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Thanks for all the comments and well wishes! It would be beeline to California if it weren't for all the practical things to attend to. Like work and school. Boooo!! I guess I can wait till Thursday.

I will tell more of what we found out at the Dr., but today was just too much fun not to share (even if I have to do it with my crappy phone camera photos).

Most important, the happy news from the Dr. I usually don't have a smile like this on my face at the office. I got to check the boys out early and tell them the good news before they had to go to the dentist. It was a great moment.

I think this is the first time we all had cavities.

James won a story telling contest at his school last month, so today we drove to Lindon to compete at the district level. He told the story of the bear we saw at Twin Lakes. He puts in a lot of his own jokes and it's pretty fun. I'm sure he will make call-backs.

I came home and found this book my cousin had mailed to me, chronicling our trip to Paris. It alone was enough to make my day. Remembering that I have done one cool thing in my life, even if it was a few years ago. Thanks Jill!

Josh helped James with his homework. James does about 2 hours, but sometimes more, of homework a night. I don't remember anything like that in the 5th grade. Not a big fan lately.

I got to play tiger mother for a good hour tonight.

One consequence of this was Sam storming out of the room after me telling him to play a b major 5 finger pattern and he asking again and again "Why should I?" and I having no good answer except that is what it says to do on his paper (I don't even know what a b major would look like). After a while Josh heard him yell from his bedroom "I'M LEAVING!!" so he went to see what that was all about. And there was Sam. Pushing on the screen at his window. His bow and arrows and tennis shoes on the bed next to him. He explained he was leaving because nobody loves him. Said he was planning on living off the kill of rabbits. Josh pointed out he may want to bring matches to cook the little critters. Sam then produced his fire-lighter. James suggested the BB gun might be a better option. Sam disagreed, as it would scare off the other animals in the area.

In the end, I simply reminded him (after stifling some pretty hefty laughs, for this is my first experience with a runaway child) how he had a hard time sleeping at Grandma's house and that it might be even harder on the stiff ground.

Yes, he ended up back on the piano bench. But boy were his shoulders stooped.

Have I mentioned that his real reason for starting piano was just to get good enough to read music so that he can drop out and play the ukulele? True story. I wonder if that is going to happen sooner than later, if only for his mother's sanity. Besides, a small wooden instrument would go well with a bindle over the shoulder and bow and arrow on the back.

Scripture reading. The kids fight for more verses if we are reading from the iPad. Something about screens and boys...

Josh literally ran out on his cougars (BYU) tonight, he was so frustrated with them. He came home to watch them make the biggest comeback in NCAA history. I asked if it was the happiest he has been all day (because honestly, I haven't seen him smile like that for months). He said "For sure." I don't get it.

Truth is, we all are possibly the happiest we have been in months. Our chance at a chance for many more days like this has gotten bigger. How great is that?