May 13, 2019

I've got a month's worth of pictures to catch up on.  There will probably be more pictures than words.

When Shelbi was four years old she developed a crossed eye which resulted in years of treatment and eye patching. It wasn't fun. Occasionally I think that I'll see Brynn's eye cross, so just to be safe we took her to an ophthalmologist.  Luckily all was okay.  As an added bonus, she got to wear these cool glasses because she had her eyes dialated.  She didn't love them.

A month or two ago I made some beef enchiladas and was so proud of myself for making extra to put in the freezer for another time.  I wasn't proud of myself today when I cooked them, but forgot to cover them with foil.  Inedible.

No she's not spoiled.  Why do you ask?

Shelbi's induction into the National Honor Society.

The cutest mouse in the whole second grade musical. She played "Baby Mouse."

As part of the Stake Public Affairs committee, we put on a community Easter program sponsored by the Stake.  I was in charge of decorations.  I feel like I've been living and breathing flowers for the last week.

A beautiful night at the middle school.

Egg hunting

A hunting casualty

New Easter dresses and ties

When I look in the mirror I don't see a 41 year old woman.  But I definitely do here.

All ready for Easter dinner with pretty china and bunny napkins folded by Bailey.

Anna and Christoph put down to bed.

Braces look good on him!

Gorgeous girl ready for Prom.

The other girls wanted to dress up too.

Oh dear.

Bailey used to practically live in her dress up clothes.  We pulled them out tonight and she was drawn right to this Anna costume. It probably fits her better now than it ever did.  

Brynn loved having a real, live Anna to act out Frozen with.  Here they're singing along to "Do You Want to Build A Snowman" and sitting sadly outside of Elsa's bedroom door.  It's quite heart-breaking and dramatic.

She's holding a bite of mashed potatoes in her mouth, refusing to swallow.  It's been about 45 minutes.

Feeling the love at Braums, getting ice cream.

Happy Mother's Day to me!

April 7, 2019

  I don't want this to turn into the Brynn Blog. I didn't do very well this week with this goal.

Not Brynn! This was Sydney's choir concert, where she had a solo part, and had to hold a HIGH A for eight counts.  It was awesome.

The return of warm weather means the return of sandy kids and footprints on my wood floors.

It also means this girl is begging to go outside every minute of the day. It's gotten to the point where I've banned the kids from using the O word ("outside") in her presence.

Have I told you what a terrible eater she is?? She plowed through her pinto beans, but when I suggested she eat her oranges, she told me she couldn't reach them.

Hot dogs for dinner on the patio. Super fancy.

 Tennis for Bailey

Treating us to a lovely, loud rendition of Twinkle Star.

March 31, 2019

This week could be titled, "You win some, you lose some."

A win for Erik.  His team won first place in the city Battle of the Books competition.

Ryan's sweet team, trying to put on brave faces knowing they didn't win this year.  They had such high expectations, having won first place two years ago, and second last year.  We're calling this a learning  experience for him, because he seems to win whatever competition he enters.

Jeff and Erik preparing his catapult for its first test shot.  It didn't go well.  Erik decided to compete in the school catapult contest, but didn't leave much time to work on it considering Jeff's work schedule. They were up late the night before the competition, trying to get a successful launch.  The day of the competition, a misunderstanding of the rules meant Erik's catapult didn't work as planned.  He sets his expectations so high in these kinds of competitions, and then gets so upset when things don't turn out as he hoped.  I had to remind him that this was for fun and that nobody made him sign up for it.

Shelbi was in Odessa Friday and Saturday for the district UIL competitions.  She and her team competed in Number Sense (basically solving math problems in your head), Science, and Mathematics.  She got third in Number Sense, second in Chemistry, fifth in overall Science, and Second in Mathematics.  Her team took first in all events.  She did better than she had hoped and is off to Arlington in a couple of weeks to compete at the regional level.  Definitely a win!

A friendly game of Tenzi before church.  Not sure who won.

Erik is hoping to try out for the 7th grade basketball team next year, but realizes that he's got some practicing to do to be ready.  Without a hoop at our house, all he and Ryan can do is dribble and try to steal the ball from one another.

Brynn, happy as a clam playing in my empty bathtub as I did my hair and makeup.  Eventually that doll ended up with the washcloth draped over its head, making a very spooky ghost.  She's obsessed with "ghosties" these days.

And now, the most important win of the week...

Duke's loss meant I was the big winner of the family bracket contest this year.  

Erik was oh-so-close to winning this year.