Family Tradition

I wasn't the best student in high school.  In all honesty, I pretty much despised my entire high school experience, and minus a handful of people, don't even remember the names or faces of those I went to school with.  I wasn't social or friendly and my "shy" and "social anxiety" came off as snobbish...which I guess it probably was.  I had very few real friends, teachers that I liked, or super positive experiences.  I dropped out of seminary.  My calculus teacher told me I was stupid.  My AP Government teacher drove a "probe".  Playing volleyball and basketball got me through, having a mom and grandma go to bat for me that one time kept me from being suspended, and the day I graduated was one of the best days of my entire 18 years of living.

I wasn't valedictorian, but I worked hard enough and got good grades, I think that my ranking was #10 in my class.  All "A's" except for three "C's" in calculus.  I was Academic All-State in volleyball and basketball and and at the senior awards banquet a week or so before school got out, I, as my sister, brought home a haul of hairnets and name tags awards.  I remember being pretty shocked that my name kept getting called to the front of the banquet room that night.  I also remember that Andrew Tanner's dad leaned over after I'd gotten one very important award and said, "That Annie Petersen is quite a catch!"

Off all the awards and accolades I received that night, most of which I still have in my hope chest (sigh) was the Ann Pehrson award.  The Ann Pehrson Award was for outstanding senior girl.  There were probably a bunch of girls who could have or should have received that award, but I got it.  It was a gold medallion in a beautiful burgundy case, and it was to me then, as it is now, a really big deal.  You see, two years later, my sister would also receive the Ann Pehrson Award.  And, many moons before that, my mom was also the recipient her senior year at Cyprus High School.

Now fast forward to 2013.  Last night was my brother's senior awards banquet and, like his sisters before him, he swept the ceremonies.  My dad was carrying his stack of awards, plaques, certificates and even some envelopes with gift cards and cash.  He was recognized for his leadership and his athleticism.  He got the outstanding male athlete award, which my dad told me was a big deal because he didn't want any more recognition for being a scholar-athlete - just for being good at sports.

My brother, like my sister, is also the valedictorian of his class and, like our sister, will be speaking at his graduation next week.

And, my brother, like his sisters and his mom before him, was recognized for being the outstanding senior male (well, you know....the outstanding senior student of his gender).  That's a big deal when there are 2400 kids at your school.

In talking to my parents last night and my mom this afternoon, we both, of course, gushed a little bit about my giant crazy little brother.  He is such a good kid and has dedicated his life to the kids at his school this year.  And, like his sisters, he is so ready to graduate and move on with his life he can hardly stand it.  There are such big things in his future, I cannot wait to see what he can do.

But, the other thing....

My mom always says to us when we are being mopey or pouty, "I didn't born no ugly children".....

She didn't born no stupid ones, either.

The successes in the lives of me, my sister, and my brother are in direct correlation to two parents who have loved and supported us through everything from the moment we were born.  They have dedicated their lives to us, and I am so grateful for all the sacrifices I know that they have made, all the hours they have spent helping us in our lives, and from my perspective now, for the amazing grandparents that they are to my three little goofballs.

I'm also so proud of my brother.

More gushing to follow in the coming week.....

Pictures from a real camera...

Honestly, I almost never break out my digital SLR these days.  It seems to be either a phone picture or no picture, unless it's a special occasion like a birthday.  The big camera came out for Wyatt's birthday earlier in the month and then I just left it out in the family room and ended up snapping pictures for a few days after his birthday just for fun.  Pictures of my boys playing balloon volley ball, wrestling, and playing on their kindles in the tent Wyatt got for his birthday.  The pictures are such good quality, it's a shame I'm so lazy.

Tomb of the Forgotten Birthday

Hello there friends.

I realize that I am a blog interloper, but I have something important to share.

Today is Annie's birthday.

Annie always has to share her birthday with either Memorial Day, other cousins, Wyatt, etc. and this year is no exception.

We are in St. George for the weekend participating in a Talbot family reunion.  We are taking advantage of the opportunity to see grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. 

It is going to be a great time, but as usual, Annie has to share.

We joke that she never gets to do what she wants to do (because she defers to the other four people at her house), but it really is true.

