What a Crock...

... Pot Box!
It's hard to say whether the box or the camera is what causes the funny faces.

The Grantwick Papers

Stake conference today. Sue was in the choir so I was a lone dad wrangling three bored offspring. In an attempt to distract them I suggested that Grant and Cole write a story. This is what Grant produced:

Here is a line by line translation:

Once there was a
slug that was very
naughty because he was
walking (picture of the slug, including feet) and
he found a cactus.
He did not want to go
near it but his sisters lived
in the cactus so he was climbing
up the cactus but the cactus
was poking him too much.
So he decided to go down his secret
door but it was locked so he dug a hole
inside the cactus but his sisters
were so mad that they kicked him
out.
The end.

Naturally this required a second chapter which he wrote after we got home.

So he had to find a new
home.

Nice resolution. Can anyone say "Pulitzer"?

Time Machine

The kids were all snuggled in Grant's bed at bedtime while waiting for a story.

I was reminded of a similar photo taken nearly 4 years ago.

Rah Rah Ree, Kick 'Em in the Knee

We have successfully navigated another season of soccer.

Grant was very happy to add another trophy and team photo to his collection.

OCD Warning!

Grant: I don't want to get bumps like this (points to a picture of warts) so I'm washing my hands a lot. Sometimes I almost wash them three times in a day.

Grant - Journal Entry

This entry is undated but is estimated to have been written in late spring of this year.

Translation of the left hand page:
Grant I
mumble.

Transcription of the right hand page:
I froo a plant in u
bd gis undrpants.
It groo tu bee a big
sunflawr and
it wus sticeeing
awt uv his undrp
ants.

Translation of the right hand page:
I threw a plant in a
bad guy's underpants.
It grew to be a big
sunflower and
it was sticking
out of his underpants.

It is unclear who the uni-browed, sandal wearing man on the left is.  The lack of a sunflower sticking out of his underpants would seem to preclude his being the bad from the story on the right.  However, it is possible that this portrait was from happier days before his bad guy ways took over and resulted in the agricultural assault described.

Play Ball

Soccer season! These games are funny. We really like observing the boys, and they're entertaining wherever they are, not just on the field. Love our little soccer players!

 Bryn runs a few laps during each game, too.

A Teacher At Last

I finally got a good music stand.  As soon as Grant saw it, he said, "now I can teach Brynnie violin lessons!"  I had no idea that a missing stand was all that was getting in the way of  Grant's teaching career!  That afternoon, Bryn fell asleep and Grant was crushed that the lesson would have to be delayed.  But early the next morning, he was ready for her! (He had some old visuals from earlier lessons, a pencil, and some stickers as rewards.)

Loving all the attention, Bryn jumped on board (thankfully!)  The first exercise was he would tell her which string note to play (E, A, D, or G) and if she got it right, an animal would advance to the picnic.  She was focused.  So was he.  Seriously.....it's true.  (We had to delay Bryn's real violin lessons because she was incapable of concentrating for more than 3 seconds continuously.)

Here's how it went down:

 The animals all got to the picnic, and it was a party for sure.  (He came up with this all on his own.)

 Then time for note reading, or - I mean writing.  Grant drew the first note (G, as you can see if you enlarge the picture, you'll see two ledger lines.)  Bryn had to draw at least 6-7 more of them, and he did D, A, and E after that, all of which she copied several times.

I'm still trying to process this, and figure out how to put this model in place with everything we do.  It was instructive, to say the least.

Paddling Puget Sound

Around Aug. 11, Brian (Evan's brother) and two of his kids - Shauntel and Sheridan all drove up from Gilbert, AZ to enjoy some cool northwest weather.

We headed up to Hood Canal (where my mom grew up, part of Puget Sound, WA) and caught hundreds of little crabbies,

and hundreds more...

and there were all different kinds, and we just couldn't get enough of those little guys.

And, we finally figured out a way to keep Bryn contained in the tent.  She never kicked us once, so we may have to bring this kayak on all our trips, whether there's water or not.

The kids LOVED their older cousins - Sheridan and Shauntel.  They are SO cool, we all agree, and wish they lived a lot closer.

The kids kayaked all over, and the water was crystal clear.  We could look down 10 feet and see star fish and stuff.  Very cool, and actually not that cool to swim in.  It was almost warm - for the northwest.

Evan's sister, Laura (with new baby Avery - thanks for havin' another cute baby, Laura!) and Evan's brother, Brian.

Grant and Cole with cousins...

And Bryn wading around.

Making smores

Bryn and me cruisin' around.

Grant got into the kayaking more than anyone - it was his kind of sport!

Cole and Shauntel.

Thanks for a great trip, family!  It only took me 6 weeks to get this posted! Seriously, that's really good for me, these days.

Gap-Toothed Grin

Nearly nine months after his twin brother lost his first tooth, Cole has finally done it.

I never saw a boy so happy to have a mouth full of blood.

Youth Conference Hit

I was asked to "direct" the Abinadi vignette for our multi-regional youth conference in June. I said yes, hoping that the best director anywhere (my friend Mona Zabriskie) would actually direct, and I would try my best to organize everything else. After a whole bunch of miracles, this thing came together with the funniest bunch of guys in the stake.

Evan was a brilliant King Noah, with a touch of Shakespeare, and a couple tipsy priests, plus Alma and Amulon. Here he is giving his "state of the kingdom" address.  "All is well....yadayada..."

Then scolding Alma for standing up for Abinadi...

and several of the youth wanted to have their pictures taken with the cast after. They were stars!!

And since there were 1500 youth from several stakes and cities in Oregon and Washington there, our guys performed the play 6 times in a row! And they got funnier each time. Brad Wilcox, the keynote for the 3 day conference, gave rave reviews, and said, "it's like a Saturday Night Live skit!" And many more things did he say, which were all good. Thanks Brad!

Now some might be thinking, "funny? What's funny about the Abinadi story with all the cruelty and burning at the stake?" Well, we had to make a little fun of the foolish king and his worthless priests before Alma and Abinadi brought home a powerful performance about standing for what you believe in... the theme of the conference.

The conference was so power packed - and a spiritual boost like nothing else.  I just kept thinking of my own little "stripling warriors" at home, as I watched the closing night in a packed high school gym.  Stay strong, kids!  

Relative Filth

Cousins make everything more fun...

because you can get away with a lot more.