Extracurricular

With school back in full swing, we started up our extracurricular activities.  Mr. E finally got to start taking tap dancing lessons.  There are few things in life that he wanted to learn more than to tap dance.  

Miss A continued with gymnastics and dance but discovered a new activity that I have a feeling will eventually become a part of her life.  She joined a good friend of hers in doing a cheerleading clinic, or as she called it "pom pom class".  She was in heaven hanging out with the high school girls during the Saturday morning camp.  

 She was even more excited to hang out with her big friends again on the sidelines of a real high school football game. 

  

Everybody knows what the number 1 extracurricular activity is in the Melton pot-- CAKE!!!!

The entire month of September was filled with sugar, fondant, icing, and sprinkles as we prepared for the annual sugar competition in Tulsa.  This year Miss A was finally old enough to make an entry.  In her true independent style, she did it almost 100% unsupervised. 

 

She decorated it in pink and purple butterflies.  Some of them were upside-down. Her typical response "I like it like that".  I guess the decorator gets to have a little artistic license.  

 

Mr. E decided he wanted to make a minion.  He too did all the work all by himself but did accept some supervision/suggestions. 

 

(Meet "David the greatest minion in the world")

I, of course, spent the entire year daydreaming of all my entries for the year.  I had a solid plan for at least 5 different pieces.  In the end, I barely ended up with one.  I decided upon Dorothy's house in Munchkinland.  I worked day and night for weeks.  I pulled everything together through the night.  The following is what I ended up posting on Facebook about what happened once I headed to the competition:

"Husband is out of town so I had to drive to OK with the kids alone. Left two days later then I planned which meant most of the fun things I wanted to do didn't happen. Have only slept 8 hrs in the past 3ish days none of which happened in the last 24 hrs. I left the hotel with just enough time to drop the kids off and make it to Tulsa by the 10 o'clock entry deadline. "Just enough time" was maybe not enough when I walked outside to find a monsoon. Dropped kids off in jammies with mismatched clothes to change into later. Turns out I did a horrible job packing. Just enough time became less and less hopeful as the monsoon continued the entire drive. It became an impossibility when I looked at the gas gauge and realized the tank would soon be empty. On the plus side, my personal tank was full and the constant downpour made me have the urge to relieve it so the pit stop gave me that opportunity. Pulled up to the competition 15 minutes past the entry deadline. Downpour still in full force. I unload the kid's cakes first because I didn't want them to miss judging. I went to unload my entry. I had to have a stranger close my trunk. Got held up for a second while I tried to figure out why stranger couldn't figure out how to close a hatch. In the process, I lost a component of my entry which shattered and then rolled in the rain. I decided to just hope stranger eventually figured out my trunk (really not complicated). Leave the entry casualty on the sidewalk. Almost tripped over a small kid who was wandering aimlessly in my path. I made it to the table to find the judges were finishing up. They were blocking my way to the table. Arms starting to tremble. Asking if one of the judges would please lower the crowd control bar so I could get to the table. Got a blank stare. Hello judges...I'm holding a 2 ft square entry---wanna offer me some help? Judge finally lowered separator just in time for my arms to completely give out and for all of us to watch it slam down on the table. Anything fragile (pretty much everything I spent my last 24 hrs working on) shatters. The loose "ground cover" on the gingerbread display spreads all over all of the things that weren't supposed. to be covered. Unfortunately all that stuff is wet because of the rain so its now impossible to brush off the mess. Judge says "sorry" and then they all walk away. I guess I missed my opportunity to actually be judged. Find out later that I also missed my opportunity for the prize raffle that every competitor wins. The raffle consolation prize WAS going to be my silver lining. Try to salvage what I can all while I'm a blubbering mess as the spectators begin to gather. When I reach into my bag to get my paperwork out i find that a pen has exploded. I guess I will have blue hands all day. Really wish I would have taken at least one picture before I dropped my entry. Fortunately when I come back out to my car it is still there and surprisingly the hatch is closed. Finally get back to the show and sit down for the demo of the cake artist I was really excited to see only to to hear her says she only has 6 more minutes left. Why did I even come? I should have just stayed in bed. Oh wait...I was never in bed this morning. I have a feeling I'll be napping in the back of my car in the middle of the state fair parking lot a little bit later today. Everyone please say a prayer/send good vibes that the monsoon doesn't prevent the hubby's flight from arriving here this afternoon. I really need him back. Maybe I will wander the fair and later and drown my sorrows in something deep fried. Woe is me rant over."

"Day gets better. Neighbor called saying our dog was out. She is supposed to be with another neighbor. A little while later I get another call saying my alarm is going off. Police and neighbor going through my house. I guess I somehow missed that the back door was unlocked and the dog pushed the door open. The worst part is that I left my house TRASHED. I even thought, "I hope nobody breaks into my house while I'm gone because I would be mortified if someone saw my house in this disarray." Please tell me that I'm not the only one out there that has had that thought."

