I Love These Days...

Father's Day was a wonderful day.... I love it when everyone is counting their blessings and expressing love and appreciation.  Those are my favorite days.

I told the boys to give something from their hearts...so they each prepared something to share,  a card of some kind or some words to say and something, a skill, talent, anything that would make their Dad proud of them.

It turned out that 4 of the six boys played the piano.

Michael played Brahm's Lullabye.  Jacob played Rock Ballad, Joseph played the theme from James Bond, and Eric played Moonlight Sonata.   Eric chose Moonlight Sonata because he said he remembers that his Dad would often play that just after everyone had been tucked into bed.

Jonathan had a different talent to share.  He demonstrated his amazing trampoline skills.  Doing back flips, a gainer, a back flip/front flip combination.

And Scott?  He showed Dad his new latest skill!  A Somersault!  Wow was he excited when he figured out how to do that a couple of days ago.

I made a smile box slide show for Steve that I would love to post here but I just think it is too personal...so I won't.   But, let's just say I was one teary blubbery woman putting that together.  It made me just bubble over inside with gratitude for this great man I married and all that he does for us.

 Steve is an exceptional Dad.   He is so committed to each of our boys.  Whatever they are interested in he is right there supporting them.  Even when he is tired he gives 110% of himself to them.  I have seen him listen with his heart and counsel his boys.  He has given so much of his time and energy to math homework, last minute science projects, their sometimes quirky hobbies, sports, anything..you name it!  He is there.   He love these boys. Which just makes me feel all mushy inside and love him more..

He has been the one who has taught them all how to ride a bike (mostly).   He has never missed a scout camp...maybe one I think since Eric started to go about 6 years.  

    He is strong and steady...a strength and a comfort in my life and I love this man.

We Are Getting Ready for the Crowley Family Reunion...

If you want to watch this..be sure to hit the pause button on the playlist at the bottom of the page.

Free picture slideshow generated with Smilebox

Pops Concert-A Catch Up Post!

Pops Concert is the culminating event of the year for Vocal Ensemble, the audition Senior Choir at Hillcrest High school.  Anything goes in this concert.  The group does a few combined numbers at the beginning and end and in between the kids create and come up with the music they want to perform.  It can involve a slide show, any instruments they want, any number of people, choreography and even past alumni!

Eric sang "Kiss the Girl."  He did a great a job with flair!  As part of the song he had a couple of his friends (girl and boy who are going out together) sit away from each other on the stage and his job was to coax them together as he sang...the song culminating in a kiss. (yes the audience went wild..it was very cute)  The drama teacher had a crab costume for him to wear and a bunch of other costumes for about 10 others and the song got crazier and crazier as it went on... first out came the clown fish, then the mermaids, then jelly fish etc.  I hope you can get the picture.  It was very cute!

Plus, Eric was able to sing the solo to the popular Glee Club version of "Don't Stop Believin'" It was Great!  He also sang this when his group was on tour at Disneyland!  He has such a great voice and I was so proud of him....thrilled really!  I watched him with my mouth sort of hanging open, thinking "is that really my son up there, dancing like a pro, singing so well...looking so darn cute?"  It was one of those really good nights for a Mom....me.  It felt great. We are so proud of Eric and all that he has accomplished.  Here is the picture and little bio. written up about him that was in the program for this Pops Concert.

Eric Knudsen is excited to perform in this year's Pops Concert.  He has performed the past three years in Hillcrest's musicals including, Beauty and the Beast, Seussical the Musical, and Curtains.  He has also sung with Hillcrest Concert Choir for three years and Vocal Ensemble as a Senior.  Lettering in music, he is an accomplished pianist and an award winning soloist.  In his spare time, Eric enjoys studying history, hiking backpacking and playing basketball.  After graduation, Eric will attend BYU Idaho before serving an LDS mission in 2011.  Most will remember Eric as the nice guy who found himself tickling the ivories at every opportunity. Eric would like to thank Dr. Bentley and Mrs. Dalglesih for their excellent instruction and personal encouragement, helping magnify his love of music that he will always cherish.  

Sadly I didn't get very many good pictures of the Pops Concert!  There was no flash photography allowed and I don't have one of those fancy cameras yet.  So here are just a few clunky pictures I managed to snap after the show was over...

Eric had a great time talking to people after.

This is the Vocal Ensemble "Mom" Robyn London.  She did such a great job helping in almost every way to make this year in Vocal Ensemble run smoothly.  Everyone loves her and as you can see, she loves these kids.

