First H.S. Concert

Autumn had her first String Ensemble concert tonight. Actually, the whole music program had a concert. For all of you with 5th grade or even middle school musician, it gets better. They sounded great and I love seeing them all in "concert black." I wish the picture showed a little better how beautiful her dress is. I was a little surprised, though, that people who have had kids in music for so long would clap at the wrong time. It only happened once but still, even I know that if the conductors arms are still up the song isn't over. Oh well. It was a great concert. I love listening now that she is in a more advanced group. Although the commitment also goes up. She will be starting Symphony Orchestra next month and that's on Tuesday nights. Of all of the groups that's my favorite though. I love the sound of the strings with the other instruments.

I guess there is such thing as too late

Just as a warning to whomever may choose to read this post, you are more than welcome but beware that it's a rambler. I have a threefold mission for this blog. In order of importance 1. I will eventually have this made into a book, my sad excuse for family history. 2. To help family and friends keep up with the goings on in the Wisdom family. 3. As an outlet for whatever is rolling around in my head. This started as 1 and 2 and evolved into 3. Just sayin. I love the pumpkin patch. Never went as a child. Was that even a thing back then? We always just went to the grocery store to pick out 1 family pumpkin and then somehow everyone carved it. I could be making it up. It's just the way I remember it. Did they have pumpkin patches when we were kids? Anyway, I've been a convert ever since that first pre-school field trip 10+ years ago. Every year we go to the Job's u-pick patch a Saturday or two before Halloween. No hayride, no corn maze, no petting zoo. Just you, the pumpkins and sharp implements. I love everything about it. Everyone knows I love everything pumpkin especially the patch. I love the cool air. Not if it's cold mind you, but cool. I love watching the kids run around picking out the perfect pumpkin. I love listening to Rob think out loud about the perfect design for each pumpkin he considers. I even love trying to figure out how to haul all those pumpkins back to the front of the store without loosing any over the low sides of the wagon. So, Saturday was our day. We were even done with soccer. What could be better? Oh yea! Our kids are big and have lives. Autumn and Devin wanted to spend the day with Grandma Leonard (duh) and I just couldn't stand the thought of going without them so we just decided that Rob would take off work at 4:00 on Monday and we would have an early FHE at the patch and come home to carve. Perfect..... Oh yea, 4:30 piano lesson. That's okay. Rob took off at 5:00 and we were on our way. While driving out we were debating how much daylight we had left when I got the bright idea to call Job's and ask if they had been paying attention to what time it gets too late to look for pumpkins. All I got was voicemail. Job's closes at 5:00. Oh yea, it is a business. FHEwas a bust. Not to worry. Tomorrow's another day. So today Rob took off at 4:00 and we head for the patch. Not at hitch. Woo Hoo! Only thing is, a very inconvenient thing happens the longer pumpkins sit in the patch.... They start to rot.

Devin was much more interested in stomping on the dead rotting corpses of once beautiful pumpkins than with choosing the perfect specimen.

Siri, on the other hand took the job very seriously. She looked high. She looked low. She looked near. She looked far. Finally she announced with pride and glee, "I found one!!!"




OH!

Never mind. :'-(

It's okay. The second one's the charm.

Eventually, everyone found a pumpkin and we found Autumn. The second she hit the patch she was off. Never to be seen.

Maybe it's too late in the season for the pumpkin patch. Maybe it's just too late in my family's life. The older kids barely tolerated the whole excursion. Instead of the big family carving ritual, the girls and I made our jack-o-lanterns while Devin played on the computer and Rob went on Elders quorum visits. The rest of the week is filled with mutual, orchestra concert and, well, Halloween. I guess it's time for us to adjust to a new stage in life. Does this mean I'm not dragging them to the pumpkin patch next year? Heck no!!!

The ghosts of Halloween past.

Here is my tribute to bygone costumes:

Okay, it wasn't Halloween but it was fun.

Remember the pink door? That's more frightening than any Halloween ghoul!

This was during Siri's hat phase.

Looks like I need to give up control of the camera more often. There will be something of me from this year, I promise.

Halloween comes early

Boone and JaNae

Seth and Shannon
Tina Fey, eat your heart out.

Matt and Alicia (groovy)

Dean and Sarah . Why is Dean the only one in costume?

Bill and Hillary...

or is it? (Jim and Stefani)

Patrick and Shannon

Rob and Keolani
Yes, I know what if looks like and, no, he isn't!


