Theodore

Meet Mr. Theodore Roosevelt, aka Teddy, aka 26th President of the USA

Actually, it's just Connor.

It was biography day today in his second grade and the students were to pick any person in history to learn about and then present to the class.

I gave him lots of suggestions,

he didn't like any of them.

Seriously, who doesn't like John Wayne? George Washington? Joseph Smith?

Martin Luther King Jr.?

He chose Teddy Roosevelt.

Why?

For a very good reason ...

He could finally wear his scout uniform to school.

That was his number one factor in choosing him.

Not even sure why, I don't know that he was ever in scouts, but Connor thought it would be the perfect costume.

Turns out that it was also a good excuse to watch Night at the Museum again - as he is a main character in it.

Clever boy.

Just a side note, be very careful when checking out books at the library.

Teddy Roosevelt is very close to Franklin Roosevelt.

FDR.

Please remember I am a foreigner here, and I was in a hurry!

Well, turns out Ryan is not fond of FDR and I was told,

"my son is not doing a report on FDR!"

Well, my mistake was realized, our marriage was saved and Connor did a great job on his report.

Phew.

100% XX Chromosone

This little girl is all girl.

I can't believe how much so.

Her favorite "toys" are her purse with old gift cards, a brush and makeup containers that she has removed all the eye shadow from. She combs her hair and anyone else who will sit still for her. She rocks her "babies" and dances when she hears music, but only if she is wearing a dress that will twirl. She loves to have flowers in her hair and look "pretty". She does her own hair by turning on the bath tub water and dipping her hand in the water, then splashing it on her hair.
Her first real word was "shoes".

She goes crazy in the doll aisle at the store.

And she loves chocolate.

I had no idea this would be so much fun.

When will the novelty wear off?

She has grandpa wrapped around her little finger!

She always has a bag or basket of some sort to accompany her.This was the chocolate she found in an Easter egg, but she wasn't thrilled with the dark, only took a nibble then discarded it while she went looking for the other.

During the Easter egg hunt she would find an egg and open it. If it was chocolate she would eat it and then find another. If it was anything else, she would set it aside and continue her search.

I just can't believe how very different she is from her brothers.

I love this little girl!

Easter Weekend

Just a note about Easter egg hunts ... don't hide the eggs in cactus bushes of any sort. We all learned this lesson thanks to a few crazy men who thought it would be funny to watch the kids try to get these. I think each and every kid tried, then had their moms do it. Thanks dads! Rykken - seriously, can you get over those eyes?
McCall

Beck - happy as can be

Gage - he likes candy

Lucky Ryan ...

He gets to wake up to this every morning!

I must apologize to anyone who sees me at the gym in the mornings.

I roll out of bed, get dressed and brush my teeth.

All in an effort to not tempt any men at the gym.

Seems to be working.

Thank you for the picture Ryan.

Itchy ...

Well, we were in Saint George, Brad decided to be "funny" and shave a full foo man choo - how do you even spell that kind of mustache? It was pretty hilarious and oddly gross at the same time!

We happened to be at the St. George Art Festival where there was face painting - side note - if those face painters were artists, watch out! YIKES! They really struggled with symmetry.

The boys all wanted to get mustaches like uncle Brad so they did. Then as we were leaving Tara and I decided to go back to the family with matching mustaches as well. It was quite liberating really, I felt powerful and, well, itchy! While standing in line for a scone I even got to "pet" a real mustache of a local cowboy - he offered it, insisted really and got really close to my face, so to avoid having to touch him with my own face I meekly put out a finger and gently caressed his mustache -

wiry,

itchy,

not my preference.

He was a senior citizen, but I think he enjoyed it, well at least Tara did as she looked on! Probably horrified at her brazen sister-in-law!

Good times.

Overheard

I took Connor and Tate up to Salt Lake for the Jazz game tonight - big thanks to Lani for watching McCall and Gage for me so I could have a date with my two "big" boys. They both had tickets from playing Jr. Jazz and they happened to be on the same night - Ryan had campaigning - so I got to take them.
I won't lie, I was not looking forward to this night, traffic, late night, etc.
But, we had a GREAT time! The boys were thrilled to go and were very fun the whole night.
Tate was so completely into the game - watched every play, cheered along with the crowd, moaned when the Jazz fouled, missed a basket or had a turnover. It was quite fun to watch him. Connor - well, he enjoyed the big screen, the people walking on the beams overhead, the happy birthday song to a 100 year old woman celebrating her birthday there. Again, very different boys.
But the most fun were the converstations on the way up there.
Connor to me -
"Mom, someone in my class today asked what the definition of campaign was, and they are in 3rd grade, so I had to explain it to the whole class."

"and what did you tell them?"

"I told them that a campaign is a group of people trying to get someone elected, like my dad is Mike Lee's campaign manager so he is in charge. But not in charge of Mike. It is like in the game of war, Mike Lee is the Joker and Dad is the ace because only the joker beats the ace."

Not so sure if that is a good analogy ... but whatever works for 8 year olds. Tate understood it and thought it was awesome, he likes aces better than jokers anyway.

