We love to rock out!

One of our favorite things to do at our house is crank up some music and dance.  Lately, Will and Ellie have been asking for guitars - Will wants one that looks like a vampire at the end (he's been watching Uncle Ryan play Guitar Hero which has one that looks like that) and Ellie just wants to be able to rock out.  So yesterday, in addition to the dancing around the room and singing at the top of our lungs, the kids added some rockin' air guitar.  Enjoy!

Bowling with the Packers

When the Packers were down for their spring break, we decided it would be too much fun to take the kids bowling - we were right.  As you may know from this post we enjoy bowling, and the Packers do too.  I think Harmony was the adult lane winner, but I can't remember who won among the kids.  

Catie, Jared and Will just hanging out.

Fun at Three Peaks

For the last two years that we have made it out to Three Peaks for a FHE about mid-April.  We go with my family and whatever siblings can make it.  This year was just a fun, climbing on rocks and exploring.  Granted the wind was a bit of a pain, but that's the joys of spring in Cedar.

Will and Sheila were having a blast exploring.

The girls enjoyed the climbing just as much.

           

Sure it's rocks and sage brush, but in the right light, it's very beautiful.

Adventures of a tall woman

I have spent my life with people asking me if it bothers my husband that I'm taller than him.  I just want to look at them and ask, "If it bothered him, do you think he would have still proposed? Do you really think we would be in a successful relationship if every time he saw me standing up, he felt annoyed?"  (Those of you who know me and Enoch know that barefooted, I think the difference is an inch to an inch and a half - I've often wondered what kind of grief people with a greater difference experience)

I remember when I was in high school, it really bothered me to be taller than guys I was dating (okay, not really dating, I didn't really date anyone in high school except for the last six weeks) but I was never bothered being taller than guys who were just friends.  And in the ward I lived in, the shortest girl my age was 5'9" so I really didn't have many really short friends or notice that I was extraordinarily tall.  

I loved college, because the guys there had enough confidence in themselves to ask me out on a date once every other blue moon, but the people who were setting me up on dates assumed that because I was tall and their friend was tall, we must be compatible (incidentally I just had a conversation with a great single friend of mine who said that she is having that problem with people setting her up on dates with guys because they are over 30 and single.  I guess this is the point when I can say that compatibility isn't based on height, availability or age...) I think that getting set up on these dates made me more self-conscious of my height because that was what I was hearing I needed to be looking for.  Then I met Enoch (or rather rediscovered since we have known each other since he was 8)

I think Enoch and I had been "not-dating" (story for another time) for a couple of months before I really realized that I was taller than him.  It just wasn't something I thought about, I was too busy having the time of my life with him.  It was when people discovered we were dating that the questions started being asked of him - not of me about dating someone shorter than me, but him, because how awkward it must be to be around a taller girl.  He took it in stride, just like he does with most things, but it started to bother me and I wondered if all the questioning would make him have a change of heart about me.  Then we picked a wedding date, bought a car, got engaged (yeah, in that order) and married, and the rest is history.

Yes, I still wear heels.  No, I don't care.  And no, neither does he.  

You may wonder what triggered this trip down memory lane.  There was a portion of The Today Show that I heard about from my co-worker and fellow tall female friend Erin, who has a tall female twin that outlined the prejudices our society has against people of certain genders and "acceptable" heights that got me thinking.  I can't link to the clip right now - my school server blocks YouTube, but you can read a bit of the woman's experience here.

The point of this post?  Embrace who you are, who you love and disregard what "society" tells you you need to do to be happy!  

Will's Birthday Post

Yea, this one is late too - in case you missed it, here is Ellie's birthday post.  But I finally broke down and brought my camera to school so that I can upload the pictures with a computer that doesn't freeze halfway through the process.

For Will's birthday, he wanted to go 

bowling.This is somethign that we have enjoyed as a family and usually go a couple of time a year. This year, Will tried it without the little ramp that is available for little kids, and figured that if he got a running start, he could get the ball going fast enough to have some success.  Pictures can't quite captivate how this looked, but with a little imagination, you may get the general idea.

