The end of an era

Today was field day and my last PTA event. It feels great to have the year behind me. I have to say, while everyone assumes that it was a terrible year, I feel it was a pleasant experience. Now, I must admit, PTA leadership at the state level was overbearing and mean when we looked into becoming a PTO. Putting that fun exercise aside, I was impressed by the time, money, diligence and care that the parents of my school put into the activities. I was probably a pain in the you-know-what because I was always asking if we needed to do things just as they were always done, or if there could be a better way, and therefore made several changes. The ladies on my board were totally supportive of me and were always there to help. I am a bit overwhelmed by the talent and compassion at the school I witnesses this year. It is something I would have been oblivious to had I not been the PTA president. I would recommend the job to anyone who is interested. If you go in with a pretty thick skin and an open mind, you too, I am sure, will be touched by the people at your school.

Now, on to summer!!!

The Cure Concert

OK, so I will leave this posting in black because, after all, it was the Cure. Matthew and I went to the Cure last night with Jay and Amy. We had a great time at dinner and for the opening act. (Really, I just spent my time watching the bizarre people walking around.) Then the Cure proceeded to hit us with their music for 3 hours. Yes, 3! I was ready to hit my head by the end of the 1st hour. It was so loud you couldn't really distinguish any of the various parts of the music, it just all mushed together. But the bonus was, you got to hear every note 6 times as it bounced off every wall in the E-Center and hit you repeatedly. Robert Smith's voice was like a mumble you could just barely get a glimpse of under the blare.
Due to this experience, Matthew and I will never again go to a concert not at a concert hall. (NO! anywhere a sporting event regularly takes place can be labeled a concert hall.) Oh, the passing of youth. I went to the symphony with the girls last week. We were truly moved by the music itself, not because our clothing was being vibrated by the sound waves. It was a much more pleasant experience.
Good luck to old man Smith. I wish him well, but I will have to limit by time with him to my ipod.

Elliot mourns western globalization

The other day I came downstairs to find Elliot mumbling over his breakfast. He was very upset and angry about something. I asked him what was bothering him, fully expecting the typical answer of "my sister made me mad." However, not this time, it was bigger than that. He went on a tirade about how cool China used to be, how it was weird and different. Now, it is just like America with buildings and everything. He was completely disgusted that they were building the world's largest Farris Wheel in China. I had to leave pretty quickly, due to my need to burst out laughing. Now I just need to see what they are studying in his class for social studies.

My day with Adi

I loved my day with Adi. She is such a good baby. I loved being reminded of what life is like with a little baby in the house. Babies force you to take a break every three to four hours, to feed them or rock them to sleep. Most of their troubles can be fixed with a bottle, new diaper or a cuddle. Life really was nice with babies in the house. I guess I will just get by with a few niece and hopefully nephew visits. However, having self contained children is also nice. Not near the distress with activities as babies give you. I can actually go to the store with them and not fear losing them. Even better, I can go to the store by myself. Lesson learned....enjoy all the ages, they never last long enough.

I love all the comments on this one. Let's start a revolution or rather a devolution. Maybe our childhoods really were golden. No up-do's, no bigger and better, just having fun biking over the grasshoppers that came in droves out of the empty lots. Let's allow our kids to experience that for even a summer.

ridiculous pictures

Holy Cow. I just had the most irritating experience to date with the dance team. PICTURES. No longer is it enough to dress the girls up cute in their costumes, pose them, and snap a couple pictures. No, now we have to get up do's and make-up, three different outfits plus team and company shots. Three hours, way too much money and swearing under my breath is what these pictures took out of my life. The pictures better be award winning for me to ever look at them with any fondness. I say that now but I'm sure when I see my beauties I will be happy to have the pictures. Next year..... Target.

Finally over

Ok, I have had some pretty busy weeks, but this last one really was busy at it's finest. Not only was it teacher appreciation week, (thank goodness for a great committee for that one) & I had a two day conference in Provo, I also had the 5K to prepare for on Saturday. Somehow, everything happened without too many problems. We managed to pamper, feed and award 80 teachers and staff all week long. I truly hope they all felt appreciated. I did attend the conference in Provo, however, I don't feel it was all that successful. I am sure that the majority of my time there was time misspent, and I could have used that time back at home. Saturday morning came all together too early. Only because Katherine woke me up at 3 a.m. to tell me she could hear Carbon Monoxide leaking in the basement. I was able to calm her by showing her it was just the water softener refilling. Silly girl. Of course I couldn't get back to sleep with the 5k event running through my mind. I finally got up around 5 but didn't leave the house till 6. I am very glad to write that I was able to blow the air horn 30 seconds after 8. The race began on time, nearly 300 registered, and the winner crossed the line just before 8:20 and seconds before Lex and Adi finished. Matthew & Elliot wasn't too far behind. Elliot was the second in his age group to finish. Jilynn, Emilia and Katherine also finished in good time. Over all, it was a fun event.
By 4 today I was ready to drop. I did fall asleep around 6, so now I am on my second wind that has just about blown over in the time it has taken me to write this blog. And so, back to dreamland I go........