SPOONS ANYONE?

She loves me. She really loves me.

Siri has had her dad wrapped around her little finger since before she was born. They're the greatest of buddies. He has a hard time getting her to understand that he has things to do on the weekend besides hang out with her. When she was little and had an owie or was sick it was her dad that she wanted. I guess somewhere along the line that started to change and I never noticed. Last night when she had a bad dream it was me she came to. Once I thought about it I realized it's been that way for a while. Nice to know I'm needed. Which brings me to my sleep problems. Disclaimer: I'm about to whine. It's not my fault. It's the sleep deprivation speaking. Lately it seems like I have the worst time falling asleep and staying that way. If I don't fall asleep within the first couple of minutes or if I wake up in the night I'm toast. Game over. Might as well get up and shower. Well, as much as I missed Rob while he was gone I slept like a baby. I figured out what my problem has been. It's the noise. People make a lot of noise when they sleep. How do you guys deal with it? I don't want to go with earplug because, beside the ouch factor, what if Siri has another bad dream, or the smoke detector goes off. Is this something other people deal with or is my beloved particularly loud? I'm not just talking snoring here. It's everything: rolling over, mumbling... Am I alone here? I need to sleep!! Moving to the couch helped me sleep last night but it seems like that could be the marital kiss of death. Not worth it.

SURPRISE!!!!

The doorbell rang this afternoon about 4:30 and SURPRISE it was Amelia, Devin's grandma. All my kids love her so much and she is so good to my girls. She lives in Virginia and doesn't make it out here nearly as much as she would like. She wanted to come out this summer but there were problems with her mother and she wasn't able to make it. The kids were so excited and definitely shocked. When she's here it's also a good time for Devin to see his other sisters, Jade and Sierra. With his dad out of the country so much there aren't very many chances for them to get together. Last time as a chance encounter at the park about a month ago and before that it was 4th of July. Sometimes it's hard for me to remember that they are his sisters the same as Autumn and Siri are. He's always so happy to spend time with them. Siri will be glad to see them too. They are all such good friends. The one bad thing? She usually sees how we live when I'm expecting company. Today she saw dishes in the sink, floors that needed to be vacuumed (did I say needed? they still need) and even asked to use the bathroom.........

So long for now

Soccer is over for the fall. The team we are supposed to play on Saturday asked us if we could play them on a Thursday a couple of weeks ago so we played our last game on the 18th. It's a little bittersweet. Rob and Siri have really enjoyed it this year and it's getting funner to watch now that they have some skills. However, it will be nice not to have to deal with practice twice a week. We've been very spoiled not having very many kids and not having the ones we have in very many activities. Once school is over I usually have everyone home, with the addition of various neighborhood kids, until bed. I see what my friends go through every afternoon and realize I really like being in control of my own day. But I digress. We had a little get together for the team at Eatsa Pizza. I would suggest you not get seduced by the close proximity to the fields. That place is a little overpriced and gross. I would much rather have been next door at Pita Pit. But the kids had a great time. It was fun for them to just hang out with their new friends instead of being all business all the time. It'll be nice to see everyone again in the spring.

Goalie Siri

Mad Monkeys with Coach Boone and Coach Rob.
That would be Devin hijacking the picture in the back.

2 nights 2 many

Rob gets back from his trip tonight! Hurray! He has only been gone since Monday afternoon. He had some training in Irvine, CA. He was supposed to be back tomorrow, which didn't make a lot of sense since the training was only through this morning. He finally convinced 'them' to look into a flight for today so he'll be here early. I know a lot of husbands travel a lot for business but Rob hasn't since I don't know when. I was sad when I was setting the table for dinner last night and realized what I did.

Yep, that's his place at the end. It's been nice this time though. Since the kids are all pretty self sufficient it was nice to see that I miss him, not just the work he does.

Good news never comes while you're asleep

Last week I wrote all about how I was awaken from a peaceful sleep to learn about my new calling. Well, that was absolutely delightful compared to what woke me up today. Autumn, bless her, knocked politely on our door this morning at 6:20 a.m., waited for me to tell her to come in, and then proceeded to calmly inform me that the toilet was overflowing and water was everywhere. Just the "good morning" everyone wants...brown water all over the floor. I can't tell you enough how grateful I am for indoor plumbing but it seems like I get more than my share of ... um ... issues. Thank goodness it was today instead of tomorrow. Rob left today for a trip to California. While I was fixing the kids lunch he took care of the whole thing for me. He knows I just can't deal with that sort of thing and is always so great to take over.