 "This year's entry....or I guess what is left of it."

"I found clarity after a very long ugly cry on my way back to my family this evening. Positives of the day--the rain washed all of the bird poop off the car. The sun was out and bright the whole drive home which brought a little sunshine back to my day. The weather was perfectly crisp tonight and almost felt like fall. Br's flight got here safe and sound. He brought me a box of chocolate. We had an amazing date with great food, even better company at a table overlooking the lake at sunset. I'm about to crawl into a really comfy bed and finally get so sleep free of stress of a looming deadline. It's a good end to a long day!"

 

In the end I did end up getting some nice consolation raffle prizes, we had a nice visit with some of our OK friends, and after a little time has past, I'm pretty sure I won't be forever scarred by the experience. I'm already thinking about my entries for the next competition.

Saved by the bell

In any household with school-aged kids, the end of summer is marked by the first day of school.

E's first day came a little earlier this year because he started at a new school.  Poor kid is on his 4th elementary school and is only in 1st grade.

The upside to changing schools one more time is that we've finally found the PERFECT learning environment for him.  Going to school is no longer an everyday fight.  The meltdowns related to school have nearly disappeared, and his light and energy that was slowly disappearing over the last two years have finally returned.  We feel so blessed that all the stars aligned to lead us to this school.

One of the most memorable events at his school so far was a visit from this guy.

 

Okay so it's not a great picture, but that is indeed the Fonz.  He, like most of the kids at E's school, is dyslexic.  Henry (yes, after you eat breakfast with a tv icon you get to be on a first-name basis with them) shared his story of how hard it was getting through school.  He's even written a book series that's semi-autobiographical about the adventures and challenges of Hank Zipzer.  After a fundraiser breakfast, Mr. Winkler went to the school and read to the kids from his book.  E had no idea who he was but it made a huge impression on him.  Every time he sees Henry Winkler on the TV he says, "Hey that's Henry Winkler, or that's Hank Zipzer".  And if you know E, you would know how significant it is that he remembers someone's name.

The only downsides to the school are that it is a bit of a commute and the carpool line is eternally long. But the silver lining to having to sit in the LONGEST carpool lines EVER every day is that Sis can't help but give in to naps even though she gave those up years ago.

Miss A has also had the perfect teacher for her this year. She's in a class with her best friend W (just refer to many of the previous posts if you don't remember who he is). I'd love to say that she loves school, but on a quite regular basis, she feels the need to turn the drama on and act like getting ready for school is the end of the world.  At least she was smiling on the first day of school. 

 

Her first day back to school was also the same day as the return of kids eat free on Tuesdays at Ikea so we went for some free meatballs to celebrate the completion of one day of pre-K.  
The employee's in Smaland even sent her home with a little souvenir of her first day. This became our weekly Tuesday tradition. We'd eat, Miss A would play, and I would wanter aimlessly, yet child-free, around the store. 

The rest of the summer

Aside from the aforementioned trips, the summer flew by rather uneventfully.  We spent some time just chillin' (in other words, me sleeping in while the kids entertained themselves).  

 

I attempted to keep myself us on somewhat of a schedule by signing the kids up for camps-- gymnastics, YMCA, vacation bible school, Mommy and E and friends science camp, and finished off the summer with drama camp.  

(He was the bumblebee--"as sweet as could be")

We even squeezed in a couple dance classes (and when I say a couple I mean with all the travel I think we only made it to two--maybe three classes)

 

 

We also took a few field trips.  The most memorable was getting in our "fancy clothes" in the middle of the day and heading a community theater to see Alice in Wonderland. 

 

 Miss A especially loved meeting the characters and getting their autographs.  E got a little shy and just hung back, but thoroughly enjoyed the show.  

 

E loves getting fancy and going to the theater so much that the two of us went on a little date to see the symphony's Pixar concert.  

I treated E to a fancy dinner before we headed downtown.

 

(Yes we are at Chick-fil-A, but we were running late and I figured that since they have fresh flowers on the table, it makes it fancy). 

Daddy bought our tickets and surprised us with seats in the second row.  At one point during some technical difficulties, the conductor filled time by looking directed at E and telling him a joke as if they were the only two people in the entire auditorium.  E soaked in every moment of the entire night.  I may or may not have gotten a little misty seeing my son light up while listening to songs from some of my favorite movies.  

Hmmmmm.  I think the only other noteworthy event of the summer was me going back to having short hair.  It felt pretty significant because my go-to look is a bun.  In fact, E used to refer to a bun as a "Becky".  I'd put off getting a cut for over 6 months until I felt like I had an extra 10 inches to spare to donate to Locks of Love.  I did what all cheap people do when they need a haircut--- I bought a Groupon.  Not only did I save 50% on the cut, but I also got a bonus 4+ inches cut for free.

I asked to look like the pic on the left and got what is pictured on the right. 

