Severe Life

Back in teh Saddle

2010-05-01T14:29:00.001-06:00

HELLO!

2010-03-02T20:40:00.003-07:00

Hi you finally GOT IT! well here goes the next one.

25 things that my mom loves:

1. Chocolate

2. Massages

3. Blogging

4. Music

5. Alex Lambert

6. Beatles

7. ipod

8. Horses

10. back tickle-ing

11. Getting in fights at disneyland

12. Getting in fights with hippies.

13. Watching Julie and Julia

14. Farmville

15. So you think you can dance

16. Thunderstorms

17. Singing Black Eyed Peas songs

18. Gmail Email

19. facebook

20. Caramel Apples

21. Acting retarded at disneyland (handicapped)

22. Sewing

23. Her awesome family

24. Making Imovies

25. She loves to hate movies.

well to find your next address, you need to find my lucky number. {Same as paul Mccartney's birthday number} look it up if you have to. go to that number on the list above and follow the directions.

Summer So Far

2009-06-10T12:17:00.002-06:00

It's hard to believe that summer is skipping along so defiantly. Before we know it baseball will be over and the kids will be begging to go back to school. There's nothing like the first sweet days of summer. Sleeping in til noon, reading as the hours tick by....but then it's time to grow up and try to be like the other moms.

The last few days of school went by in a blur with Indy spending the last two weeks of school trying to put together a yearbook for her class. When the other 6th grade teachers found out about it, they asked Indy to do a yearbook for the entire 6th grade. So Indy put together a committee and spent most days in the conference room working out the details, delegating and firing a few slackers. The yearbook turned out and great and Indy wrote a great poem for the front page. I was very proud of her efforts.

Field Day was next, and I document with difficulty this poor excuse for a competition. But it's all we've got and I cling to it and try to make it into more than it's meant to be. Indy competed in the Marathon for her grade...and won first place. In previous years, she has always come in third, but this was the year! Running only with the serious competitors, those who wanted to take a little punishment in hopes for glory, Indy only had to take on two others, but they were worthy opponents and in the end Indy came out on top.

Danny also competed in the Marathon, which is about a half mile race, and came in second.

Next came the relays. Danny's race was up first and Danny was a little nervous about the race because he was unable to enact the best strategy for a win. He wanted to be the anchor leg, but the teachers did the ordering wily nily, without regard to...anything. They had the races sorted out and grouped waiting for their race to begin. Suddenly Danny, who was running second, noticed the race had already started and there they were in the middle of the field. They all scrambled to their spots and Danny arrived at the moment of handoff. It was very exciting. I almost felt like telling them to start the race over to make it fair, but then Danny was in the lead, so I let it go. Just as Danny was getting ready to hand off, his teammate had just arrived in place and it was a smooth handoff. Danny's team won the relay against much more stacked and favored teams. I was very proud. Like I said, it's all we've got. You should have seen me running along the sidelines screaming encouragement. I get a little embarrased when it's all over and done.

Indy's team was up for the relay and things were going according to plan. The girls were running well, but there was some confusion on the track and the third leg was compromised on her run. Still the handoff went smooth and Indy, running the anchor, passed one runner (a rival) and barely got second at the finish line. After some confusion and fussing, Indy came running over to say that they had won first because the other team had been disqualified for lane violations (every runner had tried to get the inside track). So it was a completely victorious day and I was determined to use my position as co-safety helper on the PTA next year to promote the Hershey Track and Field in the Alpine School District.

NEXT CLUE!

2009-06-08T09:23:00.002-06:00

hey guuys you are at the next step of the contest thing (if you are confused go to www.indyblueworld.blogspot.com) okay you made it soo far you are almost done now all you have to do is watch the video below, then go to comments and answer the question. GOOD LUCK!!!

Luke Spy Kid

2009-05-19T13:06:00.003-06:00

Luke thought his teacher had forgot about him and his spotlight for the year. Just turns out it was the last spotlight of the year. So I decided to make him a movie, last minute. And as things progressed, it turned into this. I thought Luke would love it, and I think he did. But he was not happy I put the bathtub shot in there.

Grey Gardens 2/11

2009-04-30T12:21:00.001-06:00

If you're in the mood for some facinating youtube watching. Check out this documentary called Grey Gardens. Each one is about 10 minutes. Next go to 3/11, 4/11 and so on.
I found this one day while checking out a headline on MSN.com that said, "Jackie O's relatives live in Squalor." It turned out to be an old story, but led me on a searc about this story which turns out to be so interesting.
These two women in this video grew up as socialites, very wealthy and somehow come to this. They are very interesting and endearing.
Now, HBO made a movie about them. I even subscribed to HBO for one month so I could watch the movie. But the documentary is much much better. I recommend it.

2009-04-26T18:25:00.010-06:00

I haven't been to Lagoon since I was at least 14 in Junior High. So I jumped at the chance to take Indy and her friends yesterday when the opportunity came around. Either that or I was the only breathing option at 12:00 midnight the night before when I told Indy that Lagoon was off, since no other mom's could drive. But on second thought, being Mom of the Year I realized it was the least I could do for my little girl who scrambled all week to rid herself of about 25 zeros to enable herself to attend Lagoon. And it was all I could do considering I was all set to watch four baseball games for my two sons in what was only the second day of the season. In other words there would be plenty of time for baseball. And it turns out that three of the four games were canceled on account of rain.

Lagoon had to be this particular Saturday. This was the reward for Indy completing the NOVA program at school. Each student was given a coupon for half-off the entrance fee (a whopping 45.00!), but only on this day, April 25 which turned out to be a miserable, rainy day.

I was going to just drop the girls off, but once there I realized I could get in for half price and so I should. Indy and her friends took Luke around on some rides and they wondered about the time I would take off for good.

Lagoon was about the same as I remember. I only went on two rides, but somehow at 14, I remembered them a lot different than what I experienced at 36. The Wild Mouse, my favorite ride at 14 was miserable and gave me whiplash as I banged against Indy at every turn. Then I convinced a very nervous Luke to go with me on the old Roller Coaster, which was so awesome, as I remember!!! That is until we climbed up the hill and came crashing down with such force that I felt like my fillings were being shaken from my mouth. Luke's face went from fear to bug-eyed and silence, sure signs that I had raised the terror level and he would never trust me again. I felt really bad about that. That was the worst ride ever and I can't believe it's still running. I had a headache when we came to a stop. I felt so bad that I had betrayed Luke that I told him we could go on all the rides he wanted to. So he ran over to a little airplane ride and I sat on a bench with Mary and watched him while we ate 4.00 churros.

Luke was so anxious to get on the ride and standing in line was obviously not working out. There was only one girl in line so Luke pushed past her and went under the turnstile and ran behind the attendant who was busy getting kids unbuckled since the ride had just ended. Luke climbed in the airplane and was messing with the gun, shooting it nonstop, while the attendant continued to let kids out and gradually make his way around to the last airplane and Luke. I could see what was going to happen and I wondered what Luke would do. Would he protest or comply or explain? The guy unbuckled Luke and he complied! Who would have thought. But instead of just getting back in line, he came running over to me and said disgustedly, 'That sucked!'

He got back in line when I explained what had happened and I told him to follow the rules and it wouldn't happen again.

That made me laugh out loud a couple of times. It was so cute to watch Luke shoot Mary every time he went by and she would laugh. Luke would go on the rides by himself and he had such a good time and would laugh about everything. That's what I love about Luke, he has such a good heart and he loves life.

I was feeling so good about everything and then it was all derailed when we were walking along and Luke saw something amazing (I guess) and exclaimed, "What the hell!?" I asked him to repeat, sure that I had misheard, so he did and I hadn't. But he was very solemn and sorry when I explained to him that it was a bad word.

Me, Luke and Mary (and Indy and her friends) had a good time at Lagoon even though it was very cold. There were no lines and no people, which makes it a fair trade-off. As Luke and Mary and I started walking to the car, Luke was concerned that we were leaving Indy. I teased Luke that Indy would just take the bus home. He was worried about that and concerned that the bus wouldn't know where to go. By then we were at the car and I got so busy that I forgot to tell Luke that another mom was picking the girls up, so it was okay to leave. He never mentioned Indy again, so I guess he was okay with the bus story after all.

Springbreak 09

2009-04-19T01:33:00.000-06:00

Mary Mo

2009-04-15T20:56:00.005-06:00

Mary Moon is Mary's song (maybe not appropriate, but it works so well, if you change a few words here and there). We called her Mary Mo for a while. Now it's just Mosey. We even had matching necklaces made for us girls: Mosey, Bluesy and Mimsy (that's me, MIMsy :Mary, Indy, Mom...get it).

Mary loves to get herself dressed and always does it only halfway. She'll put her pants up to her bottom, but not over her diaper. She's really good at shoes and does that all the way. She even puts them on the right feet more often than Luke, who often only pulls his pants up half way too.
Here is Mary in her attempt to get her shirt on. I guess she felt this was a good place to stop. With her little purple marker mustache she looked distinctly like a cuddly little teddy bear.

