The Smell of Chlorine

 

A while ago, Christina had gone to a fun "swim" day with her friend Olivia. She had a great time. The Sparks Piranhas were trying to get some new recruits.

 

I wrote an email saying we were interested in trying out. On their website it said to expect a few weeks for a response. The day after, I received an email saying to come this Saturday for try out.

We were very excited. We needed a cap and goggles so we headed to Scheels. They had this swimsuit on sale too! Christina was super prepared and ready to go.

She looks like she was born for the Olympics.

Speedo!!!!!!!!!!

 

She had a wonderful try out. Her backstroke was nice and smooth. Her freestyle was quick. She struggled with the butterfly stroke... who doesn't? But overall, it was just great to see her going up and down the length of the pool. There were 4 kids who tried out and she gave Christina the news last. The coach got down on her knees and I was ready to have a panic attack... I knew not making it wouldn't be a big deal, but we just had the play fiasco and I wanted her desperately to have good news.

 

Yaya, Papa, Joe, Maria, Eli and I were all silently cheering for her.

 

The coach said, "The day I met you I knew I wanted to have you on our team!" She put her in the yellow level with her friend Olivia who's been swimming for a year. She's going to have some extra practices on Saturday mornings to work on her Butterfly stroke and Breastroke.

 

Christina was flying through the water. I was so proud of her. Swimming is such a great sport. It encourages you to do your best, it's fun and it's a lot of work!! We start next Monday and practices will be 4 days a week, plus Saturdays for now.

 

I wanted to mention Coach too. She's a Japanese woman, in her 50's and was the friendliest person ever. She spoke kindly to Christina, asked Maria questions, joked, talked about how she's in the water with them.... she was supportive, enthusiastic but business at the same time. We were watching the rest of the team practice and it brought back a lot of memories.

 

I'm hoping that swimming will be a pleasure for her and something that Christina enjoys thoroughly.

She's very excited.

Quote, "We have the best grandparents EVER!"

Yesterday Joe and I went on a date. I can't do late night things anymore because let's face it, I'm in my 30's. It's all downhill from here energy wise.

We dropped the kids off at my folk's house and everyone was thrilled. The kids were excited and happy and I remarked to Joe how nice it is to leave them and have no worries.

Joe had to do a few things at work for an hour, so I roamed the library at UNR. Wow. WOW! It was beautiful. I checked out the elementary education selection and there were tons of books. I ended up reading/skimming a book about helping struggling readers. It's funny because it was a recently published book with all the things I was taught at BYU 10 years ago. At BYU they encouraged us to find our own philosophies in the teaching of reading to children. My approach was always a whole literature way. You immerse children in books, read to them constantly, build their vocabulary and then when they are ready, they read and they read quickly. You have modeled fluency for so long that it becomes second nature to them. The book I read talked about how in our country Kindergarten teachers are so obsessed with phonics that it's leading to more problems. Many 5 year olds have views on "rules" as absolute. The problem with English is there are always going to be exceptions to the rule, hence the problem of always sounding it out.

It was a good reminder that reading is a process of the mind. You can look at a child and figure out some of the methods they use to process the reading skill- sounding out, self correction, looking to adult for confirmation, using the first letter to guess a word and then have to roll with it. Over and over the book talked about "practice". It really was a great way to spend an hour alone. Plus I got to see a fantastic art exhibit all about gambling and show girls. Our state is crazy!!

We headed to our Greek restaurant with our last coupon. $45 worth of food and $25 off. $21 total for dolmades (lemon rice stuffed grape leaves), prawns, greek salad, pita bread with a delicious fire roasted tomato dip... by this point I was stuffed.... then our gyro plates. Huge portion of meat with a saffron rice, grilled vegetables and a delicious tsaziki sauce. I was so sad because I really could only eat a little of my meat, I was so full! Joe to my delight finished mine off though so it wouldn't go to waste. We talked for quite awhile about his new goal of eating a 10 pound pizza at Pizza Plus. It's turned into a little event with his students.

We went to see a movie, Wolverine. (We wanted to see Star Trek but didn't have cash) Very action packed and I had to avert my eyes quite a few times. I just can't do gore and blood anymore. The ending was awesome, after the credits. Overall, good time! The next movie is Percy Jackson Sea of Monsters... the girls watch the preview at least 4-20 times daily. And the last movie for the year is Catching Fire.

When we came home (6 hours later) the kids were just finishing up a buffet type dinner. Ribs, spaghetti, salad, a wide assortment of beverages, bread.... you name it! Christina learned a baseball game on the Wii and loved it! They went on a coin hunt and ended with a free for all at Yaya's jewelry box. The girls were so excited in the car telling the story of each piece of jewelry.

