the diaries of a middle-aged housewife...: March 2010

It looks like I haven't kept my promise to Ashley to update my blog once a week! I've noticed she doesn't update hers much either. This month has been kind of crazy, with one announcement that will really change my year. It's all good though!

First we'll start with the youngest child. Hailey just celebrated her 11th birthday. My baby is 11 yrs. old! She will be finishing elementary in a couple months and moving on to middle school. Wow, does that make me feel old. I subbed her class on her birthday and she brought donuts to share with the class. That night she had 10 friends over for a party. About five of them spent the night. It was good to have survived. I think they had fun. I had had a crazy week and I felt very unorganized with the party, but I think they all had fun. She also just got another straight A report card. I'm glad I don't have to worry about her grades, but sometimes when she gets obsessive with it, it can be annoying. She just performed in her last spring showcase with the instrument ensemble at her elementary school. Their group did the Blue Man Group and they were the main part of the show. It was really fun to watch. She also got her braces off last month and already lost her first set of retainers for the tune of $260. Gotta love it!

Hailey blowing out her candles

(Hailey after her Spring Showcase performance)

One of the good things that happened this month was Dallin brought his progress reports home from school with all A's and B's. That's a big accomplishment for Dallin and I hope he keeps it up! Not too much is going on with Dallin. I signed him up for EFY this summer. He and his friend Kason Horlacher will be going in August to BYU. I hope he'll enjoy it as much as Ashley and Derek did. He will also being going on a scout trip in July. Dallin will be finishing up middle school soon and moving on to High School. Weird! I think he's finally as tall as me. He's growing up so fast!

(Dallin at Scotty's Castle)

Next is Derek. It's been a fun month with him. He was in the Mr. Mustang pageant at Shadow Ridge. The boys had to do a group dance, a talent, answer a question, tell a joke and say a pick-up line. It was hilarious. They also decorated cakes for the "Mr. Betty Crocker" contest. I thought Derek's cake was the best. His talent was hilarious. He sang "You're so Beautiful" by the Flight of the Conchords. It was really funny. He did really good on the dance too. He ended up being crowned Mr. Mustang. He won the ultimate prom package. Corsage, tux rental, tickets to the dance, pictures, dinner at an Italian restaurant and a helicopter ride over the strip. The other good news with Derek is that he just got a job at Fabulous Freddy's. He's worked there one whole week. I'm glad he will be earning some money towards his mission.

(Mr. Stud Muffin)

Then the biggest news of all comes from Ashley. She's decided to go on a mission. It was kind of sudden. She called me one night and asked me what I thought, then she showed up at home that weekend and we had a long talk about it. The next weekend I went to St. George for my mom's birthday, and we ended up talking with the family. Later that night Ashley and I went to Koni's and had a really great talk and I think she knew what her decision was. The next day when grandma gave her some money to buy herself a new outfit, she bought mission clothes instead a Buckle jeans, and she wanted to go to Deseret Book to buy "Preach my Gospel". It was a good weird. The next day she met with her bishop and got the paperwork started. She came home the next week and we got the dentist, doctor and blood work done. We also applied for a passport and she had my friend Patty take some pictures of her to send in with her papers. It was a crazy couple days, but we got so much taken care of. It helps that she and Derek both are current on their immunization shots and have had their wisdom teeth out already. I think this will be great experience for her, but it will be weird having her and Derek gone at the same time. I'm happy/sad, but I wouldn't want it any other way. I think it will be great for them to do it together.

Sister Gibson

As for me, I've kept busy being a mom and subbing several times. I've also been working on food storage and I made homemade bread for the first time in probably 8 years. This last weekend we went to Death Valley. None of us had ever been there before and we had a great time, but it was a lot of driving. The flowers weren't blooming yet, so that was disappointing. I did enjoy Scotty's Castle and Badwater and Furnace Creek. We saw the Ghost Town Rhyolite on the way and it was interesting. We all had a good day. Dallin, Hailey and Emily Tonks came with Greg and I. Derek had to work, so he didn't end up coming. That's the only bummer of kids having jobs....it cuts into family fun. I guess that sums up the month for me!