Lil Miss Lindy

2009-03-31T13:48:00.010-06:00

Proceed with caution with this very long post that started out as an everyday post and turned into doubling as a journal entry.

It was four years ago that Indy got her first inkling that she as a young girl could participate in the pageant world. She, just barely removed from princess gowns and crowns, squirmed in her seat as we watched the Little Miss Lindon pageant for 8-11 year olds. I could see the wheels spinning as she could barely concentrate on the pageant for working her service project and talent out in her mind. Absolutely true!

Then last year about this time Indy came up to me desperately and told me that we missed the signups for LML! I couldn’t believe it! How could that be? We had been so vigilant in anticipating and planning. But then we found out that Indy had to be 11 and she was still only 10. Whew! My heart rebounded. A dream saved.

This year we were the 4th person to sign up out of 25. And even that was too late for Indy who hounded me hour by hour to fill out the application and deliver it. But we were in and it was on. The first LML event was an introductory breakfast. We sized up the competition that we eyed appraisingly, most of whom Indy knew from school and six of whom she counted as really good friends. I wondered if I was cut out to be a pageant mom and proudly rejected the notion. We got our marching orders and agenda and list of do’s and don’ts (do look and act your age and don’t wear strapless pageant gowns.) The beginners took it all to heart, the pageant mom’s knew better and the best places to shop for strapless pageant gowns.

Indy got right to work on her Service project, which was making bracelets for the House of Hope. She teamed up with a lady from our ward who was spearheading a project for the Relief Society and was kind enough to carve out a spot for Indy and give her something to do. It was the perfect project for Indy and she lovingly made each bracelet and put it in a tiny bag that she had labeled Glam Bag. Indy was all set to deliver the bracelets with the ladies from the ward. But at the last minute the date was moved and we couldn’t make it because we would be traveling to St. George for the baseball tournaments. Indy was pretty disappointed she couldn’t be there to hand out what she had been picturing for so long. In all Indy made 86 bracelets. I helped with some.

The talent portion was proving more difficult. We had the brilliant idea to dance an Indian Dance from Bollywood, So You Think You Could Dance. Problem was Indy had to teach it to herself and choreograph the parts she couldn’t copy from the show. I was no help to Indy and would only make her laugh if I tried to show her the proper way to do a particular move. Problem is Indy had no concept of time and I left her to her own devices for too long. After all we had two months, plenty of time. But time flew by and we barely noticed because, as Indy said yesterday, March was the busiest day in Severe Family History. Suddenly we had a week before the concert and we were on our way to St. George. The dance was about 20 beats completed. Indy had to be back in Lindon on Saturday for an LML clinic and so we left St. George at 5:00 am. and drove all morning. I had never done that before. Since we had driven two cars, Scott and the boys stayed behind for more fun.

The rest of the week leading up to the pageant Indy was on a strict schedule to choreograph her dance. But also in the way was her major school project of the year due the day before the pageant. I didn’t know how Indy would have enough time to do both. So school had to go. I kept Indy home one morning and had her work half day on her country report and half day on her dance and half day on babysitting so I could go to lunch with Scott.

Indy was coming along great with the dance, but we were still working it out, never mind perfecting it. Then there was the matter of studying for the interview questions. We had had the question list for about a month now and promptly lost it. The night of the dress rehearsal Indy called her friend to get the questions. And in the morning Scott questioned her for about an hour before the interview. Before we left Scott came into the kitchen and shook his head and said Indy was not prepared at all. I felt pretty bad about it. I should have embraced the role as pageant mom. I should have rehearsed the questions with Indy in the hours we had on the way down to St. George. I felt like I failed Indy. But when Indy came out of the interview, she told me that she had nailed the interview! I was shocked and wondered if she was just overconfident. We tried to figure out her best answer because they would ask her the same one at the pageant during the modeling run.

We went and had Indy’s hair curled at the Deleon Spa and come home and chilled out for about an hour before it was time to go. And then it was time. We gathered all our things up and I packed up Luke and Mary too. Danny had baseball practice and Jake had a basketball game. Jake was supposed to be an usher and he was going to just skip his game, but at the last minute found out that he needed to play because they were short players. Scott assured me that they would leave at halftime, which would get Jake to the school at about time the night would be starting.

I dolled Indy up pretty heavily like I do for her dance concerts. The she went up and sat in the middle of everyone, I could see this was a different kind of venue. She was looking pretty old next to the tender little faces around her and so I had her come back down to me and redid her face to make it more girly.

And just like that it was time to roll. I had taped off a good section of seats and looked at my watch. It was 5:45 and Scott was nowhere to be found. I called to see where he it was soon apparent that he was still at the game. I was pretty steamed and could barely hear through the pounding in my head Scott as he said that Jake was having the best game of his life!!!! I was happy for Jake in spite of myself. But Scott will never know that. He knew I was very unhappy about him missing the first part of Indy’s pageant. But looking back now, I can give him some latitude and understanding. After it was all said and done Scott told me all about Jake’s great game.

The pageant starting with a dance number and Indy did great with that. Then came introductions with each girl going up to the microphone and saying, “I believe in Magic when…” Indy said, “I’m Indy Severe, contestant number 14. I believe in Magic when we Face it and Embrace it. Go Big or Go Home. I think Magic happens when we believe in ourselves and make it happen.” She did a great job and didn’t overact like a lot of the girls were, trying to be enthusiastic.

Dad seemed sad, wistful, weary. I thought these tender feeling were for Indy, but soon I found out the talent portion was coming up. The dismay for Dad was in realizing he was in for 26 little girls singing, dancing or piano playing and one little girl who with a Unicycle.

Indy was all set to go by the time I got backstage to help her. She was already in her outfit and was practicing some moves. We ordered her outfit, custom made from India. It was very beautiful, but now that Indy had it on, I realized that we should have practiced the dance in it. Now we could see that the jeweled pant legs went way past her feet. She was worried that she would slip on them and so she tucked them under and rolled them up and it seemed to work. I left her to go and watch the rest of the show.

When Indy came on stage, it seemed to me that the entire auditorium was screaming for her. Was that just me? I don’t know, but the MC even had to pause a moment to be heard. All Indy’s fans and loved ones did their thing and Hil made posters for Hallie and Lauren to hold up. The only posters I saw all night.

Indy did great. The dance came together just as we imagined and practiced. Indy was in top form and the music was so great. At the very end she did her leap and the pants came down over her feet. I didn’t noticed but lots of people did and were very impressed that she was able to keep going without this affecting her performance. When it was over the crowd went crazy. I was thrilled; my heart was beating so fast. I was so proud of Indy.

She went backstage and put on her dress and was ready for her modeling moment as they call it. Jake was back from his game and all dressed up in his pink tie. They had arranged it for hi to be her escort and the little sweetheart met Indy mid-stage and gave her a kiss on the cheek and a hug. I couldn’t believe it. Later I found out that Jerry Pennock gave Jake $7 if he would do it.

Jake walked Indy to the front of the stage and Indy walked across to the MC who asked her her question which was, ‘how did you get such an unusual name?’ Indy gave a very confident and poised answer about Gone with the Wind and Grandpa’s Indigo Blue. She did a great job. And funny thing is, when I saw the question list, I thought that might be the question that Indy would get and she did. Why did we worry about all those other silly questions like ‘what kind of fruit are you?”

With the last contestant walking across the stage, the competition part was over and now all we could do was wait. And endure endless gestures and overtures of thanks to LML royalty, dads, mom, pageant advisors, on and on and on. Finally the MC came on stage and handed out some awards before announcing the royalty. We found out later that these awards represent the runners up. I was hoping Indy wouldn’t get one of these rewards, but have her name called for the Royalty. But when they announced the winner of the Interview Award they called India Severe. I remember Indy’s surprise and she clapped for herself as she walked to get her plaque. That was sweet to me. And though I knew Indy hadn't made the Royalty by winning this award, I was so proud of Indy for getting it. How funny that we thought Indy wouldn’t do well in the interview and she ends of winning the award. I knew Indy wasn’t eligible for Royalty, but I still hoped. But she wasn’t and they called the names of the Royalty, two of who are Indy’s good friends. And with that the night was over. Everyone rushed the stage and hugged Indy. We took some pictures amid the mob scene. Indy was in very good spirits and I was so glad about that. I was very, very happy that Indy was able to win an award and thought that it might placate her until next year. She was sad about not making the royalty, but has already set her sights on next year. And I guess I have to embrace the pageant one more year, I might as well embrace the crazy mom. Watch out! So LML was a great experience for us. I was very proud of Indy especially the way she choreographed the dance and performed it.

Thanks to everyone who came and supported Indy. I know if was asking a lot of you. Mom and Dad came, Cindy and Hanna. Hil and River. Amie, Tammy, Lauren and Hallie. Jared and Amber and Griff the puppy came, unfortunately right as Indy was performing her talent but they couldn’t find a way into the auditorium because the doors were locked. Then Andrea and the girls also came to give support. It was very sweet and kind for them to endure an especially long night. After it was all over I asked Dad if it was worse than Viet Nam.

