Abby's Concert with UVYSO

Thank Goodness

Today a software update popped up on my phone. How funny is the last point on this:

What's even better is watching my Aussie hubby, who really doesn't have an accent anymore, try to talk to Siri or use any of the voice recognition features. He'll be so glad!

Greece wasn't built in a day...

Okay I know the real saying is "Rome wasn't built in a day." However, either was the Parthenon. Holy Cow. McKay is learning about Greece & Greek Mythology. So the Parthenon was recreated. This project was started General Conference weekend {first weekend in Oct}; it was just completed on Wednesday. He watched a video on the restoration that is going on; found the dimensions, made it to scale and we started to glue & sand.

The project turned out really cool. I am so glad it's over, no more sugar all over my house!

McKay and his buddy Max

Construction EVERYWHERE!!!

We went on a day trip down to the arches today. I have so much to post tomorrow, but until then I had to share what we found on our hike to Delicate Arch:

Yes CONSTRUCTION on the trail!!! I had to laugh when two teenage boys, couldn't believe it either and screamed out "construction!? it's even here!".

Dear Mom

Mom,

On my way to Special Needs Mutual, I spotted this.

We laughed so hard; we had to turn around and take a picture.

They are covering the canal and everything is ripped up. As I constantly sit in construction, I am thinking of you and your nice, clean, non-construction roads. Oh, Utah.

Birthdays

We have just concluded with the last birthday party. McKay's party was delayed due to weather. He invited just a few friends up the canyon to enjoy a afternoon zip lining down Provo Canyon. The event turned out to be AWESOME! Four, long, fast zip lines through trees, over ravines and along the river. This is an amazing group of kids.

McKay turned the big 1 2 this year!!! He was lucky enough to be ordained on his birthday!! Gramie & Grandpa bought him his first suit for it. Lonnie & Julie were so kind and we got to try them on at their house. Doesn't he look handsome! Later that week he got to attend the priesthood session in Salt Lake and was invited to the dinner with the General YM presidency prior, and ice cream after.

Kimball's party was something I've wanted to do for a long time! We had Scales & Tales come and party with us. It was awesome. From pulling web silk from tarantula, a giant tortoise named Twinkle Toes. With whom Abby danced with. McKay caught the dangerous Rosie. An anaconda, to a giant snake named Nanners. This party rocked and to top it off, Sierra came and took pictures!! It was even her birthday! Yes Kimball and Sierra are birthday buddies! {I totally forgot to tell her happy birthday! So Sierra happy belated birthday!} With so many fabulous pix, I just randomly grabbed a few to share.

{first thing Kimball did was measure himself to everyone

to see if he was bigger...he was}

Oh Abby Ba Dabby is just like her mom when it comes to parties; the poor thing. Even though it was a "friend" party year, she just wanted to have a family party. It was so great! Of course the only thing she wanted for her birthday was a toy for her best friend Larry.

Ab's also got a Kindle. She has become such a reader! In fact just the other night I went in to check on her so I could go to bed, and she was still reading! I had to take her Kindle away for the night. I brushed my teeth, got my jammies on and went to check on her again, she had found another book in her closet! So i took her light bulb from her lamp. The next night I went to tell her to grab her bulb off the counter, but when I went in there she already had one in. I asked if she had already gotten it? "no" "did you get a new one?" "no" as she looked up. My eyes followed hers. She had taken a light bulb from her chandelier! It is a nice problem to have; but this girl needs to get some sleep!

Josies party was a whirl wind of fun, kids & food. To top it off, it was the cheapest party I've ever done, with the most kids. Josie was so excited to have her first "friend" party, that she had invited everyone in her class, along with all of the kids in the neighborhood. So we got creative. We had a cooking party. We decorated chef hats, made pizza & decorated cupcakes. {We also had planned to make cookie dough, but that so didn't happen}.

Craig was teaching at the Y that night. He was so sweet. He surprised me with a drink, not just any drink, but a route 44, DC, light ice and extra limes. oh heaven.

It wasn't just a big busy day for me, it was for the little princess as well. She fell right asleep with her new friend Maximus.

untill next year!!

