Albuquerque Turkeys: March 2014

Monday, March 31, 2014

March Madness

No not the basketball madness. (Our favorite team was 1 and done, so we haven't been super engaged this year.) Just the regular Gariety madness. This is sort-of becoming a habit of mine, this monthly review of stuff. So here's a slew of stuff that happened in March.

Gravity Park

The kids had parent teacher conference this month. Dallin got two days off the first week in March, and the Elementary kids got their two days off the 2nd week in March. (Dallin admitted to being a little lonely those days without any siblings home to annoy him.) On one of the days of the parent teacher conferences we met some friends at Gravity Park, a trampoline park. They all had a blast. Even Bennett.

aw, rivals can be friends

St. Patrick's Day Stuff

I know it's not a major holiday, especially since I'm not catholic or even very Irish. But I like to decorate for St. Patrick's Day. I don't have a ton of stuff, but I do have some stuff. Kind of like my Irish blood. It's there. A few generations back. I wish I could claim more because I think the Irish are awesome. And once in awhile I'll turn on my Irish step dancing music or "I'll Always be Irish" sung by Tommy Steele, and bust out my inner Irish. But mostly, I'm a wannabe.

I made a fun banner for March. Shamrocks on pages of an old book. (Totally stole this idea from my sister Natalie. I'm a wannabe AND a theif!) It only took me about 45 minutes to crank it out, and I love it! Funny story about this craft--I got the book at Good Will for the sole purpose of tearing out pages to use for crafts. So I wasn't looking at the content of the pages--just the condition of the pages--I wanted them to look kind-of old. Well, Dallin just told me this morning that he was trying to read the pages but had to stop when he came across a choice four letter word that starts with F! So be warned--until I replace that piece of the banner, best not peruse my shamrock banner.

More St. Patrick's decor

We don't go crazy for this holiday--no special leprechaun visits at our house, but we did invite the Esplin family over for a green dinner and FHE. Here is my rainbow fruit platter that took me 2 HOURS to do. So I had to take a picture of it before it was devoured. That was a LOT of fruit. And I think it says something about the collective size of our families that there were no leftovers.

Sydney is a Fashionista

Sydney dresses herself. As I think I've mentioned before. I LOVE some of the combos she comes up with. I used to be a little bit self conscious taking her out in public that way, but let's be honest; she totally rocks her style. It's Sydney. And I'm gonna miss it if she ever decides to wear stuff that matches. Her classic look is a shirt, with a skirt and leggings none of which match each other. Her shoe selection varies based on mood--sometimes it's pink sparkly boots, sometimes glass slippers, sometimes it's socks with sandals.

If you want to try a little "Style a' la Sydney," here is the recipe for the ensemble pictured below:

Rapunzel t-shirt by Disney

White shrug by Target

Navy and floral skirt by Children's Place

Pink and white polka-dot leggings by Target

purple flower sandals with multi-colored striped socks by ?

And everything in her ensemble are hand-me-downs.

So you can totally dress like Sydney without breaking the bank!

Daffodil Deliveries

Trader Joes had bunches of daffodils for sale for a great deal, so I got a bunch to deliver to VTing ladies, and friends and neighbors. It was pretty delightful making those daffodil deliveries. I'll be looking for those daffodil bunches at Trader Joe's next spring, for sure!

Frozen DVD released!

This picture says it all.

We watched it 13 times in the first week.

Five-Star #1

Dallin is in the mixed show choir called "Five Star" at his middle school. Their teacher, Mr. Prior, is amazing, and his choir program is pretty darn good.

dress rehearsal/performance for parents

The theme for their show this year is "School of Rock." They start out as a bunch of darling nerds singing "ABC," "Hip to be Square" and then decide they want to be cool during a ballad arranged by Mr. Prior that is 4-6 parts a cappella. When they aren't nervous and the sopranos don't go sharp, they pretty much kill that piece--it has given me chills a couple of different times. Then they turn into rock stars and sing "Still Rock n Roll to Me," and "We Will Rock You" and something about "We don't Need No Education." It's a little disconcerting to see my darling nerd turn into a rock star wearing a black studded vest, but he has such a fun time, I guess I can over look it, so long as it's just pretend.

