You are not going to believe this...

Holy smokes! I have a cell phone! Is it cell or cel?

I was most likely the only person on the planet over the age of 13 that did not have one. In fact, (some of you may have heard this story) last year Allyson and I were in the grocery store parking lot one morning when an elderly (I would say she was at least 80) women pulled her car in next to ours. I immediately noticed that she had a flat tire, and it didn’t look as if she had any idea. I figured I should let her know and see if I could help. As she unhurriedly opened her car door, I walked over to her and let her know, then I asked her she had Triple A. She did! I then said, “I don’t have a cell phone, but if we go to the service desk inside, I am sure they will allow you to use the store’s phone.” She then took out her cell phone and said she could call. So now I am in the cell phone club with Mildred the old lady with the flat tire as well as the rest of the population. Yay me.

Feel free to email me with your number...I have texting too. Wow, I wonder if Mildred can teach me how to do that?

Happy Birthday Allyson!

Where did those four years go? You are the exclamation point to our family! I love you so much sweet girl! I hope you enjoyed your cake for breakfast and the gifts that your brothers and sisters gave you! I know you liked your pack of gum! Yay you are four now and you can chew gum like a big kid!

Happy Happy Birthday!

Eeewww!!!

Neil was tenderly tucking Allyson into bed last night when he noticed her pillow pet was wet.

“Ally? Why is your unicorn wet, honey?” He asked.

“I was giving her a bath just now before you came up daddy,” she matter of factly revealed.

“How were you giving her a bath in your bed?” Neil wondered.

“I spit on her and rub it in so she is clean,” Allyson replied.


Gosh I love that girl, but eeewww!

Confessions of a Mom of a Teenager

My stomach is in knots as I write this.

I sent Ryan (9th grader) to school today knowing that he probably could have used a day off. He was a little under the weather yesterday, and even worse this morning. I sent him any way.

Ryan is a bright kid, always has been. And until this year, he was rarely challenged in school. It boggled my mind that he could earn all A’s with very little effort. It actually frustrated me. He is now attending his dream school and Neil and I couldn’t be happier with the culture there. It’s actually cool to be smart! As this year has progressed, the workload has become enormous, and the pressure to do well is insane. I am not helping.

For the first time in his academic career, Ryan failed a quiz. He said that most of the kids in the class had flunked and that the quiz was “ridiculous.” (The “other kids” phrase has never worked in our family and Ry knows that.) Neil and I kept our cool, but mentioned that it seemed as if he wasn’t devoting as much time to school work lately. This upset him, but I think he knew in his heart that we were right. He even did some extra credit in that class in an attempt to bring his grade up.

Fast forward to yesterday. He wasn’t feeling well and proclaimed jokingly, “I think I am going to take tomorrow off.” I replied that if he had a fever, he could. (He had an entire week off last week, including Monday for heavens sake!)

It turns out that he has another quiz today in the same class and on top of feeling yucky, he is clearly nervous. I decided to stay strong. He needs to push himself. He needs to learn what it is to really study and buckle down. This is what life is about…right? Right?

It’s hard to be strong. Did I mention that he was up until 1:00am studying? It’s hard to be strong.

Easter

Here is our annual "Easter Picture." We had a wonderful day! The weather was glorious and the kids didn't bicker at mass. Spending the day with Neil's family was fantastic too! Although Zach decided to declare that the chicken (it was turkey) was dry!! I almost died of embarrassment right there on the spot. Hopefully your Easter went well too.

Highlights

Here are some pictures from Emily's trip.





She had an absolutely AMAZING time! I couldn't be happier nor prouder of her!

Hmmmm?

Something is missing around here. Oh yeah, it’s Emily. She and her classmates (as well as two teachers) are in Nevada right now on a hiking trip. I couldn’t be happier for her, but she’s way over there! (I am pointing at Nevada on our map right now.) Tomorrow they are traveling to Utah to do some backpacking. Wow!

This class (ten of them) is brimming with excitement! They have trained for three years in anticipation of this trip! Em called when they arrived at the site and I could just hear her smile over the phone. (I know you really can’t hear a smile, but you know what I mean.) I miss her terribly and of course I can’t bring myself to truly think about her sleeping outside and rock climbing and doing all of these crazy adventurous things because it gives me a stomach ache. What I chose to think about is the joy in her heart. I can’t wait to hear all about it!