In Which...

Emily goes to the capitol...

Sits at the Governor's feet...

Asks a Question and Makes a Politician think...

Finds out she has the same last name as the Speaker of the House...

and Kathryn gets irritated that because of her darn desire to shoot all manual totally screws up a great shot. :(

But still has a great day!

I spent like 5 hours in the car today

Don't you love how I used the word like. Like it was so totally cool.

I attribute it to the fact that I did indeed spend 5 hours in the car today.

It was elective day, and library day, and science fair day (but to be fair no extra trips for that) and getting ready for Charter Day on the Hill day.

So...I listened to the radio. A LOT.

The Utah legislature is thinking of allowing school districts to put advertising on their buses. Good, brilliant, ingenious idea or STUPID STUPID STUPID?

My kids don't ride a bus and never have so the actual ad space wouldn't affect their day to day travel. Some points brought up in the radio discussion were Colleges and Universities could do targeted advertising, music stores could 'sponsor' Band trips. Perhaps athletic stores might like to sponsor a football trip. These ideas actually seem pretty A-Ok with me. In my case on the rare occasion our school 'rents' a bus for a field work they could have the cost defrayed by a local business. Two-thumbs up. BUT....if they allow one type of advertising would they have to allow another? What about the local pizza place...still ok? How about Coca-Cola? You know they would be first in line to advertise. No biggie? What about Red Bull? It seems a slippery line to walk and If I was cutting it off I would have to make it at the line of food. We already have a huge problem with obesity in our schools so much that schools are thinking of taking out their vending machines so the kids can walk around the block to the 7-11 and pick up the same thing in a much larger size. Why does everything have to have a slippery slope?

Then of course there is a safety issue. The reason buses are bright yellow and have tons of flashing lights is because little kids often don't think before they run out in traffic crossing the street to get home. What if a driver was 'distracted' by an advertisement. They would last until the first accident. But, we have distractions EVERYWHERE around us. If we use the argument about having no distractions while driving we would need to take down billboards and business signs and remove the radio from our car.

So my question is...what do you think? Should schools be able to use their vast moving fleet as billboards?

Alls Well that Ends Well

Remember THIS post? The one in which Kat goes to Logan blows out a three week old tire and has to buy a new one on Independence Day? Yeah, I do too..now. Well when the dust settled from that fun little episode, I took my new tire in to get it put on a rim for a spare. Alas...it doesn't fit underneath my car so after the two week obligatory bump around in the back of the van time I took it out to make it's home in the garage. Seems I shouldn't have.

Savanna had her long anticipated Valentine's Dance Party which I had the honor of attending. And Mike had digging snow caves with the scouts today. As I pulled into the parking lot and opened the door I heard a loud hissing sound from the front tire. That is NOT a good sign.

Luckily I have a great Valentine...

Farkle Etiquette

Writing this post *may* lead to an intervention. Of me. By those who do not play Farkle.

So I *might* like Farkle...I *may* play it a couple (or more) times a day in between emails and paying bills, and waiting for my kids to go to sleep.

It started out small. I just played here and there to reach 10,000 pts so I could 'unlock' some new world. Well that world is filled with strangers and for some reason the grand makers of Farkle thought we would want to chat with each other.

NEWSFLASH *WE DON'T*

Why do we not want to chat? Simple, we are using Farkle as an escape. An escape from reality. An escape from people. Mainly people that talk a lot. And well, why would we want to escape from people that talk a lot to more people that talk a lot but in texting form. Things like 'gl' and 'gg' are common expressions used in Farkle land. Do you know what they mean? It's very much open to interpretation it could mean. Good luck, Great legs or maybe good game or good gravy! But the point is WE DON'T CARE! We (being me) do not WANT to chat with strangers. It was a thrill one day last week to find the chat box gone, banished from the game. But alas, it was short lived and now I'm back to greeting strangers or feeling Farkle guilt if I ignore.

And yes with my tongue securely fit in my cheek I know there is a better way...and it straight to the off button but that's no fun now is it.

Too tired to do it again...

This post really belongs here rather than my photo blog, but it's all I had today.

Just have to love Savanna and the way she thinks.

I did it...

I signed up for the Little Red Bike Race again. As I was reminiscing with my sister about all the 'great' times last year I momentarily wavered. But alas, we decided to be tough and torture ourselves once more. :) Can't wait Peggy!

Do you want to join us? Little Red

Our Favorite Super Commercial

Somehow I think Tim might be a little more feared tomorrow at school



What was your fav?

Things I don't love

Savanna's glasses are broken...again. :(

Customers that swear at me. I don't remember any customers swearing at me until this last month and I've now had a few. :(

Grouchy teachers in the carpool area. YES I am out of my car. NO I am not blocking anyone, YES I will leave as soon as possible. NO not until my kids see me and they come. YES I know I shouldn't leave my car even for the tiniest instant. NO it is not a big deal because I am 3rd to the end of the line and no one is blocked by me. YES I'm irritable today.

That Brooke has not yet spilled the beans on where her nephews are going on their missions. So what if I'm nosy...I wanna know!

AND a COUPLE MORE LOVES:

LOVE that Savanna is doing so awesome in school and in the words of her teacher, she is top of the class. LOVE that her teacher scheduled us last so she could spend double the time with us to brag on Savanna. ;) (Sometimes a Mom just needs to hear that.)