Papa helped Eli take a good nap. They held hands and walked down the hallway. Eli knew Papa was right by him and slept peacefully.

Yaya suggested a scavenger hunt outside to find birds, squirrels and other things. Maria took her very seriously and was out looking for everything.... only thing we didn't find was a lizard. It was fun to see them running, especially the little pitter patter of Eli's feet.

They played in the sandbox when it was cool enough outside and we all enjoyed the view. They have a great backyard. When we went home the girls were whispering, "We have the best grandparents EVER." Even Eli chimed in when I was putting him to bed. I asked him if he liked playing in the sand and he said, "Papa Yaya fun."

Thanks for such a great day everyone!!! Especially Heavenly Father!!

Another day in paradise.....

This morning I decided we needed to just get out. We listened to some reggae, relaxed and just had another amazing day together. Gotta love summer!

 

 

 

11:30 - 5:00

The only way the hours of the day should be spent!!!

 

Sometimes Motherhood is hard.....

Today can be symbolized by this creepy statue. I woke up early around 5:30 and enjoyed the morning air. My backyard was like the garden of Eden and as I watched the clouds, it was just nice to not be so freaking stifling hot.

I think the hardest thing about being a mother is seeing your children suffer. We have been looking forward to the artown play since the beginning of the month. We read The Secret Garden and the girls loved it. The audition started off with the director saying that everyone would have a part as long as they were well behaved. The audition was great. All the children did fabulous.

2 hours later. The church's air conditioning isn't working so grand and the director stands up and says, unfortunately, they "miscounted". Not everyone would get a part.

Well, guess who didn't get a part. Christina.

She was in tears and so sad. Her little friends had come and they got a part and so did Maria.

12 kiddos got cut. 4 of them were acquaintances. We're artown homies and their moms were super pissed. I don't blame them. So am I. Maria was really gracious. I asked if she minded that we don't do the play because Christina didn't get a part and she said, "Not at all! I didn't even get what my part was supposed to be."

We're happy for all the children that got parts. But I just don't understand what happened.

I wish I could wrap Christina up and protect her from disappointment. She's handling it better than I am. She wants to call up my homies and do our own play... which she has volunteered to write. I want to cuss at someone.

I guess the fact of the matter is, that things happen in life. Whatever doesn't kill us, makes us stronger. Insert air quotes. "" I just wish that I could take away all her pain. Motherhood is hard in that sometimes we have no control. We want the best for our kids, and sometimes we can't get it.

Artown Face Painting

 

Face Painting 2013!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was 100 degrees outside with no shade, but fortunately we were only there 20 minutes. Well worth it!! Our requests this year were horses and tigers.

 

VSA Free Art Day

 

We love free art day. 8 art projects. Hands on creativity.

It's a staple.

 

My favorites this time around were the cityscapes and marble art.

The girls really loved the clay. Christina made a great giraffe and dolphin which she painted.

 

 

 

It was nice to have Amyra and the gang. Maria is in heaven whenever her best friend is near. We also had Emily and her kids there. It's been a while since we've seen everyone. How these sweet kiddos grow!!

 

 



4 Years.....

 

4 years.

I don't want to say "He would have been 4 years old" because that doesn't feel right.

As hard as it is to say, he's not supposed to be 4 years old.

He's right where he needs to be.

It's not hard to say that Heavenly Father knows best.

It's just hard that I have to be temporarily parted from a piece of my heart.

 

I was trying to think of any memories I've had of him that I haven't written down. All I could think of is the blessing that I got to see him smile. What a miracle. What a privilege.

 

I was thinking of how young the girls were and how much they loved to bath him. How they would even push each other to be the closest to him.

 

He reminds me so much of Elijah. So peaceful and wonderful.

 

I am the most blessed woman in the world. It's very undeserved, but much appreciated.

 

Christina gave a talk in church on Sunday. We got a reminder call in the morning, thank goodness, because she had forgotten. She quickly came up with her talk. It was about families are part of Heavenly Father's plan. How blessed to hear her understanding of exactly what our purpose here on earth is. We are here to receive bodies. We are here to be tested. We are here to have joy.

 

I'm grateful the eyes of my understanding were opened. That through the death of my sweet child, I was able to see things.

Miracles. Love. Mercy.

 

Not a day goes by that he isn't in my thoughts.

He is part of my soul.

Forever.

 

Today, I'm trying to do things to keep busy. I've written some cards to friends who have recently had great losses. I took the kiddos to Wild Island. I've listened to A Horse With No Name a few times. I had lunch with my mom. She visited the cemetery today and as she was walking to Joe's burial site, the sprinklers turned on. :)

Staycation!!!

