Get it Together

 Rocky had a performance at her school.  They had a Hawaiian artist in residence that taught them to hula.  It took me back to my BYU Hawaii days when I almost flunked my Hula class because I slept through the final.  In the end she let me take it and I passed okay.  I am not kidding when I say that I had studied my hips off in order to get through that class.  I loved it but Hula is no joke.
Rocky did just fine, probably because she inherited her skills from her old mom, not to mention this kicking sarong.  I think she excelled because she took it so seriously.  The other kids were picking their noses and giggling and stuff, by my little Lilo had her game face on the whole time.  I finally got to meet Arlo, Ayla, Kaleia, Leila and Jaxon.  I also found out that there is a kid in Rocky's class named Marley McNutt which immediately turned both Brandon and me into second graders who can't stop giggling.  Rocky told me that we shouldn't laugh because Marley is a "really nice girl."  This just goes to show that my kindergartener is more mature than her parents. 

I didn't get a photo but both Rocky and Daisy have caught the Olympic bug.  Between the three of us we invented a new sport, competitive ice dancing cleaning.  You lose points for just standing around but can score major bonuses for artistic dance-cleaning moves.  As you can see we had to just pretend that there was ice, but in case you were wondering, the cleaning part was legit, and also coincidentally, my idea.

 Rocky was surprised to find that her hand had completely disappeared which doesn't cause a deduction in points, but makes the cleaning stunts a little more challenging.

I have noticed that there are about a million pictures of Rosy in her high chair.  I am convinced that it is because the only time she will sit still is when she is strapped in.  Otherwise the pictures just look like the back of her head as she runs away.

 Brandon made specialty pancakes for Valentine's Day.  No wonder he has these girls wrapped around his finger.  Not only did he make them heart and flower shaped but he served them with pink syrup made out of fresh strawberries.

 Sometimes I feel bad for the boys that fall for these girls because they are going to have a lot to live up to. 

 That night Rocky and Daisy paid him back by setting our house up like their restaurant.  The dish of the night at Chef Coozine was spaghetti and meatballs and barf juice.  (Otherwise known as fruit punch but once Daisy drank it an then barfed and so it was thus named.  I know, gross.)
For one night Rocky let us turn off her Pandora station so we could listen to Italian music.  (She switches between Bruno Mars and One Direction, much to the disdain of her dad.  Her favorite song is "Treasure" and if she is awake she thinks that Pandora needs to be playing.  Daisy is a little more picky about her music.  The other day on the way to school Katy Perry's Roar came on the radio and she said, "Rocky really likes this song but I think it is crappy."  In that moment I wished that the whole world could hear her little voice say the word crappy.  And speaking of her little voice that reminds me of the thing that makes my girls laugh harder than I even thought possible.  Rocky will try to get Daisy to say the word, octubre (October in Spanish).  Daisy can't say it right and kind of sounds like she is doing an impression of Dracula.  Octoblegh.  Rocky will tell her how to say it right and then Daisy will say it wrong and they will laugh hysterically, then Rocky will say it again and Daisy will say it wrong again and they will laugh again.  It has kind of become a regular part of our daily routine.)

 My favorite part of the night was Daisy's centerpiece.  She put a lot of thought into the arrangement.  She also still insists that the pink animal is not a pig, but a dog. 

 And here is Rosy again, in her seat.  (Since we were eating in a fancy restaurant everybody kept their shirts on.) 

This photo lives to prove how Rosy really earned her new nickname, Marley McNutt. 
Nobody believes me because when we walk out the door she becomes this miniature doll that sits stone-faced observing the room.  But, within these walls, she becomes a wild animal. 

The Baby Dragon and her keepers

 The other day they were doing this car-seat check at the fire station.  I didn't really think it was important, but I figured that it couldn't hurt if we went.  When we pulled up the police officer that was assigned to us looked in the van and saw three darling girls, happily and safely tucked into their seats.  The van was even newly cleaned thanks to the fact that a few days earlier I had shuttled a bunch of friends to a party so had spent a good deal of time vacuuming up cheerios and smashed fruit snacks off the seats.    Just like this picture, things looked like they were under control.

Don't Believe What You See

 The guy was a little surprised and asked, "Did you need some help with something?"  I explained that I just wanted to make sure that my kids were safe.  Then he took a second look and actually started moving the seats around.  Rosy's seat wasn't even secured safely, and she could wiggle out of the arm straps.  At that moment I could see the understanding come into his eyes and he realized that even though at that moment we looked like we were under control the truth was the exact opposite.  All three girls needed adjustments on their seats and Daisy's had expired in 2011. 
When did I completely lose it as a mother?
By the end their were two firemen, a cop and the supervisor of the program crawling around in the back seat of the van trying to fix things up.  Of course once they were unstrapped all three of the girls were jumping around in the front seats, Rosy was pushing all the buttons and the windows were going up and down and they were all trying to talk to me at the same time. 
It was total chaos.
When I pulled out the scene in the back of the van looked much like it did when we had arrived but this time the girls were legitimately safe.  I wanted to feel embarrassed but I really just felt relieved and I laughed the whole way home.  I never thought I would be that lady but it happened.  Maybe I will have it together again one day when my kids aren't so small but then again, maybe I never had it together in the first place.  At least now I have three little someones to blame it on.

Rosy said her first word.  Bush baby.  Jill gave her this stuffed animal for Christmas and now it has forever cemented its place in Rigby history.

A Day for Normal School

 I know that it is not yet Valentine's Day but I just couldn't resist sharing this drawing that Rocky made.  Since she knows her deadbeat boyfriend probably won't actually give her a Valentine, she drew a picture of him doing it, and gave it to herself.  If you don't know who he is, you don't read my blog enough.

