It's Official

Cody is officially sick. The doctor confirmed it today. He has double ear infections and a nasty case of bronchitis. He started getting sick on Tuesday, got fever on Wednesday and has gotten worse every day. You know he is seriously sick when he has not left his room for 3 days other than to shower and eat. Usually he can be found camped out in the living room watching TV but not this time. I thought that he had what Cayden has early in the week and when I took Cayden to the doctor she said that it was just viral-mostly because he was not running a fever and his cough had calmed down by the time we got into see her You know that kids only cough at night and not at the doctor's office when you need to prove that you are not a paranoid hypochondriatic parent. Cayden actually had the croup all Sunday night into Monday which is strange because he is 6 years old and should have grown out of it by now but Connor still has that same sort of thing when he is sick but it doesn't get super bad like it used to. So we are not overly concerned with that other than it is hard when he is up all night coughing like a dying seal. Anyway back to Cody-because it is Friday and the only place to go on the weekends when you need medical attention in Logandale is to the emergency room in Mesquite we opted to visit the doctor today especially because Cody has missed 3 days of school this week and with out getting him on some antibiotic he could miss more next week. So she officially declared him sick and gave him a bunch of meds. The doctor did say that the antibiotic was a really powerful one and that it would kill everything good and bad in his system. Then she said that if in a few days he has diarrhea that has blood in it then to go straight to the emergency room because he has some sort of super bug that the antibiotic did not kill and because his whole system was wiped out this super bug mushroomed and here's the clincher-it could be fatal. Thanks doc for the encouraging thoughts. Cody better not be shy about his bowel habits for the next few days and I am sure that he will appreciate me telling the whole world about his bodily functions.

Reading Day Picnic with Cayden

This week was Reading Week at Cayden's school. Each day they had some sort of special thing that they did to emphasize reading. Today was "Special Person Picnic Day". So we had a picnic outside on the grass and then we read a couple books. I took "peatty butter" sandwiches with the "crusts cut off", chips and chocolate milk for Cayden. Some kids did not have a special person come so they sat with us on our blanket with Cayden's teacher, Miss Lisa. (she is subbing for Mrs. Sobrio who is on maternity leave) It was a very warm day and Cayden did not want me to leave. Sorry buddy!

I Looked Out the Window and What Did I See....

Popcorn popping on the apricot (flowering plum) tree.

Outside of my kitchen window along the block wall are two flowering plum trees that we planted a few years ago. These are my favorite trees because of the "popcorn" that happens in the spring. Yes, it is the last day of February here in Logandale, Nevada but it was in the mid 70's yesterday and is supposed to be in the 80's tomorrow. Don pointed out the popcorn the other day to me. I look out that window all the time-especially in the mornings and I hardly noticed because we have been so busy and mornings are such a pain sometimes. This is a good lesson for me-that there is always something to be grateful for and happy about and that the love of the Lord is exhibited in small and simple things that we need to look for.

