I'm dying to go to Prom with you!

It all started with an upcoming dance.....

which led to an idea......

which led to a crime.....

which led to a crime scene......

which led to the asking of a GIRL to Junior Prom!

by Eric (and his Dad).....I swear I had nothing to do with it.....

Eric made up a crime report and on the bottom it said, "I'm dying to go to prom with you."  Now, that wouldn't have been so bad, except that he had to go to the next level.....

He and a friend went over to the girl's house and drew a chalk body outline by her car to resemble a dead body.....yes, morbid, I know.  (Once again, I plead the 5th)......

and placed crime scene tape (yellow crepe paper with the words "crime scene" written on it) all over her car with the crime report attached......

Okay, I guess it was pretty funny, but I about "died" when I first heard the idea.....no pun intended!

So, Ashleigh (yes, she has a name) and a her friend came over and decorated Eric's room with tons of balloons to answer.  I think they were quite dizzy when they were finished.....

 And on the ceiling, in glow-in-the-dark stars, she spelled the word, "yes."  It was very cute (and much less morbid, if you ask me).....

Now before we get into the pictures of the "couple," let me tell you about the options Eric's group had for the big event. 

1.  Meet as a big group to go ice skating during the day (somewhere in Murray)

OR.....2.  Bowling during the day (somewhere else) 

OR....3. Some girl is paying for them to go in a limo, so Eric won't have to drive (yeah!)

OR.....4.  Picnic at Murray Park (instead of dinner at a nice restaurant....and let's not forget it was the end of February.....and it was freezing!)

AND.....5.  Bring prom clothes and change in restroom of the Capitol (where the dance was)

OR.....6.  Maybe go to Spaghetti Factory downtown for dinner instead

AND.....7.  Pick up friend's date somewhere in Sandy

AND.....8.  Take freeway to the capitol from girl's house in Sandy

AND....9.  Dance a few slow dances together and a lot of FAST dances with a group

THEN.....10.  Take friend's date home back in Sandy

AND.....11.  Drop off friend and Ashleigh

AND.....12.  Be home ASAP (my request)

These ideas were discussed in some detail.....but nothing was really decided until the day before the dance.  And here's what was decided.....

THE LIMO RIDE FELL THROUGH....SO ERIC HAD TO DRIVE (ugh!)

1.  Meet at the ice skating place at noon (some place in Murray)

2.  Be home around 2:30 to get ready for Prom

3. Pick up date at 4:45

4.  Come back to our house so I can take pictures

5.  Pick up Kevin (the friend he was doubling with)

6.  Pick up Kevin's date somewhere in Sandy

5.  Meet at the Spaghetti Factory downtown at 5:30 with group of friends

6.  Get to dance at around 7:30

7.  Enjoy yourselves

8.  Leave dance at 10:00

9.  Drop everyone off at their respective homes

10.  Don't stay and talk forever

11.  Be home ASAP

AND HERE'S HOW IT WENT DOWN.....

1. Estimate WHERE the ice skating place is in Murray....talk about possible routes and depend on Kevin for directions

2.  After picking up Ashleigh and Kevin, meet at ice skating place at noon

3.  Arrive at ice skating place

4.  Go in and discover it isn't public skating time

5.  Weigh options about what to do instead

6.  Decide to go bowling at Fat Cats

7.  Bowl one game

8.  Arive home at 3:30, already tired

THEN......

1.  Draw maps to various locations intended for the evening, such as Kevin's date's home (somewhere in Sandy), freeway entrance for downtown, freeway exit to Spaghetti Factory, and the capitol).  Then repeat for the way home.....

2.  Talk about various routes, but try not to be confusing. 

3.  Write directions down on small paper

4.  Pray that everyone survives the evening!

THEN.....

1.  Have Ashleigh call when she's ready

2.  She calls at 5:00 and Eric goes to pick her up

3.  Comes back to our house for pictures

Take pictures!

4.  Send them off on their merry way....and pray some more.

5.  Pick up Kevin

6.  Get lost on the way to Kevin's date's house and call to get directions (from date's parents)

7.  Finally arrive to pick up date

8.  Get on wrong freeway and take it completely around the valley (I-215)

9.  Arrive at Spaghetti Factory at roughly 6:30

10.  Eat

11.  Leave for the capitol and arrive at about 8:30

12.  Wait in line for pictures

13.  Dance a few dances

14.  Leave at roughly 10:00 to take everyone back home

15.  Eric calls at 10:45 and tells me he just dropped off Kevin's date and he's headed home.....(what a good son)

16.  Arrives home at 11:45

17.  Uses up a half a tank of gas!

Okay, seriously though, I know all of that sounded confusing and somewhat disjointed.  BUT, I know they had tons of fun.  The plans were not exactly the way I would have done them, but I'm not a boy.  And boys are different than girls, just so you know!  Eric was exhausted when he got home because he had driven so much during the evening.  He also was recovering from a terrible cold and wasn't completely up to par, but I know he enjoyed himself and was glad he went.

