D - She's a Gymnast

Like so many of the rest of your kids, Katie had her gymnastics Olympics last week. It was a really cute little program where the family could come watch her display all of the things she has learned this year. She REALLY loves gymnastics, and looks forward to it all week long. We're not putting her in it this summer - she's going to go crazy!!!

Here are a couple of pictures of her with her best friend Olivia. I'll have to get some of her individual shots from Mike and add them later. So far these are the only ones I have. So come back!

D - He's a Reader!

I'm going to have to take just a minute here to brag on my son, The Reader. I wouldn't do this, of course, if it were simply showing off. After all, we are a very humble family (the humblest ever, I think). But, you see, this blog is my scrapbook - as I've not actually touched either of my kids' baby books since about 3 days after each child was born. Normally I would never even consider such a blatant lack of humility, but you can see it is a must.


This is Noah's teacher.




She is a very nice lady, and Noah really enjoyed her this year. As you can see, they had a joking sort of relationship with one another.


I too appreciated her last week on the last day of school when she handed me Noah's report card and told me she thought I would be surprised by it. What? Surprised by a kindergarten report card? DID HE FAIL????


On the contrary. She told me that in her 10 years of teaching, Noah is the best boy reader she has ever had. She said there was absolutely no word that she could throw at him that he couldn't figure out. In his report card were the results of a computerized test that he took at the beginning of the year and at each report card period. On the results for this time, she hand-wrote that Noah got the highest marks in his class. I'm sooooooo proud of him!

M - Big perch and funky hat

That's my boy!!

D - Name Brand Clothing

I cannot overstress the importance of having name brand clothing if you are a member of our family. I told Noah tonight that if he didn't do something about that generic t-shirt he was wearing, he would have to sleep in the treehouse. This was his solution:

As with most projects by Noah, it involved a great deal of scotch tape. In case you're having trouble making it out, it says Calvin Klein. Now his shirt is the same brand as his shorts and underwear.

In all seriousness, isn't he funny? I love the way his brain works. He loves to go in his room and come up with all sorts of crafty projects. This was entirely his brainchild with no prompting from any of us.

Now I'm just going to go take off this Vera Wang gown that I'm wearing....

D - Notes to Self

• Do not bring the "cool" toys to church.
• Do not sit on an empty row at church.
• Do not smile at other children at church - they may feel welcome.
• 7 children under 7 is ridiculous.
• Learn to say "no" to the laughing parents of friends' children.
• Must get even with same laughing parents.

D - All Boy

Just a typical day when you hang out with Noah...

D - Me? Sappy? How did this happen?

As a youth, my family used to call me "Old Hard Heart." Nice, huh? While this could be an exaggeration, I will admit to being the least affectionate/emotional person in my family. They're huggers - I am not. They cry - I pat their shoulders awkwardly. So how is it that I now find myself a complete sap every year on Mother's Day?

This year Noah's kindergarten class had a special Mother's Day Tea. When I arrived, the teacher announced me (and each of the other moms individually), and Noah greeted me in front of his class by giving me a coffee filter corsage that he had made. He then escorted me to his table and showed me all of the other wonderful things that he made for me. I was crying before I hit my chair. It got even worse when they went to the front of the classroom and sang their songs and recited their poem for us. I found myself wiping tears from my eyes the entire time!



It really was a special moment. I felt a bond with all of those other women as we watched with pride as OUR babies performed for us what they had spent months practicing. Of course, I realized I was a little over the top when I discovered I was the only one crying! How on EARTH did this happen? How did I become the one woman in the room who can't control her emotions???? Ahhhhhhhh!



My favorite gift of the year is this cute little guy - my Mother's Day gift from Katie. Would you believe she graciously offered to take care of him for me? She is so thoughtful that way.



I'm not sure how God did it, but he managed to bless me and to totally enrich my life with the two most perfect children in the world for me. When I take the time to ponder these precious gifts, I am overwhelmed by the great honor, and once again, I have no words to express how humble this makes me. I guess that's why I cry. It's almost as if God knows me and knows what is good for me........ He took my old hard heart and made it run around outside of my body.

M - Hike the Grand Canyon - Vol. 1

WOW...what an experience! Hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon ranks right up there as one of the coolest and most memorable things I've ever done.


Here is a picture of my stuff as I packed it all before we left for the trip. The total weight without water was 23 pounds. The pack alone was only 3 pounds and the food, as a total, was the second heaviest packed item except for the near 8 pounds of water!