( I differentiate between the people in the pictures because I know we look so much alike it's indistinguishable)
Once again my Groupon salon cut came with some surprises.  Actually, in all seriousness, it didn't come out like I'd hoped, but I did like what I ended up with and it has grown.  I think I might actually get it cut again soon.  Although I will probably find someone other than Groupon to help me find a stylist this time.  

Most of you (and by you, I mean the three people who read this) already know the story of my haircut.  But what you might not know is what happened with the ponytail.  I'd like to report that I immediately sent it off where it was made into a beautiful wig for some deserving girl and we all have warm fuzzy feelings.  Unfortunately, I put off sending it in, left it in my office for a while where a little girl found it and decided to attempt to make a wig of her own...a wig apparently for the playroom carpet because that is where I found all of my hair scattered.  I may or may not have ended up putting myself in timeout in attempts to not kill anyone.

I'm happy to report that the ponytail, and potentially my sanity, were the only casualties of the hair cut debacle.     

Reuniting...

..and it feels so good.

Our next major adventure over the summer took us west for a little reuniting.  The first stop was in Colorado to our favorite mountain escape--"Jack's house".  It's the perfect place for us to relax and for the kids to explore, 

 

 

climb,

 

swing,

 

eat,

(I made these is a sad attempt to try and make up for the birthday blunders up to Br a month after his actual birthday)

build,

 

and spend quality time with Aunt Wilma, Uncle Jack, and second cousins Matthew and Kelly.

From Colorado we hopped in the car and headed on a scenic drive into Utah.  

Our first stop was in Provo where we saw some dinosaurs, said "hi" to a friend, and where Br and where a very polite "sir" made Br and I realize we weren't college aged any more.

 

From there we headed to Aunt A's house (one of E's favorite places in UT) where we had a very pleasant reunion with a cousin of mine that I haven't seen in YEARS.

(no, Br doesn't wear glasses now)

Mr. E became instant BFFs with my cousin R's Mr. P as all the kids bonded over cousin B's huge bin of Legos and plethora of Nerf guns.

 From Aunt A's we headed to Great Aunt A's (my mom's aunt on her dad's side) and had a fabulous rooftop barbeque near temple square with a handful of her kids, grandkids and even a great grandkid or two.  I, unfortunately, forgot to take any pictures, but we had a really nice night reconnecting with some of my first cousins (once removed) that I used to see on a semi-regular basis but had since lost track of them.  It was fun to watch our kids make immediate friends with their kids.  I think no matter how distantly related, you can still feel that sense of family that connects you.  

After dinner, we headed to Park City for the actual reason for being in Utah...

...to reunite with these people...

(Great Uncle Tom, Aunt Sharon, Grandma "Gigi" Nancy, Aunt Barbara, and Aunt Ginny)

... and their posterity 

(I'm not even going to begin to pretend like I remember everybody's name)

We hadn't had a reunion of Hart family members since I was in elementary school.  I know reunions typically get a bad wrap, but it was actually kind of fun. My kid's favorite distant relative was their second cousin once removed Annabelle.

 And because they wanted to hang out with her most of the time, and by default made me feel like I had a babysitter at the larger family events, she became my favorite second cousin (She won the #1 position because of that and the fact that all the second cousins were all a good 20-30+ years younger than me).  

My g-ma had 100% representation from her family 

 

which meant we had quality time with my:

 aunt, uncles, and mom,

my cousin,

My siblings and siblings-in-law,

(Sorry BH...I couldn't find a pic of you to include in the collage, but I know you were there)

and ALL of my g-ma's great-grandkids.

In my opinion, the highlights of Park City were eating creamies while watching the kids all swim together, being completely and utterly impressed by my 80-year-old grandma diving to get the ball during an extended family game of something similar to sand volleyball (apparently jazzercize really does wonders),

(Miss A felt like it was just a day at the beach)

watching Aunt Rebecca keep the twins smiling with her little "makin' the pizza" routine,  (I really wish I had recorded it.  You'll just have to trust me on how adorable it was.) 

sliding,

 and coasting.

Although there were a lot of smiles,

and love, 

I'll keep it real but admitting that we did have moments that went from this 

to this.

(the meltdown was much worse than it looks in the pic, but nothing a little lunch and nap didn't make better).

But after all it is expected that things will occasionally get a little crazy when you get this many people together.

I should note that the reunion ended with a beautiful full double rainbow.

(the picture doesn't do it justice)

Our reunion trip ended with a not so scenic (although Br would disagree), yet quicker drive back to CO where Aunt Wilma and Uncle Jack were amazing enough to let Br and I take a nap in attempts to recoup from our trip within a trip.  The next morning we headed to the airport and eventually (I say eventually because we had the added adventure of flying Spirit airlines) made it home.

Overall it was, at least in my opinion, an enjoyable trip.  Reuniting with my mom's side of the family makes me want to organize a reunion for the Hobbs side.  Anyone in?