Melanie's Summer Concert

Melanie participated in summer band during the month of June. She had a great time. The band was small, about 12-15 kids, but they all wanted to be there, which made the teacher happier and the students happier. Melanie plays percussion and has really enjoyed it. She's planning on continuing with it through middle and high school.

Here is Melanie with her sweet, best friend, Lindsey. Lindsey plays percussion as well. This year there were two beginning bands and Melanie and Lindsey were not in the same section, but next year they will be in the same band class and they're both excited for that.

Here's a little pre-performance silliness starring Riley. We took this first picture, but he complained because his whole head wasn't in the frame, so then we took the next one...

and he was perfectly happy with this one. Granted, you can see up his little nose and his eyes are a little crazy, but that's just Riley!

Here is Melanie's cute group of band friends. From left to right: Lindsey, Melanie, Morgan, Sancie. Aren't they cute? Don't they look like trouble? I think so.


And here's one of their songs. My camera isn't the greatest, but it did a good job of capturing them. The song is called "The Bullfighter" and Melanie had a blast playing it. Lindsey is playing xylophone on the left, Melanie is playing bells in the middle (she played xylophone on the previous song, but that song isn't as cool as this one), and Clay is playing the marimba on the right. Mr. Jordan, Canyon View High's band director, came over to work with these three percussionists, and he is accompanying them on the piano. Enjoy!

Summer Games Tennis

Can I just tell you how insane last weekend was? I signed up to volunteer for and play tennis in the summer games, and Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were some of the busiest and hardest-working days I've put in in a long, long time! But it was all worth it. I helped out the tennis coordinator (Karen, you're awesome) and played womens singles and mixed doubles with Ben. Needless to say, I was slightly busy. ;)

Not only were those days plenty busy, but the whole experience was kind of surreal in a way. I set out to accomplish a goal to win a medal...and I succeeded! I earned a silver medal in singles, and it was a long road to get there.

My first match was Thursday at 12:30. I was a bit keyed up, as I hadn't played singles seriously in a while. Not to mention the day before was so ridiculously windy it was rattling the siding on our house and blowing everything all over creation. Thank goodness it died down and was beautiful tennis weather Thursday. Unfortunately, my mental game was all out of whack and I lost my first match 4-6, 5-7. A match I should have won. I knew I was a better player than my opponent, and not in a cocky I'm-so-much-better-than-her way, but just in the way that I knew I could have won. I just hoped that I would be able to meet up with her again and get her. Nothing personal. I just wanted the win. That loss put me in the loser's....I mean "consolation" bracket, which means I had to win from there on out to earn a medal. I played again that night at 6:30 and won 6-1, 6-0.

I played my next match Friday at 8:00 a.m. The weather was very nice, but only because the wind had slept in that day. (And I got to play on SUU's brand-spanking new courts. My, are they lovely. SUU finally got smart and went up to BYU to find out how they built their courts so they don't weather like the old ones. They also put in some new fencing and lights and painted all the fencing and light poles black. It really looks nice. If you haven't had a chance to see them and you're in town, you should drive by.) Anyway, I won that match 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. My opponent was young and just graduated high school...and very fit, skinny, and tall. She was also a lot of fun to play with, and challenged me in a way that improved my swings and serves. That match was where I really started to find a comfort zone with my serving, and I was loving it!

After winning that match, I wasn't scheduled to play singles until Saturday morning, but Ben and I had two mixed doubles matches Friday: one at 12:30, and one at 3:30, both of which we lost. And that was okay because I was D-E-A-D, and didn't know if I could keep up singles while playing doubles. I've never liked playing doubles in tennis as much as singles. I never really learned all the technicalities of playing doubles, and I'm really uncomfortable playing at the net. Singles has always been much more enjoyable for me. It's opposite in pickleball though, because I'd rather play doubles than singles. Weird. But this is me we're talking about.

Because I lost my first match, that put me out of the running for the gold medal. Which means I had to play and win all three matches on Saturday to win the silver. I tried not to think about in those terms, and it worked fairly well. I just took one match, one set, one game, one point at a time. I played Saturday at 11:00 and won that match 6-2, 6-0. She was a nice lady, a little older than me, but she didn't like when I hit with top spin, and the wind was messing with her head. That and she is from St. George and after two days was "still trying to get used to the altitude." Her words, not mine.

