The Music Man

Dacia, Jonah, and Jonathan starred in their stake's production of "The Music Man" and they were fabulous. Does it surprise anyone that both Dacia and Jonah had leading roles and Jonathan danced his heart out right there in the front of everyone on stage? It was such a fun afternoon for us all. Caleb, Peter and William all loved watching the singing and dancing and they were thrilled whenever Dacia, Jonah or Jonathan came on stage. Dacia was Marian Paroo and she was amazing (sorry, if you do not want me to boast for you, Dacia.) Her singing was beautiful and she was so fun to watch. Peter kept wondering why Professor Hill did not know her real name, I think he had a hard time realizing this was just pretend. Jonah was Winthrop Paroo and he was so awesome! He did such a fabulous job with remembering his lines and with getting his lisp correct. He was terrific. Then when he sang "Gary, Indiana" he was so animated, dancing so wonderfully around the stage and he was enjoying himself so much; everyone loved it. My favorite part, besides his dance, was when he screamed as the angry crowd was taking Professor Hill off stage; I could totally tell it was him. Jonathan was such fun. My boys loved watching him on stage. He was one of the River City Kids and he was so cute in his hat and dancing his heart out in front of everyone. Then when he came out in his band uniform, it was awesome! We loved it so much! I really hope someone out there got a picture of them and posts about it. I wish I had a picture for you all but take it from me; Dacia was beautiful and the star of the show, Jonah was awesome and so cute with his big smile, and Jonathan was awesome and perfect as his first part in a play. What fun for them all! Tonight is their last performance and I know they will do terrific. Good job guys, we love you and are proud of you!

Kids have a way with words

In just the past two days my kids have said the darndest things! Last night for example we returned home from Parent Teacher Conference with two beaming parents and one excellent kid. He is so smart and awesome at school. However at bedtime my oldest and middle showed me their, I cannot even come up with the word, intelligence...stupidity...innocence.... Anyway, the conversation went as follows; we were reading a story about a character changing what kind of animal it wanted to be. I asked my kids what kind of animal they would choose and why. Peter said a rhinoceros and I thought that was kind of cool. Then I asked him why and he proceeded to say, "because they charge at things and they are mean." WHAT?!? Because they are mean? Because they charge? I do not know what I was expecting from him but that was not it. But I will say that explains a lot about his behavior sometimes.
Then Caleb; last night he was being rather obstinate about getting ready to go to sleep. I asked him nicely and all but he was just being my boy. Some how it came out that he is so much better at school and why. He informed me that if he is not good for Miss Pasker he will get into trouble. I just stared at him with my mouth open wide. What? You do not think you will get in trouble at home for not doing what you are supposed to do? How does that work? Of all the things to say to your mother! "Mom, I'll be good for my teacher because I have to. But for you, you are not that special." I am still shaking my head over the whole business.
Now for today, Peter was helping me make some bread and he started talking about a time when he went to one of Caleb's friend's house for a play date. He informed me that this kid's mom is so pretty and nice looking. He described how her hair looked, how nice she was and what she was wearing. "His mom was so pretty and awesome!" Hummm, I stood there looking down at myself and really tried hard not to be hurt but it did not work. I even clarified for myself by asking him, "so, she was prettier, huh?" He agreed. I know, he is just a little kid and means nothing rude by it but still, what a thing to say to your mom. Gosh, I really have got to do better about certain things if I am to live up to my kid's expectations.

Snow day, but not for long

Yesterday we were blessed with some beautiful white snow. I know for some family members out there they may not want any more snow, but we were excited for it. As soon as Haley went to sleep this morning Peter, William and I were out the door for some fun. I hope Caleb had fun at school because the snow did not last for long. Even as we were building the snowman the snow was dripping off of the tree. Then as I was constructing our fort the sun was heating up and I was even considering taking off my coat because I was getting hot. But we went on with building and packing and it was great! My boys loved tearing down the fort as I was adding on, thus I seized the moment when they went to play in the slush and I really added to the fort. Alas, within one hour of coming in the house part of the fort had toppled because of the sun and by noon the snowman had been cut in half due to that beautiful sun. I should not boo-hoo the sun, it made the weather wonderful for playing in the sun. I just wish that the snow could have lasted maybe one day longer!

In Memoriam

Today was a sad day for our family, but not as sad as for our pet. "Sparks Gray" lived a short, but fulfilling life. He had his own tank with a plant and a filter and all the nice things that fishys like. Unfortunately for him, he had an owner named Spencer. This morning I was dead asleep in bed, no pun intended, when Jonah ran into my room yelling: "Spencer just dumped the fish down the sink!" Sure enough the tank was empty. We (Jason) tried to salvage Sparks by taking off the U-pipe under the sink to see if possibly he might still be there, but alas, he was gone. Jonathan offered to say a prayer for Sparks. He prayed, "Heavenly Father, please help Sparks get to the ocean quickly." I about lost it then. I didn't mean to snicker, but I'm afraid I did. I really wish all drains did lead to the ocean like in Finding Nemo.