Kindergarten

Scarlet really had the best Kindergarten experience.  I was so afraid to have a child in the Clark County School System, but I am very happy with her Charter School.  She was challenged, they did a lot of fun things with the kids, she made some great friends and had some great experiences.  

Sadly, she does not have a great kindergarten mom that does a great job capturing all of those great moments... so this will be way too much writing and not nearly enough pictures.

Scarlet auditioned for the school's first musical and got a main part!  She did a fantastic job memorizing her song and performed it with supreme gusto (I'm told, I wasn't there) and also remembered all of her lines.  Unfortunately, her nerves kicked in as rehearsals started and she had a few days of not doing her part.  After some very frustrating conversations with her, I realized her big problem is she didn't really like her character.  She didn't really get that it was a big deal to be a main part and that is what people wanted.  Her character was sad most of the play and didn't get to sing any of the fun, dancing songs that the ensemble got to sing.  

So I swallowed my pride and pulled her from the part.  She did a great job as a werewolf (the play was called We are Monsters) and I tried my hardest not to envy the understudy and wish Scarlet was up there.  I succeeded most of the time... 

I was one of the choreographers for the plays and it was fun to be really involved with the school and with Scarlet.  

Most of the kids at school now call me Miss Kacey or "Scarlet's mom that helped up with that dance thing."  Unfortunately when you are that busy helping, picture taking goes by the wayside... sorry Scarlet.

Her last project of the year was a science experiment.  I had all intentions of hopping on pinterest and letting Scarlet choose between all of the fabulous ideas floating around there.  But dad got to her first, talked Scarlet through the Hypothesis creating process, and before I knew it, she had come up with a project.

Her question: What is a hummingbirds favorite color?

She thought it was probably red, because her friend Bennett had told her that once, as had the show Max and Ruby.  But she decided to test it out.  She made the birds some nectar.

Gave them some color choices

And then put us all on shifts to watch the feeders 24/7 and record how many birds came and to which color.  We appreciated her willingness to do her own work... to a degree.  And after only a little hinting and one extremely boring 5 minute session staring at bird feeders, she decided measuring the liquid would probably be a better method.

And that is where things didn't go as planned.  We had ZERO hummingbirds!  We get hummingbirds all the time, especially when we have a feeder.  But we were off season or something because there were no birds.  Scarlet and Jon decided to enlist some help, so Grandpa Bert set up the same experiment in Gridley, CA.

Grandpa's feeders were so popular he was having to refill them every other day.  We spent 4th of July with them and the feeders were still up.  We watched hummingbirds zoom back and forth constantly the entire time we were there.

With the combined effort of Grandpa's measurements and Scarlet's measurements, she determined that hummingbirds did seem to favor red over the other colors.  She created this beautiful display board and gave her presentation to the class.

Her presentation was phenomenal, by far her best of the year.  She discussed everything she had done and even came up with details we hadn't even practiced.  Her teacher was so impressed she asked Scarlet to keep her project at school so she could give her presentation to the older classes.

I videoed the entire performance with a smile in my face and happy mom tears in my eyes, and then cried devastated mom tears when the video failed during upload and erased itself off my camera... still stings a little.

It was a pretty busy end of the school year and when they announced on a Monday there was going to be a talent show... I was a tad bit burnt out.  Scarlet really wanted to sing Call Me Maybe with her friends for the show.  I put it in the back of my mind and figured we could think about it in the week or two before auditions.  

Another great kindergarten mom moment, Scarlet didn't have two weeks until auditions, she had two days.  So she showed up on Thursday with absolutely nothing prepared.  Luckily, the school was putting on a few group numbers for the kids who wanted to participate but didn't get something together in time and, as luck would have it, Scarlet was put in the Call Me Maybe group.  Can I tell you how awesome it is to have someone do the talent show work for you?  

I showed up to the performance expecting.... well honestly not much.  But boy was I surprised.  My video is terrible (thankfully someone filmed it well and I have a good DVD copy) but Scarlet was AWESOME!  The number was so cute and Scarlet just sang and danced her little heart out.  It was so fun to watch.  

And before I knew it, it was graduation time.  She sang adorable songs, walked down the row to get her diploma and it was one of those awesome moments to be a mom.

There are the three girls from Homework group 1.  They spent a LOT of time together during the school day, Sofia, Leila, and Scarlet.

And the sweet Ms. Kritzler.  She really is the cutest thing alive.  Scarlet and I love her to death.