My next game was scheduled for 2:00, but because the matches were getting closer to the finals, a lot of them were going to three sets. And the girl I was supposed to be playing was in a mixed doubles match that, of course, went to three sets. And I hate to say it, but I was glad because she had really nice groundstrokes and a good serve, but her mixed doubles match wore her out. We played after she had a quick rest and I won 6-3, 6-3.

Now it gets good, because my next and final match determined who won the silver or bronze medal. And it was against the lady who beat me my first match. I couldn't have been more excited. I knew I was a different player than she had met on Thursday, but she didn't know that. Funny story...she showed up a little early and I was still playing the tired girl. She asked Ben what the score was, and at the time, I was up in the first set 4-3. She made a comment like, "So, she's doing okay, just trying to get on top." And Ben replied, "No, she's winning." She didn't say anything after that. Guess that's what assuming does. ;)

I think inside her head she told herself that she had been able to rest up all day Saturday, and I had already played two matches out in the wind and sun and I was tired. All of those things are true, but what she failed to realize is that I had been practicing my serve, forehand, and backhand nonstop for the past two days...while she had been home resting. I had also been adjusting for the wind and it was no longer messing with my game or my head. I'll just mention she wasn't a big fan of the wind and leave it at that.

It was the weirdest, most satisfying match I've ever played. I knew by the second game of the first set that I was going to win. I remember serving and thinking, "This is mine." I can't explain why I knew, but I just knew. And I was right. I won that match 6-2, 6-0. A little better than the first time I met her, don't you think?

It was such a good experience for me. Granted, Sunday morning my knees and feet were not very happy with me, but I was still on such a high! I learned so much about myself. Even though I'm 14 years older than when I played in high school, I'm a much better player. Life has helped to soften my temper and increase my patience. Those two things have improved my tennis game just as much as any physical work could.

I also had a great cheering section! Ben was there for all my matches, Melanie for some, Tonia, Jon, Jeanne, and Grandma for some. And some good, good friends were there to cheer me on and make me laugh. And remind me that the green was in. Which is sometimes helpful.

Now, for next year. Gold.

Cedar Canyon

Our family took a little drive up Cedar Canyon Monday afternoon for FHE. We stopped at a few of the lookouts and just enjoyed driving together. Thank goodness, none of my kids get carsick. Although, Carter was, as Melanie put it, "The Boy Who Cried Puke."

We stopped just a few miles up the canyon where the road is two lanes for the slower traffic. There is a little waterfall at the top of that part of the road and we pulled over to let the kids watch the water. It was flowing cold and fast and noisily!

I get to claim this beautiful girl as my own. She's such a funny kid. I love her easy, shy smile.And then there's my extremely cheesy almost-8-year-old. His smile says it all. Silly, silly, silly.

Then there's Riley. He just...does what he wants most of the time. He's definitely the child who has spent the most time in time-out. But he's also ridiculously smart and clever, and can reason his way out of most situations. And this is the picture that greets me every time I use my cell phone. It reminds me how incredibly blessed I am to have a family and also what wonderful, amazing, bright, and loving children I have!

Pickleball

I've had several people ask me, "What is pickleball?" Well, first of all, pickleball is a sport invented in 1965 by a couple of guys who were trying to find some entertainment for their families. They took an old badminton court, lowered the net, cut out some homemade wooden paddles, and found a wiffle ball. Put these things together, along with some basic rules and a ball-fetching cocker spaniel named "Pickles," and voila! Pickleball was born!

It's an interesting game, and unless you've played it, I can't give a better description than to say it's a combination of badminton, tennis, and a pinch of ping pong. The court is the same size as a badminton court, except that the net is only 36" high, the swings and placement of the ball is similar to tennis, and the paddles are like over-sized ping pong paddles.

The rules are fairly simple. However, like most sports, pickleball has a few strange rules--like no standing in the kitchen. What's the kitchen? It's the area directly in front of the net where players are not allowed to stand unless the ball bounces inside the kitchen. The serve is underhand and has to be kept under the waist, and the ball has to bounce once on each side before it can be volleyed (hit before it bounces on the ground).

The game is a lot of fun. In fact, I like it better than tennis. Because there's not the insane bounce in the ball, or the spring from the tennis racket strings, there's a lot more control, which makes it easier to keep the ball in the court. Also, the court is smaller, so there's less ground to cover to get to the ball. Don't let that be misleading--I've had just as much of a workout, if not more, playing pickleball as I have when playing tennis. The game is also good for people of all ages. I play with a group of ladies who are 10+ years older than me, and several of them can whip me good!

