Feb 2012 Events

I can't believe Little Mouse is already 11 months old!!

She is an absolute joy to have around (although I could do without the high pitched, ear splitting screach.)

She got her first goose egg this month.  It was very, very sad.

She also had her very first hair do.  There was just enough hair to gather into a tiny pony on top of her head (kind of like a top knot.)  Then we clipped a butterfly onto that.  It was super cute! 

Banana Girl in her hairdo for church.

On our way home from Pheonix, both girls slept most of the way home.  Made for a quiet ride.

Banana Girl had her second dentist appointment.  She loved the sun glasses and she had no cavities.  Yea!

Princess M had a blast performing with her Kindergarten class in their choir concert last Friday.  Whenever, I thought I had a good shot of her, and would push the button, they would turn, or someone would get in the way by the time the flash finally clicked.  This was the best shot I could get of her in concert.  It was, however, a really good shot of her cute hair do.

The concert was focused on being healthy.  Some really cute songs by all grades.  Princess M's class sang the Body Boogie.  It was great!  Here's her after the show with Banana Girl.

Yep, it's real!

Here's a snip from the AZ Daily Sun website:

That's right, folks.  Uncle Wayne is on the Republican Ballot for US President here in Arizona.  Don't you all wish you were registered here so you could vote for him?  

We were in the Pheonix area this past weekend to spend some time with them, and visit the Mesa Temple.  We had a fabulous time!  And while there Uncle Wayne released his official campaign poster:

He says you may interpret that any way you like.

Just a little update

Here's a few things that have happened in February (so far.)

Didn't do much for Groundhog day; but we did make fun treats for dessert.

Little Mouse is a whopping 11 months old!! And is so close to walking on her own.

And I found this at a thrift store.  

I've wanted a piano forever, but there has always been a reason not to get one yet.  Well Princess M is now 6 years old and the perfect age to start lessons, so I've been on the lookout for something cheap.  I finally walked into the Re Store and saw this sitting there with 2 signs on it "$400" and "1/2 off".  So I asked if half off meant it was originally selling for $800 or if it meant they were selling it for $200.  She said it meant it was on sale for $200, and then the lady behind the counter said she'd sell it to me for $150.  That was about as cheap as I expected to find anywhere.  And on top of that, they were going to deliver it to my home.  So it was all moved in before Alex even got home from work and could talk me out of it.

We brought the piano tuner in and after tuning it and fixing all the sticky keys, he informed us that we really lucked out; because most pianos this old are not worth buying at all.  However this one has had all the keys refurbished as well as several other refurbishments inside that left this thing in fairly good condition.  Hooray!

And then when I was sitting down for the first time and playing a little tune, Princess M came and sat by me and asked if I could teach her how to play.  And I thought, "why not?"  I had never even considered teaching her myself, but to save around $60/month, it was worth looking into.  So I contacted my best friend, "Google", and found all kinds of free information on how to teach your kid to play the piano, which the best lesson books were, and some good sales on books at Amazon.  So I dropped over a hundred on books and am now teaching my daughter to play.  She's taking to it very well.

To make things even better, Alex expressed an interest in learning to play as well; and we stumbled upon a fantastic plan.  I give Princess M a lesson, and then when we're done, she turns around and teaches her daddy what she just learned.  Alex isn't progressing as fast as he could on his own, but what a wonderful gift he is giving to our daughter, by solidifying her lessons as she is teaching him.  And boy, does she LOVE being the expert, being in charge, and correcting his mistakes!  It's working out great so far!

A Dedication

This is just a really cool video a friend of mine posted this week.  It reminded me of you, Don.  Good luck on your audition!

(Be sure to scroll to the bottom of my blog and pause the site music before playing this.)

P.S. I keep watching this video over and over.  I love the music and there are so many fun little nuances that I didn't catch the first time.  What a treat!

Spring Fever

What!! you say?  It's not even February!  How can you have Spring Fever?

Well we've had weather in the 60's for the past week, and according to the last frost dates here in Sierra Vista, I should be able to start planting peas and other spring vegetables in just a week or two.  That means that NOW is the time to work the dirt, set up the watering system and get ready for planting.

Yes I've got it bad.

Unfortunately, tax season is also beginning; and I'm signed up to work it this year.  I hope I can get things ready soon so I can actually have a good garden this year.

So many good desires, and so little time to pursue them.

And so of course here's another idea I want to add to the list.

Alex and I were asked to talk in Sacrament meeting today on Temples and Preparing for the Temple.  (Miriam also gave a talk in Primary on Heavenly Father creating the Earth as a place where we can choose the right.  She did wonderful!)  Well the combined Priesthood/RS meeting was also on Temples and Genealogy work.  And while sitting in the meeting, I was struck with an idea that I would like to run by you all and get your opinion on it.

