This & That

Crisis Mode and Mourning

We are in crisis mode at our house.  Every year for the past 3 or so, DD decides that the weather is warming up and she wants to cut her hair shorter for the summer.  Foolishly, I think, "Sure, no problem."  What I forget is that every time she gets the requested 5 inches taken off her hair, she goes into crisis mode and immediately regrets the shearing.  She stomps into the house in tears declaring that she hates it and that it's ugly and can't I put it BAAAAAAAACK??  I tried to give her the same mantra that I used when she got the side bangs...."It's only hair, it's only hair, it's only hair.  It will grow back."  She's not amused, nor is she buying it. 

You will notice that there is no picture today.  She has refused to let me take a photo of her new do (which honestly doesn't look that different from her old do....it's just shorter).  The picture I took of the science project the other day?  I had to swear up, down and sideways that the only part of her that would show was her hand....and that was just so San Diego Boy could see it all lit up in his weekly email.  

I've given her fair warning that next year when she says she wants to do this?  We are going to re-visit the ghosts of haircuts past and refresh in her mind how this all works.  Because it really is only hair, right?

The Turkey Lens

Sometimes when DH takes off on his wilderness jaunts and leaves me home to do the washing and the ironing and the homework duty and the meal prep and the bill paying and the carting of the Littles everywhere they need to go (hmmmm....yeah, I do all that stuff anyway when he's not jaunting).  Yes, BUT, when I'm doing all those things, he's usually at the office where I know he's slaving away, not participating in his version of a play-date.  So anyway, sometimes when that happens, one might notice that the UPS person might be making stops at my house and might be bringing me something I really, really need.....given that DH is really needing to chasing ugly, stringy turkeys.

So last week the UPS man came to my house bearing gifts.  Perhaps he could see that my DH had his turkey clothes hanging in a tree.  No, seriously....they were hanging in a tree sort of like how some fool hangs breakfast in the tree on April Fool's day. They were being sprayed with anti-tick stuff.

  Back on point.  The UPS man....bring me gifts.....yes, just right out of the blue.  I have no idea how this new Canon 50mm 1.4 lens ended up on my doorstep.  Or how he knew that my present camera bag would be too small with the addition of this new lens, so he brought a larger camera bag.  He must be very perceptive.  And I couldn't be so rude as to not open the box and exclaim about the lens and then attach it to my camera, putting the lens that originally came with the camera body in a nice, safe place in the new camera bag, and notice that my low-light indoor photos are now much easier to take with that bigger aperture.  And you never know what kinds of things will turn up in my practice sessions (and yeah, turkey DH sent me flowers...he might be a turkey, but he's not stupid).  Yeah, I just couldn't do that to my perceptive UPS man.  Uh-huh.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Who Are the Real Turkeys?

Overheard at my house before DH left for the wilderness.....

"But, honey, you know we're just doing this for you.  We're bringing home turkey for Thanksgiving dinner."
"But they're wild turkeys...they're stringy, and tough and gross and ugly....really ugly."
"They'll be fine....they'll be delicious and remember, we're doing this for you."
"You know, I could buy, um, lots of turkeys at Winco for what you're paying to bring home ugly, stringy turkeys."
"But we're doing this for you."

As an aside, in last week's email from San Diego Boy, can you imagine what he sent a picture of?

Yep, right there in the middle of Southern California...an ugly, stringy wild turkey. Did you know that Benjamin Franklin thought the turkey should be our national bird? What was he thinking?? Still, in light of the conversation, who are the real turkeys here?

And BTW, Pam....

While there is no duct tape on the project, there are layers of masking tape and electrical tape, just in case.  :) That comment made me LOL!

Projects I Can Get Behind

DH has taken College Boy on a wilderness adventure for the next several days.  If any of you see them on the Kansas-Nebraska border, you can wave.  There were several things that needed to be done in preparation for this jaunt, and I'm not just talking packing appropriately.  I'm referring to the math that needed to be done before Dad disappeared, taking his math gene with him.  I'm also referring to the assigned science project that was electrical in nature.
Now, in contrast to the murph (translation....stupid, waste-of-time, useless) group projects that we have been experiencing lately, this is a project that I can really get behind.  It actually teaches something, in this case the scientific principle of electrical circuits and my kid's grade doesn't depend on how well someone else does or doesn't do their part of the project.  DD's assignment was a step-by-step construction of a traffic light and after a couple of hours of parental supervision, we all stood around while she tried it out.  And here is the result:

It even blinks in sequence, just like a real traffic light. Oooooooo!  Ahhhhhhh!

Projects I can get behind, yes indeedy.

It's a Small World After All

Got a good letter this week from San Diego Boy.  While the missionary work has been a little on the frustrating side lately, he's keeping a pretty positive attitude.  And it's funny how things will happen at just the right time.  One of his teaching appointments had canceled, so he and his companion stopped by the church.  They'd heard a music group from BYU-Idaho was performing, so they stopped in to check it out.  One of the first people he saw was Dr. Kevin Brower, who directs the group.

 San Diego Boy has spent time in the past working with him at music camps and has also had a few private lessons from him.  It was a little connection from hom.  Who would have thought two Idahoans would meet up again in San Diego?  It is, indeed, a small world.

Will Wonders Never Cease?

College Boy is finished with his finals for the school year.  There was some debate about whether he would do a spring term before he takes his LSAT test, but in the end, he decided he was just tired of school and wanted to come home.  He is a very responsible child....all my kids are pretty responsible, but he is one of those ultra-responsible kids that really puts his nose to the grindstone and gets it done....no excuses, no distractions....and it's paid off this semester.  Hard work usually does. 
Anyway, the Princess is always glad to have him home (photo taken last month before the braces came off).

 They poke and tease each other.  I'm glad to have him home because of this:

I was out running errands and came home to the front lawn mowed.....without me even asking.  Ah yes, it's great to have College Boy home.

The Fat Lady Sings

And no, this time I'm not referencing myself.  On Wednesday night, Preemie Boy and the class of guys in his church youth group put on an "appreciation" program for the girls of the corresponding age in our area.  They spent several months rehearsing songs to present....adding some and discarding others until they got the list down to an even half dozen. 
We had about 60 girls in attendanceThe evening began with a dinner of pasta and salad, which the boys served and the the program, which in spite of very scary-sounding practices, came off quite well. 

It was the end of the evening that was truly priceless, however.  You've heard that old saying that "it ain't over until the fat lady sings"?  Well, that night Preemie Boy was the fat lady.  And he lip-synched the last minute of this aria.  It....was.....HILARIOUS.  And had everyone in the hall rolling.  It's nice when something comes easily.

It's Hardly Fair

It's really not.  It's hardly fair that, at 14, DD looks like this:

I'm not sure where it came from.  You want to know why?  Do you?  Because at 14 her mother looked like this:

Wait for it....

Her daddy must have really good genes. It's hardly fair.....really.

The SGB Ventures Outside

Yes, the little guy had some fun out in the yard while they were here this past weekend.  We tried him in the swing for a bit.  He wasn't quite as enamored of it as we thought he might be. 

But he tolerated it for a while.  He was happier when we just let him go on his own.