Easy like Sunday morning

Every Sunday, besides spending three hours at church, we have dinner at my parents' house. It's pretty much been our tradition since Ryan was a baby. And, who wouldn't want a good home-cooked meal with people who are guaranteed to make me and the kids laugh till our stomachs ache?

We also sit around and talk, and either watch a movie (we got the kids to watch some 80's classics that they find hilarious) or funny YouTube videos. There's always something going on. This Sunday, Jeff decided it was the perfect day to do some Pokemon puzzles.

The first of four puzzles that we finished

My parents recently came back from a trip home to Hawaii, and brought back a lot of things that had been in storage there. The puzzles were among them, which caught Jeff's attention because, well: Pokemon. Don't really need to explain it, right?

So, we sat among the chaos and worked on the puzzles while Jeff told me jokes he'd made up, or I'd answer any random questions that he liked to throw out at me ("What would you do if there was a zombie apocalypse, Mom?"). He totally makes me smile (when he isn't driving me crazy!), and I love spending time with him (which is a good thing, considering we homeschool, ha!).

Vanessa and Her Piano

Sounds like a title from a book, doesn't it>

Anyway, Vanessa had her quarterly Piano Party (it's what her teacher calls their recitals in order to make the students less apprehensive about playing in front of their families and friends) last night. I would tell you all about it and post pictures, but unfortunately, I didn't attend. With the situation with my arm as it is, there was no way I'd be able to sit for an hour, smiling through my pain.

And, Scott forgot to take pictures. Boo!

Vanessa didn't seem nervous, which was different. In the past, she's gotten really anxious and worried before; in fact, we missed her very first Piano Party because she freaked out at the thought of playing in front of people. She's come a long way since.

However, she's become a bit lax with her practice. She's gotten sucked into the Animal Jam world (online game for kids) lately, and it seems like everything revolves around that. She'll rush through practicing her songs just to get to the computer, and if I'm not feeling well, she'll take full advantage of that by not bothering to remind me to remind her. Sometimes, she hasn't practiced all week and you can tell when she goes to her lessons because she blanks out on the songs that she's played so well in the past.

It makes me sad. She's really good at playing, and when she does get in a good amount of practice, she's almost flawless (for her level). I'm always telling her that this is one of her talents (I truly believe it is by the way she's progressed so fast), but her blank stare tells me she doesn't believe me.

I'm a bit torn because I want her to excel at this, but at the same time, I don't want to push her and turn int into something she hates. When I ask, she tells me she loves piano, but I think it's the practicing that she's not too fond of. She probably thinks it cuts in too much of her Animal Jam time on the computer, lol.

She has another Piano Party coming up in a few months, and for that one, her teacher would like her to pick an accompaniment song to play with a family member. She hasn't even thought of a song yet and her selection is due this Wednesday. And, since I'll be the one to probably end up playing with her, I'll need all the practice I can get, so I hope she'll pick something soon.

Although, knowing Vanessa, she'll probably pick something on Wednesday morning, ha!

What happens after church...

I really couldn't help myself, they're too cute!

His face says it all, doesn't it? ;-)

"What is wrong with you, lady?!"

My poor dogs, lol!

Lax is life!

Spring season lacrosse has started, but it's a bit different this time around. For one thing, lacrosse is officially a spring sport, so Fall Ball technically didn't count (although Ryan will say ALL lacrosse counts!). For another, although 9th graders around here still attend the middle school, they're still considered high school, so Ryan is officially a JV player for the high school.

Their first game was today, against Bingham. Scott and I were a little late to the game (had to pick him up early from work), and so we missed the tip-off (is that what it's called? You would think after three years of this I would now, but, I don't, ha!). Ryan later told me that his coach made him one of the team captains, and so he participated in the coin toss.

And since Ryan is one of my more active/athletic kids (Jeff starts soccer next month), be prepared to be flooded by lacrosse action shots that will probably start to look the same after awhile.

It was a good first game, but they lost 3-7. No worries, there's another game tomorrow.

Scoping out the action

Deciding to get in on the action

Run, Ryan, Run!

Jump! Jump!

He played hard and felt pretty good about the game afterwards, which is an improvement. In the past, he'd get pretty moody after a loss, but I think he's learning to be more sportsmanlike. We'll see if his mood keeps up after tomorrow's game.