Fishing Trip!

Devree's Recital

 Austin and Alex giving me a "pretty" pose with Devree's flowers:

Devree was recognized by her dance teacher and given flowers because she is graduating to Murray High's drill team next year.

Our Fishing Date!

James fished and I read my Kindle.....

Next time I hope the wind stops blowing, and James hopes he'll catch a fish!

Rylee's Recital

Grandma & Grandpa Johnson

This is my Grandpa and Grandma Johnson

(My Dad's parents)

with my Aunt Beverly.

I stole this off of Facebook.

(My aunt shared it)

And I just wanted to have it in my blog because I love those people. 

And I miss them.

(Well, not my Aunt. She's my facebook friend and very much alive and well.)

Love you Aunt Bev!

April Picture Catch Up & Update!

Kambree with some crazy prophet doll that called people to repentance:

Devree and Kambree "holding " the priesthood.

(Standing outside in line at Leatherby's where we met the boys after Priesthood Session.)

Austin and his new lunch box:

Misc pictures of Dev & Ry:

Rylee preparing "Roast Beast" Take note of the cookbook:

Rylee's Dance Preview:

Austin and Hayden after going to the festival of colors. 

And my cute girls:

No idea.....

Kambree taking Moby back to Snow to move home:

Devree makes drill team!

Devee getting announced at Spartonian Showcase:

UPDATE

Kambree moved home today!
(This is how her room looked this morning)

Hurray!!
This mother hen loves having all her chicks in one coop.

She also found out she made Badgeretts (Drill team for Snow College) this morning!!
Woot!
(Yes, that's right. TWO girls on TWO drill teams next year.)
She got a small scholarship for next year but hasn't heard back about her academic scholarship. Crossing our fingers for full tuition.

She is desperately looking for a job and hopefully find the floor in her room as I type!

Austin is heavily involved/participating/plotting and planning "Senior Splash" which sounds like a nice day at the pool right? WRONG! It's a water fight competition. Each Murray High Senior that chooses to participates (this is NOT school sponsored) pays $2 and it's all out water warfare with everyone else that is participating. Each participant gets a ticket and if you get someone at least 50% wet - you get their ticket.  Winner gets the pot!
Austin was leading with 3 "kills" earlier this week. He and his pack (yes - they form alliances - just like in Hunger Games) get together each night and stalk or are stalked by other seniors. He carries an extinguisher (filled with compressed water) with him EVERYWHERE. The other day he and his "pack" were on my ROOF - trying to figure out how to throw buckets of water and unsuspecting enemies?
Good grief!
If he put as much effort into applying for jobs and scholarships - we would be set!
He IS graduating from seminary! (He had to make up a year of work but he did that all on his own) And we THINK he is graduating with his class June 1st. (He still has some detention sessions to attend but assures me that it will be taken care of.)
He DID register for classes at Snow and applied for two small scholarships.
Now....he just needs a job!
And for this insane water war to end!

Devree started drill practice and is loving it!! You should see how cute their hip-hop number is. She dances so hard that yesterday she walked in the house and her leg just gave out. Like her quad was just so over tired that she collapsed?  She started laughing. "Mom have you ever worked your muscle so much that it refused to work?" I was a tad worried but she practiced her song at least four more times that night and then went to dance class without incident. 

I hope she continues to love drill as much as she does right now.
She is getting another 4.0 this term - she counts on that and spends her $100 before  grades even come out.
She is begging to drive EVERYWHERE. It drives me crazy because we're always in a hurry and I just want to drive - and not have to adjust my mirrors and seat after she takes the wheel.  I will be glad when she gets her license at the END OF JULY! Until then - lot's of carpools for drill.

Alex and I are arguing over his length of hair.  (This is a terrible picture of Alex with a magnified head - but you can see how HUGE his hair is!) I am okay with long hair with a style. Not a mop. Its so long now you almost can't see his cute eyes. I think once summer hits he'll be so over heated that he'll WANT to get it cut off - his tolerance for heat is very low - he's always complaining about being too hot. Don't doubt that I won't be blaming his over heated issues on his over grown hair!

