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.

Manifestogram: Football Guy

NFL bound.

Manifestogram: Sunrise

The payoff for getting up early to go to physical therapy.

Curtis shows off his masterpiece (and his forehead band-aid) at the school art show

Maybe the Yankees Should Consider Horizontal Stripes

If you're Tate, pajamas are the right outfit for anything.

Birthday Boy

As a rule, Curtis doesn't show a lot of emotion. But at 7:30 a.m. he shuffled into my room, holding his blanket. He pushed his head into my chest and gave me a small squeeze. A hug. He turned around and shuffled back out.

Once you reach age 25 (when you can rent a car without paying extra), there isn't a lot of benefit to having a birthday. It's jut a reminder that you're getting old--old enough to need glasses, to lose your hair, to have hip surgery. But there is one great thing. How much your kids love it.

Tate on (Soft) Rock

Tate: If I have a band, I'm not going to have speakers. Because the speakers make it too loud. Dad, why do you have speakers in your band? Why can't you be more quiet? 

---

Tate: If I have a band, it's gonna be called The Toots. Tate's Toots.

Piano Lessons

Paige hates playing the piano. And she reminds of this fact every single time she has to practice. 

This afternoon, as I was driving her to a piano recital at the University of Utah, she asked, "When can I quit piano?"

My Little Buddy

It's nice to have a mini-me.