LOVE the BBQ chicken pizza I made tonight. Darn yummy I say. I think I finally have the pizza dough thing down.

LOVE that my kids go around singing. "Spatula City We sell spatula's...and that's all!" {Honestly not sure I know why I LOVE this one.}

LOVE that Mike will edit my emails to obnoxious customers so I don't regret it later.

LOVE EVEN MORE that I got to write the email I WANTED to write...before Mike edited it.

I guess things are not soooo bad...I still have more loves than not.

Things I love right now

The little noise Ethan makes with his lips when he is either worried, embarrassed or scared.

The funny comments he makes when I am leaving his room after he goes to bed. Like "Hey Mom, I need to tell you something." "Ok, what" " I'll tell you in the morning."

That Emily and Tim seem to really be enjoying being on the same 'team' for Math Counts. Didn't think it was possible 6 months ago.

That Tim is learning a lot of good life lessons playing basketball this year and he has an awesome coach.

That Emily & Tim are brave enough to try out for the school talent show even though they did not get picked to perform.

That both Emily and Sierra have taken to just sitting down at the piano lately and playing to their hearts content.

That Sierra's mind is constantly creating and inventing. I love how she thinks of new ways to do things.

That Savanna has her glasses again. {New prescription...we got them home for 1/2 an hour and they were lost for a week + but Emily won the $5 today for finding them} AND that she says it is actually EASIER to see with them then without this time. *cross your fingers that that sticks*

That Savanna is LOVING reading. Not that I'm surprised, but it is awesome to sit down and have her read a 'real' book to me.

That I have been able to contribute in a meaningful way to our school. I like to be looked to to solve problems. I like being a problem solver. Unless the problem includes touching or looking at people in the back seat.

That Mike has only 4 days left until he can see the specialist again for his sinuses and hopefully they can quickly get him on the path to feeling better.

That the days are noticeably getting longer.

My photography obsession. I literally think all day long about what I am going to take a picture of. Unfortunately I have not been good at carrying my camera around with me all the time so I have missed some great opportunities.

The fantastic sunsets we have had recently (even though I missed them with my camera)

The idea that I might actually understand Isaiah (at least a little bit) for the very first time in my life in a few months.

The fact that I don't have to teach again for a month.

That there are only 15 days left until we leave for Disneyland.

Every post should end with "I'm going to Disneyland!"

You Go Girl!

Sierra has decided that Peach {the princess in the Mario games} is too 'Kidnappable'.

She is now designing the next game where Peach saves Mario.

I like how this girl thinks!

Pictures

It looks like since I started my photoblog that I have hardly posted any pictures here. I thought I'd just slip a couple in that I didn't post on the other blog.

I love that Ethan is developing a love for books just like his brother and sisters.
I love when this happens. (Notice the empty computer)
I love Grandmas.
I Love where I live.

Are you in your element?

I just finished (yes I know it's a week overdue now, the fines will be worth it) reading the book 'The Element-How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything' by Ken Robinson. {Thank you Marni! It was a great suggestion.} He is a school reformer/creative thinker/Inspirational Enabler. It was a fun read, a make you stop and take count kind of read. I like those.

The element is 'the point where natural talent meets passion.'

These are some of the ideas I identified with most in the book:

*Instead of asking 'How intelligent are you?' Ask 'How are you intelligent'.
We all have natural, and I would add God given intelligent and shouldn't we be searching to find out in what areas that intelligence lies?

*When you find your element you have periods when you go in and out of the 'zone' The zone is where creativity and imagination meet and nothing can stop them. The zone fills us with energy rather than exhausts us. Ideas fly, things happen. But it is natural to not 'always' be in the zone. Creativity fluctuates.

*Fear is the most common obstacle to finding your element.

*The Author quotes another book and the title says it all.

Feel the fear and do it anyway.

*The difference between lucky people and unlucky people is attitude. We make our luck. Lucky people notice and act upon opportunities, they listen to their intuition, and the expect to be lucky. When misfortune arrives they 'see' it as an abnormality rather than what is expected. Lucky people reframe 'bad luck' into something beneficial.

*Just because you find your element doesn't mean you have to be a professional (meaning making a living) at whatever it is. The word Amateur means lover, devoted friend, or someone who is in avid pursuit of an objective.

*It is not too late to find your passion and your element. "Human lives are cyclical, different capacities express themselves in stronger ways at different times in our lives. Because of this we get multiple opportunities for new growth and development, and multiple opportunities to revitalize latent capacities" {my words talents}

So...are you in your element? What IS your element?

We are interrupting your regulary scheduled program...

A normal drive home from school includes an argument about who sits in the front seat. An argument about who said what, when and why. Perhaps one about lunch, or a teacher or an assignment or yadda yadda yadda. Today our regularly scheduled argument was interrupted by this interchange.

I picked Emily, Tim & our Carpool friend Katelyn up from school after the School Talent Show Tryouts. There was general consensus that none of them felt particularly great about their audition or chances.

Tim: I thought people should have clapped more for you Emily.
Emily: I was just glad I got any claps.
Tim: Well even if you had done the worst job of anyone ever there would be clapping...because I was there and I would clap for you anytime.
Pause
Teary eyes {Emily's eyes}
Emily: Wow...thanks Tim.


Now back to our regularly scheduled argument.