I am currently trying not to shriek at Oak who just keeps banging into everything in sight.  It is all the clanking and clunking that kind of sets my nerves on edge.  It would make sense that nothing would get me on edge, but apparently not.
     With all of the trouble brewing down south, I have been kind of a nervous wreck.  Ryan has been down there all week, and everyone is posting all kinds of updates on facebook.  We keep hoping and praying for the best.  I guess at this point, the BLM has blocked the whole range off (from Bunkerville to Lake Meade) and contract cowboys have set up camp.  Ryan has been helping his Dad, and trying to manage his job at the same time.  I keep hoping for a miracle.
     In the meantime, I have been trying to maintain our routine at home until we are needed.  It seems that all of the end of year stuff seems to be hitting earlier and earlier.  The kids had a spring concert, I had to go pay the final bill on Jams and Sags Disneyland trip, we had activity days, dance, guitar, Young Women's, Women's Confernce, and the list goes on and on. 
     With Ryan being gone, the one thing keeping me upbeat and going was my phone.  I was able to receive encouraging texts from my Dad, and uplifting phone calls from my Mom.  My brother Gary can always get me laughing and I was so grateful for the phone calls. Ryan has never been a real phone conversationalist, but I really wanted to be updated as to what was going on at the ranch too. This all ended Thursdee when my phone slipped off of the windowsill and into my dishwater.  Poof....all of those things were gone.  I did order another phone, but it is crazy how much I depended on that little device to keep me going.  Enough Boo hooing about my problems, but hey, life isn't all supposed to be fun and games, and we are definitely passing through some trials right now.  I am grateful for the knowledge, that if we keep praying things really will work out all right.  My imagination is huge though, and when I picture what is going on down south, I can scare myself and work up my emotions in a large way.  All it takes is another prayer, and I really feel like everything is going to be ok.
     We had some interesting things happen with the kids last week.  The home teachers stopped by which is always an adventure.  Chlo came into the living room wearing a teeny tiny nightgown.  I don't think it has fit her since the 1960's.  It barely covered her little underwear.  I was really quite mortified because our home teacher brings his teenage son with him.  I told Chlo to go and get some other clothes on.  She just gave me a "deer in the headlights" look.  I told her over and over to go and get something that covered her body...she seemed to be in a daze.  Finally a threat of some sort got her moving.  She took quite awhile in her room, and came out in a tiger costume.  Much better.  At least it covered her up.  She then proceeded to bawl and bawl until Rooshkie gave her a brownie.
     Oak came home from kindergarten one afternoon making all kinds of odd demands.  He demanded a pet bird and a mo-ped, and would not give up the begging for these items.  I must admit that I was quite flabbergasted.  Are we all going to start wearing porkpie hats too?  A mo-ped?  Has he ever even ridden on one?  How does he even know what a mo-ped is?  A pet bird????  I know a lot of people who own cute birds that make happy little noises, but believe me, in my smallish home with my largeish family....we have plenty of noise and chatter.  I finally had to just put my foot down about his requests.
     I can honestly say that the Spring Concert was a complete and utter fiasco.  Without Ryan there, they were way more than I could handle.  I purchased all of the little ones a bag of popcorn in the hope that they would sit quietly and munch on their popcorn....oh no.  Mo knocked his over and dumped his first thing, and everyone else ate theirs before the concert even began.  In the beginning of all of the welcome speech, and all of the blah blah blah about keeping kids quiet, and not leaving early etc. Sage came and wanted me to keep track of her ipod.  This turned out to be kind of a bad thing.  Oak grabbed it first thing and began playing a game on it.  This only made Mo, Chlo, and Jazz squwak.  Of course they all had to have a turn and then they would hound, and whine, and moan until it was their turn.  Mo's turn came around, and it was a big deal because I haven't a clue about how to help him play.  He wanted to play "Wreck it Ralph" because he has seen the movie.  Well, I have never spacily seen the movie or played the game and I just didn't get how it was supposed to work.  Oak grabbed the ipod to try to show Mo how to play which caused a huge commotion out of Mo.  I was about ready to scream at this point.  A nice tall couple sat in front of us too, so I heard nothing but "I cannot see!"  loudly from all of the kids over and over.  Whenever Chlo's turn would roll around for the ipod, she would turn the games up extremely loud.  She would refuse to turn it down.  I kept telling her to go in the back and play if she insisted on turning the sound up.  In response to this she would sit right behind my chair and play with coins clinking, and jumps sounding out loudly.