We always talk in church about doing genealogy work and preparing names for the Temple.  Those who have done a lot always talk about the wonderful stories they learn about their ancestors and the loving bond that develops between the generations and the need to pass that precious family heritage down to your children, etc, etc.

Well, I guess I've always wanted to be involved in this process, but have felt incredibly overwhelmed and a little too late in the process.  It seems the work has been done for the Sherwood and Kidman lines back to the old kings of England and such. I know Art has started a family tree online somewhere, and the temple work records and genealogy tree are available online.  But what about the stories, journals, books, memories, pictures, the family treasures that you would want to share in a family home evening?  Although I know there are family stories out there, only a few people know them and how do I go about learning those family stories so I can tell them to my children?

That's when it hit me that maybe another blog could be an answer to all that.  Like the recipe blog, one central location, that everyone has access to read and write in, where we can post those family history stories, pictures, journal excerpts, memories, etc.  Like a reader's digest version of the gems of our family history.  We could use labels to group postings into Sherwood vs other family lines (Leahy, Jenson, etc.) We could have links on the side to the Family Tree Art set up already or to the actual genealogy sites.  Those who actually know what work needs to be done could let the rest of us know how we can help.  And sometime down the line we could get it printed into a book if we wanted to.

We could record long past as well as recent family stories here.  We could post memories of Scott and Marty.  Don, I know you've been working on a book of Hartsock Lane memories.  You could post chapters here.  We could upload the Lake Powell videos.  We could get Aunt Sue set up as a contributor since I think she's the biggest expert on the family work.  Better yet everyone from Grampa down set up, so we can really collect the family stories.

What do you guys think?  Is this a good idea, or just one more thing to put on the "to do" list?  Is there already a better medium out there for this kind of online, interactive collection of genealogical data, stories, and pictures?  Any ideas?  I would really like to hear from all of my immediate (and extended) family on this post.

Other Visitors

Well, it looks like finding the perfect kitten is going to have to wait a little due to the arrival of an unexpected visitor.

My mother-in-law was visiting several weeks ago and of as usual brought her 2 shih tzus with her.  A couple of days before she had to leave back to Mexico, someone actually stole her girl dog, Rosy.  She checked the pound and the vets in town, but no luck.  She ended up having to leave for Mexico without her beloved dog.  About a week afterwards, the girl who stole Rosy took her to the pound after her apartment complex wouldn't let her keep the dog without additional deposits and such.  This was right after we had returned our kitten to her old home.  So we got to go pick up Rosy and keep her at the house until my MIL could return from Thailand and come take her dog home.

On top of that, it turns out that she was pregnant.  So a couple weeks ago we woke up to the sound of a little puppy in the house.  The girls have just loved having a brand new baby puppy.  They can't wait until I will let them carry the puppy around with them everywhere they go.  As it is, I have to keep telling them to put the puppy back in the box (Rosy gets very nervous when the girls start carrying her baby around.)

Here it is just after being born:

 Here's some more recent ones:

It really is quite cute.

On a different note, I also finally learned how to do a fishtail braid.  (basic I know, but I've never done it before.)  I thought it turned out really neat.

A Brief Visit from Princess #4

We found her on Craigslist for free and made a special trip up to Tucson to go get her.  She was by far everyone's favorite Christmas gift this year.  Only 6 weeks old and actually just a little too early to leave her mother, but she adjust well and fast and was litter trained after only 1 day. 

She stole our hearts from the start and was so lovable and good with the girls.  She spent most of the first couple days in Princess M's lap or arms and once she felt comfortable with our home was bounding all over the place.  She quickly learned how to use her claws (she would climb straight up my pant leg in order to get in my arms.)  But she was really really good about not scratching the girls.  She even would let Little Mouse crawl over and play with her. 

 After playing with several names, some good, some not so good, the girls decided to call her "Princess."  And really, how could she be anything else in this house full of princesses.  Isn't she just the most beautiful kitten you've ever seen?

Unfortunately, as you can probably predict from the title of this post (and the way I've been talking about her in past tense) her stay with us did not last very long.  Princess M, who has been around cats her entire life, began developing puffy, itchy eyes on the second day.  Ironic, isn't it that the little girl who loves her the most, would end up with an allergy to her.  After about a week, we made the agonizing decision to give her up.  Princess M drove with her to take her back to her mother in Tucson.  She cried herself to sleep that night from missing her so much.  Her only consolation is that we promised her that we would try again with another kitten. 

We're hoping it's just that she seemed to be a long haired cat.  Our old cats were both short haired.   We've tried some kittens at the pound this past Monday, but they just seemed too feral and hissy to have around the girls (and especially Little Mouse.)  I guess Princess just set our expectation so high now.  So we're now just waiting for a new litter to show up on Craigslist with a short haired, lovable, cuddle-loving, adorable kitten to try and fill Princess' shoes (without filling Princess M's allergy.)  Wish us luck.

Goodbye, Princess!  We love you and miss you!