Monday. The memorial service was really nice--and sad, as you can imagine. I keep thinking about that little girl and her not-yet-born baby brother without their daddy. Too, too sad . . .
I was fortunate enough to have one of the YW, Brittany, babysit for me so Bryce and I could go together. It was interesting to get to know our houseguests (the deceased's grandparents) through their remarks at the funeral. They are really sweet people who obviously love their family. I was really glad we could help in a small way by having them stay with us.
Tuesday. Another amazing YW, Tasha, babysat for the twins so Bryce and I could do a sealing session at the temple. Big kids had piano lessons in the afternoon.Tyce played with friends outside in the front (jumping over our landscaper's dirt piles with their bikes) and in the back (jumping on the trampoline). Mary went to Activity Days after dinner and made a butterfly wind chime.
I found out our landscaper's business partner (John) has a daughter who is an actress in Los Angeles. When I heard "actress" I immediately thought of a wannabe starlet, the teenage equivalent of a starving waitress. But I asked about her and he said, "Maybe you've heard of Daveigh Chase?" I hadn't, but I looked her up. Holy cow--check her out. I was so sad for him that he is obviously so proud of his daughter but he never gets to see her (as in, his ex-wife doesn't let him see her). I don't know, maybe there's a good reason for that, but I still felt bad for him.
Wednesday. Twins played at Emily Shapiro's house while I got ready for our "Laurels Birthday Party" activity that night. I spent an hour in the dollar store picking out party supplies. I know, how is that possible.
Tyce went to Scouts in the afternoon, we ate spaghetti for dinner outside in the backyard, and then I went to YW. I'd decorated the YW room with all the cool stuff I'd bought earlier. The party was super way fun. We played the "unwrap the candy bar wearing oven mitts" game, "Fruit Basket" and "Signs." Then I passed out the hats and blowers and we sang "Happy Birthday" to each other over cheesecake. Like I've said before, I have a great group of Laurels.
Thursday. Bryce and Tyce, Jim and Spencer are going to the basketball tournament today. Yes, they are all playing hooky. I wish I were playing hooky. (Bryce: "When a bishop asks me to do something, I've always been taught to say yes.")
I watched the three youngest Shapiro kids plus J.J. Marchant today and those little kids kicked my butt. Last time I had them all over it was easy as pie, but today there was a lot of whining and people being possessive (aka not sharing) stuff. I ran around the whole time referreeing. I should have had a whistle.
Rebecca S. said that Tyce made a 90 on his musicianship exam. Woo hoo!
I have to say a big thank you to Bryce's sister Betsie for teaching us about their home's structured study time. (And a big thank you to Bryce for implementing it at our house.) Before, we had the kids do their homework right after school amidst chaos, commotion, and neighbor kids constantly asking to play. I wanted the kids to "work before play" but the problem was that I couldn't monitor the big kids very well while chasing the little ones, making dinner, etc. Consequently, the big kids did a crummy job on their homework and never really got to play with friends. Now, we have our study hour (one hour for M., two for T.) at 7pm after the twins have gone to bed. The big kids have free time until 5:30, so they can play with friends or whatever. Then we eat, do our after-dinner chores, put the twins down, and do homework. The reason I am so happy is that everything is so much calmer these days, and Tyce's grades have improved quite a lot. (Most of his previous poor grades had been due to lack of organization--actually keeping track of what assignments were due when, etc.) Both kids sit at the table with one or both of us, and we're on hand to answer questions or check work. Bryce frequently does his own work right along with the kids.
But next week we're taking a break from normal life and going camping near San Clemente, CA for part of Spring Break!
P.S. Our sweet little niece Maya turned 2 on Sunday. What a cutie.
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