This year I've registered to play pickleball in the Utah Summer Games. The sport is still rather new around here, so there aren't a lot of people signed up. That could be good, but it's really not, because that means I'll be in the same bracket as some of the ladies who kick my behind every Tuesday and Thursday. But I don't care! I just love playing.

Mother's Day 2010

I remember being young and giving gifts to my mom on Mother's Day. My family grew up without a lot of money, and homemade gifts were the only thing we could ever afford. It didn't matter if it was a letter, a card, or flowers picked from her own garden, my mom would always say homemade gifts were the best.

This year, I totally agree with her. Not that I haven't appreciated what my kids have given me in years past, but this year was especially nice. Maybe it had something to do with my wrong-side-of-the-bed attitude I had when I woke up Saturday morning (Ben and the kids decided to celebrate Mother's Day a little bit early).

Melanie and I had a mother-daughter date for activity days on Saturday morning. I left the house not wanting to go, and being grumpy in general. Upon our return, I opened the door to find my living room floor all cleaned up and straightened, and the sweet, sweet smell of chocolate chip cookies sneaking out from the kitchen. That was my gift from Ben. Seriously, I think he puts an addictive chemical in his chocolate chip cookies. I even had one with breakfast this morning--it's Mother's Day! (Notice the glazed, slightly crazed look in my eyes? That's the cookies doing!)


After drooling for a minute over the cookies, Riley told me I had to find his gift. So he played "You're getting warmer/colder" with me until I found his gift, which I found terribly funny. He wrote me a letter that said, "To: Mom. From: Riley," and then Ben scribed a story dictated by Riley. It reads: "One day Riley was sitting on the couch. Precious came by. Precious got on Riley's lap. Then Precious got on the side of the couch. Then she got on Riley's lap again. Then she was tired and laid by Riley and then she purred. Then she really wanted to rub her face on Riley and then she did it. The End." Ben said he had to take out a few "ands." Personally, I would have done the same thing...and added in some commas, but I won't go there right now. I told Riley I loved his gift, and he jumped into my arms, wrapped his arms tightly around my neck and said, "I'm so glad you said that!" That boy has people-speaking, I swear!

Soon I heard Carter yelling at me to find his gift. He's yelling at me while his eyes were glued to the GameBoy screen, but at least he could still talk. I found his in his backpack, and it was a collection of really cute pictures his teacher had taken of him during the year. I wish I was more skilled in fiddling with my scanner, because I would have scanned some in and posted them. And granted, his teacher did most of the work, but it reminded me of things I would bring home for my mom from school. And he's so cute in the pictures!



Melanie was the last to give me her gift. Her teacher made some cute flowers out of gift tissue, and had the kids write something on the card. Melanie, being the thoughtful and creative kid she is, wrote me a haiku! It's really sweet: "We're chocolate fans!/We love English and writing/We love each other." How cute, huh? I love that Melanie and I enjoy reading, and enjoy the same books. Just the other day I stole five off of her shelf to add to my summer reading list!

(Carter and Riley both stood on a kitchen chair for their pictures, but Melanie was not. Let's not comment on the closeness in height between Melanie and me, okay? Thanks, I appreciate it.)

Grades Are In

This semester was definitely the most difficult by far. Not only was I challenged academically, but mentally and emotionally as well. Things just kept coming at me, but I survived! I did very well, in fact, and am glad to be done with this semester.

So now you get the regularly scheduled review of my semester. In order from least favorite to favorite:

Educational Psychology
Seriously, this class pushed my limits on trying not to rip my hair out because I was so bored. I'm sure the teacher is a nice man, but he started off the year by making a sexist remark, which I can't exactly recall at the moment. Every day he taught, it was the same thing. He'd give a power point presentation, read it virtually verbatim, and then pass out hard copies of his power point to us. It. Was. So. Boring. My friend usually drew pictures while I worked on my poetry. Did I mention it was boring? However, my perseverance through the boredom paid off.
Final grade: A

