"Me" from Beauty and the Beast

I forgot that one of our favorite songs at the Symphony of Spring was "Me" from Beauty and the Beast. It's hilarious!

Spring Piano Recital

It's piano recital time. Kristen's first:


And Alison's first "real" one (she's played in a pseudo-kinda-real one before):


They both did great!

Crazy

If I had to pick one word to describe this week, that would be it. There was just so much going on, that I didn’t even realize that MAY HAD SNUCK UP ON ME, and Megan only has one more full week of school, and it hasn’t really sunk in that she’s GRADUATING in two weeks and we haven’t even gotten out announcements.... SO much to do, and not nearly enough time. (And then there’s the PILE of books I want to read. Can I just have a pause button for a few days to put time on hold??)

 

So. What made it crazy, you ask? Well... several things. (Aside from Megan’s end-of-semester crunch.) Caitlyn was sick all week with a stomach bug. Throw up in the morning, be better by the evening, eat, throw up in the morning. Twice she went to school and got sent home for throwing up in her first hour class (we should have gotten wise after the first time). At any rate, that made for some hectic mornings. It didn’t help that a couple of the rest of us caught a version of it which included a headache for five days straight and a slight queasyness. Thankfully, now we’re over it.

 

(I know: overshare. But you did ask.)

 

We had an author event at work on Tuesday that I scared up some people to go to (there were 30 people; I brought 8). It turned out really fun; the author was entertaining, there was a decent crowd, and I feel hopeful for YA/kid events at the store. Here’s hoping we can get more people like that in. *fingers crossed*

 

Friday night, I worked because the regular Friday night person was out. It was a slowish night because it’s been cold and rainy (well, it snowed on Wednesday!) all week, but enough people came in that I was able to sell stuff. I’m not the world’s best bookseller – I don’t feel a need to sell everyone anything – but I can get you the right book for the right person. I’m a librarian at heart. Anyway. Russell picked me up from work and we went out to dinner at 9 p.m. Not exactly the best time to go out, but hey, you gotta take it when you can. Caitlyn was wonderful and babysat (even though she just got done being sick), and aside from a bit of panicking because we weren’t home “soon” (I guess I had a loose definition of “soon” when I called), she did a great job.

 

Saturday, Russell headed up to Lenexa for a meeting with a bunch of General Authorities. It was supposed to be for bishops, but as our bishop was out of town, and the first counselor was working, that left, well, Russell. He said it was a good meeting, and aside from coming home tired (they left at o’dark thirty), it was a good experience. Megan went up at 2 p.m. for an evening meeting with priests and laurels (it was close-circuited broadcast to all the buildings for the 12-15 year olds, but we didn’t know that – ah, communication! – and had made prior plans, so Caitlyn missed out), and enjoyed the meeting as well. I’m sure some Important Things were said, but aside from being told to tell their wives that they love them (done, check) and Elder Cook serving a mission in London, I haven’t been told what they are.

 

Alison and Kristen had their piano recital yesterday as well. They both did a great job. And Kristen was even brave and went first! I’ll have video up on the blog soon(ish). And then I took Caitlyn and Alison to the Singing Quaker’s Symphony of Spring. This year’s theme was Heroes and Villains, and there were some okay pieces, some really good pieces, and two absolutely brilliant ones. One was a sophomore, Brandon, singing (and playing guitar) Superman  (he was even wearing a superman suit under his clothes!). It was amazing. And another was senior Andy Denton singing “I Need to Know” from Jekyll and Hyde. He’s a great performer, and we’re going to miss him once he’s gone. And Alison says that we should mention the finale: they did Zero to Hero (and it was fantastic) and then after bows, they did the Mission Impossible theme and danced around on the stage. It  was a good evening.

 

And church today was, well, church. I was asked to do a mid-week meeting on gardening in May, Eep. I’m not even remotely qualified except that I put plants in the ground and hope they grow. Any ideas on what to do??

 

That’s about it. It’s May. Oh, where did the year go??

Photo Bombed!

Awesome.

Not What You Want to See on April 24th

At least in Kansas.