It's official...I am the weakest link

Just finished biking with Shannon and JaNae - no Emma. We finished 7 minutes slower than they did last time without me. hmmmm. Oh well. As I keep pointing out, she with the crappiest bike gets the best workout.

This is my New Years.

I know a lot of people get really reflective on New Years. Me, not so much. It's just a day to recuperate from the night before and get my house back into pre-Christmas shape. Autumn's birthday is the day I get all reflective and spend time looking back to where I've been and how I got to where I am. This doesn't happen with the other kids bdays. It's just when I think back to that amazing day when my life quit being just about me. What a gift our children are. I'm so grateful for the chance I have been given to raise these people and to know how big of an influence I have on their lives. It really keeps me on my toes. My life changed forever the day I became a mother. I just remember being lost and not sure what my purpose is. I won't try to kid anyone into believing that everything changed the moment they handed my baby to me. I'll be the first to admit I didn't have the slightest idea what to do with her. But it didn't take long for me to know that I would do whatever I needed to and make whatever changes I needed to to make her life the best I knew how. I've made mistakes but I can honestly say that each of those mistakes were made with the best of intentions. I now know that one of my purposes is to be a mother to these children I have been blessed with.


Thank you, Autumn, for being such a great kid. Thanks for forgiving all my mistakes and just laughing along when it's clear to both of us that I have no idea what to do. Thank you for teaching me about love and sacrifice. I love you more than you will ever know. - Mom

Wow, we were both babies.
Yes, I did take a picture of the picture. Everyone knows I live in the techno dark ages. I'm afraid it gives Rob a headache.

Autumn turns 15

Autumn turned 15 today. She was so excited she could hardly stand it. She overheard me telling Rob a couple of weeks ago that I'm glad we don't have to fork over 60K this month for a Quincenera and thought that she would try to use that to fanagale herself a better birthday. I reminded her that she's Mormon...and white...so it's not like she was being picked on for not getting one. Not sure she's buying it. She was a good sport about her little family dinner and party though. I pointed out that she didn't want to overshadow her own sweet 16 next year. Oh no! What have I done? Anyway.....

Here she is last night as a 14 year old.

And this morning as a 15 year old. If she keeps getting cuter every day we'll be in big trouble in a year. Hey Rob, you ready?

She loves lemon cake mix and has expressed curiosity about Red Velvet cake. Even though I'm half southern, you wouldn't know if by the lack of Red Velvet cake in our diet. The obvious choice for a brand new freshman on her birthday...Kamiakin cupcakes.

I hope you wished for a great year. Love you babe.

I know there's a line. I just don't know where it is.

Today I decided it was time to...GASP... go through Devin and Siri's rooms and clear out outgrown clothes. Well, we all know what happens then. The snowball effect. How can I stop with clothes when I see broken toys from 5 years ago. My problem is that I decided way back before I even had children that I would be respectful of their privacy and their stuff (until they prove to be untrustworthy and then all bets are off.) As a result I've always felt guilty getting rid of the kids stuff without permission, even when they were two. I now realize that two is too young to get to make decisions that affect the pack-rattiness (oh yeah, I said it) of my house. But now they are old enough to have a say and I've created monsters. They just haven't learned how to say goodbye to anything. The other day I had one in tears because I wouldn't let her save the cheesy little bottle that the kool-ade drinks come in. So now I realize it is time to take it upon myself to just start chucking. No more having them come in with me and telling me what can and can't go. But where do I draw the line? How am I to decide what is a real treasure and what is a "I'm gonna hang on to this just to annoy my mother" treasure. I'd be so angry if someone just came in and purged my room of all my stuff but I think they would be relieved not to have to live with it all. So, I'm going in. Wish me luck and when you hear the screams, know it's coming from my house.