2009-03-23T20:01:00.001-06:00

Little Miss Lindon This Saturday 6:00

2009-03-21T21:52:00.003-06:00

Indy will competing THIS Saturday, March 28th 6:00 pm. for the Little Miss Lindon crown. She is willing to do anything to win. So be there to see what it takes.
See Indy dance. See Indy model. See Indy sabotage. See Indy answer questions like What is your favorite animal and why. Be there to cheer her on because the contestant with the loudest crowd is sure to influence the judges. And I've already done what I can to influence the judges in my own way.
To prepare for the experience you may want to watch Toddlers and Tiaras on TLC.

This is Indy wearing her service project on her sleeve, or where her sleeve would be if she had a long sleeve shirt. She made these bracelets and donated them to the House of Hope.

Beautiful Day

2009-03-21T20:02:00.000-06:00

Luke took this picture. He likes to take pictures with my very large camera.
He went outside on a beautiful day

remember me?

2009-03-12T16:24:00.002-06:00

hey guys its indy!!! im sorry i have not posted on my blog for a while you all prolly thought it failed right? WRONG! its back and the posts are better than ever! remember to check out my blog ok? alright it will have news bout little miss lindon and more indy things. see you there! - indy

Danny9

2009-02-21T01:49:00.001-07:00

Finally Danny's movie...

Happy Birthday Danny

2009-02-18T22:55:00.004-07:00

Danny is Number Nine Naturally.
Am trying to upload a movie, but I can't seem to do it.
We watched Coraline tonight. It's scary. Think twice about seeing it.

Indian Dance

2009-02-18T22:53:00.001-07:00

Luke, my man!

2009-02-10T11:19:00.004-07:00

We were concerned that Luke might be dyslexic. Sometimes in his reading he will read a word like YES as SEY. When Scott took Luke to his Parent/ Teacher conference he mentioned this concern to Luke's teacher, Mrs. Babb.

His teacher pulled out a paper and said, "You might be interested in this then." Scott looked at the paper as you normally would and couldn't make sense of it. It looked like gobbledegook. Mrs. Babb, said, "no it goes this way, see his name at the bottom" She rotated it. All the writing was at the extreme right and it looked completely foreign.

Scott was flabbergasted and thought his fears were confirmed. He asked Luke why he wrote his letters this way. Luke was acting nervous and didn't want to talk about it. Scott told him that he wasn't in trouble, but that they were trying to help him. Finally he admitted that he just looked across the table and copied the paper in front of him. And if you crane your head around you can kind of see the logic.

So now, we don't know about dyslexia or say, integrity. But creative, cunning, crafty? Yes. Luke's got it in spades. What do you think?

Danny Rocks Baseball

2009-02-04T08:06:00.004-07:00

"We'd like to welcome Danny Severe from Lindon as a new player on our
baseball team.

Danny is a tough minded, hard-working competitor, and we're glad to have him on board."

This from Danny's new coach in an email sent out to the rest of the team.

So now we will have two Superleaguers. And it all sounds fine and dandy especially monthly team parties that the parents have to host. Tonight we're going to Classic Skating for three hours for dinner and family fun. Yahoo!

A typical day in the Severe household

2009-02-03T13:45:00.012-07:00

Danny reading with Luke while the laundry does itself and dinner is already in the oven. Oh, yes. I forgot to mention my nap.

Bye Bye Binky Bye Bye Baby Bummed

2009-01-28T10:40:00.011-07:00

Last Thursday, Scott took Mary for her 15 month checkup because he's a great husband and an awesome Dad. We found out that Mary is anemic, has a heart-murmur, and two ear infections. BUT the doctor also told Scott that 15 months old is the perfect time to eradicate the Binky. It was brave of Scott to tell me this because it caused him great pain. See? Great guy.
We both appreciate the power of Binky. It has brought us through many near-death experiences by serving as a tranquilizer and talisman of sorts. Just witness Mary in the throes of temper tantrum only to collapse upon shoulder when binky applied, and you will believe.
But the binky has always been a struggle between us. Scott was always its biggest advocate, his thinking, "Whatever makes baby happy makes daddy happy". I, however, took a more straightforward approach, "it makes Mary look dumb in her pictures".
But also, I didn't like the frantic house searches at midnight for one of the dozen binky's I knew just had to be "somewhere" KEEP LOOKING! But mostly I was afraid of the will of an 18th month old and even more terrified of the prospect of a 2 year old with a binky. Never, since baby Jake had we attempted such a chore. But it was time, we only had a tiny window to work with. And suddenly, why not now? Actually we waited until Sunday; after the binky did all it could to make church bearable, we cut it off. Without warning I took some scissors and took a sizable chunk off of the top, a method I employed in easing Jake from the clutches of the binky.
Mary was thoroughly puzzled and entertained with the new look, even rolling it around her finger with the new hole. But once nap time came around it was another matter, a heart wrenching affair that had me waiting outside Mary's door as she cried and cried. I could only imagine what she looked like inside and I prayed for her, that she could do it. She finally cried herself to sleep after about 35 minutes. And then she only slept fitfully for about 30 minutes. Too short for a nap. But I got her up anyway because I couldn't do it again. But now there was no turning back.
When we put Mary to bed for the night, it was with heavy heart knowing what awaited. After about 15 minutes she finally crashed for the night. I still give her her holey binky, but it's as if it's insulting to her. She throws it in disgust.
So three days later Mary has achieved independence, though nap time comes at a steep price still. But the progress has made my year so far. I feel so great about it, like we dodged a bullet. So far I have found about three binky's in my cleaning. I hold onto them each, not sure what I should do. I know that giving Mary one would give her so much happiness, but would be my undoing. There's no going back. But still, I can't throw them away. They are now honorary little buddies who have seen this household through hard times. As you can see from the length of this post, this was big for the Severes.

Christmas Time

2008-12-31T15:15:00.000-07:00

Christmas time

2008-12-31T10:32:00.004-07:00

Our Christmas Vacation started out in a blizzard driving for 2 hours to get to Scipio and on the other end driving 9 hours to St. George in 5 mph traffic for 3 hours.
The weather was not on our side the crowds were mean and standing everywhere.
But we still had fun and learned a lot of lessons along the way. And we were never so glad to be home. For a more detailed account, go to Indy's blog. She has a more sunny outlook of things, apparently we kept our grumblings to ourselves.

Meet Clark Kent

2008-12-14T10:58:00.004-07:00

OK. That's not really Superman, actually it's Danny, disguised by his new glasses.

Danny who initially fretted and was horrified about the prospect of getting specks, handled it in true Severe form by the Face and Embrace mantra expected of all offspring.

Though we left for the doctor with fingernail marks on the wall, by the time Danny finished with the adjustments and realized what could be had, there was no going back.

The helper told Danny that his glasses would take some getting used to and he might get headaches and become dizzy. On the way home Danny kept taking off his glasses. I told him that he needed to keep them on so he could get used to them. He said he was already used to them and he wasn't getting headaches or dizzy, but his throat did hurt a little bit.

Luke was pretty jealous of Danny when he walked in the door and was incredulous at his amazing blue glasses case. He wanted to get glasses so bad. I told him that he only wanted them for the blue case. He said, "No, I want them for my face!"

Next Danny went to school and set up a Glasses/Contact club of which he is the president and has four members. Face it and Embrace it Baby. Face it and Embrace it.

Why won't she smile.

2008-12-05T22:46:00.005-07:00

This was a pettiskirt photoshoot for my sister-in-law's website: goldielox-petticoat.blogspot.com. Mary would not smile, nor has she ever. Maybe some day. But anyhow, the pictures were still cute. I am going to be taking photoshop 101. Maybe I can get into Nicole Hill before she moves.

More Luke

2008-12-02T11:30:00.011-07:00

This is Luke giving his "Pay-back" sign to Mary.
Then Luke as 'Wild Mountain', the Indian name that Dad gave him. Luke wanted to be 'Fighting Tiger', but I told him that that was the chief's grandson's name and if Luke took that name, it would be all-out war between tribes. He was very concerned about that, but relieved when I told him only Jake, Danny and Dad would have to go to war.

Luke decided to dress up like Frankenstein when he found my boots fit perfectly with his idea of what Frankenstein would be wearing. Then he topped it off with his tattooed forehead.

Yesterday when I was taking Jake to basketball I was talking to Luke about school. Apparently Luke's teacher has been out for months and just today I found out that she will be retiring immediately. I was a little confused about whether or not I should have known this already and asked Luke about his substitute teacher. I asked what her name is and he said, "Bloody Mary". "Bloody Mary?" I asked
"Mrs. Bloody" he clarified.

