Graduation...well sort of.

He did it!  After passing through the fire and flames, my little brother Dallas graduated from Howard Dental School!  I'm beaming with pride at his incredible accomplishment.  Congratulations to Dallas AND his cute little family.  I guess the reason I feel so inclined to brag about Dallas is because I have somewhat of an idea of the amount of hard work it took for them to get where they are now. 

There have been several times in my life when I have experienced some sort of challenge and failed to realize the gravity of the event until it was over.  Getting Danny through dental school was one of those times.  Seeing Dallas with his wife and 2 kids at the same crossroads we were at ten years ago, reminds me of this.  When I reflect back on those years I often think, "That was HARD.  How the heck did we do that?"  (Actually, I think our stint in dental school was a cake walk compared to Dallas', but that's another story.)  Sometimes I wonder if my reserve is decaying, because I really think I used to be stronger than I am now.  Back then at least I could do harder things anyway.  But then again, maybe I'm in the thick of the battle right now and I don't even recognize it because I'm too busy just plodding along.

Next point.  Being together with all my siblings in Washington DC  for a week to celebrate said graduation, reminds me that as far as families go, we never really graduate at all.  It was so great to spend time with everyone.  I mean, my family really is AWESOME.  We all genuinely like each other and we have a lot of fun when we're together.  I love that we are super supportive of each other.

The funny thing about it is that I notice after a few days, we all revert back to our childhood roles.  Each of us ends up behaving in the same ways we used to, with the same familial dynamics.  Most of the time  it's fun and downright hilarious, but other times not so pretty.  Not wanting to impugn the character of my beloved siblings,  I will only confess my own role.

When we're all in the trenches together, I cope by becoming so self absorbed that I barely even notice the needs of others.  By focusing on my own agenda I am justified in being ignorant of another's suffering.  This results in my being able to avoid taking sides and remain uninvolved when the heat is on.  I'm not saying this is right or wrong, its just the same way I used to work when I was a kid.  Since I'm the oldest of six, I never had to live in the wake of an older sibling.  My parents attention was focused on me a lot of the time because I was the trailblazer.  Certainly this made me feel important and loved, but as a result I was self-centered and oblivious to the feelings of others.  Now don't get me wrong, I am in NO WAY blaming my parents for this.  I think they did a stellar job raising us all and they were exemplary parents.  It's just an observation.

I loved my childhood and I would guess that all my brothers and sisters would say the same thing.  Maybe it's not a bad thing that we still haven't graduated from it.

And by the way...Happy Birthday Mom!  This one is for you.  We sure did miss you in DC.  

Family Fun Festival

Legend Springs Elementary turns into a veritable carnival every spring when the PTA hosts it's annual fundraiser, the Family Fun Festival.  Danny and I calculated that we have now attended 8 such events.  We  have 6 more to go before all our kids have navigated through the waters of K-6.  Each year the kids enthusiastically wave the fliers announcing the event in my face.  They and ask with hope shining bright in their little faces, "Mom, can we go? Please, can we go?"  I try to disguise the dread rising in the pit of my stomach as I smile and reply, "Of course we can go!"  We always go.   I always tell myself that we will only stay a short time.  I intentionally pre-order scant few game tickets hoping that the kids will get their fill of carnival games quickly. Danny always caves and buys fists full more when we arrive. Despite my lack of genuine excitement, I always have a good time watching the kids.  This year was no exception.  I'll admit that I actually had a lot of fun taking photos with the new Hipstamatic iphone app.  I love the vintage look that emerges from this cheap, imposter of a low tech camera!

Gavin tried the Euro-Bungie.  He was just getting the hang of it when his turn was over.

It seems that we always end up at the cake walk.
Gavin won donuts this year!

Happy Birthday Romney!

Fifteen years ago today my life was changed in a monumental way.  I became a mom.  A mom to this amazing little person.   I used to stare at her  when she was tiny and try to imagine what she would be like when she got older.  What would she look like?  What would she be like?  What would she want from life?  Who would she turn out to be?

She meant everything to me and I had a lot of work to do to prove that to her.

