First Violin Recital

Talmage had his very first violin recital today.  He was so excited to wear the tux Grandpa Hymas and Grandma Tina gave him for his birthday.  He looked so composed while playing but when he sat down after his solo he asked if I could see his knees shaking.  He did a great job.  He has only been playing since September but is learning fast.




At the very end of the recital Talmage's teacher had all of her students that felt comfortable playing an orchestral version of Up on the Housetop come up and play together.  It is the first time they played it together-- ever.  None of the other first year students wanted to play.  So that is why Talmage is the only little one up there with all the big girls.   I love that he was even shorter than the bottom part of the girls stands.

He enjoyed several compliments on his tux (with tails).  He plans on wearing it again on Tuesday for his school orchestra concert and then again at a nursing home on Thursday where he'll have another recital.  Busy, busy boy!

Talmage's Baptism

Talmage was baptized on Sept. 3rd. He had been counting down the years since he learned to count. It was a great day for him and was fun to have family here for the baptism and then for a lunch/birthday party after.

Our family before the baptism.

Talmage with the four Grandparents that could make it. My dad and his wife Tina came up from California for Labor day weekend. Aaron's parents came up from Syracuse.

Here's the whole group. Stephanie (Aaron's sister) is in the front with an oh so cheerful Anya. Vicki and Larry are behind Stephanie and Anya. Then there is Lindsey (Aaron's sister) between his parents, and her new husband, John, behind her (they came down from Idaho). And Berry (Larry and Vicki's son) is the one all the way on the left.

This is Talmage's cool birthday/baptism day cake that Annette made for him. She does such a great job with cakes! Not only did it look really cool but it tasted great. Good thing Tina was staying at our house to help us eat all this cake.

Happy Birthday Anya

Anya just had her 6th birthday! She is in Kindergarten, she lost her first tooth, and she has her own chicken. She's pretty much satisfied with life right now. For Halloween she wants to dress up like Laura Ingalls so we started figuring out a costume in September. By the time we got a pattern and fabric this costume was getting pretty pricey so it became a birthday gift also. I worked super hard on it all week and she loves it! I'm still critical of it but she's happy so I should be too.Here she has it on over her school clothes.

I have been reading the Little House series to Anya, at her request, and she loves it. She already wanted to be a" farmer's wife" when she grows up and now that she's learning all about living off the land she wants too be a little farm girl.




Anya has been doing a great job taking care of our 3 chickens and she was super excited to where her Laura costume out to collect eggs.



I'll need to do a post about our chickens sometime soon. But for now I'm going to pat myself on the back for actually making a new post. Hmm maybe an ice cream reward is a better idea!

Beyond Excited

Talmage's birthday is coming up in a couple of days and I am so excited. He is finally, after years of asking, going to begin learning violin. We have it all set. We've rented a violin, I have a super teacher lined up for lessons at an affordable price (Aaron is much relieved), and with her encouragement I have him set to start orchestra at his school this year. We thought he had to wait until next year but with the mention of his soon to be violin teachers name the orchestra teacher gave him special permission to start a year early-- but Talmage doesn't know any of this yet and I am going crazy not being able to tell him the exciting news.

Smarter than Common Sense

Talmage had another instance of his intelligence out weighing his common sense.

We were at our soon to be new house with our real estate agent, checking everything out and making sure the roof is good, the outlets all work . . . When Talmage comes into the room I was taking measurements in and told me he changed the combination on the lock box.

This house for some reason has a combination lock box instead of one of the fancy digital key ones. When we had visited the house previously our agent had not mixed up the combination before Talmage had a chance to memorize it. So when we came to the house on this visit the agent let Talmage be in charge of opening the door. Talmage hurried up to the door, did the combination, popped the box open, pulled out the key and opened the door for us. Our agent said Talmage could be his assistant and quickly forgot about the potential problems of having a 7 year old running around with the combination memorized.

So after Talmage had finished testing all the outlets in the house with a lamp, to see if they worked (they did), he decided to find himself another job. The lock box looked like a good place to start. So he opened the box and read the directions on the inside of the box on how to change the combination. He then proceeded to change the combination and shut the box. Then he realized he had forgotten the combination. So he came and told me he had changed the combination. I figured he meant that he had spun the tumblers so that the numbers weren't left on the combination. That is not what he meant.

