School Year Ending with Music

Brandon has sang in the chorus for the past three years now. He too enjoys it and they sounded so good with the songs they performed.

Dylan has really enjoyed learning and playing the cello this year in school. He had his final concert as school last week and did a great job. Brings back so many memories of playing in violin concerts at his age and singing in chorus too. I love that my kids enjoy music too.

Dylan Haircut

Dylan approached me the other day and said he was tired of his hair and wanted to get it shaved off. He didn't like it in his eyes and everywhere. Randy was excited to use his clippers and have a free cut.

Silly Bandz, why didn't I think of this?

At school the kids are hot, hot, hot for Silly Banz/Crazy Bandz. They are so popular that they have been sold out from the two places that sell them locally, they can't keep them on their shelves. Recently, other places have been catching on. You can now find Silly Bandz at about five or six stores, and online too. They are rubber band shaped bracelets that the kids wear around their wrists. They come in all sorts of shapes and themes. They love to trade them on the bus, and school and any other places possible. Dylan has a large Ziploc bag he takes to school and trades on the bus and recess. Whoever thought of this is making a fortune. Each pack of 24 bands sells for $4.99. The thing is, it apparently on seems to be in the PA area. I am not sure if it has caught on throughout the various states yet, we shall see if Silly Bandz will spread states wide. Brandon above is modeling the Silly Bandz and his muscles too.

Bakugan Huh???

This is one of the newest toy craze at our house lately with Dylan. These little colored ball things open up when they touch certain "power cards". into these little creatures things. As you can see Dylan has quite a collection. Him and his friend from across the street Bakugan Battle continuously for hours. Apparently the cards have different abilities and points associated with them. Pictured below is also a great addition to the Bakugan collection. It is a Gautlet and holds the cards and you can easily add up the point with the calculator and other stuff. It is truly amazing the way these kids have all of this figured out. Welcome to Dylan's alternate world of Bakugan.

Who is Who???

I love these....Brandon, Dylan, and Riley all about the same age 9-10 months old. It is fun to see the similarities and differences. Dylan is actually a little younger than Brandon was and Riley is just a little older.

Weed, Weed, Go Away

Meet Bob. This is the weed in the front yard that is so big that the boys have named it. I have been cursed with a black thumb. Plants start taking root out of their pots when they enter my home. I have actually considered planting artificial plants outside - no watering, sun, etc. Although with the dog, Baxter, that could end bad. I am hopeful that if I took the iniciative to educate myself on plant life, I might have more success. A few years back,I did plant some Rose bush plant things that definitely took - the first success Randy and I have had.

I have found that I am a huge green thumb when it comes to weeds. I don't have to do anything and they take over the yard at a record breaking rate. The newest weed (pictured above) arrival was noticed about a month ago and blended in with the plants to which a comment was made on whether is was a plant or a weed. It was kind of pretty even. I slightly attempted to pull it out, but was not very motivated when I got pricked by the thorns on it. Last week (I don't go outside my front door much - we use the side door) I couldn't believe that a little weed had tripled in size now looking like it was on a mission to overthrow the other plants and bushes. I keep thinking of the Little Shop of Horrors movie. Last night I put on snow gloves and a jacket for protection against the thorns. As I was playing tug-a-war with the weed, I was still getting stuck by it and it wouldn't budge. I only wounded it slightly by pulling off some of the leaves. I tried to use a towel for hand protection, still no luck. Brandon and I went out with a shovel this afternoon and put an end to it. I still can't get over the size of the root. Here are some photos of our triumph:

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Time with Family

We had such a great time in Roanoke, Virginia this weekend. We traveled down to be apart of my new little niece Miriam's blessing. She entered into the world eight weeks ago, and is loved by her 3 year old brother Joshua and her parents. It is so fun to watch my little brother in his fatherly role. He truly loves his wife, and children. He is a great husband, father, and priesthood holder. My sister-in-law made little Miriam's dress out of a part of her wedding dress. It is so beautiful, she even made little shoes to match. Sewing is definately a talent I would love to try to find and develop one day. Enjoy the pictures.