Fit as a Fiddle

Libby started violin lessons mid-January.  Her teacher firmly believes students should play in performances.  This first performance was in March.  Libby had to learn four songs, three of which had to be memorized.  There were some tears and frustration but she managed to pull it all off beautifully.

Her group played two concerts, one in an assisted living home at one at The Village, a new shopping behemoth.  Her Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Amy and Uncle "Wob" came to support her.  It looks a lot like harassment but I'm pretty sure it's moral support.

Did I mention I was a bit proud of her (Michael too!)?  I may have even accosted lots of ladies at the assisted living home to tell them what a talented little girl I have.

Boredom + Washable Markers

= Spy Kids (or so they called themselves)!

No one would ever suspect a cross-dressing kitty cat, would they?  Sam will do whatever it takes to not blow his cover.

Chills, Hills, and a Few Spills

February blessed us with a couple good snow days.  We needed them after a very dry winter.  The kids loved the unexpected surprise.

A week later all the snow was gone and the sun came out but the kids weren't to be deterred from racing down hills.  They dusted off the go-cart they made with their dad last fall and found a promising road:

 There were a lot less injuries than you might have expected.

Overwhelmed

It seems this blog is a good indicator of my mental health.  Lots of posts and lots of pictures = Katie is doing good.  When I haven't posted for six weeks that means something is up.  In times previous it usually meant I was pregnant, which, gratefully, I am not.  This time around it means I've stretched myself too far.  Way too far.

All the things I am trying to do are good things but I can't do everything.  I homeschool the kids, take BYU classes online to finish my degree, serve in Primary, shuttle kids to music lessons, shuttle kids to Scouts and attend occasionally as part of my primary calling, try to help organize my homeschool co-op, take Libby to her dance class (which is thankfully done next week), train for a 5K and feed everyone and try to keep the house in a livable condition.  I have found myself crying and flying off the handle at the least provocation.  I've realized something has to go but I've struggled with what to cut.

Last week I finally called the directors of our homeschool co-op and told them we will not be back this year.  It made me sad to cut it but it was the only thing I felt I could give up.  Having one less thing on my plate feels lovely.  I'm still stretched thin but at least I feel like I can cope.  The kids were sad.  They recovered pretty quickly when I told them we would take Fridays (our co-op day) off of school work.  We could work on 4-H projects at home and use Fridays for field trips; one day a week to just enjoy each other and have down time sounds wonderful.  The kids, as kids are prone to do, have been channeling my stress as well.  I'm hoping fun Fridays will help with this.

Hopefully I will have a few more pictures and a few more blog posts over the coming months.  They will probably be fewer than in years past but hopefully I will still be here, hanging on to my very last thread of sanity.

Random Bits

Grace usually eats a peanut butter and honey sandwich for lunch. One day she asked for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  While making my own lunch I overheard her talking to herself.  She stated in a very firm voice, "If you make it taste like honey again, taste bugs (tastebuds), you will go to time out."

***
Sam got the dog treats off the top of the fridge.  When I asked him what he was doing he said he was going to do a trick with Bosco, grabbed a treat and asked Bosco to wave hi and bye.  Bosco obliged while staring at the treat.  Then Sam started walking down the hall. "Hey, Sam, you need to give Bosco his dog treat, he did a trick."  Sam mumbled something and he and Bosco wandered off down the hall.
A few minutes later Sam wandered back.   "Mom, look in my mouth!"
"I don't see anything, Sam."
"Look in my mouth!  I ate the dog cookie!"
The dog eats soap, the kid eats the dog treats; I think I may need a lot more chocolate to deal with my reality.

***
After being stuck in a nasty sunless inversion for two weeks, today the sun finally came out.  The temperature decided to come up above freezing as well.  What were we to do but put on coats and head to the park?

Grace looked up at the sky and said, "It feels like summer on my face!"

Well stated child, well stated.  We have missed the sun.

***

Grace wears her tiara everywhere lately.  Except she calls it her CTR-uh.  She seems to have gotten her CTR ring and tiara confused.  It's dang cute so I'm not going to correct her either.

***

Michael took the kids out to the MK Nature Center for the afternoon so I could get some homework done.  Grace recounted the following in a chipper tone:  "We did like three things on the playground, then we looked at dead animals, then we colored."  It seems they had a grand adventure.