Last Game, At Least for a While

Last night The Girl and our neighbor girl, Christine, had a game of Lego Star Wars at our house after family home evening. It will be a long time before these girls play Lego Star Wars together again. Christine will enter the MTC tomorrow to begin full time service as a missionary in North Carolina.

These girls used to play together every day, at least once, when they were in the early years of elementary school. As they got older, busier, and more involved they grew apart a bit. But that is natural. They have always remained friends. And that was the basis of their gaming last night.

It was crazy to think, I watched them giggling & visiting while they were also concentrating on a silly video game, that these girls were old enough to head our intro the world, to teach the Gospel, and invite others to Christ. But there really is no age limit for that. That is just living the Gospel. 

And they've been doing that since they learned how to play their game.

  

Good Luck in the mission field, Sister Eastwood!   We'll hold your game for you!

Futures as Models?

Our PTA has a website and on that website--which I get to keep up this year--is a tab for our Viking Store.  The Viking Store is a little room with a roll-up window where we sell school T-shirts, sweats, etc. to boost school spirit and build that sense of community I talked about yesterday.  Well, for the website we wanted to have photos of the Viking Store gear along with the prices so the folks in town know what they are getting and if they want it.  So, who am I going to ask to help me with this project?  The Boy, The Girl and the neighborlings...of course!

The Boy wasn't too excited...in fact he specficially asked me NOT to show his face.  Yeah, right.

 

 

 You can see just how thrilled he was.  But I cropped them enough for you can't tell unless you know him for some of his modeling that I used.  The Girl on the other hand was more than happy to help me out.

In fact she was so eager, I got her to really "pose" for me.

But cross-the-street-neighbor, Christine, couldn't be left out either. So she got into the act with us. And she was more enthusiastic than either of my own kids!

Differences of Opinion

There is a little primary election about to take place in our state next Tuesday for the Republicans.  Two candidates are running for our state legislative seat.  Another two are running for US senate.  Both races are getting ugly.

And I am a registered independent.

Because the primaries here are closed, I am unable to vote next week unless I change my party affiliation, just for the primary.  Well, no republican around here is worth that feeling that I have sold myself off to the predominate party.  So I am interested in what happens--let's be honest here.  Republicans seem to rule the local world.  What they decide affect me.  But there are principles here that I wholeheartedly disagree with in these races.

One that came up yesterday was that a member of our stake, using our ward member emails, is emailing me very negative messages about the candidate that I will choose to support when the time comes that I can vote (in November).  I support him because of his stand for public education issues that I believe in. 

Her emails, as passionate as they can be, are not the truth as I have researched it.  She is so convinced that the State Common Core standards are some kind of Obama-administration-led conspiracy theory to take over and run our local schools.  The most curious part of this camp is that the majority of folks who so passionate declare these falsehoods are in the charter school or home schooling vein.  They don't even have their kids in mainstream public education, and therefore, the common core does not apply.  So of they get their way, parents who are not the majority of the public school students will be making choices for the students for whom they have not stewardship.

The other very disturbing thing, to me at least, is that these people seemingly have very strong testimonies of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which, as I understand and believe, relies heavily on an individual's right to choose for himself.  But they want to deny me that choice for my own family.  Just like the Sex Ed bill that tried to remove the "opt out" choice for parents in favor of teaching only abstinence.  luckily for my mental health, the governor was wise enough to veto that one on the premise that parents should get to choose for their own kids.

The other disturbing part of this is the idea that one candidate is more "righteous" than another.  That is not what that little "r" after their name means.

I just want it to be over.  Waiting for the presidential election until November is unsettling enough, but this kind of neighborhood brawl waiting to happen just makes my stomach sick.  And makes me less enthusiastic about the Strawberry Days parade...where these holier than thou candidates will certainly be  this weekend.

Another Day In Boringtown--NOT!!

Late yesterday afternoon the sirens from our emergency crews went crazy.  Now, to be honest, lately it seems that the fire and police departments have been running crazy anyway, but last night was especially wild.  We didn't know what was happening, but we could hear the sirens heading up near the Junior High--but knowing school was out for the day, I just hoped everything would be fine wherever they ended up.

