Music can change people

"Music can change the world, because music can change people."

-Bono

If you know me at all, you definitely know about my borderline obsession with U2 (ok it's not borderline, it’s a full out obsession). They, in my mind, changed Christian music and made it main stream and did it in a way that most people don’t know they are listening to Christian music. I know because I was in my late 20's before I realized it. However, that is another discussion for another day. I started with this quote from Bono, because it applies to what we were able to witness as a family last night.

Alex has been playing the cello for a little over a year now. Mandy and I wanted our boys to be well rounded. We encouraged both of them to want to play an instrument. We let them choose and thanks to The Piano Guys and "Cello Wars," Alex chose the cello (if you don't know what Cello Wars is, really get out from under your rock and You Tube it). We lucked out by having a neighbor who teaches cello and was willing to start teaching to an 8 year old. Alex is like his mother, that usually when he starts something, he can pick it up right away and run with it. If he doesn't get it right, right away, he gets frustrated and shuts down. The cello was no exception to that. I think he fully expected to start playing Piano Guys type music right away. When he wasn't able to, he became despondent and didn't want to play anymore. It was a struggle. He would get good at one song, and then struggle again when he had to move on to something new. The repetitive practicing was a grind on him. He would refuse to practice most days and then it was a battle with us. Most of that changed when he was asked to play in front of his 3rd grade class a couple of months ago. He was able to gain some confidence in himself by playing in front of others. It changed him. He was more confident in his abilities. He saw the value of what hard work can do. Alex is a very competitive person (I have no clue where he got that trait from), but he is also very hard on himself. He wants do the best at everything he tries but he beats himself up if he doesn't succeed. The cello has become an outlet for him. He can see the daily benefits now.

All of these emotions culminated last night at his recital. His music teacher, along with two other teachers, combines their students for a recital in a church in Ogden. He was going to play in front of close to 75 people. My little man was nervous as soon as soon as we got in the car (didn't help I was just as nervous for him. Mandy as always is the rock and didn't doubt what he was capable of).

He played in front of his family and both grandmas and he nailed it. This was the best he has played to this point. The joy and relief on his face when he was finished was worth the past year of struggles for him. It clicked for him that hard work can pay off. We couldn't be more proud of him and not because he played well, because he rocked it (I know rocked doesn't usually describe a French Folk song but it does here). I am proud of him because he took a struggle for him and learned and improved himself.

 

 

 



All Out

All the laundry pictures I have done so far have been, almost exclusively Connor related. It's been, Legos, candy wrappers, plastic knives, coins and a sticky hand. All Connor. Alex is strarting to get to that age where is more resposible, more mature. So he doesn't leave as much in is pockets. Who am I kidding? The only reason there hasn't been more Alex related pictures is because books, video games and baseballs won't fit in his pockets. Even his Lego's he is starting to leave intact more often than not.

I've been wracking my brain on how I can involve Alex more in this (he'll have his own post again tomorrow. So excited for tonight for him.). All kidding aside he is getting to that more independant stage of life. We (by we I mean Mandy) devloped a chore chart for both of them. They both have to have daily chores done to receive their allowance at the end of the week. Since we started this Alex has been gungho to get these chores done daily. He is making his bed, laying out his school clothes, helping with dinner and even sweeping floors. I know the great motivator is his money at the end of the week but isn't that what life is supposed to be about? Hard work, whether it be finicicnal or spiritual, has a reward at the end.

During last weeks laundry pic I mentioned that until Alex put more than grass stains on his pants, he probably would not be involved in this section. Well, someone gave me the great idea to write about the grass stains. I would give credit to the source of this inspiration but you know how mother-in-laws get if you give them credit for anything.

The picture above represents a pair of khakis that are only about a month old. What can this tell us about Alex? Well, first off it's part of a school uniform from the khaki material. The grass stain goes from top left to bottom right, so my guess is he fell and didn't slide on this one. That is just he superifical of what that tells me about my son.

 

 

 

New Religion?

When talking with kids, you always get the sense that it's their world and we are just visitors in that world. When my boys say or do something that we as parents don't agree with, what I've found is what they said or did, made perfect sense in their mind. We cannot rationalize what they just said but it made sense to them. Connor is the living embodiment of this train of thought. We have had many epic (I know epic is used too much these days but I'm using here) battles and 93.5% of the time it's because I did not take the time to figure out what he was really trying to say.    