2008-11-28T11:00:00.002-07:00

Me Right

2008-11-25T23:01:00.012-07:00

At the drive-thru at McDonalds I was ordering "just double-cheeseburgers" for everyone. Jake was not happy with this and kept saying, "Ask them if they are serving breakfast. Ask them if they are serving breakfast". Since it was 4:30 in the afternoon, I knew they weren't and told Jake so. Again and Again. He was not satisfied with my knowledge or experience or authority or driver's seat position. He kept asking me to ask. So I go along with it, just to be able to add to my tally of Me Right/Jake Wrong. I think the scoreboard currently stands as 462 to 1. Jake's only victory came at his birthday a couple of years ago when we were at Fat Cats bowling. Jake heard that if it's your birthday you get a bowling pin and wanted me to go and get one for him. I doubted this information because of his "reliable" source and told him it wasn't true, wasn't happening. Go ask yourself. So he did and came back with his very own beat-up bowling pin that still sits in Jake's bedroom to remind him of his day in the sun.
So...back to the present day. I ask the box if they are serving breakfast with all my patronizing motherly skill. And he says, "Yes".
Wait. What?
Jake, as if expecting this, tells me he wants the Big Breakfast. 462-2.
Still confused, I pull around and ask the guy if they are really serving breakfast so late. He says No, he had just been thinking about breakfast and wanting it too and so he inadvertently said yes.
OK. The balance was upset, but only for a moment and then restored. And Jake was: not disappointed, fazed, nothing. Not even an acknowledgment.

The thing is, not until just the last year am I realizing that Jake (Indy) is not really taking my word for it anymore. Here I am a fountain of good advice, humorous anecdotes, been there done that; but Jake thinks I'm a nerdy Mom despite my telling him that I am cool. I listen to Lil Wayne! Well, actually it's more like I tell Jake and he ignores my warnings that I will crash the car if I listen to any more Lil Wayne.

And with horror I think back on my own teen age years and remember how I knew what was going on and my parents were well-meaning, but... And there was no one to convince me otherwise. This lasted for seven years.

I think my know-it-all score will raise to convincing levels for any reasonable person.
And it matters not.

PS.
Jake won the photography award for Reflections this year. On Friday he went to a special assembly where they didn't give him a trophy, but a check for $20! Jake took the picture one night late when we were coming home. He stuck the camera out the window and took a picture of...McDonalds.

Klay World: Bungee Jumping Time

2008-11-21T12:43:00.001-07:00

Jake wanted to do claymation and did some research that led him to these little movies on Youtube. They're pretty good.

2008-11-18T12:18:00.005-07:00

I am singing the praises of Amazon.com today. La La La
I just spent about two hours and did the majority of my Christmas shopping. And when I clicked "Checkout" I was paying no Shipping and Handing and zero tax. Now calculate my precious time and effort into the equation and it is like they are giving ME a check. Sort of like a pre-Obama Christmas present.
For example I just bought Indy a new ipod from Amazon to replace the one Jake dropped in the water. It was only 139.00, cheaper than you will find anywhere even Costco and Walmart. But also no tax.
The books are a must. You will never find better prices on books, even hardbacks. If you buy directly from Amazon and not a third party, then you get free shipping when you spend $25.00.
I am also a Prime Member and get free two-day shipping always. But when I am in a pinch and need it lickity split, well overnight shipping is only 3.99.

Now takes this for what it's worth, just a little advice from your friendly Market Maven.

Jared and Amber wedding 11 8 08

2008-11-10T14:46:00.002-07:00

Living Life Large with Luke

2008-11-04T23:43:00.012-07:00

Luke is going to bed (in his underwear) and we are discussing the powers of girl spiders vs. boy spiders. He says that girl spiders are more dangerous, and when he sees my sly smile spread, he quickly amends that to: 'but boy spiders are more powerful.' That's okay, dangerous is fine by me.

Life with Luke has been exhaustamusing lately. Scott found him standing in the middle of the road, arms up at Mom and Dad's one early evening waiting and hoping to dodge an approaching car going 50 mph. Nevermind those coming from behind, he was only concerned with the car he could see up ahead. Scott ran out there and expected to find Luke showing off for his cousins. Instead he was all alone. Scott asked him what he was doing and he said he was just trying to have some fun. It's enough to give you a headache and lump in your throat and a gut-wrench.

I'm told that Luke/Batman was at his friend's house coloring. My neighbor Sarah told me that while they were quietly busy at the table Palmer suddenly said, " I just heard someone say "Palmer Rocks!". Luke still coloring and still as Batman says, "That was the Spirit."

The other day at Target Luke and I were talking about current and foreign affairs as we often do while shopping. Luke wondered if I knew there was a big vote coming up. I said I did and that the race was against Obama and McCain. Luke said those don't even sound like real people and that the only person he would vote for is President Hinckley. Then he asked me if I knew who was on the dollar bill. He told me it was George Clooney. George Clooney? I asked. Yes, George Clooooo ney.

Luke is mischevious without a doubt. And yet he so humble when he get's in trouble. He hates to be in trouble and is always asking when he will be out of trouble. Luke is cuddly and loves to hug me and tell me he loves me. He's also a good big brother to Mary. The other day I was teaching Mary sign for 'more'. And Luke at the same time is teaching her the sign for 'Payback.'

Ahhh, Luke

LIVE from India!

2008-11-02T15:51:00.003-07:00

Hey guys it's Indy again. I know I already had a post about my blog but i need to be more clear on it.
GO TO MY BLOG OR ELSE...
Just joking... seriously I was kidding... anyways its called LIVE from India and my adress is:
www.indyblueworld.blogspot.com/
so please go to it cause I'll be posting alot! Thanks guys!

Teen Wolf Party

2008-10-26T23:10:00.002-06:00

I bit the bullet and made reservations and then there was no turning back. Jake's thirteenth boy/girl party was on the horizon and it was full steam ahead.
I owed Jake a big party since I promised him one last year and it never happened. What better time that his coming of age birthday, big number thirteen.
The party was on Friday and Jake was giving out invitations on Thursday. That is, those he saw on A day's. The rest got an afternoon's notice when Jake told them at school Friday afternoon. With such short notice that I was afraid that no one would be able to come, and so we invited double people.
I rented a room at the party place MY Noahs in Lindon. We rented the gym and figured we could go a little crazy.
Things were going very smoothly in the party planning stages and then I guess I was more stressed out than I was letting on and I got a pretty bad headache/ mini migraine just an hour before. Scott was his usual take-on-anything self and came home from work and took my car and set everything up at the place. I came when I had my bearings, about a half hour into the party.
Everything was going smoothly, boys boys everywhere beating each other up with balls. I was dismayed to see that there was only one girl there so far. But she was pretty! And she was here for Jake!
Soon enough more girls came and the party got into full swing. We started out with a condensed version of the Amazing Race and we played everything in the gym. We had a food challenge like Hil's version at Benjamin Park but this time included some suishi which was a problem for no one.
We also had a balloon blowup/pop challege. Paper Airplane Challenge. Clue in newspaper challenge, bouncy ball backward challenge and Mind Challenge challenge.
Afterward we showed Jake's movie on the bigscreen, which was awesome.
We had cake and icecream and played around til it was time to get kicked out. The place was a wreck and we were able to walk away from it all.
The boys and some girls didn't want to go home yet and just hung around outside for almost 45 minutes. I finally decided I was just going to leave and I realized that I was supposed to take the girls home.
It is such a relief to have it over and done. I am so glad that Jake had the experience. I hope he will remember it forever. So far he's had two girls call him and Sara and Eva came over to the house to see if Jake wanted to play night games. (so it's all working according to plan)

Writers Block...I got nothing.

Happy Birthday Jake

2008-10-17T22:54:00.009-06:00

Jake was a teenager today and he wasn't even around to enjoy it. Well, we was around somewhere I guess, but not around me. Since today was Deer Hunt getting there day, Jake gave up his birthday to do his favorite things like, shoot deer and hike to "The Top" and be cold. But his favorite things were made even better by Jake's new accessory. No, not his new Viking headband, his other accessory, his new iPod which I have a hunch is already at the bottom of Benny's Creek.
With the iPod as the crowning moment, Jake became a real boy a day early and celebrated his turning 13 yesterday. I thought only other, older people had teenagers and yet...now I got one.

Here's to Jake who's got:
A little bit of me...He's got his very own rivalry going on with a menacing 9th grader over who's better: OU (former #1) or his Texas (Current #1 after beating OU). This 9th grader proved his loyalty to Texas by shaving his head and claiming he was FROM Texas. Yo! Jake painted his head Red/White and said HE is from Oklahoma. Where? Um, Oklahoma City. Word!
Takes me back to my Jana Evans days when I was a 7th grader terrorized by an 8th grader that simultaneously wanted to beat me up and braid Tammy's hair (cause she was as cute as a button). Mom told me I should just apologize for calling her FAT. I tried to, once she cornered me in the library, but she punched me in the stomach anyway.

Jake's also got shadows of Scott. I see a budding salesman peeking out on sunny days. Today I sewed up a coat for Jake that he took for a lost cause. I worked and reworked and finally gave it back to him all shiny and ready to go. He examined it again and again and then exclaimed, "Mom this is as good as new!" Maybe a blip on the map to you, but to me....Christmas Day! My heart was bursting. Jake is learning.

Jake also takes after Scott in other areas. The other day Jake was telling me about the movie 'What about Bob' that they watched in Health class and how funny it was. I had never seen it but went along with it as Jake was telling me about the 'baby steps' scene. Jake said that that day at school there was an assembly about drugs and a friend of his was chosen to go up on stage and try on some goggles that simulated drunkenness. Jake's friend Paul was stumbling and falling all over the stage and Jake yelled out, "Baby Steps Paul, back to the stage."
Jake was beaming when he told me that the entire student body started laughing.
I was retelling this story to Scott who came out of the kitchen to tell me that THAT was better to him than Jake scoring a touchdown. He was so pleased with Jake for that.

