Choir Concert, Art Splash & More

To fulfill his music requirement for sixth grade, Hayden joined the chorus. They performed a Christmas and a spring concert. This one was in the auditorium of the middle school and they did a great job.

Well, I had to threaten him with his life, but I finally took a photo of him dressed up for the concert. Maura refers to this shot as "Handsome Hayden." She even had me print a copy on our printer so that she could tape it to her closet door.

Both Hayden and Sydney had some of their artwork chosen to be showcased at the district wide art show called, "Art Splash." Michael and Sydney were in North Carolina that weekend, but Hayden, Maura and I went and enjoyed the exhibits and the harp music. It was held at a local bank. Sydney's entry was scratch art and she had drawn a butterfly.

Hayden blew me away with his entry. It was a detailed oil pastel of a poinsettia and it was titled, "Mexican Christmas Gift." I met his art teacher, and she was thrilled with his piece. It was centered right at the entrance of the exhibit and even printed in the program. She joked with us that Hayden was now a published artist! My junior high art class was disastrous for me, but Hayden has amazing raw talent that is already being noticed.

Sydney was asked to make a musical instrument. She was determined to make it out of recycle items or objects around our house and she succeeded. Michael and Sydney designed this drum set and she was awarded "most creative instrument."

Mother's Day 2010

I received a surprise on Mother's Day this year. Our ward reorganized the Relief Society Presidency. A new president was called and I was asked to serve as her first counselor. It was a shock to me and a little overwhelming. We had only been in the ward for about 10 months and I really did not know that many women in the ward, but I accepted the call, and our entire presidency was set apart on Mother's Day. By the time I got home it had already been a long day, but I wanted at least one photo with my kids. Michael made a great meal and the girls had made projects in school, but Hayden has outgrown that stage, being a cool middle schooler and all.

Dance Photos

I have assumed many titles and roles as a mother, and I have to say that I enjoy being a "dance mom" even though it is very exhausting at times. Both of the girls take dance and they had three different classes this year. Sydney took jazz and ballet, Maura was in Broadway Babies, which was a combo of ballet and tap. It involved many pairs of dance shoes, costumes and tights. When photo week came around in May, it was flat out exhausting and I learned to carry a bag with all sorts of hair accessories, hairspray, bobbie pins, extra tights, lipstick, etc.

This is Sydney in her costume for her jazz class. They danced to the 1980's classic, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." She really liked the colors of it.

It is always hard to get the girls' hair up and keep it up while they dance. Luckily, this was just for photos.

This is Sydney in her ballet costume. Her class danced to "Little Red Riding Hood" and they carried baskets on stage and everything. I loved this costume and watching her perform this routine.

A Turquoise Bedroom

The rest of spring break turned into a painting project. Sydney had moved into a room that had bright golden yellow walls. They were okay, but little kids had drawn stick figures all over her walls with ball point pen. She decided that she wanted to paint her room turquoise and get a new comforter for her bed and from there the project mushroomed into a massive reorganization effort, but it was all worth it in the end.

Say good-bye to the yellow walls girls, today is the day that we paint! The day before we had removed all of the furniture and spackled and sanded the walls. Putting up the tape is always time consuming too. Painting is really the easiest part and the most rewarding.

This is the only time that you can tell the kids, "Paint your name on the wall!" It was fun to goof around a little bit as we worked.

Sydney was determined to help paint. She did an excellent job rolling the walls.

Maura wanted in on the action too. We helped get her name on the wall for a bit, and a heart and a smiley face too.

Why is Michael pretending to lick the roller? Maybe he has already taken in too many paint fumes, but we are only half way into the project!

The Buffalo Zoo

Since the children were out of school for a full week in April, we decided to explore a few new spots in town. We headed to the zoo one morning, but it was so crowded that it was hard to park and move around once inside. Here are the kids by the giraffes.

This anteater was pretty amazing to watch. Our kids like to watch the anteater cartoons on the Boomerang channel. So every time I see this photo, I hear the voice of the anteater saying, "Hey, ant!"

I love this picture of Maura. She was so excited about this rhinoceros and it was just a model!

We can't remember the names of these furry animals, but they are cool to look at. The color on the birds is incredible too. This is in the rain forest area of the zoo.

I swear every zoo must have a train. It is every parent's worst nightmare and every child's dream to ride the train before leaving. Of course it is always an additional expense beyond the admission. These train rides must fund every zoo in America. It was the favorite attraction at Hogle Zoo in Utah too. Luckily, Hayden and I were really too big to ride it and Sydney and Maura had the experience this time.

Easter 2010

It was Easter weekend, but Maura was still pretty sick. She would fight her fever for a few more days, but we still had to do a few traditional things, like dye eggs. I think this picture pretty much captures the mood of the kids.

Luckily, Sydney is always photogenic and happy to pose for a picture.

The Easter Bunny put these bunny masks in the children's baskets this year. What a photo opp!! Too cute.

Finally, Maura was smiling again. She found solid chocolate ballet slippers in her Easter basket, but the Easter Bunny reminded her that candy would hurt her tummy until she made a full recovery, so she hid everything away for a day or two.

Strong National Museum of Play

In hopes of having a fun weekend get away, we packed up the car and drove to Rochester. We went straight to the Strong National Museum of Play and explored for several hours, but little did we know that within a few hours we would be in an unfamiliar ER with Maura pushing a fever of 106 degrees!

Here are the kids and Michael in the butterfly conservatory. Hayden is sporting the beret that he made in French Club. Maura is starting to look a little bit ill.

There were a lot of interesting moths and butterflies to observe there, but this one was especially intriguing.

After finding our hotel and checking in for the night, Maura soon began to throw up all over the room. We gave her Motrin for her fever and got her to bed, but then she awoke and did not know who we were. She had a small seizure in front of us, so Michael scooped her up in his arms, we ran down to the front desk and asked for directions to the closest ER.

We spent several hours with her at the hospital. They brilliantly decided that she needed fluids, and gave her water and a popsicle. After promptly throwing up everything that they offered her, they decided on suppository Tylenol and released us into the dark night around 1 am. Michael and I aimlessly drove around Rochester trying to find a pharmacy that was open at that hour to buy more Tylenol since they would not give us any more at the ER.

After a horrible and restless night, we packed up first thing in the morning and returned to our house to ride out the rest of Easter weekend caring for our sick little girl. Thanks to good friends that hosted Easter dinner, Michael, Hayden and Sydney had a nice holiday. Maura and I would like a do-over.