Here is what was going on.  The two gals quoted in the article are friends in our stake.  The mom in the family directly involved here was one of The Girl and The Boy's preschool teachers.  Several other friends and stake members were asked to stay inside and lock their doors.  Other friends form school were stuck at practice, unable to get home. It was along three hour for them.

Sometimes you just never know what is going on, even next door.  I guess that is the reasoning behind treating everyone a little kinder than you think they should be treated. You just never know what battle they are fighting.

Good Intentions

I had good intentions to write yesterday.  You'd think I had nothing but time on my hands as it was the last day of school, right?!  Wrong.  I am not really even sure where the day went.  But it ended on a great note.

We have the best neighbors, here in the circle.  Last night one of the families hosted a neighborhood bash to celebrate the end of the school year.  They BBQ'd burgers and hot dogs and everyone else brought salads, treats, and side dishes to share.  Then after the feast-al-fresco they project a family move on the side of their house and they have a "walk-in movie" party.  Last night's movie was Megamind.

It is a nice way to end the year.

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise

Guess what Genius Golfer and The Boy did today....

 Yep.  That is right.  they put up the trampoline that GG bought himself for Christmas.  Oy.  I told him he couldn't jump on it 'til we had life insurance on him.

This thing was like a neighborhood kid magnet.  They sensed what was going on even before the thing was identifiable.

So much for my life insurance threat.  GG and The Boy were bouncing and the line of neighbor kids was already formed the moment it was done.

This new development effectively makes me the "designated driver" in the event that GG (or anyone else) has to be taken to the hospital.

When One Bloom Opens Another Closes?!

Well,here is the beginning of our family garden. The strawberries are along the left, and the watermelon is right hand side front. Then there are four peppers in front of the eight tomatoes. It has been three days now. So far so good.

On the other hand, this is now my front flower bed. Yesterday morning it had been filled with gorgeous tulips in bright, springtime colors.



As I was making dinner yesterday 6 year old neighbor girl rang the doorbell. When I opened the door, she spit out "My brother picked all your flowers. Sorry."

I am sure I gasped when I saw my once full flowerbed. I was so bummed out.

Now her brother is 4, and like all boys is curious and has some boundary issues. The Boy did the same thing here once upon a time. But this neighbor girl has a tendency to blame everyone else when she is in trouble, so I wonder if she wasn't at least an accomplice. My hunch tells me she may have orchestrated the bloom heist and then knew the brother would get blamed.

The saddest part is that they picked the tulips with only 3 inches of stem, so they couldn't even be salvaged as an arrangement indoors.

Their mom came over when she saw me out looking at my molested flower bed. She was obviously embarrassed. What do you say? She was mortified. I tried to tell the mom that I understand they are kids, but still. I wanted the kids to really understand that this was not OK.

When The Boy tried this same trick--badgered by The Girl or not, I still don't know for sure--he got a spanking. He never picked the neighbor's flowers again. I know that this will not be the fate of the neighbor kids.

This past week or so the weather has been back to the yucky, almost March rain-snow mix and was taking its toll on my psyche. I am so ready for warmth and sunshine and spring and summer. Some days when I would leave or come back to the house, that blast of bright color was enough to keep me going another day.

Now it looks like the mid March bloom pattern our there, only the Columbine is bushier and the Allium Giganteum is coming to the blooming stage. Let's hope those survive the kids.

I know they are only kids, but it still irritates me. Am I out of line? What ever happened to respecting other people's property? I remember distinctly being taught not to even walk on people's lawns...that is what the driveway or sidewalk is for. Isn't that this same principle?

At least the garden is safe. It is inside the fenced-in back yard. Though this resembles the white trash holy land, the garden is safe enough and tucked out of the sight and fingers of the neighbor kids.

Up Late in the Neighborhood

For those of you who are keeping track, I got to sleep in today. Yeah!! It was almost 10! That is unheard of around here. Granted we were all up until nearly midnight --and I still missed Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live!