Case is point is this weeks Connorism. It was not a battle or disagreement, but rather one of those, "What?" moments. 

I posted the other day about our trip into that separate country that is Utah County. At the Thanksgiving Point Museum we saw that movie about the Unseen World we live in. (Editors note: again if you did not read about it the other day. The museum was a really well done. The entire place was worth the 75 minute drive, yes I timed it.) While we were waiting outside the theatre doors for the movie to start, Connor was walking around looking at the other movie posters that were playing. He then runs over to me pulls in my arm and proudly announces, and I say announces because it really is and announcement, "Papa, I need to work on my Jewish." Now stop and realize, where we were and what he just said. I was not the only one present that had that raised eyebrow, concerned, confused look. I was actually stunned into silence. I now had to put on my Sherlock hat (Yes I own deerstalker hat) to determine what he was trying to say. I calmly and seriously asked him, "What?" he replied with, "I really need to work in my Jewish." Again, I have no clue what he is saying. Mandy and I are both furiously to figure out what he is saying. I asked him more calmly this time, "I don't understand what you buddy. Why do you need to work in being Jewish?" He replied, "Not being Jewish, Papa. I need to work in it so I can understand the movie." This is the moment he walks over and points to the poster for the 3D IMAX movie ofJerusalem, . At this point We are trying our hardest not to convulse into uncontrollable fits of laughter. We had to explain the difference between Jewish, Judaism, and Jerusalem. I am proud that he knew enough to associate being Jewish and Jerusalem. 

I have learned that I need to slow down as a parent and try to understand what my boys are really trying to say. Instead of being flippant or annoyed at situations such as these, and trust me I am not perfect about this, slow down. Think about things from our kids perspective. We will be surprised and proud of how they think. And one day I know I will definitely miss these moments of little innocence.  

Real Men Do Laundry

Two questions have been asked of me since I started this blog. First, "Do you really do all the laundry?" 

Second, "Are those pictures from the washer real?" My answers have been, sort of, and Yes.

I have been doing all of my own laundry since about 7th grade. I hated Jr High. I mean hated it. I started my first day with a buzz cut, braces and a goose egg on my forehead from catching a baseball with my face. I tried so hard to be who I thought my friends wanted me to be instead of being myself (hell I was in my 30's before I stopped doing it). Well one day my Mother washed one of my favorite pairs of shorts and shrunk them and turned them blue. I flipped out. She had ruined my social life from that point forward. I would never be the same. Society would now shun me my entire school life. Mom being who she was, let me scream it out. The next day I found instructions typed and hanging above the washer and dryer. I was now on my own. She would no longer touch my clothes. I was left to separate, wash, dry, fold and put away my OWN laundry. It was a powerful lesson on being responsible for yourself, and to a lesser extent, don't bite the hand that feeds you. 

Now I don't do all the laundry. Full disclosure here, though. When we first were married I insisted I do all the laundry. However, six months I decided to wash every pair of jeans and khakis we owned. It was a awesome gesture on my part, except I washed and dried them all with a tube of Chapstick. Minty fresh and grease stains. Yay me. From then day forward Mandy does her own clothes. But since having kids, its been a team effort as marriage is supposed to be. We both tackle the different tasks that need to be done. It's how we work and it's how we have made it work for 14 years now. There is no man jobs or women jobs (except trash I've found out. Oh and toilets, I get those too. Poop scooping after the dog is all me....), it's a shared responsibility. Even cooking. Mandy does most dinners and I clean up. I do breakfast on the weekends and anything on the grill is mine. So, yes I do the laundry and I wear a skirt while doing it. Don't judge.

The second question, yes all of these pictures are REAL, not staged. Any of you with more than one boy can probably relate to finding gems in their pockets. I'm sure girls do also, but since I have no daughters, I cannot comment. That is how the idea was planted for this. Almost on a weekly basis I would find coins, Legos, dirt, rocks, candy wrappers in the washer. I even found a pocket knife one time. Wait what, that was mine? Oh. Moving on then. Every item found had its own significance to its owner. Every item had a story behind it. I wanted to share with friends and family those stories. So yes those pictures are not staged and are real. 