Tate to me - "Mom, I was going to make a dunk just like Boozer did during my Jr. Jazz game, but in the rules it says you can't in Jr. Jazz, so I didn't get to. But next year I think I will anyway."

The apple ....

...doesn't fall far from the tree! When I went to wake up Connor for school this morning this is what I found. Lately he has been setting out his clothes and everything that he will need for his next day of school. I love how he has his outfit laid out as if he could just lay on top of it and it would magically wrap around his skinny little bones. He even has his shirts layered back there, all THREE, in the order that he needs to wear them.
I so remember doing this each night before school, only I folded my neatly on my dresser with my shoes laid on the floor ready to step into. I still do this with the kids clothes for Sunday and when travelling. I love this boy and his organized nature, I love his ability to plan, set and reach goals. I love that he is who he is. I love that he is my son.

Bobcat

Connor received his Bobcat award in Cubs and was so excited about it. He got it the same day as the Pinewood Derby - red letter day for that boy.

His den leader gave us this little poem for the day - couldn't agree with it more!

Bobcats are small wildcats, about 3 feet tall or shorter. Bobcats are hard to find, especially between the hours of 3 to 5 p.m., when it is time to take out the trash, cut the grass or take a bath. They hide behind trees, under beds or behind imaginary tanks or trucks, waiting for the enemy to pass. They feed on hamburgers, hot dogs, tacos, pizzas, cakes and candy and hunt for food wherever they can find it. Bobcats can be found in trees, mud puddles, under leaves, in old rain barrels, on the roof or wherever girls aren't. They can be found as far away as the school playground or as near as the neighbor's yard, pulling the cats tail. The Bobcat's ability to run, jump and hide is legendary. T.V. movies, Walt Disney and John Wayne have been known to be able to lure these wild creatures in close for the catch. Many a mighty and crafty hunter has been foiled in his attempts to tame these strange creatures.

This boy is loving cubs - he is constantly reading his manual and figuring out what he can do and pass off, reminding me daily to sew on badges, etc. This is actually more fun than I thought it would be.

Taking over my life

At least I genuinely like this guy and believe he can make a difference in Washington. Because without that belief I might not vote for him :) Only because I feel like I have become a political widow. I literally see Ryan for few hours on Sunday and about 1/2 hour in the morning between my morning workout and his leaving for work and the campaign trail.
He returns home long after I have gone to bed, in fact, I don't' even hear him come in any more, either he is in stealth mode or I am getting to be a good sleeper.
The schedule that this campaign is keeping is insane. They are on the campaign trail 6 days of the week, stretching all across the state, trying to meet as many people as they can and share their message.
Ryan's hectic schedule has been difficult to keep up with. When he isn't campaigning, debating and running all over Utah he is on conference calls, answering emails, researching any media articles, etc about the campaign. I now know WAY more about American politics than I ever thought I would, or cared to know. But, don't tell Ryan this, I am starting to enjoy it. I think when you can see that one person really can make a difference you want to become more involved. This week involves meetings, debates, panel discussions, delegate training and fundraising in Morgan County, Weber County, Sevier County, Utah County, Salt Lake County, Rich County, Box Elder County, Davis County - I hate to admit it, but I don't even know where half of these places are. I need to go get a map ...
In the meantime, enjoy these pictures of what our family has been up to our eyeballs in, we are a shrine to Mike Lee around here, surrounded in yard signs, buttons, t-shirts, brochures, etc. Feel free to stop in and pick up your very own Mike Lee yard sign!
I like that they boys are getting into the action, they are telling friends about who to vote for, they have shared Mike's platform at school for show and tell, without my knowledge, or I would have made sure they had their talking points correct, thank goodness for understanding teachers! They wear their Mike Lee buttons with pride on their back packs, helped me transform their Red Sox shirts into I LIKE MIKE shirts for a rally. They carry brochures in their backpacks to hand out at school - is that legal? But they insist on helping Dad get Mike Lee elected. Of course this comes with a price. I am constantly answering questions from inquiring little minds - where is dad tonight? Will dad be home tonight? Is dad ever too busy for Mike Lee? Has Mike Lee won yet? The boys refer to Mike as "Mike Lee for Senate 2010", I think they believe that is his full name. We have sure missed Ryan, but he will be back home to us in the "near" future and something good, very good, will have come out of it I am sure. For now, I am getting a lot of projects done around here, sewing up a storm, reading some good books and wasting entirely too much time on the Internet.

GO MIKE!

**some of the images are from Jarvie Photography - amazing job!

Pinewood Derby

Sheer excitement

Anxiety

Hope

Anticipation Good old Pinewood Derby.

Our families first - with many more to follow

Connor worked hard on his vehicle.

Mom was a little nervous and had him make a second one and race both beforehand so we knew it would actually make it down the track.

It wouldn't have mattered.

Connor was thrilled to just participate.

He lost his first race and won two afterwards.

He was very happy and proud of himself.

I was more proud of how he behaved.

When the real racing was done the boys raced for fun.

When Connor raced his friend who had not won any races he set up the slower of his two cars.

I mentioned it to him and suggested he race the faster car.

He whispered to me, "mom, he hasn't won a race yet and I want him to win this one."

Lesson learned, thank you Connor - always a thoughtful and kind boy.