Introduction to Critical Literature & Theory
A mouthful, isn't it. You should see the book for this class--it's the one I posted on facebook about the page numbers that begin to look like dates. It's something I don't think I'll ever pick up again. Scratch that, I know I won't ever pick it up again. And lugging that thing around in my backpack was no picnic either. But enough about that blasted book. The class really had some interesting points. I learned a lot about theory, but there is so much to learn. Some people spend their entire lives studying philosophers like Kant, Longinus, and Hegel. I didn't say those people were normal, I just said they were people. The professor ran the class well; she was always open for class discussion rather than lecture, and she never made me feel like I had a stupid question or comment. For me, that earns her big bonus points. All in all, not bad.
Final grade: A

Advanced Poetry
Because this semester was so full of stuff, I felt like I didn't have time to write any good poetry. I also felt like I peaked last semester with my poetry skills. Those two things combined made for an overall disappointment for the class. I've worked with this professor the two semesters prior to this one, and I really enjoy her teaching. I just could not get things on paper like I wanted them. I had less trouble writing essays for my literature classes. Not good for a creative writer! This is also the class where there were issues with a project for the class. Long story short, because of an inept designer, the book made and illustrated with my poetry in it is not something I want to buy. How sad is that?
Final grade: A

Woodwind Ensemble
A lovely friend of mine, who happens to be in Hawaii right now, the little twerp, told me to come and join woodwind ensemble. I did, and loved it. I love playing the flute, and this was a good way to ease myself back into playing. The professor for this class is firm in what she wants, but at the same time she can be absolutely hilarious. Frighteningly so. It was a wonderful experience.
Final Grade: A

Young Adult Literature
This class was the best of the semester, and it's also the class that helped me to grow the most as a person. I've known the professor for a while, we played in OSU for one season together and he's infamous among band geeks at Cedar High. He is a brilliant professor. His teaching style forced me to do my best, not because I had to, but because I wanted to. He told me what I was doing well, but also gave me pointers on what I could improve.

This is also the class that tested my resolve on some moral issues--mainly the content of some of the books in the class. It's where I learned that I don't want to be in a place, or a major for that matter, where I know my morals will be put to the test, and if I hold myself up to what I believe, my grades will suffer for it. I learned so much more that what the course description stated!
Final grade: A

I was really surprised at the 4.0 this semester. I reiterate, this semester pushed me in ways I wasn't prepared for. But thankfully I'm in good hands. My Heavenly Father, my sweet and supportive husband, and my amazing kids all look out for me. I am very blessed. And lucky. ;)

I Despise Being Sick

Two nights ago, I started to get a sore throat. I went to bed and woke up the next morning feeling horrible. Not only did my throat hurt when I swallowed, but my ears hurt as well. I didn't sleep last night because of the pain each time I swallowed, and this morning I felt much the same as yesterday.

I know, wah wah. But Ben and I were talking this morning and I figured out why I hate being sick so much. Besides the fact that I just feel lousy, the entire house is out of whack until I feel better. When Ben gets sick, it doesn't mess with anyone's schedule here. At work, sure, but that doesn't affect our family. When Melanie, Carter, or Riley gets sick, it doesn't affect Ben as much because I'm the one who is home with them anyway. He's great to pitch in and help with extra stuff, but it still doesn't make any problems. But when I get sick, it disrupts the entire household.

Like this morning. I really did not want to go out in the cold and wet (dang you, snow!) to take the kids to school. So I spent a good 20 minutes seeing if Melanie could get a ride (thank you, Shanna) and Carter could get a ride (thank you, Tonia). Then Ben has extra work with helping the kids get ready while he's trying to get out the door (thank you, Ben). It was mass chaos, mayhem, and confusion this morning. No wonder I was grumpy.

And to top it off, the woodwind ensemble is performing tomorrow night for the graduate reception. We have a practice session today, but there is no way I can go blow in my flute for an hour today and two hours tomorrow. I made an appointment with the doctor, but he's not in today, so I have to wait until tomorrow afternoon. It wouldn't be a big deal, but I worry it will damage my grade. And I worry that the professor will think I'm just trying to get out of playing.

I worry too much. I need to stop.

Thank goodness for good family and friends who take care of me when I'm sick. I'd really like to stay well for longer than a month at a time. It's just hard with four of us at four different school locales. And next semester Riley will be in preschool, so that means each one of us will be at a different school. Endless opportunities for germs to party at our house. Bring on the hand sanitizer, hot water, and soap!