Annie is selfless.  She spends her time and energy on others just about 10
0% of the time.  Even her birthday present (a new gas stove) is something that she will use for us.

Take time to wish her a happy birthday - we love her and she deserves it!

 

 

p.s. - there are two kinds of people in this world. Annie is a beatles person. Enjoy Sir Angela Lansbury singing the birthday song!

Around the house...

As always, I'm not sure where the time goes.

It seems like our routine is pretty....well, routine and that at the end of the day we are all exhausted.  I get a few minutes here and there to check my e-mail.  I talk to my husband at lunch time, if I'm lucky, and as we drift off to sleep. My boys have endless energy.

Life is good, even though it feels a little to stressful at times.

And, busy....busy, busy, busy.  I know a lot of people who say they are busy and aren't but believe me, we've got lots going on.

For example:

Let's talk about this little bugger. Over the weekend, he learned to crawl and life will never be the same. He is a total menace, albeit a cute one. He is into everything, banging and crashing around. He even found a marker under his brother's bed, got the lid off, and colored his face and his tongue. Busy, busy, busy holy terror. And if that weren't enough, he's figured out how to motor around in his walker, open drawers and cupboards and empty them of their contents. I cannot seem to lose weight exercising, but I might chasing this kid around.

Wyatt finished t-ball and only cried three times in 8 games. Victory! He did a great job and his dad took another great turn as coach. We went from frigid weather, to sweltering heat, to torrential rain during his little 4 week season and he was a champ.

Elliott just started his final off-track for the school year and is already completely stir-crazy. On Monday, when Quinn and I got home from taking Wyatt to preschool, I came home to a beautifully cleaned and organized family room. He's already spent so much time on his kindle that he chose to clean. Good boy!  And, as with every other off-track he's had, he has been sick.  Trouble out of both ends, if you know what I mean.  But, minus an initial puking all over the floor and the top of the toilet, he seems to have figured it out and managed the rest of his troubles like a champ.

Monday was a terribly rainy day. It was great. It was the perfect day for making cookies and rather than just whip up a batch of my regular chocolate chip, I sought out a new recipe. It was a recipe that was a copy-cat of the Levain Bakery's cookies in NYC. One batch of dough yielded 12 of the largest and tastiest cookies I've made in a long time. Even my husband who doesn't particularly care for good old chocolate chip cookies told me that they were the best I've made. So good.

And this brother went to "senior ball" with "don't call her my girlfriend" Maddie. He tweeted that it was the best time of his life, but they didn't play "forever young" at the dance, so it cannot really be the best time ever! Just wait little brother....a few more days of high school and then "life" really begins. Good times are a comin'.

What else? Our dad went camping in the pouring rain and took this great picture. We celebrated the birthday's of Molly-wog and Jackity-Jack....also in the rain. We drove around in the rain We wished we could run through sprinklers while watching the rain fall. We played baseball in the almost rain. Elliott has a super loose tooth. Quinn has 7 teeth. Wyatt only eats corn chips with his teeth.

Life is here for the taking and we are trying to take it all in.

My three sons....

Tis the season for school programs and the boys have each had theirs in the last couple of weeks.

Wyatt was first up with his mother's day program.  His little class sang three songs, and then presented each of their moms (and one grandpa) with a cute little paper, a poem and a plant they grew themselves.  It was sweet.  Wyatt was a little shy and nervous about all the moms so up close and watching, and he had to sit by this super goof ball boy, Cohen, who kept hitting him on the head, but it was great.

 

Yesterday was Elliott's kindergarten spectacular.  The little kids have been practicing for ages and even had to wear their best clothes for the program.  Elliott opted for a shirt and tie and he looked great.  He had a part at the microphone and recited it like a pro.  Grandma and I were so proud of him.  He did an excellent job.

 

And that cute little baby that wraps up the boys three?  He's been a bit of a bugger lately.  You see, his mouth hurts and in the last three weeks, he's gone from us thinking that he's getting one tooth, to two teeth, to four teeth, to yesterday me spotting another one.

That chill little baby who has been so uptight we can hardly stand it?  He's had 5 teeth pop into his mouth all at the same time - bringing his grand total to 7.  Four on top and three on the bottom.