapolis, said that if we left our house right then we would be at his house by the morning with plenty of time to watch the eclipse.

So we did.

We threw clothes and snacks and sleeping bags into the car, made sure Peter (who had a mandatory dress rehearsal the next day and couldn't come with us) was okay staying home alone, and were on the road by a little after 9 o'clock. Topher had already gone to sleep for the night, so we carried him downstairs and put him into the car.

And then we drove for ten hours. And by we, I mean Bryan.

As we neared Spencer's house (and the sun was coming up) we saw this message on several digital signs.

Spencer was waiting outside to greet us and show us where to park. Bryan almost immediately went to sleep in Spencer's apartment and the kids and I walked around Spencer's apartment complex to work out some stuck-in-the-car energy.

Spencer treated us to a delicious waffle, bacon, egg, and fruit brunch. He even had gluten-free waffles for me! After about four hours of sleep, I woke Bryan up so he would be ready for the main event.

We all got our special glasses on and went outside. Topher and I had to spend some time inside because the temptation to look at the sun without glasses was occasionally too great. Also, Topher heard someone say part of the code to get into the building, memorized it, then used it so many times in quick succession that we were locked out of that door for a while.

As the eclipse was nearing totality our shadows got sharper. Sophie asked me to take a picture of her jumping to show her crisp shadow.

We remembered to take a family picture, but we failed to intentionally take any pictures of us with Spencer. He is in the background of this one though, so that's something.

During totality the sky looked more like dusk than mid-afternoon. The street lamps came on and the animals and insects thought it was night. The wind had picked up during the countdown and went still during totality.

Bryan was able to get some cool pictures of the eclipse during totality.

When it was over Bryan went inside to rest a little more and I took the kids to a nearby park. We knew we would be spending another ten hours in the car and we wanted to get as many wiggles out as we could.

After the park, we gathered our stuff back up, said many thanks to Spencer for inviting and hosting us on such short notice, and were on the road back home by a little after 6 o'clock. That second night of driving was a lot harder than the first. I had planned to drive a big portion of it, but after an hour I could feel myself getting sleepy. I realized the way I usually stay awake while driving long distances is to sing along with the radio or streaming music. Since we were driving at night and everyone except for me was asleep, I couldn't use that trick. So once again Bryan did most of the driving.

We got home at 5:47 in the morning. Everyone made it to school (including seminary for the boys) and work. Cooper was asleep by 7:30 that night and I know the rest of us were similarly exhausted. In fact, I would say we're probably still recovering.

But it was an awesome experience and worth all that sleep deprivation.

The Reasoning of a Three-Year-Old

When I was at my brother's house my niece Zariah was very concerned about my dry hands. That prompted this exchange.

Zariah: What happened to your hands?

Me: They're just dry.

Zariah: But what happened?

Me: Nothing, they're just dry.

Zariah: What happened to them?

Me: They're dry, they just need lotion.

Zariah: (looking at me very earnestly) Are you so, so old?

Yup. That's it.

It Has a Horizon

For Valentine's Day a girl in Topher's class gave out paint kits, including a tiny easel and canvas. Topher had wanted to use it since he got it, but there wasn't ever a good time. We finally had an afternoon with nothing going on, so he set up his paints. He told me he was painting a sunset, but with lots of trees. I loved his final result, but I didn't get a picture of it right away. The next day I found him painting white over it so he could reuse the canvas. I stopped him and said we could buy more. He wiped off the white paint, but it did leave a shadow.

Progress Over Perfection

Phoebe stumbled upon a few of her drawings from past Marches. She's usually very hard on herself as an artist so she was a little shocked by how much she has progressed.

March 2021

March 2023

March 2024

I wonder what March 2025 will bring?

The Littles

I took a last-minute trip down to my brother's house on Friday to lend a hand while my sister-in-law recovers from surgery. I played with my niece and nephew, read books with them, made dinner, chatted with my sister-in-law, visited an awesome library to the two littles, hung out a little with my older nephew when he got home from school, got kids into pajamas, tucked my niece and older nephew into bed, then rocked the youngest to sleep. It was a full day.

