Yesterday I watched Race to witch mountain. Scary but cool. There was alien kids. And to find out more leave it on your comment. Take it away dad!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
tooth fariy
I have ANOTHER lose tooth after THREE lost teeth and learned about the tooth fairy . want to hear some? ask on your comment.
Nina's Graduation
This week Nina passed a momentous milestone in her life- she finally graduated from Pre-Kindergarten! It has been a grueling year of hard work for her. She had to get her hair combed every day. She had to carry a backpack half as big as she was all the way to the car, and back, in sun, rain, hail, and even a few scattered snowflakes. She spent hour upon hour cutting, pasting, coloring, listening to stories, singing and playing. And that's not even counting all the after school hours put in at all the birthday parties of fellow classmates. And she loved every minute of it.
The graduation ceremony itself was very lovely, except for Dave constantly quoting under his breath the line from the Incredibles,* which he claims did not refer in any way to our current situation, however. Nina did a wonderful job singing in the program. She was right in the front and performed with gusto.
She had an absolutely wonderful teacher, Mrs. Lawrence, who had put up with Grant in her Kindergarten class last year. Ever notice how the kindergarten and pre-k teachers are either super young or very old? I think they each only work about 5 years, but the job causes severe premature aging. Those that work any longer than 5 years usually turn to dust.
We loved celebrating Nina for an evening. She is such a smart, funny and amazing little squirt!
Go class of 2022!
* "They keep inventing new ways to celebrate mediocrity. . . "
gogh by grant
You see scientists have found van goghs relatives one liked fruit and was named:mango.Ha ha! to see more jokes ask on your comment.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Edible Van Gogh
This week I got to teach another art lesson to Grant's 1st grade class. They have a really fun "Meet the Masters" program where parents come in and teach about an artist and then lead the class in an art project of a similar style. I had originally volunteered to to teach one lesson this year on Andy Warhol in March and wouldn't you know it, the day I came to class Grant was home sick. We were both disappointed- see blog entry for March. However, they just happened to need one more volunteer for the year and we decided to give it another try and hope that Grant stays healthy this time. I was assigned to teach about Vincent VanGogh and the class made drawings that very very loosely resembled 'Starry Starry Night'. Quite a few of them looked more like drawings of tornados or just collections of fingerprints- and then there was Grant's drawing which he renamed 'Snowy Snowy Night' and added Santa Claus and the 8 tiny reindeer. Why this experience was blog-worthy was because I couldn't resist showing off the masterpiece of a treat I made for the lesson: A cupcake and frosting reproduction of the painting. I have to explain that Laynie gave me a really cute cupcake decorating book for Christmas last year which included instructions for making a tray of cupcakes into a reproduction of 'Starry Starry Night'. At the time I first saw it I thought, Wow that's cool- but how often do you come across the situation where Van Gogh in cupcakes is just the perfect thing? Well, this last week the situation presented itself and I had no choice but to attempt making those cupcakes. I knew if I didn't try I would regret it forever. The hardest part I thought was getting the frosting the right colors, but the rest was not too bad. It was actually a huge ego boost for me. Grant watched me frost the cupcakes and kept saying over and over again- "Mom, you're awesome!" The kids in his class also thought I was amazing and I am sure if given the choice between my cupcakes and the actual original artwork worth who knows how many millions of dollars, they all would have gone for the cupcakes. Impressive sugary treats are a very effective way to gain praise and admiration. They also made a big mess and turned all the kids teeth blue.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
The Art of Sarcasm
Some people don't like sarcasm. But there's an even more sinister part of the population that doesn't get sarcasm. On my mission, I learned that most Ecuatorianos don't get sarcasm- at least when they're dealing with gringos. On one memorable occasion, after explaining the promise of the Book of Mormon I asked what they were going to do with the book- just to make sure the commitment would be kept. The family just looked at me blankly. "Are you going to eat it?" I joked. They looked at each other and grinned and the mother said kindly "Spanish is hard for you isn't it?".
It is with great pleasure that I can report what we think is Grant's first intentional insertion of a sarcastic comment in an average conversation. For years I have worried that what is likely the chief sign of Lyonhood would not be passed on to succeeding generations. And since sarcasm is something I love to use around the kids (Missy has said before that as I lose patience with them, I get more and more sarcastic), whether directly or as asides they just don't follow, I really want more people to appreciate my wit!
To be honest, none of us can remember what it was- like all the best sarcastic comments, it was perfect for the situation, yet impossible to recall in its entirety. Anyway- yay Grant!
Coolest Model Ever
We're going to have to make some sugar cube castles this summer- take a look at this (not made with sugar cubes)
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
New Calling
Today I was called, sustained, and set apart as the ward Executive Secretary in a brand new bishopric. Our new bishop, Bishop Huff had been trying to sell their house and downsize since all their kids are out of the house. But they were impressed that they needed to stay and shortly afterwards I understand, he was called to be the bishop (about a month ago). He has been serving as stake executive secretary. I think he was in the Air Force for awhile (stationed in Greenland!), left the service here and now works at the FAA. I think that's right.
Bro. Pratt, his first counselor, was the man we called when we were trying to get a feel for the area. We just called a number we found on a ward website for the area. He gave us some good info and sounded nice. They've lived here quite a while but are from Utah and California. Boundaries had changed since the site was updated so we moved into his ward and he's been a great friend. They have kids in primary and young men's and a daughter in college I think. He has been serving as our temple service coordinator (every month we have a session where we stay and clean the temple afterwards).
Bro. Dobson, the second counselor, is our home teacher and is a wonderful man. He lived and worked in Wyoming on his ranch and in the oil business and had retired in the home they had built themselves when he and his wife felt strongly they needed to move somewhere. He looked at some jobs in the oil industry and when they looked at the Oklahoma option felt strongly that they should come here. They've been here for about a year longer than we have and he has been serving as the Ward Mission Leader.
And I'm the executive secretary. As we were set apart, I thought about how the Lord had brought this group of men together from many places to serve in one corner of his vineyard. It's like that for each of us even if He didn't have to make such dramatic changes to get us there. We're called to serve where He needs us.
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