Combined YW and YM

We had a lesson in unity and friendship today. Here are the kids lined up, playing the "friendship speed dating" game.

Note my naughty boys hiding their faces in front.
DO NOT TAUNT THE MAMA

Just Your Typical Saturday

Goofy selfies in the car while we wait to go home from a baptism

Couch Parkour

It's all fun and games til we figure out Mom is taking pictures

At the Trampoline Place

Pretty tired

With the friendies

L to R: Emma, Roz, Nicole (in back hiding), Grace, Reagan

DNA Test!

But first: Hey, is there an essential oil for not giving a fat flip if your kids go to school today?

I was given the opportunity to take an Ancestry DNA test. It's something I've always wanted to do, for curiosity's sake (a couple of goofy family rumors about being multiracial), but hadn't planned on doing anytime soon. The test arrived and I went for it. I was worried that somehow I would mess it up, but it was very simple.

What it looks like

Open it and see what's inside...

Instructions for registering the test online

Instructions for the sample 

Instructions for sending

Underneath the instructions...

The tube's package

Mailing box

The tube

Collection bag

1/4 teaspoon of saliva. I was pretty impressed,
considering that thirty minutes before the test,
there's no eating, drinking, or chewing gum.
(Or smoking but I don't smoke anyway.)

Spit + Blue Stuff: it's ready!

Safe in the collection bag

Hello in there...

Bag goes in the box...

Ready for mailing :)

WE HAVE FOUND THE HOUSE

*enormous sigh of relief*

It's not in our ward, or stake, but we found a house within our school district and it will fit all of us and the landlady is nice and says we can keep the cats and she just wants a deposit and the first month's rent. So doable. Today I met the landlady at the local Barnes and Floble and we signed the lease. It's ours. We won't be moving in till July 1, so quite a bit of time to get ready.

Hubby emailed our current landlady and she agreed to extend our time here until June 30, so we won't be homeless for the month of June. Thank goodness.

In the meantime we've been packing our little brains out. The house is looking more boxy every day.

I am very happy.

Major props to Hubby for handling the whole thing. Back when Landlady emailed us about having to move out on May 31, I was too upset to handle anything, so I handed all house-related problems over to him and he has done a wonderful job. Whew! Is he great to have around. :)

Science Fair Project

I'm a wonderful mother but when faced with something like this, I tend to think things like:
I DON'T WANNA DO YOUR LAST MINUTE SCIENCE PROJECT, YOU LITTLE INGRATE

She did pretty well considering she remembered on Friday that it was due Monday.

A Visit from St. Grannie

We had a great weekend with Grannie. She had the idea of going to see McFarland USA and we were so happy that she did! What a great movie! Mom also went with us to see a house we're thinking of renting, and she liked it too, so we're all in agreement that we should move into it.

Lots of shopping, eating out, and goofing off fun was had by all. Thanks Grannie, what a great time! Love you!

Thanks Costco Googly Eye Gangster!

So this was fun: 

We took a trip to Costco today and found several objects

affixed with stick-on googly eyes.

This coat rack was Object #5.

Whoever did this is pure genius. 

I see you

We later found out that our friend Missy S's friend went to Costco 

and put googly eyes on things as a joke. FUNNY. The safe was my favorite. 

Good Times

Miss Goose has a friend at school, Joseph, who is kind of sweet on her. It's pretty adorable. He went to a Blazer game and brought these balloons to school for her:

Later that evening, Carter and I took a selfie. Heck if I know where we were, but it looks fun. 

Dream:

Visiting the Duggar family at their house and finding their good friend Eddie Murphy was also there, with his 75 kids.

Jim Bob had to sleep on the stairs.

Two Drummers Drumming

Earlier this morning, I was hating on early morning Seminary for being especially sucky the week after Daylight Saving Time begins. So I posted this with the caption "SHUT UP CAT STEVENS":


Because Morning Has Broken.... My WILL TO LIVE.

On the way home from taking Carter and Tyson to school, I heard this lovely ditty on the classical radio station (they're having their fundraising thing and are trotting out the really good stuff):

...and I thought of the lyrics my family and I made up to go with the music:

Do some digging, punch a guy
Do some flying, punch another guy
Do some digging, punch a guy,
And there's digging and flying and punching and shooting...

And now that's stuck in your head. You're welcome.

Then: Spring Concert tonight!

No, Tyson is not holding carrot sticks

Our boys did a wonderful job playing for not only their band, but also for Honor Band, which they were asked to join earlier this year. They've been attending extra practices on Monday mornings and some Thursday mornings. They rocked it last night! Way to go boys!

Afterward, we met with Tyson's family and went to the Dairy Queen on MacArthur Boulevard (which is not frightening in the dark). I had a mini Blizzard of the grasshopper pie variety.

Stake Trek Activity

Question: The voice actors who do crappy European accents for hair product ads. Where do they find these people?

This year for our stake youth activity, the kids are going on a handcart trek (location as yet undisclosed). Brian was asked last November to serve on the trek committee, so he has meetings every so often. Tonight the committee took over Mutual night and had the stake kids gather together for an activity. It was pretty fun, as you can see.

Harrison and Bryant S

I was crocheting on the blanket and chatting away with some ladies from CP ward, so I wasn't around for this pic, but I'm guessing Harrison was having a reluctant time smiling and his old friend Bryant (they've known each other since birth, literally) decided to step in and help out. Good times.

"Hi, I'm Bob. Can you knock me out? Just hit me in the face?"

Having a not-great day. Let's just leave it at that.

The phrase "Art thou greater than He?" came to mind this morning, so I looked for something to read that would help me feel better and stop pitying myself. I found this quote from this talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Lessons From Liberty Jail:

"In one way or another, great or small, dramatic or incidental, every one of us is going to spend a little time in Liberty Jail—spiritually speaking. We will face things we do not want to face for reasons that may not be our fault." 

So glad that whatever we're going through, we don't have to go through it alone.

New Church Gig

This morning I woke up and just for fun, I was looking at homes for sale on Zillow. I love it when they have thirteen pictures total of the home and six of them are of the driveway. smile emoticon

Nope, haven't found a house yet, and we're still considering the yurt/Gypsy thing.

Sometime this winter, I was called and set apart to serve as one of three ward organists, along with Joann S. and Kathy C. We decided to each take several months of the year and play for the month. Today was my first time.

I haven't served as the ward organist since Brennan was 4, Bella was 1, and we lived in Logan (ooooh, ahhhhh). Eventually, I asked the bishop if I could do something else, since I felt bad for Brian having to sit and wrestle these two cute little monkeys every week in Sacrament meeting. Immediately afterward I learned that if you ask to be released from an awesome cushy calling like ward organist, you could possibly be landed with something really gross, like Relief Society president. Yes, it happens. So don't ever, ever do that.

But I digress. I had a good time playing the organ in church today. It had been a very long time, I didn't use the pedals, and I made mistake after mistake, but people were nice and complimented me anyway. 

Next week for prelude, I think I'll play one hymn for ten minutes straight to see if anyone notices. Don't tell the bishop.

Oh Honey Yore So Purty

Youth Temple Trip

Earlier: Watching the Lisa Kudrow episode of Who Do You Think You Are? and feeling all the feelings, the worst and the best of the experience of finding her family. There are words, but heck if I know what they are. Such an excellent, well done program. I'm grateful for it.

Caught you, Harr Bear :)

Carter Action Shot

...from one of the other soccer parents who has a better camera than we ;)

Looking good, C man!