Fish Whisperer

We have, it turns out, a fish whisperer in our family. The queen, of course, has no need for pets. The king has even less of a need for pets. But the princess, in spite of her many animal fears, would like a pet. She knew dogs and cats were out of the question--with family allergies and all. And she knew the queen would NEVER agree to rodents of any kind. She worked her magic on the queen slowly. Whispering about taking responsibility, always cleaning the bowl, even paying for all necessary equipment herself. The queen couldn't argue with that. Yesterday the princess went out to choose her fish. She knew she'd like a betta, as she'd had one of those years ago and already had a bowl. She also knew she'd like a blue betta. At Pet Smart she looked long at the various blue bettas. She eventually chose a beautiful male with feathery fins. She was even to pay the $6 for the male versus the $3 for the female because the males are so much more attractive. On the way home the fish whisperer named her betta "Azul" which is Spanish for "blue." Today, she decided her bowl wasn't GOOD ENOUGH for the beautiful betta so we headed off a closer pet store so that she could purchase the proper betta. Life is good for the fish whisperer. Of course, she's already talking about purchasing a second betta...

STILTS!

Check out the king! He was big on stilts as a kid and decided, Saturday, to make a pair for the prince and princess. The prince took to them right away. The princess is having a bit more trouble balancing, and it's really making her angry since it's rare that something doesn't come easily to her. Determination will get the better of her, and she'll get it eventually. For the king, it was riding a bike. He had no problem getting on them and walking around the drive way. And what did you do this weekend?

The end of solitude...

The kids will be home in 4.5 hours. I'm excited to see them and hear all about camp, but I really enjoyed the quiet! The poor prince has to work Saturday, Sunday, and Monday! No rest for him!

Good-bye royal family members...

We're sad to see our family head back to the land of Utah. We had a great visit with them. Lots of fun bowling, seeing movies, going to Helena, playing outside, going to the Monster Trucks...Good times!

Off to Camp!

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, it's off to camp they go...

Is it wrong of me to be sooooooo excited that Mitch and Cara are going to camp at the SAME TIME this year? It's the only year it'll happen, so I feel like it's okay to be a little excited to see them go. I'll be taking them to the church to drop them off in about an hour. I'll have to stand in line (Lots of kids go to this camp) for many minutes (possibly 60 or more) but then, the freedom will begin. And I know they are safe at this camp, as Mitch has loved going for 2 years now, so I'm pretty sure it's okay for me to be excited to see them go! Hey, I have to pick them up at 2 on Friday, so it's not like they're really gone a whole week.

I'd better make sure they packed everything (one more time) because I'd hate to waste one of my free days driving stuff up to them!!!

Oh, and did I mention that Rich left this morning for Idaho???? He won't be back until Thursday evening. It's good to be queen!

Drivin' the Boat

On this year's trip to the Gates of the Mountain,

near Helena, Mitch and Cara got to

DRIVE THE BOAT!!! How cool are they?

Patience

The royal family appreciates your patience as the queen entertains the royal aunt and nephews for a few more--funfilled--days! Then the queen will update the blog properly. In the meantime, maybe this will tide you over. The queen had this conversation between the prince, princess, and a royal nephew the other day.

Nephew: I'm glad I'm a boy.
Queen: Why?
Nephew: Because then I don't have to have a baby.
Queen: You don't have to if you don't want to. Just ask the princess if she's going to have a baby.
Nephew: Princess, are you going to have a baby someday?
Princess: Probably not.
Nephew: How does that happen. (Now, the nephew was really asking how it is that she has a choice, but the kids all thought he was asking how babies were made.)
Prince: You'll learn all about that in 5th grade.
Nephew: (Nephew is now catching on that we're not all talking about the same thing. Meanwhile the queen is ROYALLY cracking up during this exchange.) It sounds pretty gross to me.
Princess: Yeah, but it's not as gross when you're a grownup.

When they aren't fighting, they're really, really funny!!!