Getting on My Soapbox

So last Thursday night was the Blue and Gold dinner for Cub Scouts at the church. All of the leaders worked really hard putting it together, cooking, decorating and so forth. I cooked 30 pounds of Teriyaki chicken and others made fried rice, veggies and mooncakes for the dinner. We spent 2 hours setting up the cultural hall that afternoon and another hour taking it all down and cleaning-here is where I get on my soapbox. We were supposed to have started at 6pm - we did not start until 6:25. I had asked my boys ( the bear den) to be there early because we needed practice a skit before we started. Out of the 6, 2 of them were there early, one of them being Caleb, and the others trickled in at 5 minutes till the thing was supposed to start. I had to practice the skit with them 3 different times as each of them trickled in. Then this when I started to get mad-because we weren't starting on time everyone's kids were running around like maniacs and the parents were all just chatting away with each other. The leaders were trying to get the food out on the table and stuff while we waited for the Cubmaster to run home and get her notes that she forgot-that was why we started so late. Seriously, it was a zoo. I had my kids sitting down coloring the papers that were set out for them to do but they were frustrated because everyone else was running around and they couldn't. That is how it is after Sacrament meeting too-the parents stand around and chat while the kids run around and chase each other and jump off the stage. I try to hurry out after Relief Society so that I can gather my kids before they start doing that but hardly anyone else cares. I have heard many times from my kids " Why can't we play? Everyone else is." Of course my response is that we need to be reverent at the church and I am their mother and so they need to obey me. Back at the pack meeting-At one point while we were waiting to start and I was helping put out food I noticed that Cayden had disappeared. We went to find him and we thought that he had gone to the nursery. As we were walking down there we heard a ruckus in the Primary room so we stopped and looked in there and there were about 6 of the scout age boys running around in there with the lights off screaming and yelling. I told them that they needed to go back to the cultural and that this was not an amusement park but the church. We found Cayden in the nursery and headed back to the cultural hall. When we got back in there some of the older boys had taken the chinese rice paddy hats that I had bought for the skit from the my scouts that were wearing them and were playing keep away with them. I took them away from those that were being obnoxious to find that they had broken the string that holds the hat on your head. We had not even used the hats yet and they were already getting broken. AAARRRGGGG!! We finally got started and started eating. As usual the kids got done eating first and so they start horsing around again. At one point there were plates flying around us and landing in our food and then later there were chairs being tossed around like pillows. Luckily no one got hit or hurt. I was getting quite upset with the whole situation but as I was not in charge of the whole thing and I am not those kids' mom, I did not feel like I had the right to tell everyone to sit down and shut up. I could tell that there was at least one more mom that was feeling the same way I did and she actually called me Friday morning to vent about it all. The question is-what do we do about it? This gal that called me about this issue is fairly new in the ward and she says that she was appalled and had never seen anything like the chaos that was going on at a pack meeting and the most "formal" pack meeting of the year too boot. I just don't get why people can't control their kids or how they can be oblivious to the fact that they are running around and messing around in the church. It would be more understandable if we were at the park or something but there is such a lack of respect these days!. It is making me nuts-especially because I am a control freak and want to see things done the way that they need to be done. HELP!! (getting off my soapbox now)

I See Dead People-ok not really but I want to (sorta)

So thanks to my sister Suzanna, I have gotten the "Family History bug", that would be like the "scrapbook bug" the "Twilight bug" and the "blogging bug". As one may have noticed I have not posted a blog since last week because my week was super busy last week and when the weekend rolled around I sat here at my desk going through my Family History files so that I could refresh my memory and also so that I could give Su some info about what I had found or whatever and wouldn't you know it I stayed up until midnight Friday and Saturday nights looking for dead people, came home from Sacrament with sick kids and after feeding them started looking for dead people, and then stayed up way too late Sunday night after my nap to keep looking for them. Suzanna got a lot of info from Mawmaw about her and Pawpaw's sides of the family and I am excited that Mawmaw has done all that work for them. The thing is that it was not sent into the church other than what was done at the temple because the church does that themselves. I did not know that work had been done because it wasn't on the internet but once Suzanna started telling me the actual names of some of these people I found them on the IGI (International Genealogical Index) I also found a link on a website where someone from the area that we are looking in (St. Helena Parish, Louisiana) has gone in and typed up info from marriage records, cemetery records and other stuff and posted it on the website. Now these are not the actual documents but just lists of what is on the documents and so we can't take it for gospel truth until we verify it but at least with that info we know where to look for those records. I also have found some of these people on some census records which is just more proof. The one snafu I found was that a daughter was listed as a son on a census record and so that was a little weird. So now you know what I have been doing with my "free" time-that time being late at night on the weekends. There is so much do!

The First Lady Bug of the Season

Caleb was outside Saturday afternoon and saw this ladybug on the porch. It seems a little early for ladybugs-if I remember right we usually get them in March or April. Then they are usually everywhere. I wonder how many places you can find a ladybug outside in the middle of February?

Metal Mouth, Brace Face, Tinsle Teeth etc

Say cheese!

They're going to what?

Ok this isn't so bad, I think!

Caleb, ever the stylin' one.

Metal mouth 1-without the bands.