As you can see the bar is not set too high in this family.

Jake Severe, Happy Birthday. We love you.

Happy Birthday Jake 13

2008-10-17T21:41:00.004-06:00

live from india!!!!!

2008-10-17T14:19:00.003-06:00

hey everybody i have my very own blog!!! (this is india speaking) its called live from india my blog adress is: www.indyblueworld.blogspot.com

Happy Birthday Boys

2008-10-14T11:08:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday the eldest three.
Days would be hollow without thee
Your beauty, your skills, your killer smiles
Mean life for all is most worthwhile

How to Be Jock

2008-10-14T11:06:00.001-06:00

Mary's First Birthday

2008-09-23T22:28:00.001-06:00

Mary Severe is One

2008-09-18T23:12:00.009-06:00

Mary Summer Severe is one...
-little mama.
-who walks.
-with a mouthful of teeth (including two molars).
-who shuns performing for strangers.
-who likes praise and recognition (can you believe it?)
-of five children, the youngest.
-year old today.

Happy Birthday Mary. You did it!

Mary also received her very first baby doll today. A tradition she is ready to carry on.

I know, I know, More Football

2008-09-16T00:16:00.005-06:00

I know all I can talk about is football; 'Face It and Embrace It' is what we say around here.
On Saturday, Danny had his best game of the year and his team won 21-0. Danny made an amazing 20 yard catch and then ran for about 10 yards before he was tackled. This was on a 4th down play that he converted to a first down. Of course, I became aware of the play when my friends, whom I was having a conversation with, started screaming, 'Go Danny'. By the time I got my bearings, the play was over and I knew I was in trouble. Sure enough, Danny asked me first thing if I got it on film. Not exactly, but the coaches wife took some good pictures for me. Danny also ran a reverse and got about 10 yards and made some great tackles at Defensive End.

We were riding high from Danny's game and found out that we could get tickets to the BYU-UCLA game. After a mad scramble to get home and get things squared away, we got to the game just as the 2nd half was starting. Within 5 minutes of sitting down there was 3 fumbles and 4 BYU scores. A pretty fun game.

Jake lost a heartbreaking game against his rivals of PG on Thursday night. They were shut-out 28-0. They played tonight hoping to erase memory of that game. But tonight they were shut-out again in Juan Diego 19-0. Who cares? All I care about is that Jake had his best game yet. Playing slot-back he made an amazing catch, and defensively he had one tackle in the backfield which caused a fumble. He also recovered a fumble. So even though we are starting out with 4 losses, three of them shut-outs, this one is kind of easier to swallow because of Jake's performance.

Scott helps coach Jake's football team and talked to the coach after the game. Coach Esteban was really feeling down and taking the blame for the loss. Scott talked to him and tried to make him feel better. He told them that he was doing a good job, we just don't have a very good team. And surprisingly, that did make the coach feel a little bit better.

Well, the season is half over and we have four more games. In order to make the playoffs we must win all four. A tall order considering the first half of the season.

Scott is 43

2008-09-10T11:15:00.001-06:00

Here is Scott' movie.

Re-elect Scott Severe

2008-09-09T19:52:00.002-06:00

Scott Severe had another year of great time: He was well like among his constituents. He had two surgeries within 30 days and made the insurance pay! Both times!
He was a father to his three boys. And a daddy to his little girls.
He coached football and kept his aggression to shushing people in the movie theater.
Scott gave it to The Man and said goodbye to the traveling life that he has pretended to hate so much. Now Scott is The Man and he tries not to give it to himself so much.
In Scott's 42 year, he pretty much made life easier on us all. He's a good husband, dad, and man and here's hoping 43 is more to his liking.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

More Football

2008-09-02T22:29:00.006-06:00

I know I already posted about football. But the movie is not very good quality and the pictures are not done justice. I happen to be kind of proud of some of them, so here is some of the more better pictures I have taken...in my life.

Vikings vs. Lone Peak 8/30/08

2008-09-02T22:19:00.001-06:00

* My alter ego as Football Mom blogger and movie maker. I decided to add commentator as a favor to all my fans. This is a movie I made for Danny's team of last Saturday's game. Danny is #2 and plays receiver. As you can see our quarterback gets most of the opportunities. This is a good team and should win it all.

On Saturday morning against a Lone Peak team we remember so well; the game came down to the last play…in overtime. What was a very hard fought battle by both teams could have gone either way; but when it was all over, the Vikings were on the losing end, by one point. Things looked good for the Vikings going into the sudden death scenario. Looking at fourth down and goal, Quarterback Jaxon Brown threw a pass which seemed to hang in the air impossibly long. And there was Hunter Walker, in the end zone executing the tackle eligible play that no one expected. Touchdown! The first score of the game. The Vikings went for the one point conversion and looked to the defense finish the game.
Lone Peak responded with a touchdown of their own to tie the game and claimed victory by scoring on a two point conversion to make the final score 7-8.
A heartbreaking loss that will surely be avenged.

2008-08-25T16:18:00.001-06:00

Gev's Solo (Top 14)

2008-08-25T16:15:00.001-06:00

Sunday Spectacle

2008-08-25T15:23:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was the second of our Severe Sunday Spectacle slated for September. Well, August, but...alliteration, you know.

A couple of weeks ago our family was asked to be a "normal" family singing FHE song in sacrament meeting as part of a musically themed meeting. We were honored to be considered, well actually we didn't give it much thought until 20 minutes before sacrament meeting we practiced it once or twice and threatened Jake once or twenty. We decided to pretend like we were practiced in the art of FHE and chose the song we know when we have FHE, at Christmas and Easter, Love at Home.

The bishop threw us a curve ball and had us be the first up and that threw everything out of whack. Once the music starts, I try to pick Luke up so he can see above the podium. But he doesn't like that idea and he just wiggles and thrashes about and ruins my plans to look motherly and stunning at once. We start to sing, but I get caught up in the beautiful moment, the way I tend to do, and get choked up and unable to sing. Again, ruining my plans to look like a singer and stunning. But I try to press forward with my shaky voice and crying face because I can't hear anyone else singing. All I can see is Mary pulling Danny's hair and yanking his head back over and over and over. And instead of preventing this, Scott, who is holding Mary, seems to be encouraging it by moving her closer to Danny. A spectacle.

And in the audience all I see is smirks and smiles faces that seem to say 'The Severe's had it coming.' Once we are safely back in our pew with my head buried, I scribble Scott a note that says, 'That was a Nightmare,' hoping he would soothe my worries and tell me it wasn't as bad as I thought. But instead he writes back...Trainwreck!

So yesterday was Trainwreck part T. It starts with Scott's promise in the morning that he will get all the kids ready for church and I won't have to do a thing. Well, apparently we have two different versions of what 'ready for church' mean. But at 10 minutes late, there was no worrying about it.

Since we were so late, there were no other seats, but the seats hated by all, the ones on stage. We walked up and faked our confidence and purpose for all to see. We were in a glass house. Indy who is holding Mary tries to sit down, but it folds up on her before she can, and she and Mary fall to the floor. I try to stifle my laugh, but before long we are all laughing pretty good.

Next Mary decides to crawl around, Danny tries to stop her, but I wave him off because I don't see much she can hurt. But just then she crawls over to the organ and starts playing on the foot pedals. Who knew that organ foot pedals make music? Not me. But during the middle of a missionary's testimony all of a sudden here comes 'Bum Bum Bum': Mary playing the organ. Scott makes a grab for her, but can't quite get her and she doesn't want to be got, so she starts screaming. Indy picks her up and carries her outside.

I have to bury my head in my lap because I am laughing ala Wes and crying so hard I am shaking. It's a good 5 minutes before I can raise my head up. Finally things are under control and we are moving on to the musical number. And here comes the choir and they come up to the stage and start filing in behind us. Right behind us. As I am not prepared to sing. I take one look at Scott and tell him that I was not sticking around to be humiliated for one more second. And so right before the music starts, we Severe's proudly and purposefully file out once more, in the nick of time.

Saturday was a sight more successful for the Severe's. First Danny played in his first football game of the year against PG. He made an amazing catch at receiver on 4th down that set up a touchdown. His team won 33-6.

Later that night we went to see Dancing Under the Stars at the Scera. We took Wade with us. We had amazing seats and the acts were amazing. Indy, Jake and Danny love So You Think You Can Dance and especially Gev, who was there to dance.
During the last song, Gev jumped off the stage and sat right next to Indy and talked with her a little bit while she sat star-struck and wide-eyed. After the concert he remembered her and gave her a hug.
The best part of the entire night was that Indy and Jake hung out and enjoyed themselves...together. Priceless!

2008-08-22T11:47:00.000-06:00

First Day of School

2008-08-18T14:15:00.003-06:00

Many things today:
But always there has to be a first day of school picture.
Even if Luke starts next week, Jake's first day was last Friday.
And it's after-school already.

