More Sewing with Stacy

The diaper bag that I received at St. Alphonsus when Hyrum was born has served its purpose. The black vinyl was starting to tear from our use of it as Sunday bag. I guess we filled it with too many heavy books.

Ryan suggested that we get another one to replace it. I saw potential. The handle was in great condition and so was the front pocket with a zipper. I cut those items off the bag and then went to the fabric store. I saw some really cute pink fabric, but seeing as I want Ryan to carry it as well, I went for this cool stripe that Stacy pointed out. Then came the sewing. It took about 3.5 hours start to finish, with a few interruptions from children. Then the Enfamil badge totally looked out of place, so I asked Stacy to make a tag for me with her Embroidery machine. 10 COW. She scoured the web for a jersey cow, and found this one. I hand stitched "ten" above it. I think my new tag is a winner. I think I may have more made up so I can put them on lots of items I sew.

Beautiful Idaho

I must admit that before I moved to Boise, I thought there was no beautiful scenery in Idaho. I acquired this bias during my formative years when I had only been along the I-15 corridor, mostly visiting cousins in Malad, ID (which is about 13 miles from the border with Utah). I now freely admit, I was wrong!

It is now my quest to find and photograph all things beautiful in Idaho. Here are several of the most recent:
Last Tuesday, a rainstorm passed through our valley. Just about bedtime, the clouds broke and we got to see a double rainbow, right in our back yard! The kids (at least Sabrina and Roderic) really liked seeing it.


In their PJs, but I still let them go outside to see the rainbows and take their pictures.

Stacy told me on Friday that the US Army Corps of Engineers was letting water out of Lucky Peak Reservoir this weekend, out of a side chute of the dam that makes a "Rooster Tail." I convinced Ryan that we should take a bike ride to go see it. In the May issue of Treasure Valley Family Magazine, there was an article of kid-friendly hikes and bike rides. It included a 4.6 mile round trip bike ride, Boise Dam tour, starting at Diversion Dam and going to Lucky Peak Dam. We just needed a truck to transport our bikes and trailer down there. It would have been no trouble to ride our bikes down there, just adding a couple of miles, but, we would have had to ride our bikes back up the hill to our neighborhood. I called Stacy to borrow their truck. She said yes. About 20 minutes later, she called back to see if their family could come along; meaning her and Doug and their 5 girls along with Doug's brother, wife and 2 sons. Sure, no problem. Then about 5 minutes later she called again to have me help her find another bike trailer to borrow because when she called to borrow her neighbor's, she ended up inviting them to come with us as well (2 more adults and 3 children). I found another bike trailer and about 45 minutes later, we were on our way. And quite a train we made. 4 bikes pulling trailers (with a total of 7 children), 1 bike with a tag-a-long bike, 1 bike with training wheels, 4 kids bikes and 3 parents pulling no-one. It was so fun!

Here is a part of the train. And me with our kids at the "rooster tail."

Last spring, Ryan went on a hike with the scouts to Jump Creek Canyon. After showing the pictures to Sabrina on Saturday, she was sold! On Memorial Day he took us to hike there. We saw a lot of poison ivy. I don't think I've ever seen it in person before. It really made the canyon look lush and green. The hike was really swift. 1 mile round-trip. Roderic liked that we got to ford the creek (and throw lots of rocks in it) while hiking. It was a popular place to hike yesterday. Some of the people were quite annoying. Hyrum liked being carried in the back pack, which is a good thing, since we're planning a backpacking trip in August. He absolutely loved throwing rocks in the pool at the base of the waterfall with Roderic. It was hard to get them to stop for the picture. Ryan said that Hyrum clutched a rock the whole time we were hiking. What a rock hound we have! This hike was the perfect length for Roderic, he never asked to be carried! And he loved climbing up the rocks around the waterfall pool. Sabrina was a great sport. And very cautious about the poison ivy.

Baa!

Sabrina's school had a Wild Western Carnival last Friday. Ryan, as assistant Scoutmaster, went camping to Bruneau Dunes with the Boy Scouts, so I took the kids myself. We spent $20 on food, rides and games and had a blast! (Especially after meeting up with the Smith's.) I think the wanted poster of them there is absolutely adorable; the seriousness of Sabrina and Roderic, Hyrum crying, Roderic hugging them both. At the carnival there was a "train" ride, multiple bounce house toys, climbing wall, pony rides, bike rodeo and a petting zoo. The kids liked looking at the camel and zeebra and petting the goats (watching 2 of them fight as well). Apparently Hyrum picked up that animals say "baa."

When our home teachers came on Tuesday, Brother Ricks shared a lesson about tithing based on Elder Sheldon F. Child's talk, The Best Investment, from the most recent General Conference. Elder Child told a story of selling a calf that he had raised and requested that his dad pay him in silver dollars. To keep the kids interested and following along, Brother Ricks asked what a cow says, Roderic & Sabrina replied, "Moo!" and Hyrum said, "Baa!" We all had a good chuckle over that one. (I guess I've got some teaching to do.)

