Board of Review

He's been planning this since he was 14 - but tonight - 3 months before his 18th birthday, he FINALLY gets it!  I'm proud of him because HE did it, we didn't do it!  He found names, HE made calls, the only thing we did was ask how it was coming along and what he was doing next...and then "did you do it?" and of course, we helped volunteer on the project, but from what I've seen/heard from friends & others, mostly the parents look up a project, they're the contact, they look up phone numbers, and dial the phone for their sons, they write the script of what to say when their sons are on the phone with various people, but my baby boy, he did it ALL.  Glad it's over...now 3 years before the next one will be ready - then 3 more years before he decides he'll think about doing it - and then, just before his birthday, he'll finish it, too! :D - hopefully not, but I'm glad to say Rossi did it himself!  *THAT* is initiative and *THAT* is leadership :D

Halloween time

Kiersten painting a flower on her baby sister!

Kali is dressed like the girl from "Tron" she was in white w/ white hair, but the pictures didn't show both her glowy lights and her whites w/ awesome boots!

fake eyelashes with sparklies on them

5 of the 6 Howie's the Joker from Batman

Ross had to wear a skirt because his legs were still pretty smooth from shaving them for his swim meet.  I thought he should take this opporunity to show them off. It's pretty manly to shave yourself for a swim meet, but it's not cool talking about it after the swim season is over.  At least it's not a tattoo.

A great backdrop at the ward party!

Butterfly Binnie

New York Trip

I tagged along on a business trip of Ross's to New York.  It was a due diligence meeting and they put him up in the Waldorf Astoria.  So of course, I had to go! I know these pictures are out of order, so bare with me while I jump around on the timeline, but just describe the pictures as they come up!  Here is a picture of (front row) Uncle Jimmy, me, Aunt Vera, Aunt Betty, her daughter Joyce Ann and in the back row, my brother Pete and John, Betty's youngest son.

We took a train to NJ and Uncle Jimmy picked us up, took us to a quaint eatery in a strip mall and then on to Aunt Betty's where we looked at her walls of pictures and spend time reminiscing with her!  She's such a sweet lady!  I loved spending time with Uncle Jimmy, he reminds me so much of my late grandpa, same phrases, same voice, and just sweet as could be.

 Ross also took me to see WICKED on Broadway! It was a fantastic show.  We bought the sound track and some other photo books.  This picture was taken from just to the right of our seats, which were fantastic!

After "Wicked" we took a stroll around Time Square.  WOW!  What a night life!  The weather was fantastic, the atmosphere indescribable!

We also went to the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island.  Weeks before our trip, Ross went on line and bought us tickets so we could go up INTO the statue.  Which was a fun experience!

On Ellis Island, we found the wall of immigrants, below are pictures of both of my great grandfather's names.  This is my Grandpa Covino's dad, and below him you'll find my Grandma Covino's father, Vincenzo Marinucci's name.  What FUN to find these names!

This is a fun picture in Little Italy just before dinner.

We asked a local gelato salesman where the best place to eat was.

he told us to go to Angelo's.  I must agree. That is some of the best Italian food I've ever had!  (Excluding food in Italy, herself!)

Ross is occupying Wall Street here.

We rented bikes & went around Central Park.

 here is the Alice in Wonderland sculpture.

And "the clock" in the Waldorf where we stayed.  Apparently it's a "popular" photo spot...so we decided to be like lemmings & have our picture taken there!

And in central park, the Balto monument.

The bike

You may or may not remember this birthday present, but after a fantastic day of his very last high school meet and breaking personal records, finishing up his eagle project and having to look forward to doing NOTHING for the next few months, a day full of HIGHs in emotion...we learned that Rossi's bike was stolen.