Scarlet has spent the summer racing through her 1st grade summer workbook telling me,
"Mom, I already learned this stuff in Kindergarten!" She reads about a chapter book a day, her favorites right now include Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, Junie B. Jones, the Weird School books, and what seems to be a neverending supply of fairy books (animal fairy, dragon fairy, rock fairies... turns out pretty much everything has a fairy).  And now it is the end of July which means 1st grade approaching much, much too quickly...

Oh, Asher

Asher is now talking our ears off.  He is still pretty hard to understand, but his vocabulary is pretty extensive.  He is absorbing like a sponge right now everything he sees around him.  Some good things... a lot of not so good things.  

His favorite show right now is Might Morphin Power Rangers.  Thanks for that one, Jon and Netflix.  He goes around the house hitting ninja poses and singing, "Go go... Wain-gers!"

But, Scarlet has made sure her her feminine influence on the boys in our family is never too far behind. After a morning of Scarlet-chosen girly shows, Asher requested this outfit instead of his usual ninja or Spiderman dress up.

"A pin-cess", he told me.

"Do you look like a princess, Asher?"

"Yes!"

"How does a princess pose for a picture?" I asked.

She has trained him well....

He also has a love for sitting on my lap while I am working on the computer, which has been an extensive amount of time for the past few months.  And he has learned that I am usually working on dances, which he loves to watch.

So the other day, I pulled up an awesome break dancing number from one of my events and Rhode and Asher were enthralled.  They requested to watch it five times in a row before I finally called it good.  At the end of the routine, the dancer does an aerial off the front of the stage onto the audience floor below.  It is really fantastic and Asher and Rhode screamed with delight every time it happened.

Later that same day, I was lounging on the couch while Asher walked down the stairs.  He got about seven steps from the bottom before he turned to me and said, "Mom, I jump."  And before I could respond, he did just that... landed about two steps down from that and tumbled down the rest of the way.  Thank goodness for carpeted stairs...

You could see from his reaction that he was not expecting that result at all.  I have no definitive proof, but I just can't help but think he was attempting his own awesome stage leap.

He attempted the same stunt from about five stairs up the next day before finally consenting to the fact that it was just not going to happen how he imagined it would.

And finally, even his favorite literature is ruining him.  His most requested book these days is called, "I Ain't Gonna Paint No More," about a little boy who can't help but paint himself from head to toe even though his mama told him not to.

He was already the master of mass destruction whenever he could find a marker, but he has decided to avoid the walls and go straight for his own skin.

This was from the day he found a highlighter and, when realizing it would not sufficiently color his arm, proceeded to suck on it.

And soon he will be two...

My Ebay box of awesomeness

Last summer, I found a deal online where you could buy a box of 25 sunglasses online for about $30.  They were a random collection of unsold sunglasses from stores like KMart and CVS Pharmacy.  You didn't know what you were going to get, but being a person who does not really care so much about style and is constantly losing her sunglasses, it was a great deal.

We loved having them.  Jon and I would wear a pair until a kid snapped them for us or they were unwittingly left behind somewhere and then pull out a new pair.  This was a big financial improvement from our early married days when Jon used to think it was okay to spend $50 for one pair of sunglasses, only to then break them at a job site a week later.

But, thanks to our children dipping into the glasses pot as well, we eventually ran out of our supply and I have been checking the same site ever since for a similar deal.  Months and months went by and, nothing.  Summer was fast approaching and we desperately needed some cheap eyewear, so I decided to branch out a little and see what Ebay had to offer.  And it paid off, big time.

I purchased a box of 100 sunglasses for $40.  That is .40 cents a pair people.  The box came and we spent a fun afternoon sorting the pairs into Womens, Mens and Kids styles and none of us will run out any time soon.  There are even a few pairs that fit Asher and almost all of them are Ringo-style circular frames that are worth the $40 all on their own when I can get him to wear them.

And where but in a box of 100 sunglasses would you find awesome shades like these ones?  Worth.  Every. Penny.

Summer Survival Guide

Over our long tenure in Las Vegas, we have learned a few cardinal rules to surviving the summers.

Rule #1 - Always park in the shade whenever possible.  Even if this means a longer walk to your final destination, not getting burned by your seatbelt and steering wheel make it totally worth it.

Rule #2 - Do your best to ignore your electricity bill for a few months.  We can be scrimpy with our heat in the winter if it means turning on your AC without guilt or concern.  The escaping cool breeze when you walk in the door is worth a significant amount of dollars.