Sorry this one went a little long but I wanted to delve into those two questions. I missed Lego of the week this week. Life got in the way. I still have some Connorisms to share. Lastly, thank you for reading this and all the positive feedback I have received since starting this. Thank you. 

Phillipians 4:13

Happy Valley

So our spring break consisted of Mandy and the boys having mostly hanging at home or with some friends. So today we decided to head down south to Happy Valley. Alex dubbed it enemy territory and even wore his Utes hat and watch to deflect the blue. Definitely one of my proudest moments as a father. We first went to Cabela's. Holy moly, (official Utah County slang) that store has just about anything a gun toting, outdoorsman, fisherman, boatman might need. Alex had his first bison burger, only after I talked him out of pizza, but he loved it. Both boys loved the mountain of animals.

And the big game room

After we went over to Thanksgiving Point to the Dino Museum. That was fetching cool (slang again). Me being the eternal cheapskate was appalled at the prices to get in but it was worth the admission. We paid the extra $20 and saw a movie on the Unseen World we live in. It talked about science and how it lets us see the really small, fast, slow and invisible world around us. It was fun but the whole time I'm thinking, "How cool would Captain America be on this screen?" 

It wasn't in 3D, we just love our new sunglasses..

The rest of the museum was very well done. Lots of interactive exhibits that let them get hands on. Full size Diplodicus and Supersaurous was a huge hit (pun intended). 

For those in our GFA family, yes that is a notebook Alex is carrying around to take notes in. He has been taught well. They have full size replicas of all different sort of sea Dino's that I have never heard of, much less spell. Their were wolly mammoths and meglodon sharks. You could even dig in the sand for plastic dinos but no way they were doing that and getting back in the car. Sorry I know joy kill. 

All things being equal today was worth venturing into Happy Valley. 

Old Friends

This weeks laundry picture again is brought to you by Connor. Until Alex starts leaving more than sand and grass stains in/on his clothes, we will most likely stick with Connor. 

Do you have those friends that are good, if not great friends, that you never seem to able to see much anymore? You have kids, mortgages, and a job, so you can never seem to find the time to get together. The great thing about these kind of friends, you always pick up where you left off. There is no awkwardness or uncomfortable silences as soon as the evening starts. Well, we had that with some friends two weeks ago (yes I know, two weeks between loads. I've been lazy. Back off). Connors memento from that evening reminded me what a great night it was. 

Two plastic knives. Left in the hands of a six and five year old boy, can either be a ninja sword, laser gun, or even Leonardo's swords (Turtle not artist. Although the artist might have had samurai swords? Who knows). These were a stow away, accidentally, from that evening.

I have been friends with this person for going on 24 years. We have been through thick and thin. Cliche, I know but it's true. We went through a rough patch and are starting to emerge from that. Mandy and his wife get along great. She is teaching Mandy how to can and juice. Our kids are about the same ages and of the same temperament. It was a great evening of Mexican food, big wheels, badminton, Marvel cartoons and most importantly, guacamole. The kids stayed up way too late, had too much sugar and it was ok. We made a promise to try harder to see each others families more often and we have a sushi night planned end of this month. Hopefully we can stick with seeing each other more often. 

Both ends

If you have kids, eaten dinner with kids, gone to sporting events with kids, movie, and play, whatever, You know that at some point during the event, you're going to get the, "I have to go to the bathroom." Always, and I mean always, when we are out to dinner, Connor decides right as the food gets there that it is the perfect time to go visit the potty room. Always and I mean always, the trek to the bathroom and the event in said room, takes place at the same general pace as maple sap escaping its tree. So by the time you get back to your food, it’s the same temperature as Utah during inversion.

So of course when we were at Boston’s last weekend for dinner, Connor does his sign for bathroom, his middle finger crossed over his middle finger, and away we go. Back to the sign he does. This is infinitely better to use than when he used to announce to anyone in a two county radius that it was time to go poop. Anyway, so we make it to the restroom. He does his normal dance in front of the urinal. Starts to make his way to the sink, when he suddenly stops, and spurts out, "Uh oh, I need to go out the other end now." I thought it was funny. The gentlemen that had just walked in thought it was hilarious.

Both of my boys bring a smile to my face at least once a day. Alex through his general goofiness and Connor with him just being him. I don't write about his little sayings to embarrass him. I share them because he brings such joy to our family.