Five Brown Kids

The Ricks are in town! Just 60 degrees today.  Nothing to write home about.  But the sun was shining.  Courtney and I parked ourselves in two lawn chairs in the back yard and watched kids play all day long.  We have a few sunburnt Ricks to prove it. 

We had a great break from school. We didn't travel anywhere but had lots of local fun. Make your own pizzas - dinner out with friends. Pullen park with friends. Dinner and a Hurricanes game with dad's work. Marbles. The kids also went to defy gravity (a trampoline play place) with dad,  met friends at buffalo rd aquatic center, plus some yard work, swim practice, OM practice, a swim meet and  lots of basketball playing. I worked a small school fair and a much bigger NC charter school conference for BYU. I loved my little break from spring break.

Last fall Crickett took beautiful family pictures for us.  They were sent out on the Christmas card but thought I'd better share them here too.  I've never added up what percentage my kids are of african american, native american and white  - but I'm pretty sure it's the perfect mix.

We finally purchased a flat screen TV!   Even my parents beat us to this technological milestone. With the new TV came some rearranging of course.  I purchased this old sideboard off craigslist and after a few coats of paint it looks fantastic.  The smaller coffee table is from craigslist too.  I love how much larger the room feels now.  Just need a fresh piece of artwork over the fireplace and some new pillows for the couch.

I finally tried to make granola and it was a piece of cake. Seriously! And Tyrone really likes it. So win, win. I found this recipe on a favorite blog promoting reasonable healthy living. I've halved the recipe. Skipped the wheat germ if I didn't have it. Ground up the almonds so they weren't noticeable. Added dried blueberries. Do what you want, it's totally flexible. Katie’s Granola  ( Word Of Wisdom Living ) 10 c old-fashioned rolled oats 2c whole-wheat flour 2c wheat germ 2c coconut, shredded or flaked 2 to 3c total of chopped pecans and sliced almonds Mix above ingredients in large bowl 4T vanilla 1/2c water 2c honey 1c (or less) healthy oil (try coconut oil) Mix wet ingredients in a medium bowl, then stir into the dry ingredients.  Spread in shallow baking pans and bake about 2 hours at 250 F., stirring gently every 15 minutes.  Cook until golden brown and nearly dry.  Cool and store in airtight containers; refrigerate. 

Dear Friends of Scouting, I know this is a divisive topic so I just want to make three quick points.  I don't want to sit by quietly when I should be speaking up. 1.  If one of my children starts realizing in their teen years that they are gay I don't ever want them to have heard me speak one negative word against who they are becoming.  I want them to know that I will be happy with who they are and any partner (male or female) they bring home. I want them to feel free to talk to me and know that I will respond positively and encouragingly.  I expect that the institutions I support will also encourage my children to be who they are and will not create an environment where they feel shunned. 2.  I want my children to see men and women of all different races, orientations and religions as mentors and examples.  Brown kids need to see examples of successful brown people, immigrants need to see successful immigrants and more than anything gay kids need to...

Toothpicks and glue sticks. Whatever keeps them busy...

Jaxon has been working with a team at school for the last couple of months to create a balsa wood structure (15 grams or less) that would hold as much weight as possible and funny skit to go with it. Yesterday was the competition for our region and they earned first place!  This tiny little structure held 352 pounds.  Amazing! They will be heading off to state in a few weeks. We are so lucky to go to a small school with great volunteer parents and two school staff who are the finest OM coaches in the state. Here's  Taye 's OM adventure a few years ago.