Some people have told me "well, whoever took it must have needed it more than him."  Well, yah, I guess that's a nice thing to think about to keep you from being bitter and angry - but in all honesty, whoever stole it from him, didn't need it more than him.  What they NEED is some ethics.  What they NEED is to EARN their own bike - and I don't count learning how to pick open a lock as the right kind of education.  What they NEED is parents who taught them right and wrong.  What they need is consequences for their action.  Maybe their intents were good "I'm stealing this bike because my dad is a drunk and just left our family, my mom has cancer and lost her job and my siblings need to eat, I need a bike so I can get to work and back to get money so I can feed them..." How very proud this mother must be? She taught her children to value the old addage "what's mine is mine and what's yours is mine" wait...not sure any responsible parent would teach their child that.  What?  I'm going too hard on the mother of the bike thief?  After all the bike thief is also a child of God.  Well, so was Lucifer, and his sorry butt got kicked out.  Sometimes you need some tuff luv. 

That bike was my son's transportation to seminary, school, work...and more than anything, when he needed a break and to get out to relax in a quiet location to write in his journal, he would take that bike out for a ride...to feel the wind in his hair, to go where cars can't fit, and to find his center again.

To the bike thief....may the fleas of a thousand camels infest your arm pits.

My baby boy is in the paper again!

Here's a fun story on the community clean up project that Rossi helped prep for (it was his eagle project to prep the house for the community day!)

Last meet of the season...

It's like saying goodbye to an old friend.  Here are some great pictures of my baby boy - and a video of his fantastic run at the 100 butterfly.  (Notice how far behind he was from the guy to the right - and how he caught up with him after being under water about 1/2 of the pool distance!) You hear me at the end "Did he break a minute?" and then I saw the final time & then you'll hear some squealing...yah, that was me.  He was so pleased with himself after that race, and he should have been!  It was a fantastic race.  59:58.  His previous time was 1:02.12

Now here are some other photos of him swimming throughout the season.

 I have to look at those shoulders and think DANG! Is it just me - or can you actually see those muscle fibers?

Eagle Project

Ross's eagle project was to prepare a home to receive help from "Mormon Helping Hands."  He had to take down a dilapidated wall and replace it with siding, so his house could get a fresh coat of paint, grade the yard to prepare it to receive rocks (also for "Mormon Helping Hands") and remove his "fence" (which was a combination of iron rods, chain link and steel doors) Those came down - and a chain link fence went up. So here is the yard "before" (the level between the yard and the sidewalk was about a foot difference, the yard had to come down to be level with the retaining wall in order for the rock to stay in the yard and not spill over to the sidewalk.

here are some kids digging out the fence and bringing
the grade down.

Here is a view from the sidewalk of the modge-podge of fence...steel doors, iron and chain link between the two.











Here are some of the boys moving a steel door - they were some pretty heavy buggers!












Below is a "before" of the house - where the wood had rotted away and/or fallen off?  We took this wall down and put up the siding (which was difficult, because the 2x4s did not have consistent spacing and - if you see toward the bottom, they didn't always go from top to bottom, in one board...



below is a nice "before" of the front view of the house and yard.

 

And below me now is the "AFTER" picture, with rock in and house painted and fence put back up!

Life's Lessons

When Rossi was 3, we had just moved to the Phoenix area, we left our apartment to play downstairs in the "big grass" as he liked to call it.  He picked a flower from the garden, and I told him not to pick the flowers. (My purpose in telling him was because we didn't want all the pretty flowers to be gone and dead, then no one could appreciate them, but he learned a different lesson) While he was holding and showing me the flower, I saw, walking down the stem of the flower, was a recently disturbed bee.  I said in a calm voice, "Ross, put the flower down."  He was a curious boy, and didn't immediately obey my command.  I said it a little more firm "Ross, DROP the flower!" he looked at me and meant to reply, "It's okay, there are more flowers," but he didn't complete his sentence, because the bee stung him. 

The look on his face said it all "What magical powers must you possess to hurt my finger while you're so far away from me?" and "I wasn't doing anything wrong!"  and "Why did I get hurt because I picked this flower?!" Then came the blood curling scream, followed shortly by the tears.

I ran him upstairs - this was my first child, this was my first experience with a bee sting...what if he's allergic? What if he swells up and dies? I have a baby (Kiersten wasn't 1 yet) how can I take care of TWO children while one of them is in the process of dying?  I didn't know what to do...I paged my mom in Idaho at her work.  I went online (the internet was BRAND spankin' new - I was fancy to have access) - there was a stinger sticking out of his finger, and guts attached...I had always heard not to pull a stinger out because it would push the poison into the finger more...I called my mom (she had 5 children, and plenty of bee sting experience, I was stung once when I stepped on a bee - I don't remember screaming as loud or as long as my son, but I must have, because my son was BRAVE). 