Couldn't Be

Remember this:

Kimball's big crash? Well the story continues. Kimball got to attend his first Father and Sons Camp Out this weekend! {And he came back alive and without having to use his Epi!} On Monday after were loading in the car, after attending the Latin American Festival, Kimball looked at Craig and said, "Dad you totally scratched the car when we were camping" as he shook his head. Craig looked totally shocked, and I couldn't help but laugh. He totally has the "Who, stole the cookies from the cookie jar...Who me? Couldn't be?" down. I guess I should be glad that he can adapt what he's learning into life.?

Back...Yuck!

Back to school....I hate it. I know, you just did an audible gasp. Don't get me wrong when I was little I loved it. The smell of new crayons, the excitement of what hot, fall/winter outfit I'm going to wear even though it's a blazing 90 degrees outside. The way the school smelled when meeting my teacher. Sitting in my desk, with my very own chair. The way the classroom was decorated. I loved it all.

Now... on top of the 3 hours of practicing instruments I get to do without hardly playing a note myself, 2 1/2 hours of reading, and reading tutor runs, music lessons, kids jobs, my house hold "duties", and some "bonding fun time", all of which I love, we then add, homework, fall activities & sports, school schedules, homework, preschool and the list goes on forever, and only some of that do I love. I feel like a chicken running around with it's head cut off. Then only to have teachers tell you that there's a lot of work that needs to be done to get to grade level. Ugh! I should defiantly not have gone to Back to School Night. I want to crawl under the covers and not surface for a long time. I wish I could be one of those "hands off" mother's. At time's I look at them and find myself daydreaming about how wonderful that would be. Then I think of an episode of My Family when the school counselor tells Susan {the mother} to release her "super parent" and that.... "maybe you'd be wiser to adopt a more hands off approach...to ignore them." They get enrolled in a parenting class and she goes crazy trying to act as if she's "chill" with what they are doing or not doing.

I love having my kids home with me, knowing what's going on, being able to head to the dinosaur museum on a hot day, or spend the day making a reading tent and having a read-a-thon equipped with treats. Or sitting and drawing on the sidewalk, and making the worlds longest hopscotch. I am ready for a holiday and it's only a week into school. I want to call the schools and say we have a rare flu that is going to last until May. I know I'm a crazy mom. Most that I've spoken with have started the conversations this last week with, "Aren't you glad schools back?" I want to scream back "NO!! ...." My darling psychologist husband would say I'm a control freak, but he already knows that I know that. So yes the kids are back to school, and I'm going to enjoy the moments I do get with them, because there aren't enough. {and learn, never go to a back to school night or a parent teacher conference, again!}

{1st day of school 2011}

A First

Josie had her very first piano recital ever! And she did awesome! She played on a 9 foot Steinway Grand Piano, that had the small price tag of $138,000!!! Needless to say I was holding my breath the entire time! She has an amazing piano teacher, who totally gets Josie. She also got an award after for completing the YouTube 50 challenge. They had a sheet of 50 different videos they had to watch and answer questions. Some of the videos were pretty amazing. One of our favorite was this video from Japan. It's a commercial for a wooden phone. {only in Japan} The question she had to answer was "How do you think they were able to make the pieces of wood sound different pitches and go different tempos?

She also wanted to share the video of Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

A Promise Finally Met!

I promised the kids I would take them camping this summer. I have been reminded of this promise often. Finally, we did it! And a couple of weeks to spare. We traveled up the canyon without a reserved campsite, hoping we would find something available. When we arrived at the base of the canyon, we were met by a Ranger who said the campsite was full, but that we could try a more "primitive campsite". Oh my, taking Craig camping was tricky enough when I promised a bathroom and water, now the only thing available was a "primitive campsite". I couldn't go back on my word, and all the work of getting ready. So up we drove. As we got to the campground that was "full", we saw an adorable older couple who were the campground hosts. So we pulled up and asked by any chance if anything was available. YES! One single campsite was left. And what a campsite it was. The next day we asked one of them, when we need to schedule and what campsite was the best. He thought out of all 70 something sites, ours was the best! And I full heartily agree. It was awesome! So Jan. 1st we will be on the computer clicking away!

Yes, we brought the bike.

I don't know how we fit it in but it was a must!

He did it!