Nike SPARQ training: 60 seconds

2008-08-18T14:12:00.001-06:00

Jake said this commercial was better...and true Mary did dance

We Have Softball

2008-08-18T14:07:00.001-06:00

I guess I can't have an original thought in my head. So this came to mind when Hil mentioned 'favorite' on her blog.
Last week, Indy brought a tear to my eye when I asked her if she was going to be a cheerleader or softball player. She answered with a twinkle in her eye and waited for the pat on her head. Softball, she said, SOFTBALL!
And then this commercial comes on during the Olympics, which is bittersweet, when you think that this is softball's last year...Or is it.

Jake's big day

2008-08-16T08:23:00.003-06:00

It seemed impossible. And then the cease-fire came through. And now Jake is a Junior Higher.
True, today Jake and his fellow 7th graders had the school to themselves with no chance of locker-stuffing. And true also that Jake had 10 classes by 12:00. Jake couldn't believe his good fortune.
I'm afraid that Jake is awaiting a harsh reality by Monday. Teachers smiles will become snarls. Gym shorts above the knee (horror!). And lunch will not be candy bars and pizza every day. Oh, yeah, I guess it will. Go Jake!

Here is MY cleaning secret

2008-08-14T22:05:00.005-06:00

For the thousands that read my blog and desire my wisdom...
My cleaning secret for ink stains (the worst) on clothing: Amodex. (ordered online). I use it about every other wash, and especially after Sunday's sacrament meeting pen and clothing rendezvous . It is magic and even works with Magic Markers! Just put it on the stain and stain is gone. I mean it. Buy some and you will be happy for the rest of your life.

Camping and Heaven

2008-08-06T12:16:00.000-06:00

Football is in the Air

2008-07-28T23:45:00.003-06:00

Today was the first day of football practice for both Jake and Danny. They both play for their respective PG Vikings teams, with Scott helping coach Jake's team.
Jake said today was easy. I reminded him that today was the first day and that the coach would be nuts to give everyone nightmares on the first day. Jake said even the leg-lifts were surprisingly sweet tourture and not as he had remembered them all year long in anticipation.
But when I picked Danny up from football and saw him running back from the backstop and then because two kids had laid down, running again! I wanted to run out there and jump on the coaches back and shout STOP at the top of my lungs, 'he just can't do it.' Can't you see him. His hair is all messy underneath his helmet. His face is red.'
I stopped myself, because I didn't know Scott was there. And he gets mad when I cry at Danny's football practices.
Jake and Danny will likely both be playing Receiver and Defensive End.

Two weeks ago, Jake and Danny went to the NEXT LEVEL football camp sponsored by John Beck. Unfortunately they missed the whole first day of the camp because I had the days mixed up and this in spite of Danny asking me every day for a month when the camp was starting.

But the experience was salvaged. Jake was able to get the signatures from John Beck and Johnny Harline on a football that he bought from Walmart that very morning. He expects to never mow another lawn with the killing that he will make selling it on ebay. Scott wanted it for his kitchen football shrine, but Jake pacified him with a helmet signed.

At the end of the day when they were giving out awards, Nate Mickel calls out none other than Jake Severe as the winner of the agility test. Scott was on hand to see Jake go up and get a nice backpack that John Beck himself picked out with Jake in mind. Scott says that while they were about to leave a 17 year old kid called out to Jake and wanted a rematch.
Jake says that he had to beat two 14 year olds to get to the finals and then to win. And the winner of the older group, the 17 year old, challenged Jake to a race, and...lost.

I was pretty proud of Jake and very glad that Arch Enemy was on hand to witness.

So here's to headache and heartache, No vacations til November (but then we're going to Disneyland. It's for sure), Injury and joy. And the best news of all...
Luke will be able to play next year!

Journey's discovery of Arnel Pineda

2008-07-18T11:44:00.001-06:00

You Tube Saves the Day

2008-07-18T10:47:00.021-06:00

As the concert came to a close and the crowd was busy seeing themselves on the bigscreen at the USANA amphitheater, we failed to notice
that the band had walked off the stage. Scott Trudo, when he realized they were gone, said "That was a Cheap Trick!" Scott Severe, never one to miss an opportunity for his shtick said, "They have no Heart. Now, let's be on our Journey home. "

And so that was the end to an amazing concert for Cheap Trick, Heart and Journey. But oh, it was not over, far from it. Well, maybe not far from it...but it wasn't quite over.

We followed the entourage backstage where they tried to block our entry. But my brother-in-law Troy, who was already through, put his head between the crack of the guys muscle y arms blocking our passage and said, "They're with us". Tough Guy looked like he didn't really care about that, but moved a tiny inch to allow us through.

I thought we were just going back there to get our cars out of the way because we had parked right next to the tour busses. But instead we waited and waited and waited. I couldn't figure out what the waiting was for. But then the band members from Journey came over and talked to my brother in law Troy for a while. And we took some pictures and tried to act cool.

Troy is a music executive from Walmart who put together their latest exclusive CD from Journey. It was a pretty big deal for Troy and Journey, who are putting together a comeback with a new lead singer (more on that later). So they were pretty happy to see Troy and they were pretty nice to us, who were just along for the ride. We got to drive in and park in the back entrance amid semis and tour buses. Before the concert started we had a Meet and Greet with Journey. And our friend Tim Willis, who is a big Cheap Trick fan, took some pictures with the lead singer Robin (who he thinks he looks a lot alike) moments before he went on stage.

When the concert started, Journey was just playing their usual songs and all of a sudden here comes a little asian kid out of nowhere, running and jumping around and sounding just like Steve Perry, but looking a lot like Dr. Tagasaki. This was their new lead singer, Arnel Pineda, who I knew nothing about, but that has an amazing story. After the concert, and the next day, I spent hours on Youtube checking him out.

Arnel (actually 40) was homeless and destitute a few years ago. He had a cover band in the Phillipines that would do Journey songs...well check out the clips from You tube. It will explain it more than I could do justice.

Anyway, we had the most amazing time. It was impressive to see Troy mixing it up with the celebs and managing to look unaffected by it all. I wasn't a big Journey, or Heart, or Cheap Trick fan before, but you better believe I am now!

Max Severe, crossed the River Styx

2008-06-27T00:56:00.001-06:00

Basically what we're gonna do is Dance!

2008-06-21T22:49:00.003-06:00

Indy turned eleven and again I suffered intense stress from Indy's subtle mind-control to make this a better birthday than last year's AMAZING RACE. The pressure gets worse every year. I guess what I need to do is just miserably fail in every expectation one year and the next year would be better without hardly effort at all.

We decided to go indoor skydiving at Ifly Utah in Ogden. We saw the building while we did our vacation at Wolf Creek a couple of weeks ago. Indy really wanted to try it out because Indy's always up for things like that, and party because she saw that the Jonas Brothers did it for their reality show.

I tried to keep it a secret which probably was a bad idea and allowed Indy's expectations to grow ever bigger. And in truth, when Jake prematurely let the secret out, I could detect a little piece of disappointment from Indy. Like she had been expecting to see Wicked...in New York.
But we were all excited once we got there. They gave us a little instruction and suited us up. And we walked into a massive air tunnel and Danny went for his "flight" first. It was awesome and I couldn't stop being giddy and laughing. It was amazing and over before we knew it.
Jake next, then Indy and Luke and even Mary was brave enough. I thought she would chicken out, but she didn't say a word. After everyone had a chance to "fly" we did it all again. So we got two one minute flights. Even though one minute sounds pitiful, the experience is pretty intense and tiring, so it's appropriate.

After our turns were over, our instructor showed us what was really possible in the air tunnel and he flew up to the top and dropped to the ground like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible. And in a second he was back up at the top of the tunnel 50 feet up. He flew around like Spider Man and impressed everyone, except Mary, who just gave him a blank look.

We had a great time and got in the car and headed home. We put the movie they gave us of our experience in the DVD player and watched it for a while. I was feeling pretty good about the way things turned out and recalling the amazing time we had. And then Indy piped up from the back seat, "So is my birthday over now"

Indy 11

2008-06-19T09:24:00.001-06:00

SUMMERTIME and the Living is Easy

2008-06-12T11:27:00.004-06:00

Last week of school

2008-05-27T12:11:00.001-06:00

Here are a few pictures of this last week or so of school.

politics of preschool (Which side is she on?)

2008-05-24T13:10:00.001-06:00

Family Talent Show

2008-05-14T20:14:00.002-06:00

This is from the old Severe archives, dusted off and digitally remastered. Well, maybe you can barely make it out, but it us. This was about 3.5 years ago.

