My Name Is Alexander Hamilton

I am pretty sure we've been listening to the Hamilton soundtrack in the background of our lives for the last two years.  Lorien fell in love with the musical at some point and began playing the songs...all the time.  Last year, when I chaperoned the high school orchestra field trip to San Francisco we saw posters for Hamilton coming in March of 2017.  I began plotting, how could we get Lorien to see Hamilton in person.  She knows all of the words, the story and the story of the creation of the musical.  She has fallen in love with musicals and history because of Hamilton.  

First, we tried to get seasons tickets through the Orpheum Theater.  For a measly five hundred bucks you got to attend four shows at the theater through the 2017 season.  We didn't act quickly enough for that...and we would have had to buy at least two season tickets...big money.

Second, we heard early ticket sales were being made available to American Express card holders.  We had an American Express card that we never used so we got the info and tried for a spot.  They do ticket sales through a random spot generator.  So you sign up before tickets go on sale and they email you with your spot in line.  It doesn't matter when you sign up, you are randomly assigned a place in line.  Will tried to get a spot the morning they went on sale...his place in line was in the 80 thousands...it didn't look good.  Sure enough, tickets were sold out long before his number came up.

Finally, when tickets came up for the general public (also through a random spot generator) we tried again.  This time, we requested a spot with every internet enabled device in our home.  We had two lap tops, two phones, all four of the kid's kindles and an ipad ready to get a spot.  7 of our 9 requests were in the 60 thousands, one was in the 8 thousands and one was in the 3 thousands!  We were pretty sure we could get tickets with the 3 or 8 thousand spots.  We were successful.  Will ordered the tickets and we waited until Christmas to give them to her.  I think we ordered them around Thanksgiving.  

Her face when she opened and realized what her present was was priceless...maybe one of my all time favorite Christmas memories.

Anyway, our day for the show was today.  We've all been so excited to go.  A few friends have been already and said it was FANTASTIC.  

We drove in early because Will had a meeting in the city that morning.  Lorien and I wandered around town a bit but ended up at Target...I do what I love.

Once Will was done with his meeting, we had lunch at a yummy Chinese restaurant and headed to the theater.

It was with out a doubt, the most amazing show I've ever seen.  The music was SO GOOD!  I am not going to be able to describe how great this show was...I have no words.  I will say I was so impressed with Lin Manuel Miranda's talent in writing this musical.  The songs, the story line all of it was so awesome.  And to do it all with a contemporary flare with rap battles and a diverse cast...unprecedented and amazing.  There was so much to see going on on the stage.  The set and staging were minimal but impactful.  The prop pieces were moved around by the dancers and singers as part of the story line and dancing.  It was too cool.  I would see it again in a heart beat.

Lorien loved it too.  Ask her about it, she will be happy to tell you.  For the first part of the play, I watched her face more than I watched the actors.  She was excited and cute.  It was so cool.

We were going to name this kid 5

When I was pregnant with Colter, we didn't find out the sex of the baby.  I'm a sucker for a good surprise and finding out the gender of your baby in the delivery room is a pretty rad surprise.  We also had no idea what to name a fifth kid.  We'd come up with four good names and were out of ideas.  I was pretty convinced we should use the name Five...boy or girl it would work.

Well, Colter was born and we found out he was a boy.  We managed to come up with a real name instead of a number.  So...I guess that worked out.

Today he is actually FIVE years old!  He has been counting down the days for months.  He was so happy to have his birthday.  Will worked from home so we each took turns doing something special with Colter.  First we both took him out to Katie's Corner, our favorite breakfast joint in town.  Colter calls it "the pancake store".  He loves it because of pancakes...naturally...and there is a toy room in the back with cool trucks.  

After the pancake store Colter wanted to go to Osage Park and play.  I took him to Osage and we played for a while.  He brought a couple of monster trucks and we had a great time running down the slides.  

After the park Will took Colter out for a car wash in his car.  Colter LOVES the car wash!  And Daddy's car is a special treat because his car has a sun roof and you can watch the car wash from above.  

After the car wash Colter fell asleep on the couch...he had a full morning and needed a rest.  He hasn't napped in three years...so it was kind of a big deal.  Turning five is hard work around here.

Once the big kids were home from school it was party time.  Presents, cake and family fun were up.

Happy Birthday Colter William!  You are one amazing guy and we all love you.  You are kind and polite.  You are smart and helpful.  You love to do jobs to earn trucks from Target.  You love Target Pizza.  You love to build with legos and still love trucks.  You've moved off construction trucks a bit and are starting to love matchbox cars.  You wake up with nightmares some times and like to sleep on the couch at the foot of our bed.  You love to ride your bike and go to the park.  You are going to be in Kindergarten in the fall and have had a good preschool year.  You like being one of the "cool kids".  You like youtube videos and playing video games with your brother.  You had a weird throat clearing tick for a month or so ago but it seems to be gone now.  You like to do tricks around the house; balancing on the edge of the tub or couch, jumping off the stairs, doing cartwheels...all kids of hooplah.  You are a sweet kid and we are so thankful you're part of the family.

