**So the new blog design was bugging me, mainly because I need my Peeps link to work more than anyone else does. Wasn't too hard to redo this (although some of the fonts are different.) That was a fun little experiment, wasn't it?**
So the blog's different, yes? I decided to try the new "dynamic" blog that Blogger's touting, and I like the look of it. Only problem is it won't import a bunch of my gadgets. Many of you are probably most concerned about losing my "peeps I pop in on" gadget on the sidebar because you use it to navigate around to other people's blogs (or maybe just my mom does?). The good news is that it really is here -- there are rectangles on the far right side, and if you hover over them, the peeps pop up. The bad news is that I've lost the ability to have the newest post show up; you're going to have to click on it and go check for yourself. Hopefully I'll be able to install that function again soon (they're working on expanding their gadgets) but until then, we're kinda stuck because I lost my old template. Whoopsie! But isn't the green pretty? I like the clean look of the layout too. And I really love being able to see more past posts. You can also go to the right hand side, click on "magazine," and a whole bunch of other blog views are available, if you don't like this one. Check it out.
Speaking of blogging, some of you (or, again, maybe just my mom?) have noticed that I haven't updated my blog quite as often. To be honest, I'm getting a little blog fatigued. Although I still plan to update my blog regularly, it will probably be every 2-4 weeks or so, instead of once a week. (And my three regular readers gasp in dismay! :-O). But now I don't have to feel guilty every time I see a two-week-old picture staring back at me. Right? So that's a good thing.
Now onto real-life stuff. Today is a gorgeous spring day (even though it's not really spring, oh no). The sun is shining, the little kids are out running around in the backyard. See?
Wyatt the Poser saw I had a camera
We're even bbqing for dinner. I did make the mistake of walking outside without my shoes on to light the charcoal and ruined my left sock. Sunk straight down in the mushy muck that is our back lawn. Appearances can be deceiving.
But it makes sense because a little over a week ago, this is what Wyatt was doing in the back yard:
Wyatt and his good friend Max
The kids have been busy with all sorts of things. The trimester just ended, and Ethan and Elise were especially busy with tests and projects. I helped Elise write a bill for her civics class -- it was a tough assignment, I'll tell you what -- and I just found out that "she" (okay, we?) got a B. Her civics teacher drives me a little batty. Luckily she's only in the 8th grade, so her report card doesn't matter nearly as much as it will six short months, so I'm just releasing that B into the universe of ridiculous grading. Elise has also been busy with play rehearsals after school every day and preparing to become a 14 year old almost-woman the end of this week. Oh, and she got bangs!
I just made her pose for this pic, even though she didn't want to. But this post needed her smiling face, and I also needed the opportunity to type, "She bangs! She bangs!' (In our old ward, there was a middle aged woman with the last name Vang, and Forrest would always sing "She Vangs, she Vangs!" under his breath when she'd walk by, just to try and make me crack up. It still makes me crack up, just thinking about it, actually.)
Along with Ethan's busy school schedule, he's been speeching it up. He's placed a few times, most recently earning second place in creative expression. Here he is wearing a stoic expression, holding his medal:
Creative expressionist by day, hit man by night
And just for kicks, here's a commercial he made for his English class. He said the "Thanks, Obama" line got the most laughs:
Jonas has been busy too. His Battle of the Books team from last year reunited: Revenge of the Nerd Herd was a force to be reckoned with, but a group of 5th grade girls barely edged them out for the class championship.
Only socially confident children can nerd it up so unselfconsciously
The traditional nerd herd pyramid
You can't see the poster very well -- I should have taken a picture -- but it included flying sea turtles.
He had a pretty good time on his academic triathlon team, too, even though they got handily trounced by the 6th grade teams they were required to compete against:
My only Academic Triathlon picture. Not very compelling, I realize, but it's better than nothing!
And Wyatt's just been hanging with his mom, chillin' like a 5 year old. The other day he took my camera and went around the house, taking pictures of whatever piqued his interest. So here's a photo essay, by Wyatt Dean:
Look at the proportions! A truly symmetrical shot.
Wyatt's meditations on the jarring juxtaposition of "play life" with "adult spaces" in the 5-year-old universe
This particular shot says something about the human condition, I'm sure of it.
Actually kind of pretty
And a little haunting, wouldn't you say?
Then he turns the camera sideways and takes a blurry picture of his mother.
So I took one of him:
What a kid! And a great way to end this post. We have a bunch o birthdays and a fun trip coming up, so stay tuned. For at least 2-4 weeks. :-)
