DCI fun!

Mallory & I spent the last 2 days in Indianapolis, IN, living out a dream of Mal's for her Graduation present. We were there for the DCI (Drum Corp International) Championship. Other than the jet-lag that killed us West coasters, it was a lot of fun.

Our parking was just a block from Lucas Oil Stadium, in some guys backyard. Hey, it was half of what the stadium parking was, what a deal! We watch Open & World Class Corps and in between walked to a park a few blocks away, where the corps warm up. It was a FanFair! Booths of the local attractions where we made our own fan buttons, a free cup from a local university, free frizbee, pen, stuff like that.

Mallory looks excited!!! We met a couple who had come from England just for Finals. That is dedication! We also met some old cronies that meet together every year, parents of kids in different Corps, a lady that wouldn't stop talking during the shows, and a local couple that only stayed for the first half (if we had known, we would have told them it gets better at the end!).

Our favorite Cavie DrumLine! Mallory is friends with the Center Snare, although there are 8, he is on the left (the short one). He graduated from CV and visits during camp sometimes. We found the venue where they practiced and caught a little bit of that. The corps were spread all over the area and we tried to find ones that were close and by the time we got there, they would be finished. But, we did get a little of the Cavies.

Mallory took almost 300 pictures, so I won't bore you with all of them, I'm sure she will pick the best ones and post them onto her Facebook, if anyone is interested it them.

This is the "V" of the Vanguard. Very famous, usually the end of their show has the cymbal line flashing the "V", this year they ended with a Guard member being lifted and her standing on the cymbals. No "V", so this was the only one we got. =(

And the final retreat.

It was a great trip, I think we had White Castles everyday, if not twice! At least I grabbed an apple from the Hotel, otherwise we would have officially eaten junk the entire trip. I slept for 9 hours when I got home, then had a full nights sleep. It felt great, now that I'm back on track for the week. Love, Jenn =)

14 & 18

It has happened. Another birthday, May 11. Yes, I have 2 children who share the same birthday exactly 4 years apart. Trust me, you can't plan that, as all my mom-friends know. Every year Mal and Richy have cake together.

It has been a journey of different ways to celebrate. Richy has moved from crackers, egg & milk free cake, real cake, and in 3rd grade a giant chocolate chip cookie. Mallory has had a real cake for most of her years. In high school she has had variety, DQ ice cream cake, assorted cheese cakes, and this year, yep, a giant chocolate chip cookie. Nice for mom, 2 kids agreeing.

Soon, the candles will over-take the cookie. I'm glad they like each other. They do have fun together.

Any unique birthday situations in your families? Love, Jenn =)

Prom!

Mal was so excited to go to Prom this year. It was on April 25th, the theme was "Masquerade". So, the black and white dress Mal found was perfect! There were a few snafus with a date, but her friend Mitchell Dumais came through for her! He is a Junior and the Jr. Drum Major past year, and a great friend. They also call him "Nigel"........he-he, band kids.

Mal and her friends, Courtney Wasata (left) and Randi Wilson. Their dresses were really pretty, Mal was the only one who was warm with the freezing weather that night. The whole gang. Senior girls with the Junior boys, Courtney & Ian, Mal & Nigel, Randi & Shaun. They had a lot of fun. They went to Couer d' Alene for dinner, the floating restaurant, The Cedars and then the dance at the Fox Theater. She had a lot of fun and wasn't worried about her dress falling down, being able to breathe, or being cold!

Gotta love my Mormon girl! Love, Jenn =)

Long Week......Long Post =)

Well, we have had a whirl-wind week! I was so tired, when I was finally done on Saturday I made chocolate-chip cookies and bread! Then I have had trouble uploading pictures from my camera, so......Mike has been helping me figure it out and getting ready for the coming week at the same time.

The boys have been fairly quiet this week. Jacob has been working on making his lists for his mission, running errands and such. We see him on and off, but he is pretty much taking charge (in his way). We are trying to figure out how to get everyone to SLC. Richy is being Richy, working on homework and being funny. I have to stop and consciously think, "he's teasing". He can be really funny, but sometimes it catches me off guard and I have to give him "the-LOOK", if you know what I mean. I asked him to help me with the cookies on Sat so we could spend time together, he decided it was ok to hang out with his mom!

The girls had the busiest week in a long time, and it hit them both at the same time. Mallory had an FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) competition on Wed, then was totally shocked when she won first place in a category about decision making. Wow, she was so excited! Got a plaque and everything...

She gets to go to the State competition next. Now, if we can get those awesome decision making skills applied to college, hehe. She ended up having what we are starting to call a "crash-day", happens about once every 3-4 weeks, when her body/heart/energy, etc. finally tell her brain "ENOUGH, I'M DONE" and shuts down until she gets plenty of sleep. Saturday, was the Solo and Ensemble Competition. She had 4 entries: Vocal Duet, Horn Trio, Percussion Ensemble (marimba), and a Brass Quintet. She worked very hard preparing for all of these, extra practicing after school, at our house, coordinating multiple schedules, etc. So, the results there, the Brass Quintet got a Superior rating (1) and is going on to State (after one kid forgot his music and a fiasco there). The Horn Trio also received a Superior rating (1), but are the 1st Alternate for State. The Percussion Ensemble was frustrating, you would think 16 percussionist could count? Not always, they received a 2. And her vocal duet ended up being disqualified because of song choice. She sang "For Good" from WICKED with a friend, had it approved by her band teacher, but we are not sure of the exact rules. Mr. Parker is felt really, really bad and is looking into scores, comments, etc to see what might have been. We told her to be proud of what she accomplished and that she benefited from all her preparations.

Becca had piano 4 nights this week. She usually has 1 lesson on Fridays. Her teacher is fabulous and amazing! This is the 3rd year she has had a benefit, "Around the World in 88 Keys", to raise $$$ for the Spokane Community Partners. Becca was singing in a choir with younger students. 1 night group lesson, 1 night rehearsal on stage, 1 night sound check, and one night performance. It was totally amazing the other local professionals that were there. Piano, vocal, ballet, Professors, Celtic, Thai, but after an hour and a half and just getting to Intermission? we left. Becca was so tired and she had already done her part. Good little trooper.

I have been busy with my new calling. With a huge boundary change up, there are a lot of people who don't know each other, callings have been left empty because they moved to another ward, and if you came into a new ward you don't have a calling. So, matching up callings, and organizing from scratch a Visiting Teaching/Home Teaching Route is a HUGE undertaking. I have been talking with a lot of sisters this week! I feel like I am on the phone a lot more now, too. I have missed getting on line, just too tired, checking out the mail, facebook, writing the blogs, music stuff, my favorite sites. I did find time to make a new recipe, homemade Ranch Dressing. It was yummy! Recipe in the previous post, I posted that first so it would come after. Sly aren't I?

The animals are getting along better. Zeke is still full of energy. The 3 black cats are starting to get along. Cocoa will tolerate Chloe because she is so mellow, but poor DM, Cocoa has no patience with her yet. We did catch a moment when they were all eating out of the same bowl.

Now, that is progress! Cocoa is also willing to come out into the main rooms during the day and eat, knowing that Zeke is far enough away. He tends to surprise her once in a while, but we give Cocoa the right-of-way. She is after all over 60 in cat years!

Hope fully in a few weeks, I will be able to get back in the swing of things. in the meantime, there will be random posts and news. GOT to get organized! Love, Jenn =)