What to do--laugh or be angry?

So Jake came home from school today and said he got in a "bit" of trouble in science today. This is quite common for Jake in this particular class, he gets pretty bored and his teacher doesn't appreciate his humor & jokes, which seem to multiply when his work is all done. Anyway, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, the teacher's daughter was substituting today and Jake had a little run in with her. He was once again done with his work and just wandering about the class. He went to throw something away and saw a substitute teacher badge that subs are required to wear sitting on top of the pile of trash. He pulled it out of the trash, crossed out "substitute teacher", wrote his name, and then below his name wrote "anarchist", and then put it on and proceeded to walk about the class. The substitute/daughter saw him and yelled, "What do you have on?!!!" "Why do you have that on?!!!" "You need to throw that away!!!" But then she decided to do it for him and pulled it off his neck and took it. Jake being Jake, thought the whole thing was very funny. I really wanted to be upset, but I bet you're laughing too. Hard not to. What to do?!!!

Our Day

Once again, it is Praise to Jen & Kate Day. I think Brian forgot this year--darn him! Anyway, I just wanted to wish Kate a happy day! I made these little framed pictures for me & Kate when we first started our "holiday". I have kept it because it always makes me smile. Kate was so good to hang out with me after I got home from my mission. Most of my friends had graduated already and/or were married. I remember once, I took Kate and one of her friends to Hastings to get a movie. There was a poster of Brad Pitt and they started talking about how hot he was. I turned to Kate and said, "Who is Brad Pitt?" He had come on the scene in a big way while I was on a mission. Kate hustled over to me, covered my mouth and said, "Don't let anyone here you say that out loud!" Lots of great memories. A few of the reasons I love & admire Katie:

1. She agreed with me to have this fabulous holiday.

2. Kate is always up for anything, "Sure!" I can hear her saying it now!

3. She is a great Mom.

4. Katie is kind to everyone, she can make anyone feel like he or she is her favorite.

5. Kate was "the baby", I have alway thought she was fabulous.

6. Katie is beautiful, like all my sisters, it comes from the inside and just keeps going.

7. She could spot a jerky guy when I brought them home long before I could & she let me know.

8. She is amazingly athletic, something I am a tad bit jealous of. She could not run for months and then decide to run 5 miles & I believe she could! I always loved watching all my sisters play volleyball. I cried when I had just had Jake & couldn't go watch Kate at the state finals.

9. She has made some very tough choices in her life, but she knows what is right and she does it.

10. She is just plain fun! She laughs easily and lots--I love that.

I am so glad we have this day, if for nothing else, it reminds me of you. I love you, Kate!

Pinewood Derby

This past Saturday was the Pinewood Derby for Ben. He wanted to make a Steelers car, so we worked on it all week (WE being a very key word) and I think it came out nicely. Only problem, it wasn't very fast. Brian says we just can't have both it seems, a car that looks good and races good. At least it did look good. And Ben was in the spotlight for much of the Derby because the guy running it happened to be from Pittsburgh originally and LOVED Ben's car. We were in a department store a couple of weeks ago and the manager walked up to Ben (he had on his jersey) and said, "You gotta give me five, there just aren't enough Steeler fans down here!" Ben of course loves every minute of it. So we were thrilled last night when the Steelers won again and are headed to the Super Bowl. We even caught Ben at one point during the game saying a prayer for his Steelers--how sweet is that? And apparently the Big Guy is a Steelers fan too! :)

We had a first today. Ruby was crying and I told Jake to bring her to me. He brought her in and as soon as I took her, she really started to cry. I gave her back to Jake and she was all smiles. What a stinker! But very cute, she really loves Jake! It seems to be a theme in his life, girls loving him, I am SO not ready!

Ben and Ben

Jake & Ben were so excited to watch the Steelers play last night. As soon as they turned the game on, Ben hurried in his room and put on his Roethlisberger jersey. He had to get it out of the dirty clothes to do so (gross, but oh well), luckily it was right on top since he'd worn it the day before. Jake lost interest to his guitar part way through the game, but Ben stayed with his Steelers to the end. A happy end, thank goodness! Ben sat on the edge of the couch the whole time, yelling at the refs and players and cheering on his team. When he went to bed, I told him to remember to take off his jersey. This morning when I woke him up, he still had it on. There is something magical about that jersey--he really feels connected somehow to "his team" now. I love it all and I LOVE him! So just for my Ben, GO STEELERS!