I'M EUNICE BURNS!!!

I caught myself today as I was talking to the kids and realized that I've evolved into Eunice Freakin' Burns! How did it come to this?? Just substitute the name "Howard" instead of Bill, Mike, Brit and Dan, and you know the drill. UGHHHH! I'm her!

Finals Week!

It's finals week and everyone is stressed and exhausted....that includes the parents of the students in the Hep household.

Mike has his biggest finals in math and science. Other than that, he is home free! He's going out for track and field after wrestling is over. He's probably going to do the 200 meter and the shot put. We'll keep you posted. Mike has been skiing every chance he gets. Since he is JV in wrestling, he gets to ski every time there is a Varsity tournament (YAHOO!). He and his buddies have been going up to Crystal Mountain. They like skiing there the best.

Bill's worst final is AP Government. Why he signed up for an AP class this semester, I'll never know. He had to send his transcripts into colleges long ago, so who cares about AP classes now? Bill is having a particularly tough time, given that he has MRSA once again and it is in his eye this time. His left eye is completely swollen shut. UGHHH! Bill was out about a week and a half ago with the flu and missed three wrestling matches because of it. IS HE JUST NOT GETTING THE MESSAGE?
We're thinking maybe boils or elephantitis next.... any wagers? For Bill's last tournament (Saturday), they actually made him wear a mask (that was before his face got so swollen). Masks are reserved for the leper
colonies in wrestling--those with massive staph or MRSA on their face. Bill said it was horrible and he had a hard time seeing. he kept having to
try to adjust the mask while trying to wrestle at the same time. Needless to say, it wasn't his best performance. He also felt like he looked like Nacho Libre :-) He should have worn a big cape to complete the look! (HA)

Brit is busy reading a ton to complete her reading points for the month. She's been pulling many late nights lately. Right now she's reading a book called "The Name of This Book is Secret," by Pseudonymous Bosch. She's enjoying it. She is hoping to pick up spring soccer or maybe sign up for swimming. She is hoping to get up to the slopes more this winter. It's hard when you don't drive and have to rely on mom to take you skiing!

Dan The Man is doing his usual schtick. He builds a fort in our family room nearly every day, using all the blankets pillows, couch cushions, upside down chairs-- you name it, he's using it to build. I love that he is creative, but I'd love to have a clean and "put together" family room just for ONE day! Dan loves preschool wishes it would last longer each time. I'm thinking of putting him in all-day kindergarten next fall. It would be a first for our family (all the other kids did half-day). But Dan has grown up with a house full of older people. He will lose his mind if he only has a half-day with lots of people. PEOPLE........people who neeeeeeeed people.......

Cheese Stickers Anonymous...

I am addicted to the cheese sticks (pictured left). I cannot drive past the Pane D'Amore Bakery without stopping to buy some. I often do not drive past the bakery because I know I will become lured in. My kids are quickly becoming fans, too. I have become such a regular cheese stick customer, that the baker came out to personally introduce himself and offered to sell cheese sticks to me by the dozen in their frozen, unbaked dough form. We now have our own cheese stick bakery happening at home :-)

Wrestling Season is Nearly Over....

So Bill is down to 150 lbs from 175 lbs for his weight class and Mike is down to about 168 lbs from 190 lbs for his weight class........

....As bad as that may sound, it's a good thing that wrestlers today are given a bottom line minimum weight that they cannot drop below for their own safety. In this photo, circa 1975, Brad, who looks completely emaciated, had dropped from 160 pounds to 115 lbs! Yikes! ...and I think his hair made up about half of that weight!

I will be glad when the season is over.

Let it Snow!....

Houston.....We Have Lift Off.....

Hooray! Bill got accepted to BYU Idaho!!! He is still waiting to hear from BYU Provo (his first choice), but he's delighted to have a spot :-)

We'll keep you posted!

Spiderman, Dracula, and the Skeleton....

Dan's favorite Christmas present.... new pens and markers...