Politics and...I won!

Now don't get all excited thinking I ran for some office and won. No, that's not my thing. I'll get to the politics part later.

Lately I have become addicted (literally) to the computer. It's a serious concern because we are having less and less clean clothes and home cooked meals around here. I have discovered I am having too much fun perusing blogs, and a lot of them are cooking blogs. See, I am not totally negligent. We are in a food slump and I have been trying desperately to find new and exciting things to cook. Well, I have found a lot of new things I would love to eat. Now comes the disconnect. I would actually have to plan, shop and cook to eat those things. Hmmm, I really just like to eat, I don't like the cooking part so much.

On to my major award. These cooking sites I have become addicted to checking in with every day have a lot of give-aways. So, I entered a few and I actually won one! It wasn't the lovely le creuset dish or the gorgeous red kitchenaid mixer but the.....Bush's beans gift pack! I know, you are all so jealous. If you want to check out my name in print along with a color picture of what I get, here's the link

http://www.shewearsmanyhats.com/2010/03/spicy-black-bean-corn-chowder/

Pretty exciting times we are having around here.

Now, the politics. Last night we went to a caucus meeting to support a neighbor who was interested in serving as a delegate. Michael had to attend because of a school assignment and we dragged David along as well. He is working on the communications merit badge and one of the requirements is to attend a public meeting. It was actually quite entertaining and cool to be able to explain what we were doing and why and how the political system works to David up close and personal. This is as grass roots as it gets.

I have been to caucus meetings before and they seemed a lot more stressful. I think because when I have attended in the past, Nelson was wanting to be voted in for some position and I am always nervous about things like that.

There were 104 people signed in last night and a lot were neighbors we know. The banter and tone in the room was light. Michael has registered to vote and was able to vote last night because he will be 18 by the next general election in November. He thought that was pretty cool and so did David. David wanted to vote, too. Sorry, 6 more years. Even though this meeting lasted almost 2 1/2 hours David's comment was something like "this is kinda interesting!" and he really did say it with enthusiasm. We had fun.

At the end of the voting they ask for volunteers to help as committee members. The boys asked what it meant to do that and Nelson reminded them of all the times he had piled the kids in the car and drove around passing things out, helping out at elections, and lo and behold, they seemed to remember those times fondly. Nelson raised his hand to volunteer as a committee member and then Michael did, too! It was so awesome! They wrote his name down on the board and cheers erupted from the crowd. They were calling out "All right, Michael", "Way to go Michael", clapping and cheering for him. It was really cool to have all of these adults who have watched him grow up support him like that. So, there was our evening, along with track practice, a piano lesson, a soccer game, an orthodontist appointment, lifeguard certification training, and then scrambled eggs and toast for dinner at 9:45. Do you see where I need help in the dinner department lately? Whew, can I have a break down now? You gotta love life.

Spring's a Bloomin'

It's always fun to see what surprises arrive in my yard every spring.

Happy Spring!

Pi and basketball

I made this pie because Katie's math teacher is "not" giving extra credit for bringing a pie and "not" having a party tomorrow during class and they are "not" eating pie in honor of pi day, March 14, or 3.14. That is the official statement from the math department. They would "not" do that because it is against policy. Yum.

I'm not sure how many of you have March madness but it is stronger than ever this year at our house. BYU has done very well this year in basketball and it brings us cougar fans to pay attention to what actually goes on in the rest of the country this time of year. Tonight for our family home evening activity, Michael chose that we each fill out NCAA brackets and predict who will win the NCAA basketball tournament this year. I went for the random-try-not-to-look-at-the-seeds-when-filling-out-your-bracket strategy. We'll see who wins now!!! Just kidding. Is this even Kosher? Does this verge on gambling or something? I guess it doesn't if nothing is at stake, which there isn't. Oh well. Caroline says next time it's her turn to pick our family night activity she is going to pick playing with barbies. Can you tell how excited she was about this activity?

Katie's First Date

Nelson thought he would wait at the door and sharpen knives for Katie's date to arrive. No, really he did this for Katie and put it all away before the poor guy arrived. I'm sure her date has a sense of humor but we don't want this to be her only date, ever, if this gets around.

Taft Green came to pick her up and yes, I had to get pictures. They are triple dating with friends so it will be a lot of fun. They played mini golf (Katie totally won), then went to Costco for pizza and hide-and-seek and then treats at Iceberg. It's kinda funny because even though these kids are old enough to drive and they have a licence, they can't drive anyone who is not a family member for 6 months after they get their licence. So, Moms and Dads play chauffeur and drive them around for dates for a while. Taft said it was ok that I wanted a picture because the dad driver for this date loves to take pictures and was planning on photographing the whole date. Maybe I will have more pictures later.

