A peach by any other size would taste as sweet . . .

The little peach is a normal size peach you'd find in the store. The other peach is the size of most of the peaches that came off our peach tree this year. HEW-MUN-GUS!!! :)

Despite still being somewhat green, they still taste really good. Especially in smoothies!

Funny favorite

So, I'll put this under my funny favorites, too, but I just had to share this. It's too funny not to.

So, the other day, my sisters kids were talking about their names and how they all have some sort of religious reference. Rachel from the Bible, Jared from the Book of Mormon, Spencer after our prophet Spencer W. Kimball, Dallin after Elder Oaks, and also his grandpa Jay.

Well, Tanner was feeling a little left out. "Tanner's not in the scriptures anywhere," he said.

Piped up his older brother, Jared, "Yes you are Tanner."

"No sir. My name is not in the scriptures anywhere," says T.

"Uh-huh," says Jared. "You are in the scriptures. You know? The brother of Jared?"

Family bike ride for FHE

I love going on bike rides. Unfortunately, I haven't had a bike to ride, because mine has been out of commission. It needed a new seat and the tire needed to be patched up. It's been low on the priority list, but after having the boys beg him to fix it up so that we could do a family bike ride, he agreed.

He found a seat for me to replace the one that was oozing gel out of it, and patched up my tire. After a couple of test runs to make sure the tire would hold, we were ready to go. After a dinner of breakfast, we headed out.

We got Connor situated in his seat behind Brandon (the bike seat filled with a baby is too heavy for me - I can't balance with him behind me) and got a helmet on him. It was too big, but it was all we had. So, we grab a USU beanie, put that on his head, and tried the helmet again. It worked.

He wasn't happy sitting there, but once Brandon started riding, he calmed down. Gavin LOVED riding in this bike seat, and would squeal and clap his hands. Connor just sat there wondering if he really liked this new thing. After having one child smack his knee on his handlebars because the chain flipped off (B), one child get his pants stuck in the chain and then rolling up and securing his pants with my scrunchy (S), and one child hold up traffic in the middle of the road because he couldn't push the pedal hard enough to get his bike going (G), we finally made it to the boys school to play on the playground.

At this point, we were able to get a smile and even a laugh or two out of Connor. He continuously tried to get his helmet off (without success) and was absolutely quiet on the way home again, just trying to decide if he liked bike rides. I sure do - although my backside is VERY sore today. My behind just doesn't fit on a skinny seat. :) Oh well. I think this is something we'll do a lot more of in the future!


"What is this thing, Mom?"


"I don't like this - I think my helmet is on backwards."


"Oh, that's better."


Off we go . . .


"Do I like this?"


Holding on for dear life


"Get this thing off of me!"


"Oh, hi Mom!"

And, then, this video. As you can hear, I was trying to get him to say "Mama" but he ended up saying something entirely different. Hmm.

Interesting Sunday evening

I'm the choir pianist in our ward, and for an hour each Sunday evening, we have our ward choir practice. After the practice was over, the choir director and I were standing in the hallway talking, when a woman walked up to us asking if this was where the CES (Church Educational System) Fireside was. There was a training meeting going on, but not a fireside.

She was very obviously mentally handicapped, and when we explained that it wasn't at this building, she asked where it was. Now, very often at the beginning of sacrament meeting, I'm dealing with a fussy baby who wants to eat, or boys who are still trying to calm down after primary, so a lot of times I don't hear all of the announcements. This was no exception. I had no idea where this fireside was.

But, we thought it might be at the stake center, and told this woman so, and she asked if we could take her. We explained where it was, and she kept asking us to take here there. Our choir director had walked to the church, so I offered to take this woman (whom I will call Izzy) to the stake center.

We walked outside to the van, and Izzy just kept saying, "I won't get in trouble? I won't get in trouble? I won't tell no one." I was confused why she would get in trouble, so I assured her that I was trying to help her and that she wouldn't get in trouble. I asked if there was a reason that she would get in trouble, but I don't know if she understood my question, because she just kept repeating, "I won't get in trouble? I won't tell no one. You won't get in trouble, k."

Turns out, that the fireside was NOT at the stake center. I tried another building with Izzy asking the whole time I'm driving, "I won't get in trouble? I won't get in trouble?"

I didn't have the cell phone with me, so I decided to drive to our bishops house and get the info from him. He gave me the address for the fireside, and as we drove there, I tried to get to know her. I asked her name (Izzy is NOT her real name), and where she lived. She refused to give me her address, although I had offered several times to just take her home. As we were driving along, she kept asking if she'd get in trouble, followed up by the remark, "I'll keep my big mouth shut. I won't get in trouble. I keep my big mouth shut."

Now, that to me is sad - not only that someone would say that to another person ("You keep your big mouth shut"), but to say it to someone that is mentally handicapped just really upset me. I told her that she didn't have a big mouth and that she didn't have to keep this a secret. I was trying to help her after all. She replied, "Okay." Followed by, "You won't get in trouble k? You keep your big mouth shut!"

Anyway, we made it to the other building, only to find the parking lot void of any cars except one that looked like it had been sitting there for about five years. *sigh* What to do now? I knew there was a chapel at appx. the same street numbers as the address the bishop had given me, just with different north/west coordinates. So, we drove there. Again, nothing. We asked a man that was there if he knew where the fireside was. His suggestion was to try the stake center again.

So, we did, and ended up knocking on a bishop's door to ask his help. He gave us the same address that we had previously tried (the one with the car that had been sitting there for half a decade), then tried calling one of his counselors when we told him that building was empty. He couldn't get a hold of his counselor, and told us that he thought it was probably over by then. (It was 7:00 - we'd been driving around for an hour.)