It was Joe's last night of vacation. He had 2 weeks off and the last week we were all feeling pretty sick. Eli and Joe had all sorts of fun things coming out their noses. Joe decided to whisk us away... for a staycation!!! Watch out Peppermill, here we come!!

 

The highlight of the stay can be summed up with 3 words: Food and Swimming!!!

Oh the wretchedness of being a Peppermill lifeguard!!

They had 3 large pools, one with a waterfall. 3 or 4 hot tubs. And all the temperatures of the pools were awesome. There were kids to play with but it wasn't super crowded.

The sandwiches here are AH-MAZING!!

 

The room was a little small. We got a HUGE discount and I thought it was acceptable for the price we paid. However, at the normal rate it would be outrageous. Plus we found underwear under the sink.

Ew, Reno. Ew.

 

When I was little and when Joe and I were first married my Nono and Yaya used to take us to the Peppermill almost weekly. My grandfather used to cut in front of people to pay, all with an elegant ease. He'd tip a dollar. He'd valet his '89 Cadillac and walk through the casino like he owned the place. Scratch that, he did own the place.

 

Going there without him is like movies without popcorn. It's like watching male gymnastics or having KFCruelty for dinner.

Just not quite natural.

 

I honestly don't think we've ever paid for a buffet at the Peppermill. This was a first and I was shocked at the price. The breakfast was mediocre. Long live Atlantis. We had a realization though, we are not buffet people anymore. It's just way too much food.

 

We enjoyed coming home. The smoke and noise of casinos are a bit much. Thanks Joe for the trip and partying with the girls all night long poolside!!

Thank You Reno Savers....

Today we went to the Reno Savers and found a ton of books. Fablehaven... thank you 3,4, &5. And we also completed books 1-16 of The Time Warp trio series. Our library is seriously amazing.
And on that amazing note, we concluded our 9 book series of The Sisters Grimm.

Did we love these books? Yes. Were they especially perfect because the heroines were 2 sisters just a bit older than Christina and Maria? Was Puck quite possibly the best character ever? Yes. Yes. Yes.

These books were pretty great. Definitely a 10 out of 10. Michael Buckley did a fantastic job of weaving fairy tales together and changing them up just enough for you to say, "Aha!!" Thank you wicked Stepmother of Snow White. The books were hilarious with great plots and excellent character development.

Red Riding Hood was psychotic and totally creeptacular in the first few books. Thank you kitty/jabberwocky. Mr.Canis was to be respected. The fairy tale princesses were amazing and way past the dumb blond stereotypes. We dealt with death, revenge, justice, service and some intriguing questions dealing with villains and are they truly villains dependent on their surroundings and circumstances.

But the best part was Puck. Do my girls want to marry him? Yes. And the question really is why? He was absolutely immature and disgusting, yet his sense of humor would make up for everything. My favorite part of the series is when Puck tells Sabrina's dad that he is going to marry his daughter and he looks forward to the traditional duel between son and father in law that's to the death. The ending had a brief, what??? moment total page turner and ended quite nicely. Very neatly packaged and perfect.

Was is overly violent? Nope. Was is scary? Maybe a 4 out 10. Was it clean? Definitely!! I highly recommend this book series. The chapters are pretty lengthy... at least 30 pages a chapter... but definitely worth the read!! I think we went through this series in 1 month. And I wish I knew how to do a German accent, I had to do Granny Relda with a Brittish accent instead.

The Thespians... Artown Begins

This year we are playing it safe with Artown. We're only doing a few things.

This activity happened to turn out fantastic!!! I was a little leery because we've done it twice, first time awesome, second time hell. Third time, thank Heavenly Father, was awesome!!

The girls loved the first station which was acting games. I remember playing all of these games in my Gifted and Talented program. I don't remember GT being all encompassing, mine was specifically for performance. Sigh. Good spastic times.

So handsome!! I do have to mention that Eli has been clapping for us whenever we play the piano. It's so sweet. He'll cheer for us too and say "Yeah mommy!" He really is the best baby!

The second station was visual art, circus elephants. We've done this one before, but Christina said it was her favorite.

And the last station was a music/dance performance. The teacher was great. She needed help and no one volunteered, so I led a group too. A camera man came in and filmed me... fun no make-up times!

 

It was a super hot day. This whole week has been brutal with record high temperatures. Thank Heavenly Father for air conditioning!! With the heat we've also had some pretty hard down pours. It's kind of neat.... except when it leaks into your kitchen!