Get your GLEEK on

We love the music of Glee (even though the shows have been questionable this season and we have to watch with our finger on the "skip" button) and were so excited to hear of their tour which kicked off in Vegas tonight. My husband said that if we didn't go that he was afraid we would spontaneously explode so we bought our tickets the day they went on sale and have been looking forward to this night for almost 3 months. We were not disappointed. They sang a lot of our favorite songs and there were a lot of special effects. All of the original cast were there and we were excited that they sounded as good in person as they did on the show. It was also fun to see them playing their instruments and dancing. Before the show started, several Cheerios were in the crowd handing out barf bags because according to Sue Sylvester, the show was so bad that we'd need them. Even "The Warblers" were there singing our favorite songs. Each cast member had a chance to sing a solo. I enjoyed seeing Kurt dancing to Single Ladies. So funny! And Artie did his own dance out of his wheelchair during his "dream". My only complaint was that it seemed that it was over as soon as it started. Then it took forever to get out of the parking lot. So we just listened to more Glee songs. It was like our own private encore. haha.

There was a TON of people there. I was surprised that there were so many "old" people there. I loved seeing a lady older than me wearing a Cheerios outfit. I saw older men decked out in their Glee t-shirts. And there was a lady in front of us who stood up and was dancing that made me laugh. If my kids ever think that something I do embarrasses them, I'll remind them of the dancing "old" lady. I could never be that bad. It was fun to be there with thousands of other Gleeks. I couldn't take any pictures because they wouldn't even let me take my camera into the arena. I had to take it out to the car. So I just sat back and enjoyed the evening. It will make a good memory.

Trip to the Biosphere

Cord's last family day at preschool was a trip to the elementary's Biosphere. They have a section in the center of the school that they have made like a rain forest. It's pretty cool place where they keep some parrots, snakes, fish, frogs, and displays of other animals. I was really looking forward to it. Cord liked it when the birds talked to him but didn't like it so much when they screeched really loud. He also didn't want to listen to the the lady in charge as she talked about the different displays which made the field trip more tense that it should have been. Also the lady kept telling the kids not to touch anything and wasn't really nice about it. Um, these are 4 year olds so that didn't go over too well. In the end, I was relieved to get out of there. Maybe he'll enjoy it more when he's a little older. I know I will.

Stomach flu hits hard

Brianna started the madness on saturday. Apparently she had been up all night throwing up (I didn't know, was at work). But like a trooper she went to dance on saturday morning. She reportedly threw up again but went right back to dancing. Now that's dedication!!

Then as I was getting heading out the door for work on sunday, Cord started "throwing out" as he describes it and it continued most of the night. I was scheduled to work again monday night and was worried about getting sleep since he couldn't go to school on monday. When I got home from work Monday morning, Chelsea volunteered to miss a couple classes to watch Cord while I got a little sleep. Cord had started with the runs that morning so she had a brilliant idea. She had him on the pot, with a computer in front of him playing "Toy Story 3". She also had a cup of sprite and later had a plate of crackers on the chair for him. She had him all hooked up. Now, I know this might be a little graphic of a story to blog, but I was so proud of her creativity and he seemed really happy with the arrangement. She does have a little bit of a nurse in her afterall.



At work monday night, the bug hit me fast and fierious so I had to go home early. I felt like I was going to die. I can't believe Brianna was dancing feeling like this. I warned Mason about the bad stomach aches so he could go to the health office if it hit him in school. I just didn't want him to be the kid who throws up in school. Maybe I jinxed him, but after lunch the bug hit him. He looked pretty pale when I got there to pick him up. No school for him tomorrow which ruins his perfect attendence record (with only a few weeks to go - what a bummer).

4 down, 2 to go. So now we are taking bets on who's next. Chelsea has a little stomach ache but has yet to fall. Maybe it's because she so stubborn that she just refuses to get sick. She says she has to much going on in school and can't afford to be sick until this weekend. We shall see.

Chelsea's cravings

Chelsea has been craving chocolate strawberries. So she took it upon herself to make them. I'll admit, they look amazing and I don't even share her love for this treat. She then took these pics and altered them. She is amazing!