About five minutes later the kids were rolling in the grass out back (this house has very nice grass) when Aaron and our agent decided to get the key out of the lock box to open the garage and check things out in there. Well the lock box wouldn't open with the combination. That's when I realized that Talmage must have really changed the combination.

So I call Talmage in and started asking him questions, like how did you know how to change the combination, and what did you change it too. He said he had opened the box and followed the directions inside (that is now closed) and it told him to push this button and change the numbers and that he had forgotten what he had changed it too. Our agents eyes were big and I could see him thinking "how are we going to get out of this?" The people that are selling the house do not live near it (it was there parents home who have past away) and the selling agent lives nearly an hour away. Lucky for all of us I knew that Talmage's memory is better than he thinks. So I asked him if he could remember the first number, he could and told it to us. I then asked him if he could remember what the last number was, he could. Then I asked him about the second and so forth until we had all the numbers and the box opened. We were all relieved and our agent reset the combination and Talmage promises not to touch the box again-- even though he knows the reset combination and could get the key out anytime he wanted too.

Buying a House

We've found a house to buy here in the valley and we are so excited to move in. It has a beautiful yard with a HUGE garden and has lots of space inside. It is bigger than we were looking for but it's a good price and I'm not going to complain about having to have a sewing room. We are still in the middle of inspections and and keeping our fingers crossed that nothing odd comes out of it. It seems like a solid old home in a great area. If all goes well we'll be moving in the first of next month. Hurray!

Still Learning

I love that I'm still learning things everyday, but sometimes the things I learn make me feel dumb.

This week I learned that Mums (the flower) and Chrysanthemums are the same thing. Makes sense now that I think about it.

Other times I feel smart, like after I read about a character in a Little House on the Prairie type novel putting cloth out in the sun to bleach, I put one of Talmage's white polo shirts on the window sill and the sun "bleached" a stubborn watermelon stain out of it. Awesome! Who would have thought a children's novel could help me with my house work.

Anya also has been learning a lot. She is quite the animal lover and enjoys any chance we get to be near animals. She loves horses, goats, chickens, ducks . . . So she has decided on what she wants to be when she grows up. She wants to be a farmer's wife. She figures as a farmers wife she can do all the great things like feed chickens and collect their eggs (she has stock piled about 10 egg cartons now-- she has been collecting them for the last few months), milking cows, herding goats and sheep, and shoveling manure. She also wants her own horse to ride, and brush, and braid it's mane. We sure love Anya! We'll definitely take her to the county fair this summer and let her spend lots of time checking out the animals. We are in a good area of Utah for seeing livestock and smelling them too.

Not A Cute Baby

Anya loves looking at her baby pictures. I finally gave up thinking that I would put them in a cutesie scrapbook and let Anya make one of her own. She loves it. I gave her some paper, ribbon, stickers, and crayons and helped her glue the pictures on. It's in a nice binder with sheet protectors and everything. She is very happy with the results and now I don't have guilt about it. She takes her baby book out every once in a while and looks at it and shows us how cute she was. Then she usually pulls out Talmage's and Aaron's and checks those out too.

So the other night we were eating dinner and she asked me why I don't have a baby book. (I only have one picture of me as a baby and I don't think she has ever seen it. It must be in a box somewhere.) So I told her I don't really have any pictures of me as a baby. She looked at me for a minute and then said, "You must have not been a cute baby." A long discussion ensued after that about why I don't have more baby pictures of me. But in the end she still thinks it comes down to me not being a cute baby. Oh well. At least she has a baby book of her own and enough self-esteem to get her through high school-- hopefully.

Buffalo and Coy

Near the ranch were Tina keeps her horse, she has made friends with a man who owns a huge buffalo named Cheyenne and the biggest Japanese Coy I've ever heard of. Anya loves animals and has no fear of them-- even though she probably should.

Here she is petting the coy. There's no way I'd touch one of those-- yuck. Well maybe for a hundred dollars, but who'd pay someone to do that?

These fish would just come up and let her pet them, like they were dolphins at SeaWorld or something. Strange fish and strange little girl.

Here is Anya trying to make friends with Cheyenne. Big buffallo!