Rule #3 - If you are lucky enough to have a friend with a boat, treat that friend VERY VERY WELL!

We take our rules very seriously and when our friends did purchase an amazing boat, we instantly became the best boating buddies known to man.  We are available to come at a moment's notice, we come well stocked with food and water, but avoid anything that could be harmful to the boat interior.  We are fully complicit to all rules involving shoes on the boat, and we are generous with our gas reimbursement.  See, you should invite us on your boat too!

And we have thankfully enjoyed multiple boat outings.

We helped them take the boat out for the first ride of the season this year in early May.  The weather wasn't being totally cooperative and the lake was pretty choppy when we got out there but it was still an awesome time at the lake.

We fit in some wake boarding and some skiing (from Brian and Jon, two of the three women in the boat were pregnant and one had a two months old) and the kids enjoyed some boat cruising.

What's better than a baby that is willing to nap like this?

Our beautiful boat owner, just weeks away from her due date.  We strategized over how to construction a boat bassinet for their new little one...

 And even though the water was just a touch above freezing, my boys had no qualms about jumping in and taking a swim.

This was taken shortly before Brian threw Rhode back flip style into the water.  Brian is the best fill-in Uncle ever.

Thank you again Rosenlofs for the fantastic outings!  You have singlehandedly made living through another Vegas summer that much more bearable.

Girl's Weekend

It was Courtney's last year on the BYU Ballroom team and I wasn't able to make it to even one performance all year!  It was devastating... she only had one performance left before they took off to Blackpool to compete and then tour Europe and I knew I had to be there.  It was not a good time for me to be out of town but there was no doubt in my mind, I was going.  

It was only a few days before I left that I considered bringing Scarlet with me.  She is getting big so fast, I had forgotten for a moment how much fun she is becoming.  It is so great when they make that transition from "more work than fun" to "more fun than work" and Scarlet is really right there.  So, we both hopped in the car and took off to Utah.

We had a great weekend doing some wedding shopping for Courtney and attending a Bridal Shower in her honor.  I hadn't really though about Scarlet being at the shower... and the things she might hear.  I had to answer some interesting questions after the shower, the most difficult one being, "Why did Kylie get Courtney genuine possum fur nipple warmers from New Zealand?"  

Since I am not entirely sure what the true purpose for nipple warmers really is (other than the seemingly obvious reason) and why someone would want their warmers to be made of genuine possum fur, it was a rough one to explain... but totally worth it.  Thank you again for the laugh, Kylie.

Then, we got to go to Courtney's show and see the premiere performance of their Blackpool routine.

Courtney had given us some vague details but I was blown away when the dance began with a beautiful lift sequence involving all of the boys and Courtney!  The dance also ended with her in an amazing lift surrounded by the team.  She was the star of the number and she didn't even tell us beforehand!  I would have been shouting that kind of information from the rooftops....

Scarlet's second cousins, Carolina and Grace came along as well.  Fun fact, Carolina is two years older than Scarlet and Grace is about 7 months older.  They make Scarlet look extremely tall... :)

It made all of the ignored obligations and long car ride totally and completely worth it.  You will always be a star to us Courtney!  Until another sibling does something equally or more impressive that is...

Gardening

Our gardening efforts have not gotten much more exciting over the seasons.  We can usually get some cherry and pear tomatoes, the basil grows pretty well, and everything else just kind of shrivels and dies as it gets hot.  

Last year, Scarlet really wanted to plant an artichoke plan during our spring garden shopping.  I had never actually seen an artichoke grow on a plant so I was game.  Our artichoke plant grew slowly but surely all season long but never looked like anything more than a big weed.  But, it didn't ever die so we just left it alone.

It survived the winter and then, all of a sudden, it was sprouting artichokes like mad!  

We were not really sure when to cut them so our first few were a little young.  We got better and had plenty to practice with.  I am pretty sure at last count we had eaten eight artichokes from our plant.

All three of my kids love artichokes.  I occasionally try to make them fancier, but they prefer the "steam and dip in butter" method.  Why fix what ain't broken?

The craziest thing I have done this year... so far

"So my friend is doing a 100 mile race and he wants me to come run through the night with him as a pacer and I think I want to do it."  

This is the sentence that led to Jon's craziest stunt of the year.

