Cello 12.12.10

Josh had his cello recital at the Main Library.  Nicole (his teacher, my friend) recently recorded a few tracks for a CD for Deseret Book.  (It's lovely, by the way.)  She asked if I would accompany her on a couple of the same pieces at the beginning of the recital.

I love playing with Nicole.  We've been playing together since college, and the connection is really easy.  It doesn't take a lot of work to feel pretty confident.  So we decided not to worry about rehearsing.  I showed up and we performed.

We decided a run-through might have been smart when she played a different version of the Thais Meditation than the one for which she gave me the accompaniment.  Hers ended 16 measures before mine.  Oops.  She decided to do some long harmonics for a couple of measures to see if I'd figure it out, which I eventually did.  We ended mostly together.

Josh needs a new cello.  He's needed a new cello since the early months of 2010.  He's playing on a 1/2 size.  He needed a 3/4 size.  Now Nicole says he needs a full size.  I guess not buying a new cello came in handy...we just get to skip a size.

Except did I just mention that now he needs a full size?  Why oh why didn't I insist no one in our family could play a string instrument?  We already own three pianos.  We should have said "Piano ONLY.  No exceptions."  I guess I'll be selling one of the three to buy a cello.  Anyone want a piano?

Another Orchestra Concert 12.9.10

Josh had his junior high holiday orchestra concert.  He's first chair in the upper orchestra and looks so confident on stage.  I can't believe how much more he loves the cello than he did the piano.   I also can't believe I went back on one of my first parenting decisions: that my children would play the piano until they could play every hymn in the LDS hymnbook.  There are only so many battles I can fight, though, and since he's still learning an instrument, I've decided to let go of the guilt.  I think I'll bribe him to learn hymns next summer: $75 if he can learn and perform 10 hymns well by the end of the summer.  It's cheaper than a month of lessons, and he ALMOST made it this summer.  I think he'd learned seven.

Josh is Awesome 11.16.10

I love pay-off parenting moments.  They don't happen often (which is why they're so special), but they're worth waiting for.

Josh was asked to be in the all-district junior high honor orchestra (for seventh to ninth graders).  He was the only cellist selected from his school.  When he got to the first rehersal, they split to determine seating.  And Josh was chosen to be first chair.  He had spent good solid practice time with the music, determined to go in with the music learned well, and I'm so glad that he recognized the necessity of preparation time.

After the concert, we celebrated with Tasty's donuts, an old long-lost favorite that we rediscovered near the performance site in Layton.  Josh got his favorite...an apple fritter.  As big as his head.  It doesn't get much better than a boy smiling this big, does it?

(I was smiling just as big as Josh.  This school year has been such an improvement for all of us in so many ways.  I'm just glad that Josh is really finding his footing.)

Our First Pie 10-24-10

So it wasn't MY first pie (although I haven't made one in years), but it was definitely Josh's first pie.  We decided on a caramel apple pie.  And, thank you very much, it was delicious.  Like really really delicious.

Baking with Josh is really fun.  He's good company.

Lacrosse 9.25.10

He's really doing it!  I went to his first scrimmage in South Utah County.  The other parents warned me that my first lacrosse match might make me cringe.  And it did.  But by the end, I was thinking hitting people with big metal sticks sounded like a lot of fun.

And even if I was a little worried (which I am.  A LITTLE worried) about injury, I can't describe to you how happy my boy is.  He loves this sport.  He loves his coach.  He loves his teammates.  And that's good enough for me.  Talk to me again after he gets a broken wrist.  Maybe I'll change my mind then.  But for now, I'm really happy he's found something to be passionate about.

And Sophie got to go to her first college football game with our neighbors.  Josh was jealous.

Guess What Sport Josh is Loving? 9.15.10

I was always so grateful that my children were small because I knew my boys would not play football and all that it entails: namely, wearing lots of pads and being knocked to the ground over and over.

Instead, Josh has decided to fall in love with a different sport.  Lacrosse.  Now he gets to wear fewer pads and get knocked by big metal sticks over and over.