So you think you can dance?

Hyrum got out his boom box that he received for a Christmas present from one of his Vidmar cousins last year and proceeded to push the buttons and dance. Ryan and I thought it was so cute, I ran and got the camera to capture it on film. And he kept doing it! I'm not sure where he learned how to dance, but he sure has style.

Carolina In the Morning

For the people who read my blog, but don't read my sister's, this is what I did to celebrate Mother's Day this past weekend.




My mom's Barbershop Chorus hosted their regional competition last Friday and Saturday and she invited me (and Shanda and our daughters) to sing with her in the family chorus on Saturday night. Sabrina and I learned the tenor part to "Carolina in the Morning." Mom wanted this to be extra special, so I made costumes for us all to wear (she paid for the fabric). Yes, our shirts look a bit country/western. No, that is not what I was going for. Sparkle, Sparkle, Sparkle was my aim.

I had so much fun learning this song and then performing it in front of an audience! It is sad that 4 year old Janica didn't sing and dance in the performance because she was so good in the rehearsal. We learned afterwards that she wanted to stand on the risers, not on the floor. During the rehearsal, she was by far, the LOUDEST singer in the room. And she knew her notes and words. I was having a hard time singing, and not giggling while listening to her the first time through the song. She was SO adorable.

Thanks to Jason for videotaping this for posterity. I had no idea that Sabrina was doing the choreography opposite of the rest of us while we were singing. Did you totally love her playing to the camera when blowing a kiss? Thanks to Shanda for posting it on YouTube, so I could easily get a copy of it.

Have I ever mentioned how much I enjoy singing and listening to Barbershop music? Nothing could be finer...

Sometimes

Music & lyrics by Fred Rogers © 2005 McFeely-Rogers Foundation
Sometimes I don't feel like going to bed
I don't feel like getting right up, sometimes.
Sometimes I don't feel like wearing my shoes
But sometimes isn't always

Sometimes I don't feel like combing my hair
I don't feel like washing my face, sometimes
Sometimes I don't feel like saying "okay."
But sometimes isn't always

Sometimes I do feel like going to bed
I do feel like washing my face, sometimes
Sometimes I do feel like saying okay
But sometimes isn't always

Sometimes I don't feel like sometimes I do
I feel like I don't like to feel, sometimes
Sometimes I don't and sometimes I do
But sometimes isn't always

Listening to this song yesterday on the CD, "Songs from the Neighborhood: The Music of Mister Rogers," I got to thinking. About motherhood. Sometimes I feel like spending my day on the computer. Sometimes I feel like reading a book to myself. Sometimes I feel like cooking dinner during nap time. Sometimes I feel like taking the kids to the zoo. Happily sometimes isn't always.

Then I was reminded of Elder M. Russell Ballard's talk, "Daughters of God", at the most recent General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He says, "First, recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction." Sometimes isn't always.

Then I remembered a comment that the one sister in our ward over age 70 said about 2 months ago when teaching Relief Society. "My one regret from when I was a younger mother was that I cleaned too much." I certainly don't have that problem, but I want to make sure that when I look back at my child-rearing years that I have more memories of having fun with my children instead of nagging, yelling, or spending too much time on the computer, etc.

My sister (who doesn't have a blog) sent my mom a Mother's Day card, which my mom opened and after reading it, read it aloud to us (me, Ryan, Shanda & Jason). As she read it, we were joking about all the things she could have written, but didn't. She said she had recently re-read the talk by Sister Julie B. Beck from October General Conference, "Mothers Who Know;" and she wanted to thank my mom for being one of those mothers, and then gave examples.

I remember my mom not liking Mother's Day when I was younger because to her it just seemed like a day that she couldn't live up to. She felt she wasn't a perfect mother. I think receiving that card from my sister made her day. (It brought tears to my eyes.) I don't hope to have my children think or remember what a perfect mom I am, because I'm not. But is nice to have them thank me for the things that I do do for them.

Sometimes isn't always.

Boogie Shoes

You can now check out the dance Roderic did with his tumbling class!

It's Always Fun For Everyone...

When Grandpa Comes!



We had the pleasure of hosting not one, but 2 Grandpa's and 2 Grandma's this past weekend! The occasion that brought them here was Roderic's first tumbling recital.



Roderic waiting to perform at his recital. The Blue Dolphins

Roderic has been taking "Tumble Rhythm I" from Wright Foot Forward dance studio this past year. Mrs. Wright is an amazing teacher for young children. She keeps them moving, learning and having fun. Her studio does a recital in the spring. On a stage. In sparkly costumes. With an audience of parents and grandparents (according to Roderic). Roderic was so excited to learn that he was going to dance on a stage with curtains. He asked if it was the day for his recital weekly for 5 weeks. He asked both sets of grandparents to come see him perform. And they both said yes!