After what felt like an eternity of Rossi writhing and crying and screaming and me wanting to know how to take away his pain (I remember wanting to know why bees had to sting, and if they had to sting, why did the sting have to hurt, and if it had to hurt, why couldn't I take the pain from my baby boy and inflict it upon myself...)...my mom finally called me...I don't remember the turn of events, whether she told me to use a credit card or if I read it on the internet, but my mom could hear Rossi screaming in the background, I'm sure she was just as concerned as I was - (I couldn't really hear her - Rossi has a LOUD voice, if you know him, you know what I'm talking about).

Finally we got the stinger out - and the pain slowly went away.  The next time we went downstairs, he looked at the beautiful flower garden and commented, "It's not good to pick the flowers" - I also noticed - when he got too close to the pond and I said "Ross, back away from the water,"  he immediately turned and walked away.  Could it be possible that the previous experience of his bee sting and not listening to his mother immediately had changed the way he viewed "obeying his mother?"

It seems as though - while I wanted to take his pain away - this was something he had to go through, in order to understand why it's important to obey your mother.  Now, this is a small analogy with seemingly minimal lasting effects.  Has my son obeyed every word I've ever said?  uh NO.  Does he remember this bee sting and how it came to pass?  I asked him - nope, nothin' in the noggin'. 

Additionally, I was listening to the BYU channel - (and I'm sorry that I can't give this guy credit because I had never seen him before, nor paid attention to his name, just heard the story, seems like it was a devotional somewhere).

Anyway - he was telling a story about when he was leaving his mission.  He was in his last interview with his mission president before leaving for home.  He indicated to his mission president that if he had it to do all over again, he would change this & that - a few little tweaks - to make his mission "perfect".  His mission president quickly shut him down "No you wouldn't change anything!" He went on to explain - everything you did, given the opportunity again, you would do it the exact same way you did it before. Because you would know the exact things you knew before.  The choices we make - and the natural consequences that follow - shape and mold who we are.

Our choices and experiences can show us different paths we need to take in the future, they can direct us toward current choices we have to make, we see our errors, the consequences, and we GROW from them.

Take a look back into your own life.  What choices have you made that you wish you could have a "do-over?"  If you had a do-over...and made a different choice, would you BE the person that you are today? These stories remind me what we have been told regarding our trials; that every peril you pass through in this life will give you experience and be for your good (see D&C 122:7).

Wicked Awesome easy skirts! (Tutorial)

Here are the cool easy skirts: (yes, they are twirl certified)

So here are the ingredients:

one measuring stick (or substitute for a 3x5 index card)

one of something to cut with (utility knife, sissors, teeth)

one sheet of cardboard at least 18"x5"

material (I use 5 different colors) - you'll need 15 inches of each

pineapple.  Not sure why that's there, but it looks good, right?

1" elastic - cut to however round your waist is

pencil

sewing machine

stitch ripper (not because *you* need it but because *I* need it)

paddle (to threaten children who take your scissors to bring them back)

So, use the index card here to mark your 5" spot on your cardboard (the 5 inches is the wider part of the 3X5 card, the skinnier part of the card is exactly 3 inches - funny how that works, right? - so you don't really even need a measuring stick!) I show you using the 3X5 card because I'm open to substitutions and adaptations.

Now, you have to determine how long you want the skirt - I opted for 18 inches (you will add another 5 inches later - so the total length of the skirt will be from waste to bottom - 23 inches)

Draw a line from the 5" mark to the 3" mark that is 18" long - so, it's not really a perfect rectangle more like a trapezoid - not that I remember that from 10th grade geometry - maybe it's rhombus?  But I know it's not a rectangle.

