Gem State Classic

Emma competed in a huge dance competition this weekend. There were teams from all over Idaho, Utah and some from Oregon. Luckily for us it was held at the new Madison High School, about a mile from our house! She had to get out of school early on Friday so she could come home and get ready. She was required to have her hair in an official "bun," and wear specific make-up for the competition. Friday afternoon/evening was the team competitions, and Saturday-all day-was the individual couple competitions. I took video of her individual competition, so I'll format it and post it in my next post. Pretty exciting! Throughout the weekend, I logged 8 hours of bleacher-sitting. It was killer on my back, but thanks to some leftover vicodin, I got through it. Friday, Landon and Lauren came just in time for Emma's actual performance, then Landon went home. He snuck in so he didn't have to pay, then left after about 30 minutes...lucky! The two of them stayed home on Saturday.Emma's team competed in the Rhythm/Latin section and ended up taking 4th place with a 90.25 rating, which is considered "superior." Everyone, including her coach, her team and all the parents were shocked. Her coach happens to be the owner of IBA (Idaho Ballroom Academy) and IBA sponsored this huge competition. She was the announcer for the event, so she told the kids she had to restrain herself from clapping for them, because they performed the best routine they've ever performed. I told Emma it was the power of the bun.

This is Emma's team lined up during the awards ceremony.

Sickness, Potholes, and a Bread Machine

There's a lot to catch up on! Landon's back went out, so he was home 2 days, Lauren had back to back viruses that kept her home from school 4 days, went to school 2 days then stayed home 4 more days, Emma had the flu and was home for 5 days. I took the girls to the doctor and he confirmed that they had the "official flu" and there's nothing to do but treat the symptoms. Emma also had a blood test which showed that in addition to the flu, she had had mono within the previous 4 weeks, which explains why she had been so tired ever since the beginning of January. The good news is, everyone is well again!

I had to complain a lot about all of the care giving chores, but that's just in my nature (to complain). Landon says I "baby" the girls, which means it's all my fault that I get burnt out when they're sick. I made this tuna fish sandwich one day for Lauren when she was sick. She had seen it in the Family Fun magazine and asked me to recreate it for her. Maybe Landon has a point...

This is me, "babying" the sick baby... So you may have heard about the pothole incident. I accidentally hit this pothole on the way to dropping off Emma at school last week. When I turned into the middle school entrance, the drivers' side wheel had separated from the axle and turned perpendicular to the car. In other words, my wheel came off. I was in my pajamas and fleece robe with scarf (see previous post for pictures), so Emma took off for the building and let me fend for myself. I refused to exit the vehicle, because of how I looked, so a nice man came over and directed traffic while I tried to get Landon to come rescue me. The man said, "if it makes you feel any better, I don't have a shirt on under my coat!" That made me feel better and a little creeped out at the same time.

I only had 6 minutes left on my Trac-phone so it was kind of stressful. Landon showed up, I got in the truck, he went into the school and called a tow truck. I drove him back to his school, went back to the middle school and waited for the tow truck. When it showed up, I didn't get out of the truck, but waved the guy to come over to me so I could pay him and give him directions. Lauren was asleep at home, so I was getting stressed out. Luckily I had thought to leave her a note in case she woke up (she didn't actually wake up until 9:45am, after going to sleep at 5:45 the night before! 16 hours!).

Anyway, it's already a long story, but in the end it cost us $169 to replace the axle and get it aligned. (This was 2 weeks after a previous $313 car repair!) I can't sue the city for the bill because they were never informed that the pothole existed, so they can't be liable. Whatever!

Emma bought herself a bread machine with some of her birthday money! This was her first loaf...a sweet loaf with raisins, orange peel and almond flavoring. It was tasty! She made a regular white loaf last night to go with our dinner. She loves it! It's giving her an introduction to bread making. She can see what the process is, how important the right temperatures are, and the appropriate wet or dryness of the dough, and she can also make dough for shaping rolls or pretzels. I think it's becoming a lost art and I'm excited she wants to learn about it.

Valentine's Day and Good News

We had been having such a crappy week (car repairs over $300, Landon's back went out and he was on 3 different medications, the girls have both been sick lately), but it really turned around for us thanks to Landon's family! Last week we received no fewer than 8 Valentines' cards in the mail, plus a few ecards. We feel loved like you would not believe! We've been really spoiled us this year, and we are so grateful!Lauren had sprained her ankle, had the flu and wasn't feeling very well on Friday. The UPS man knocked on the door and left the girls each a very fun Valentine package from their sweet aunts. It was exactly what she needed to keep a positive attitude the rest of the day. So I've been making these crayon rolls lately. I made this one for Oliviana's birthday. Cute, huh? (This is before the crayons were put in the slots, obviously.) This is the website I used to learn how to do it: www.skiptomylou.org/20007/04/45/on-a-roll/ Check it out!

Other good news: Landon was asked to come back as an administrator for summer school this year. He worked for free as an assistant principal for summer school last year to earn hours for his internship, but this year he'll actually get paid! So it's like he just got his first paying principal job and he didn't even have to apply for it. They called him (at home!) and asked him to work with them. It's such a compliment and such a relief for us!

Emma's 12th Birthday

Today Emmy Jayne turned 12! A milestone! She stayed home from school because she's been running a fever and has a sore throat, a cough and congestion--basically the flu. Despite that setback, we made sure to have a great day at home.

