• We have had fun listening to a bunch of John Bytheway talks on CD while driving around in the mini-van. Sydney has had a difficult time controlling her laughter! Isaac was just sitting on the john singing out with his hearts desire, “John Bytheway, John Bytheway, he reads his scriptures everyday! And that’s all I needed to say…” I have learned to keep my mouth shut and just listen with a grin when Isaac sings – if I say anything he stops and gets mad because I noticed. That boy! – he’s just like his mother…
• Sydney and I both had to stay home on Easter Sunday because we were sick. We are both feeling much better now!
• I have gone to two voice lessons and am enjoying practicing some breath support exercises. Baby steps…
• Isaac’s preschool teacher said she usually recommends summer birthday boys to be held back one more year before kindergarten but that Isaac is very ready. I get to go to the elementary to register him tomorrow!
• Just five more weeks of school for the kids this year.
• We had lots of fun as a family at Busch Gardens, staying in a hotel overnight and visiting the Orlando temple.
• Sydney refused to go on a mild roller coaster after I had been waiting in line with her for 45 minutes. The staff would not start the ride with her having a fit because apparently they are not allowed to let kids go on rides against their will any more. So we had to get off (needless to say, I was in a bad mood for a little while after this). What is this world coming to?
• Peter is getting ready to take a two-week trip to England. Without us. The nerve…
• Yesterday I attended our yearly Stake Relief Society Enrichment activity and had a wonderful time. When I got home I found out that Peter and the kids had been working hard. They scrubbed walls upstairs, cleaned all the toilets, took down some blinds and hosed them off in the back yard, Sydney had practiced the piano, and Peter was drying bananas and strawberries in his home-made food dehydrator (pictures to follow later). Peter rocks!!! (think about that one for a minute – it’s a redundant statement).

That’s all folks…

• We have been enjoying General Conference. I got several good ideas for helping to engage children during conference from the March 2009 Ensign. I made some pictures of key words for my kids to listen for and for each time they heard one of those words, they got to pick a small treat out of a bowl. My kids are extremely high on sugar right now. Anyone want to adopt an eight-year-old and a four-year-old this week? We still have one more session of conference to go… Next conference I am going to adapt the same idea so that there are LESS treats involved. BUT – the kids have been listening and this is a first!
• During Elder Richard G. Scott’s talk on temples (‘temple’ being one of the key words for the kids to listen for) Sydeny made the remark “This guy’s good!” because he said the word ‘temple’ so many times that my children’s sugar intake was exponential compared with previous talks. And then right after that was Russell M. Nelson with his talk on prayer (also another key word) and yes, you guessed it; he said the word ‘prayer’ over and over. I have a belly ache just from watching my kids eat so much candy.
• We are revving up for our HUGE trip to Utah this summer. We will be leaving on or about June 13th and driving to southern Utah for our own little family trip to Zions, Arches or whatever we feel like seeing (and no, you are not invited to this portion of our vacation) and then we will be driving up to the motherland to visit with family (arriving on or around June 20th). The kids and I and the minivan will be staying in Utah until approximately July 27th and then we will drive home to Florida (at this point Peter will be back to help us drive home). YES – we are crazy! I don’t know yet what we are going to do with the dog.
• This week is Spring Break for our kids. We are going to spend a day in Busch Gardens in Tampa and spending a night at a hotel (we have a free military day at Busch Gardens and Peter has earned a free stay at a hotel so all we have to finance is gas and food)!
• Sydney earned straight A’s on her report card again. No improvement once again. Any suggestions?
• I will be registering Isaac for kindergarten this month. Crazy.
• I am starting voice lessons this week – this is something I have wanted to do badly for years. Come to think of it, I already sing badly – I guess the idea is to improve… Recently I got a piano book entitled How to Read Chord Symbols in Jazz and Popular Music. I have had hours of fun at the piano – I’m trying to branch out to jazz piano, blues, improv, etc. Peter’s very excited about that. I think one more Bach fugue would just about do him in.
• Peter almost has the two motorcycles finished! He has also been picking up his guitar a little bit more recently. He taught me how to play an E Major, e minor and a C Major chord on the guitar, but I have probably already forgotten.
• Last night I steam cleaned the living room area while Peter was at the priesthood session of conference. This has become my own twice-a-year tradition. Pathetic, huh?
• It was fun to hear Bruce Carlsen called as a new member of the seventy in general conference. He is a recently retired four star general in the Air Force who was in our ward for a short time in Ohio. I remember when I saw an article online featuring his retirement the thought came to mind that the church would probably snag him up. I’m a good guesser!

That’s all folks…