Eric's buddy and neighbor (lives two doors down from us)  No one will forget Cory's very fun, classy rendition of the song "L is for the way you look at me.... O is for the only thing I see" I just loved it!  He did a great job.  Plus he also did another number dressed as Hercules.  He was so cute and entertaining.  I loved it!

Spring Re-cap

So to sum up Spring...here is what I want to put away in my heart and remember about Spring of 2010...


I love our neighborhood friends.. love it that everyone comes out of their houses to play..and there is often a nearly constant stream of little friends and therefore my happy children ..outside playing..NOT sitting in front of a video game or a computer screen..so much happier.  oh look....that was a snack that they got themselves...how nice to eat off the doormat.  I guess I am not very concerned about dirt....  ewww....

I love Spring  flowers....

I want to remember the myriad of bikes and other riding toys littering the Knudsen and Wilhite lawns and how this means that these kids love hanging out together.

I will remember the big boys project of putting the trampoline together (like a giant puzzle)  after being put away for the winter with Dad.

I want to remember Jonathan's amazing creativity.   He and a friend  used  aluminum foil, a camping sleeping pad and some black spray paint and made this just for fun.      

He looks so thrilled that I am taking his picture....Well, thank you dude.  

also want to remember how hard Jonathan worked in school this spring.  He wasn't just a good student, he was a serious student...really engaged in learning.  First he designed  a hover craft for a class at school.  He worked so hard and through trial and error and several different designs and motors, he got it to hover just right using a remote control and earned a lot of extra credit.

-next he worked hard and won 2nd place in the Physics Day contest at Lagoon.   

I think we might have an engineer in the making here.... hmmm. 

I will remember Joseph's hard work and enthusiasm as he started his jobs for the summer...

Mowing three lawns and working at McDonalds. This boy is going to be richer than he has ever been before.

I want to always remember this cute boy and all the cute things he says and does....

.....such as "I yuv you too Mommy" when I drop him off at his little preschool class.

Whenever I scold Scotty real good he usually bursts into tears, stretches out his arms and says in a most defeated, pleading tone,  "I yuv you Mommy." How can I be mad at that?  My response is to pick him up and hug him.  This little guy is either a natural charmer (manipulator) or is hopelessly in love with his Mom and can't stand the thought of making her upset.  Hmmmm...  seems very sincere.  Which makes him absolutely precious.

Scott's prayers...

"bless Jesus to come and bless the food, and bless Mom, Da, Ereh, Jo, Jon, Mike, Japoh. And I can ride a firetwuck, and go to the zoo, and  go to class" and go to granmas and paw paws, and play Mare Mare (Mary). "

I guess I want to remember the fact that it snowed all the way up to May 23.  Yes, we had a blizzard on May 23rd.  

I want to remember how Scotty does everything he can to be outdoors as much as possible

Jacob also wants to be outdoors as much as possible. I want to remember how I sometimes only see him for a few seconds as he passes through the house onto the next activity with a friend.

I also want to remember this boy's passion for climbing, and working out  his big muscles in as many ways as possible--doing pushups (-with a clap-!) lots of situps, pullups and more.  

He also has a passion for kicking, throwing and catching any ball he can get his hands on.

I want to remember how strong Eric is in the face of challenge.  How he never gives up and how he can tell a joke and laugh even when things are stressful.  What a gift!

.......and how funny it has been watching him suffer from Senior -itus.. so done.. with highschool and looking forward to moving on.

I want to remember how much I love hanging out with Michael..take him with me to the store and just chatting. I want to remember how much Michael loves to talk ...to.me. wow. We just love to talk about this and that and everything and I really love this boy.



How fun it is to celebrate a birthday each month during spring... what fun times these are for our whole family and especially the birthday boy.

Joseph's 16th birthday in March!!

Jacob's 9th birthday in April

Michael's birthday in May

Whew!  That is a lot of birthdays. But, I really enjoyed them!

General Conference and the pure light we felt as we listened to our inspired leaders and their messages ..drawing closer to our Savior as a family.  It is like water.....to a thirsty soul..... absolutely fills me up and strengthens me to carry on ..... what a blessing!!!

We watch this mostly at home in the comfort of our living room, cuddled up together on the couch with blankets and notebooks...(after much cajoling and bribing of the children..)