Mr. Can Do

Mornings at the Manning house start very early to my chagrin. I am most defiantly a night person. My children are all {with the large exception of Josie} EARLY risers. Like 5:30 a.m. risers!! I have found over the years that they {all except Josie} do better first thing in the morning. Well okay side note, and also a note for protection to whomever might enter this house at this insane hour, whatever time Abby wakes up give her a half an hour to sit. Don’t ask her if she’s hungry don’t tell her to straighten her room, unload the dishwasher, or even tell her you love her or give her a kiss good morning. Your life would be endangered. However after that she is very delightful and productive.

Last Friday morning as I laid in bed and thought it’s 6 o’clock and no one is up yet. Oh I jinxed myself. Next thing I know, McKay is pulling out his guitar. So up I get. Josie’s piano teacher came, and I’m still running around in my pj’s, and it’s 8:45. Practicing for two kids is done by this point and we’re half way through jobs, and another has just been dropped off for tutoring, ten min late. I sit down for JoJo’s lesson, and before I can take a breath Kimball is telling me something that is life and death for him. I quietly tell him, without hearing a word, to “talk to dad about it”. Next thing I know Craig comes to tell me he’s taking Kimball to work with him, he doesn’t really have a choice. I was beyond confused at this statement but trying not to interrupt the lesson, he said he’d call me a little later. Later never came so I called him and asked him what happened. Apparently Kimball’s life and death emergency was to tell me that it was time for HIS lesson. When I sent him to Craig, Kimball told him “Dad, I need to go to guitar lessons, I haven’t gone for a really long time, and it’s my turn. I have my guitar in the back of your jeep and we need to leave right now.” Craig had tried to kindly explain that he was on his way to work and that when he got back they would work something out. Kimball wouldn’t take no for an answer. He kept telling him he already placed his guitar in the jeep and it was now time for him to go to lessons. Craig had office work he needed to get done so he put Kimball on a computer next to him. Kimball spent a couple of hours playing PBS Kids, and having everyone bring him food. Not a lesson but heaven for a little boy.

Later on my sweet neighbor let Kimball borrow their “two wheeler” that has pedals. Kimball was so excited. He’s been cruising around last summer and this on his Kazam balancing bike, which he loves but was ready for more. Craig helped him drive it home. We were sitting on her grass in the shade and the next thing we heard was “BRAKES ON, BRAKES ON, BRAKES ON!” and screaming. Neither of us heard a crash or crying so I figured it was okay. Five minutes later Josie appeared on the deck, and said Kimball had had a crash. So up I got. When I got home everyone was shaken up except for Kimball. He was ready to get back out there. The story went like this: I just took him up to the stop sign {which is up a hill} and back and on the way home, he just kept picking up speed and I couldn’t catch up with him. He hit your car and went over the handlebars, the bikes fine but your car has some scratches on it. My anxiety hit. Is it bad? Yeah, a couple of pretty deep scratches.

And it does, bummer. But everyone was okay and the bike was fine. So we’re all good. I was worried that Kimball would be scared to get back on, so I loaded him, Josie, the bike, and the easy roller {yes the easy roller, Josie is still in her Peter Pan phase that will never end, and wont even ride her Groovy Girl bike with training wheels. Can you say Polar Opposites?!} into the car and headed to the park. I have never in my life met a more “can do” attitude. I am grateful, as long as it doesn’t kill me first.

Too Funny!

South African man wakes after 21 hours in morgue fridge

July 25th, 2011 @ 1:11pm

By Associated Press

By NASTASYA TAY
Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG (AP) - A South African man awoke to find himself in a morgue fridge _ nearly a day after his family thought he had died, a health official said Monday.

Health department spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said the man awoke Sunday afternoon, 21 hours after his family called in an undertaker who sent him to the morgue after an asthma attack.

Morgue owner Ayanda Maqolo said he sent his driver to collect the body shortly after the family reported the death. Maqolo said he thought the man was around 80 years old.

"When he got there, the driver examined the body, checked his pulse, looked for a heartbeat, but there was nothing," Maqolo told the Associated Press.

But a day after staff put the body into a locked refrigerated compartment, morgue workers heard someone shouting for help. They thought it was a ghost, the morgue owner said.

"I couldn't believe it!" Maqolo said. "I was also scared. But they are my employees and I had to show them I wasn't scared, so I called the police."