Service with a smile...and a hair net...

Our family participated in a service project today...well a couple of them I guess.  It was a service Saturday.  First we went over to the church to pack meals for a company called Feed My Starving Children.  They make these dehydrated food packs to be shipped to areas of the world where food is scarce.  The recipients just need to add boiling water and they have a meal ready to go.  We (with a 100 or so other people) added rice, soy, vegetables and vitamins to bags that were sealed and packaged for delivery.

Our whole family was able to participate (even Colter).  We all had a good time and felt like we had done a lot to help others.  We also made a mess...

After making meals for others we decided to feed ourselves.  We rewarded the kids with a dinner out...we don't do restaurants with the whole family very often.  

Clare and I went back to the church and did another round of food packing.  It was a great experience and we were happy to help.

After the service project was done...and the building was a mess...we went back to clean the building.  We vacuumed and scrubbed, dusted and swept.  In our church there aren't any paid positions, including janitors.  So the members of the congregation take turns cleaning the building every week.  This week we were up.  Most of the kids were off doing other activities so it ended up just being Colter, Adell and Wyatt.  Will and I took them out for ice cream as a treat after their hard work.

Service Saturday in the books.

Adios April

With two teenage kids in the house, Will and I get out on a lot more dates than we used to.  Many times we come home to Colter asleep in our bed.  He gets in bed just fine for the big kids, but as soon as he is left on his own he sneaks into our bed.  Sometimes he just goes to take my baby blankets back to his bed.  Most of the time, he makes himself at home.

Back in December Lorien went up to San Francisco with a professional photographer from the PR department of our church.  She posed for pictures with a group of her friends and talked about her experiences being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Last week her photo and quote was used in the LDSyouth Instagram account.  I knew the pictures would be used for a variety of church stuff but I didn't think I'd ever see the pictures.  I was at the park and got a text from an old friend who told me they saw her picture on the Instagram account.  I checked and there she was!  Adorable as ever.  She was psyched and we were proud.

One of Colter's preschool friends, Tagg, moved to Utah this week.  He was bummed but they got one last hurrah at the park.  Speaking of preschool, Colter has fallen out of love with the place.  Really, he has fallen out of love with going up to preschool.  When it is time to go he just wants to stay at home and keep on doing whatever it is he is doing.  Once we get there he is happy and runs right in to play.  He loves one of the big kids named Mike who does a special hand shake with Colter when he gets there.  Colter is always happy when I pick him up and is really getting into coloring.  He just doesn't want to leave the house in the morning.  We made a deal that if I drove him to and from every day, Colter would go without a fight.  It has been working out...but I sure miss carpool.

I took some "after" pictures of my painted rooms with the furniture back in place.  Did I mention that one day when I was painting way up high I dumped a bunch of paint off the ladder onto the floor?  It was a disaster.  Thankfully, my friend Sara showed up right after I spilled the paint.  She checked out my floors and recommended a Mr. Clean magic eraser.  I never would have thought of it!  The eraser worked like a charm!  I would have wiped up as much as I could and just put furniture over the paint stain...Sara and Mr. Clean to the rescue!

I intended to take the after photos to show my mom and sisters...I still haven't sent them photos...eventually.  Colter insisted on being in every picture.  

On the last Saturday of April, Will got started on a major back yard project.  He chopped down a big part of the tree in our back yard.  We plan on building a platform and zip line.  He also started digging a hole to partially bury the trampoline.  The trampoline was under the tree but the kids didn't like all the leaves and crap that would fall on the trampoline all the time.  We also missed the flat yard space the trampoline takes up.  Having it in the hill will free up some space.  

Oh, that picture up there of my baby looking dead.  Right after the tree was chopped down, Colter was getting on the trampoline while Wyatt was already jumping.  Colter lost his balance as he was climbing up and fell straight backwards onto the top of his head...on the bricked patio.  Not good.  He cried and cried.  A huge goose egg swelled up on the top right side of his head.  In between his sobs after it happened he called out "I should have died!"  he knew it was a big deal.  We snuggled and iced his head for a while and he fell asleep in my arms.  Will checked him out for concussion and in his considerable opinion, Colter was in the clear.  We let him sleep.  He had a sore head and headache for the rest of the day but seemed to be OK.  We will see if that comes back to bite us in the butt...

And now a few pictures of the tree work...

Adell and Sadie made a rad fort with some of the bigger tree branches.  I helped clear branches until a big spider showed up on my arm.  I slapped the spider off my arm so hard it left a red welted hand print.  Cassie, out.

April 2017 part 2

Wyatt punched Lorien in the face.

Want to read that again?

I was out driving Clare's dance carpool.  Lorien and Wyatt had a power struggle (she was nitpicking his behavior, he was being extra sassy).  Lorien called me twice to tattle...Wyatt tried to call me to tattle, they fought over the phone and it got physical.  It ended with Lorien elbowing Wyatt and Wyatt punching her in the face...