Pull out the handy dandy cutting utensil - my utility knife was very dull - we installed sod this fall - and that's the utensil of choice to square up the extra sod & go around the landscaping & stuff - it was frustrating to use - so I ran around the house looking for scissors - my kids took them - they think they can take whatever is in the house - except my haircutting scissors - so I took those to cut the cardboard with - I did this for your tutorial - don't laugh at my husband next time you see his hair cut  mkaythanks.

See the shape of the thing I cut?  Okay - so that's what you want to draw on your fabric - and you double up on the fabric - so you draw 3 of those odd shapes, but really you're cutting 6.

Look closely above, you can see my pencil lines - I change that cardboard shape back & forth so the skinny end is against the fat end on the next cut - so when you draw/cut three rhombi (or trapezoid, whatever it is) you're really only have to cut one line between the two pieces, you get? At this point, I have to stop again, because I'm feeling guilt about using my hair cutting scissors to cut cardboard & material - I run around the house for another 15 minutes looking in all the kids' special hiding places for them - and didn't find them.  Nope, nowhere.

BUT, I did find my rotary cutter in the fish food drawer.  YAY - seriously - if you guys don't have one of these - GET one - and then hope that some rotten kid didn't damage one part of the wheel so that you have a nice 3 inch cut with a little itty bitty not-cut - causing your material to be more perforated than cut.  But either way - this this is like buttah.

So, here's what you end up with...I cut 6 of each color (12 of the orange, because I used it between each of the fruit patterns) - so I have "4" colors

Sew these pieces together, alternating however you like. - right sides together, obviously - I don't need to tell YOU that...(that note is for ME - which is why I put a stitch ripper on my ingredient list)

At this point, you'll be needing to stop and answer the phone, no not that one, the battery is dead...go find another one...yah, that one's battery is dead, too...get the one stuck to the wall...okay - now that you answered the phone, you need to go pick up a kid from school - cause he's sick - yep, the very one that did something to your rotary cutter, and now you can't yell at him, because, well, he's sick.  And he already feels bad...So pick him up - but don't let him watch TV, that'll show him to mess with your rotary cutter...now, back to sewing.

look - it's so easy - even an 11 year old hippie chick can do it!

Okay - so now we have all the vertical pieces sewn together - this is an OPTION - you add this for length - or if you want a "cleaner" place to thread your waste-band - I used gingham here - because it has those cool grids on them (and it was part of my inheritance from my mom - it's like 40 years old - and coming back into style - I can totally use it here, it matches!) anyway - so I counted the grids and then cut along the 15th one - cause that looked good.

then fold it in half - and make sure whatever thickness elastic you choose fits in the tube you're about to sew.

Now...sew the tube, and again, make sure that you can still thread the elastic into it!

Now, sew your tube to the top part of your skirt, like so....

Okay - so that was the OPTIONAL part - if you don't do that, then fold the top part of your skirt down about an inch & a half and thread your elastic through that part.

Next: take another piece of gingham - this is going to be about 15 squares wide - (lets say about 5 inches - if you're not doing gingham) and it will be pieced together so it's as long as the bottom part of the skirt.  Hem it.  But have the stitch ripper handy, just in case you do something stupid...

like hem it into the outside of the skirt - so - rip it out - careful not to tear your mom's scrap 40 year old gingham fabric up - and then try it again....

Then put another stitch right along side the first hem, it just keeps it cleaner through laundry - and running around & stuff.

Now, sew the correct side of bottom strip to the bottom part of the skirt - so you won't need the stitch ripper any more....(but don't put it away just yet)

now, close the skirt up - end to end - sew it - and now you have one big huge circle.

Thread your elastic through the tube you made on the top - and because you don't want to use the stitch ripper again, you'll be needing to cut two little slits; one on each side of the hem you just closed up with you made the skirt into one big circle.  But it's okay - cause it's on the inside - and you can't really see - just looks like a tag or something.

And there's your skirt - this one is for the almost 12 year old 5 foot tall girl - not the two pictured up top - I used 12 inch long strips for them - one I added the extra "optional" tube for elastic and for length - cause she's 3 years taller than the smaller one; and the smaller one, I just folded the top of the skirt over to make a tube for the elastic waist (it shortens the skirt - in case you hadn't figured that out already).