Super Scout

Mason is working on his Citizenship in the Community merit badge for scouts. The final requirement to complete is 8 hours of service in the community. So today I went with him down to the DI for 4 hours of service. Next saturday we'll do another 4. They put us to work cleaning all of the displays then we went around to collect extra hangers. He worked so hard. It was fun to have customers there making comments about the good job that he was doing. You could tell he felt good about the work he was doing. We were both exhausted after our time was done though.

NJHS Awards Banquet

Brianna joined her friend Emma this year in the National Junior Honor Society at school. They have enjoyed giving hours of service together. They were required to give 40 hours of service over the year, but unfortunately she went a little over - 48 hrs and 45 min. Tonight they were honored at an induction banquet. I actually remembered to bring my nice camera to take pictures, but left my SD card in the computer the last time I blogged. So I was once again dependent on my stupid phone camera. So I know these pics are a little fuzzy but you get the idea. They came in with candles and recited the NJHS pledge. After a few short speeches they were awarded their pin. Then the kids got to give a rose to someone who had inspired them this year. It was very thoughtful. I'm proud of her hard work.

Random phone pics

I find that I am using my phone camera to capture some fun everyday moments but I wish it took better pics. However, I still appreciate the pics. I was browsing through them today and decided to document these little moments:

This was the only pic I took during our move. Cord was so cute going up and down into the truck carrying whatever box he could lift. He loves to be a big helper.

Cord seems a little young to be getting into the whole x-box thing but he loves it. I don't know how he even knows what to do but he has had no problem playing our old star wars games. I guess it's a good thing we kept the old system around. He looks very comfortable here.

This month Cord's preschool had a family day at the park. It happened to be a windy cold day so only a few kids were there but they still had fun. Here they are actually playing with toy cars on the play equipment. I thought it was really cute how they were interacting together.


We had an ice cream social with the members of our Relief Society Board with our families. While we were all enjoying our treats we heard a lot of laughing and screaming in the back yard. It was then that we noticed that ALL the kids were on the teter-toter. It was super funny (as long as we didn't stop to analyze how unsafe the situation might be). I really am enjoying my calling as the 1st councilor in the RS. What it has forced me to do it get out and meet people. I enjoy our weekly visits and getting to know the sisters in our ward. I make more of an effort to get to the enrichment meetings by making sure I'm off work. I have been truly blessed mentally and spiritually with this calling.

As long as I'm talking about random things, I just wanted to document that Michael finally has a calling in the ward. He has enjoyed his break since we were both released from the primary in January. He is now an assistant ward clerk. I'm not sure what that all entails but I do know he's the one who does the counting during sacrament meeting and he has meetings on Tuesday nights. Poor guy actually has to do some work now.

Cord's plants

Cord came home from preschool with the plants that they have been growning. It's such a special time of life. He was so proud of his plants. Hope we can keep them alive. (I'm not too hopeful but we'll try).

Happy Mother's Day

I worked Saturday night so I slept all morning of Mother's day. When I woke up to go to Relief Society the house was spotless (my favorite thing EVER) and a beautiful vase of fresh cut flowers were waiting for me on the counter. I was able to enjoy a very nice Relief Society even though I was super tired. We had some great speakers that really made us feel special (not guilty for all the things that we are NOT). We also had cheesecake which is my favorite desert. After a nice dinner, then a nap, we chilled out as a family watching a movie with our traditional popcorn and orange julius. Since I usually work on Sundays it's been awhile since we have been able to watch a movie together.

I have very thoughtful children and I'm so blessed to be their mother. On Monday Chelsea borrowed my car and brought me back a treat to take to work. She gave me a little cinnamon cake from "Nothing Bundt Cakes". She said that I deserved something more than just a clean house and knew how much I loved that cake. Brianna gave me a beautiful homemade card that said some wonderful things inside. While I was sleeping Mason helped Cord clean up their room (no small feat). And Cord made me this very fashionable necklace in school. He was so proud of it. I'm the luckiest mom in the world :)

Michael gave me my gift a couple weeks early because he wanted me to enjoy it while the weather was so nice. I love sitting outside in the evening, enjoying the cool sweet air that smells like honeysuckle and roses, while reading a book (even if it's a book for Mason's homework). It's very relaxing and I LOVE it. He is so thoughtful.

Class of 2013

Chelsea is excited about her class ring. She designed the thing all by herself and I think it turned out great. Music is what is most important to her and that's what she chose as her theme. She didn't want her birthstone so she chose this pretty blue. Here's looking to the class of 2013.