Parenting is a Racket

Pareting is a racket. It must be. Why else would we have to send our kids out into the cruel world after nurturing them and teaching them and helping them for 18 years. I think the kids who head off to college are probably ready, but the parents aren't. I know I'm not. It's all downhill from here. Evan will barely be home a few weeks at the end of the school year before he's off on his mission.

The good part? He texted me today and said, "this is where I'm supposed to be". So if he's happy, I'm happy.

He's gonna love BYU and he's only an hour away!

First Day of School 2010

Yay! The first day of the school year has arrived (despite the best efforts of the kids to ward it off). NAME: Isaac
GRADE: Fourth
SCHOOL: Valley View
TEACHER: Ms. Kotter
HEIGHT: 4'11"
WEIGHT: 107 lbs.

NAME: Samuel
GRADE: Seventh
SCHOOL: Millcreek Jr.
HEIGHT: 5'1"
WEIGHT: 117 lbs.

NAME: Caroline
GRADE: Ninth
SCHOOL: Mueller Park Jr.
HEIGHT: 5' 6 1/2 "
WEIGHT: Nunya

NAME: Jake

GRADE: Eleventh

SCHOOL: Bountiful High

HEIGHT: 6'

WEIGHT: 173 lbs.

NAME: Romeo

NAME: Jeter

End of an Era? ...

...hopefully not. I've been watching Evan amaze people with his baseball skills for 15 years now. Today was the last day of his summer league and I've been wondering all day if it's the last time I'll get to watch him play baseball. It's been a priviledge. In typical Evan fashion, he hit the ball 420 feet today twice. He was also hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, bringing in the tying run. It was fun watching him goof with his long-time friend, Masen Fenn (#7). Although he was told by the BYU coaches to come prepared to join them for conditioning in the fall, we're not quite sure what to expect. So for now I'm gonna hold onto all the memories I have of my boy playing a lot of really, really good baseball.

Rain Forest Rumble

It is a tradition in the Spectrum (gifted) program at Valley View for the students to write, produce and perform an opera. The kids own it. They decide what it will be about, who the characters are, they paint the scenery, write the lyrics and help decide on the music. It's a long process. This year the opera was called "Rain Forest Rumble". A group of "famous people" are on their way to the "Famous People Convention" in South America when their plane crashes into the rain forest. They come upon creepy crawlers, animals and plants. The groups work together to save the "famous people".

Isaac cast himself as a stick bug in the creepy crawlers group. The program was really fun, but Isaac clearly did not want to have any part of an opera. It was painful for him. In the program, each child was spotlighted and got to talk about themselves. Isaac said, "Isaac loves baseball. He plays eight hours and 30 minutes of baseball every week." That about sums it up right now.

Prom

Senior Prom 2010 was a blast! Craig and I never went to a prom together--this was our first. No, we didn't just crash Jake and Evan's party, we were chaperones and Craig even got me a corsage and rented a tuxedo. He likes mighty fine. Jake had a fun night. His group ate at Oakridge Country Club. They had their own private room all set up for dinner. Jake's date is Maddie Blake. Jake and Maddie have been friends for a long, long time. Maddie's family is moving to California when school gets out, so I'm glad they got to go to a dance together. After the dance, Jake's group went to Alec Green's house and made s'mores on their backyard fire pit. Craig and I weren't invited.

Evan had a big, party group. Being seniors and all, they decided to arrive at prom in style in a long white limousine. After the dance they went to G-Dawg's and watched a movie and played pool.

Evan took Katarine Skedros to the dance. They also went to homecoming together. Thomas's date is named Kelly Carlson. I think both their dresses fit them perfectly. Evan's group ate at Corbin's, a steak house in Layton.

Mr. Brave

Probably fitting that the 2010 Mr. Brave pageant took place on April Fool's Day. Lots of foolish stuff going on tonight! Fifteen awesome senior boys were chosen to compete for the title of Mr. Brave. Evan was Mr. Baseball. The evening started with an awesome group dance with a spotlight on each contestant. Not a lot of flexibility in those "high kicks".

Each contestant also performed a talent. Evan's talents translate so much better outside, but he was able to adapt and his minute was called "Jugular Juggling". He was quite a good juggler.

Then, the obligatory random question. Evan's was "What was your best date?" His cousin, Sawyer, escorted him onto the stage.

And then, all these handsome boys waited for the crowning (sure going to miss them next year). Evan wasn't "the" Mr. Brave, but he's "our" Mr. Brave. Besides, it was really just for fun anyway.

Meet Jete

Surprise! Yes, we went from no dogs and no hope to ever get a dog, to two dogs. Mom surprised EVERYONE (including Dad, who is now calling the new puppy The Unauthorized Dog). On the way back from St. George we took a little detour through Gunnison to pick up Jeter. He is a bundle of fur and very playful. He loves to attack Romeo and then they roll all over the floor playing with each other. It didn't take long for us to bond with him. Just a week after he came, Jeter became very sick and had to spend some time at the vet on an IV. We were so glad when he was able to come home. Jeter & Romeo fit right in here and we wouldn't trade them for anything!