Metal mouth 2 with the bands. Blue and Gold-pirate colors (Moapa Valley High School)

A close up!
Very very very early this morning we took Caleb to St. George to have his braces put on. Our appointment was at 7:30 our time so we had to leave at 6:15 because we weren't exactly sure where the office was. We had to get up at 5:30-well I did so that I could shower. This orthodontist is very good. He and his staff come to Logandale every 3 weeks to the dentist office that we go to. It makes it so much easier then having to go to St. George once a month for everyone and this service that he offers guarantees him a huge number of clients. Everyone that we know uses him for braces. Anyway, Caleb was a little nervous and did not know what to expect. He has been talking about this for weeks now and kept asking when we were going for the appt. He had asked around to the neighborhood kids and a bunch of kids in his class what it was like and heard plenty of information-some not all correct. He came home from school last week and started naming all the kids in his class that have braces-there were quite alot. When we go to the office he was called back and they took a bunch of pictures and did some Xrays and then made 2 bite molds-Cream Soda flavored plaster stuff. Then he went to another room where he had another mold made (Root Beer flavored this time) but this time they put the bands on the back top teeth because he had to have an appliance made. That molding was not fun as the first set. He had a hard time not gagging. Poor guy. They of course have lots of tricks because they do this all the time. To help him not think about what was happening in his mouth with all that goo the nurse had him cross and uncross his legs, wiggle his thumbs and then wiggle his feet. Good trick! It worked. After the molds were made then came the fun part of gluing on the little brackets. He was excited to pick out the colors of the bands and he has already chosen his colors for next time. They glued everything on and then ran the wires through. The last thing that we had to do was get his "expander" put into place. It is a metal piece that runs acorss the top of his mouth and is attached to the bands on the back teeth on the top of his mouth. It has a little cylinder kind of thing in the middle that has to be turned about a millimeter turn every day. This will expand the top of his mouth so that he has more room for all his teeth to come in. He has to wear that for 4-6 months I think she said and I have to turn it for him with a little key thing once a day. He talks a little differently with that in his mouth but he was still smiling when we got done. They give the kids coins called Brace Bucks for various things like brushing well and being on time and things like that and for today he got 5 Brace Bucks for all that he had done. They can save up those Brace Bucks for gift cards and little toys or if they save them all up then they can get a Nintendo DS (for 300) of an Ipod nano (for (350). It is neat though because most of his friends all go to this guy so they are all talking about it. The office is very kid friendly and has 3 Nintendo or X box consoles on the wall-like they have at Walmart or Target-that the kids can play. They also had tons of paper easter eggs stuck all over the office and all the kids get to wander around and count them to see who gets the right number of them-then they get Brace Bucks or something. The staff is all very nice and work hard to make the kids feel at ease. That was good for Caleb even though he was squeezing my hand through most of the gluing part. We don't have to see the orthodontist again until April 11 and that is when they are coming down here-one less trip to St. George. Yippee! One of the best parts about this whole thing is that our insurance is paying for half of this and Connor won't have to have his done until about the time that Caleb is done with his! Caleb has lost a lot more teeth then Connor has at this point and Connor's mouth is not quite ready to have braces yet. Oh well soon enough. Caleb was really excited about all this but I am betting that by tonight he will be rethinking how cool it really is! :) We were home by 1:00 this afternoon. even after stopping to get Caleb a haircut. Cody stayed home with Connor and Cayden. Thank goodness it has been a beautiful day outside-Caleb, Connor and Cayden have been playing outside all afternoon with the neighborhood kids.

Just Keep Swimming

This is my favorite line from Finding Nemo and it has to be the motto for my life. Somedays or most days it is hard to keep my head above water and I don't have the time to get everything done that needs to be done. ( of course here I am blogging when I have a paper to write, cookies to make, a valentine's party to do and blah blah blah) but nevertheless I continue. I have to remember to "just keep swimming". Don and I talk about this all the time-if we can just get through the fall, or if we can just get through the holidays or whatever then we think that things will slow down or ease up. Wrongo!!! It never happens! Like yesterday for example-I got up when Cody left and 5:55am and that was not early enough. I read my scriptures, did an assignment for my class, wiped down the bathroom, vacuumed the tile and family and living room (Don dusted) and mopped the tile all before 7:30 when we got the kids up. We got the kids off to school and I had just enough time to shower before a 9:30 Scout meeting at my house which is why I had to do the floors. They were atrocious from the weekend. The meeting went until 11:30 and then I had to make phone calls to plan the Valentine's party for Caleb's class-I am one of the room mothers. I left here at 12:10 to go and get Cayden from school to take him to Vegas to see Dr. Sarah (she is chiro that is helping me with my neck but he is seeing her too to see if she can help him with some of his delays and fine motor stuff) The appt was not until 2:30 but it takes an hour to get there and it is clear over by the airport. I ran to Target and the drycleaners before the appt so that we did not have to on the way home. We went to the appt, then to Walmart which is not a good place to go at 3:30 in the afternoon as everyone person in Las Vegas was at the Walmart I was at. (is there a reason that they only have 3 lanes open to check out when everyone has a full basket of stuff and there 4 people on each line?) Then on the way home we were stuck in traffic for 30 minutes trying to get through Vegas. We got home about 5:30, unloaded the car, put everything away, did dinner, cleaned up, bathed everyone and had FHE and scripture study. Miracle of miracles the kids were still in bed by 8:45. I was so exhausted by last night. Today was not as bad-thank goodness but I still could not get up with Cody. I still had a lot to do today but I was not running around like a lunatic like yesterday. I actually was blessed to take a nap this afternoon eve though I should not have but the world was not going to explode if I took a nap! I guess things will slow down when I'm dead-until then I'll just have to "keep swimming"! (this is my therapeutic pep talk so it is not wasting time!)