I totally failed to take pictures with my older nephew, but I did take some of the younger two while we were at the library, and then one during the rock-to-sleep.

I wish I could have been there longer, but I'm glad for the time I could give.

Robot Servants

Our washing machine had been having trouble for a while. It would become unbalanced often and the only way to get it to finish a cycle was to lean or sit on it. I've spent quite a bit of time in the last year leaning on a very shaky washing machine. Bryan and I took advantage of President's Day sales and bought a new washer and dryer. It took several weeks for them to be delivered, but that day finally came last Friday. Bryan, having read unfavorable reviews about third party delivery and installation people with whom Costco contracts, opted to just have the old machines hauled away and the new machines deposited in the garage.

I wasn't home when the swap took place. I came back to see all the socks and gloves and other small clothing items that had been trapped under the old machines. I got to work cleaning the space with the intent that Bryan would install the new machines that night. Except then I saw how much that room needed to be painted. And I had leftover paint from the bathroom across the hall.

And that's how I ended up spending my Friday afternoon painting the laundry room. And some of my Saturday.

You can't really tell the difference, but this is after I painted. I can tell though, especially in person.

This is as far as I could paint on this wall, which makes it a little easier to see the contrast of the old (right) and new (left) paint. The other half of our laundry room is a pantry and I didn't want to rehouse the food and shelves while the laundry paraphernalia was taking up space in random parts of the downstairs. It would have been too chaotic. Instead I painted as far as I could and intend to paint the other half someday. Probably not any time soon.

I had done a pretty good job of cleaning up when I had to pause for the evening. That included wrapping my paint brush in plastic wrap so I could keep using it the next day. I painted more on Saturday but had to stop for a bit to work on something else, so the brush went back in the plastic wrap. I was not pleased when I found my brush later in the day, out of its wrap. Topher admitted he had gotten it out. What I didn't notice until the next day was that Topher had tried his hand at painting as well. So, now I get to paint the door.

After three days of painting, replacing all the switches and outlets in the room (Bryan), and a ridiculous number of trips to Home Depot (also Bryan), the new washer and dryer were installed. Bryan spent many hours working on this and Peter was his assistant when it came time to carry them inside. They're beautiful and our clothes feel and smell cleaner.

Of course, we did discover that when the washer spins on high it literally makes the entire house buzz. So instead of only rattling when leaning on the old washer, now we can rattle anywhere in the house, at least for the last ten minutes of the cycle.

We were not expecting that.

As long as we remember to turn down the spin cycle it's fine.

The Same and Different

This picture of Peter, taken about a month before I started the blog, popped up in my memories from Google Photos today. If I'm not mistaken, I believe he still sometimes sleeps with his legs crossed. I don't think he snuggles his water bottle anymore though.

Under the Sea

On Monday we supported Peter and the other cast members of The Little Mermaid while they performed at the library. They sang Kiss the Girl and Under the Sea, Ariel read a story, some of the cast taught about keeping the oceans clean, then there was a craft. I think Peter was happy we were there.

Oh, and there was also a bubble machine. Topher was a fan.

The kids were invited to decorate the sidewalk with chalk after the performance. Sophie added a sea turtle.

Both girls drew an eye, Sophie did the purple one and Phoebe did the green one.

We also got to meet comedian and voice actor Kate Micucci who happened to be at the library that day. She was in town visiting family and many of us recognized her. She was so sweet and gracious and took pictures with everyone who asked. Phoebe was geeking out a little because Kate voiced a character in Milo Murhpy's Law. I hadn't planned on saying anything to her, but when I saw how excited Phoebe was I approached Kate and told her that Phoebe loved her voice work and was interested in being a voice actor as well. Kate grinned and invited Phoebe over to chat with her about voice acting. It made Phoebe's week!

Kate also noticed the eyes the girls had drawn and was very complimentary. That added an extra layer of happy for Sophie.

It was a great day at the library.