Hmmm.

I should be more worried about this, shouldn't I?  Instead, I'm kind of loving his lacrosse coach (our neighbor, Gary) and his lacrosse teammates (boys also newly reveling in their changing voices and using them loudly on our carpools to lacrosse practice) and also his love of all things lacrosse.  I think he would sleep with his stick if it wasn't a little uncomfortable.

And also, please ignore the green tint to this picture.  I could have edited it, but I didn't because, well, I'm still three weeks behind on my pics.

Something happened here, but I don't remember what 9.11.10

I'm pretty sure Josh had a party in this space and that I've blocked it out of my memory.  This teenage party thing is pretty hard on a mom.  I WILL admit, his friends are really cute and nice and I'm so glad he is enjoying life.  And we just provided pizza or hot dogs or something and stuff for s'mores and a movie (I guess, because that's what this picture seems to prove) and they had a great time.  The boys all walked around with their lacrosse sticks and the girls were polite and friendly and actually talked to us parents.  (Are all teenage girls that different than teenage boys?)

And make it FOUR bad pictures in a row.

Greek Festival 9.9.10

This is the third in a row of really terrible pictures.

I guess my project is NOT about quality pictures, but about remembering the life that inspired them.

And even though this is a terrible picture, it's a wonderful memory.  One of our favorite traditions is attending the annual Greek festival with our friends Llew and Sally.  We adore Llew and Sally and their amazing boys.  Hanging out with them is always fun.  But hanging out with them at the Greek Festival is ESPECIALLY fun.  We've been doing this since Josh was a baby, I think, and we've only missed a year or two in all that time.  We eat ourselves silly and watch the Greek dancers.  We've always had one or two kids dance along near our table, and this year it was Ben's turn.  I will be sad when they're all too old to want to dance at the Greek festival.

Josh is gorging himself on his own box (bought with his own money) of loukoumades, a fried dough tossed with honey and cinnamon.  Yummy.  I want one right now.  And YES, it looks like I'm eating one in the picture, but NO, I was STRONG.  I was holding Ben's and feeding him so he didn't end up covered in honey.  THAT is how strong I am.  I can HOLD a loukoumade and NOT EAT IT.  (Impressive, yes?)

Youth City Council 9.7.10

Moving to Davis County had its adjustments, but the move has been (overall) really great for Josh.  I've been so happy to see him having so many rich and varied experiences, from Scouts to lacrosse to orchestra, and now to Youth City Council.  Our neighbors have three great kids.  Their son, Trevor, is the mayor of the Youth City Council.  His brother, Blake, is Josh's good friend (and their daughter, Leanne, is Sophie's good friend) and they both decided to join, too.  This was the night of their swearing in ceremony.

Josh's 50 Miler 8.14.10

After getting in fairly late at night on Friday, we got up at 4 (yes, you read that correctly) to get to Bear Lake in time for Josh's first 50 mile bike ride.  We were lucky enough to get involved with a great group of people who put together a summer program to help kids earn merit badges for a very low price.  Josh did his art, citizenship in the community, citizenship in the nation, sculpture, and biking merit badges through the group.  The biking merit badge was by far Josh's favorite, and it culminated with a 50 miler around Bear Lake.  He did it with his Scoutmaster and his Scoutmaster's two boys.  He loved it.  He's planning to do the century (twice around the lake) next year.  I love seeing my kids get passionate about something.

The girls and I had fun with Michelle Christiansen while the boys were biking.  We headed over to her friends' condo where the girls quickly became friends with the children of the condo owners.  And it turns out they live in David's brother's ward in Bountiful.  We walked over to the lake and fed the carp that live near the docks.  Really gross.  And really cool.

Josh and the Christiansens

At the first rest stop

Ben.  Fashionista.

The carp.  Totally disgusting and yet somehow still fun to feed.

Handing out medals

Finished.  Still feeling good.

And of course, no trip to Bear Lake is complete without a raspberry shake.