As for me, I wasn't as stressed as I thought I was going to be, which was good.  And Eric got TONS of driving experience all over the valley.....all in one night!  And he did okay.

Good job son!  I'm glad you had fun.  Now since you don't have a job, you owe us big time!  :) 


Happy 69th birthday MOM!

My mom just had her 69th birthday.  Yep, I'm telling everyone your age.....sorry mom.  :)  She wanted to go to Leatherby's, so that's where we went.

My mom and dad

  Of course, Eric had to make his famous face!

    Brandon and Dallin

  Jacob and his cousin, Caleb.  They are such cuties! (Except they were making a huge mess at the time dipping their napkins in the water.  If I'm being honest though, I'm pretty sure Jacob was the leader of the activity).....hard to believe, isn't it?  :)

Kyle and his cousin, Joshie!  What sweethearts!  (except Kyle was teaching Joshie a few things too.....like how to dip his napkin in the water.  What's up with those Jones boys?)

                 Me and Todd (we were not dipping our napkins, just so you know)....

                                                   Michelle (my brother's wife) and their sweet little daughter, Moriah! 

                 This is my brother Brad and his oldest, Josiah.  BRAD.....why won't you smile?  :)

    Are you seriously related to me?

That's a little better!  We look the most alike in our family, don't you think?  The two red-headed demons!  :)

The birthday girl!  We brought her some balloons and of course, we made the staff sing to my mom.  There's simply no getting around it if you go with me......

It was a fun evening with family.  Happy Birthday Mom!  We love you!

Choose the Right

On Valentine's evening (after our traditional heart-shaped pizza and Marie Callendars pie),  we went as a family to pick out CTR rings at Deseret Book.  I had brought home a brochure showing all the cool rings they have to offer.  And all the kids showed great interest.  So we decided to let them each pick out their own style. 

Here's a picture of all their rings together.....

 Eric chose a ring with a music staff and the first few notes of the song "Choose the Right."  It looks really cool and he loves it.

Brandon's is called "signature reverse."  It's black with silver CTR letters running through it.  Unfortunately the silver piece came out the first day and we had to reorder.  But we got a new one, and life is good once again.

 Dallin's is just the opposiite of Brandon's.  It is silver with black CTR letters running through it.  It's pretty awesome.

Kyle picked out ring after ring, but unfortunately his fingers were too little to order one of the "cool" rings,  So after what seemed like forever, he finally picked out a "dog-tag style" chain that has a gold shield on it with the words "Armour of God."  It's cool.  He also got a blue rubber CTR ring because it was only $1. 

Jacob got a basic silver "mini" CTR ring.  He loves it.  He also got a chain that says CTR on it too.  (not pictured). 

For family home evening, we talked about what it means to choose the right and how we always have a choice.  And that sometimes the right choice is the hardest one.  We also talked about Kyle's chain "Armour of God."  The kids didn't know what it all meant, so we pulled out our scriptures and talked about the armour and how each piece of that armour represents a spiritual protection for us. Then we watched the really old seminary movie "The Whole Armour of God."  It was a really good night and hopefully it's something they'll remember. 

I love the thought of my kids wearing a CTR ring.  I love that they are proud to wear it at school.  I hope they realize its importance and that this simple action "Choose the Right" can seriously save them a lot of grief in their lives and bring them closer to our Heavenly Father.  Life is all about choices.  It sounds so simple, doesn't it?  Simple or not, it's a great principle to learn!

Down-Unders

I found these great "topless" sandals at DI last year for my husband's white elephant gift exchange party (for his work). 

They are called Down-Unders....The Original Topless Sandals.  And get this......they stick to your feet!  No straps required....and the best part?  They are reusable!  Super cool, eh?  I had never heard of these before, but there they were, brand new, on top of a pile of other miscenalleous, useless items.  And I laughed right out loud in the middle of the aisle when I saw them.  Hilarious!

But seriously, these things are so versatile.  Look at all the key features they have:
Bare feet
Cool feet
Free feet
Happy feet
Tan feet
Safe feet

Are you convinced already that you want to own one of these lovely pair of topless sandals?  Don't worry, by the time you finish reading this, you'll be begging me for the number....

Here's some more information:  (right from the back of the package itself)....

How do they work?
Down-Unders stick to your feet with a special adhesive and are REUSABLE!  You can wear them with or without socks.

Step into the future.....with your DOWN-UNDERS.   Following these simple instructions will provide you the best possible adhesion and life of your topless sandals.

(Are you ready for this?)