Dallin got to go with Five Star to compete in Los Alamitos, CA where they won Best Musicianship, Best Showmanship, and 1st Place All-Around. This picture was taken by Natalie and Brian who drove 1.5 hours to go see Dallin's performance in Los Alamitos! (Thanks, guys--you are awesome.) When they were done competing they also got to go to Disneyland and Knottsberry Farm, which, I'm pretty sure, is the reason Sean has been telling me he wants to do show choir when he gets to middle school. :) Good enough. They compete at the local Show Choir Festival this weekend.

Go Five-Star!

Family Home Evening at Pop-Pop's

Sometimes when the house is a disaster, and Arthur is out of town, and I haven't thought of a Family Home Evening lesson, we have a "work party" where we all clean up the house in 30 minutes and go get Pop-Pop's as a reward for all that hard work.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Unfortunate Preschool Field Trip

She hated it. She didn't even get out on the roller rink before she'd fallen multiple times. Hard. On her bum. I even tried bribing her with an ice cream cone if she would go out and join the class. (There was a roller skating class for small beginners that day). Now, I really don't care if she knows how to roller skate. I just want her to not be afraid to try new and difficult things. But finally after 10 minutes of this, I figured we'd find other opportunities for her to go outside of her comfort zone. I said, "It's fine Sydney, you don't have to skate. We will put the skates away and run some errands."

"And get an ice-cream cone?" she asked tearfully.

"No, we're not getting an ice-cream cone because you wouldn't go out on the rink."

Out came a fresh, hot batch of tears and wailing of, "But I really want an ice cream cone!" I told her the conditions of the ice cream cone were going out to the class on the rink without crying. She thought it through and decided she wanted to try. So we put the skates back on, and dried her tears and she very tentatively made her way on the rink. She crawled part of the way, and held a teacher's hand part of the way. And she made it to the middle of the rink, and then turned around and walked/crawled back off. She said, "I did it! Now can I have an ice-cream cone?" Well, I guess she met the requirements. She went out on the rink to the class. I had never specified how much time. So she earned her ice-cream cone after all.

I was so busy watching her I forgot to take a picture of her actually on the rink. So this is her after she was done and had earned her ice-cream cone.

After we got back in the car, (at 10:30 a.m.) she said, "Whew! It's been a long day. Can we get Chick-Fil-A for lunch?"

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Sean's First Pinewood Derby

He made this cool design for his car.

And then he and Arthur made something different from the design.

It was a BYU tank.

Exactly 5.0 ounces

And Sean's car was off to a good start! He won a bunch of his races, which was super exciting.

Arthur was on business travel so he watched some of the races via FaceTime. But after awhile my phone was ran out of batteries, and also I noticed that three of my children were missing, so I had to end his pine-wood derby participation rather abruptly and fill him in in the car on the way home when we could plug that phone in, and all of the children were present and accounted for and screaming and yelling at each other about something or other. That was special.

Sean's car won a prize for the most school spirit. And he had a lot of fun. And that's what pinewood derby is all about.

Saturday, March 08, 2014

Wilt Thou Be Made Whole?

Healing at the Pool of Bethesda, by Carl Bloch

It's been almost 5 months since our Stake rearranged ward boundaries and we were moved from the La Cueva Ward back into the Cherry Hills Ward. And, I'm embarrassed to admit that I have still been struggling with this change. I feel this has been a lot harder than it should have been. Sometimes I feel fine and other times I feel very angry and bitter and depressed. And what is partly irritating is that I can't quite pinpoint why exactly.

Of course, I know the church is true in every ward, and there are lots of wonderful people in Cherry Hills, just like there were in La Cueva. The demographics are definitely different--less youth, more wisdom-filled older people, but still good, dear people. And I know I should be grateful to have a building to meet in, even though it's across town and in a sketchy neighborhood and the design is bad, and it's old and annoying. I know there are members in the world who walk two hours to church or who meet in schools or other places that are not dedicated places of worship. I know all of that, but I have still been struggling, and can't figure out what about this is so stinkin' hard.

