Super Spring Recitals

Spring recitals came on a lovely, warm spring day this year. This was to our benefit on this particular day since it very well could have been snowing. I'd like you all to take notice of the boys attire. Now, this probably isn't the most appropriate recital attire but let me give you some background. First of all, I love our town. It is casual, very casual. I seldom wear make-up, heals, or anything that requires dry cleaning. Not that there's anything wrong with any of those things but they really aren't my gig and therefore I fit right into our low key community. As I looked through the boys dressers and closets for something acceptable for them to wear, I came to the conclusion that their wardrobes lack anything that would fall into the category of "dressy." Now, had I found the dressy items I was looking for, I can pretty much guarantee that tears would have been shed at the thought of wearing something so uncool and foreign especially since my boys go for the skater look. So I compiled outfits that were clean, with buttons, and matched. This sadly included shorts because they haven't had time to put dirt, holes or any other kind of stain on them yet. As I said, thank God for warm weather.

Roo proudly performed Go Tell Aunt Rhody in his red converse high tops since they don't leave his feet. He came a long way this year and is decreasing the amount of throwing he does of his violin (we've replaced two bridges so far). At the awards ceremony afterward, he won the award for "Most Improvement at Lessons."

G-man won the award for "Best Shifting" after mastering Gavotte by Lully. This also required a few "come to Jesus" meetings after he threatened to break his violin into small pieces, never come in for his lesson and crying fits because it is toooooo hard (not that I don't agree). But he got it, did awesome and now says, "Oh, shifting...that's easy." Practice makes perfect.

Mmmmm the rewards. The boys' violin instructor knows exactly how to motivate a child to sit through a 1 1/2 hour recital...sweets. I think any wonderful instructor knows to offer cookies, brownies and such after a recital, but oh, no...that's just not creative enough for this violin studio. Instead, take strawberries, grapes, melons, and pineapple and top with whipped cream. Now when I say whipped cream, I mean continue to spray it on the fruit until the child says "stop." Now what child would ever say, "stop" to whipped cream. These kids had MOUNTAINS of whipped cream atop a little bit of fruit. Perfect.

WOW! What a Weekend!

We had a glorious weekend! It was our first real spring weather and it was amazing to be outside in the warm sunshine (I apologize to the Minnesotans...I do feel your longing). On the agenda for the weekend included the following...2 runs, a bike race and a soccer game. Otherwise, it was pure fun and freedom! Flat Stanley

We were lucky to receive a visit from Flat Stanley this weekend. He came all the way from Minnesota and we enjoyed showing him around our neighborhood and teaching him about Montana. A highlight was a hike on Saturday night in the foothills behind our house where we saw our first buttercups of the season! Here's a great shot of our neighborhood with a view into the valley. Stanley will be traveling back to Minnesota soon and hopefully has great things to say about his visit.

Thoughts of Food
The marathon MADness continues. On Sunday my three girlfriends and I reached a near climax in our marathon training. The 18 miler. We have been running together for about four years now and our favorite part of the run is breakfast and coffee afterward. It took us a long time to find the perfect spot but now that we found it, it is just that...perfect. On this particular Sunday, my running friend and her husband met us all at this little joint and he kindly drove the four of us 18 miles away from the smell of frying potatoes. No biggie...just run all the way back with thoughts of food to pull you along. We made it, and the rewards were delicious!



Spring Soccer is Here

Roo finally had his first soccer game as well as his first time in any real organized sport. He has patiently been waiting since his first soccer practice (or two years of G-man's playing) to have his first game. It all started after practice on Tuesday night. He carefully placed his uniform on the floor as he would wear it and declared that he was leaving it there so it would be ready for the game. Well, the game finally came, he put on his uniform and had a blast insisting that they would win because this one guy on his team is soooo good. They played great, he had fun and as he declared on Tuesday before his practice, "Mom, this isn't about G-man is it." No sweetie, this time, it's about you.

YES WE CAN!

We were fortunate enough this weekend to attend a rally for Barack Obama. I know I have shared this video with many of you already but if you haven't seen it, it is wonderful. Check it out and imagine us in a room full of 8000 other Montanans with this playing overhead. It gave me chills and filled the room with an excitement that our local paper likened to a rock concert as opposed to a political rally. We had a great time and felt lucky to get in. Tickets were free but required and didn't guarantee you a seat. As you can see from the size of the very small section of the line that I posted, we didn't know that we would get in. We did, after standing in line for over an hour, and it was worth the wait. When it was over, Roo decided he needed to find "Arack Obama" and shake his hand. We weren't successful but another Montanan body surfed their baby girl over the crowd with success! Lucky girl.

