Piano Evaluation

Ethan had another piano evaluation on Saturday and he did a GREAT JOB!!

He has been working on the song for a couple of months and was ready. I took him to Dixie State to the Eccles Building where the evaluation would be held. He took a few minutes to warm up and get the butterflies out. Then they called his name and he took his music and went in the room.

I could hear him play from the hallway and he did great!! He didn't make any mistakes. When he came out he was really happy with how well he had performed his song. The man in charge of the evaluations went into the room to find out Ethan's score. When he came out Ethan was anxious to hear how he had been judged. He got a Superior Minus. The top is Superior so he was a bit disappointed but still very happy with his score.

Ethan said that next year he is going to practice a bit more and work on dynamics better so he can get a Superior rating. Those with Superior ratings got to play in a recital/competition last night and that's his goal.

Great job buddy!!!

Ethan's Boogie

Ethan has another piano evaluation this Saturday so he has been working really hard on his song (really, he knows there is no way I could stand to hear the same song played for 30 minutes so if he practices the same song over and over he thinks I will only have him practice part of the time....wrong!).

I wanted to video tape it if we don't get it at his recital next week we will still have record of it. He realized what I was doing pretty quickly and, after a few takes, we got the one he wants me to post. He is such a ham!!!

The Parade

Courtney's dance group was in the Lion's Rodeo Kids Parade again this year. Ethan didn't want to go alone so we took Brennon with us. We dropped Courtney and Bryan off and they went to the beginning of the parade to find Courtney's dance group. Bryan stayed with her until they loaded everyone into the truck (the older girls rode their bikes) then he came and found us.

Ethan and Brennon had a blast catching/grabbing candy and waving at everyone. They had tons of comments about every entry that went by. Last Thursday, Ethan had gone with Brennon and his mom to the Lion's Rodeo and they had a blast. So a lot of what they were talking about was the rodeo.

When Courtney was finished Bryan went to get her and then she got to catch candy with the boys. The parade seemed to last forever but it was fun for the kids.

Soccer Game!

Courtney had her first soccer game of the season on Saturday. We drove out to the Little Valley Field, which is so far away, so she could play. It wasn't too hot of an afternoon.

Bryan warmed them up and got them ready to play. They did a pretty good job and made some goals. They need to learn to space out and not steal the ball from their own player, but that will come with more time and practice.

First Grade Dad Rodeo

You know your dad loves you when he shows up at your elementary school, gets on his hands and knees, and acts like a bucking bronco for your first grade Dad Rodeo.

Courtney was pretty excited about the rodeo and so she and Bryan had to practice the night before so he would be "trained." It was hilarious! Bryan hadn't known when it was Ethan's 1st grade Dad Rodeo what he was getting into but this time he did and he still went!

Courtney got to learn how to rope and then ran barrels with the horse she made. It was a lot of fun for her. And Bryan was such a good sport!!

Saying Goodbye

Bryan had to say goodbye to his Toyota Corolla today. It's been a great car but it's time had come. The A/C, trunk and the driver's side door lock all didn't work; it had a huge dent in the front passenger's side where Bryan was hit one day; it didn't have any hubcaps; and the paint was fading. It's wasn't much to look at but it ran and had personality.

Bryan bought this car when he first came home off his mission. Last month my aunt and uncle left for a mission to New Zealand and asked if we would take care of one of their cars for them while they are gone. We asked Bryan's brother if he wanted to use Bryan's car, but he had another option (lucky for him!). We decided that Bryan would use the Honda (my uncle's car) and we would donate Bryan's car to charity. We would save money for a new car and then buy one when my aunt and uncle get home from their mission and need their car back.

After a few days with the Honda, it was too hard to give up the Toyota so we decided that Bryan would rotate using both cars. The idea was to keep the Toyota for Ethan to drive eventually (7 years down the road). But then the starter on the Toyota died and it was going to be more money than it was worth to get it fixed.

I called the Make-a-Wish foundation and they picked it up today from Bryan's work. Bryan said he isn't sad but I am a little. It was a good car while it lasted.

Flag Football Season

Last night was Ethan's first flag football game of the season. He has games every Tuesday and Thursday for the next 5 weeks. His number is 3. Thanks to some fancy shoes and cool arch support insoles, his feet didn't hurt at all and he could run really well. He did jam his thumb during a play so that may have taken his mind off his heels, if they did hurt.

They didn't win but Ethan said he had a lot of fun. It started to sprinkle rain near the end but they finished the game just fine.

Bowling Party

Courtney wanted me to post these pictures. She was invited last week to a birthday party for a little boy in our neighborhood. He has a Transformers party and they went bowling. With their party invitation they were each given a bowling shirt that his mom had made. Courtney loved hers and wanted it preserved so all could see it.

The Clothes Dryer

Monday morning I tried to do laundry but...the clothes dryer wasn't working right. I turned it and it made a horrible noise. I thought something may just be loose so I tried to take the back off to look at it. That is nearly impossible!!