Here she is today.  She is gorgeous.  She is clever.  She is kind.  She is generous.  She is creative.  She is loyal.  She is obedient.  She is trustworthy.  She is thoughtful. She is determined.  She is optimistic.  She is inspiring. 

Fifteen years ago I had no idea how much joy this one person would bring into my life.  I am so proud of her.  I marvel at her everyday.  

She still means everything to me and I still have a lot of work to do.  

Pandamonium

We made these awesome cupcakes featured in the super fun book Hello Cupcake.  There are lots of uber creative ideas in there for all sorts of occasions.  The best part is that all the ideas are relatively easy and made  completely form store-bought items.  No fancy decoration equipment needed!

Happy Easter!

Easter and Conference on the same weekend.  Does it get any better than this?  Nope.  I love that we get to celebrate the most significant day in the Christian world while eating chocolate and lounging in our pajamas.  Since it was also cousin Scout's birthday, we spent the afternoon watching conference together at Brooke and Tony's.  Well we attempted at least.  This next photo was forcibly posed and undoubtedly the only brief moment that everyone was quiet enough to hear any of the speakers.

Maybe I'll submit it to The Friend?

Dyeing eggs is always one of my favorite traditions.  This year the glitter dyes were a big hit with the kids.  The paint did make the eggs pretty slippery, so I think we managed to drop and crack 97% of our eggs.  Tatum was especially good at dropping, but this technique made a really cool, accidental design on her egg that we discovered after she shelled it.

  

 

 

EGG HUNT!

 

 

Tony finds his favorite Easter treat...

Aptly named Tripp provided the day's entertainment.

HAPPY 9TH BIRTHDAY SCOUT!

another of Brooke's cake creations

And finally. Aftin's most thrilling moment was finding some fake, stick-on fingernails (made to look like watermelon and strawberries) in her Easter basket.  She spent the rest of the day trying to have them noticed and admired by all.  Gorgeous huh?

  

Don't Do This

It was a morning of bad luck breakfasts. My super sweet little Tatum was being so thoughtful and decided to make me and the kids some hard boiled eggs. The eggs didn't cook quite long enough so when Gavin tried to shell his, it was a gross runny mess. Not really even soft boiled. We threw them away and then had to leave for school. Well when I came home I thought I'd give it another go and boil a couple more eggs. I put them on the stove and proceeded to go about my business. About an hour later I was in the office and I heard a BANG! Thinking the dog was up to mischief, I went to catch Roscoe red handed, and this is what I found. Explosion of hard boiled eggs. very smelly. The water had completely evaporated and scorched the pot as well as the eggs. I even found bits of egg on the opposite side of the kitchen island and blasted up into the oven hood. Dang it.

Spring Break

So I was kinda reluctant to leave Phoenix in the lovely month of March to spend our spring break in bleak, chilly, smoggy Salt Lake City. But I did it all for this little guy. Wilson Franklin Jones.

Lacee and Ryan (sister and brother-in-law) blessed their first born and we managed to make it a family affair. Since Dad is currently on a mission in Hong Kong, it's up to the kids to represent. All Steele siblings and respective families were able to make it with the exception of Dallas. We missed that guy. Anyway, we had a wonderful week and Ryan's blessing of his son was exceptionally well done. Events like this are what life is all about.

Here are a few more highlights from our trip:

Utah State Capitol

Last minute, we dragged cousin Courtney along for the spring break road trip, seeing as she had NEVER been to Utah before and we felt obligated to enlighten her. After our tour of the newly rennovated Utah Capitol Building we now know more about Utah Legislative procedure than we do about our own home state. It was pretty cool.

Really?

Obligatory Temple Square Photos

Cookie College

The kids all graduated with honors. This fun day was at The Neighborhood Bakery in Gardner's Village. Their education started with a tour of the bakery (cool gadgets) and then they got to make and decorate their own batch of cookies. The owner of the bakery was impressed with Romney's name and informed us that she is a relative as well. Although, I'm not so sure she was impressed with Romney's and Courtney's foot cookies. Warts included.