Brad Paisley

***Sigh***Ahhh***Yummy***Sweet***

Check out BRAD! We passed 3 of his

equipment trucks near Whitehall, MT

last weekend. I checked his website

and didn't see that he was playing in

the area. Maybe it was a private

concert, and he meant for me to be

there, but my invitation got lost in

the mail! :)

Last Day of School

YIPPEE--the children all say. I have a great job so really haven't been counting the days. I'm looking forward to getting some things done around the house, having company, and traveling, but I wouldn't mind if school ran year-round, with breaks here and there! I don't have any classes coming to my lab today. I plan to tear it apart and rearrange my tables so that we'll be able to SEE each computer from where my computer is. It's a nightmare of logistics because most of my computers run off an airport, but a few still have to be plugged into phone jacks. I'm also putting rows of computers where there is no outlet so will have to run extension cords and hope the kids don't trip and unplug masses of computers. Plus, it just sounds like a lot of work. What was I thinking???? We only have a half day today, so I'm not sure I can get it all done. I started a little of it yesterday, but I still might have to go in tomorrow and finish. Wish me luck! It's rained ALL week-it's been a field trip nightmare at work. But we're up 2" over normal in moisture right now, which is such a relief. And we're looking forward to Shelley, Jared, and Andy coming to visit us mid-week next week. The princess is off to camp with friends over the weekend. The prince is looking forward to being an only child! Have a great weekend!!

Baptisms and Farewells

We watched tearfully (everyone was
tearful, and I'm not sure why) as
Andy was baptised. There were no
tears at the Farewell, maybe
because people weren't talking
about Matt--he did all the talking
and did a great job. And there was
a nice song by Becky too. What a fun
weekend! Good luck, Matthew.
You will be in our prayers.

Buzz Cut

Before and after photos of the prince getting a MUCH NEEDED

haircut--from one extreme to the other!

A Royal Birthday

Cool things about turning 12:

**Not one, but two cakes

**Getting lots of cash

**A new golf set

**Bowling with your friends

**Your mom promises that by fall, you can have your own email address

**You're one year away from getting to see PG-13 movies!!!!

Happy birthday to our "old" prince!

Women of Faith

I, the queen, spent last night and most of today at the Women of Faith conference here in town. If you aren't familiar, it's 7500 women listening to women speakers, singers, dramatists, and comics empower women. This year's theme was Freedom, and yes, there was some mention of God here and there (you know, turn your burdens over to God and you will be finally free) but also a lot of feel-good inspiration. The main speakers were the same as when I went 2 years ago, and they are very good. Sandi Patty performed Friday night, and it was truly worth the price of admission just to hear her sing for 40 minutes.

Now, like I said, there was a lot going on, and my personal favorite, and new favorite female comedian as well, was Anita Renfroe. She was soooooooooooo funny. And here is the main message I took away from the conference, compliments of Miss Anita.

Do you know the reason single women are thinner than married women?
A single woman sees what's in the frig and goes to bed.
A married woman sees what's in bed and goes to the frig!
I love that one!

Birthdays

This update is a bit late, but we'd like to say, "Happy Birthday" to both the grandpas in our lives. They both had birthdays within the last 2 weeks and are both as young as spring chickens!!! The photo is of the prince and princess helping one grandpa celebrate his birthday! And we're not done with birthdays yet. A royal niece turned 4 this past weekend. The prince will be 12 on Saturday and will takes friends mini-golfing on Sunday, and the king will be 40-something at the end of May! Happy Birthdays are everywhere this month! June holds many birthdays too, and we're looking forward to them all!

Don't be JEALOUS!!!

Try not to be jealous. It's a beautiful, sunny, NO WIND, 78* right now!! These are the days we only get a few of every year! It's GREAT to be us!!

Royal Kingdom Woes

We are in quite a royal conundrum! We are slated to head to UT for royal functions on May 24. Alas, first the king informed me that he has meetings in Sunny Californ-I-A on May 20-23. My thought was that he could just fly to Salt Lake to meet us. But NOPE, not going to work since one of his employees will be out on medical leave that week. The king will have to work Thursday and Friday in the shop. Hmm...Okay, guess we might have to go without him. I was okay with that--coming up with my plan B that included leaving Billings Wed. night and spending the night in Dillon to break up the trip.

