Hodge-podge Update

(I started this post in June, and just finished it in July, but it says June in the date......hmmmm...)

Wow, it was April when I last posted on my blog. Shameful, just shameful! :) So you will get a smorgasbord of information, and of course, no pictures, since I don't have my very own camera, and have no one else to take pictures of life as it happens...

This is mostly for grandparents, and anyone else brave enough to read....it is also rather jumbled. :)Sorry.

April -
April brought about two birthdays for our little family. Emily turned the BIG #8 on the 11th, and Katie turned 4 on the 26th. I cannot believe my girls are getting to be this big! The decision was made to have Emily's baptism in Boise, along with her cousin, which took place in June (more details on that later). We also enjoyed a visit from Jammie, who came to see the kids and to attend a concert I was singing in.

May -
We celebrated yet another family birthday in May. My sweet, smooshy-cheeked Nicholas turned 10! I cannot believe he is only two years away from being a Deacon. Everything is moving too fast. Both of the boys participated in track, Michael running the relay, and Nicholas competing in the ball throw and the relay. They really enjoyed their time in track. Michael also left (me) for four days to go to 6th grade camp (sob sob), but enjoyed every single minute of his time there. You could tell these 6th graders formed some really strong bonds while they were away. As I watch my kids in their various activities, it drums up all sorts of memories of my own childhood. It was just yesterday I was "kicking it up" at 5th grade camp, and running the 50 meter dash in track. :) Anyway, Nicholas also started up baseball, and has been PITCHING this season (and is awesome!) He is also one heck-uv-a first-baseman. I absolutely LOVE watching him play. He looks so skinny in the uniform, but he looks the part. He's got the stance, the look, the pitcher glare. He's awesome!

Another HUGE highlight in May was having my sweet sister here to visit. We had a great time just being together, especially since it had been a whole year since we'd seen each other. Aside from kid-duties, we spent some really wonderful quality time together, ate WAY too much food, and loved every minute of it. There is seriously nothing like a sister, and there's no sister like mine. I love her!

June -
June was a blur. Everything hits in June. I don't like June. Michael and Emily both sang in the grade school choir (and I accompanied them). We had two concerts and one assembly to sing at. Nicholas finished up his regular season baseball games, and then went into play-offs. They had a FABULOUS game where they came back from a 9-0 score to tie the game in the final inning, and won the game in an extra inning (Nicholas was closing pitcher, of course!)

Two of my voice students graduated from high school and are "deserting" me this fall (boo hoo!). I also held a recital for my combined piano and voice students. We enjoyed performances by 19 students (and were missing 9 more). I am finding teaching more and more fulfilling all the time. Two of my students received vocal scholarships this year, too!

We drove to Boise the first weekend of June for Emily's baptism. She chose to combine her baptism with her cousin, and it made for such a lovely reunion of family and friends. The baptisms were beautiful, and the gathering at the park afterwards was lovely. one of the most memorable moments was getting caught in a torrential downpour (seriously heavy, flash-flood type rain) with my sister. We stodd under a tree trying to keep little kids from getting soaked (and instead taking the soaking ourselves, like good little mommies) and laughing our heads off. I truly cannot remember the last time I laughed like that. I was literally soaked from hear to toe, to the skin. Anyway, the girls looked like angels - I will never forget! (I will get some pictures put in a slideshow soon).

School also came to a close, which was especially significant for Michael. He received the Presidential Academic Achievement Award, which took top scores on the WASL as well as top grades in school for three years total. His marks have been very high all along, and he was recognized with a small number of 6th graders who achieved such high marks. Last year, he scored a PERFECT score on his WASL test in Reading, earning 495 out of 495 points. Very hard to do. He makes his big move to 7th grade next year, and has registered for three AP classes, as well as band and art. I am sure he will be a great success.

Nicholas worked VERY hard on his AR points this year. In third grade, he earned 50 points, and this year, he earned 385! He missed being in the top 10 of the entire school by ONE POINT! So unfair! But he took it in stride, and has felt very good about his accomplishment. He had an amazing teacher this last year who, as Nicholas put it, really "changed my whole life". His attitude was so different, and he felt so much confidence in himself. What better education can you get than that? I am so proud of him.

Emily also finished out second grade with fantastic scores and great accomplishments. One other tidbit about Emily is that she had her first trip to the eye doctor. He told her that she has nearly 20/20 vision, but a condition that makes it difficult for her to focus. So, she is now the proud new owner of a pair of glasses - BIFOCALS, to boot! They are pink and trendy and cute (and expensive), and I can't wait til they break in two weeks! LOL Again, pics will come soon.

Katie is, well, Katie! :) She is full of life and questions and into everything, but the biggest news on that front is that Miss Independent is FINALLY potty trained! After about a year of battles in that arena, one day she just decided she was ready, and off she went (literally). In one day, I was basically all done with diapers.....forever! We still use the occasional pull up at night, but she wakes up dry 99% of the time, so even that is phasing out. Wow - I never thought I would see the day! I've been changing diapers non stop since 1996, with a little break from 2003-2005. I've reached a big milestone. But I have traded changing diapers for shaving Michael's little hair lip, so I guess I have just moved on to greener pastures! LOLOL

July is flying by, of course, and for now is filled with lovely weather, weekly trips to the free kids movies at the mall, and lots of play dates and sleepovers and camp outs. We even hit the drive-in last night for a kids double-feature. Lots of fun! On the horizon we have the beginning of soccer for Michael and Nicholas, movies in the park, and camping in the back yard. Unfortunately, July 23rd will also bring about another surgery for Nicholas, who will have a tissue graft placed over a large hole in his eardrum. He will then face 4-6 weeks of limited activity (no running, jumping, etc) while the graft takes hold. He will miss the first few weeks of soccer, but this has to be done. Hopefully he will be all mended and ready to hit the soccer field well before the first game. We need our awesome goalie!!! (Can anyone explain to me why this kid likes to play those nail-biter positions like pitcher and goalie???).

August will hopefully be our month to do some traveling. I am hoping to spend a week in Boise, catching up on all the visiting we didn't get to do in our rushed trip for the baptism. I am also hoping to sneak over to the Oregon coast for a short trip with just me and the kids, as a little surprise (subject to availability at the hotel). If not, we'll hit the Washington coast for a long day or two. The one advantage to summer lessons being so sparse is that I get some much-cherished extra time with the kids. There's nothing better than that!

Well, are you sick of me blabbing yet? I bet even the grandparents have tuned out by now. I will be better about blogging, in the hopes that I don't have to write novels for updates!

Happy summer, everyone!