This weekend 5/11/08

2008-05-13T23:21:00.004-06:00

We had a BUUUUUSY week that culminated with Indy's big Dance Concert. Thank goodness that's over. In the end she had done 5 performances and 15 dances. Plus, I think Scott busted a few eardrum and elicited a few swear words for his exuberant support of Indy. Here's to not thinking about another dance anything for about a year.
But then on Saturday we also had Indy, Danny and Luke's soccer games. And then on to Jake's baseball games.
We were quite tired when it was all over. And somehow Mary did not get sunburned. I think I really am becoming a mom worthy of Mother's Day.
On Sunday we all got together in Lake Shore to have some food and wish we were at the Benjamin Park (not really). Cindy and Scott and Cade, Haden, Hanna, Jaxson, Camden joined us and fit it as if they have been Neves their entire life.
So summer is right around the corner. We only have about 10 days left of school. And sleeping in is so close I can almost feel it.
Scott is in Kentucky for the week.

This weekend

2008-05-05T17:14:00.003-06:00

Speed Racer

2008-05-01T21:10:00.005-06:00

Danny's 1st Pine wood Derby was yesterday. The award they gave him was for Most Effort. We're trying to figure out if that is a good or bad thing. And the effort is debatable. The day of the mandatory weigh-in, Danny had a block of wood still in the box. Scott was out of commission with his shoulder, in fact, I was still having to feed him and help him with bathroom business. But with Danny's relentless presence, Scott knew he would have to get better soon. I thought I could maybe have a go of it, but that was apparently blasphemy.
Scott enlisted the help of his home teachee, whom he has learned from years of

teaching, fosters a rather unhealthy obsession for Pinewood Derby cars and has about 500 in his basement, despite nary a boy in the household.
So Scott kept Danny home from school and they spent the morning and afternoon polishing and shaping and fine-tuning. Danny mostly did the sanding, although he did design the car with a sketch and oversaw the aesthetics (stickers and paint). Scott said we, er... Danny was going to 'smoke em.' Thats Dannys Car, Smokin em in the picture above.
Danny won his first race handily and Scott and I smiled a knowing smile and felt a little bit bad for the other boys. But then Danny's purple racer came in second place, once and then again.
We found out the hard way about the two titans of every PWD: the Moores and Andersons. They, who have come in 1 and 2 every year for 3 years, would take the titles again this year. But Danny was right there, getting third place out of about 20 boys.
So Scott's skills have considerably improved since the days of Jake's super-glued wheels. Next year we...er, Danny will be a contender because... NO More Moores!!

Amie, Is this supposed to happen?

2008-05-01T21:08:00.003-06:00

No posts today?

2008-04-27T22:54:00.002-06:00

A Little something for You

2008-04-27T22:51:00.000-06:00

Leave your score under your comment

Have a Rice Day!

2008-04-24T22:53:00.007-06:00

Today I had two things on my mind: Getting Scott out of soldier shurgery with his dignity intact, AND getting a hold of the rice. Check and check. Scott's second surgery in two months was a roaring success and his recovery will be very speedy and not the anticipated six week recovery due to the fact that the tear was not as extensive as first thought.
I was worried about Scott while he was in surgery, but I couldn't stop thinking about getting some rice after Hilary's email today pumping us up about food storage. Then talking to Cindy about the Rice shortage really got me nervous with impending doom. And then I find out that I am the only one who didn't know about the rice shortage, and what, there's a wheat shortage too?
So when I had to go and pick up the meds for Scott, I took a little detour to Costco where I could check out the situation. Well, I have to say that the shelves at Costco, were a little bare in some spots, like I have never seen before. And when I came to the rice, I saw rice available, which I guess I wasn't expecting to see. But it was Minute Rice and I thought to myself, 'that must not be the rice everyone is talking about. So I passed up the Minute Rice, since there was no one fighting over it and there were no rationing police. But now all I really wanted was the Long Grain rice!!
I finally got it at Albertson's while on an errand to get Scott some Coke. And there is was all nice and neat as if no one was fighting over it. Two bags ought to do the trick.

Scott was feeling good when he got home, but had the kids thinking that he had amnesia (as he had warned them that he might have after the anesthesia took affect) and didn't recognize them. His acting skills combined with his general loopiness from the anesthesia was really a sight to behold. Indy and Jake thought they knew what was going on, but I could see the worry on their little faces, and then relief when Scott finally recognized them.
Scott got really fake infuriated at Jake for wearing a green Nike sport shirt that he didn't like and told him to take it off immediately. Jake nervously did and Luke looked at Scott and said, "Are you really serious about that'.
But Jake said he was in the know the whole time.

2008-04-23T18:22:00.001-06:00

Spring Break

2008-04-23T18:12:00.003-06:00

Spring Break was last week. Scott was in Boston for a convention that he usually attended with the Xactware boys, but this time, he was on HSG's dime. So while THEY were attending a Red Sox game, Scott was flying across the country, making three connections and then getting in at midnight. But Scott is always facing it and embracing it and making lemons out of lemonade.

In the meantime, we decided to Face it and Embrace Spring Break and went to Midway to spend a few days in a little condo called Wintergreen. It is right across from the Zermatt. So for the most part I tried to school the kids in the art of breaking into the pool there by acting like you belong. And Jake really got into it. His solution was to go up to someone's room and knock on their door and then ask what their last name was and then go down to the lobby and tell them that we lost our key. Me, I just told them to keep their eyes our for any keys lying around poolside. I still have a way to go to get considered for Relief Society president.

When Jake asked the Valet why the bakery closed so early, he told Jake to make a comment on his checkout card. So Jake just left a comment on a pad of paper in the hallway.

On Tuesday we went up to Kamas to swim in their aquatics center. It is well worth the drive because it is decked out with a lot of things, but not a lot of people. Hilary brought all the kids and Dallon and Hallie too.

The big kids spent a lot of time on the diving board, the high dive, that is. Brett was the first to attempt a flip and over rotated into a belly flop. He acted as if nothing happened, but his bloody nose and red belly betrayed him.

Indy didn't know about Brett's misfortune and did flip after flip after flip. Dallon didn't know about Indy's prowess on the diving board and when I asked him why he didn't do a flip he said he wasn't going to attempt it after what happened to Brett. I asked him if he would do a flip if Indy did one. He didn't think she would be brave enough, but a few seconds later Indy did a flip and so Dallon manned up and did one too.

The life guard whistle was going non stop, mostly for our kids, and a few for Hilary. Wade and Danny were not seen for most of the three hours. We hoped they were getting along okay, and sure enough they met us out at the car just fine.

The next day Scott met us at Park City. We did a little bit of shopping and Jake bought a ring 'because Uncle Josh wears one'. We had a great time at the Zermatt pool and highly recommend that one too. When we stay there we are usually swimming by ourselves. And even when we aren't staying there, we are usually the only ones there. It's like our own private pool.

Well 5 weeks to go in school. We are starting the countdown.

let's dance baby!

2008-04-18T15:28:00.006-06:00

Hey everybody! Indy here, I just wanted to let you know my dance concert is coming up in a few weeks, and if you would like to come please let me know!( I will be doing 3 dances this year!!!!) Tickets are selling out pretty quick!!! But I think we'll be okay, I'm dancing at a new theatre ( The Covey Center For The Arts.) and its got about 1000 more seats than UVSC did! My concert dates are: may 8th, 9th and 10th. I have three concerts each on the 9th and 10th and may 8th is full makeup- hair dress rehearsal which is free. I have been practicing real hard and hope to be seeing you there! P.S. It might be kind of hard to find me in the crowd of 17 dancers wearing The same costume... just look for the shortest, smallest person there...that's me! oh yeah, the picture on he left is my best Friend and I in one of our costumes - trust me you don't want to see the others!

Today Luke stuck his hands in TAR

2008-04-12T15:43:00.011-06:00

I convinced Scott to take all the kids to play baseball when he just wanted to take Danny and Jake. He thought Luke would be distracting. And he was right. But he wasn't quite prepared for what happened.
Scott thought that Luke had mud on his hands and told him to go and wash it off. When the bathroom was locked he told him to wipe in on the ground. It wasn't until a concerned citizen asked Scott if Luke was his son and if he knew that he had tar on his hands and also wondered if he knew that he had now contaminated the entire ball park. So scott came home. He brought me into the kitchen to show me. Very smug-like. Luke thought it was so fun. Probably because I was kind of laughing.
But I'm sure Scott thought that it was almost worth it; to be able to give me an 'I told you so'. A very rare occurrence for Scott, so I'm glad he gets to experience it every once in a while.

So how do you get tar off your 5 year old's hands. Olive Oil and 20 minutes of scrubbing.

GNO

2008-04-12T00:09:00.001-06:00

Last Tuesday Indy told me to stay in my room because she was "cooking" up a surprise for me. I was in there for about 2 hours. Did I mind....Yes. I mean, No. Because when came out if was like paradise by the TV light. Indy had planned a girl's night of watching Dancing with the Stars. Painting Nails. Drinking pink lemonade. Having brownies instead of dinner. The boys? Well, they would just have to figure out something to do. It was awesome. We had a great time and even got Mary in on the action. I think we even got one of her toes painted.
Indy is always thinking up special occasions for girls to have. And I do my best to not disappoint. NYC here we come!

Paradise by the GoPhone Light - Long version

2008-04-12T00:07:00.002-06:00

Imagine Jake's utter delight upon watching this commercial and realizing it that it said it all...for him. Now on occasion he will grasp us and say, "I'll love you till the end of time, I swear. I'll love you till the end of time. By the way, "Mom" is...Tiffany!