TODAY an email came saying that the princess' final school concert date is finally set. When? But of course, Friday, May 25. I'm not even sure she knows about this yet. (This is the "special" choir she's in for good singers. She missed their Christmas concert because we were on our cruise!) I then went to plan C! I checked airfare thinking maybe we could get last minute CHEAP fare (I know, who was I kidding?) so that the kids and I could go to the concert (it's at 9:30 am) and then head to the airport for a quick jaunt to SLC. Alas, too expensive!!

Now I'm on Plan D, which is my original plan, minus the King. I guess the princess will be missing her final concert. I emailed her teacher to see if I could go watch one of her rehearsals. That will have to do!

The king's father celebrates 75 years this weekend. We're in charge of bringing the pizza to the festivities. Is Friday night too late to wrap his gift?? I think not. At least I have a gift!

Have a good weekend.

A singing princess

Here is a photo of one beautiful princess, singing like an angel at her Key Kids performance yesterday. They are looking pretty patriotic, aren't they? She had fun yesterday, but she didn't really enjoy this group and won't be signing up in the fall. Sometimes, it's hard to be a princess! She's giving serious consideration to reviving her soccer career this fall. We'll see what she decides. Meanwhile, I'm on a hunt for golf lessons for both her and the prince--and new golf clubs for the prince as well, as the princess will probably fit his old ones!

Another beautiful day in the kingdom, so I'm off to wash the royal chariot. You'd think there'd be a peasant or two around to do that, but alas...

Honor Roll Breakfast

Well, here we are, amid the glare of the school gymnasium, proud parents of a 3-quarter, 6th grade honor student. The 6th grade teachers put on breakfast for the kids and parents. Every one dressed up (first time I've seen the PE teacher in a shirt/tie), they piped in classical music to the gym, and they served up some delicious Costco muffins and fruit. It was nice to see kids recognized for something positive, especially since there have been more than 1/2 dozen bomb threats at local Jr. high and high schools here since the college shootings last week. Oh, and most of those threats were at Heights schools! They have arrested a couple of kids. They are still looking for a couple of more. They will be expelled and face criminal charges!

Okay, now I'm taking a good look at that photo and trying to decide who it the bigger hippie--the queen, or the prince! YIKES!

The Prince Writes...

Hi, it's my first blog post, and well today in social studies we are working on our world maps, hand-drawn. Tomorrow I have a special breakfast for me being on the honor role for three quarters.

Cool Web Site

Check out this cool website. Mitch loves it--all guys will. It shows how they make things: jelly beans, chocolate, glass, denim...


http://manufacturing.stanford.edu/hetm.html

Bring on the Sunshine!

After much rain, sog, snow, clouds, wind...it looks like spring might finally be arriving in Billings this week. We're expecting a high near 70* today, about 65* tomorrow, up to 70* on Friday and then into the 80*s for the weekend!! Break out the sunscreen and shave your legs!!

Here's the beauty of the blog, though our firewall blocks hotmail at school, I can access my blog from school so can play with it when I'm bored--which is what I am now that we're testing, testing, and more testing in my lab!

Pumpin' Iron

I signed up for a weight lifting class today. Actually, it was just a quick teaching and then we're on our own--a bunch a women I work with. I must say that I will ABSOLUTELY be waking up this evening, at some point, with one hellacious charlie horse! I just know it! I can definitely FEEL THE BURN!

The Princess Sings like an Angel!

The princess will be singing the Walkin' On Sunshine Solo in her music group this weekend. Photos and a complete review will soon follow! And least we forget, she's also got a big gymnastics performance at the end of that same song that she also had to audition for! She's a movin' and a shakin' and a groovin' and hoppin'!

The Prince pulls TWO teeth!

Yesterday the prince pulled not one, but TWO teeth. He said he could have pulled 2 more but, judging by the blood produced by the second tooth he pulled, I don't think he needed to pull any more! The tooth fairy better start saving her money!!

Welcome to our blog!

I have been debating about whether I'd like to try a family web site or a blog. I know very little about either. I made a web site for my computer lab at school and decided that we'd start with a family blog and, once I understand better how it works, decide if I'd like to continue with it or perhaps do a web site instead--or both! Blogger.com is suppose to make this very easy--AND FREE, so we'll see how it goes! Welcome!