After what felt like an hour trying to get the back off I decided to check the internet to see how much it would be to have a repairman come and look at it. (Note: We have had this dryer for a long time and it is old but it worked fine before.) I found out that it would be $65 to have someone look at it and then about $100 for parts (assuming it was a belt that needed to be fixed).

I went to craigslist.com and found a dryer for $65. That night after work we borrowed my parents trailer and went to LaVerkin to pick up our new-to-us dryer for $65. It is the same model as the dryer we had before this one (we swap laundry machines around in my family so I think my sister ended up with it but I'm not sure). After getting it all hooked up (thanks to Bryan!!) it works great and I only had to go without a dryer for the day.

I will be sad to see them haul this old one away but I am happy to have one that works.

The old dryer as I am attempting to open it up:

Relief of Utah

The 4th grade students made relief maps of the State of Utah last week. The teachers sent home a recipe for salt clay which we were asked to make at home. Then we sent the salt clay and a piece of cardboard back to school with Ethan. They molded the clay into the shape they needed, added lakes and mountains, and let it dry over the Labor Day holiday. On Tuesday they painted it and brought it home. I think he did a great job!!

Children's Dentist

There is a commercial on the radio where all these kids say, "I love my dentist!" It's a commercial for the dentist we use for the kids and they really do love their dentist! He has video games on the walls and a movie going in the waiting room. In the examination room, you get to watch your own personal choice of a movie that is shown on a TV in the ceiling. When you are finished, if you were good, you get a balloon, book (not cheap-o ones either) and a coupon for a free "monster milkshake" at Red Robin. What isn't to love?!?!

Waiting to see the doctor:
The kids did awesome. Ethan loved it because he had a complete, around-the-head x-ray that he said made him feel like he was an astronaut or something. It was the best time he has had for a while. He also gets a lot of complements about pulling teeth out (he loves to do that).

We decided to go to lunch as a reward and use the kids coupons from the dentist. Bryan noticed that the certificates had expired. So we went to lunch anyway but took the kids out to a new place called Fusion for ice cream. They actually take cream and then freeze it using a gas (I can't remember which one right now and if I put the wrong one down I will get tons of comments, so I'll just let you figure it out). It was really cool but Ethan got quite possessive of his ice cream. He didn't want Bryan to taste it because "Dad always takes a HUGE bite!"


Great job kids!!! No tears or cavities!

Labor Day

Sorry, I'm a bit behind on the blogging, but here we are:

We tried to do our usual tradition of riding our bikes to Snow Canyon, having breakfast and then coming home but...we had some resistance from Ethan. The last time he didn't have a very fun time biking up the hills. So we decided that he and I would take the food up in the van and Bryan would bike with Courtney on the tag-along. We planned it just right and met up when they got to the park.

Ethan and I drove ahead to the picnic area by the sand dunes and got the breakfast stuff out. I had made overnight cinnamon rolls (without the cinnamon so I guess they were brown sugar rolls) and then we had fruit and juice also. It was amazing that the bees left us alone while we ate because that is usually a problem.

We then went and played in the sand dunes. The kids love doing this and we never give them enough time to play but we had things to do. It was a lot of fun!

The kids look good in this photo but Bryan and I are kind of odd looking. I guess that's what you get when you take it yourself with the camera at arms length. ;)


The bikers:
The drivers:

BYU WON!!!

I just had to blog that BYU won their game last night. Bryan went nuts when they scored the winning touch down. It was quite a game with no score for a long time and then BYU behind for most of it. But they pulled it off against Old Miss!!!

Way to go Cougars!!!

Walking

Bryan was doing some work from home on Wednesday and I was doing my usual stuff around the house. The kids were gone so I was trying to get things done. At one point I walked into our bedroom to put something away and Bryan turned to me and asked, "Do you always walk that fast or is it just because I'm here?"

I didn't know what he was talking about. He said, "You sound like you are sprinting from one place to another."

I didn't realize until I started paying attention that I do walk fast. Courtney is always telling me to slow down but I thought it was because she had smaller legs than I do. Maybe I still have some residual "Sister Missionary" effects. I remember being teased by the elders about how fast the sisters would walk. I guess things don't change. ;)

Small World

This is Ethan's favorite shirt. Grandma Pack found it at a garage sale in the Bay Area and bought it for Ethan. It is from the playoff season a few years ago for Cal High, the high school Bryan went to. In fact, Bryan and a few of his buddies from high school flew out to watch the Cal High playoff game in this season.

Well, Ethan wore the shirt to school the other day and his teacher stopped him to look more closely at it. It turns out that she grew up in Pleasanton and went to Amador High School. She googled the other schools and found out that Bryan went to Cal High. We had SEPs that evening and she was excited to tell us that she loved Ethan's shirt.

Small world!

This

Curtains

There was a set of curtain panels that came with the bedspread set I bought from a neighbor for Courtney's room.  But the panels were too short.  So I bought some extra material and added to the length.  While I was at it, I added the sun/heat blocking panel to the back of the curtains so her room wouldn't be so hot (I did this to Ethan's curtains last week also).  I think they turned out pretty cute!