rich has been back to work now for a few weeks now, which is sad, because i'm never really ready for him to return. the month he was off happened to be the busiest month of the year for me, so it was especially nice to have another taxi driver to help divide and conquer when the kids' activities were at their peak. it was also great to have him available for every thing they were involved in, especially since we hadn't seen him in so long. here's what the month looked liked, while he was home. brace yourself, it was a busy month.
taylor boogied.
he went to his first prom with a big group of some of his very best friends.
i loved his tux and thought he looked like a stud.
here in utah, the "asking" is big pressure to come up with something creative. taylor staked out hailey's yard with caution tape like a crime scene, did a dead body chalk outline and wrote: "hailey i'd DIE to go to prom with you!" very cool and clever, and psyche-esque, taylor's favorite show.
the actual day of the event started with a large group photo/video scavenger hunt which i heard was great. later they broke into smaller groups, and with some help from the other boys' mothers, we hosted the dinner at our house, which was SO GREAT! i'm already thinking of how to make it more fun next year, if the kids will let me. the menu was: virgin daiquiris, strawberries with sour cream and brown sugar, lauri's strawberry & mango salad, chicken parmesan with linguini, bread sticks and dipping sauce, and some kind of heavenly chocolate dessert.
on the way home from the grocery store that afternoon i realized, "i'm serving marinara sauce?! what was i thinking?!" luckily all the kids were down with using their napkins as bibs so there were no mishaps. phew!
after dinner we headed to the park to take some photos. the boys asked me to do their photos this year to save them some money, and of course, i was delighted! they insisted on bringing ethan, who was being entertained by dad downstairs. i love that they love him.
ethan thinks these guys are the bees knees, and i agree.
this photo is perfect for illustrating ethan's life as a toddler in a teenage world.
with them, he's always the center of attention, which he loves, obviously.
the whole group.
the lovely girls.
taylor and hailey - cutest couple ever! they were both glowing with excitement and nerves and general cuteness, and hailey looked so gorgeous in her beautiful dress!
they wore matching grey chucks, hailey's idea that taylor loved.
of course, much silliness ensued.
i love these boys
high school musical jump - sort of.
followed by taylor's face plant
followed by hailey and i's hysterical laughing. it was THAT funny.
hmmm. maybe next year i'll save that pose for when they're not wearing formal clothing? luckily nothing ripped or got a grass stain. i hear the dance was great, and they got all the girls home in time for their curfews, so we'll call it a success!
ethan graduated.
ethan loves to sing, but i feel like that statement is pretty obvious once you've seen this photo. pure joy man. we are going to miss seeing awesome ms.laurie all the time, but lucky for us, she is andrew's mom, so we see her around often. she has a way of making you feel like a million bucks, which is pretty much my only requirement in selecting a pre-school teacher.
oh my gosh, look at that little guy. oh those cheeks.
age four is the best.
spencer sweated.
it was a bumpy lacrosse season. many of the players on spencer's team were first timers and the team hadn't quite gelled yet. but despite winning only two games all season, spencer played really well, including being one of the team's top scorers, and carrying a couple of the games.
i loved his intensity this season, he's kicked it up a notch since finding his groove last year.
i can see that we're going to be involved in this sport for a long long time. i'll take it, spencer is fun to watch.
and.
he ran fast.
hurdles, just like grandpa.
i was amazed that no one ever tripped.
there's a reason, i never ran hurdles.
allie danced.
as always we loved watching her, and after i commented on how grown up she looked on stage (something i say every year), rich said, "she was a grown woman up there on stage", which of course sent me straight to the tissue box. it's just so fun to watch her in her element, she's so lovely. this year she danced in six numbers including hip hop which was awesome. it's especially fun that so many of the thursday girls and even cousins dance with melanie too, so everyone has quite the cheering section!
allie loved that two of her best girlfriends, chloe and blair (the other two-thirds of the ABC ballet girls) came to cheer for her too, both lovely dancers themselves.
we love all the support!
taylor harmonized.
the high school spring choir concert was... interesting.
which is strange because usually is fantastic.
but i really liked the sophomore group.
and really, the best part of being in choir, is hanging with your peeps.
and taylor's peeps are no exception, we love these guys as much as he does.
boys don't know how to do anything without acting like hot dogs. it's just part of their genetic make up. they can't help themselves. they are the reason mothers invented eyeball rolling.
spencer played.
spencer's spring orchestra concert was nice.
not too long which is happy for toddlers and parents alike.
it looks as though this was our last time hearing spencer perform the violin since he's decided his real calling is singing. and while i agree that his voice is a great one, and musical theater will be fun for him next year, i am having mixed feelings about letting him give up the violin that he also plays so well.
allie screamed.
for conrad birdie that is. the junior high musical production of bye bye birdie this year totally knocked my socks off! we have some really incredible talent in our little area which always surprises me. the big push at the end of rehearsals was semi-brutal, but over all i think it was a great experience for allie.
she played the girl that wouldn't smile for conrad's manager. i for one, was SHOCKED that she played this scene without cracking so much as a grin. i kept waiting for her to crack under the pressure.
the girl loves the stage what can i say?
and she played that giggly, girlie, boy-crazy teenager spot on - go figure!
ethan flew.
ethan was inspired by watching the prom kids jump off our brick ledge in the front yard. he begged me to take photo after photo of him jumping off of the ledge and would crack up looking at LCD screen after each one. then he would say, "just one more".
until he was happy with this shot.
super man!
these will be really fun to edit....some day.
we packed. and i didn't take any photos!
what the?
except this one...
which also represents ethan's ability to play with anything.
we moved.
and i didn't get any photos of that either.
i was exhausted ok?
but it went pretty smooth.
and we found out just how loved we are.
which is a lot.
and then, the next day, rich went back to work.