I Live for the Weekend

Though, admittedly, the week wasn’t half bad. We were busy at work,  Russell got some teaching and advising done, and the girls only had three days of school (inservice). In spite of the cold weather (it is April, right??? *checks calendar* Yep. Why does the weather think it’s early March??), they managed to squeeze in two sleepovers (one for both Alison and Caitlyn), a friend visit (Kristen), and a trip to the park. But, it was the weekend we all looked forward to.

See, we finally made it back to the Renaissance Faire. (Except Megan, who looked forward to Prom instead. She had a good time, though she said it was overrated. The best part was going to IHOP at midnight.) There’s just something about our geeky family which means we adore a good Renaissance Faire, and if one isn’t available, we’ll take the mediocre one. We spent a good three hours at it yesterday, enjoying all the sights and letting them take our money, and were glad that we got back there after 2 1/2  years. One of these days, we’re going to splurge and go to the Kansas City one.

In other news, Megan got her NHS thingy (yeah, I don’t know what it’s called, either) for graduation today. It’s finally dawning on us that she’s got two and half weeks of school left, and then she graduates. Eeep. I’m not sure we’ll be able to fathom it until we’re in Koch Arena watching her go across the stage. Oh, and she’ll get her family assignment for India soon. Double eep. Where does time go?

Oh, and we got Kristen’s pictures taken on Friday. They turned out super cute. If you’d like one, let me know, and I’ll pop one in the mail.

Have a good week. May spring actually come your way. Soon.

Prom 2013

For the record: Megan doesn't date. Partially because she doesn't want to, but also because the way they date around here is to have a series of boyfriends. And she (thankfully) doesn't want that. So, a while back (after her friends talked her into going to prom; she wasn't even going to go, initially), she and her friend Kylie decided that they would be each other's "dates". That grew into a group of girls going on their own, and they decided (because parents insisted) to get together at a park downtown for pictures.

One of the coolest things Megan and Kylie decided was to do henna corsages. Kylie drew them, and they are gorgeous.

Megan and Kylie. (Megan said she only had a limited number of smiles, and then she started making silly faces.)

And my gorgeous girl. (She even felt beautiful. She said so, herself.)

And then we got pictures of everyone. There's only one pair in the bunch -- Brooke (she's in the yellow) and her boyfriend, Brook (yep, you read that right) -- the rest of them are just going.

This was their response to "you should do a silly picture":

Then we headed to a different part of the park, where there was a stone arch. I've always said, if it can be climbed, she will.

And, not to be left out, the rest of them (mostly) had to get up, too.

I haven't heard yet (she spent the night at Kylie's, because there isn't an after-prom party here) if she had a good time, but I sure hope she did.

Off to the (Renaissance) Faire!

So, we looked at the calendar, and aside from Megan, there wasn't much going on. And, since it was the weekend of the Renaissance Faire (which we always enjoy), we decided to get up and go. Megan didn't (much to her disappointment) because she had TONS of homework and prom Saturday evening. But, the rest of us went and had a good time.

The Royal Parade (we didn't join in).

The girls paid $2 to do battle. The guy who "fought" Kristen is blindfolded, and he just ran around the ring until she caught up to him and pummeled him with her ax.

Kristen really got into the whole Renaissance Faire thing. That, and she saw quite a few kids from her school class there.

But there are a few of Alison, too:

And even Caitlyn and Merry showed up for the camera, once in a while:

And, of course, it wouldn't be a post about the Renaissance Faire without pictures of all the Atmosphere.

I Have Nothing To Write

Some weeks are like that. And generally, I try to come up with something creative to mask the fact that I have no News (“OOOOH, I do LOVE news.”), but I’m just not feeling it this week. It was normal. There was drama because of bickering between the children. We went to a nature park Friday night to wander around and Alison decided that her “real” family are aliens, and we’re just her adoptive family. The older girls and I volunteered at a 10th anniversary celebration at the library I volunteer at. (And I win the prize for using “at” too many times in a sentence.) I long for three days in which I can sit and read without interruption. Russell works, and manages to Get Stuff Done. He also gave two presentations in town, both which went well. And he made pancakes from scratch Friday morning at the Seminary breakfast/welcome 8th graders. Kristen sulked because no one paid attention to her (and because she does that sometimes), and Megan hid in her room, alternately doing homework and stalking British and Canadian actors (none of whom are Nathan Fillion) on Tumblr.

