Hair Raising!!!

Max has decided that a longer shag-style hair cut is what he wants. His most convincing argument to date is that it will keep his head warmer. So here is what I think-remember, I'm just the mom.

1. He hates to comb, brush, have gel in or style his hair.
2. It is currently in that awkward stage-not long enough for a real shag, but too long not to style.
3. I take my break in the morning from 7:45-8:00 to get him ready for school and everyday is a fight-just to eat breakfast, let alone fix hair.
4. I miss the little boy flat top look. He is after all, my baby and having a shag is making him look older.

He does look older and perhaps that makes me feel older?!? Not really sure but here is what we are working with!

THE DERBY!!!

Meet the "Derby Nazi"! Not sure who he is or where he came from but it was his track and he wasn't going to have it damaged in any way, shape or form. He took the first 15 minutes explaining he had several derby's booked and we should be very careful around it. Then made the boys raise their hands and swear they would obey the rules.


After his "dissertation", he gave the dad's and the boys one last time to graphite their wheels and then we were off to the races!


This is Bo, Max's best friend. Neither of them mind the fact that Bo is so much bigger than he is! They love to hang out!


Ready to Rock and Roll!


There was a little smack talking going back and forth. Christopher is a little bigger than Max, I thought this picture was pretty funny! Max wasn't that worried!


I love my new camera!!! I love the photo finish!



Most of Max's finishes were second place, but he did get a first place! After I took this picture, I showed it to Max. He said, "Oh yeah, that's a keeper!"




It's funny how no matter the age, the Pinewood Derby grabs the attention of every male!


I am truly grateful for the great relationship Alex and Troy have. They are best friends!



We made this a family event for Max and made Kaiti and Alex come. While Alex enjoyed the races, Kaiti socialized to pass the time! I love this picture of her, isn't she beautiful?!?



P.S. We won the award for the best detail! See, I knew the snake skin finish would be a hit!!!!

Meet "Snake Eyes"!

The Pinewood Derby is a rite of passage for most dad's-oops, I mean boys. This last Saturday was Max's first Pinewood Derby. Lot's of preparation took place prior to the big race. I have found from past experience that a women's touch is not necessarily wanted or welcomed when it comes to pinewood derby cars! This year was no exception. Most of the work had been done in the basement, where it's unfinished and cold. Troy was concerned about the paint drying. He had set up a heat lamp and some sort of portable heater so it could dry. Of course at 1 AM when I finish working, I notice that the lights are on down stairs and think to myself, what a waste of energy, not to mention a fire hazard! So I unplug, turn off the lights and go to bed. When Troy came home from work Friday afternoon to finish, he marched up the stairs plopped the car in front of me and Max without a word. I could sense his "concern" about something, but the car looked great to me. I did notice a scale-like finish. I thought it looked cool. Troy said it wasn't supposed to look like that. Knowing we had to weigh in any minute, I tried to make what Troy thought was lemons into lemonade! "Wow, Max! Your car looks like snake skin! That's awesome!"
I could see that the power of suggestion was working in my favor!
I continued, "Oooo, you could call it 'Snake Eyes'!" Yes, that would be his name! Snake Eyes! Max was thrilled, Troy was a little disappointed in the craftsmanship, which we all know is a total reflection of him. WHATEVER! As long as Max was happy I didn't care!


Weigh In's! More to come about the "Derby Track Nazi" later!


Okay, so I couldn't resist adding this picture. Max has his car wrapped up in cloth to protect it! He was so proud of his car! I have one of Troy just like this one but he wouldn't let me post it!!!!

UGGH! Jr. Jazz!!!

So I'm not really sure what it is about Jr. Jazz that bothers me so much, but I really struggle with it. Is it because they are only allowed one practice per week for 45 minutes and one game per week? Is it because there is no way kids can learn to play without adequate playing time? Or could it be the teens who referee the games are scared blow their whistle, or know what fouls to call? Or could it be the coach (not Troy) who wants to teach 8 year old kids a box and one defense that they can't possibly understand nor do they want to? Could it be that Jr. Jazz is a lot like church ball, flailing arms, scratching, the occasional bite? Could it be that perhaps I am waaay to competitive and need to take a chill pill?
Whatever it is, I wouldn't be anywhere else on a Saturday afternoon. I love to watch my kids in everything they do, even if it means holding it together for another Jr. Jazz game! Max is my last Jr. Jazz player. Kaiti begged me to let her play when she was in 1st grade, in fact she begged me to coach. I did, and she cried every week for 9 weeks. She hated it! I think she hated kids slapping and pushing her around-go figure! She loves church ball now! Hmmm, is there a connection? Maybe she's the pushy one now?!?
So here's a few pictures of my baby "prepping" for the game! He judges his performance based on his head sweat! If his head is super sweaty, it was a good game!