The kids were also up pretty late. That is one of the things that I love about our Cul-De-Sac Life here on the circle. The neighborhood collective of children gets together and plays "night games" all kids included. If you want to play, come on out. This weekend, due to the couple of days off from school, they have been like Friday nights over and over. We have even seen sighting from neighbor friends from the nearby cul-de-sac to our east. I love watching the kids all play together, regardless of age, where they make room for everyone.

We have some kids in high school, some in junior high and the elementary crowd. We even have a couple of kindergarten and preschool friends here that like to play with the "big kids" until they have to come in and go to bed. All are welcome.

We are also lucky in that we have access to a big empty field just on the edge of the cul-de-sac. They have a fort going up and constantly under construction out there. The boys and the girls are making it. Together. Some times the junior high crowd gets the lead on the construction, other times the elementary kids add their ideas to it.

The night games that come up include: "Capture the Flag", "Sardines", and "Escape from Alcatraz". These are creative kids who also made up a game they called "Who's Afraid of Shere-Khan?" But that, they tell me is a summertime night game. Oh. Please, excuse my ignorance. I'm just a mom.

I love that for the most part the kids can tell me, "I'm going outside with Neighbor-Across-the- Street. We'll be in the field" on their way out the door and I don't see them for many hours. Usually I have to go find them for dinner, etc. because they are having so much fun together.

I am also lucky in the fact that the cul-de-sac parent neighbors have similar rules and expectations for their kids as I do. This makes the "we are building fort in the field" an acceptable past time. I hate to be the buzz-kill here, but there are things that go on, even in "good" neighborhoods that can be dangerous or harmful. We can't escape that even on Celestial Circle. But when things have gotten a little too uncomfortable for one family, the other families have welcomed the information and have enforced the society's mores and rules. That makes me feel better when I know that my neighbors would tell me if they saw my kids doing or saying something that they knew I was not OK with, and the reciprocal is also true. I truly love my neighbors.

So, we were all up late, but the kids were doing just what you hope neighborhood friends will do when they are out of school, and the weather is still permitting. They are having fun, including everyone, and outside using their imagination to play together.

Too bad the adults in our town, state, and nation can't follow their lead and do the same. It would be great to hear the candidates got together to play a little game of Sardines!

She's a Jolly Good Fellow

You have heard me talk a lot lately about The Boy, as he has been the center of many stories here of late. So today's entry will tell one story of The Girl.

Our neighbors down the street have 7 children, and a couple of dogs. (Not that the dogs matter to this post, but it does add to the chaos at the neighbor's place at times.) Their two oldest boys have played baseball this season and both boys' teams made it to the state tournaments. The tournament games were essentially all day today, in Payson.

Yesterday evening, Mrs. Neighbor asked if we'd be around in the afternoon between about 4 and 7, because her oldest daughter had to go to work and they were planning on leaving the youngest 4 neighborlings home due to the length and boredom for young children that baseball really is. Big sister would have been watching the 4 youngest most of the day already.

The Girl was totally fine with the idea of watching 4 small neighborlings for the hours the parents and oldest sister would be gone, FOR NO MONEY. She is really happy to help and seems to like babysitting generally. Even as I sit and write this I can see her across the street playing with the 4 neighborlings on our street's local playground (AKA some body's swing set where they welcome everyone to use it). She is pushing Baby Neighbor in the swing and Little Miss Neighbor is playing in the sand with other neighbor kids and her two brothers.

This is the kind of thing that The Girl does. She is sensitive this way. I don't remember liking babysitting that much, so for me, I tried to avoid it. Even now, it is not my favorite thing--too old and out of practice, I suppose.

The Girl makes me very proud of her. She is the topic of many good reports from parents who have hired her to babysit, now that she is 12+, and I love to hear from them after the fact that their "Kids loved having The Girl over" and "What a good sitter she is" and "My, even the dishwasher was loaded!" She is great. I wish I knew where she gets that from...maybe her grandmas.