Cayden's Birthday Party

Cayden's birthday was on Wednesday but Don was in Atlanta all week so we had his party on Saturday so that dad could be there. I did let him open some gifts from family members on Wednesday morning though because he was so excited for his birthday. He kept asking all week if it was the day for his party and every day I would have to say "not yet, today is _____. Your party will be on Saturday" and then tell him how many days away that was. Finally Saturday was here! It was a beautiful day and really warm so we were able to do it outside in the backyard. (note the sunglasses that he has on in the pictures in the slideshow because it was so bright outside) We had a full schedule all day Saturday but mom had everything planned down to a T so that we could get everything done. Cayden delivered his invitations on Tuesday afternoon with Connor and Caleb walking him around the neighborhood. We had basketball games early Saturday morning and then mom had to go to Women's Conference at the Stake Center. While mom was gone, dad and the boys straightened up the house and cleaned up the back yard. Cody made cupcakes for the party. Mom got home around 1:30 and we finished things up and set up the party outside. We only had a short window of time because mom and dad had another Stake meeting at 6:30 that night and we made dinner for our sick neighbor and her family because her husband ran her to the hospital late Saturday afternoon because she was in so much pain. So back to the party-We covered the table with a cute Winnie the Pooh tablecloth and put up a big 5 foot high plastic poster thing of Winnie the Pooh and friends. The guests started arriving at 3:00 and they each got to color a picture of Winnie the Pooh until everyone arrived. Then when they all were here we played "I had a little bumblebee" which is just the Winnie the Pooh version of "I had a little doggie and he won't bite you" game. The kids loved that and Connor and Caleb played with them. Mom had to repeat the saying for everyone but they sure liked to sting each other and run around. Then they played musical chairs, pin the tail on Eeyore with that big plastic poster thing and then they whacked the Pinata and scrambled for candy and little plastic toys. We had little peanut butter sandwiches, chips and teddy grahms for a snack and then cupcakes. They all sang Happy Birthday to Cayden and he blew out his big #6 candle on his cupcake. Then he opened his presents. The kids had a good time with the games but they also liked the playhouse/swingset in the backyard too. I am so glad that it was warm enough to be outside because we had 10 guests plus Connor and Caleb and Cayden. I was worried that no one would come because it was so late in the afternoon so I invited 13 kids-I am glad that 3 of them did not come! (it is hard because there are so many kids in the neighborhood that are close to his age and then the kids in his Primary class too. I could not invite everyone but 13 was plenty!) Cayden had a fun day and got lots of neat stuff. Thank you to all of you that sent him or brought him gifts. Thanks for loving and remembering him. The pictures are in the slideshow.

Cayden's Birthday

Cayden doing the tango.

This is funny to me. We were at the boy's basketball game and Cayden started to be goofy and I had to record it. It is really dark and you can't see his face but you get the gist of it.

