I've gotta crow...!

This post is dedicated to my little brother...who isn't so little anymore! (In all fairness, at 18 I think it's fair to say he hasn't been little for quite some time, but still...) Cody sings. And he's pretty amazing. He has near perfect pitch...which for a long time none of us believed, but we tested him...it's true! He has spent his high school choir time under the direction of Kelly DeHaan, and has been inspired by this great teacher to become a choir director himself. (He'll be fantastic!) Anyway, his very last choir concert was last night. It was LONG...but great! There were fun parts (like when Cody sang the teachers arrangement of "Kiss the Girl" as a solo, dedicated to Mrs. DeHaan, the teacher's wife!) and sad parts (when all the next year's NEW Madrigals come onstage and take the place of all the OLD Madrigals, who have to leave the stage...there were many tears.), and in addition to having a solo, Cody also got to conduct a number performed by "Take 10", the men's choir.

Way to go, Cody! Love you! And still can't believe you are graduating already!!

Um...Not Okay!!

I have SNOW this morning! And not just a "skiff"...(which, by the way, is one of the silliest words in our language, in my opinion!)...it's enough snow to cover my grass. (On a related note, my 8-year-old is going to be quite perturbed that the snow never really did stick to the driveway. He was hoping to get one last "shovel" in (he gets $5 if he clears the driveway...frankly, he's getting hosed! It's a big driveway!) before summer really hit!)

Which brings me to the point of this blog. Remember in my last post I mentioned that Lee's new dog rings a bell to go outside? Well, today I have spent more time outside than in, because Luke likes the snow. A lot. He rings the bell and I take him out, but when we get outside, he's so distracted by snow (eating it, rolling it into snowballs with his nose, rolling in it, etc!) that he forgets what he's supposed to be doing. We come in, without having done any business, and 5 minutes later he's ringing again!

Can I just say...Pee already!!

On the good news front, it wasn't my weekend to teach Relief Society! :D

A Boy and His Dog

I was telling my husband that I've only been blogging for a few weeks and I'm already out of stuff to say.

After he stopped laughing at the thought of me with nothing to say, he said I should blog about "A boy and his dog". So here goes.

My husband got a dog. Technically, we all got a dog, but he REALLY wanted this dog! (Does that sound familiar to anyone else? :D Anyone with children, or if your husband is "Noah" reincarnated like mine is?) This one is an English Cream Golden Retriever. We have named him Luke and he came with a good foundation of training. We've got work to do still, but today, he rang the bell (Yes, you read that right...our not-so-little gentleman rings a bell that hangs from the doorknob to tell us he needs to go out!) every time, and had no accidents inside. (Except the puke...but I'm not counting that, because nobody MEANS to puke, right?) We also own two little Yorkies, and I was worried that Luke would eat them for a snack. However, they've been getting along surprisingly well!...Mostly...!

Did I mention how excited I am for this dog? No? Okay.

Sigh.

Memory Lane

I was reading my brother's blog today and it got me thinking about things from elementary school...And I was giggling just a little as I remembered this story:

I was in 3rd grade, and had gone into the restroom. There I found a friend hanging onto the top of the stall door and swinging back and forth on it. I watched her do this 4 or 5 times, and then she says, "Wanna try?" So I did. And the door falls right off it's top hinge. And the best part? Not that I broke the door...!

The best part is that this friend...she ran out to the teacher and TOLD ON ME! For doing the exact thing she had been doing. And my mom worked in the office...I was so busted!

Come to think of it, maybe she wasn't really my friend...

I'm thinking...

I have a deck with no stairs. Apparently, building a deck is not that expensive...but putting stairs on that deck...WOW! So we've been getting bids to see if we can have some put on this summer. It would be nice to walk out the back door and right into the back yard...instead of out the front door and around to the back. (I told Lee I'd build them, but for some reason he's not comfortable with that plan...!) Oh well. Maybe next year.

And to all my fun cousins...it was great to see you ladies at the shower! I'm looking forward to the next one. I'd like to have a McPhie gathering out here at my house, so details are in the works and should be forthcoming! (Although, unofficially, you are all welcome anytime! Just call...I'm probably home!)

Girl stuff...

Last night I decided to enlist my girls help in painting my toenails. I never do that...mostly because it's hard to see those little toes all the way down there! I figured Sydney and Megan can get a lot closer than I can. It totally worked. I'm sure there are flaws, but the same thing that stops me from reaching them to paint them prevents me from seeing the flaws. It's the perfect plan! :D

Tonight we girls have a bridal shower to go to...and another one next weekend! We're so excited! In fact, all the boys were so jealous that Lee got tickets to the Bee's game for tonight to make up for it. Should be fun...I bet the boys get to bed first!