On top of the hard list, of course, is seeing friendships that we had with people in La Cueva slowly deteriorate. It's heart-breaking, actually. And sadly, it feels inevitable. When you don't see people regularly, like at church every week, or during the week at cub scouts or mutual, or for visiting teaching, you just become less and less a part of their lives. And you have less and less to talk about when you see them. And you miss out on little things that keep ward member friendships alive. I keep thinking of that saying "make new friends and keep the old." Well, I don't know if I believe that. Because while we are trying to maintain the "old" friendships, it takes effort and time. And for all our effort, there just isn't enough time to keep up relationships with everyone we wish we could.

There's a lot at play here that is hard in addition to lessening of friendships we wish were deeper than ward boundaries. And after five months, I'd have hoped to be in a better place. Sometimes I AM in a better place. And sometimes I feel like I'm just wallowing in sorrow and anger and resentment. I figured with some time my heart would work out its issues, but I'm still harboring a dark place inside that feels unbearable some days. After the change I prayed and prayed for help in dealing with the changes, and felt my heart soften. I thought I had received the help I needed, and went forward, feeling good for awhile, but became disheartened as gradually, the anger seeped back in.

Well, a few weeks ago, we had a Relief Society lesson where the teacher shared this picture by Carl Bloch, and we talked about the story in the New Testament of Christ healing the impotent man by the pools of Bethesda. When he lifted the shroud covering the man, Christ asked, "Wilt thou be made whole?" And at that moment in Relief Society, as I was struggling to keep Bennett from being too disruptive, I felt Christ asking ME that question. "Sharee, wilt thou be made whole?" And I felt deeply that it was my choice. Did I WANT to be made whole? If I wanted it, I could choose to be made whole through Christ, but it would require some action on my part. It wouldn't necessarily just be handed to me after putting in a sufficient mourning period.

I thought on that for a couple of weeks, and eventually one Sunday, Arthur and I decided to fast together for our hearts to be healed. That Sunday (not a regular fast Sunday) the talks were on forgiveness which at first I thought didn't really apply to me because I haven't been offended by anyone lately. :) But as I listened, so much of what they had to say applied DIRECTLY to our circumstance. I have been holding a grudge, I think. Against nobody in particular, but against the hand we've been dealt, I guess. (Which I know isn't a hard hand compared to real problems that a lot of other people have, but it's been a struggle for me, so don't judge.)

I have been angry that they changed the boundaries, and at the way they changed the boundaries, making Paseo the boundary line, which resulted in us getting cut off from ALL of the families that our kids were friends with. And I'm mad that they left the CH ward at the Haines building when it would have been a perfect time to let another ward take a turn. I also know that this anger has been preventing me from feeling a full measure of the Spirit. One of the speakers that Sunday shared a little saying that went something like this: "Holding a grudge is like being stung to death by one bee." That really resonated with me. I am just letting this same stupid bee sting me over and over and over.

For awhile I was thinking that if I could just pinpoint what it is that I'm struggling with exactly, (surely there must be something else underlying all this besides friends and buildings, since I'd already thought through those issues multiple times,) I'd be able to logic my way out of my depressive cycle. I'm sure I could work through it if I could figure out what exactly I'm having such a hard time with. Because it bothers me that that I am STILL having a hard time. I wish I was fine with everything.

In talking to a wise friend recently about how I'm still struggling, (to the point of depression even,) she suggested that I approach the Lord in prayer and just ask him to remove it from me. I don't have to know exactly what is going on. The bottom line is that it is a righteous desire to have the anger, and bitterness and depression rooted from my heart. And I should just ask him to take it from me.

So that Sunday we fasted and prayed and I told the Lord I don't want it anymore. I need to let it go. By letting this grudge continue to sting me, by continually wishing my circumstances were different than what they are, I am diminishing the joy and goodness of where I am in my life right now. I've had enough. It's time to let go, and hand it over to the Lord. I want my heart to be healed. I choose to be whole.

Since that prayerful Sunday, I have felt a lightness in my heart where once it was heavy. I have felt like smiling more. Real smiling, and not the smile I put on my face to hide a hurting heart. Past experience has taught me that I will need to be continually prayerful about maintaining this feeling, but I just want to testify that the Savior of the World truly has the time and the power and the desire to heal our broken hearts. And if we choose to let Him, He will make us whole. Over and over and over again.