Field Trip Fun

Caleb and I went on a field trip with his class on Monday February 4. Way out in Henderson is an elementary school where they have simulated a mine and mining town. It was a long drive out there made even longer as the bus drove about 60 miles an hour the whole way. I drove my car as I do not enjoy bus rides and I usually get a stomach ache not to mention all the noise from the kids make me crazy. I started out following the bus but after 20 minutes of driving 52 miles an hour I called Don to have him look up the directions on mapquest so that I could get around the bus and not get killed. So I found the place fairly easily and waited for the bus for 20 minutes. While I was waiting though I did get to listed to the news conference where they announced the new first presidency. I could not find it on any radio station but Don had it on the TV and put his phone up to the TV and I listened on my phone. I am grateful for technology. Anyway the bus came and after circling the place a few times I had to run to the street to show them where to turn in and then the fun began. The kids got to go inside the mine and see different displays of mining tools and different things that were mined. They got to see how they set charges to blow things up and yell "fire in the hole". Then they saw an real elevator that they use in a mine-the very shaky and not very secure kind. It did not actually go down at all but shimmied and shook alot. They also got to see a little mining town and old equipment and a real ore cart system that they actually used at Yucca Mountain here in Nevada. It was very cold and windy that day and I was glad that I took my coat and gloves. The kids got to pan for gold and see and feel actual mined materials. It was interesting. Caleb wanted to ride the bus both ways with his class-unlike Connor who usually always rides with me when I go with him on field trips. The kids ate lunch on the bus and I left them to go do a little shopping for Cayden's birthday. I am glad that I can go with my kids on these things.


Panning for Gold

Caleb and his friends and their three pieces of gold.


Caleb and his whole class standing next to the huge tire that came off a truck that used to work at a mine.

Caleb and mom at the end of the very cold and blustery field trip.

Top 10 Reasons Why Cayden Kelly Adams is Cool!

1. He has an adorable smile. His smile melts hearts all over the place from school to church and of course with his family.
2. He loves to sing. This child will be somehow involved in music one way or another. He does not know the words to all the primary songs and hymns but he can pick up the tune and "sing" along. He does that at Sacrament Meeting even on songs that I hardly know. I have to shush him sometimes after the song is over because he keeps singing. His favorite song is I am a Child of God and he has loved that song since he was a tiny baby. When it is his turn to choose the song for FHE he usually chooses that. If it ever comes on LDS radio network or if it is sung at church by anyone he perks right up and listens very intently. He is the most behaved at church during the songs and especially during the Christmas and Easter programs because they are mostly music.
3. He plays Primary. He loves to get my shoes and then sit and cross his legs like the primary teachers do. He will get the barstool from the kitchen and take it to the family room and put it in front of the tv. Then he gets a music book from the piano room and puts it on the barstool like it is a music stand and then he leads the songs.
4. He always asks if we are going to do scripture and prayer and then he gets out everyone's Books of Mormon and sets them on the couch where everyone usually sits. He also welcomes everyone to Family Home Evening. He says "welcome to wamawy home meeting. We are glad you could make it."
5. He is dressing himself more and more and he put his shoes on by himself on Monday. (With his delays these are major accomplishments for him) Saturday morning he came in to our room and he was already dressed with his clothes on the right way. That was the first time that he did that ever!
6. He is very tender hearted. The first few days after President Hinkley died he said a few times after asking where President Hinkley was and after I told him that President Hinkley had died he said "When is he coming back?" I told him that he wasn't coming back until Jesus came and then Cayden said "I miss him." I said that I did too. He also has said that about Nanny a few times too-that he misses her.
7. He is funny. As we were watching the funeral on Saturday and he had asked for the hundreth time where the prophet was I told him in the casket and showed it to him when it came on the screen. Then he asked if President Hinkley's pants died too. He calls him Gordon Bahinkawy.
8. He loves to be at home and with his family. When he is trying to get out of going to school he will say "I will miss you mommy" Trying to get me to let him stay home. He does not like to run errands and always says that he will stay with Cody or with dad so that he does not have to go. Sometimes he has to go because Cody or dad aren't home.
9. He is the only one of my kids that has gotten up to bare his testimony in Sacrament meeting. He asked me about it a few times at Fast Sunday in October and November but when I would say ok lets go up he would always say no. Finally in December he said that he wanted to go. I told him that once we were up there we had to stay and finish and he said ok. We got to the top of the stairs and he was grabbing me saying "You do it" I asked him if he wanted me to do it for him and he said yes. He stood by the stairs while I said Cayden knows.... or I know that Cayden knows... He stood there smiling at me the whole time-I looked over at him each time I said a sentence. When we were done you would have thought that he won the gold medal. He was grinning from ear to ear and was so proud of himself. He got lots of compliments that day.
10. He loves his family and as soon as he gets home from school he always asks where every one is. He loves to be with Grandma and Grandpa and he gets very mad when they take Connor and Caleb and not him. In the last year he has started sleeping over at Grandma's when the boys do. He usually makes it all night but once in a while he tells grandma or grandpa that he wants his mom and he wants to go home. Some nights that works and Don goes to get him at 10:00 or so but other times grandma rubs his back or he sits on grandpa's lap and then they convince him that he can stay. He loves to go on rides on grandpa's Rhino and he loves to dig in the "garden" at grandma's house. Sometimes when he disappears and grandma can't find him, he has gone behind their house to Aunt Amy and Uncle Dave's house.