     Rooshkie's orchestra class was the first to perform, and she did a really good job.  I recognized the songs as some that Jams used to play.  I was so glad when she was done, because this meant that I would have an extra pair of hands to help me juggle kids.  Well, she didn't realize how bad she was needed and went up in the front and sat on the floor.  This turned into a problem because I didn't allow any of the other ones to sit up front.  I know I have mentioned some of the problems that we have had with kids sitting up front.  (Jazzerz crabwalking up onto the stage backwards, and Oak being in the way of the choir conductor.)  Finally Oak wandered back in the very back.  There was a girl from his class that was standing by the chair cart.  They were swinging playfully on the lower rungs of the chair holders.  Perfect, I thought!  Oak had been causing me most of the grief with all of his begging about not getting enough time on the ipod.  The two young friends weren't climbing the chair cart, they were quietly swinging upright, with their feet usually brushing the ground.  Of course, just as soon as I get him happily occupied, some busybody has to go and tell him to get off.  I was quite perturbed at her.  I was standing right there by him, with a squirming mass of a Mo.  I wanted Oak on the chair cart, and I am his Mom.  If he was hurting it in any way, or if he was going to get hurt, I would have stopped him.  Busybodies and I are gonna tangle someday soon.  If I hadn't been so preoccupied with Mo and his sideways squirms, I would have said something to her about him playing on it all he wants.  I would gladly be responsible for paying for any damages to him or the cart....I would have gladly signed a chair cart waiver if that is what it took.  The chair cart only offered me about five minutes of precious listening time.
     Needless to say, I was way happy with my older kids.  Jams and Sags sang in the choir, Rooshkie played her violin, Jams played her violin, and Sags played her flute.  They are just getting better and better.  I am glad that we were there, and that I at least got to hear some of it.  Next time I really ought to hire a babysitter for the little ones.  I just always feel like my kids should have their big family all there cheering them on.
We survived with probably quite a bit of irritation from the folks who were unfortunate enough to have to sit around the kids and I.
     Ryan surprised me Sunday morning by coming home.  I mentioned that my phone has kept me from having any contact with him.  I was way glad that he came home to attend shrsh with us.  Apparently he had headed home way late, and had gotten too tired to drive any further at the Black Ridge.  He had pulled over and curled up under a Cedar tree.  I don't believe that I have ever been tired enough to curl up under a Cedar tree and sleep soundly.  Anyhow, he seemed quite exhausted when he came home.  He went in and slept until shrsh.  This turned into a problem later because he usually oversees the boys and their shrsh attire.  Everyone was piled in the van when a disheveled Oak came to me whining about his boots.  Great...I love last minute problems.  I finally found two boots that I thought were the same and instructed him to put them on in the car.  We flew out of the house, and Oak immediately began whining to me about something.  I had encountered enough problems that morning that I really attempted to tune him out.  Sometimes I think that if I just don't listen, they will figure out how to resolve the problem on their own.  Well, we pull into the parking lot and Oak is still whining about boots.  I kind of let him know that he was just going to have to make them work for the day.  Anyhow, when I finally did pay him some attention I found that he had two right boots.  One was Chloee's and so it was about 2 sizes too small....great.  I had to run him home where I ran around and around the house.  All I could find were his clompy snow boots.  This is what he wore.
     Ryan kind of shook his head when Oak came walking in.  He had his hair standing on end, his shirt untucked and he clod hoppered wherever he walked.  He really got lost in the mix this week.  Anyhow Ryan took him aside, combed his hair, tucked his shirt in, and aside from his boots he looked pretty presentable.  We had some good testimonies borne this week and it was kind of problematic because I kind of spacily lost track of the kids.  I remember Jazzerz going to the bathroom, and Rooshkie taking a disruptive Mo out, but that is it.  All I know is that I looked around me at one point and Jams and Sags were the only ones on the bench with Ryan and I.  I sent Jams out to round everyone up.  Anyhow, when they all came trailing in, I frowned.  I think that they all got together and got banging around the gym or something.  Oak was looking like he had put his head on the floor and ran around that way.  His hair was all static-y and sticking up, his shirt was untucked again, and those blasted moon boots did nothing for his nice Sundee attire.  Ryan got him fixed back up, but wow, what are we in shrsh for people?
     Well, it is back to reality, and I am telling you, Rooshkie made a huge red jello after shrsh which ended up being a huge mess.  I think Mo spread that stuff as far and wide as he could.  I stepped in a glob of it in the night which didn't please me a whole lot.  A kind lady in the ward brought over some leftover birthday cake from her granddaughter's party, and we ended up eating it for our fhe treat.  The problem is, Mo was mistaken in thinking that the frosting was "bone glack" and he rubbed it all over his feet.  Seriously Mo?  Who frosts their cake with bone glack?