the new disney movie "up"

Go see it! I laughed throughout the entire movie.

A little memento mori, if you will...

(This is not intended for anyone in particular. It is just the rantings of a school teacher who is out for the summer and doesn't have so much to do right now. Bryant and I have talked and laughed about the following subject a lot since he started working for Sentry. It is just one of those human follies that I felt like discussing today. Deep Thoughts by Jessica Slade...)

For those of you who don't have life insurance, I have some things to say. Most importantly, you will eventually die. Yes, I know this is hard to believe, but death is the only thing certain in life. It kills me that some people don't think they need life insurance - no pun intended. Don't you love your family? Don't you want them to be taken care of, not if but when you die? It is so funny to me that out of auto, home owner's, and life insurance, Bryant by far sells the least life. That's the only thing you need for sure - life insurance! Odds are that your house won't burn down and you won't total your car out, but there is a 100% chance that you will die. Apparently people are unaware of this. I hate to sound like Machieveli, but this illustrates the point that people only do the things they are forced to do. Since law requires auto insurance and mortgage companies require homeowner's insurance, people get those. Anyway, call him if you need a quote. Sentry has great rates on life insurance, just like they do on everything else. His number is 480.227.7111. If you call him, tell him I referred you. Then he will do the dishes for me. Just kidding. He does the dishes for me anyway. Did I ever mention how awesome he is before?

Campers?

If any or you have campers or family or friends with campers and you think they might be interested in renting them out, please let me know. My Enslen family is coming to Arizona in June of 2010 for a John and Dianne Enslen Family Reunion. We are going to stay here in the valley some and probably spend some time at the Grand Canyon. My brother, Jacob, already has this huge RV that his family will be staying in. We thought it would be fun if the rest of us rented some so that we could all stay close together.

A Comparison Between Bryant and Umba

versus

Yes, I have turned into one of those people who blogs about their pets. I'm sorry, but we have this awesome cat, Umba. Y'all have seen pictures of him cuddling with Sibley, getting a makeover, etc. There are several factors that have prompted me to blog about him today, namely:
I am out of work for a while, and don't have a whole lot to do. I really need to clean house, but who wants to do that? I just in general don't have much to blog about right now.
Skyler put this bandanna around his neck today, and he looks so cute that we had to take pictures.

Bryant really hates all of the cats, but especially Umba. One reason is that Umba always announces himself by meowing loudly when he walks into the house. Anyway, I am always telling Bryant that we love Umba so much for the same reasons we love Bryant. He is so big and fun to hug, and he loves to play all the time and snuggle with us, just like Bryant. Also, they both like naps and have thick necks. Skyler told me to write that they are both hairy too. This is what he gets for leaving us alone for a while.

Sibley's Imaginary Scentsy Party

For the last couple of days, Sibley has been tediously working on her Scentsy Store and imaginary party. As you can see, she has organized my samples into pyramids according to color. She took pictures and asked me to share them with all of you. She is offering the samples at one penny and they are buy one get one free. What a bargain. She said her goal is to get 5 comments. My girls really love getting comments (hint hint).

On a serious note, if any of you would like to have a for real Scentsy party this summer, I will give you a free warmer in addition to all of the hostess benefits that Scentsy already offers. You don't even have to have a party - per se. Just borrow my samples and I'll give you some order forms and catalogs and you can get some orders from your family and friends at the gym, work, ball practice, bunko night, etc. All it takes is $150 in orders, and that qualifies you for hostess benefits, free shipping, and a free warmer from me.

Meet Dolley Madison

For Skyler's 5th grade social studies famous person research project, she was assigned Dolley Madison. What a privilege! It was so fun for us to learn more about her. She was a true Southern belle - born in North Carolina and reared on a plantation in Virginia. As we all know, she was a wonderful cook and entertainer, but she was so much more. She was such a strong, resilient woman. I will post the report so that those of you who wish to learn more can do so. Gwen sewed this Jane Austen inspired dress for Skyler and loaned her the jewelry. And Skyler, Sibley, and I baked an old fashioned Colonial pound cake. [It is difficult to hear her little speech in the video because she was set up next to Mozart, who was constantly playing his violin. And, as usual, Skyler's daddy was teasing her. He was putting the camera right in her face. So that's why she stops and asks him to back up.]

The 5th graders not only have to give a report to their class, but they also have to act as their assigned person for "Wax Museum" night at the school, in which parents and other family members come and tour the different stations/characters set up all over the school. I must say, Skyler looked so pretty, even if I am partial. Here's her report:

Dolley Madison: A Brave and Sweet First Lady

Dolley Madison was a very sweet and brave first lady. She was known for her hospitality and culinary skills. One of the things that people liked about her was that she loved French fashion. Before her, no other first ladies had been born in North Carolina. Dolley decorated almost the whole entire White House when she was first lady.