Emma got up around 7, and we watched her open her presents: She received a beautiful ring (and some cash)from Aunt Lorina and Christina, a robe from Lauren, some graph paper (for making crossword puzzles--a new hobby), a king-size Almond Joy (favorite candy bar), and a new comforter/shams/bedskirt/decorative pillows from Nana and us. Grammy made her 2 coordinating pillowcases, which she loves, and (with Grandpa) gave her some money:

Emma still had an appetite for pancakes and orange juice for breakfast.

Kristen sent her 5 pairs of beautiful, homemade earrings, some fun-size Almond Joys, and some money. She also received a card and some money from Aunt Shannon.

At around 5:00pm, a couple of girls from her new Beehive class asked if I could get Emma out of the house so they could do a "heart attack" in her bedroom. I sent her with Landon to get me a diet Pepsi at the gas station. These are the little girls who came over (aren't they so cute?):Emma discovered her room after dinner. She was so happy! She said, "no one has ever done anything like this for me before!" She's planning to keep the hearts up for a few weeks.

I ordered Jimmy Johns for lunch, so Emma and I ate together in the living room, one of our favorite pastimes. She said that her robe and her pretty ring, and the fact that I kept bringing her food made her feel like royalty. In the picture she's eating a brownie and an eclair that my visiting teacher had brought me the night before.

She had wanted homemade hamburgers for dinner, but she was too sick to really enjoy them, so we'll do that meal later this week. She said she couldn't get through her birthday without a birthday cake, so I made this triple-layer cherry chocolate masterpiece:

Yummy! It was a good birthday all things considered! Thanks to everyone who helped make Emma's day so special.

Weekend Events

This weekend I made German Pancakes again, but I cooked it in our cast-iron skillet in the oven and it was so good I made it both Saturday and Sunday for breakfast. We usually eat it with syrup and powdered sugar, but Sunday morning Landon cooked some apples to eat on top of his piece. Last Saturday night when I was kissing Emma goodnight, she was "boobin'" (our word for whining or crying) about not having any skirts or dresses that were long enough. She always has to cover her knees with a coat when she sits at church. Well, since we still don't have any money, I dug through my fabric supply and found some that she actually approved of and made her a 30 minute skirt. She wore it to church yesterday and says she loves it.
Landon and I celebrated 16 years of wedded bliss Friday. (This is us just before church...Landon doesn't wear a suit when we go out on dates.) We broke in our new credit card with a lunch at Stockman's restaurant in Rigby. It was sooooo good!!! I love that place. I had prime rib, mashed potatoes/gravy, veggies and a salad with homemade blue cheese dressing. Landon had the all-you-can-eat sirloin steak, french fries and a salad with blue cheese. It was such a treat! We went to Idaho Falls and walked around Ross, TJ Maxx, Bed Bath and Beyond and Sportsman's Warehouse. We just "window shopped" but for us, it's a fun way to talk and spend time together. Yesterday we had a Super Bowl party! Emma had an appointment with the bishop right after church (so they'll let her out of Primary!), so Landon and Lauren did a lot of the prep work for the party. We had hamburger sliders, chips with spicy cheese dip, guacamole, and diet Pepsi/Capri-suns plus these mini-apple pies for dessert (I used jumbo muffin tins):I hate making homemade pie crust, by the way. These turned out fantastic and the crust was delicious and flaky, but I'd rather make multiple loaves of bread, rolls, biscuits, etc. than deal with making pie crust. Notice the crumb topping...it was so I didn't have to make more crust to put on top.

Lauren Update

Lauren has decided to change schools. She starts Kennedy today. There are some mean girls at Burton, and she doesn't really fit in with the kids over there. Since Landon is at Kennedy and Lauren went to Kennedy for 2nd grade, she has plenty of friends over there. She made the decision to switch, and we are fine with it. She's an excellent student, and is very well-behaved, so I didn't really see a down side.Burton held a science fair on the Lauren's last day. Since she had already made her project, she decided it would be fun to participate. She did everything except the typing, so we were really proud of her efforts. The project was "How Does Smell Affect Taste?" We closed our eyes and plugged our noses as we tasted raw potato versus raw apple. We pretty much guessed the right food, but only because of texture.
Saturday Lauren and I went shopping at a "going-out-of-business" sale for a local boutique. Lauren is really excited about knitted headbands since she bought one a couple weeks ago. Unfortunately the headbands we saw were for babies, so she bought some cute barrettes and a hat instead.We made sure to buy a barrette for Emma, too.

I also took Lauren to the D.I. on Friday to shop for a new outfit. She found a really cute "Ann Taylor" sweater that looks brand-new for only $4! She wore it to church yesterday with a skirt that she made at Activity Days in November.

Cold Temperatures!

Today it was well below zero when I drove the girls to school, so I bundled up appropriately. Emma decided to take pictures:

Me, leaving to start the car to warm up for about 10-15 minutes. (I SOOOO miss a garage!)

Me, after starting the car, waiting for Lauren to get ready to go. My robe is warmer than my coat, so I wear that over my pajamas every morning when I drive the girls to school. I usually wear my red, fuzzy slippers too, but today I wore shoes over my hospital slipper-socks.

This is Lauren, just about to get her coat on, proudly posing with her loving mother, who gladly drives her spoiled little babies to school every day so they don't freeze their bum-chums off.

Wildlife Drive

Friday afternoon, we actually went for a drive to look for animals. It's been such a long time since we've done that! Emma was at a friend's house, so Lauren had to come with us. She grumped about it, but we let her sit in the front with us and she cheered up a little bit. We saw some deer! It was a short, fun drive.