Anya wanted to feel how rough her tongue is but Cheyenne was in a bad mood.

So Anya tried feeding her a bottle. A bottle a day is supposed to keep her docile.

She checked out the bottle but wouldn't take it because she was in a bad mood.

So Anya contented herself with brushing her with a curry comb. She had no problem hanging out near Cheyennes back end on her side of the fence.

Talmage wanted to be part of the fun, but from the safe side of the fence.

Here Anya is having a little ride on top of Cheyenne. Even though she saw that Cheyenne was in a bad mood she still wanted to ride on her. Talmage took off for the car so he wouldn't be asked if he wanted a turn. I'm going to need to keep an eye on this girl or she'll run off and join the rodeo or the circus if they let her play with the animals.

Talmage's Dog Time

Talmage loves dogs. While in California we went to a ranch to ride Tina's horse. Talmage rode the horses, enjoyed hunting for and finding chicken eggs, he even shoveled manure, but the dogs were his favorite.

He'd love an old lazy dog (or two) to snuggle with and pet.

This is Tina's dog Chloe. He thinks she is the greatest dog ever because she is so fluffy and white. Anya liked her too but she liked the horses better.

Japan Town

Japan town was so much calmer that China town. Anya especially loved chasing the pigeons.

The kids loved running free in the square here because in China town it was so crowded that I wouldn't let go of their hands for fear they would get lost.

Here's Anya trying on a silly frog hat at one of the dollar fifty stores in Japan town.

We had a blast shopping for stuff Aaron has been pining for since his mission. He has missed the dollar store goodies you can only find in Japan. So when we found the $1.50 stores he was ok spending the extra fifty cents to get the stuff he can't find here. We bought ties, ear pickers (way better than Q-tips), Calpis (a non carbonated soft drink), Japanese pens and pencil case (Talmage is an office supply addict), origami paper, candies, little folding chairs for the kids, and lots more I can't remember. It was very entertaining and slightly educational!

Our Own Tour

Forget the tour boats. We took our own pictures of the Golden Gate bridge and Alcatraz from the sail boat. We even sailed into Pier 1 to dock, then took a taxi down to Pier 39.


The sea lions at Pier 39 were oh so entertaining. They mostly just slept and pushed each other off their little sun bathing docks but we stood there for a long time making up stories about what they were thinking. Maybe we're just easily entertained.

Alcatraz from the sail boat. Doesn't look so bad-- but I still wouldn't want to live there.

The Golden Gate bridge from the sail boat. We sailed under it and then back into the harbor. They don't paint under the bridge like they do the top.

Sailing in San Fransisco Bay

While in California we went sailing in San Fransisco Bay. My dad is a member of a sailing club so we took one of their boats out and had a blast. It started out super calm with no wind, not good for sailing. When we came back a storm was coming in and we had lots of gusty wind and large swells, also not good for sailing. Somewhere in the middle we did some real sailing and had lots of fun. No one got sea sick and Aaron and Talmage (my super nervous in deep water boys) were brave and both think they'd like to try it again someday.

Talmage loved driving and was the first to try it. He made very large, cautious circles when he was assured it was fine to do so. He watched out for other boats, even when they were way way off and he wasn't driving. He was just fine motoring around when we couldn't catch a breeze. It was the calm life for him. This is Grandma Tina standing by Talmage. We had a blast with her. Life is an adventure when she's around.

Anya also liked driving the boat and had no problem doing tight circles when ever the mood struck her, which was about anytime she was driving. We have a few pictures of her driving with Grandpa making this "whoa" face-- the other time she got behind a wheel was a little golf cart. Watch out for Anya, she drives like Cruela Devil!

She looks sweet an innocent but don't believe it!

Aaron, oh so cautious, loved learning all about sailing. He just absorbed everything my dad taught him. Soon after this we could see the Golden Gate Bridge and my dad asked if we wanted to go out on the bow to get a picture. Aaron was not ok with that but I started climbing out on the bow and he (ever the competitive one) couldn't let me out brave him. So he climbed out with me. Don't you just love the stupid orange life vest!

Here we are out on the front. The sails are still down because we don't have enough wind but
Aaron has a death grip on my arm and the mast behind us, as well a good grip on the ropes in front of us. You can see the Golden Gate behind us.