My Boy Turns Fourteen 7.28.10

Josh is now fourteen years old.

This is too old.

I am not at all prepared to be the mother of a fourteen-year-old boy. I never pictured relating to a teenage boy, deep voice and all. It's a little nutty.

But this morning at 7:55, he headed out the door with his iPod in his ears, ready to mow the (freakishly large) yard. Without being reminded.

So...fourteen? It might just turn out to be great.

In the last year, our lives changed a great deal. The changes have not all been easy for Josh, but he's learning to be resilient, to adapt and learn and grow. I'm grateful for his kindness to little kids, for his sense of humor, for his increasing love of cooking, for his good heart.

Josh's favorites:

Food: Pizza

Color: Blue

Treat: Cake

Music: Alternative (Owl City, Coldplay)

Sport: Soccer

Books: Endurance, Hunger Games, Catching Fire

My favorite teenage boy: Josh.

I'll let you know how fourteen treats us. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will be the best kind of adventure.

Scout Camp 7.19.10

Josh left for Camp Steiner. Don't his patches look fantastic? They'd better, considering how late I was up trying to sew them on. And yes, I know about Badge Magic, but I had a bad experience getting his older patches OFF because of the Badge Magic, so I thought I'd better stick with stitching. That was fine until I broke two needles and went back to Badge Magic.

I am not a domestic goddess.

Their First Trio 7.16.10

My friend Kathryn has a wonderful piano studio. Each summer she does a music camp for her students, and this year she decided to do a collaborative piano camp and she happened to link up with our violin teacher, Kathy. Each of Kathy's students were matched to one of Kathryn's students. They rehearsed together twice, then played a recital on Friday evening. Kathryn also asked if Josh and Sophie would like to do a piano trio with one of her students. My answer? Of course YES.

I've been trying to write a trio for Kate and these two, but haven't pulled myself together to do it yet, so this was a great starting point. They struggled through their first rehearsal at home (rehearsing can be tricky for any musicians. There is a lot of pent-up emotion that gets spewed out when someone tells you you're counting wrong) but by their first rehearsal with the pianist, they were ready.

I've been trying to figure out how to post a video of their performance, but I haven't managed it yet. So I'm going to just say how wonderful it is to watch the two of them play together, and it's especially wonderful to see Ben start to walk THROUGH the performance and Kate try to stop him while the videocamera shakes because I'm trying to motion Kate to take Ben OUT of the house before he ruins the whole concert.

Backpacking 6.9.10

Josh is fourth from the left? See him? He's the rebel without his Scout shirt, thinking he's all old and experienced, since he's almost 14. FOURTEEN. Freaking me out.

(I had my first kiss at 14. DO NOT TELL HIM.)

I've been practicing the art of avoidance. I haven't wanted to face what is ahead. But here it is. June 9.

My boy went off with his Scout troop to backpack almost 30 miles. I left him, praying for his safety, and went home to make dinner, put kids to bed, and fold clothes while watching a little TV.

And my brother was already dead. He was already gone. I just didn't know yet that the universe had torn open.

How?

How did I not know? How could the thread of my life have continued to unwind? Why didn't my heart seize? Why didn't the sky go dark?

I'm still baffled by it.

After we got the news, we decided not to search for Josh and the Scouts, even though my Mommy heart wanted to find him, grab him and pull him right next to me to keep him safe. But we decided to let him have three more days without knowing. I wanted him to have the gift of being outdoors, in the mountains he (and we) love so dearly, without the heavy burden of grief I knew he'd eventually have to carry. I think it's what Brent would have wanted too.

And maybe that's why I got those extra few hours of my normal life. Maybe.

The Coldest Soccer Game in History 5.22.10

Seriously. It was SO cold. And it was the END OF MAY. This spring has been so wacked. The girls hung out in the IKEA tent we had thrown in the van. David and I tried to get warm under a sleeping bag. Ben ran around with a red nose. We wondered why we'd all driven to North Ogden to suffer.