Simple instructions:
1.  Peel clear protective covering from sandals.
2.  Place clean dry feet onto sandal by stepping down heel first.
3.  To remove:  gently peel sandals from feet.  Warning:  DO NOT STICK SHOES FACE TO FACE.
(and incase you've misunderstood, it doesn't say, "Don't stick it to your face."  It's saying don't stick the shoes together face to face.  That helped you, didn't it?  I read it wrong the first time too.....)
4.  To resuse:  Wash or scrub with soap and water.  Allow sandals to dry thoroughly.  Not for use on sensitive skin.

And there you have it.  The coolest pair of sandals you'll ever own. 

Unfortunately we gave these away at Todd's work party.  But seriously, everyone wanted them!  I have the number in case anyone is interested.  They're shipped from Amarillo, TX.  

Who would  give a perfectly good pair of topless sandals to the DI?  Your guess is as good as mine. 

Aren't those funny?

Concerts....and more concerts

The past couple of months, we have attended several of our kids' concerts.  Dallin is learning to play the clarinet this year.  So of course his school band had a concert.  I'm telling you, I LOVE the elementary school band conerts.  You can hardly tell what they're really playing.  I don't mean that in a rude way, but really, it's true!  I get such a smile on my face when I hear "hot cross buns," and various other familiar tunes.  You hear squeaks of all kinds from several different instruments.  I know, I know.....they're just learning to play, but they are so intent and focused and determined.  It just really makes me smile. 

Dallin did a super job and he told me that he didn't squeak once.  :)  Way to go, Dallin! (I don't know why I only got one picture of him.....)  And don't worry, I shed a few tears too.  It just wouldn't be complete with that! 

Brandon had a concert in November.  He's been playing the flute for a few years now and has continued to enjoy it.  He plays in the concert band for that instrument.  Last summer, he got an alto saxophone, so he's also in the jazz band after school.  The November concert featured both bands. 

Brandon wanted to do a solo with his saxophone in several of the musical numbers and so he planned on 3 solos.  I was a nervous wreck, of course, and could hardly stand to wait on the day of the concert.  I had heard him practice, yes, but I didn't quite know how he would actually do in the songs.  When the concert began that evening, I could hardly sit there.  It was just like when Eric sang a solo in 9th grade with a band of friends for the talent show assembly.  I swear I was about to throw up in the aisle.  I tried to hide my nerves from Brandon that day, but I'm pretty sure he knew I was a basket-case.  When he (finally) started to play his solo, and I heard him belt out his saxophone in smooth, clear tones, I immediately relaxed.  I also started a river of tears, but that's nothing unusual.

 I don't know what the heck I was worried about.

Brandon rocked! 

 He played the saxophone like a real-live jazz musician.  And as I sat there, sitting in a pool of wet tears, listening to him play his little heart out, I was so proud of him.  It was so fun to watch him rock out to the music.  He's seriously got the "toe-tapping" style when he plays his instruments.  Way to go Brandon!

These pictures were taken after the concert, when I could actually smile more naturally......Whew!

These next couple of pictures were taken at a more recent concert from last week.  He did awesome once again and I'm happy to report that I was a little bit more relaxed.....not A LOT, mind you, but some!  And trust me, I'll take whatever I can get, when it comes to having less nervous breakdowns!

This is Brandon and his good friend, Cy.  They are both totally awesome!

And this is Brandon and his cousin, Matthew.  He plays the Tenor Sax and he rocks as well!  Way to go, Matthew!  You're super-duper!

Eric had a concert on Monday night.  He sings in the concert choir.  Monday night's concert was a fun, layed-back event.  It was called the "Glee" concert.  There were many different numbers from the choirs, but also some solos, duets, and trios.  Eric and a friend sang a duet together, while his friend (Tim) also played the ukelele.  I just don't understand my children actually wanting to perform in front of large crowds of people.  I have never felt comfortable doing so and it blows my mind that my kids SIGN UP to do this kind of stuff.  Crazy children!

I, of course, didn't know what to expect from the musical number, but I've got to say.....I wasn't AS freaked out as the last time he sang a solo.  So really, I MIGHT be getting a little better. 

Anyway, Eric and Tim were GREAT!  They sang "I'm Yours."   When Tim started to play the ukelele, and Eric was just standing there for the intro, he decided to "dance a little jig" to pass the time.  It was really cute.  He's quite the ham.....I wonder where he got that from?  :)  The music wasn't extremely loud, but they were wonderful!  Good job, you guys!

 

This last picture was actually taken at Eric's Christmas concert, all dressed up in his suit.  What a good-lookin' kid, if I do say so myself!  :)

Next year, Eric wants to take drama, concert choir, maybe mads too.  And if he's in the musical at school too, how will I survive?  And Brandon wants to continue is his instrument-playing debuts and really wants to play his flute in sacrament meeting.  WHAT?   I know.....it's not all about me.  I get it!  My mom says just to let them perform.  It's good for them.  She also takes the credit for them wanting to do so.  That's okay with me.  I'm pretty sure they didn't get their braveness from me!

Great job kids!  I can't wait to see what else you pursue in your life.  Just don't make me get up there!  :)