Flushed

After a track practice or meet, Jarin, Shayla, Brendon or Alysia will be flushed from the exertion, but the best kind of 'flushed' these days is that related to the commode. Yes, Elloryn is officially one of the potty-sitters in our home!! Hurray for no more diapers! Can I say that again, HURRAY!! At first it was a challenge for all of us to get trained with Elloryn, but she has us all marching in a row now and we can help to keep her dry and clean with a huge group effort. I don't know of many 2 year olds with such a large potty-patrol cheering squad. No wonder the rest of the kids were 3 or older before they were done with diapers, they didn't have as many voices cheering like crazy.

Spring is here, along with the crazy weather. Sunny and clear one day, snowy and cold the next, but I do believe the snowy days are gone for the season. It is time to plant our garden! Trying to find heirloom seeds in stores is ridiculous. No one can tell me which ones are or aren't, and the packaging doesn't help. I guess I have been too complacent about what to do for seeds, 'cause the stores always have what we want. Well, this year I have decided it is best not to rely on the stores to carry what I will need. I may have to get them online...Plant a garden and eat great food all season long!

Other Recent Notables:

Shave and a Hair cut...Brendon gave himself his first shave last month. He was tired of this furry little creature resting just above his lip, so he asked for the razor, used the shaving cream, and 1-2-3, it was gone! Now about that haircut...he doesn't want me to touch it. We shall see. Jarin seems to think he likes long side burns and locks, too.

Turning of the soil. Jase got out in the garden and turned the dirt, it looks ready for a bumper crop!

And the ribbon goes to...Alysia. She has been bringing home several 2nd place ribbons from recent track events. Her long legs help in long jump and relays. She also placed 2nd in shotput!

Scouting Goals

Both Brendon and Jarin are working hard on their scouting goals. Brendon has earned his Star Rank and is working on Life. With the cards Jarin holds in his hand (in such a corny manner for the camera's sake!) he has earned all the required number of merit badges to qualify for Eagle Scout. Now he is going to work on his project. It took awhile to get that narrowed down, or should I say nailed down, since there was a bit of hammering on my part to see that he made efforts in that direction! He will be overseeing and carrying out a total update of a neighborhood park (which he probably doesn't remember, but he played there often as a new Boisean!). Of course, as an almost 17 year old, he has a little more incentive now to get his Eagle Scout Award because our rule is that the boys need to earn their Eagle and our girls need to earn their Young Womanhood Recognition before they receive the privilege of obtaining their independent driver's license! I think Brendon will earn his a lot sooner than Jarin because he has seen that Mom is serious!

Birthday Girl is a Tweener!

On March 25th we celebrated Alysia's 12th birthday. She has been waiting so long for that day! Now it is a day of the past, a recent memory that I think and hope will last for a long time. Not because of any grand party, or elaborate gifts, but because of the sweetest gift Shayla could have given her, time.

Being that her birthday fell on Wednesday, she was able to enjoy a little of the "Tweener World" that very day. She had her last Activity Days (for girls 8-11yrs) activity AND her first Young Women's activity--and believe it or not, it was a combined activity with the boys!! How lucky can a young lady be on her first day of being 12???

Spring Break and a Birthday

The Frenches are not doing anything exicting for Spring Break this year. I (Carmen) am trying to get all our tax materials together so I can get it to our 'Tax Guy', but the day just seems to slip away! If I don't get it done this week, we may not get it done before April 15th, and last year June was just a little later than I wished to wait for our tax return! So, tomorrow....

Alysia is 12 years old this very day! She was pampered by Shayla (a huge surprise). Shayla did Alysia's hair all in ringlets and clips. It was so pretty all day long! A few weeks ago we were in the grocery store by the bakery and Alysia saw the wedding cake displays. She said, "that's the kind of cake I want for my birthday." Well, she didn't get a cake on pillars, but I baked a yummy one from scratch for her and decorated it pretty. Alysia got to go out with Mom and Dad all by herself to pick out her birthday presents. She wanted a pretty ring, so we found one within our budget, and a 'Bionicles' block-building creature to go with it. I have to laugh at the contradiction: all pretty and sparkly (the ring) and tomboy (the bionicles toy)! She is still young and I am grateful!