We flew into Phoenix on a 0635 flight arriving on-time at 0700hrs. We later realized that, if one were inclined, he could fly into Phoenix on this early flight and be at the bottom of the canyon that same night. We flew in on a Sunday and went to church that morning in beautiful Sedona, AZ. It is truly an incredible place but unfortunately I also managed to acquire an INCREDIBLE headache that put a bit of a damper on things. But all was manageable and we had a great breakfast at a little cafe before church. Sedona is very much a city of 'spiritual enlightenment' and you could see it all over the place. If you need a psychic, meditation coach, or crystals to do whatever you do with crystals...this is the place. We were blessed to find the church we did. I'm glad they took the time to assemble a website. This is how we found out about them. There were about 25 people in attendance at the tiny church and twelve were visitors like us. Carson Patterson is the preacher there and it was a pleasure to meet him.

If you decide to visit the park, I'd highly recommend going early. The lines that form are VERY long and can leave you with a long hike before you even see the canyon itself.

When I first saw the edge of the canyon from the car, I couldn't believe it. I mean, I knew it was big..and deep...but good grief! It was gorgeous and a bit hard to comprehend. Once we got checked in to our room we unpacked and preliminarily started getting things ready for the next morning. Ted and I were keeping our eye on the clock though because we really wanted to see the sunset over the canyon. As soon as we could head that way we made the short hike to the common overlook areas by some lodges and restaurants. We also wanted to find the pick-up point for the 'hiker's express' early shuttle.

Here is a view from the top. As you can see, there are LOTS of places to FALL into the canyon. I'll cover that topic on a later post.


Getting the gear ready for an early departure the next morning.


The next morning we had an early breakfast, caught the second hiker's express that ran about 0630 or 0700 (which we almost missed because we were waiting in the wrong location), and hit the trailhead just after sunup. I have to share one quote from breakfast. There was a pasty white skinny fellow with a scraggly beard behind the breakfast buffet counter. He didn't seem too impressed with the breakfast the cooks had managed that morning. He commented on everything from the eggs to the bacon. But this he had to say about the gravy: "That gravy is whiter than I am after a long winter."

It was WINDY(!) and quite chilly at the top. I was talking to a British gentleman that felt the need to comment on the flag I attached to my backpack. He said I didn't really need to carry it and plant it at the bottom because it has already been discovered and claimed for America! Oh well, he was a chatty chap and seemed to be enjoying himself.



























Next up......the 6.9 mile (5,000 ft vertical drop) begins....................

M - What's all that commotion?

So the kids are making an unusually loud racket which is emanating from one of the back rooms.

I inquire to find this activity...

M - World's Longest Hopscotch course?

Not sure exactly...but I am certain I couldn't bend over long enough to make one stretch this far.

Click the pic for a larger view to see how far away Noah is at the other end.

D - Fishing for Compliments, An Open Book & Thank You Notes

Regarding my recent post about my not so proud mommy moments, I want to say that I really wasn't fishing for compliments. All of you who were kind enough to comment told me that I am, in fact, a good mom. I REALLY appreciate it, but I don't want any of you to think that's what I was going for.

I just sort of have this open book policy with regards to my shortcomings. This has not always been a good thing in my marriage, because my husband does NOT believe in airing his little imperfections (or anything remotely personal about himself really). I guess I just think that by saying things out loud it opens the door for communication. Likely there is someone else out there who feels exactly the same as me, and now we can talk about it.

Which brings me to a major failure of mine - Thank you notes. I don't know why this is such a hard thing for me. I mean, it seems so simple. Someone does something nice for you, and you take 5 minutes out of your life to write 4 sentences and address an envelope. WHY then, is it that I can't get it done and harbor such guilt???

So, here it is - my guilty list of recent (& not so recent) events that I should have written thank yous for, but didn't.

• All of the delicious meals delivered to me after BOTH of my children were born. (I know, I know, I'm terrible.)
• Katie's birthday presents from last year. (Thank you, thank you to everyone for all of the lovely things that now clutter my home!)
• My calendar that my friend and former co-worker Michelle faithfully delivers to me every year. (Seeing her husband yesterday is actually what sparked this entire train of thought. Sorry, Michelle!)

Well, I can't believe I can't think of more than that. I guess my subconscious may be blocking some of them out. Anyhow, I hope you don't all think less of me now. Wait. Was that fishing again?