a Wicked start to the summer

How do you catch up to that? How did I ever let it get away? Sigh, I really haven't the memory to get back the days but perhaps I can recap the months. In a matter of minutes.... winter was cold, dark and dreary. COLD, COLD, COLD! Did I mention I'm solar powered? I just couldn't get my act together this winter. And, we just did not catch a break from colds, flus, bronchitis, pneumonia, pinworms, pink eye, etc. and so it goes....
On Christmas Eve, I had my first episode of gerd (reflux) which I thought was a gall bladder attack. It took me three months to learn it was gerd and not gall bladder so for three months I was in pretty intense pain thinking my insides would implode at any moment but I didn't have time to take care of it. What was I doing? Well, first I was called to be primary (children's group) president for our church group. (did I mention gerd is stress related?) :)
We spent the holidays and rang in the very chilly new year in St. Louis. January I pulled together a teacher training and our first primary activity. February I made a picture wall for Heather's birthday, started up activity days, organized Elise's class valentines party and planned Nathan's Alien bday party.
At that point, I squished in a trip to the docs to find out I wasn't going to explode (whew), I had a cyst on my wrist and have high cholestrol (no surprise). Nathan's party was a success and our favorite gift? A new friend for Nathan: Nicolas, who used to live right next door up until the month before we moved in. Crazy!
I started working out with a friend in March and actually felt pretty good. For my birthday, I got new running shoes and started running. We prepped for our vacation to Oviedo Florida which was AMAZING, of course. I love Krista, Dale and Allison, the beach, the warm weather, the flip flops, the light house, catching up with friends, feeling like I never left, running in the mornings, the italian ice, Disney and all those relaxing nights reading with Krista, eating treats in the living room. :) Can I have seconds of all that please? It was just Elise, Lindsey and I which means easy which equals heaven. I read Kristin Cashore's "Graceling" book twice!!! I loved that too.
As soon as I returned from that I started organizing the year end event for Marathon Kids Club, complete with finding sponsors, ordering shirts, pulling together the food, set up and thank yous. The last mile run (in front of the entire school) made me teary I was SOOOOOO proud of them! And that's why we do it and why I will be supporting MKC again next year. :)
Somewhere, during all that, Jim put in a garden and I relandscaped our front yard flower garden. That lead right into teacher appreciation week, Alma Schrader's play day and the end of school with Elise's third grade talent show.
The Friday before school let out, my dad went to the ER and Heather called to say I'd better get up there FAST! They thought he was having a stroke, but a spinal tap revealed that what was supposed to be crystal clear fluid was more like milk indicating a bad case of meningits. The doctor gave a realistic statement that dad could "go either way, but it looks like the meningitis has been stewing for awhile." Be prepared. My mom's hope shattered and indeed, it did not look good. Andy and the bishop gave my dad a blessing and they admitted dad to the ICU, starting an "aggressive" round of antibiotics. We all dressed in yellow gowns, gloves and masks to be with him and after getting mom settled into his room -Heather and I went home (midnight) to shower off the germs and fall asleep. The next morning my dad was coherent and recognized both Heather and I when we entered (big improvement). He continued to improve and by the time I went home Sunday, he was set to leave the ICU. Now THAT is a blessing!!! I really do believe in miracles and the power of the priesthood.
School ended May 18th. WOW, it really felt like it went that fast. Let the vacation begin...
Nicolas is spending the summer days with us. I love it. He's a super polite, very sporty child who is a great friend to Nathan. Having another child in the bunch keeps me on my game -I'm much more creative, organized and patient. The thought of his mom asking, "So, what did you do today?!" really spurs me on. :) Last week, we had a wood working theme and made stilts. It was more pricey than I expected (isn't it always?), but well worth it. The kids all sawed, sanded and painted the wood. Jim helped screw it together and voila, some pretty rickety stilts that will be a miracle if they work. But, it's all in the journey, right? :)

We are headed to St. Louis this week to play. I thought it would be a brilliant idea to have the kids perform a song from Wicked for Grammy and G.G. Immediately Elise sulked out of the room. Really?!! So instead, we cleaned. which we would have done anyway. :) Elise's Monday job is to sweep and mop the kitchen. I turned on the Wicked soundtrack to make it more entertaining. After the mopping, she needed to tackle her bedroom so I suggested she take the CD to her room. I noticed she grabbed the sheet music off the piano on her way. As I was folding laundry in my room, I was serenaded for a good half hour by Elise singing, "Defying Gravity." I guess my idea wasn't such a bad one after all.... or so I thought. Once the other kids realized Elise was practicing, they all wanted in on the action and so we had meltdowns within the hour. "Moooooooommmmm, Elise won't let me sing that part...." Oh my goodness. I finally took the CD away and suggested they find something else to play. More sulking. Ahhh, I just love the summer. :)