Sparkling

We have no idea how old this dishwasher is. It had to have been at least eleven years old because it was hardwired. It's been having trouble cleaning glasses for a while and in the last few months it's been really loud. Like, sounds-like-it's-trying-to-blast-off-to-the-moon loud. On Tuesday morning some Costco contracted installers arrived and took this dishwasher out.

And then they put in an outlet and installed this one. It's nearly silent and, so far, everything has come out spotless.

Hurray for a new dishwasher!

Art Everywhere

Sophie contributed many pieces of art this year. We walked all around the school and she kept pointing out things she'd drawn or painted.

She did this one for her Graphic Design Club.

And this was her addition to a winter themed mural the Art Club did.

I think this one is my favorite. She did this during her art class and picked it for the official art show in the school library. I love that she got to celebrate the animal she most adores.

Look Back

Phoebe's contribution to her school's art show was this beautiful snow globe sketch. It's even more stunning in person.

Lava

I went to Parent Teacher Conferences for the three younger kids today. In addition to hearing how well they're all doing academically (very well) and behaviorally (Sophie works well with everyone, Topher is a natural leader and almost never uses bathroom words at school now (!)), I got to see their art work.

Topher created this eye catching volcano.

Not Quite Spring

We were invited to go hiking with a family from our ward on Saturday. Somehow we gave the impression that we do that kind of stuff. We hiked for two miles and Bryan and I were very tired and sore when we got back to the van. Also, it was about 40 degrees.

Still, it was nice to be invited.

I took the first and last of these pictures. Sophie borrowed my phone and took the middle three.

Waving Through a Window

Sophie performed in her school's talent show tonight. She was the twenty-fourth act out of thirty-three performances. When her name was announced the audience went wild. It was the loudest reception anyone got. I thought maybe that was my mom bias, but everyone else in the family agreed. Maybe we're all biased? She did a fantastic job and got an even bigger round of applause when she finished.

The only down side is that for some reason the video Bryan took didn't actually record. He was so disappointed. Sophie was willing to try again. When we got home she sang it, just so we could record it. The music should have been louder, but we didn't realize that until we listened to the recording on the computer and Sophie was busy getting ready for bed. So this is an approximation of what her performance sounded like.

NYC

Phoebe attended a Broadway acting workshop with several of her classmates last Saturday morning. It was taught by one of the acting professors from NYU and took place in Manhattan. The rest of the theatre kids rode in on a charter bus because they were also in the city to see a Broadway show. Phoebe wasn't seeing the show, so we drove her into NYC.

While she played theatre games in a studio in midtown, we walked around outside.

We went back to the studio when she was done and picked her up. Then our good friends who live in the city came and met us for lunch. We went to the original Shake Shack and it was delicious!

We let Topher run around at this cute playground just a few minutes from where we had lunch. He loved getting to run around without holding my hand.

From there we walked to the LEGO store and saw this amazing Wicked display. These ladies are life size.

Then we popped into the Harry Potter store. The last time we were here it was absolutely packed. The crowd was much more manageable this visit.

Our final stop was the newly finished Moynihan Train Hall. The building is gorgeous and that's where we learned that NYC has very tasty tap water. Who knew? We probably would have spent time exploring the station, but we were worn out by this point in the day.

We said goodbye to our friend (her husband and kids had to leave right after lunch to get to a rehearsal, but she hung out with us during the rest of our adventure), and walked back to our parking garage. According to Bryan's watch, we walked about 8.5 miles that day. It was a fun time, but we were thankful when we got back home.

When I was a kid I dreamed of someday visiting New York City. I love that we live close enough that we can drive in and spend a day there. It's one of my favorite places.

Ink and Paint

Sophie has an art show next week. These are the pieces she made in school but chose not to display. I'm eager to see what made the cut.

That Funny Feeling

We were almost done with bedtime tonight when Topher told me that his throat "felt funny." I looked at it and his uvula and tonsils looked red and swollen. Since Bryan had strep throat a few weeks ago, I knew there was a chance his funny throat was something more. I told him to put pants on over his pajamas and I took him into urgent care.

No one balked at my request for a strep test, which I appreciated. The test was negative, but the PA that we saw agreed that his throat didn't look right. The look of his throat, plus his runny nose, and the fact that he randomly threw up last week all led her to treat him as if the test had been positive. She put him on antibiotics.

He's looking forward to a day of resting and maybe watching TV tomorrow, but he is sad to miss school.

This has been a long season of sick.

Strike That, Reverse It

Topher has gotten into the habit of asking for pain medicine every night at bedtime. I usually say no and remind him that taking medicine when you don't need it can be harmful. He's continued trying to convince me that he needs medicine each night. This is what he told me at bedtime tonight:

"I need medicine, my legs really really hurt. I think I'm having shrinking pains."