So, I offered again to take Izzy home, and again she refused. "I know how to get home. I can walk. It's not to far. I can walk home. I know my address. I can walk home. It's not far." She took off walking. Ahh! So, I followed her down the hall, and told her that I'd feel better if I could just take her home. She refused, and just kept on walking.

So, I went home and called the Stake Relief Society Pres. who happens to be in Izzy's ward, explained what had happened, and then asked if she was really okay to get home. Come to find out, she's not supposed to ride in cars with other people, because they have to pass some sort of driving test specific to Izzy's needs. Or something like that. Oops!

No wonder she kept asking, "I won't get in trouble?" And then saying that she'd "keep her big mouth shut." She knew she'd get in trouble for being in a car with someone other than her approved drivers, but didn't explain that to me. I just hope she didn't get in trouble because I tried to help.

A story about a boy and his violin

A couple of weeks ago, Scott came home from school with a notice that the school orchestra was starting up. Since he is in 4th grade, he was eligible to participate. With certain instruments - violin, viola, cello, bass - free instruction was also available.

Scott came home almost dancing with anticipation. "Please, Mom, can I be in the orchestra." So, we played the "what-if" game. If we let you, what instrument would you want to play? Would you be responsible and practice? What about lessons - if they start early in the morning, would you still want to do it? He answered that he wanted the violin and that he'd be responsible.

So, Brandon took Scott to a meeting where everything was explained to them. They told them of several music stores where you can rent violins for a monthly fee. Scott was sold. We told him we had to wait until Brandon got paid to go get the violin, the music stand, and the three required books. Every day when we got home from school, he'd run to the mailbox, bring the mail inside, and ask, "Mom, are any of these Dad's paycheck?" :)

So, on Wednesday, we went down to The Book Table, where we were able to rent a violin for him. We'll pay on it monthly, and after two years, we'll own it. He was sized at a 1/2 size violin, so by the time the two years is up, he'll have moved up in size - either to a 3/4 or even a full size. He was borderline between the 1/2 and 3/4, but the gal at the music store told us it's not wise to go up a size with violins. Get what fits, and exchange later as they grow.

So, Scott will be learning the violin. He's been asking and asking to learn the piano, and I've been a bit reluctant because of his finger. His middle one is growing very sideways, and his pointer finger hasn't grown at all since the accident. I taught him some of "When the Saints Go Marching" (just the right hand), and he had a difficult time stretching his fingers out to the right keys. I should probably just teach him - he'll adapt, right?

Anyway, lessons start on Monday, and he is SO excited! His violin is in his room, and we put the CD that came with one of the books into the CD player for him yesterday, and I thought he just might implode. He doesn't show outward excitement very often - he usually just smiles really big, sometimes bounces up and down, and very often will throw his arms around me when he's excited about something. I'm excited too. This is a great opportunity for him and will be good for all of us. B's even talking about getting him a violin next year when he's in 4th grade! :)


I got my music stand!!


Hmm - do I like this one . . .


. . . or this one??


Let's try this one.


Says Connor, "I'm bored. I think I'll . . .


. . . eat my diaper bag.


"Okay, I got my violin and my case."


Taking them for a "test-drive"


Leaving the store with his violin - he's super happy!

Cute, funny video

Enjoy! We did.

Randomness . . . mostly about me

This is for you, Val! :)

* Toady's favorite song is "Orinoco Flow" by Celtic Women. Followed closely by "Don't Tell Me That It's Over" by Amy MacDonald.

* Scott, in the middle of summer, will frequently wear a short sleeve shirt, shorts, his Indiana Jones hat, and his tall black snow boots. Over top of that, he'll put on his Jedi robe, and he'll be set.

* B isn't very random - although his mood can change as fast as switching off a light.

* Connor can almost bounce himself out of his jumper. He LOVES to jump. (I cannot put enough emphasis on LOVES.)

* Sometimes, I think Brandon's the only normal one around here.

* As I'm laying in bed each night, drifting off to sleep, I find myself saying a little prayer (although, it's almost like a chant) that the boys will sleep through the night.

* I'm a bit OCD when it comes to switching off lights at night. All of the light switches have to be in the off position. If one of them isn't, I'll go over to the other light switch that works the same light, and get all of them switched around so they're all in the off position. It drives Brandon nuts.

* I have to have a completely dark room to sleep in. I've trained myself to ignore the light from my clock, but anything else is taboo. We have a nightlight in the bathroom, and if the door is left open, I'll wake up because of the light. It must be a family thing - my sister is the same way. At least one of my brothers, too. C0rrection - I just found out another one is like that. So, at least two of my brothers.

* I also have to have the closet doors completely closed in our room as well as the bedroom door closed (although the bedroom door doesn't have to be latched). If they're left open, I'll wake up and close them. (I kid you not - unless I'm INCREDIBLY tired, I wake up every time.)

* I wish I had my sister's work ethic. I think she gets more work done in one day than I do in a week. Sometimes two weeks.

* I LOVE fruit snacks. If the boys get them in their Halloween candy, I'll sneak those. Really.

* Lately, my favorite lunch is a hamburger sandwich. Ground beef, crumbled up, seasoned and cooked thoroughly, then put on a slice of Grandma Sycamore's bread and topped with a second slice. No mayo, no ketchup . . . Just hamburger.

* I get REALLY silly when I'm tired. Just ask Brandon. Or my sister. Or Patti. Or . . . On second thought, don't. They've got stories.

I'm hungry. I think I'll go have a hamburger sandwich.