He is such a sweet boy and we are so glad the he is part of our "wamawy" Cayden speak for family.

Happy Birthday to Cayden Kelly Adams!

Today is Cayden's birthday and he is 6. Not until 6:32 pm though. He is so excited about his birthday even though his party is not until Saturday. Don is in Atlanta all week and we did not want to party with out him. I took cupcakes (yes funfetti with sprinkles and no I did not eat them all) up to Cayden's school yesterday because I have to be in Vegas all day today and I didn't think that I would be back in time to get to his school today. Here are the pics.
We love you Cady Cat!
.

Tagged-from Suzanna

For the benefit of my sister Suzanna who tagged me and for lack of something better to do on a cloudy cold Saturday in February.

A) Four jobs I've had in my life
1. Bank of America teller (for about 1 week)
2. Cashier at Storehouse Market
3. Customer Service something or other at Mervyns
4. Balloon blower upper at 7-11 during the BYU games when I was like 13

B) Four movies I could watch over and over
1. Sense and Sensibility
2. Notting Hill
3. Scarlett Pimpernel
4. Finding Nemo

C) Four places I have lived
1.Lindon, UT
2. Orem, UT
3. Overton, NV
4. Logandale, NV
(yes I am a very well traveled person)

D) Four shows that I watch
1. Semi Homemade Cooking With Sandra Lee
2. Psych
3. Wings reruns
4. Moonlight

E) Four places I have been
1. Maui
2. New York
3. Philadalphia
4. Bahamas

F) People who email me regularly
1. My Mom
2. Suzanna
3. Melody
4. Dena

G) Four of my favorite foods
1. Mongolian Beef from Changs or Pei Wei
2. Tapioca –my current binge
3. Mawmaw’s Mac and Cheese
4. Mawmaw’s mashed potatoes

H) Four places I would rather be right now
1. Jamaica
2. At Disneyland
3. Hawaii
4. Nauvoo

I) Four folks I think will respond
1. Cydnee
2. Anne
3. Laurel
4. Melody

J) Things I am looking forward to in the next 12 months
1. Moving to Utah I hope
2. Going to Nauvoo
3. Getting the accident crap settled
4. Cody driving (sort of )

K) Four goals for the New year
1. Read the conference talks from Ensign before next Conference
2. Understand Isaiah better
3. Crochet better-actually finish something
4. Scrapbook-but this blogging thing is so consuming!

L) Four gifts I got for Christmas
1. A Panini maker
2 A big stock pot
3. A DVD of home videos from my childhood
4. A neck pillow for traveling

M) Four places I want to visit
1. Nauvoo
2 Jamaica
3. Europe
4. More New York

N) Four things you didn't know about me
1. I quit biting my nails.
2. I have a total blood hound sense of smell-I can smell tons of stuff when noone else around me can.
3. I can’t sleep when Don is not home.
4. I read the Twilight series in 5 days.

O) Four things I wish I was better at
1. Singing
2. Not being so OCD about cleaning
3. Being more understanding
4. Understanding the scriptures

P) Four things I can cook without a recipe
1. Sour Cream enchiladas
2. Peanut Butter Scotchies-or death bars according to Don
3. Potatoe cheese soup
4. Fried rice


Q) Four musicians I really love
1. James Blunt
2. George Strait
3. The Beatles
4. MoTabs

R) Four of the best books I've ever read
1. Twilight Series
2. A Quiet Heart-by Patricia Holland
3. No one Can Take Your Place–Sherri Dew
4. Letters to Emily

I tag anyone who has nothing else to do-Katie, Cydnee, Serena, Dena, Dottie, Amy, and Darbie.

How To Teach a Teenager to Argue and Cody the King of Procrastination Land

Cody and a few kids on his debate team. Please ignore the scuzzy looking kid-he is a pain in the butt and thought it would be cute to get in the picture.

