She's ten years old?

Holy smokes--my little girl has been around a whole decade! Where has the time gone? When I look at her sometimes, I can still see in her face when she was 2 or 3 and calling us by our first names ALL the time; wearing party dresses on hers or anyone else's birthdays and talking non-stop in her cute little voice and always asking us questions about things--she loved asking us "Why?" about everything. She was always so inquisitive and very bright, very creative in her artwork and loving to sing. I guess she hasn't changed much since then; she is still all these things and a beautiful, confidant girl to boot. We love her so much!

Here are just some fun pictures of her, ages 1, 2 and 3. So fun to reminisce!

Every year for her birthday, she has had big, friend filled, theme-centered birthdays. So, this year, we decided that there wasn't going to be a big friend party, just a small celebration with our family. I think she was kind of disappointed with that, but we just thought it was fair--and good for her, too--to take it easy this year.

On Saturday, which was her actual birthday, I spent the morning making her cake, and she opened her presents. Then while Bella napped, Garrett took the other 3 girls bowling. Then we had to split up again because Maggie has been dying to see "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Theif" and we didn't want to take the other girls to see that. So, I took Maggie to Percy Jackson and Garrett took the other girls to see "How to Train your Dragon" and then we met up at the "Old Spaghetti Factory" for dinner. (One of her favorite restaurants) We got back kind of late, so held off on eating cake till the next day after lunch.

Her cake--I love it! I found it off the blog, "The Idea Room"

It was big!

For her birthday, her big gift was a new bike and bike helmet. She was desperately needing this since she outgrew her old one awhile ago. We got this for her like a month ago and she has really enjoyed it. She also got a new watch, a gift card to itunes, some money, some earrings and a necklace and an earring holder. Happy Birthday Maggie, we love you!

Quick Updates

Garrett finally made it home on Wednesday night (the 21st). His flight landed around 10:30 that night, so he got back pretty late. I am so grateful that he made it home!! It's been so great having him back--he was able to stay at home all day Thursday and then he went in for a few hours on Friday, but then took the rest of the day off.

Wednesday night (before he got home), we headed over to the school to see the science fair displays. We found out that Maggie won 1st place for 4th grade! Wow! So, now she's off to districts this coming Thursday.

Starting in 4th grade, students are given the opportunity to join the school choir that meets after school. Maggie joined it this year and has really enjoyed participating--she loves to sing! They've been working on this "production" called "A Better You...A Better Me!" All the songs explore character building concepts like respect, trust, making good choices, being responsible, having good citizenship and fighting fair. Maggie also joined the dancers to go along with the songs. I think she danced in 3 or 4 of the songs. They presented their show to the parents this past Thursday night and it was really good. We are so proud of her for getting involved in these kinds of activities.

She is on the second row down, and the second from the left.

Sorry about the video, we don't have a very good quality video camera and can only zoom in so far. Maggie is the second person from the left on the second row down.

Our friends took this video for us, it's much better quality. Isn't she cute?

On Friday afternoon, after the girls got home from school, we headed down to Woodburn to check out the Tulip Festival. I had wanted to go the last Saturday, but we didn't because I didn't want to go without Garrett. So, we went on Friday, because the weather was supposed to be really nice (which it wasn't that great--oh well) and the next day was Maggie's birthday. The tulips were beautiful, as usual and the girls had a good time playing on the swings and slide and the hay stacks.

Darn Volcano!

Garrett's been out of town since Easter morning and he was supposed to be home this past Friday (the 16th). He was in Europe on business for two weeks--first in Madrid, Spain then London, England, then Zurich, Switzerland, then Milan, Italy and finally in Paris France before he was supposed to come home. But then, Iceland's Volcano, Eyjafjallajokull decides to erupt the day before he's supposed to leave and shuts down all air travel over Europe because of all the ash in the sky.

At first, he thought he'd be coming home on Saturday, but that flight was cancelled. Then he heard that Madrid was flying because they are more in the south and the ash wasn't affecting them. So, he got a ticket flying out of Madrid on Saturday or Sunday--can't remember which, but couldn't get on a train because they were all full. There wasn't even standing room--they were completely full! So, he had to cancel that flight. After that, he went back to his hotel room in Paris and decided to stick it out until Paris started scheduling flights.

Then, after talking to a travel agent, they heard that Milan was flying, so he got a ticket out of Milan for Monday and went early Sunday morning to the train station again to try and get a ticket to Milan. Luckily, he was able to get on and get a seat. It was 3 hours to Zurich, then a 9 minute wait until the next train to Milan. Luckily, he was able to get a seat on this train which was a 4 hour ride to Milan. He did say that the scenery was beautfiul and he really enjoyed the ride. I guess it beats sitting in a hotel room all day!

So in the middle of the night last night (2am) I got a call from American Airlines telling me that his flight was cancelled--again! So I talked to him today and he has a flight booked for tomorrow (Tuesday). Who knows if he will get out or not. He said that all the flights on Wednesday and Thursday are already booked, so if he doesn't fly out tomorrow, then he won't be able to leave until Friday. Yuck! That will be three weeks away from home. He sounds pretty discouraged and pretty homesick. But, there is a bright side. At least he's not stuck at the airport on a cot. He's had hotel rooms and food to eat. We've been able to talk with him on the phone and through email, AND he's over there on the company's dime. At least he's not going broke over there like most people.