He's doing pretty well in school. This week was CRT testing and he felt pretty good about everything. 

He and Rylee are taking a fishing class at our local Willow Pond. Last week was the first class and it was cute to see him look out for Rylee and help her with her pole. ( I will have to get a picture of them next week!)
He is struggling with matching his clothes these days and remembering basic things like DON'T RING THE DOORBELL - just go through the garage and use the code. Seems like with Alex we just keep repeating the same lessons over and over. "Stripes don't go with plaid." "Before you leave for school brush your teeth." "Don't ring the doorbell!"
Sometimes I'm patient.
"Honey, stripes don't go with plaids. Please go change."
Eye roll and stomp upstairs - that would be Alex.
Sometimes I am not patient.
 "Don't ring the damn doorbell"
Eye roll and stomp away - that would be me!

Rylee is just turning into a young woman right before our eyes. She's taller than Alex and always mistaken for being older. (Which really wounds Alex's Ukrainian pride.)

She is so ready for junior high.  And I am so ready for 6th grade drama to be over.
She's been taking a debate class after school once a week and enjoys it about 1/2 the time.
The other 1/2 the time she hates it.

Her dance recital is on Monday and she'll be trying out for the next level dance class (Starlet's) the following week. I don't doubt she'll make it.
(Something tells me my drill mom days are long from being over soon?)

We've had a lot of "lasts" this year with Rylee. My last time telling stories at Halloween as a witch at the elementary, our last Valentines Day Box - which actually is a happy thought - our last Parent Teacher Conference and I'm on the committee to help plan the last 6th grade party and promotion I ever have to help with.
It's sad to say goodbye to Viewmont Elementary - I've had children in there for the last 15 years and spent 7 years there myself - but we're ready. Rylee's ready and I have to admit, I'm ready. I am becoming an old mom. (Kambree once called an older looking mom a "Grandma-Mom" when she was in kindergarten - that's what I am starting to feel/look like, a  Grandma-Mom.)
It's time to move on.....

Well? Summer is almost here. For Kambree it is here.
I will savor this last month of quiet days to myself because after that I only get quite mornings - since no one gets out of bed until I rouse them at ten am!

Here's to summer jobs, dance recitals, drill practice and water fights.
May we all find some, make it through some and not kill anyone while doing the others!

My Pity Post

Well? We're suppose to be in Washington DC. 

James and I. 

But we're not.

We're home.
I mowed the lawn, started six loads of laundry, took Kambree's car in for inspection, went to lunch with James, balanced the check book, yelled at Alex for ringing the doorbell when the door was unlocked (He's been told a bazillion times to come through the garage if the door is locked but instead stands on the porch dinging and making the dog bark which grates on my nerves and especially so today because the dang door was unlocked!!) helped Alex with his English studies, Austin with a scholarship application and I've got enchilada sauce simmering - waiting for me to finish making dinner and tonight I will proceed to finish laundry, and shuffle kids to and fro. 

I would really like to be in DC right now. 

Our first flight (SLC to JFK) had four open seats and we were #24 & #25. Not good odds so I tried a different route the next day (SLC LGB IAD)getting us in to IAD six hours later. We probably would have made it (25 open seats and we were #31 & #32. I know my friends buddy pass made it and he was #35) but James nixed the trip because he felt one full day wasn't enough.
Which is probably true.

But in my mind it's not just one full day....

It's THREE days. 

One to get there, one to enjoy DC and one to get back.

Which translates into THREE days of NOT doing all the things I mentioned above. 

Except reading, eating out, holding James hand, reading some more and talking to him without interruption.

Oh, and snacks. Airplane snacks....all I want to eat while I'm....reading!!

(((Sigh)))