okay - so it's not that bad. I'm mostly on here to brag about the kids anyhow. It's been about 3 months since I started this blog. Since then: Olivia took 1st place in the 2nd Grade Spelling Bee. Her reflections dance won an Award of Merit at the State level (the Award of Excellence goes on to the national competition, and they give out several awards of merit for each category, which is kind of like 2nd Place). She also started Suzuki violin, which is only possible because we have a generous friend who is willing to offer lessons for free. The other kids started too, but it will be a while before they get into it. So, it's really fun to brag about Olivia because she is so talented. But the best thing about Olivia is that she is a natural teacher and learner. She is the most absorbant sponge I know. She teaches me something new every day, and is great at helping me solve problems. Like the other day, I was trying to make up a joke to send to a courageous little friend of ours who has recently undergone a bone marrow transplant. I wanted to be original, which apparently wasn't the case (way to easy to figure out the answer). Anyhow, I said to Olivia "How does this sound? Why is the letter O so happy?" She said "because it is a Cheery-O". But then she said, "Mom, this is better: What kind of O's are really happy? . . . Cheery-O's!" Not only did she figure it out, but she made it a better joke.
Isaac and Grace are the ones who really have good senses of humor (was that grammatically correct?). They are constantly keeping things lighter in our little place that bursts with stress at times. Isaac is just about done with first grade, and now loves to read. Isaac has always been artistic, but lately he has astounded me with his drawings of animals. One night, he decided to draw a bunch in his journal (atop his bunk bed, in the dark, when he was supposed to be asleep). He drew a giraffe, a rhino, a seahorse (wow!), and a fish that were amazing, especially since he wasn't looking at pictures of these animals while drawing them. I couldn't draw a decent animal to save my life! He is such a sweet boy, paying attention to every detail.
Grace just graduated from (Virginia) Tanner Dance's Fine Arts Preschool on May 9th. Doesn't that sound sophisticated? They even had a gallery stroll, with their precious art displayed around the whole studio, inspired by various artists such as Henry Moore, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Paul Klee. They also presented a beautiful dance/drama piece based on the book "Are You My Mother?" She loved every minute of that preschool, and now misses it every day. But she loves her other school, ECEC, too. It's located right in the middle of University Student Housing, literally next to the 1500 court where we lived over 5 years ago. She wasn't even born yet! Gracie loves eating and bouncing, which hasn't changed for as long as I can remember. They conveniently go hand in hand - food makes her bouncy, and bouncing makes her hungry. I guess sometimes she stops to read, and Olivia makes sure the progress is exceptional. Tomorrow we head to Kindergarten registration at Uintah, and I wonder -- will I cry because my last child is now leaving the innocent world of preschool, like I did when when my first child did?
So what else it there to say? I should be working instead of writing. I know. But today work really dragged. Don't worry though, summer promises to be completely insane here with all of our biggest fundraising events. I'm also excited because an article I wrote (along with a photo)about the hospital's new COO just got published in our quarterly publication "Outlook", and I'm told I'll be doing a lot more of that. I think the blues come from knowing that my little ones will be leaving me for the summer to be with their dad and stepmom in North Carolina. When I try to view it from their perspective, it is wonderful. They will have a real summer, in the place they still know as home (since they lived in NC for longer than they have lived in Utah). They get to be with their dad. I have to work. But I'm still trying to stop this unstoppable train of a few weeks until that day that I fly them out. We get to stop in Boston, though, to see Aunt Jane, Uncle Tad, and cousins Aidan, Cole, and Thea, before we head over to meet up with Jared in Upstate New York (breath ...) before they all drive down to NC. They've done this drive a lot, so it should be o.k.
Before then, though, we are moving. I can't stand the idea of getting all that stuff into the new place, but i am so happy for the situation. Sus and Ben have bought a home in the 15th and 15th area of Salt Lake - so that sounds a little pretentious - but we are excited to be a five minute walk from "The Blue Cockatoo" and the wonderful "King's English" children's book store, and "Mazza", our favorite Mediterranean restaurant (plus some other places with food we could never afford). I better check the spellings on all those! Anyhow, we will live in the upstairs apartment, and Sus and Ben will live in a separate unit in the basement. They have already gutted the basement, and are totally remodeling it. We're pretty happy with the upstairs for now. It will be a great place to be, hopefully for a few years. It's just so hard to know what's going to happen with Jared trying to finish his Ph.D. and figure out where he will teach. More than anything, the kids need both of their parents living in the same area.
I guess I should go pick up the little ones after their long day (and my even longer day), so we can actually spend some time together.
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