Sara's Shinning Moment

Sara is my spunky, sweet, incredibly talented little eight grade graduate.  She sings, plays the drums, loves ballroom dance, refuses to wear makeup or do her hair unless forced, and made class valedictorian because she has rockin high grades.  The community gave her a scholarship for college at a special awards ceremony.  I didn't even know 8th graders qualified for scholarships.

This fun group of 8th graders had their own ideas about graduation and so No caps and gowns, No crazy long teacher speeches, Yes to a fun jazz band rock number, and walking off stage consisted of the kids dancing their way out the door to a funky rock beat.  

Sara did a great job with her speech that she kept to under 5 minutes.  

 The 8th graders did agree to at least wearing nice clothes and having dinner with their families.  Aunt Karen was excited because for two years in a row she's had the chance to come with us, but this year wasn't nearly as formal or long as last year's ceremonies.  I think it was perfect.  

Loving the modesty as she poses with her valedictorian award.

Not only did the kids play for their jazz performance during graduation, they sang too.  Chad had dared Sara to shout "Animal" during her drum solo, which she did.  So proud! We had a great night.  Thanks Sara for being awesome!

Ballroom Dance 2015

Ballroom dance is becoming a family affair with Joey and cousin Shannon joining the ranks.  I have to admit, its a great way to learn how to dance with a partner, have fun, and make friends.  Plus 90% of the kids go to church with us and so stake dances become really fun when the kids start showing off their moves.

The kids did a great job performing the samba, jive, cha cha, and waltz.

There was even a butterfly, beach and belly button dance.  

The big and little ones. . . 

Aren't they a cute little bunch. . .

The big kids weren't to thrilled about doing a belly button dance with glow sticks, but it was cute.

And of course the dance party with all the kids and family members who came to watch.  

The Saguaro Hike of Misery

This picture kind of says it all. . .

What should have been a lovely hike to view the blooming Saguaro cactus ended in misery because of one little thing, GNATS!!!!!

I don't think that I have ever been on a hike where bugs so completely infested us.  While walking we literally had a swarm of Gnats circling and landing on us.  They were in our eyes, hair, flying up our nose and landing on our clothes.  Carlee had to pee and she couldn't even squat down without over 50 gnats landing on her backside every half second.  I was so busy swatting them off her bum, that she couldn't go.  

I think my face says it all.  After a mile and a half of walking around  I said, "I can't do this," grabbed Carlee who was now crying and headed back.  Unfortunately I went the wrong way and ended up needing a stranger to guide me back out to the parking lot.  By the time I arrived, the rest of the family had given up and come back as well.

Beautiful Blooming Saguaros, but not beautiful enough to make it worth the miserable gnats.  Oh well, maybe we can find another place to view them next year.

Benny!!!!

Its not very often that we get a visit from my sister in law Rachel and cousin Ben, so having them come for Beauty and the Beast was a fun surprise.  Carlee LOVES Ben and was able to see what having a little brother for the week would be like.  On one of the days, we took a trip to the zoo, got to ride the train, and made music.  It was AWESOME!

I don't think I saw a happier smile then when Ben was riding the train.

I think some day we may have a cousin band.

Thanks for coming to play Rach!  We had a blast.

Spring Sucker

One of the things I love about the spring is that new life is everywhere.  The plants start to bloom, little fruits and vegetables begin to form in my garden, and baby birds can be seen running across the road following their mama.

This year Sara's friend Kaylee had both a dog that had puppies and a cat that had kitties, so of course we had to go visit the animals.  (Mistake #1)  Baby animals are adorable and even I (who has never been a dog person) found this one little puppy to be absolutely lovable.  She didn't have a name yet, so I named her Midnight. (Mistake #2)  For the next three weeks we went back to visit once a week each time bringing a new friend, sister, or cousin with us to see the baby puppies and kitties.  (Mistake #3) When Kaylee's mom started talking about giving the puppies away, the kids started promising that they would pick up after Midnight, and walk Midnight every day, and train midnight to poop in one part of the yard and stay out of the planter.

So now we have a cat, a dog, and too many fish to count because Jake's fish had babies.
My mom asked me what kind of Suckers she could send me.

Carlee learns facetime

Chad Post:

The other day, while I was at work, my phone began ringing incessantly.  It said that Diana was trying to call me on FaceTime, but I thought that was strange because she never does that.  Every time I went to answer, the call hung up.  Finally on the third try I was able to answer in time and there was Carlee staring down at me.  She had found Diana's iPad plugged into the wall, turned it on and dialed me for FaceTime all on her own.

Carlee: Hi Daddy!!!
Dad: Hi Carlee, what ya doing?
Carlee: I'm going to go to Disneyland and go on the Ariel ride....
Dad: That sounds fun (Carlee was at home, but is always making plans to go back to Disneyland)
Carlee: Don't go anywhere dad, I'll be right back, don't leave, I'll be right back, I promise...

She left, so I waited a few seconds and then decided to call Diana on her phone after I could hear Carlee trying to convince her to stop teaching Rebecca and come see me on the iPad.   Before I could dial Diana's cell number,  Carlee called back on FaceTime, but this time my wife was with her.  After a brief conversation she was able to convince Carlee to say goodbye and let me get back to seeing my patients.

Carlee impressed the Nurse Practitioners in the room who couldn't believe that my 3 year old knew how to located the Face Time app and call me.   To be honest, I didn't know she knew how to do it either, but I wasn't about to let them know that.  It was an adorable moment during a rather busy, hectic day.

Beauty and the Beast

There is nothing quite like devoting your time and energy into something really amazing that allows your kids to do what they enjoy doing.  I imagine its the same for moms or dads who coach soccer and watch their kids excel at something they also enjoy.  For me, watching my kids sing and dance and learn how to put on a great show has been incredibly rewarding.  The added bonus is that by volunteering through the school system, my nieces and nephews are also involved.

This year we decided to take on Beauty and the Beast.  I had no idea when we began how much more difficult this show would be.  Last year we worked with 24 kids and 4 little ones who played horses.  Most of the music in Cinderella was straight forward and within a reasonable range.  Beauty and the Beast was a whole different ball of wax.  We had to choreograph the entire show (because the ideas sent to us in the show kit were not to our liking).   The vocal range for the leads was all over the place and there were three part vocal harmonies, which is hard to teach 8-14 year olds. Add the fact that rehearsal was only one day a week, there were 16 scenes, 41 kids, and only 30 rehearsals before the show hit the stage. . . I thought we'd never pull it off, but we did and it was AWESOME!!!

We had confetti cannons, incredible costumes, and for zero budget put on a really great show.

In the end, the kids had a great time, my sister Cindy and I did something we didn't think possible, and the audience was impressed.

I can't wait to do it all over again next year when we follow the yellow brick road. . . .