As luck would have it, Sabrina's soccer team played in the Championship game of the Idaho Rush Select Classic tournament that same day. And it didn't conflict with Roderic's recital, so we were all able to go and cheer for her team! The game was tied 2-2 after regulation, then they played 2 5-minute overtimes. Finally the game ended in a shootout. The Sharks beat the Blue Dolphins by a score of 5-3. I had butterflies in my stomach, telling myself that this was my 3rd grader playing, not a professional troupe of athletes. Not even playing for a college scholarship. They were playing for fun.



Grandma & Grandpa G and Meggan brought presents to celebrate Sabrina and my birthdays.



I made a cake to celebrate Grandpa C's birthday. Roderic got to help blow out the candles. (I love Ryan's facial expression in that picture!)



My kids sure do love "The Pied Piper" (Uncle Carson)!

Sunday mroning Hyrum decided that he needed to chime in his gratefulness of his Grandpas coming and learned to say their names, "Bamba!" Now we have a picture of them as the background on our computer and he says "Bamba" every time he sees it! It's good we'll be visiting UT this weekend, so he can see them in person again.

Due to unforseen technical difficulties, the video performance is not yet available. Check back later.

Spring!

I love the flowers in our yard that bloom in the spring.
Although, I don't think I have enough of them blooming this year.
I'm going to plant some more in the fall.
This is one of the trees in our front yard, with the 3-headed daffodils underneath.

On a side note, today at the park with friends, we were 'snowed' on by petals falling from one of the trees.
I can handle that kind of snow in May.

Musicals, Musicals, Musicals

This has been the year of the musical for us. We started off the year with Sabrina being a performer in "Jack and the Beanstalk" with Missoula Children's Theatre. She was a merchant.

A few weeks later, after we watched our neighbor's kids while they went to see "Riverdance," and I was trying to come up with a great date for Ryan and I to go on so they could return the favor, Ryan pulled out 3 tickets for "Little Women," which was coming on a National Broadway Tour. One for Ryan, Sabrina and me. I bought the soundtrack so we could all get familiar with the story line. Then, I decided I should read the book as well. I don't believe I had ever read that book before. It is really good. I recommend it. We went to see "Little Women" the night before our trip to Oregon. The show started at 8pm, was playing at a theatre 30 minutes away from our house. Needless-to-say, it was a late night for us. Especially with an early morning drive the next day. We listened to the soundtrack throughout our trip. LOVE THE MUSIC!

While eating at Burger King one snowy/rainy day (April 9) with Stacy and kids, we got our hands on a copy of the Idaho Statesman. It had an ad for Boise Music Week. Free music events for a whole week. Including a free Broadway musical. Apparently they have been doing this for 90 years. This year the musical was "Singin' in the Rain." I really enjoy this musical. I don't know how many times I saw this movie growing up. Keturah was in the chorus of this musical when she was a sophomore in high school. Loved watching her in it.

I requested 4 free tickets for any of the performances with the official request coupon from that copy of the Statesman and mailed them in with a SASE on the due date. The next Tuesday, I received that envelope back with NO tickets in it and NO explanation as to why. So I sent an email and got a reply that they had 20,000 tickets available for "Singin' In the Rain" and more than 22,000 requests for those tickets. They even ran out of 'sorry' slips. Not to be deterred, I planned to go standby. We invited Sara S. to accompany us and left our house a little after 6 pm. When we arrived at the Morrison Center ticket office, we were #20 on the standby list. While waiting for our number to come up, I taught the girls the hand game about the McDonald's menu. The tickets we received were on the first row of the balcony, on the side. Perfect for the girls, there were no "big heads" in front of them. They absolutely loved the musical. I asked them during intermission if seeing this was causing them to want to learn how to tap dance and both said, "Yes!" It was a late night, with musicals lasting 3 hours. Sabrina was asleep within minutes of her head hitting the pillow.

On Friday, Stacy and went to the Egyptian Theatre downtown to watch another Boise Music Week Event, a silent movie accompanied by a live theatre organ! The featured movie was Laurel and Hardy staring in "We Faw Down." Before seeing that movie, we saw a Charlie Chaplin movie and then had an old-time sing-a-long. I think next year, I'll pull Sabrina out of school and take her to see the silent movie. The organist was amazing. He sat at the front of the Theatre facing the movie screen, playing the organ to match the mood of the movie. Talk about talent! And either they put a fire scene in every silent movie because the organ has a siren sound, or they put the siren on the organ because there is a fire scene in every movie.

This was my second time going to Boise's Egyptian Theatre. The first time was December 31, 1999. I went with Sabrina, Shanda, Jason and Keturah to see "Singin' In the Rain." They were showing classic movies all day for free to celebrate the Millennium. If we would have had food and Sabrina not needing a nap, we would have stuck around to watch "Superman."