Cody, Sarah and Steven, (Steven is the funny one from Cody's birthday party).

Thursday, Friday and Saturday this week Cody has been going to a Las Vegas high school for a county debate tournament. Thursday and Friday they left school at 11:30am. They got to miss 4th period both days. He did not get home until 10:30pm Thursday night. Now mind you that he was up until 2am that night trying to get ready for his "expos". That is an 10 minutes or less original speech on a topic that he has chosen that he writes and then makes poster-type boards with pictures as visual aids. As he talks he interacts with the boards and adds and removes various pictures depicting and demonstrating what he is talking about. (Mom, this is what he showed you over Thanksgiving). His topic is Wheel of Time vs Lord of the Rings. He compares and contrasts those two different book series with his point being that WOT is better than LOTR. Anyway he stayed up until 2am fixing up his boards and then he got up at 5:30 am to go to Seminary. This he did after he whined to his dad and said "Can't I just skip seminary?' The answer of course was no and especially no because he had procrastinated for almost 2 months on fixing his boards up and so it was his own fault that he had to stay up until 2am. Then Friday morning he got up again for seminary under duress with the same plea of skipping but again he was told no. They left school again at 11:30. Here's the thing-the tournament does not start until 3pm so what did they do for 3 1/2 hours-went to Fazoli's and were dissed on the "all you can eat bread sticks" and then they went to Krispy Creme donuts to beg for "reject" donuts. He had asked me to come and help judge that day and so being the wonderful mommy I am (and knowing that I had already been to Vegas 3 times this week which is beside the point I guess as it is just our precious natural resources that I am using up as I cruise up and down the 1-15 most of the week) I agreed to go. I arrived at the school at 2:30 with the first round starting at 3. I judged 3 rounds 3:00-4:30, 4:30-6:00 and 6:00-7:30. I wanted to go home a lot sooner but Cody wanted me to wait and see it he made finals because if he did not then he wanted to ride home with me instead of waiting until after finals to ride the bus home. He did not make finals. He was disappointed sort of but he was also glad to get home a little sooner than every one else as he had to be to the school again this morning at 5:15 to go back for the last day of the tournament and the awards ceremony tonight. They will not get home until 11pm or later again tonight and I expect that Cody will be none to thrilled to get up for 9am church tomorrow. Cody really enjoys this and he has found his nitch. He is a great writer and is able to use that talent in this area. Debate is not all about arguing which we found out but is about among other things writing and sharing original speeches, sharing pieces of prose or poetry in a "theatrical interpretation" or "humorous interpretation" and also being able to think on the spot and deliver a speech with little or no preparation. They also debate in areas called Senate, Lincoln Douglas and Policy which are more of the areas that you think of when you think of debate. Anyway he likes it and he has actually taken first place and placed a few other times with his "expos". I did not mind the judging part as I was able to see what Cody has been doing and see what his competition is like. It was really long though and then we had to drive home again. I'm glad that I took my book and Ipod for entertainment purposes.

Hoop It Up 2

Pass it to me!

Caleb sort of in the zone.


Basketball Brothers.

Connor and Caleb are on the same basketball team through the County Parks and Rec. They had a game Thursday night. They both played hard and tried to make a few shots. The first few games they were both very timid and did not want to get into it. Connor was afraid of getting fouled and Caleb just sort of hung back afraid of the ball and getting run over. This game they both ran and participated a lot more. Caleb actually ended up on the floor a few times because he was in the middle of the melee. Their coach is a nice man but is very very quiet and does not get excited which in turn does not get the kids excited. He sits there during the game and watches but he does not call out direction to the kids playing-even if he tried, he is so soft spoken that he probably would not be heard over the yelling and directing of the parents-us included. Connor and Caleb both fought for the ball and got in right in the middle of it this time with a little encouragement from us. The first game or two Caleb was mosying up and down the court not running. This game he actually broke a sweat and ran up and down the court. Connor was very good at grabbing at the ball and holding onto it when the other team tried to steal it. Our kids are not super aggressive-except to each other-and so to be aggressive in sports is different to them. They get to be involved in a lot of different sports here from the time they are in kindergarten all the way through high school. There really is not much else to do here anyway so everyone is in sports. Little League is next! Why did I have boys?