Family Updates

Everyday around 1:00, I hit my wall. This is the time of day when I'm suddenly overcome with exhaustion, and I want to burrito myself in my big, green blanket and go to sleep. Each day, when I hit this point, I try to fight it. Now and then, I give in, but sometimes I'm able to ward it off. I don't really like napping - I don't like trying to get going again afterward (though I find it a lot easier to wake up if I set a timer for 20-30 minutes). When 1:00 rolls around, I usually force myself to walk around the house. Sometimes I get in the shower. Other times I blast some upbeat music. I just can't be sitting, or I'll never make it. Today, I'm trying blogging as an anti-nap tactic. We'll see if that works (since I will be sitting). How about some family updates? Here's what we've had going on lately (forgive my lack of photos):

 Nicky

• is on the high school tennis team, but the matches keep getting canceled because of weather, so at this point, the only real perk of being on the tennis team is that he has some really nice team clothing
• "medaled" at the 6-A State Theatre competition last week with his performance of a classical scene from A Woman of No Importance
• is loving the independence of driving and, for the most part, has been very trustworthy and responsible
• works 1-2 times a week
• auditioned and made the Play Productions team ("PlayPro") at school 
• went to Disneyland with the performing arts for school and had the time of his life
• is facing the reality that he is growing up really fast and only has two years left of high school (he's gone through a bit of a mourning phase with this)
• went to his first prom with his good friend, Addison (I was really excited about this because I didn't know if Nicky would ever ask a girl to a dance)
• is participating in a partner dance with the cheerleaders for their end-of-year showcase as well as a "male cheer" number
• needs new pants all around (funnily, he is slightly shorter than Scotty but has longer legs and needs a longer inseam - I have to order his pants online because stores never carry 34-36" inseams)

Daisy

• is in the school choir but has had to miss most of their events this semester because of other activities
• is also on the dance team (which is part of the conflict with choir)
• wears two pairs of pants to school everyday because she refuses to change out of her dance clothes but has to meet dress code for other classes (weird things insecure teens do)
• did her first partner dance... with a boy... whom she won't talk to
• but also has lots of "guy friends" that she hangs out with and talks to just fine (weird things insecure teens do)
• lays on the floor all the time
• was cast as the "apple vendor" in the schools production of Aladdin Jr (she wore a green dress, carried a basket of apples, and yelled out lines like, "Thief!")
• complains daily of every ache and pain in her body
• got her braces off and then got glasses. She's so happy to finally be able to see! (Oops on the part of this mama).
• will be taller than me any minute now

Zoe

• is having some mighty seasonal allergies this year
• was able to be a spokesperson for the media launch of a campaign to bring the spikes from the transcontinental railroad to Utah (she's obsessed with this campaign)
• dropped out of her tumbling class (Monday was her last day)
• has some pretty big issues with jealousy
• has been reading the Dog Man series (which I don't love, but I'm just happy when my kids read any book at this point)
• wants to display everything she owns - every toy, every paper from school, every picture, etc - and I'm always having to tell her to put her stuff away and not display anything. The entire wall around her top bunk bed is covered in her artwork, and she displays everything she acquires from every event and holiday on the bookshelf or the dollhouses in her room. All of my kids have hoarded, but she is by far the worst. 
• will be in Young Women next year, and I just need to cope with the shock of that
• is going to do a three-week theatre camp this summer and be in a kids' production of Seussical
• is very excited for the new Zelda game to be released next month
• went to the eye doctor and no longer needs glasses!

Eva

• turned 8 on April 15th
• will be getting baptized next week
• is a bit of a comedian
• loves cheap toys and junk and is always begging to go to the dollar store
• says "no thank you" anytime we ask her to do something
• throws mighty tantrums
• is in activity days for primary (or "the event formerly known as activity days that we all still call activity days") and enjoys it unless she thinks Zoe's group had a better activity in which case, she whines and says, "All we ever do is learn stuff!" to which I respond, "Isn't it so wonderful that you get to learn stuff?" and she goes, "Hmph."

Scotty

• is boring for the most part
• is currently going through a bout of cluster headaches. If you're not familiar with clusters, it's a headache condition that strikes about every three years for about six weeks (this timetable varies from person to person, but that's the approximate timeline for Scotty). Scotty has daily headaches behind his right eye. This bout started in early March, so hopefully he'll go into remission again soon. In the meantime, he's in a lot of pain.
• continues donating plasma twice a week to supplement our income
• is excited for warm weather days so he can drive his motorcycle (no ripped pants so far this year)
• talks incessantly about Disney parks
• is serving as Elder's Quorum president in our ward going on two years now
• is getting new glasses (hooray for sight!)

Brittany 

(that's me!)

• is also pretty boring for the most part
• feels the effects of aging each day as her hair turns gray, her knees grow weaker, and she can't do what she used to be able to do (such as fouettes in the church gym, which recently landed her flat on her back)
• yet... still has the zits of a hormonal thirteen year old
• is the Young Women secretary in the ward
• is helping plan YW camp for this summer
• has given up soda and exercises (almost) every day but still has high blood pressure, so what's the point?
• loves her dishwasher possibly to the point of idol worship
• wants to read books and cook all day