Mother's Day

Curtis can be incredibly sweet sometimes. He made this little Mother's Day card for Traci at school. But it was more than just a card, it also included coupons for stuff like a free back rub, a hug, and a song. 

After Traci thanked him, Curtis looked at her quietly asked, "Is there a coupon you want to use right now?"

"How 'bout a free hug?" Traci replied.

"You have to use the coupon."

She used the coupon. 

Tough but fair. 

...

Tate's Mother Day gift wasn't quite as sweet. 

On Mother's Day Eve, he fell asleep on our bed. Traci and I were downstairs watching TV and had kind of forgotten about him -- until we heard a bunch of screaming and crying. 

When we got upstairs, we saw that Tate had thrown up over every surface of our bedroom, with Traci's side of the bed being the epicenter. I took kid clean up duty. Traci was stuck with laundry details -- four loads after all was said and done. 

Happy Mother's Day, indeed. 

Manifestogram

If anyone needs some help with their Dutch skills, this little gem will soon be available at the Deseret Industries in Murray. #springcleaning

Curtis on Religion: Hymns

Curtis told me he wasn't going to listen to General Conference. True to his word, he played the iPad for pretty much the whole session. But that doesn't mean he wasn't listening. As conference ended, the organist played a postlude of Families Can be Together Forever. 

Without looking up from his game, Curtis said, "I don't even know this song. Every time we sing it in Primary, I don't listen. And I just mouth the words."

So there you have it.
---
In sacrament meeting the next week, all the kids were asked to come up and sing that very song. Paige marched up to the front. Curtis, as usual, refused to participate and instead hid under our pew. Tate, now a Sunbeam, had his first chance to sing with the Primary choir--but he was asleep on my lap.

We're not great at church.

Back on the Pitch

Today was the first day of Spring soccer. Tate was so excited about his new uniform that he hadn't taken it off since he first got it on Tuesday (he's even been sleeping in it).

Given my gimpy hip, I decided not to coach his team this season. It was nice to be able to just relax and watch Tate play. I've never seen a kid who spends more time smiling while he runs around. He had a hard time following the ball because he was too busy grinning--not at us, just at life in general. 

Tate also spends a lot of time falling down (he's learned from his older brother that ending every run with a dive or dramatic roll makes soccer way more fun). 

He did manage to score a goal--it was during a timeout, but he didn't know that and there was need to tell him otherwise--and that made him even happier. 

After all of that running and smiling, he went to bed exhausted--wearing his uniform, of course.

What's the Opposite of a Selfie?

It's nice to have a kid who is now old enough to take pictures. Paige snapped this shot of us--on her fourth try. The first had her finger in it. The second and third were blurry. But with her last attempt, she got this gem: A picture of a husband and wife who are happy, despite being generally exhausted all the time.

Manifestogram: Birthday Eve

The face of a boy who is six for just one more day.

Night at the RioT

Thanks to tickets from work, we had some sweet Real Salt Lake seats on the fourth row, right next to the Goal Gong.

Afternoon at the Art Museum

Paige preparing a masterpiece

Our life isn't always hockey games and monster truck shows. Sometimes we get a little bit of culture.

It was Families Free Saturday, so we spent the afternoon at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. The staff always tries to make the exhibit interactive and fun, but some collections are better suited to kids than others.

Latino protest art is a toughy.

Manifestogram: Baseball Days

The boys had a great time at the baseball game.

Manifestogram: Weezer

Island in the Sun just came up on the shuffle. Paige said,"I don't really care for Weezer anymore." My heart is breaking.

Manifestogram: The Four-Year-Old

Happy birthday to our favorite four-year-old!

Manifestogram: Tennis

What do you call the tennis version of Friday Night Lights...on Saturday?

Manifestogram: St. George

Go figure: About a gazillion other people thought St. George would make a great Spring Break destination, too. A bit crowded, but these monkeys don't seem to mind.

Manifestogram: Spring Break

Dear Spring Break, I hope you're ready for the Sutherlands.

Manifestogram: The Bosstones

The other night I had a dream that the congregation was singing "The Impression that I Get" in sacrament meeting. I found this incredibly curious until an old lady in the ward told me that the Church had licensed the Bosstones' entire back catalog and now all their songs were in the hymn book. I was happy to hear that my tithing dollars had been spent wisely.

Here's hoping we sing "Hell of a Hat" on Sunday.

Manifestogram: Paige the Artist

I absolutely love everything about Paige's artwork.

Manifestogram: Reading

Who knew that a headlamp was all it would take to finally get Curtis excited about reading?

Manifestogram: Butler

Nothing's funnier to a three-year-old and his six-year-old brother than a jersey that says butt-ler. Snicker, snicker, snicker.

Tate's Transgressions (or De Overtredingen van Tate)

When I got home from work, the Wii was missing. So I knew things were bad. 

Tate is no stranger to trouble. Referring to SpongeBob Square Pants as "Butt Butt Butt Pants," for example, gets him a stern look. Hitting his brother gets him sent into timeout. When he's really bad, the Wii gets taken away. 

Luckily Paige, our family's second mother--or more accurately, the resident narc--documented all of the reasons for Tate's punishment: 

• Hit Curtis
• Bit me
• Using bad language
• Yelling at mom
• Putting the remote in your pants
• Trying to pull down my pants
• Fighting with Curtis
• Throwing  ball at Curtis
• Making a mess
• Nearly ruining my homework
• Stepped on Curtis
• Threw tantrum
• Spitting
• Lying 
• Making me write this list

Sounds like a busy afternoon. 

It's pretty clear that the punishment fit the (many) crime(s). But the real victim here is me. 

Tate and I play Super Mario 3 on the Wii every night. After weeks of work, we'd finally made it to level 7. When Traci unplugged the Wii, we lost all of our progress. Just like that. 

It's a dark, dark day in the Sutherland house. 

A dark, dark day. 

Manifestogram: The Artist Department

Paige just made her first business card. I'm impressed by her marketing skills. Now we just need to work on her pricing model.