Homecoming 2012

September

Derek asked Allyn to the Homecoming dance by taking a little note and wrapping it up into a HUGE ball of plastic wrap.  He used an industrial plastic wrap from the local potato warehouse so his package ended up being about 7x12 in size....all plastic wrap with an occasional candy bar and note of encouragement to keep unwrapping and the final invite to the dance wadded up in the center.  He had the office at the school deliver it to her and after lunch he saw the leftover remnants of plastic cluttering the hallway near her locker.

Allyn response added a new level of crazy to Derek's plastic wrap proposal.  A box was left on our front porch for Derek.  Inside were six more boxes all wrapped with an insane amount of packing tape (good thing he always has a pocket knife with him) and the final box also had a bundle of plastic wrap similar to the one he had delivered to her.

Once he finally got to the center of the plastic wrap there were three wrapped gift boxes.  He started with the first one which had two smaller boxes and an envelope inside with only gum.  The second box had the same treasures in it and the third box held the answer.  Well, an answer of sorts.  He had to actually track her down at the school to get his yes answer.

The boys in the group planned a fun activity date with the girls but were at a loss when it came to choosing a place to eat out.  They wanted to do something fancy but were very cautious of the cost as well realizing that gas money, tuxedo rentals, flowers and dinner were adding up pretty fast.  After waiting a few days for them to come up with their own ideas I volunteered my kitchen.  I couldn't help myself.  After spending the summer planning party after party and ending on a high with Erika's backyard reception and Kate's baby shower I was having serious withdrawals and needed to plan a party, even if it was just the food.  The boys were very excited and grateful.

The boys didn't want to plan the menu but had one request.  Emma is lactose intolerant and could be extremely sick from the food so I needed to plan something specifically for her.  I didn't want her to feel odd about the dinner so I took the extra challenge to make it so that she could eat the entire meal but it would still be palatable for everyone.  It was so worth it to have all the kids enjoy the meal and to hear that Emma was so excited to eat all of the food without worrying about being sick for the rest of the night or the day following.

After spending a few hours at the Riot Zone doing miniature golf and bumper cars they made their way back to our house for dinner.  LeRoy and I took the other boys out while the teens took over the kitchen and game room.  Then Derek delivered everyone to their homes to dress up for the formal part of the date.

Once they were all dressed up they went to the college to have pictures taken by Austin's brother.  He was great to offer is free which saved them the extra $15 cost at the school for one pose.  And he got some fun shots of them.

By the time they were done with pictures it was already 10:30 and they didn't want to pay the $20 fee at the door to dance so they went to the park instead.  They used an iPod and some portable speakers to create their own dance.  Six kids in formal wear dancing in the park drew a crowd and they had college students take a few pictures of them using Derek's iPod.

Hearing them talk about the date later I realized that they probably had more fun at the park and going to Maverik in their formal wear than they would have had among all their peers at the dance.  They had no regrets about their decision, only great fun memories.

Derek & Allyn ~ Michael and Emma ~ Austin and Sierra

Conference Feasting

October 2012

Conference is a tricky event at our house.  I love it.  I can stay awake, take notes and enjoy all 8 hours if I'm completely by myself.  However, this household doesn't sit still for long without falling asleep or busting into silliness so I tried to come up with something that could keep their interest and motivate them to stay for the majority of the talks.  With a house full of boys the answer seemed to be obvious.  FOOD.  Lots of food.  Once Bret and Erika learned what was going on they stayed for the entire weekend.

Each of the four sessions had new munchies to go with it.  The long table was set up downstairs and was divided in half.

On one side there were foods that could be eaten any time and were replenished as necessary.

Nathan and Hyrum were shocked that I let them eat downstairs.  Their favorite was the canned cheese.

Sunday morning was the overall favorite (and was gobbled so fast that I didn't even have time for a picture).  I made Popeye Pancakes (German Pancakes) in muffin tins so that they created little bowls which were then filled with fresh strawberries and topped with whipped cream.  To balance it out we also had breakfast burritos loaded with eggs, sausage, potatoes, cheese and peppers.  A variety of juices and milks completed our conference breakfast.

The other side of the table was filled with treats labeled with apostle pictures.

The guideline was that those who listened to (and, for those able, took notes) would divide the treat with that apostle's picture on it, AFTER the talk.  I explained how it would work and everyone was excited.  It was funny to hear them say, "I can't wait until Elder Oaks speaks!!"  They really wanted those Skittles.