Fun family home evenings and everyone participating...our P.R.O. minutes (Please Remember Order!) Scripture sharing, Trying to Be Like Jesus stories and lessons the boys shared.

I want to remember the exhilaration my boys feel when they re-learn how to do backflips on the trampoline after the long winter break from trampoline.  

I want to remember the laughter I hear from the back yard as my kids and a couple of their friends jump together on the trampoline.

Trampoline + Great friends = Hours of Fun!!!

Avatar! what a fun movie

This most splendid visit.... with my parents... watching a crazy movie on Sunday night and laughing our heads off together. We watched "Its a Mad, Mad World."  That is such a funny movie.  But, the best part of all was being together with these beautiful people.  Talking with these most precious people in my life... receivng counsel and comfort.... it was like water to a parched thirsty soul..and  makes all the difference in the world to me.

 I want to remember that Michael finished Cub Scouts...boo hoo.  This is a picture of his last pack meeting.  He was awarded this shadow box of all the badges, pins, etc he earned while in cub scouts.  And NO my son's eyes aren't normally crossed like that.  He is just being silly..

Ahh..that's my boy...

Traditional "goodbye" bridge for Michael as he moves from cub scouts to Blazer Scouts..note his new Blazer Scouts leader there at the end.  

Ahh..he made it.  Welcome to Boy Scouts Michael!

And I definitely want to remember this...Michael's first camp out as a Boy Scout!  And of course his wonderful Dad went with him.  They went to Camp Floyd and pretended to be Civil War Soldiers all day Saturday..shooting muskets, and all kinds of cool stuff. He had a great time.  

I

I want to remember seeing my non-readers curled up in corners reading yes reading! and the joy this brings to my heart to see these children reading.... and really enjoying it...and doing it on their own without my nagging...no pictures for this one....didn't want to spoil it.... but I will get one some time!

Need to remember celebrating Easter.... our way..

We celebrate Easter with our traditional "Feast of the Passover" ..sort of re-enacting the Last Supper.  We have been doing this for years.  The boys love it.  Sometimes we have dressed up as people from Jerusalem.  We have unleavened bread, gyro sandwich meat (lamb) cubes of cheese, grapes, other finger foods and grape juice.  We read about the last week of Jesus' life and particularly the events of the last supper, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Betrayal, the crucifixion and resurrection--the Easter Story.  We follow that up by watching an Easter movie classic like one of the films the church has produced like the Lamb of God, or a good movie like Ben Hur, The Robe, Spartacus, or Ben Hur....We love this tradition.  I love Easter with all my heart and all that it means to me and my family.  

I want to remember watching these two boys perform in two wonderful Concert Choir Concerts.  Made me cry..the music was so beautiful.  So proud and grateful that these two can be involved in such good things together.  

I want to remember sending Joseph and Eric off on tour with the Hillcrest Performing Arts Department.  They performed at Disneyland, on an aircraft carrier in San Diego, in a church for Easter.  They had a wonderful time.  This is me and my last minute worrying ....I am never comfortable sending my kids off ....even though I am excited for them!!

Whenever we hear the song "Don't Stop Believin'" we will always remember that Spring '10 included hearing this  song sung and played on the piano every day atleast half a dozen times because Eric performed this at Disneyland while on tour.  We loved it!!!!!  So fun!

Not the greatest picture..but believe me he and Kendra did an amazing job singing the Glee version "Don't Stop Believin!"  It made me want to shout!  It was so much fun.

Must remember this baby boy who's favorite place to sleep is between his parents almost every night.

And this boy's piano recital...

  Michael is a musician!  He can transpose songs to a different key and create his own arrangements.  He especially loves playing Jazz and the Blues. I love to hear him practice!  He is so good...has talent...and we are enjoying watching him progress.

Maybe in Jr High Michael will begin playing in the Jazz band and other things.  I hope so.  I think he would really enjoy it.   He really knows how to make music His.  Way to go Michael.  

Let's not forget the Homework and the homework and the homework that goes on and on and on....

and this little boy who is sure he is missing out on something...and wants to do homework too.....

(oops maybe the dog "little brother" really did eat their homework) 

Will remember beginning  my new assignment to work with the Bear Cub Scouts.  At the first pack meeting, I was initiated ..more like "hazed" into my new responsibility.  They thought it would be funny to make me eat this ice cream sandwich while laying on the floor without any help from my hands....oh my....talk about cruel and unusual punishment!

Boy, if you are still reading this...I am sorry!  Whew that was long!