"STINK"

I have been thumbing through our pictures over the last couple of days looking for some fun pictures of Troy. Troy turns the BIG 4-0 in a couple months and I was trying to come up with some sort of tribute for him. I found this picture that we call, "Stink"-at least my kids and I do! Needless to say, I got a little side tracked! Anyway, perhaps this might give some insight to me and my family! Yes, that's my Dad, the "Viking Queen?", my mom the polygamist! How we ever got them to do this is beyond me! If your are looking for a fun idea for a family reunion you could try this! We exchanged names and whoever we got, we gave them an outfit to wear for the "Portrait". Max cried when he got his and refused to wear it! Everyone else was a pretty good sport! Some were not up to the challenge and didn't attend this reunion! Can you tell which one is me and which one is my sister? We are told we look a lot alike.
We are getting really excited for our next family reunion in July and I personally would love to see if we can top this one! Sometimes I think the teenagers think we are really weird. I know me and my sisters think we are dang funny-just ask us! See if you can find the "source" of the stink!
p.s.
The following picture was at our friend Natalie's 80's Remix 40th Birthday Bash! Someone asked me if that's what I really wore, really looked like! Yep, and that's exactly why I married Troy!

GIRL UN-INTERRUPTED!!!

Sadly, the only "personal time" I get is when I'm in the bathroom-and that is usually interrupted with shouts, cries and banging on the door. But tonight, aah!Tonight was uninterrupted! Tonight's schedule with the family was a little busy. Lucky for me, it was all on Troy. Alex had basketball from 5-6:30, Max had Jr Jazz practice from 6:30 to 7:15 then Troy took Max over to Open Gym (High School baseball tryouts) to watch Alex. Meanwhile, Kaiti was babysitting over at the Jackson's! A night all to myself! So guess what I did? I made dinner, yummy lasagna, made some applesauce cookies, ate a half dozen of those then played the piano. I love to play the piano. I just wish when my mom told me I would regret quitting I would have listened. I wish I could play better but I do enjoy playing the Primary Hymns. There is just something about those hymns that touches me like nothing else does. Sometimes, when I'm feeling like I'm "all that" I'll sing too. This is a luxury I don't get very often now days. Mostly because I can't play Second Hand Serenade, Coldplay or anything cool. For some reason I'm reminded of the "Gong Show"! Surely my kids would 'gong' me!
With that in mind, I just want to tell my sweet hubby how much I love him. He takes such good care of me and our kids. He knows our kids and he like spending time with them. I love that he would do anything for me. In fact, he goes above and beyond to provide for me and our kids. Giving me an evening to myself is truly a gift that is, as they say, "priceless"!

I dream of Maui!

Okay, not much of the above test is accurate about me! It was a little humorous though! Troy would tell you I like to get worked up, I like a good "cause". One thing is certain though, I do dream of Maui! It is my ideal warm place and having visited there last year, I can't wait to get back. We have a Mt. Olympus water jug at our house-it's our Maui money! Every time I find money in the laundry or just lying around the house, it goes in the Maui Money Bank. In fact our kid's friends have dropped a coin or two in! It has become quite popular. Not in terms of money, they just think we're nuts! We started our Maui Money saving in September and since Max is obsessed with money, Max and Troy and I took it out last week and counted it. We aren't quite there yet-to Maui I mean. Our fund is just over $109. But it will happen! At any rate, aren't your dying for flip flop weather about now? What kind of flip flop are you?

A Brakey Family Fun Day?!?!

Do you remember when your kids were little, and you struggled to get through a sacrament meeting without all heck breaking loose? Or maybe you are there now. Well, I remember those days and I remember thinking, "Is this really worth it?" I know it is, and it has been but yesterday I had that feeling again! Not in preparation for church, but for a family fun day! We had originally tried to fly out to Long Beach and go to Disneyland for the day, but the flights sold out. So we tried to think of something we could do as a family, besides movies-'cuz we've seen all the appropriate ones and not "Rock Band" as our family band, 'Brakey Da Sabbath' is on hiatus. But something we could do together. Troy and I thought ice skating sounded fun, but we knew we had Alex's basketball game. Then Kaiti TOLD us rather than ASKED, that she would be getting her nails done-another very long, dramatic story, worth telling when I'm a little less bitter! With all the chasing and trying to figure out where, when and how much it would cost, I was done! I wasn't enjoying this so called "family fun day" at all!
We did however get to the Kearns Olympic Oval and tried it out. We lasted about an hour. Worth the adventure but we should definitely be better prepared next time...perhaps a little adult help (Troy) would have been appreciated!!! At any rate, here are the pictures! I am very excited to share them. They have been taken with my fancy, new, expensive camera Troy bought me for Christmas. Still trying to learn how to use it but it's been fun!





I think the "Rink Patrol" was worried Max was being abused! He came over and kindly gave Max some tips on getting back up! It worked, he was much better after that!





Kaiti had no trouble with the skates, although, neither one of us are "winter sports fans"! And of course Alex had no problem with the skating. We timed him around the rink, without really trying, he did it in 1 minute 30 seconds. Clearly backwards wasn't a problem either! Both of them were great with Max!