Loose Meat

2008-04-09T17:38:00.000-06:00

Aunt Cathy wanted the recipe for this meal. We have it quite often because it's, how you say...EASY. I've always imagined the Loose Meat sandwiches that Rosanne served at her restaurant tasting something like this. Pretty Good.

Souperburgers
3/4 lb. ground beef (85% lean)1 medium onion, chopped

1 can Campbell's® Healthy Request® Condensed Cream of Celery Soup
3/4 lb. ground beef

1/4 cup water
1 tbsp. ketchup
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
6 Pepperidge Farm® Farmhouse Premium White Rolls with Sesame Seeds

COOK beef and onion in skillet until beef is browned. Pour off fat.

ADD soup, water, ketchup and pepper. Heat through. Divide meat mixture among rolls.

You Need a Friend

2008-04-08T23:10:00.000-06:00

We watched Lauren while Hilary and Dean went to Washington DC. Indy was going to an overnight mission to the Space Center in PG. Luckily Lauren was able to go as well. The mission did not live up to the excitement of Indy's previous mission where she was the ambassador. She was almost kidnapped as the ambassador; She was saluted as the ambassador. She wore a bow-tie and cape as the ambassador. This time she was the Communications Officer, NOT the Ambassador. Hopefully her disappointment didn't carry over to taint Lauren's experience. They were pretty chatty when they got home, but had to wait their turn to speak of it. Jake also went on a Space Mission earlier that day for a birthday party and was the Operations Officer. Their mission was to retrieve a cloaking device from an alien space ship. That was achieved easily, but they did not count on a tracking device to betray them. The aliens gave them two choices: quick death or slow and painful. Jake made the decision...to self-destruct. No negotiations. No maneuvering. No plotting with his fellow teammates. He just went ahead and got destructions to self-destruct. Later he said he was trying to be heroic.

Tonight Scott is finishing his office by putting in the floor. It had to be done because he is getting shoulder surgery in a week and this time he will be out-out of commission. No lifting for six weeks. So it was now or never for getting the little things done or face waiting months and months and months.

So Scott enlisted the help of our good neighbor, Jeremy, to get it done. Jeremy has been helping with the basement since the beginning. They are down there right now working at 11:30. Maybe Scott will be able to make it to bed by 3:00. But it does your heart good to know you have great friends who will help you when you need it. Jeremy would do anything for you. He's a good guy. Hope you get to know him someday.

2008-04-08T17:27:00.001-06:00

24%

Parenting Tips according to WryBaby.com

2008-04-04T15:51:00.001-06:00

Very Helpful

Faster than a Shooting Canon?

2008-04-03T14:20:00.001-06:00

This is Luke trying to run faster than I can take a picture of him. Got him.

What a Ride

2008-04-03T14:10:00.002-06:00

Here is Jake at his school's recent Country Fair. Jake stood in costume and by his post for four hours. And that was the least of it. This was the main project for his 6th grade year. He also did a 30 page report on Greece; dressed in costume; served food (Feta cheese and Pita bread, for which there were lots o' left-overs) and played Greek music on Indy's idog. Safe to say, he was the best Greek there.

Then today we got a call from a man from Elite Grounds Landscaping who said that he had just picked up Jake's scripture case from a landscaping truck. What?! How did they get there? Jake's scriptures have been missing for about three years. We thought that they might have been adopted by a new family. But hopefully someone has been receiving light and inspiration from Jake's little scriptures. Now HOW did they get there?

Diva or Gymnast

2008-03-28T18:33:00.000-06:00

Mary's is going to be a great gymnast some day or a fearsome diva. Witness her in happier times and on Monday through Friday. This is her default pose when things are less than rosy.

Young Mudd Girls Rock

2008-03-28T18:30:00.001-06:00

Mary and Luke

2008-03-28T17:32:00.001-06:00

Jake Unfiltered

2008-03-26T13:16:00.000-06:00

Yesterday at the doctor, we were waiting around and I asked Jake some silly questions like I always do.
I asked him if he had to choose one person to marry right now, who would it be. And then when he refused to answer, I gave him some choices. Would you rather have little Kaela's running around, or would you rather have little Louisas'; two of the girls in Jake's class. Jake just shook his head and said he wanted to have little Kevin's some day. And later explained to my bug-eyed countenance, that Kevin is his favorite name for a boy, after Kevin Durrant. Whew!

2008-03-24T19:36:00.001-06:00

HAPPY EASTER

2008-03-24T19:25:00.001-06:00

Happy Easter

2008-03-24T18:59:00.000-06:00

We had a great Easter Weekend that was mainly spent in St. George Utah for Jake's baseball tournament with his team, Lindon Smash. For the main event we were back safe and sound in Lindon to celebrate with everyone.

There were three Easter egg hunts. One at the hotel we were staying at. They eliminated the eggs all together and just put the candy on the ground. It was savage. We played like Luke was 4 so that he could get more candy with only a few babies to overcome. Jake thought he was too cool to run around frantic and so just got a little bit of the candy that Indy and Danny came up with.

St. George was fun. Mary got her very first tooth, and her very first sunburn and I'm also up for Mom of the Year. And Wife of the year when I wouldn't listen to Scott tell me that Mary might need some sunscreen.

Jake had an amazing tournament, though I took few pictures and scant video because of the persistent fence that claimed every inch of good space.

Jake didn't have a single fielding error and in fact made the most amazing catch at 2nd base when he was laid out flat to snatch it out of the air. It was proof positive that Jakey (as they call him on the team) is a real contender. And that reminds me of something that Hilary reminded me of recently. Jakey on the way to St. George a couple of years ago was stoked at seeing a billboard that said of Mesquite "Players stay free!" He couldn't believe the perks.

Luke loved being with the team for three days straight and would fight it out with the biggest boys in the pool. At one point I looked over to find Luke tackling a player from a team that was near. He is pretty fearless. How will that translate in his future.

And with Spring we have soccer coming up. With Luke trying it out for a second time; Danny going again; And Indy decided after 10 years that it was a good time to try out this soccer thing. She figures she'll be giving lessons of her own in a matter of time. Well, maybe she's a little nervous. And I don't have much in the way to offer her with advice. At least she's very aggressive and that will serve her well. How will that translate in her future. We'll see how Hilary Clinton does. Maybe VP?

Indy as Britney

2008-03-17T18:10:00.000-06:00

Casey Affleck, Oscar Nominee, Assassination of Jesse James..

2008-03-16T00:01:00.001-06:00

Say shoulder surgery

2008-03-15T23:07:00.000-06:00

I normally don't write. I have had writers block for a couple of years now.

But here's a little about what's going on. Casey Affleck is a good actor, my favorite now.

We saw The Assassination of Jessie James by the coward Robert Ford last week. I can't get it out of my mind. I heartily recommend it to all those Neves out there who like to repeat phrases ad nauseam from movies. This has a few of those. It's really good. Now, go ahead and watch it

and tell me what you think.

Next, Scotty had knee surgery a week ago. In his recovery, he was extremely high on drugs and so he was three times as talkative as he normally is and had no self-editing skills. He asked the nurse in the recovery room if she was really rich because she had a really big ring on. Then when I told him he was being really weird he just waved me off and said, 'I'm on a roll." He thought he was killing everyone with his humor skills.

He has been doing well in his recovery and has been hobbling around since then quite efficiently; in fact, right now at 11:30 at night he is painting Jake's room. I don't even know why we got the crutches from the hospital because he has never used them. Even in the wee hours of the night after his surgery he got up in the middle of the night to hold Mary and rock her back to sleep. He was teetering on one leg and would momentarily touch down with the other one to steady himself. But he wasn't feeling too much pain then on account of still being under the influence of the anesthesia block.

Scott has to do physical therapy three times a week for a while, depending on his progress, which so far has amazed his physical therapist, who is also our neighbor across the street. But it's really painful for Scott and he will come home and crash for a few hours.

The pictures we took don't do any justice to the condition you can see with the naked eye.

Once Scott is back in the saddle he will be getting shoulder surgery and we will be doing this all over again.

Nothing much else to comment on. I will try to think of something.

Danny is Elvis

2008-03-06T16:23:00.000-07:00

There are other people in our family besides Jake and Danny, but you might not think it because of the big month that Danny had. Usually, being the middle child you sometimes get overshadowed by your older and younger siblings. But now it's Danny's turn. Let me see if i can think of something that Luke did that is blog worthy.

Bulls are Perfect

2008-03-06T16:07:00.000-07:00

Here are some clips of the last and only game I filmed.

Had I known that I would be making it into a movie,

I would have done a much better job. Well, there's always next year, right Dad.

2008-03-06T11:03:00.000-07:00

After several attempts, this is what Danny came up with to describe what he thought his baptism might be like. Looks like he got his skills from Josh.

Danny Baptized

2008-03-06T10:54:00.000-07:00

Right after the moment of truth.

Danny smiling at his glorious transformation and Scott telling me

'You can't be in here.'

Jake Severe. 12

2008-02-29T00:36:00.000-07:00