Then we decided that we drove to North Ogden to support cute Josh in his last game of the season, and we should just deal with the cold. Josh scored the one goal for his team, and I'm glad we were there to see it.

After a while, we took turns watching from the van, which helped our spirits enormously. I won't miss driving to North Odgen, and I won't miss turning to ice on the sidelines, but I will miss watching Josh on the field.

Late Night Project 5.19.10

School is ALMOST over, so our (and by OUR, I mean JOSH'S) late night projects will soon be over too. I will not miss them. No. I really really won't.

Soccer Again 5.17.10

David came home. Hooray! And Josh had a soccer game. I packed a picnic dinner and off we went.

It's been a frustrating soccer season. The team has struggled. We talk a lot about how great it is to learn the lessons of being on a losing team. Josh has learned to be a good sport, to enjoy the game, not the results of the game, and to try to give off a positive vibe when everyone else seems to be feeling very negative.

It would have been nice to win every once in a while, too, though. Winning feels good. Losing teaches good life lessons, but it kind of sucks.

CO-ED PARTY!!! or I Hope My Pediatrician Doesn't Read My Blog 5.15.10

Did you read the correct amount of panic in the first part of that title? Because honestly, I'm not sure how I entered this phase of my life, the one where I act as chaperone to a bunch of hormonal teenagers who aren't quite sure how to talk to each other.

In fact, the boys were setting up a lacrosse net in the front yard when the girls showed up. I swear five or more full minutes passed before the boys said a word to them. Why is it hard to talk to someone you text 50 times a day? I don't know. I finally played Interfering Mom and stealthily went over to Josh (I'm sure no one noticed) and whispered, "Say HELLO to the girls, son."

We had dinner, the boys went out to the backyard, and the girls offered to clear the table. WHAT? Is that what teenage girls do? Seriously? I didn't quite know how to respond, so I nodded wordlessly.

So they hung out outside for a while. And I felt guilty because my pediatrician had just told me we should take out our totally life-threatening trampoline, but I let them jump. (Dr. Cox, if you happen to find and read this one day, I'm sorry. I really really am. I was still in shock from the teenage girls offering to clear the table.)

And then they watched a movie. And one boy and one girl held hands. And I had to keep walking back and forth to keep an eye on the dangerous situation.

And then they all played night games. And someone tracked dog poop all through my downstairs, up the stairs, and into the main area of the front room. I found it the next day.

All in all, it was a success. No one died on the trampoline. The boy holding hands wasn't my boy. The kids were nice kids.

But I ask again, how is it possible that this is MY life? I didn't know when I was holding my brand new baby Josh that one day his friends would invade my house with their changing voices, their desire to show off on the trampoline to the innocent table-clearing girls, and that I would have to figure out my new role in their world.

I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm just supposed to offer food, treats, and popcorn, and otherwise stay in the background.

Help!

The Heating Pad 5.7.10

This is a bit of a strange picture, I know. And yes, you might guess that I forgot to take a picture until late. But I'm kind of glad, because this darned heating pad is a major part of my life around bedtime. Josh (never a good sleeper, and always a master of excuses) always needs this warmed up ("Three and a half minutes, Mom. Please???") AFTER his teeth have been brushed, he's read, and he's been read to. (We're reading Lord of the Rings together. We started last April when he had the flu for three weeks. We've got about 100 pages left.) Every night I say, "You need to remember to warm this up BEFORE you get into bed." And every night he looks at me and says, "PLEASE, Mom."

And every night I give in.

I know. I know. It's my own darned fault. I'll be firm one day. But for now, I traipse up the stairs, stick the heating pad in for three and a half minutes (unless I cheat and do three) and take care of my cute boy.

Thursday around the GreenHouse 5.6.10

Girls playing school. Love it.


Boys going running. Love it times four.

Josh has decided he doesn't have enough endurance on the soccer field, and his morning runs are getting more regular. He decided to start running with David a couple of evenings a week. So fun. I hope this is the beginning of a beautiful habit.