So, Taft and Katie have a first date.....

After their former role as husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Mayor, Whoville, dustspeck. I couldn't help myself. These pictures are so fun and I started my blog after Seussical was over, so here are some fun ones of the two of them.

Taft and Katie had a great time on stage and I'm sure they will in real life, too.

Jazz Band and Barbara's 50th

Just because I thought I'd put another picture of Katie playing the piano with the Jazz Band. I love how Mr. Summers the band director has them turn up the microphones for the piano. When Katie played at Canyon View, it was practically impossible to ever hear the piano. He has them turn it up nice and loud so you can actually hear her. He also picks quite a few pieces where she gets solos and intros without all of the brass blasting her out. It's fun.

Here I am with Barbara and Tammy. It is Barbara's 50th birthday today and she looks fabulous! Her neighbor had a surprise party for her last night and we went. The three of us have been friends for 15 plus years. They are both dear treasures to me. We have been through good times and bad, a lot of exercising mornings and birthday lunches. For her birthday, Barbara and her husband are going to St. George and are going zip-lining and repelling. How fun!

Skiing, more celebrating,more skiing and BYU!

This picture is blurry but I put it in anyway. It was night skiing and we couldn't figure out how to turn on the flash fast enough after asking someone to take a break from their skiing to take our family picture. We were going to try again this week but all of us didn't end up going. I am determined to get all 6 of us on the slopes for a decent picture!

The full moon rose above the mountain tops and looked so big! It looks so tiny in this picture, though!

Katie had a party with friends to celebrate her 16th birthday.

David was standing by to remind her to make a wish this time. She forgot earlier in the week when it was just us.

They made their own little pizzas, played a bunch of games, watched Brian Regan the comedian and then played more games. What fun!

We had a big snowstorm and enjoyed the new snow! The sun even came out and we had a great day of Spring skiing.

It's fun to see the kids getting so much better. Katie has ventured into the black diamond world and is doing great! She kept a running tally of how many times she fell and kept updating us throughout the day. You are getting really brave! Hey, I even fell today, the first time in a LONG time. I do not like to fall, it hurts. We love to ski!

As a follow up to the question of Michael's status at BYU, I called and we found out how to go online and see the actual acceptance letter. YES, he has been accepted and he replied online that he will be attending BYU! So, I got my wish, reading the letter with Michael and enjoying what a great feeling it was. I am really excited for him!

Sweetheart's, 16 Candles, and BYU?

"Nerds in Love" was the theme for Orem High's Sweetheart's dance this year. Michael and his group of friends went to the basement of the BYU library in the stacks for their pictures. I love the scout shirt, Steinia! They had a great time.

Michael says Steinia is smarter than him because her stack has more books.

They went to Tucano's for dinner. Yum!!

Sixteen Candles! Yes, that is a pumpkin pie. That's what she asked for! I am sure you can't believe it because I am still in shock that Katie is 16. So, we venture into dating, driving and a lot more growing up. I can't possibly be old enough for this to be happening. Katie will have to wait for the official driving stuff until June when she is signed up for drivers ed. She doesn't have enough room in her school schedule to take drivers ed until then so we just keep practicing on our own with her permit. Isn't she a cutie! Tonight she will sing at the region solo and ensemble festival for choir and next week it is region festival for jazz band. She and Michael have started running with the track team since swim season is over. Busy, busy, busy.

After dinner, Michael and Katie played Heart and Soul for a good 30-40 minutes. Now, this might seem like an annoyance after that many minutes but it was very entertaining actually. After a round or two, they would call out a key change. They worked their way through I don't know how many different keys but it was really fun to listen to them having so much fun together. What am I going to do when all of my piano players eventually grow up and move out? It will be far too quiet. I love to be continually serenaded. What a treat!

We have been waiting to hear officially from BYU whether Michael was accepted or not and well, I guess he was. The reason I say this is because we haven't received an e-mail or letter or any correspondence of any kind but Michael has looked online at the student directory and it has him listed as an incoming Freshman next year. Congratulations? I guess I need to call and check for sure just because I think there should at least be proof or something before I go saying something like that. Well anyway, I thought it would be some exciting event, hey the mail came, gather round, read the letter over and over..."you are officially accepted..."blah blah. Well, I guess that shows my age more than anything. Who gets mail anymore?