Oscar Stew

This Tour de Utah review is going on and on like we were on vacay for months! I told you it was a busy-cation! Its okay, we only have like…well a lot of stops left on this tour, but many life-changing events needed to be documented! For example: 

It was only a matter of time for Kristy to submit to peer pressure and become a woman of the cloth just like her mom and sisters:

She may have thought quilting was just this cutesy boring thing that old hens did while playing canasta. Truth be told, it’s quite a dirty sport!

So Kristy, have you enjoyed cutting large pieces of fabric into small pieces and sewing them back together?

I couldn’t quite hear you over the roar of the quilting machines…could you say that again?

There’s no need to make an excuse for being vain while on vacation, right Brinley?!  

Color selected, feet soaked, ready for pedi, paint, & polish. Can the nail guy make your legs longer?

Probably not, but he can swindle you into getting logo-toes!

Don’t mind the man in the mask, he’s just gonna file off your claws while you deliberate…

What’s it like not to have toe-jam anymore?

Apparently it’s an uplifting experience! The nail guy made Kristy’s feet float!

I thought the nail guy was supposed to get rid of the toe-jam?

We received specific instructions not to wiggle our toes or let anything touch our new shiny nails for awhile. So we were real careful while we worked on another hobby of ours…

So Brinley, how was your day? Was it great? Was it awesome? Don’t be a flip-flopper!

Here’s a story on how strange life is with its changes
And it happened only a few days ago.
On a neighborhood street, where the fescue arranges
A playground about 2 months from the snow
Lived a girl with a bicycle all covered in pink,
With Belle, Snow White, and Cinderella I think,
Such a source of great frustration
That it caused her to scream.
And she’d break out in tantrum-like rants.

Then one day…

A-crashin’ down the street
Came Brinley unaware of the pedals under her feet.
This rage of the rage, this severe loss of hope…

Caused Ellie to pause and check out her sis.
“Hey kid, why the mope?”

Rowan said, “She used to be something on a bike with four wheels,
And she’d ride in the sunlight and show off her skills,
Then Daddy hauled it away in a manner quite rough
Removed the trainers all while I’ve been here on my duff.”

Now sometimes you stay up and sometimes you fall down,
When you find that you’re down well don’t just look around:
You still got a pink bike, a helmet and fine feet,
Get your balance in the right place and hey, you’re complete!

Now as for the ridin’, you can do more,
You can reach great heights, in fact you can soar (please don’t!)
You just get a pedal up and ya push it on down,
And you’ll find you’re making the wheels go around.

Around, around, and around.
It’s been 20 minutes since you’ve cried!
I think you’ve got it after finally giving it a try…Hi Ellie, Hi!

So every day now, just after dinner,
We load them up and make sure everyone’s a winner,
And we all go on a bike ride, doesn’t matter where.
We’re having fun together, so we don’t really care,
As long as the wheels go round, round, round, and around.

Now in this world of ups and downs…
So nice to know that Brinley’s confidence now abounds.

School’s out for summer! We enjoyed watching Drew & Brinley participate in end-of-the-year sports activities, graduation, prom…Ok, got a little carried away on that last one…

Where should we start? On the field of course! Are these girls BFFs? Attached at the hip? Well, they’re attached at the ankle for now. They are ready to win this alien race!

In case the races weren’t exciting enough, Rowan doing the Riverdance was quite the sideshow…

Hey Binnie, that’s a pretty sweet sag in them gangsta jeans you’re wearin’. I think they be Drew’s! And spots, ruffles and stripes? Only the Binbob can rock that style!

Rowan got first place in the clown-hairball shotput competition…not sure what the rules are on that…

Ryan said, “Where’s the war paint? The mud pit? The kilts? This ain’t a real tug ‘o’ war!” I don’t think they care…

This picture of Eleanor pretty much sums up the rest of field day…thud.

This is what Drew got to do instead of field day! Isn’t his little tooshie adorable, though!?

Flippin’ funnel clouds Batman! What can we do to keep the troops entertained while hunkered down inside this scholarly shelter? Creepy puppets are a sure bet! 

All’s well that ends well. We finally got to go home in time for dinner and bedtime. We had to get up early the next day to get the best seats at graduation. The Beacon of Cuteness helped us save seats…as long as she had a cracker.

C’mon, sing it! Daaah, Da-di-da, daaa-daaaah, daaah, da-di-da, daaaaah…Class of 2023!  Brinley made another fashion statement by insisting on wearing her clunky old gym shoes. Gotta  love a girl that knows what she wants…

Each graduate had their name read and any advice they had for next year’s class. The kids in the back are riveted with excitement, can’t you tell!? Are any of these kids on the Honor Roll?

Juice, cake, and hugs were served afterwards in the cafeteria. You ok Brinley?

Aw, Binnie is gonna miss her teacher! We’re gonna miss her too…We’re now without a kindergartner for the next 2 years!

Brinley told us that one of the things she will miss the most is the routine…Art, Gym, Music, Library, Recess…not to mention riding the big yellow bus! Dry those tears Binnie, we have plans for you! Summer School is now in session! Enrollment? Mandatory! Bwahahahahaaa! 

And just like that we have a 3rd grader and a 1st grader!