Sticking Out

We have been a lot of places, and we usually can "fit in" for the most part.  However, we arrived at a place in which we were so far from looking like we fit in.  Nothing about us conformed to the environment we were in.  Everything shouted "What are you doing here?"  We went to the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, and we were so out of place.  We were missing boots (these people really have and wear boots, not just cute boots, real boots), hats, and anything glittery or sequined.  One older lady had a shirt that flashed with multi-colored LED lights, awesomely Texas!  I don't necessarily think that it was bad that we were out of place.  In fact, it may have been more disturbing if we hadn't stood out.

For Lane.  Darin,a true Fawcett.

Watching the showing of pigs.  The kid would just walk across the corner of the ring with their prized porker.  Jag's face tells how really exciting it was to watch.



Beef Sundae anyone?! 



 Davis giving me his "best" face.  I asked him to show me how much fun he was having.  He is sooo almost 12.

 We met our friends, the Miller's, there.  Here is Darin and Glen sporting the kiddie hats just trying to fit in.  Lawyers are funny guys.





No Scriptures Allowed!

This face looks sweet, BUT...This is the face of trouble.

Noah got kicked out of his Sunbeam class.  Yep, embarrassed and crying as he was brought to find me.  I then had to hear the tale of how he pushed a little girl and then chucked his Book of Mormon across the room to hit her in the head.  Yep, embarrassed.  The behavior just couldn't be tolerated and he was kicked out of his class.  UGH!

Turns out that cute, little girl was driving him crazy by... TOUCHING his paper.  He is an artist and really, really (book to the head) hates it if you bug him and touch his papers.  He just couldn't stand it, and like anyone with 3 older brothers used violence to settle the issue.

Poor Noah had to spend the rest of church time sitting in the hall outside of the primary room.  He kept his fingers in his ears, because He doesn't want to hear about it anymore. I then had to explain that my kids were just normal and sometimes naughty despite what the pure-requisites were for my calling.  I am thinking that maybe I should be released, taught a lesson....:)

The little girl came and apologized (yes, I made Noah apologize to her and the teacher) because she confessed to her mom that she was in fact, touching his stuff.  That just sounds like the new equivalent of the ancient Chinese water torture...touching stuff.

As a result of the altercation at church, I now have one child grounded from bringing scriptures to church.  Yeah, we are awesome here at this house.

Funny Face

Anya has a new "Funny Face" that she makes all the time.  It is a combination of shock and surprise with a bit of shaking.  We all think that it is hysterical, even Anya.  Which just continues the funny cycle. 

I think that she has "Funny Hair" in these pictures as well. We'll just call it her Fluffy Puffy hair.

Pinewood Derby

We just competed in our 4th Pinewood Derby.  Darin and I were figuring out that we have years and years more and will end up with about 13 cars (barring any mess-ups).    Sweet Grandpa Davis gets the cars in the mail with specific instructions about construction.  He cuts them out and sends them back.  The boys sand and paint.  Painting often includes both the use of nail polish and sharpies.  I then make many trips to the post office getting the car weighed until exactly 5 oz. is reached.  All in the name of FUN! 

This year only Christian competed from the Fawcett's.  His car did fairly well.  It didn't win, but it didn't lose either.  In fact, it actually won several of it's  heats.  Last year, his first Derby, he had a lemon of a car.  It would jump the track when ever a race was even announced.  The only redeeming thing about that horrible derby was that Davis' car did worse.  Yep, Fawcett's went 1 and 2...last and second to it.



4.9 oz.  as close as I could get it this year.  Maybe that .1 oz would have made the Derby Difference.
Black "boat" car in the background was breaking all the Derby rules.

 

Cutest scout there!


 

Standing by the competition.  I made sure to point out which cars were illegal and shouldn't race (I'm a fun mom).  Don't these parents read the rules?!  It was a good thing that they all got the "Winner's candybar" in the end.



Growing Pains

We've all seen that one person who just doesn't know when they are dressing too young.  The one that just can't dress age appropriately.  It just makes them look older and completely ridiculous.  It also just screams desperate to hang onto youth.  Or just desperate. 

Well, I have had a reality check.  First, let me start by saying that I LOVE socks and tights.  Not the nude, sandle-toe variey, but the brightly colored, make-the-ladies-at-church-talk type.  I have loved wild socks since I was at least 16.  Hey, I still own some of the ones I wore when I was 16.  I also own a lot of knee socks.  This is where I started thinking.  I am getting too old to wear them without looking desperate.  I am unable to wear the knee socks with a straight face anymore.  Heck, I wish my face was straight and without wrinkles...another obvious reason, wrinkles just don't go with knee socks.  This has been a painful realization, but I am glad that I have come to my senses.  Giving up knee socks when Anya is 12 and embarrased to be seen with me because my  knees are flapping over my HIP knee socks (Oh, help me if my knees ever flap.)  would be too late.  I don't want my family turning me into one of the What Not to Wear shows because I dress like I'm 8.

So, regretfully, but to avoid looking like I'm hanging onto the playground rediculously too long, I have recycled my knee socks into Anya's leg warmers.  She totally has the legs for these things. And I feel so much better about giving them to her rather than giving them up. 

I am not, however, giving up my tights and fishnet socks yet.  What would I wear to church?  Hose?! 

Notice that Jaggy has made sweet gloves out of the leftover sock parts!  He is awesome, just like his momma.

So Fun

It is SO fun to dress a little girl.  Jay gave her this fab 80s inspired outfit that made her the envy of the other littles at church. 

Please ignore the wrinkled, laughing Emperor in the background.



We Interupt this Texas Weather for a SNOW DAY!

That is right, I said Snow Day!  We received the offical call at 5 AM from the schools that it was a snow day.  I looked out the window and thought, I don't think that it snowed.  After actually opening a door, I discovered SNOW had fallen.  It has been a long time since snow has fallen where I live.  Everything was cancelled.  Darin got to stay home as well.  ALL of the freeways in San Antonio were closed until noon, when it was expected to be above freezing.  For those in Utah, that is like closing I-15 from Bountiful to the point of the mountain, I-80, I-215, and 21st south.  Nothing was open!  I laughed, but under our quarter inch of snow was some very deadly...ice.  Besides, San Antonio has like 1 plow, and these guys don't know what to do with snow let alone drive in it.



This is a Texas Snow Day!



Darin and his baby.  Yes, you can still see my grass in the background.



Noah's first time with snow. 




The boys were freezing.  Jag was paranoid that the neighbor kids were going to steal our snow. 





A snow man.  Actually an ice man.  Christian roamed the neighborhood scraping all the snow from every driveway to collect enough to make this little guy.  Jag declared it "The largest snow creature ever."  Yep, we have snow.




I took a nap, as Darin said, like a cat, curled up in the sun.  I also made cinnamon rolls and simply enjoyed doing nothing.


Some of the funniest, we don't live where it snows, observations were:  The boys, at least 3 of them, came in just shocked as they said, "This little gloves are soaking wet.  They don't keep the water out or work at all."  Yep, tiny knit "magic gloves" aren't really gloves.  Ice is slippery and makes it hard to run.  Yep.  Sadly, snow melts and we can see our driveway again.  Yep.  The kids were outside for hours.  They only came in to drink cocoa and change out their gloves.  Perfect snow day.

It was 80 degrees on last Sunday.  The front came in and the temps dropped and a snow day happened on Friday.  Saturday was 60 and by Sunday it was back to 75 degrees... and you think you have crazy weather!