If you are interested in seeing more video of Obama in Montana, there are lots of great videos on You Tube.

ARRGGGH!

For those of you checking for the next blog entry (Mom). I will tell you first, I haven't had time. Second, now that I had a little time tonight, I have been trying to bring you an oh so wonderful new posting. Third, I hate doing this on our laptop! I have literally spent an insane amount of time trying to post and fighting with this laptop and it's need to alert me to any suspicious or unwanted programs trying to run on my computer. I give up. I'll try again tomorrow on the computer that isn't loaded with spyware...who needs personal safety anyway, I'm not that interesting.

ALL ABOUT ME PART 3

A number of things are the norm at our house. Busy boys, a dirty dog, running and biking schedules, and clean up. The constant clean up. I hate to admit it, but I can't stand clutter. Dirt is okay, but clutter will make me crazy! I am one of those sorry, sad people that have to clean up the kitchen before I can cook. I can't find anything unless it is in it's place. Now, if I were to try and have 2 (or even 3) busy boys clean as they go, I would pull my hair out. Therefore, we do the traditional end of day clean up. G-man has become a pretty stellar helper for his young age with exception to the banana peels he leaves in his wake. Roo procrastinates, whines and becomes utterly defenseless in his ability to put away the disaster he created (which mostly consists of the 10 changes of clothing he adorned during the day). As for my endorphin junkie (EJ), I really can't complain. Compared to many women I talk to, I am definitely one of the lucky ones. He does his laundry, fixes my bike, takes out the garbage, handles the cars and yard, and is pretty much responsible for the arrival and departure of our boys to and from school. Like I said, he's a great guy. However, even great guys aren't perfect.

The results of our household's combined cleaning efforts are documented below for your enjoyment and/or judgment.

The baskets. Where I suspect clutter, I add a basket. It isn't considered clutter if it's contained, or at least mostly contained right? Just ask EJ how many baskets I have handed him for his piles. In fact, I have him nicely trained to ask for one as needed. I have come to love the phrase, "Do you have an extra basket?" It is now become my adopted decorating style...baskets everywhere.

The fine print...for those of you who are now worried that I'm going to come to your house and freak out about your clutter, I'm immune to other peoples clutter.

Truly.

This picture is for Gramma. I did an experiment the other day after our recent conversations about dishes on the counter vs. in the dishwasher. It was morning, I had cleaned up all the dishes and one member of our family was still eating and nearing completion. I kindly left the dishwasher open for this individual to put his dishes away in (I have three "he" members of my family so the rest of you will have to guess who I'm discussing here). This picture is the result of my effort. Notice the bowl and spoon on the counter. There it stayed. I put it away. I know I'm feeding the pattern here but I was laughing too hard to myself as I took this picture and put it away to request compliance. Besides, now it makes for a funnier story.

After an endless amount of drama and complaint, Roo finally puts his toys and many, many clothes away at the end of the day. As he approaches the end of clean up he makes sure I know that he is done and that the clothes on the floor are "for this next day" (also known as tomorrow to the rest of the English speaking world). This little pile is his security blanket that the exact outfit he needs to look cool this next day is not lost in a drawer or basket somewhere. I can only hope they are clean.

AUTISM

Today is World Autism Awareness Day. If you are interested in more information about autism, check out Autism Speaks. I feel fortunate to be a teacher of many children who are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and many more who are suspected. Each day that I teach I see how this disorder interferes with basic daily tasks such as making a friend to washing their hands. I watch parents struggle through through the early stages of suspicion and diagnosis, and I watch these amazing children leap hurdles to make incredible progress.

ALL ABOUT ME PART 2

I love where we live. It is beautiful, peaceful (except for the loud boys) and we have great neighbors. I know many of you have been to our house and many of you have not (shame on you). The following picture is for those of you who have not. This is my attempt to lure you out west. This picture is from the deck looking out into the "backyard." How could you resist this?

In the warmer weather, we love to take walks to the creek. This is one of my favorite pictures from the creek. The boys love to catch water skeeters and get wet and muddy. I can't tell you how many poor little water skeeters have been dragged, unwillingly, back to our house in a peanut butter jar only to expire days later.