The last time this volcano erupted was 200 years ago and it erupted for over a year. Wow!! There's talk now that a sister volcano could erupt as well, causing even more problems. Hopefully, he can get out of there before that happens!!


There are a couple of things that I have gained from this experience:
1) I have a great respect for single parents. I don't know how they do it day after day. They even have to work on top of taking care of the kids and making dinner and grocery shopping and refereeing all of their kids's arguments.
2) Absence DOES make the heart grown fonder. I really do miss him being around all the time. It makes me realize how much I take him for granted. He does SO much to help me out around the house and with the kids--and I miss his fun personality and all his joking and his flirting. :)
3) I am SO thankful for all my friends who have been around to help me out by taking my kids so I can have a few breaks . Everyone at church has been concerned about us and making sure I'm okay and offering help if I need it. Thank you everyone--thanks for all your support!

Easter, Spelling Bee, Carnival and Science Fair Projects

Well, I guess this is kind of a catch-up post from the past two weeks. We've been keeping busy while Garrett's been gone. Which is good.

Garrett left early on Easter morning. So the day before we dyed eggs and had an easter egg hunt and had our Easter dinner.

Bella dying the eggs. She loved to drop them in the color.

Bella "coloring" her eggs

Bella finding Easter eggs

That night I attempted to make the Resurrection cookies that I've heard about before, but never tried. When I told my kids that we were going to make cookies and learn about Jesus being crucified and resurrected, I think they only heard the 'cookies' part and kept complaining that they wanted chocolate chip cookies and that the ones we made looked gross. I kept trying to emphasize that we were learning about Jesus and it wasn't the cookies that mattered. Ugh--I tried. These are the cookies that you make with vinegar and eggs and pecans--all things that relate to the Easter story. Then you put them in the oven or "tomb" and seal it with tape, turn off the oven and leave them overnight. Well, the next morning, my kids were too excited with what the Easter bunny brought to even think about the weird cookies in the oven. I tried to get them all to come over and help me unseal the oven and see about the cookies (they were supposed to be hollow--because the tomb was empty) but nobody even wanted to try them. Oh well. I've heard of how the Easter bunny visits some people's houses a day early, so that on Easter Sunday, you can focus more on the Savior. Maybe I'll have to email the Easter Bunny next year and see if he can come early to our house. :)

Making the cookies

Eating store bought cookies because they "really wanted chocolate chip cookies"

the tomb sealed

These are what the cookies looked like in the morning.

After following the trail of jelly beans to find their baskets, the girls ate a ton of candy and played with their stuff, while I tried to watch conference. I like having Easter fall on General Conference weekend. It's so relaxing to just hang out!

I love this picture of Maggie. She is such a wild sleeper--it shows in her hair.

Maggie started reading her new book that morning and read it all day until she finished it.

Bella loving candy

This is Bella discovering her basket and the candy within.

On Friday the 9th, I took Maggie to the district spelling bee. The guy in charge called it a spelling competition because spelling bees are usually oral and Maggie's was written. I think it's better to have it be written because it takes SO much pressure off of the kids. She was really nervous still. She didn't want to get 1st place because she didn't want to move on to the next level, but she really wanted to get 2nd place. :) In the end, she didn't end up placing, but was glad she was able to participate. Garrett and I were really proud of her!

I've never been to a spelling competition before, so I thought it was weird that they had the tables set up right in front of where all the parents were. The parents just sat there and watched while the kids spelled their words. Maggie said it was very weird to have people right there staring at her while she worked.

These were all the kids that participated. I was stuck to the side with Bella, so this is the best shot I could get.

That night our ward YW put on a Carnival for a fundraiser for girls camp. It was a lot of fun and there were SO many people there. They had dinner and all sorts of booths with games and yummy treats to buy with your tickets. I think the funniest part of the night was that they had a circle of chairs set up as a jail. They had 3 or 4 of our young men dressed all in black and they were the police. So, for 3 tickets you could have anyone you want "arrested" and put in jail. And then if that person wanted to get out of jail, they or someone else had to pay 3 tickets for bail. People really ate this up and had fun with it. Maggie was nervous that someone was going to come and arrest her, but Lydia was all for it. She kept wanting me to buy extra tickets and then was begging Maggie or I to put her in jail. Once she got there, I tried to bail her out, but she refused. She's such a crack-up. Even Paige got thrown in jail by her friend's brother, but Maggie quickly bailed her out.

Face painting

Lydia in "jail" and loving it

Paige 'gone fishing'

They also had a silent auction set up. Last year, I bet on 3 things and won them all, so had to scrape up some money for that. (I didn't think I'd win them all.) But this year I bet on two things and won one of them. I won Sister Yockey's book of recipes. I was really excited because this woman is an AMAZING cook. Everything I've tried of hers I've loved--so I was really happy with that! It was a fun night and the young women did an amazing job of putting it all together.