During the first apostle talk Hyrum kept jumping around the room, trying to get the others to talk to him and ignoring the packet of color pages, dot-to-dots, hidden picture pages and puzzles that I had provided to hopefully keep his interest for at least a few minutes.  I kept trying to get him to sit down with me, reminding him of the treat that would come if he would sit and listen for a few minutes.

After the talk was over Derek opened the treat and divided it among those who had listened/taken notes.  Hyrum didn't get one.  Through his tears I pulled him onto my lap and reminded him of the choices he had and that the good consequence for those who had listened was to have the treat and the consequence for those who had not listened was that they didn't get a treat.  As the next talk started I reminded him that he would be able to have the next treat if he would be listen for just a few minutes and invited him to snuggle with me and we could listen together.  After the talk was over he looked up at me with wishful eyes and asked "do I get a treat this time?".  I reviewed with him his behaviour during the first talk and compared it to his behaviour during the second talk and said, yes, he had earned the treat.  With a proud yet humble attitude he hugged me and said "I did repentance, huh, mommy."  He didn't miss out on a treat throughout the rest of the conference.

LeRoy listened to the first session while working upstairs but came down after it was over to cash in on his treats.  Hyrum was the one to remind him that he wasn't reverent or taking notes so he didn't get any treats.  LeRoy didn't miss the rest of the conference either.

Nathan had a combination conference packet with the same games and activities that Hyrum had but also the note taking pages that the rest of us had.  He struggled at first thinking that he had to write full sentences and kept asking me to repeat what was just said or if it was the right thing to write down.  I finally got the message across that all he needed to do was listen and if a word stuck out in his mind he should write it down.

Values. Pray. Scriptures. Teach. Righteous. Missionaries. Worthy. Jesus. Everlasting Happiness.
Obedience. Faithful. Holy Ghost. Peace. Teacher. Serves. Feel his Voice.

After Greg C. Christensen's talk Nathan came over to me and stated with excitement, "I think I can feel the Holy Ghost's voice like he said in his talk 'cause I keep hearing the words I should write in my notes".

We have been using our notes for a conference spotlight in family home evening.  I originally thought that maybe the food had distracted the boys from actually listening to conference but their messages at FHE tell me otherwise.

And every once in a while I hear "I can't wait until conference".

Happy Birthday To LeRoy

Or, Ol' Man, as Levi so affectionately calls him in the same southern accent that LeRoy calls his dad Ol' Man.

LeRoy's all time favorite candy has not changed in the twenty-two years that I've known him so I figured it was about time I make him a Reese's Peanut Butter cake.  I searched All Recipes until I found a peanut butter cake and frosting with raving reviews and topped it all off with mini Reese's cups.  Though he couldn't say it because his mouth was glued shut with peanut butter, he was very happy with his cake.

After he made his birthday wish and blew out the lone candle the kids teased him that he was wishing extra hard not to lose the last few hairs on his head and that he was only allowed one candle because we didn't want to burn the house down.
 

All those years of LeRoy teasing his dad about being old and bald are starting to catch up with him. At least LeRoy takes it in good stride knowing that the kids learned it from hearing the way he torments his own dad.

Hit and Run

October 2012

After an evening of games and the usual "hanging out", Derek, Jacob, Nathan, Sierra and Allyn all loaded up in our teenager car so that Derek could taxi them home.  This takes about 45 minutes because they all live in the rural suburbs of Rexburg (Hibbard, Burton, Lymon, Egin).  All of these small town country roads are surrounded by fields and cows.

On the dark, empty road on the way to Jacob's house they were cruising along just fine and suddenly a cow ran across the road. Luckily, (for the kids and car, not the cow) Derek swerved just hard enough to stay on the road and miss the body of the cow.  However, the driver side door, mirror and window still smacked the poor milker in the face and neck.  As Derek explains it, that 10 seconds seemed to run in slow motion with everyone screaming and leaning to one side, the car swerving with gravel flying, big bulging cow eyes staring at him in the driver's window and a massive tongue smearing across his door window.

While the car full of terrified kids sat at the edge of the road trying to catch their breath and stop shaking, the dazed cow ran off.  We were so grateful that the only damage consisted of a busted mirror, a dented squeaking door and a gross slobber mark across the window instead of any injuries to the kids.

Sierra and Allyn fixed the mirror for him.

A few days later Derek walked out of the school to find the car covered in dry erase cow spots and warnings of "beware of cow" and "caution: cows" and "eat more chicken" written on the windows.

Now it's referred to not as the Malibu or Teen Car but the Cow Car.