  

Will has thus far been the most inventive with his cakes, and this year he wanted a spiderweb cake with his name in it but not in a way that was easy to see - he wanted people to be tricked by where his name was.  So I had one of my students who has amazing artistry skills sketch how she thought it would work and then I did my best to make it work in icing. 

Will's birthday was a success, full of him getting his desk that he has wanted for three years (yes, he just turned 7) and Legos.   

You can see in this picture that even at 17, my little brother still thinks Legos are worthwhile - I don' t think that is something boys ever out grow (and probably not many girls either) 

Brain Ellie-ism

Ellie's new thing lately is telling me that she can or can't do something because her brain tells her so.  Here are a few examples.

When asking for another glass of milk, but me offering her water "Mom, my brain says I need to have two glasses of milk then I can have water."

On eating five more bites for dinner- "My brain says I can only eat three bites"

On bathtime "My brain says I'm already clean"

After being encouraged to take a nap to fight off her current cold "Mom, my brain says I'm not tired."

And so goes the joy with Ellie's brain at my house. :)

"I wanted to kill you"

I have just started reading The Chosen by Chaim Potok, pondering it for a novel I may teach next year, and while I'm not far in it, I was struck by a passage when the two main characters are trying to live their religion and engage in a diplomatic conversation despite the fact that both of them are livid with the thought of being around each other.  I have been pondering when Danny tells Reuven that he wanted to kill him, and explained that if he imagined himself walking up to him and beating open his head with the baseball bat. 

I think the reason that I was struck by this is because even though these two individuals were following what they were supposed to do, they didn't want to be with the other.  We live in a society now where, when people are not happy with another, all we can do is yell at each other, bad mouth them to everyone we know, and spend all sorts of time trying to destroy their name. 

I guess this is especially close to my heart right now because I'm watching Enoch go through a situation with someone who was really a good friend, but has made some decisions that makes him go very somber whenever we talk about it, and for those of you who know Enoch, somber is not a state of being that is familiar to him.  He has had to answer calls and offer explanations for this person's actions and decisions that he didn't know were being made to individuals who are his work associates.  But the thing is, with the exception of those who are directly involved, Enoch has not said a word about it to anyone else.  He has kept his feelings of extreme frustration and hurt over the betraying actions of his friend who professes to be practicing something he is not, but Enoch has the character and will power to keep this to himself.   

I sure admire his integrity.  

Ellie's Birthday

This post is a little late, as Ellie's birthday was March 27th, but sometimes life and stupid computers make it difficult to post when desired. 

Ellie is in her Strawberry Shortcake phase in full force, so this year everythign was Strawberry Shortcake, both the character and the dessert. This year we let the kids pick what they wanted to do that was fun instead of throwing friend parties, and Ellie wanted to eat at IHOP. 

Granted, we had just been there for Catie's birthday, but that was what she wanted to do. My sister, Roni, met us there as well as Grandpa Keith and we had oh so much fun. Then we went to Grandma Decker's house to have yummy dessert.

I love to laugh

I have had a long month, with three birthdays, Easter, end of the third quarter (with tons of grading), SEOP's, St. Patrick's day and I recently decided that now that the intense craziness had subsided, I needed to look at what I want out of life because I hate reacting to my life - I would rather be the one creating my life.  

As is the case when I get busy, my patience for the quirky and funny diminishes and I enter serious-land.  I hate this.  So today I was searching for a lovely jump back to the hilarious and a bit off and came across my favorite lady for this type of subject, the one and only Mary Ellen Edmunds. Every time I read her writing, I can't help but full out belly laugh out loud and I found just what I needed.  

"I heard that if you want or need to laugh and you don’t—if you suppress laughter—it goes to your hips and spreads out."

I figured that the stress of my life was keeping me from losing the weight I want to lose, and it is high time I just chill. I just found out yesterday that I get to teach Juniors next year (so excited) but that means that I have lots of work ahead of me in preparation and my kids want to play ball and have fun.  Basically, I'm just making sure that I keep my priorities in check and lighten up just a little - it's the only chance I have to live today, and if it goes bad, it would be better to laugh it off and move on to tomorrow.  

(if you are interested in the rest of the talk by Mary Ellen Edmunds, you can find it here)