So, I guess it was a week. And I managed to crank out a paragraph.

This Blog Needs a Nathan Fillion Moment

Just some stuff I've gleaned off of Tumblr lately. (No, I am not selling my soul to Tumblr, unlike some in my family. They know who they are.)

This one's just cute.



This one's old. But he WORE A KILT. And not just *any* kilt, but a LEATHER KILT.



And this one will have you singing afterward.

Sure, They'd Love to Do That

Today was the 10th anniversary party at the branch I volunteer for, and they asked if I'd be willing to come help out. I said sure, and they said, oh, if your kids want to come too... so, of course, I said They'd Love to Do That!

And when they said, "They really want to dress up as Clifford, right??"  I said, "Yes!" They kind of balked at first, but eventually, they had a great time being Clifford for 20 minutes.

That's Megan. Really.

And Caitlyn.

They also got to make stepping stones, which are going to go out front. Pretty cool.

It was a fun time.

Highlights From the Week

For Kristen: Turning seven!! She had a fabulous birthday, and has played with all her presents multiple times. It’s wonderful to be the center of attention, and to be another year older.

 

For Megan: Medieval Times in Dallas. She went down to Dallas with the band for a band trip. They also played in a festival and went to Six Flags, but she says that Medieval Times is pretty much the best thing that has EVER happened to her. It was pretty epic.

 

For Alison: She had State Assessment tests, which she stressed about for months, but turned out to be not so bad. When I asked her why they were a highlight, she said, “Because they’re important.”

 

For Caitlyn: She wandered over to Dollar General and discovered that seeds were 3 packets for $1. She went crazy and spent $18 on seeds. So, she asked if she could have a place to put them all. Since we have beds without anything in them, I said sure. And so, she planted them. (She had to wait until things warmed up a bit; it got cold again this week. It even snowed one day. But, thankfully, it didn’t stick.) She’s quite proud of her accomplishment. And is asking when they’re going to come up.

 

For Russell: Got his advising at work done. It’s always nice when he finally gets all of his students advised and set up for the next semester.

 

For me: Being on the phone for more than an hour on Tuesday, once the news broke that WSU would be on the cover of Sports Illustrated, trying to get at least 100 copies of said Sports Illustrated into the store, without much success. The phone was ringing off the hook for preorders; we’d taken names for at least 80 within 2 hours after our news went out. And then, the problem was solved for me on Wednesday. They were supposed to be in on Friday... I don’t know the end of the story. Still, it was pretty neat to be a part of the craziness.

 

And that’s about it for us. Happy spring!

 

Love,

Melissa

Kristen's Hello Kitty Collection

It used to be all spread out, but now it's all in one place, on the top of the bookshelf (for now). She's quite proud of her collection.  It *is* pretty impressive.

Seven Whole Years!

That I've been keeping up this blog!! Who knew?!?

(That's also how old Kristen is, but I thought I'd get the blog thing out there, since I started the year she was born.)

Kristen's been counting down to her birthday ever since we got back from vacation. And, even though we had a bit of a mad scramble to find her presents (she's a hard one to buy for!), she had a lovely birthday.

Someone has to get her at least one Hello Kitty doll, it seems.

She was unsure about this at first, but is excited to make the stepping stones.

I love her face here, even if it is a bit fuzzy.

More family presents. It seems something with a ball is generally required, too.

You can't forget the cake:

 

Yes, she did sing to herself!

It was a delightful day!

Megan Went Down to Dallas

And texted these pictures on Friday night from the Medieval Times restaurant. It was the highlight of the trip. In fact, she says we need to go down as a family. We'd love it.

She got home at 4 a.m. today, sleep deprived and lacking a voice. So, we're just assuming the rest of the trip was a blast as well.