Willy Wonka

I signed Audrey up for a homeschool drama group in February.  The play for this session was Willy Wonka (one of my favorite childhood movies).  Audrey's dream role was an Oompa Loompa.  She got the part she wanted, plus she had a line as a reporter, and she was a Candy Kid.  She loved it!  She knew all of the choreography, and when the boy who was supposed to sing a duet with her was silent, she sang her line loudly.  For her reporter line she did great (we worked on talking loudly without yelling, and she was the best reporter...imho).

She had a best bud, Tanner, they were so glad to have each other.  

Poor little bud, he wanted to be an Oompa Loompa SO bad!  He thought that was the best role in the play (as did Audrey) and he is always singing the songs, and he asked about 100 times if he could be an Oompa Loompa.  He was a good supporting brother, and he was so proud of Audrey.  

Audrey really did do a fantastic job, she totally shined in every role that she had.  I hope to have her and Phoenix do a play in either the fall or next spring.  It was a great experience for her, and it was so cute and fun to watch the kids.  

Mother's Day

Aside from waking up to an alarm clock (curse you 9 am church!), Mother's Day was pleasant and enjoyable.  Travis let me pick out a new lens that I have been wanting for a few years, and I tested it out while dinner was cooking.  

Travis made me Gado-Gado (an Indonesian dish from my Dad's mission).  He made the peanut sauce, the marinade for the chicken, and then he grilled the chicken.  Am I the only one that thinks food tastes better when you don't have to prepare it yourself?  After dinner he made me white cupcakes from scratch, I made strawberry buttercream icing to go on top (no recipe for that).  Travis has really made a lot of progress in the kitchen this year!  I thoroughly appreciate his efforts, and I look forward to more meals prepared by him ;-).

Both Travis and I were blessed with wonderful mothers who raised in the best ways.  It is nice to have holidays to honor specific people in your life because it makes me reflect on all that I have been blessed with (a wonderful mom and mother-in-law).  

The End of Soccer

This was a rough season for soccer.  The first three weeks were cancelled due to snow...yes, I said SNOW! And although the snow melted, the cold weather continued for almost the whole season.  I made an awesome outdoor blanket with two layers of fleece and a layer of nylon (windbreaker material), it kept me warm!  With two kids playing, two practices a week (and there is no set practice schedule), and two games every Saturday.  Needless to say, Travis and I were anxiously counting down to the end of the season!  

When I saw how excited Phoenix was when he got his trophy I realized that the trophy might be the only reason he wanted to do soccer. 

Audrey has played soccer for 5 seasons now.  She hasn't scored one goal, ever.  That all changed with two minutes left, of the last quarter, the last game of the season.  All the stars aligned, the ball went to Audrey, no one was blocking her, she had a clean shot to the goal, she took it.  The goalie tried to block it, but it rolled through her legs.  No one was more shocked than Audrey, Travis, and myself.  Audrey jumped up and down and cheered.  I blinked back some tears behind the safety of my sunglasses.  It was perfect.    

A Sad Loss

I wanted to do a post about a wonderful man who sadly passed away on Audrey's birthday.  He was in our ward before our ward split, we were casual friends.  He was among the very best of men, which is why his death was so sad.  He was hit by an unlicensed driver (an 18 year old kid) during a morning jog with his wife.  He was rushed to the hospital, and although almost every bone in his face was broken, the doctors were cautiously optimistic about his recovery.  His minor brain swelling did not improve, and grew worse until it eventually ended his life.  There were so many of us that were praying with all that we could for a miracle, and there were so many good reasons to keep him here on the earth.  He left behind a loving wife and 4 young children.  He served faithfully in the bishopric in his ward.  His smile was one of those that was contagiously happy.  You couldn't help but want to be around him.  It is hard to accept God's will in a tragic situation like this.

On the night before his funeral there was a tribute run to honor Derek.  It started thundering, raining, and lighting right when the run began.  By the time the runners/joggers/walkers reached the end (where Derek had been hit) there was a rainbow in the sky, and the rain had stopped.  I took it as a sure fire sign that God had heard all of our prayers, even though he couldn't answer them in the way that we had hoped.  Even though life brings us terrible storms, God is always there watching over us.  I will always remember this whenever I see a rainbow.  Here are a few pictures that people took, PC goes to Cindy Savoldi and Amanda Yost.

We attended the funeral the next day, I thought I would be crying uncontrollably throughout it, but the feeling of peace and love was undeniable.  Yes, many tears were shed, but more than that, there was peace and hope.  It was the most peaceful funeral I have attended, and the reason for that is Derek lived a good life. He lived how God would want him to, and he lived a full life.  Yes, it ended too soon, but he was ready for it.  It has really made me reflect a lot on my own life.  It has made me want to be the kind of person that makes people around me happy just by smiling.  I am grateful for the sealing power we have, and the promise that families are forever.

Here are a few news articles about Derek:

http://www.wral.com/tribute-run-honor-holly-springs-jogger-killed-by-teen-driver/14614335/

http://abc11.com/690968/

Audrey Turns 9

Audrey turned 9 on the day after we got back from our DC trip.  I had received some very sad news about a friend the night before, and I just wanted to stay home and cry all day.  Because it was Audrey's birthday, I knew that wouldn't be an option.  I made Audrey crepes for breakfast, and then we got ready and hit up Panera for lunch (she got a cup of Broccoli and Cheese soup, and Phoenix got a Cinnamon Crunch Bagel with Cheesecake Cream Cheese).  Then we went to our Natural Science Museum...the kids both love this place!  Audrey dressed up in her trek gear, and she begged Phoenix to let her borrow his dinosaur backpack, which she filled with snacks and binoculars.  

It turned out to be somewhat of a bummer because the Butterfly room and the Discovery room were both closed (I didn't get the memo), but we still had fun.  Audrey brought $5 of her own, and Phoenix borrowed $10 from me (he paid me back at home) to make gift store purchases.  Audrey got a few rocks to add to her collection, and Phoenix got the fossil kit that he had to dig the dinosaurs out of plaster, he loved it!

Audrey wanted Cream Cheese Soup for her birthday dinner (I did my best to get her to choose Cheesecake Factory), and for her treat she wanted homemade Hot Chocolate.  I live in a family of non-cake eaters.  

Audrey struggled with gloomy feelings all day, I am not sure if she was tired, or maybe she could sense that I was feeling sad (despite me trying to hide it), but after she opened her presents she was a happy girl.  She got a few sewing kits, and a bunch of Calico Critters, and some flippers.  I was glad that she had a happy ending.  

The Andrew Family Does DC

We met up with almost all of Travis's family a few weekends ago in DC.  We went to a few Smithsonians on our first day there.

The History Museum had a disappointing small selection of mummies, but the kids were happy to at least see a few.  

On our second day we did a bus tour and saw a check-list of all the most popular tourist attractions.

We had a fun time with family, and the kids were so sad to leave each other.  Phoenix cried for a solid hour after saying good-bye and kept saying "we have to go back!"  It is tough on our kids not living close to any of our family members!  At least we have a lot of summer time family visits planned out to look forward to!