It was awful.  Her nose was 100% broken, her eyes blacked up and one swelled nearly closed.  Wyatt felt terrible...Lorien felt terrible...the whole situation was terrible.  We had to wait for the swelling to go down before the doctor would look at it and reset it.  The resetting was unpleasant.  Novocaine up her nose, gauze up her nose, knitting needle like tools up her nose to pop it back into place.  I cried about it for two days.  I felt like the worst parent.  Lorien's teachers asked if she was being abused at home.  Lorien's friends offered to beat Wyatt up for her.  Wyatt wouldn't talk to any of us about it.  He hid out in the van just about every day after school.  Ugh.

Once we were all able to talk about it (Thursday night, punch happened Monday) we had an excellent talk with Wyatt about forgiveness and repentance.  It was a few days before Easter so...I guess that worked out.  Wyatt was sorry and Lorien forgave easily.  She also apologized for her escalation of the problem and they both agreed to be more patient with each other.  I had cried to most of my friends about it, including a group of older mom friends who were able to tell me their own family drama stories.  I don't want other parents to go through this stuff...but it sure makes a depressed mom feel better to know other parents deal with crap with their kids too.

In the same week we were dealing with Lorien and Wyatt's situation.  Clare was selected to be a finalist in the 5th grade speech competition.  She was the best her in class and made it to the stage to try for a spot at the district speech contest.  Colter and I went to watch Clare give her speech.  It was cute to watch all of the kids squirm as their turn came up.  Clare did a great job but didn't end up making the final cut for the district contest.  She said she was so relieved!  She and the other speakers were so nervous leading up to speech time.  They were all proud for making it to the stage but most of them (Clare included) didn't want to go through the stress of a district contest.

There are a few pictures of me from this event (Colter had my phone for entertainment).  My eyes are puffy from crying over bad parenting.  The pictures of me did not make the blog cut...just the story of their existence.  

With Colter in preschool I have a little more freedom and ability to do things like chaperoning field trips.  Last year I went on a field trip for most of the school aged kids.  This year Clare was the one lucky kid.  We went on the USS P0tomac which was called the "Floating White House" during Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency.

Our little group was fun.  Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and we learned a lot.  For sure, the highlight was cruising under the Bay Bridge.  Also, I got to be the President when we sat a the dining room table...so...I win.

The elementary school had their mother daughter dance...80's theme.  The girls love this event...I do...not...but I love my girls!  We danced and sang and ate sugary food.

Easter was a thing.  The kids found baskets and eggs and we ate a yummy dinner.  The kids all got new outfits for church.  Colter's had a clip on tie and when Wyatt tried to clip the tie on he got a bit of Colter's neck skin.  Colter's face, oh it was heartbreaking, he let out the loudest scream and his eyes were as big a saucers.  Poor kid.  It hurt a lot.  I'm pretty sure he will never wear a tie again...ever...at least not a clip on.

We tried to read the scriptures that told the events of the week leading up to Christ's resurrection every day as Easter drew closer.  We missed a couple of days but it was still a nice way to feel more connected to the spiritual parts of Easter, rather than just focusing on candy and the Easter Bunny.

I've been watching the Great British Bake Off and was inspired to make a swiss roll and cherry pie for Easter dinner.  The whole meal was delicious but the pie and crust was my favorite.  I finally found a recipe that is close to what my mom always made and I can make with the kitchen tools I have.  Even Will loved the crust, and he is very picky about his pie crusts.  I was pretty proud of that...and that my kids didn't punch each other in the face again.  Easter, out.

April 2017 part 1

Still playing catch up, no time for witty commentary...just the facts.

The first weekend in April...I guess a bit of March...Will got tickets to go to the Final Four college basket ball tournament in Phoenix, Arizona.  We decided I could go along too!  Lorien was supposed to help pay for her orchestra trip and still owed us some money for that.  We decided she was responsible enough to baby sit for us and we would pay her (a lot of money).  We left on a Friday evening, I came home Sunday evening and Will came home Tuesday.  Lorien was in charge for two nights and two days.  She did a great job!  No one died, everyone ate enough food, and there was only one fight she had to break up.  Pretty great!  I'd say we can leave her alone with the kids any time. 

The only picture I took the whole weekend Will and I were away...in the elevator on the way down to take me to the airport.

 Spring break was the first week of April.  We didn't do anything!  We usually stay at home with a few little local activities planned.  This time I just made a list of house "to-do" projects I wanted done.  I painted the walls in the dining room and living room.  Part of the walls went up 16 feet...it was a big job.  I love how it turned out!

The kids were left to fend for themselves every day.  They are pretty good at being ignored by their mother and finding fun stuff to do.

We did slip out to see a movie one afternoon.

Look how snarly Adell's hair is...that's how you know my kids are on vacation...wild rats nest for hair.

Lorien spent hours working on this digital drawing.  She was so proud of it which was a big deal because she had been feeling frustrated with her art lately.  And THEN the computer shut down and she lost everything.  She was so bummed!  She had taken one picture of the screen to show her friends her progress so this was all we had.

The loss led to some very somber selfies from Lorien.  After the loss we looked into buying the software.  She had been using a free version because the actual version was thousands of dollars.  Turns out the price was in Yen...so it was really just 35 bucks...totally affordable.  We bought her the software.