According to the Buena Vista policy Valentine's Day is going to be a dud.  As a parent I think their policy is great. 
Basically their plan is to minimize:
*lost instructional time
*the commercial nature of gift giving and spending lots of money (They would prefer all the money that was ever raised by the parents go to the monthly fundraisers...I made that part up but I'm sure it is true.)
*the romantic nature of the holiday and to avoid awkward and inappropriate advances among the children
*negative feelings of comparisons if some children didn't get as many cards as the others
 *Unhealthy eating habits...candy

In short, they want to make sure that no fun is had.

I think they are probably right about all of this, but part of me thinks that wrenching feeling of heartache and rejection on February 14 is one of those character building things that makes children grow up to be decent adults. 
I'm glad for the crackdown on candy, but sometimes I just want to transport my girls back to my childhood when it was 100% legit to rain candy on school children.  Especially Daisy.  Oh how Daisy would love the decorated shoe boxes full of cards and so, so many treats.
And speaking of treats, Daisy wouldn't take a nap today until I promised her that I wouldn't let Rocky eat the conversation hearts she got from her Oma.  I just turned around and found Rosy standing on the table with like 15 of them in her mouth.  Don't tell. 

Disclaimer:  This picture came from a few nights ago so there are no conversation hearts actually in her mouth.  You will just have to believe me.  Oh and it was probably more like 3 hearts, instead of 15 but she has a little mouth and like Daisy said just the other day when begging for another Snickerdoodle, "Three is not a lot."


So since they don't do Valentines at school Rocky was assigned to make a "Friendship card" for 5 kids in her class.  It isn't clear what the difference is but it is clear that no candy will be involved. 
I looked at her list and this is it.

Layla
Kaleia
Ayla
Arlo
Jaxon

I won't say anything else because I know there is another mother confused at why her kid seems convinced that the "Rocky" on his list is a girl.

A Little Bit of Art to Start Your Day

Cyclops and Storm

 I have been collecting Rocky's artwork for a while and I wanted to share a few of our favorites.

Self Portrait

 At school they made little story books.  Rocky drew herself having a nightmare about zombies.  She said it wasn't too scary but scary enough that she had to wave her arms around.  I am expecting a call from the school psychologist any day. 

She was working on this picture for a long time and I asked her about it.  She said, "I think it is Barack Obama, but it is weird because he doesn't have a shirt."  Then she figured out a way to turn his pecs into suspenders and it all made sense.  I'm not sure what the rays coming from his shoulders are.  It is probably one of those artistic things that can be interpreted based on your political leanings. 
I have no idea how she learned to make eyes like that. 

The Banana Princess

These last two are Daisy's.  She has been drawing a lot of "sneaker monsters" lately.  If you haven't heard of sneaker monsters it is because she made them up and for no explained reason they are the only monsters that her sensitive little soul isn't afraid of.  They have made appearances in all of the Valentines that she has created so far.

They seem to be friendly, despite the fact that they will sneak up on you when you least expect it.

Snowed In

 It snowed and we had a blast.  Rosy was utterly amazed.

 I used my child to surreptitiously photograph these two international students.  Bless their hearts, they were trying to wash their car in the middle of a snowstorm.  I don't know why they thought that pouring water over the top would help but it basically turned their ride into a Popsicle.  I asked if I could help, of course, before making fun of them, but they smiled and waved me off.  The maintenance guy later helped out by using a leaf blower to remove the snow, but it didn't seem to put a dent in the layers of ice that they had carefully created.  I remember using that bucket of water technique when I was a kid and we wanted to make super strong snow forts.  The last I checked, they had moved their car so at some point it must have thawed enough to open the doors. 

 At first it looked like it was just going to be a layer of powdery fluff, but Rocky went outside to check and came in amazed saying, "The snowflakes are about as big as a baby clam." 
I'm not really sure how big baby clams are, or why they were on her mind, but I can't help but wonder if she has a future in the weather industry. 

 Daisy for her part was just as happy as a baby clam tromping around with her pink hat, pink coat, pink scarf and pink cheeks.

 Since the roads were basically impossible we hunkered down in our cozy little place for a movie night.  There were no complaints at all.

 The ice was gorgeous, and dangerous enough to cancel church.  I giddily danced around Sunday morning while Brandon tried to make the most of the day by doing some indexing.  Even for a rat like me who tries to get out of church for any excuse, I found myself really missing it.  Good thing there is always next week.

The folks around Eugene that are the most put-out by the wild weather are the runners.  A friend of mine went to the Rec. Center on campus and he said that the treadmills that are usually filled with girls reading magazines while they walk were all taken by elite runners doing 20 repetitions of 5 minute miles.  Don't worry though, as soon as the black of the road could be seen the runners of track town were back outside.  As for me, I'm still feeling pretty happy with the idea of holing up with a big bowl of popcorn and watching other people do athletic winter things.  The snow is almost gone and the kids went back to school today, and I can feel it in my bones that tomorrow it is back to real life.  But at least for the next week or so it is real life with the Olympics.

Do It Up for 15!

 Most people have heard my lamentations about attending the Spanish branch for church.  I have no qualms about the people or some of the dramatics because they seem to add spice to Sundays, but the thing that I will never get over is that for the past 6 years we have an unbroken stream of afternoon meetings.  I am a morning church kind of girl. 
But, every now and then comes along a bonus that is so special that it wipes away most (but not all) of my soreness about missing out on Sunday afternoon naps. 
Emi's quincenera was one of those bonus nights.
Of course my girls had to have up-dos and fancy dresses for the party.  We ate, we clapped along with the Mariachis and we danced. 

 Judging by the number of photos I found on my camera of this fruit bouquet I can only assume that Rocky was a fan.