volunteers

caroline and jake started their volunteering job today.  they are working at lakeview hospital every monday from 4-7.  they are both needed some extra activities for sterling scholar and college applications.  today they got oriented, had their badges made and learned about what they would be doing.  they will probably have some time to study each week.  when they work they can go to the cafeteria for free too.  it's fun that they can go at the same time.

we are all getting excited to go to phoenix on wednesday.  the forecast is 75 degrees!  jake and caroline are staying home, but the rest of us are excited to be warm.

byu rocketed to the number three spot in the nation today.  that is definitely the most exciting thing that happened today.  here's hoping they can keep that ranking.

the dinner that was a hit

i ran across a martha stewart idea several months ago and i've been hankering to try it since then.  today was the day.  we had a delicious "grilled cheese bar" with only one rule:  everyone had to try one thing that was different for them.  we had eight different kinds of cheese, three kinds of bread, tomatoes, avacados, onions, meats, pickles, fruit and olive oil to drizzle over the top.  there were some pretty amazing combinations going on.  craig did his open face, pepper jack cheese, tomatoes, basil and olive oil drizzled on top.  yumm-o.  my favorite was sourdough bread, sharp cheddar cheese, bacon and pickles.  it was a fun dinner and one we would definitely try again.  perfect for watching the red carpet at the academy awards. 

red iguana and a very, very exciting basketball game

we had a fun day!  we got to watch byu (the #7 team in the country) play san diego state (the #4 team in the country) duel it out on the hardwood.  the game was played in san diego in front of a very loud and hostile crowd.  many of the students at the game were dressed up to mock lds missionaries, which i thought was very bad form.  they were asked before the game by the head basketball coach not to bring religion into the game.  but, we had the last laugh, beating san diego by 13 which will likely put us into the top three or four in the country when the polls come out on monday.  exciting times for byu fans. 

after the game, we got to see evan!  those days are numbered for us.  he drove up and met me at mr. mac where we bought one of his two mission suits.  then craig, evan, caroline and i went to the red iguana for dinner.  delish mexican food (evan's mexican food days are numbered as well). and good company. 

believable buff

biscuit is OUT and believable buff is IN.  thank heavens!  i am not usually one to go wrong on colors, but biscuit looked just like the flesh colored crayon in the box.  i hated it.  craig told me to live with it for two weeks and i'd probably end up liking it.  but i knew i wouldn't like it if i lived with it for 52 weeks.  i thought i would only have to do one coat of the buff because i had "primed" with the biscuit, but it took two more coats.  jen, my cute sister-in-law noticed on facebook that i was painting and came over to help with the second coat.  we had a great time talking and painting.  i will post pictures later.

tonight, the older kids scattered and craig and i went to the blue and gold banquet with isaac and the rest of the cute cub scouts.  isaac earned his bear and two webelos pins.  dinner was awesome, but chuck full of pitfalls for ick.  he avoided hummus, lentil soup, buns with soy flour and sugar snap peas (any one of which would have sent him to the hospital).  i was so happy that there was bbq shredded pork left over.  natalie gave it to me to freeze for evan's missionary open house.  i figured it was enough for about 30 sandwiches, so now i just have to make 220 more servings.

boo for biscuit

i have to say, 1 1/2 weeks on thyroid medication is making a happier life for everyone here at the parry house.  i have so much more energy and i'm a wee bit more cheerful.  i'm tackling a little home improvement project.  after thomas left, i was able to reclaim some areas of my house that he was using (happy to share my space).  i decided to paint my sewing room a lighter color in hopes of making it feel more bright and open.  i selected a lovely shade called "biscuit", painted two coats and promptly began hating it.  it's peachy, the worst color of paint.  i'm extremely annoyed, which is canceling out the thyroid medication for today.  now i have to paint it all over again tomorrow, after i spent the whole day today on this project.  i hope it will be worth it in the end.

the dogs spent the whole day at the groomers today.  it made the house quiet--i missed those eight little legs following me around the house.  they came back smelling good with hair a much more practical length than before.  whenever i pull up at the vets where they get groomed, romeo immediately begins shaking like a leaf  and he tries to climb up on my neck.  jeter, on the other hand, runs around greeting everyone and giving them kisses.

two basketball games tonight.  isaac's team remains undefeated after another rough and tumble game.  isaac has a giant bump and bruise on his elbow to prove it.  sam is playing now, so i'll have to update the outcome later, but his team loses all the time, so an update will probably not be necessary.

one last jimmer--live!

we decided to take in one last live byu game.  we hosted colorado state and despite being hammered, fouled, slapped and pushed down, jimmer came through for us and dropped in 34 points.  big game this weekend at san diego state.  i'm not sure if i can watch i'm so nervous.  winner takes the mountain west conference and gets a top 5 ranking.  yikes.  sam, isaac, sam stobbe and i had fun.  becky kimball offered us courtside seats at the last minute so isaac and his friend enjoyed the first half in the good seats and sam and evan enjoyed them in the second half.  mom sat fourth row from the top the whole game.

caroline played half of her yw basketball game then craig took her to fencing.  she even won some matches!

and jake won his church basketball game, sending his team to region.

ganglers unite

tonight is as good a time as any to outline the fun jake is having at school this year.  he is a member of the ganglers club.  it's an unofficial group of kids who pass the "gangler test", which is a complicated maneuver that is accomplished with hands clutched together and arms have to go over their head.  if you pass it, you are a gangler.  i definitely can't do it.  in answer to the ganglers, a group of kids at the high school have gotten together to form the "stocky people" group. 

last week on jake's birthday, the stocky people declared "G cubed" day.  this is also known is "give a gangler grief" day.  the stocky people were targeting the ganglers.  they have also decided to have "stocky people appreciation day", which is making the ganglers mad because they felt like they were just targeted on G cubed day and by definition, ganglers are not planners, so they don't know how to retaliate.

one interesting fact about stocky people is that if ganglers turn sideways, the stocky people can't see them.  there are also "fanganglers", which are fat ganglers and "burly" people, which i'm not really sure about.  also, there is a difference between ganglers and lurps, which is important to know.