We were laughing so hard because Aaron was so scared and I am trying to pull rope out of my face and he thinks I'm trying to tease him and pull the rope away. He did get more comfortable on the boat and later after Anya announced that "Grandpa is way braver than Dad" (Grandpa was climbing all over the bow getting the sails set) Aaron went out on the bow to help with stuff.

The kids enjoying the leisurely ride out under the bridge before we turned around and headed toward the city.

Here you can see the underside of the bridge. No pretty red paint here. (Gotta love the bright orange vests)

After a big lunch and some sightseeing at Pier 39 we headed back to the other side of the bay to the marina we started at. Finally the wind picked up and we really started to sail. That's when I drove and Aaron hung on too the kids and the boat so we wouldn't lose anyone. In fact after this picture we don't have anymore of this adventure because things got too crazy. We had the sails up and were trying to catch the wind when it really started coming in a we caught too much of it. It's a good thing sail boats can't tip all the way over, because I would have done it. The swells were huge and the wind was blasting. Aaron now knows were Anya gets her crazy driving from. All the boys were safe driver but Tina, Anya, and I had to much fun making a roller coaster out of it. We survived though so it makes it a great adventure.

China Town

Blogging about a whole super fun week of vacation is such a huge task. So to make it easy on myself I'm going to do it in bits, all out of order, and mostly based on pictures.

The quick overview is we went to Northern California for Spring break and had a super fun week with my Dad and his wife Tina seeing the sights and having lots of adventures.

Here are a few pictures from China Town in San Fransisco.

Anya and I at the entrance to China Town.

The Boys at the entrance to China Town.

You can't tell from the pictures, but it was pretty crowded and busy even though we were here on a Tuesday and there were almost no tourists around. We're not fond of crowds or tourists, even when we are the ones "touring".

We saw these huge bronze giraffe statues and had to take a picture by them for the Aunt Stephie and Aunt Lindsey because they both collect giraffes.

Anya liked these monkeys on a bench and wanted to sit by them and be a monkey too.

Talmage thought he could do a better monkey face.

Other highlights from China town were going to the fortune cookie factory and watching the ladies hand fold the cookies. They are super quick at it. We also tried a few different flavors of flat fortune cookies like chocolate and strawberry. I like original best. The kids loved seeing the whole roasted ducks and chickens hanging (and dripping) in the window of some restaurants. But Anya probably wont be asking me to cook a chicken with the beak on anytime soon. It was probably funnier in her mind but seeing it for real was kinda creepy. It's funny how kids like to be creeped out. We also enjoyed Grandpa parallel parking an extended cab, dually truck perfectly on the first try-- a sight to behold. I obviously didn't get the parallel parking gene, or even the backing up safely one.

Trousers

Anya picked out the pattern and fabric for these "trousers". She has it in her head that overalls are called trousers and that Mario (from Super Mario Brothers) wears trousers. So she thinks that this outfit looks like Mario's trousers. I don't see it but she's very happy with her creation and I got the fun of sewing something for her that she loves.

Stress

Sometimes you just need to turn the heater on and eat ice cream.

Congratulations Aaron!

Aaron has been accepted into the Computer Science Ph.D. program at USU!!! We are very excited for him. He will start in the Fall and it will probably take about 7 years. Yep, 7 years is a long time. Talmage will be in high school by the time he finishes. Aaron will continue to work full time for USAA while attending school. With exception to a semester at Ricks before his mission, he has always worked while attending school so he's well practiced.

Also this week Aaron worked with lawyers to start the patent process on two more of his "crazy ideas". Like the previous patents, these are intellectual property stuff and to hard for me to explain accurately, though I get the general gist of what it's about.

We have been so blessed in our move to Logan and having everything work out so well for us. We can see the Lord's hand in our lives. I am grateful Aaron has the mind and work ethic to follow this path. We can see many more blessings and opportunities awaiting us.

Creativity

Written by Talmage Kay, directed by Talmage Kay, voices by Talmage Kay, & sound effects by Talmage Kay:

The Legos Save Mario

Written by Anya Mae Kay, directed by Anya Mae Kay, voices by Anya Mae Kay, & sound effects by Anya Mae Kay:

Hide and Seek Danger