Tuesday is here!

So I have several reasons for picking Tuesday as my favorite day of the week.

First off, it marks the end of my grueling 10-hour work week. (whew!)

Second, I use my two long (snort!) nights at work to justify putting off my house cleaning for one more day...or two...or, well, nevermind. But I don't have GUILT on Tuesday's!

Third, my TV night. Oh yes...I pretty much claim the TV from the beginning of American Idol, then Glee, and then I turn over to V. Lee is stuck playing Bejeweled on facebook, or watching with me. He likes American Idol, but the others...well, not so much. Glee makes me laugh. And there is singing. Pretty much two of my favorite things! V is an hour long, but it seems like it is over in 15 minutes...I get so wrapped up in the story, then it ends and I have a whole WEEK to wait for another episode.

So here I go...not cleaning like I should, and looking forward to tonight's lazy TV indulgence! Please, enjoy YOUR guilty pleasures!

Hooray for mothers!

I have two fabulous moms. My MOM-mom, who raised me, taught me how to love and care for others, she taught me to be strong and "just do it." From her, I learned what a loving marriage looked like. I learned about compromise and acceptance, I learned to love playing...both with her when I was a child, and now to enjoy the time I have with my kids while they are little. There was always so much laughter in our home, so much fun and games! Then I got married and gained another fabulous mother! She always makes me feel just like one of her kids; she raised 3 kids, all of which turned out to be terrific examples to me. They reflect the good things she taught them, and the faith with which she did it. I love my moms. I also love to be a mom. I am very blessed to have such a great husband and kids to be the mommy of! Happy Mother's Day to all the other deserving mothers...And to all the fabulous people who are great examples to my children! I thank you for your influences!

So it's been a busy week...something on the calendar every day! Tonight we are excited to honor Tory at the Jordan School District's "Author's Night". All the 3rd graders wrote and submitted stories, and a few were chosen to be published in a district wide book. Tonight, they are going to let those "authors" do book signings. (I'm sure it is a fundraising ploy to suck all the parents into buying books, but I will happily succumb and let my fabulous 3rd grader sign my very own copy!)

At least tonight's event promises more fun than last nights. Last nights fun event: 5th Grade Girl's Maturation. 'Nuf said.

Field Trip!

Today I got to go to the zoo!! Spencer had his kindergarten field trip to the zoo, and I got to go with him. They only assigned me 3 kids...usually when I go to the zoo there are at least 5! Who thought the field trip day to the zoo would be relaxing?! It was fun. Spencer carried the map, we got to have a picnic with our sack lunches, and we spent several hours looking at animals: The big cats and the snakes were the favorites! (We actually watched the crocodile eat a VERY large rat while we were there...seriously the size of a small house cat! Usually he just sits there with his little nose barely out of the water...but not today! That was a huge hit with all three of the young men!)

Shout out to Aunt Rhoda for taking Michael for me! (He loves going to Rhoda's because "They're have a trampoline and Rhoda always makes noodles.") Thanks!

News from WalMart...

So I work for WalMart...(insert joke here)...and most of the time I don't mind it. It allows for plenty of funny stories. The store I work at is not a Supercenter, it is just a little grocery WalMart. I handle at the service desk all kinds of complaints and questions, as well as helping people use our little digital photo kiosks, and making balloon bouquets when people order them. But we don't do that awesome Harmon's thing where we just give out free balloons.

I was complaining to a coworker about an adorable...but totally bratty!...little girl who was BEGGING non stop for a balloon for the whole 5 minutes it took me to help her mom make some money orders. Finally I was finished helping her mom and I decided to go ahead and give her a balloon. So I ask what color, I put the string on, curl the ribbon, and bring it back to her. She doesn't thank me...she says, "I want one of those clips." (These are the weights that we put on the bouquets.) I said no. (Hee-hee!) Anyway, a few minutes later, as my coworker and I have moved on to another subject, a man comes to the counter where we are talking. This is a man, probably mid to late 20's. And he asks for a balloon. He was apparently standing near enough to our counter to have heard our story, as he burst out laughing at the looks on our faces and then walked away to check out.

As everyone knows, I like to have the last word...and so as not to be out done, I made him a balloon...and presented it to him at the register as he was checking out. He was SO embarrassed! And I still laugh at his not-small form walking out of the store with his little blue balloon in hand. It was awesome.

Ahh...Sunday...

The peaceful, quiet mornings.

You know those Sundays where you wake up and get ready for church, your kids speak nicely to each other all morning, they get themselves ready without argument, they even clean up their messes in the kitchen and bathroom after getting ready, beds get made, laundry get picked up, and all without asking!

Yeah. Me either. Sigh.