Wow never saw that one coming

This morning I'm sleeping peacefully in my bed when the phone rings. 3 hours later I'm somehow the primary chorister. How does that happen? I group of people sit around trying to figure out who is right for the job. The person should be musical, good with kids, and creative. Or....we can choose Keolani. Clearly this was inspired because if it were based on logic, surely there are better people out there for this. Of course, they all are either ready to pop or just did. Really Kristin, 3 is such a nice number of kids in a family. Did you really have to try for that girl? Girls are expensive and high drama.
You know what I really think happened? I've been helping out with the Sunbeams during sharing time. Melissa had her hands full and asked if I would mind missing Sunday School to give her an extra lap and set of hands. Being the generous gal that I am I said sure. I guess they thought that I had relaxed my No Primary stance. The truth is I kind of have. I've liked being in there with the kids. It's a lot funner when I don't do little kids all day every day. I'm just stressed out about all the cutesy things the chorister has to do. I just hope that when people start complaining and wondering why I think I'm qualified to do such a job they will realize that I absolutely don't think I'm qualified even a little bit. Oh well, here goes.

Better late than never

Once upon a time 3 of my 5 siblings and I decided to have babies within 4 months of each other. Grandma and Grandpa were all excited planning for when they would get off their mission and be able to get those four 2 year olds together. Well, life happened, plans changed, people moved and time flew. Sept. 20 we finally got all four of the cousins together in the same place at the same time. These are the first grandkids on my side of the family have a cousin the same age. They had a great time - 6 years late - running around getting aquainted . Siri has heard all her life about all the cousins being born at the same time but I don't think she believed the stories till now.

Best News Ever!

For those that don't know, Devin has struggled through school. He just has some learning issues that have frustrated him since the day he walked into preschool. He has always thought he's dumb, which anyone who's ever talked to him can tell you is crazy. He was so stressed about going to middle school and being behind. He's be told all this time that he's about 3-4 years behind in his reading. He started the year in resource for 4 periods and only 3 periods of general ed.
Well, after doing his MAP testing a couple of weeks ago I got an email from his teacher. He scored an 8.8 grade reading level. They have changed his schedule and have him in general ed classes. His confidence has gone through the roof and every day he looks forward to going to school instead of the fights we had been having. I've even walked into the living room and found him reading for pleasure. I knew he was a smart kid even when he struggled with reading. Now he knows it too.

Thank Goodness for Emma

So my friends Shannon and JaNae have been biking the Kennewick/Pasco loop about once a week for the last few weeks. I have joined them about every third time. Translation: today was my second time. Let's just say that once every three weeks isn't quite cutting it for me. Apparently when they don't have to take turns pulling Emma in the trailer they can do it in 1hr. 40 min. Thank goodness we had her today because I never would have kept up. I just keep pedaling and pedaling with my eye set on the bridge because I knew that was the end. I mean, really, after you cross the river it's just the park. Right? Well, Columbia Park is a loooooooooong stinking park. Didn't help that today we have the first good Tri-Cities wind of the season. Holy cow. The thing that kills me is that I spent a good year and a half getting myself into reasonably reasonable shape and a few weeks of laziness and I feel like I'm back where I started. Guess I'm gonna have to make sure I keep my Tuesday mornings free so I can learn to keep up with those girls.
I kind of have this heights issue so crossing the bridge just freaks me out. Some random guy had the nerve to be crossing MY bridge going the other way. Rude huh. So I start freaking out when he's probably 100 feet away and run into the guard rail. Good thing there isn't much traffic on that bridge. Oh wait. Yes there is. On the up side. I made it in one piece and lived to tell the tale. Shannon and JaNae - YOU ROCK!

Go Mad Monkeys! Coach Rob Rocks!

So, Rob decided to try his hand at coaching Siri's soccer team this year. I thought that was pretty brave since neither of us have ever really been soccer people. I'm pretty sure we don't even know the rules of the game. Also, since that girl came into the world with her daddy wrapped around her little finger I wasn't at all sure how this would work out. I was prepared to defend him to the other parents though.
Well, I missed two games in a row and when I went to todays game it was like watching different team. I was so pleased to see how he has gotten the girls to pass and dribble. They were out there shouting "I'm open" and all those other things we had seen the other teams do. Of course, I'm the wife so I'm slightly biased.
Then the other moms started telling me how happy they are with the job he's doing. Turns out the like it when he makes their kids run a lap for not listening (phew). The best compliment I heard was when one mom said she wished Rob would teach her older daughters coach a few things. I was so proud of him. I know he loves it. He says he missed his calling. He's starting to wish he'd become a high school football coach or something.
Did we win the game? Heck no. But the girls are really starting to look like a soccer team instead of a swarm of bees running around after the ball.

They say blog, I say how much

Apparently I'm a blogger now. I know this because my good friend Shannon told me I am, so here it is. If you want to read about the goings on in my little life have at it but keep your judgments to yourself.