The hair wars continue... I want her hair down. She wants her hair up. I want the hair brushed all the time. She wants to brush on an "as-needed" basis and our definitions of "as-needed" differ. Greatly. If only her hair were my hair, I say, I would truly appreciate it. If she had my hair she could cut it short and forget about it. Sigh. Anyway, perhaps a temporary cease-fire has been reached--I am requested to brush and braid it on a daily basis. She has compassion on me. My beautiful girl.


















The tall man got all 4 wisdom teeth out. He did the manly thing: he drank his food and he took no vicodin. He kept waiting for the pain to be unbearable enough for the big drugs, but he ended up being fine with ibuprofen and ice. Ice especially for the first 24 hours. Things he didn't get to eat when his mouth was sore: pork chops, fish and chips (homemade), pizza, sweet and sour meatballs... I thought we should have eaten all his favorite things, but I'm just mean that way. I tenderly cared for him with: mashed potatoes, broth, yogurt, cottage cheese, diet shakes, ice cream, smooshed pasta, smooth chili. And! We forgot to take his mission photo before the extraction, so we had to take one the evening after his teeth were taken. Here he is, numbed (notice the inability to smile), swollen and very tired, with jeans on the bottom half and the new suit on the top half. Sweet man.


The CAR is almost done! Actually, it is done and sitting at school, drying in the paint booth. Chase says it looks really good. Here are photos of Chase in the painting booth and the car all primered and ready for the final coats.


He brings it home tomorrow. Here's the official description of how he chose to paint it: "black primer underneath red pearl in the clear coat". I can't wait to see it. I'll post photos. It's a totally original choice--he made it up himself. So, after months of body work and tons and tons of sanding, he is just about done. He says all he has left to do is the final very very very fine sanding (to get rid of the "orange peel look") and a buffing. Then it will be perfect. I think he might cry like a baby when he gets the first ding on that paint job. And I've already announced to all current and future adolescent drivers that no one but I and DAD will be driving the car while Chase is on the mission. For one thing, I can't wait to drop the insurance on a teenager driving a sports car!
And no, we have not yet received the mission call. We expect it any time. Maybe this week? Maybe next. All summer plans are on hold until we know what his schedule will be like. I've got butterflies in my stomach already, thinking about my very very nice son being away for so many months. And, you know, once they leave home, it's never quite the same again. However, in my experience, although it's certainly not the same, it's not less happy. A good change is okay with me. And he's making a good change.

My baby turned 12 this week and was ordained a Deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood. One of the things I love about him is his ability to take serious things seriously. He is an intense little boy when the matter is serious. He's a genuinely good boy too. Here he is with his birthday ice cream pie (probably the easiest dessert to make EVER), and with his birthday loot--one present every hour for the 12 hours of his 12th birthday. Note the pj bottoms that Allegra made out of outgrown t-shirts (wow!).


















A few weeks ago I drove to Idaho (by myself) to visit Rayne and help her get ready for her "literary pilgrimage"--the study abroad program that she got into this year. During spring break, when everyone's housing contracts end and begin and most students go home for the week, Rayne had to be on campus every day for 7 hours or so for the first of the two weeks her literary pilgrimage program spent on campus. Of course, her housing contract had expired the weekend before spring break and she had no new housing contract since she'd be leaving the country in 2 weeks. So, that left her homeless in Rexburg Idaho for 2 weeks. The first few days of the first week she moved in with a friend, slept in an empty bed (cuz the other tenants were still away for spring break) and lived out of her boxes. Then I came and we loaded all her boxes and suitcases and bags into the car and unloaded everything into my little hotel room. Can you tell which bed is hers? Rayne actually slept in that bed without removing any of the stuff from off the top of it. And our very sweet housecleaner at that hotel actually managed to make the bed after a fashion without disturbing our piles. Anyway, we spent some happy days packing and shopping and planning and going to dinner and hanging out with her friends before I finally shipped her boxes, transported her with her remaining things back to her friend's apartment and drove away. She slept on the floor at her friend's for another 5 days or so before she took the shuttle for SLC, slept on the floor at another friend's place for a few nights and finally got on the plane to Dublin, Ireland. Such a great experience for her! She's having a ball and has been to Ireland, England, Wales, England again, Wales again and will return once more to England before finishing the trip in France. I'm really looking forward to her return--I can't wait to see the photos and all the loot she's purchased!

So that sums up the last month, I guess. We're so blessed.