So, Maggie (as a 4th grader) was required to do a science fair project this year, but wasn't really excited about it until Garrett came up with an idea for her and really got her excited about it. Lydia decided that she wanted to do one to. Garrett came up with a good idea for hers too. He's the man with all the ideas!! He's the brain in the family. So, they did the experiments the day before he left for Europe (the day we were busy doing Easter activities). With Garrett's help while he was gone--via email, we were able to get it written up and then the girls and I assembled the displays and they got them turned in today. (The day they were due.) They turned out really well and I think they had a good experience with science fair projects--Maggie especially. So here are some pictures of the final product:

Michael Buble

Friday night Garrett and I were able to go see Michael Buble at the Rose Garden!! I was so excited because I love his songs! I only got tickets the night before because I thought Garrett was going to be out of town, but thankfully that changed! Garrett wasn't as excited about the concert because he's not much of a concert guy, plus he doesn't know a lot of his songs. But, he said he enjoyed it.

Even though we were up in the nosebleeds, we still had a good time! He is a great performer and puts on a great show. He is really funny and a really fun dancer to watch--he's got some spastic moves, but they are so unique to him.

He opened the concert with "Cry Me a River" (1st song on my playlist) and I thought it was fabulous! I found this description in a review: "A dark silhouette of a conductor and his orchestra was revealed through white, wind-blown curtains with the recognizable "MB" insignia scrawled on them. Dramatic, forboding notes were played on the strings and drums until finally, the screaming girls got what they wanted: a peek at the talented young singer in an extremely well-fitted black suit, conducting his orchestra."

Here's a video of it off of the internet:

At one point during the concert, he was talking about how he's always wanted to sing and perform and talked about how he used to watch "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" over and over. His favorite part was the float scene where Ferris sings, "Twist and Shout." So he sang that and then he said that Michael Jackson was one of his favorite singers, so he sang "Billie Jean" and did some Michael Jackson moves. It was hilarious!! Of course, I forgot my camera (still mad about that!!) but I had Garrett get some video of the concert on his iphone, just so I had something to put on my blog. So, here's a video of him singing "Billie Jean". Keep in mind we are up in the nosebleeds and his phone doesn't zoom. (You can see him on the screen.)

Wow--that's really small after I added it on here--you can't see anything! Sorry!
Some of my favorite songs were: Everything, Cry Me a River, Home, Haven't Met you Yet, For Once in My Life and Mrs. Jones. The only one he didn't sing that I wished he would have was "Lost".

I found a review of the concert on some internet site, so I thought I'd post that instead of rewriting everything. If you don't care, feel free to skip it!
"He has an extraordinary talent for showmanship. I would be easy for a good looking, well-dressed crooner to have an ego to match, but Buble remains humble and emotionally honest on stage.

Buble often poked fun at himself and at one point during the show quipped, "I'm just doing what you do in the shower--they're just paying me to do it." Buble is simply charming and the sold-out crowd at the Rose Garden acknowledged it with every step.

The truth is, you don't have to be a Michael Buble fan to love his concert. It's not a pre-requisite. Buble puts on such a fantastic and intimate show that he's sure to win over even the guys who get dragged along to see him. "Concerts are boring!", exclaimed Buble during one of many interlude talks with the audience. "If you just wanted to hear my music you could stay home and listen to the CD. This is your show and you should have fun."

Sliding across the slanted marble stage , Buble always looked like he was having a good time. He has an infectious energy that lights up whatever he sings. One of my favorite moments in the show was when he sat at the piano and sang the song "Best of Me", originally done by David Foster and Olivia Newton-John. Buble spoke about going through a tough point in his life and how the song really resonated with him during that time. I don't think I've seen a more emotionally honest performance in my life. Buble made every word of the song sound like it emanated from a deep place within, and at the end of it, when the lights went down, he wiped his eyes.

This touching moment was followed up by one of the most odd and funny moments of the show. As Buble got up, the band started to play Stevie Wonder's "For Once in My Life". Buble shot a look at this musical director and partner and then started to work his way through the song. About a minute into it he asked the orchestra to stop and then broke into laughter. "You see, on my copy of the set list, the next song is 'Georgia on My Mind'". It was a very real moment that fit well with this very alive concert. After switching over to "Georgia on my Mind", Buble and company gave another shot at "For Once in My Life" which had an air of spunkiness and humor that was quite fun.

One of the things I really appreciated about Michael Buble's show was his treatment of his own original hits. None of them felt tired or overplayed and he brought as much enthusiasm to "Haven't Met You Yet" as he did to some of the classics he sang. Buble closed the show with what seems to be his signature closing song, "A Song for You," made popular by Donny Hathaway. The final refrain of the song Buble performed in front of the closed curtain without any accompaniament or without a mic. It was a very nice nod to the classic performers who didn't always perform with amplification, and it showed that while he may not have Sinatra's golden throat, that boy can sing."

Here is a video I found online of the mess-up of songs. I thought it was pretty funny.