Unfortunately for him and our schedule this spring, his training time for his 25+ run/hike was not sufficient.  So a few days before the race, he expressed his concern at being able to run all night long and then get in a car that morning and drive back safely (Scarlet's dance recital was that afternoon).

"Why don't we just go with you?  I will sleep while you run and drive us back."

And that was my sentence of doom.

We literally decided the night before to make this happen.  The plan was to take off for Bryce Canyon as early as possible, after getting important stuff done like, you know, packing.  Then, we would hike around with the kids, set up our sleeping area, get a fire going, eat some food and then send Jon on his merry way while we got some sleep.  

It was a fine plan and we headed out the door only 30 minutes later than we scheduled, laden with bedding and some food, with plans to pick up more on the way.  And then things started to go badly.  There was the snail traffic trying to get through the canyon to St. George, there was the extremely long lunch break in St. George (but kinda necessary due to how long we had already been in the car).  And then there was the time Asher threw up.  All of these little mishaps led up to a car trip to Cedar City, usually made under 3 hours made in over 5 hours.  And, we hadn't gone to the grocery store yet.  By the time we made the final 2 hour drive up the mountain (we also hadn't calculated how long that would take) we were going to just barely make it in time for Jon to meet his friend and start the race.

So, we found our way to the meeting spot, Jon got all of his warmest running duds on (sun was going down by now and it was getting chilly really quickly) and the kids and I wandered around the forested mountain area and watched the runners come into the checkpoint.

We had only been there about 45 minutes when Garrett came running up the path.  He took a short nourishment break and then they took off up the mountain. 

And it was not until that moment that I realized it was now just me and my three children.  On a mountain.  For the night.

Garrett's girlfriend, Amy, was going to be camping in the area with us and it was nice having another adult around, but since it was someone I barely knew, it wasn't exactly like having a second set of hands.  We hopped in the truck and found our way back to the camping ground.  

I then got to make a fire by myself (my first since my girls camp days) and help my children cook their dinner while also keeping Asher from jumping into the fire pit.

 These are the only pictures we got before it was too dark to see very well.  We had just enough daylight left to cook our hot dogs and scarf down some smores.  By the time we headed back to the truck (we were going to sleep in the truck bed that evening) it was dark and it was COLD.  We found out later it got down to 30 degrees that night.

Luckily, Jon had packed some headlamps so we threw them on and made our way to the bathroom.  The kids then jumped around the front of the truck while I haphazardly tried to put together a bed in the back of the truck with just the light of my little headlamp.  Maybe the cold was slowing down my brain processing, but it took me until this moment to realize that I was about to attempt to sleep outside on a night that was getting colder and colder by myself with my three crazy, not good at sharing sleeping space, frequently have to pee in the middle of the night children.  Not to mention my ever growing belly and constant need to pee myself.

But what was there to do but pile all four of us back there and get as cozy as possible?  We snuggled all in a row, Scarlet on the far end followed by Rhode, Asher and then myself.  We marveled at the amazing amount of stars overhead and tried our hardest to find a shooting star.  We found a few satellites floating by and saw a couple of airplanes.  The cold had one benefit, there was no way any of my children were going to leave the comfort of their blanket/sleeping bag layers for anything.

But it was getting late and they were all still giggly and wide awake and I saw the disaster that was going to be that night looming in the air...

And that is when the camping miracle happened.

Within about 30 seconds of each other, all of my children fell asleep.  Rhode and Scarlet pulled their heads under the blankets to keep their faces warm and I did not hear one peep from them until morning.  Asher also quickly drifted off to sleep but continued to readjust through the night.  He kicked me out of my spot a few times during the night but he did not once wake up.  I definitely didn't sleep as well as they did, but I was always grateful for how much worse it could have been.

Jon arrived at the car at about 4:30 a.m. and he was cold to the bone.  We pulled him into our little truck bed of warmth and layers and it still took about 15 minutes of violent shivering before he was able to warm up enough to sleep.  He told me later that was one of the hardest things he has ever done.  In total, they hiked 30 miles through the night up and down the mountains of Bryce Canyon.  His friend was in such distress, he couldn't actually talk the whole time so Jon kept them going by talking non stop for the entire hike, seeing only what their headlamps could show them of the path ahead.

About an hour later, the sun came up and it was time to hit the road again.  We packed everyone up and were able to make it back to Las Vegas incident free in less than 5 hours total.

For all of the potential disaster, it turned out to be a pretty amazing experience for both of us.  One we will not soon forget... nor tempt again any time soon!