Thursday, March 06, 2014

February Quotes

Our much-anticipated trip to Harry Potter Land is getting closer and closer. The kids are earning money to buy their wands at Olivanders and re-watching all the movies and just generally have a lot of Harry Potter on their minds. So it was kind of funny when one night Sean was asked to say the blessing on dinner and he began his prayer like this:

"Heavenly Potter . . . I mean, Heavenly Father . . ."

Sydney: Can we play Daddy's tar?

Me: You mean his guitar?

Sydney: Yes. His good tar.

Here's a little snippet I heard one day of Sydney playing with her frozen dolls.

Elsa voice: Kristoff, you marry Anna. So go. Go and marry her.

Daph: Which is better? Star Wars or Harry potter?

Sean: hmmm that's a hard choice.

Syd: (twirling around) Do I look great?

Me: I'm counting down from 7 for everyone to get their scriptures and come in here! 7, 9..., wait 9? I mean 8. I mean 6! (My brain is scrambled at the end of the day.)

While watching some Olympic male figure skating,
Sydney blurted out: "Boy, get a haircut!"

Dallin: I know something I'm better at than you.

Me: What?

Dallin: Basketball.

Me: Yep, you are definitely better than me.

Daphne: I'm better at basketball than Mom too!

Sean: EVERYBODY is.
(truth)

Saturday, March 01, 2014

My Frozen Stars

Friday, February 28th

Our elementary school does a variety show each year. Most years we miss it for some reason or other, but this year Daphne really wanted to sing "Let it Go" and since we didn't have an excuse not to participate, we did it this year. It's kind of a pain to sit through the rehearsal and even the performance because it's really long, even though they limit each act to 1.5 minutes. But it is a good thing to participate in, and gives the kids a chance to perform in front of a lot of people and just gain confidence that they can do it. Daphne and Hayden each sang a song from Frozen, our current favorite.

Daphne requested an Elsa costume. Since I had nothing else to do, (ha) I went ahead and made one. And one for Hayden too. And since Frozen patterns are not yet being sold in the stores, I just kind of made these up. I used pieces from other patterns we had at home to make the bodice of Daph's dress, but other than that, I pretty much made my own pattern out of tissue paper and a lot of wingin' it. All things considered, I think it turned out pretty decent. Not as glamorous as I'd envisioned, but still pretty decent.

Anyway, enough about the costumes. They both did GREAT! I was so proud of both of them for having the courage to do it.

Before the show

Before intermission, a bunch of the teachers got together to do this special act.

It was a surprise performance of "What Does the Fox Say?"

It was a riot--they totally stole the show, and Hayden was really proud that his teacher, Miss Phillips, was chosen to be the fox "because she was the funniest teacher."

Act I curtain call

Act II curtain call

Daphne's fan club.

Her cute friends were super supportive of her, and wrote her "good luck" notes that day at school.

Elsa and Kristoff

And I think that even though everyone and their granny will be doing frozen costumes for Halloween this year, we're gonna have to do it too, because I already have 2 done! I keep telling Dallin that ours will be different because they're homemade. (He's not sold.)

Trying to post some video footage. . . we'll see if it works.

Okay, so I tested these out and I think it should work-- so click on the links below to see their performances.

But first, a couple things about the recordings. Daphne was recording Hayden's performance for us since I was accompanying Hayden on the piano, and Arthur was at Dallin's basketball game. She did a pretty good job, except at the end when she was clapping and recording at the same time. Also, Hayden's mic wasn't working, so it's a little hard to hear him. Also Sydney came up on stage with me, and added a few bass notes at one part of the song. But Hayden was darling.

Hayden sings, "Reindeers are Better than People"

Daphne would want me to let you all know that there is a part where she mixed up the words--you can tell because she gets mad at herself when it happens-- but since she's just a beginning performer, it's still cute. And there is a boy who decided to walk down the middle of the aisle and just stand there for most of her song, so his head is in the frame the entire time. If you listen closely you might hear me mutter something about a "stupid kid" which wasn't very nice of me, but there you go. It's documented for all time that I called a random kid stupid. Also, Sydney added a little whining to Daphne's performance when her shoe got stuck in her chair. Daphne did great, though.

Daphne sings "Let it Go" from Frozen

Albuquerque Turkeys