Ode to Lucy

At the end of April we spent a long weekend near Bend.  While there we took a tour of a candy factory.  Two machines at the factory were named Lucy and Ricky (why not Ethel?  Ricky wasn't a candy maker).  We explained to the kids that the machines were named after characters from the t.v. show "I Love Lucy" and one of it's most famous episodes taking place at a chocolate factory.  My mom was a huge "I Love Lucy" fan so my sisters and I grew up watching reruns of that show.  I've probably seen every episode 50 times over.  Now fast forward a month....

The fifth graders hosted an "Afternoon of Achievers" last Friday.  Each student picked a famous person to research and learn about.  On the appointed afternoon the students dressed up as their person and answered questions while other students, teachers and parents tried to guess who they were.  Allison picked Lucille Ball.  I was surprised at her choice.  Had we not had the little conversation at the candy factory, I don't think she would know who Lucille Ball was.  Now the challenge was how to dress her.  Of course, we had her dress as Lucille's most famous character, housewife Lucy Ricardo.  The only problem was getting the red hair.  I didn't want to dye her hair for fear of some nasty color concoction that would take weeks to wash out.  I tried orange yarn, but couldn't get the curl Lucy is known for.  Then Earl thought of curling ribbon and found the perfect "wig" at Target.  These pictures don't do her justice, but Allison was a hit!  I don't think many students realized who she was, but the adults were definitely impressed!

Allison as Lucille Ball

Archer Glen was filled with famous people.  Can you see Mozart, Dr. Seuss, and Annie Oakley?  I think Lucille Ball's hair looks great in the center of the group photo.

The Derbies

Ethan's Money Car

Allison's Cotton Candy Mobile

We had two pinewood derby cars to make this year.  Ethan's cub scout pack had a derby the last week of March.  Ethan opted for a simply designed money car with quarter taillights and nickels under the hood.  Allison's activity day group had a pinewood derby the first week of May.  She designed the bold stripe style and insisted the tires get some color too.  She appropriately won the award for "Best Paint." 

Merry Christmas!

Love The Pierce Family

Birthday...

Happy 9th Birthday, Ethan!

He's a little football obsessed this year, so all he's talked about is getting the Madden football game for the wii. The BYU football jersey from Grandma and Papa McCune fit with the football theme this year, too. Love you Ethan.

Halloween and a Costume Crisis

Every Halloween I try to get my kids to decide on costumes early so we aren't trying to figure out outfits last minute. It never seems to work and this year was no exception. When I asked what my kids wanted to be this year I received the answers "I don't know" (Allison) and "Can I be the same thing as last year" (Ethan). I didn't really ask Tyson because he gets the hand me downs (is that mean?) and is usually happy with that. So, for Tyson, it was the year of Superman. I asked if he wanted to be Superman and he said yes. Excellent, one done. I asked Ethan if he really wanted to be Harry Potter two years in a row. He said yes. Great, two done. For weeks Allison couldn't decide (or really didn't care) about her costume so Sunday night we put together a baby outfit and she was happy with that. Hooray, costumes solved.

Allison and Ethan left for school Monday morning with their costumes in their backpacks. The older kids have to change later at school for their parties, but kindergartners get to wear their costumes to school. I helped Tyson put his costume on for school and that's when the crisis started. He did not want to wear his costume. He said he would be embarrassed and would not wear it. I explained that all his classmates would be wearing costumes so there was nothing to be embarrassed about. Tyson started crying and insisted that he did not want to wear a costume. Thinking he would change his mind once he got to school, I brought the Superman costume with me. But no. He was perfectly happy without a costume.

I figured when the time came to trick-or-treat Tyson would want to wear his costume. No costume, no candy. We went to put on the Superman costume and again he got all upset and didn't want to wear it. Finally he tearfully told us the problem. Apparently the red part of the Superman costume looks like underwear and Tyson was NOT going to wear a costume with underwear on it. Seriously!? This boy who cracks jokes about underwear with his brother and thinks all things bathroom related are hilarious is upset about a costume with underwear?! Ethan wore this exact costume to kindergarten without any underwear issues. And this whole time I thought Tyson was just embarrassed about dressing up. (If I was reading this paragraph out loud, Tyson would be laughing because the word "underwear" is used so many times.)

Now what was I going to do? Where do you get a costume at 6pm on Halloween? Thankfully, Allison remembered our extra Gryffindor cloak from her Hermione costume last year. Perfect. Tyson put on his church clothes, found some funny glasses, and wore the cloak. Crisis averted.

Tyson all smiles at his Halloween party. I still felt like the worst mom sending my kindergartner to school without a costume. He was the only one not dressed up.

At least I dressed him in orange to look festive.

Halloween 2011- two Harry Potters and a crying baby

Oh good, the baby stopped crying. And the small Harry Potter is sporting some awesome glasses with no underwear in sight!

Pumpkin Patch

I was able to chaperone Tyson's pumpkin patch field trip this year. Since we don't live in a bus zone, this was Tyson's first time riding a school bus. Although I've gone on other field trips with my kids, this was also the first time I could ride the bus with the students. One of the perks of having all my kids in school. It was a chilly day, but the sun came out by the time our 15 minute bus ride was done.

What's with all the green pumpkins this year?


Tyson likes a heavy pumpkin!

A Roarin' Soccer Season

This is what Tyson looked like all season. As soon as the whistle blew to start play, Tyson started roaring and running like he was going to attack someone. He had this fierce game face that just made me laugh.



This was his first season and he had a lot of fun being apart of the Yellow Jackets. Getting a trophy at the end doesn't hurt, either.