Dolley Madison was born on May 20, 1768. Some historians argue that Dolley is short for Dorothea, but at birth she was registered as “Dolley.” She had three younger sisters and four brothers. She was born in Guilford County, N.C., but her parents were just visiting there at the time. Her family actually lived in Hanover County, Virginia. Her parents were John Payne and Mary Cole, and they owned a plantation. Many things happened early in her life; The Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, signing of the Declaration of Independence, and the Battle of Valley Forge.

Later in Dolley’s life, she went to Salem Academy in Winston-Salem, N.C. In 1790, she married John Todd, Jr. They had two sons, John Payne Todd and William Temple Todd. In 1793, Dolley’s husband and youngest son died of yellow fever. Dolley and her oldest son, John Payne, also caught yellow fever, but they were able to recover.

In 1794, Dolley met James Madison at a boarding house. They were soon married at George Washington’s nephew’s plantation in Harewood, Virginia. Mr. Madison was seventeen years older than she was. Together they raised John Payne, who they called “Payne.”

James Madison was elected president in 1809, which made Dolley first lady. She was a popular first lady for her hospitality and style. She served elegant, delicious dinners at the White House. As first lady, she promoted the arts, libraries, an orphanage, and the building of the Washington Monument.

In addition, one day during the War of 1812, President Madison left Dolley to go check on the soldiers and see how they were doing. Every few minutes, First Lady Madison checked her telescope to look for the British Army. She saw them approaching in the distance, so she gathered important documents and papers, and insisted to take a very famous portrait of George Washington. Dolley made it out just in time, before the British burned the White House. Many people thought she was a hero.

Dolley lived in Washington, D.C. until her husband’s term ended in 1817. Then they returned to Virginia. James died in 1836, and she moved back to Washington, D.C. She resumed her role as hospitable hostess, and entertained friends and government officials.

Dolley Madison died on July 12, 1849. She was 81 years of age. She had her family read her the Bible in her last days. Her favorite book was St. John. Mrs. Madison had a stroke, and had fallen asleep for 18 hours until the family became concerned and called the physician . Just before she died, she would hear her son’s voice and say “my poor son.” Dolly Madison had known the first eleven Presidents. There is now a street in Greensboro, N.C. named after her. Dolley was a very sweet and brave first lady .

Oceanography Camp

Sibley's 7th Birthday Party

This year Sibley decided to go with a Luau theme. We had a $50 budget, and thanks to Dollar Tree and some CVS and Walgreen's coupons, we stayed under budget! I also had a friend of mine make a Hawaiian mix, so we had great music for the party too. I wish we could have made some video, but my computer died last week, so I couldn't unload all of the pictures/video footage from my camera, which meant I had to use Bryant's, and his doesn't have a video option. Anyway, I'm sorry for the erroneous information. Back to the party. Sibley carefully hand picked each and every decoration. She also chose the little umbrella straws, which were a big hit. She helped me ice the cake and she decorated it all by herself with the blue fish, which was all her idea. She definitely has opinions and directions she wants to go in, motif-wise, so I just go with the flow. For their craft, the kids made ocean themed visors. The older girls and Bryant really helped me out, and I sure appreciate it. Everyone had a good time. Happy Birthday Sibley!

The Final Flute Concert of the School Year

Wow! Our little flautist has come a long way this year! We are so proud of her and love hearing her play. We are very much looking forward to hearing her concerts next year with the sixth grade band. Here are some excerpts from last week's concert.

(I added a tiny little clip of this sixth grade girl who is a prodigy on the violin. And she doesn't even normally play the violin. She plays the viola usually, but wanted to challenge herself, so she learned this solo on the violin. I mean to tell y'all, this girl can fiddle. Watch and you'll see.)

Battle of the Books

Skyler and two of her friends won the Battle of the Books Contest at Towne Meadows Elementary. They went on to represent their school in the Regional Battle of the Books for the Gilbert School District. They did so well. They only missed one answer. We are so proud of Skyler and it was really fun to watch her and her friends participate, even though I got so nervous for our girls when it was their turn. So, here is our cute Towne Meadows team:

Crazy Sock Day and Crazy Hair Day

I wanted to add some things about Crazy Hair Day. It just happened to fall on the same day as the Regional Battle of the Books Competition this year. Skyler still wanted to participate though. So, when I woke up that morning, this is what I saw. She had set her alarm and gotten up and done this all by herself. It was so funny because every time she took a step or turned her head, her hair would flop. Then Sibley woke up, and Skyler fixed Sibley's hair too.

She took a brush with her to school to fix her hair back to normal before the Battle of the Books, so when we got there she already had it back to normal in a ponytail. But I had told her to keep it "crazy" so that it would both intimidate and distract her opponents.