After police arrived, the group entered the morgue together.

"I was glad they had their firearms, in case something wanted to fight with us," Maqolo said.

He said the man was pale when they pulled him out.

"He asked, 'How did I get here?'" Maqolo said.

The health department said the man was then taken to a nearby hospital for observation and later discharged by doctors who deemed him stable.

Kupelo, the health department spokesman, urged South Africans to call on health officials to confirm that their relatives are really dead.

The man's family was informed that he was alive during a family meeting convened to make funeral arrangements. They're very happy to have him home, Maqolo said.

But Maqolo said he is still trying to recover from the traumatic experience.

"I couldn't sleep last night, I had nightmares," he said. "But today I'm much better."

(Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

i love how he's so brave he "called the police". then when they arrived "I was glad they had their firearms, in case something wanted to fight with us," because that's going to help with ghosts. and then he, the morgue guy "couldn't sleep last night, i had nightmares" what about that poor 80 year man. he probably couldn't sleep for fear he might get sent back! This was too funny, I had to share. i'm still laughing out loud.

My first sewing classes

My first sewing class was a couple of weeks ago on a Monday. I go with my friend Eliza Jones. The first thing i made was a pillowcase. I made it out of bird fabric. Next i made p.j. bottoms with flower fabric.

I also made p.j. clothes for my American girl doll.(bottoms-bird fabric)(top-yellow soft fabric.) I only did sewing for 2 weeks on Monday and Wednesday. But I'm excited to start back up in a few weeks.

My teacher is Ms. Vibeka. She doesn't do the work for us. She tells us what to do and how to do it, but we have to do it ourselves. She teaches us a lot, and I love her accent.

IT'S ALMOST HERE

26 DAYS OF SCHOOL LEFT!!!!

I CAN'T WAIT!

{Not that we're counting over here or anything}

Much Ado About Mormons

I found this video and loved it. After Craig and I participated in trek this year I felt a deeper love and understanding for my ancestors. To hear that a former President of the United States recognized this great spirit was awesome!

From my mother who's growing that extra arm she always wanted

date Mon, Apr 11, 2011 at 2:52 AM mailed-by hotmail.com

Hello,
You've probably heard there has been another big aftershock 7.1. We're all fine, it's a little closer than the others. I definitely felt it. I felt really dizzie and everything swayed pretty good.
Janna's here and we're having a wonderful time.
We love you all.
Mom

Another of Mom & Dads Elders

From Lds.org.au

Australian Missionary Safe after Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Elder Stephen Bardzinski with Mission President Baird and Sister Baird, in Nagoya, Japan

25 March 2011

WYNDHAM, Victoria - "He is where he needs to be," says Heather Bardzinski, mother of Mormon missionary, Elder Stephen Bardzinski, who serves in the Japan Nagoya mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"We were holding our breath until we heard word about Stephen after the Japan earthquake and tsunami. Within twenty-four hours the bishop of our ward (congregation) and the Japan mission office gave word to us that he was safe."

Stephen's fraternal twin brother, Ben, is serving a mission in Ecuador at the same time as Stephen. "They are being looked after," their mother said. "I wouldn't want to hold them back from being where they need to be."

Elder Bardzinski told his family by email that several of the missionaries from Tokoyo were now in his mission. He also mentioned that there were no transfers planned for the next three months.

After the experiences of fellow mission leaders regarding the Brisbane floods and the Christchurch earthquake, Japan mission authorities were well prepared to account for their own missionaries. This took place within hours. Parents were then notified that their children had been located and were being cared for. Many times the missionaries were put right to work in the trenches, rebuilding the area where they were previously teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This is Elder Bardzinski's third time to Nagoya. His first was through a scholarship he acquired through a school exchange programme. He loved the country so much that he worked and saved for the funds to sightsee for a month on a second trip.

"Later, when he opened his mission papers his face went white. He seemed shocked to realize that he would be able to live for two years in the same area in Japan that he had grown to love," his mother said.

Elder Bardzinski's friend from a neighbouring congregation in Hoppers Crossing, David Goddridge, is also serving his mission in Japan. He is safe in Kobe.

To read the Wyndham Weekly news report on Elder Bardzinski fulfilling his dream, click here.