Some Stuff

Last night I sat down to catch up a little. I did a big ol' post -- then lost the whole thing! Darn Blogger! I was ornery. So, It's a new day and I'm feeling a little less snarky, so I'm going to attempt to summon the muses and try again.

Matthew turned 12 in January. He definitely was ready to "graduate" from Primary and enter the Young Men's program at church. It wasn't until the end of February that we were able to figure out family schedules and have his ordination, but it was a very cool day and he was surrounded by lots of supportive family. Of course, I have only a couple of pictures of the lunch we had afterwards, but it was a lot of fun and it meant a lot to us to have all of our Utah family make the trek north to support our boy.

The picture below is from the Matt's first Sunday as a Deacon and able to pass the sacrament in Church. I only teared up a little. :) We sure are proud of Matthew and the choices he's making. What a good kid.


One evening after Steve got off work, we all went bowling. The girls were especially fond of the footwear. It was a blast and we definitely learned something about ourselves: we totally stink at bowling. It was a great ab workout, though, for all the laughing we did!

Little-known fact: Steve took a bowling class in college. It was for PE credit.

Another little-known fact: Steve very nearly failed a bowling class in college.

The grade for the class was hugely based on attendance. That was one problem. Steve was carrying a very heavy class load that semester and frankly, bowling did not merit the first spot on his list of priorities. The other problem was that the instructor was a former bowling pro who took himself (and his mullet) a little too seriously. One of Steve's friends signed up for the class with him and bailed after the second class because the guy was such a cocky son of a gun. Go figure. Steve found it so much easier and so much more pleasant to just go bowling on his own time (on his own tab), save the receipt, and turn it in as proof that he went -- thus constituting a "make up" class. So, we spent a small fortune and he did, indeed, end up passing the bowling class. It's pretty funny, though, to hear about his days as the student of a professional bowler. You ought to ask him about it sometime -- and about "shaking hands with the headpin."

So Steve started his first turn telling Matt that he took a bowling class in college. (Maybe an attempt at intimidation?) He followed that up with a little smack talk about how he was going to kick everyone else's cans. He then proceeded to roll his first ball, got it stuck on his fingers, stepped too far onto the lane, and slipped - falling flat on his hind end! He jumped up so fast and immediately did the scan to see if anyone noticed. Thankfully, the bowling alley was pretty empty, so he had a little laugh at himself. I exhibited some AMAZING self-control, made sure he was okay, and only chuckled a little. I have to admit, though, that we got home that night and I replayed the whole thing in my mind and laughed until I cried. Then I called my sister and told her. Laughed til I was felt sick. (I'm actually giggling a little as I write this. Such a supportive wife.) So Dang Funny!

The weekend before St Patrick's Day, we made a quick jaunt to Salt Lake to the annual St Patty's parade. I love that everyone claims to be Irish on St Patrick's day! I mean, we really do have Irish roots on both sides of our family and I realize that tons of people do, but even the Lopez family is Irish on St Patrick's day. Awesome! So, if we are all bleeding Irish blood, then we're all brothers. The parade was just one big family party!

For the record, the kids were proudly wearing their green, but it was hidden by their jackets. :)

On St Patrick's Day the kids woke up to find Leprechuan confetti and (chocolate) gold everywhere. That tricky guy even colored our milk and toilet water green.

Rachel had a fun St Patty's party at preschool. Here she is complete with shamrock headband and green lips from a big green sucker.

Also in March, we were able to attend Matthew's first piano recital. He's taken piano lessons for several years now, but it was his first recital experience. He was a bit nervous, but did a great job.

He played beautifully and made his Mama proud. :)