Such Talent

Last night was the school talent show. I have been in charge of it for the last five years, which is a pretty fun thing to be in charge of. Last's night's went off well, and the highlight for me was Tuck and Anders. They decided to do some artwork to display.

Pirhanas:

Tarantula:

Lucy, who participated last year, decided getting up in front of a crowd is NOT her thing. And Clara, who loves the spotlight, isn't quite of age yet. This does not mean they have no talent, however. Look at this very cute drawing my two year old made. I love it. It is so cute.

And Lucy has been sewing/crocheting up an impressive storm:
And when it comes to fashion, Clara really has a gift (????). You can find her preening here most days. She has very eclectic tastes and is really thinking that pink is the new black:

Rites of Passage

Last night the activity day's girls from our ward had a talent show. First, allow me say I love my calling. I am in the primary presidency and I love working with the kids in our ward. A friend started a blog called Hopefully Mormon , (which seems to me to be a Mormon version of Post Secret) where someone posted this:
I think that this kind of nails what it is like to be in primary. One thing that I've noticed is that teaching in primary clarifies how simple and beautiful the gospel is. We cover the basics in primary and that is all that matters. It is all that needs to be covered. I love it.

Anyway, back to my story. Last night was the activity day girls talent show. It was very cute. Several girls performed Taylor Swift songs. It made me grin, because I just think it is so dang cute the way these girls have latched onto Taylor Swift. Lucy loves her. "Mom, Taylor Swift rocks," is something Lucy has told me on many occasions. Whenever Taylor Swift comes on the radio, a voice in the back seat starts belting out, "It's a love story, baby just say yes..." or "She wears short skirts, I wear t-shirts..." And that belting voice makes me smile inside and out. I think every generation has their Taylor Swift.
It's a rite of passage, isn't it? For me, it was definitely Tiffany. When I was in junior high every girl LOVED Tiffany. Our Dixon middle school cheerleaders did a dance to I Think We're Alone Now, with the pinnacle of the dance being performed as Tiffany sang "You put your arms around me and we tumble to the ground and then you say, I think we're alone now..." You better believe that there were many non-cheerleader girls replicating the dance all over Provo in the safety of their bedrooms. I was, for sure. I can still do part of it for you, if you want.
I don't know why it amused me so much to see the passion for Taylor Swift last night, but I guess it is just because it is a reminder that these girls are people, who are growing up, and discovering their place in the world. They are all such wonderful people, and I just hope they continue to be as happy and good and sweet as they are now.

Lucy's First Sewing Project

I am so proud of her. My first sewing project was my last sewing project. I think Lucy is going to have many more projects to come. Grammy was her faithful tutor. I think it turned out very cute.

May I Recommend

Hope Will doesn't mind, but my cousin is one smart guy. He is teaching Sunday School this year and is posting his lessons on his blog. I am loving his insights. You might too. I think they are well worth the read. I promise you, you will be enlightened and uplifted.

Fashionista or Compulsive Disorder?

When Lucy was born I dreamt of the darling baby Gap outfits and cute hair do's she would wear. And of course she would always have a clean face. All my kids would. And then I learned that kids are messy, baby Gap is a ludicrous waste of money (as outfits are destroyed in one meal), and kids faces are never clean (and their noses are mostly snotty). And I have learned, every kid has their own personality and does their own thing. Really, we have no control. We don't get to pick what books they like and what sport they are good at and what talents they will have and what subjects they will like in school. We don't pick their personalities. They come hard wired as the person they are. We also don't get to pick out what they are going to wear. Clara is very fond of short sleeve shirts for reasons she hasn't yet explained to me. I bought her some long sleeve shirts for winter and she wasn't too happy. So she has taken matters into her own hands. Clara has developed her own look. She has put a lot of thought into it. She has actually developed two looks. The first involves skirts, tights, and swimsuits (She is a very capable dresser. She needs no assistance at all to get in the tights). We have had to have daily talks about how this look is not acceptable to me and she can't wear it out of the house. Daily talks. She has begun to comply and changes into something more reasonable when I ask without too much of a fight. The second look is a short sleeve look. You will be hard pressed to find Clara with any clothing touching the skin below her elbow. She tries to force this look on us, but we don't cooperate, which frustrates her. I wonder how long this look /insanity will last. Oh, yeah, she thinks she can do her own hair. She prefers to do it herself, and by child number four I don't put up much of a fight. She has some humdingers (the one below was done by Rob under her direction).

New Year's Revelries

This year Rob took the kids skiing at Brighton on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. They had a great time, and we ended both days with some Ticket To Ride. Maybe I should learn to ski. Although next year Clara will be old enough to go. Hmmm, maybe I won't learn!

Some Projects Over The Break

Lu got a sewing machine (Uncle Tony's old Bernina, which is a great machine) and Grammy gave her lessons and got her started on making an apron.

Santa brought the kids wooden models. I don't do crafts/projects with kids because they make me mean, angry, frustrated, irritable, and annoyed. But fortunately Rob was home all last week and he got roped into helping them out. (Combing hair was not on last weeks to do list).