End of July Update

July has been a crazy month. Caleb has gone on two big excursions, and the rest of us have had a lot going on, too. Caleb went to EFY on the Fourth of July. (I think he also left his cell phone charger there, which he just noticed yesterday.) Then he went on a high adventure trek down to the Subway (the slot canyon, not the restaurant) in Southern Utah.

Mark bought himself a new car, a Mazda 6. The one you see pictured here looks exactly like the one he bought. He's pretty proud of it. He loves to research buys, so I think he ended up getting just the car he wants. The main criteria for the new car was sporty looks (yes, this is true), good gas mileage, and room for three to sit comfortably in the back. Everyone in the family gave this the thumbs up. We've already all driven in it as a family, and there was a lot less fighting with the extra three inches between each person. It's a modern miracle! Of course, in order to park the car in our garage, we had to get a shed. So, I've spent a while (with help from everyone) preparing the site of our old trampoline for a new shed. This did involve laying pavers as well--but I'm an old pro after last year's mammoth paver laying project. Here is the new shed below. These are not the right doors (they are only 5' 10" tall!), but they will be bringing out the correct doors on Tuesday.

As you can see, there was just enough room to squeeze it in the spot--there is only 6 inches between the southwest corner and the back of the fence (Oh, the joys of an odd-shaped lot)! We choose this funky saltbox style so Mark would have a lot of headroom--the other choices either don't have as high a roof or are too tall. We also picked a very light color to keep the heat down--we didn't even try to match our house except for the gray colors.

Some of the new paving I (and Mike) have put it. This part is all finished except for putting gravel in the sprinkler area that I couldn't cover over.

This is along the side -- still a little work to do here. And the whole thing needs sand swept in. I put this fifty inch walkway here so that the shed wouldn't shade my garden too much (the shed is on the South side). Mike helped with the paving and Alison was our fetcher girl. Mike and Alison have pretty much lived with us all summer. For extended family reading this, Alison could use our prayers as she searches for a job--she is getting a bit discouraged.

End of June Report

Well, I'm starting to find out what it's like to be a scoutmaster's wife. Mark and I had to postpone our anniversary celebration so that he could go to scout camp at Typhee for a week. Bummer.
Anyway, we've been both busy and lazy here at the Tyler house. I've crossed a lot of to-do things off of my list.
Caleb attended Stake Youth Conference and will attend EFY next week.
Megan and I have had our own little Harry Potter Fest. We've watched all seven of the previous Harry Potter movies in preparation for the new one coming out soon. It's made me want to re-read the books again.
I've started a 17th blog - What Denée Wore Today. It's a way to keep track of what outfits I liked - and which ones I didn't.

End of School Year Report

First the little good news: Caleb Tyler got all A's and B's! This is the first time ever in his high school career; we are very proud of him.

The big good news is that Megan graduated with high honors from UCAS. Not only that, but she was chosen among twelve other competitors to give one of two commencement speeches. Here she is below delivering her speech and walking across the stage.

Megan and a few friends

Megan and Kristina Gregory

Megan with proud parents

Megan with Grandma and Grandpa Tyler

Megan with whole family

Megan with Gregory cousins

A Blast from the Past

Here's a fun little memory for anyone who remembers this:

Drawing on the superb example of Penny Kittle, here is an alternate point of view piece. (This is the story of my son's piñata breaking injury episode from the point of view of the piñata.)

The Short, Brief Life of a Cub Scout Piñata
(alternate point of view)

Denée Tyler

My life began simply enough as a pile of paper pulp in a factory somewhere in Mexico. One day the craftsman took the pulp, wet it down, formed it around a mold, covered it with crepe paper, and voila, I came into being, a small blue boy with a strange-looking blue cap and a garish smile. I hung with several hundred of my brothers as I dried and contemplated my purpose in life.

Before I was able to complete my meditations, I was abruptly packed into a close, dark box with others of my kind. There wasn’t enough room to speak and scarcely air to breathe, and we really thought that this was the end.

Just when I had given up all hope, the box was opened, and several pimply young men wearing shirts that said “Macey’s Groceries” pulled all of us out and hung us crookedly from a flimsy string. I had to endure the staring, pointing, and jeering of many until a large, jovial man abruptly pulled me down from my precarious perch and said, “This would be perfect for our Blue and Gold Banquet.” Then, to complete the insult, he summarily stuffed me with tootsie rolls. Of all the candy in the world . . .

The man took me to a place called a “cultural hall.” This was obviously a cruel misuse of the name, as there was no culture in sight. Instead, a rope was tied around my neck, the rope was thrown over a basketball standard, and I was raised and lowered over a group of rather unscrupulous looking eight-, nine-, ten-, and eleven-year-olds in blindfolds. I could only continue to smile my vapid, painted-on smile as these same children proceeded to hit me all about the head and body with a four-foot length of PVC pipe. Oh, the cruelty of man to man!

I endured their blows for at least a half an hour while the parents and leaders of these little heathen stood around the circle and cheered them on. Despite the fact that I was only made of paper, I held firm and determined not to let them break me. Even as a piece of my foot and a part of my sweet, sugary innards fell, I remained strong.

Unfortunately, once the small torturers lost interest, the adults around the circle took over. A brawny man, who professed to be the parent of one of the yapping children, declared that he would finish me off. He took hold of the PVC pipe and gave a mighty swing.

I could feel the force of the blow coming, and although I tried to brace myself, my strength was spent at last. I could only stare and smile in amazement as my neck separated from my head, and my blue-clad body dropped on the savage crowd below. They fell on my sad remains like a flock of ravening vultures, snarling and grabbing with abandon and extreme bad manners.

But what was this? Could it be? As I gasped out my last, I felt the glory of sweet revenge. As the deathblow was struck, the PVC object of my pain broke in two, and the severed end flew forth like the arrow of justice and took out two of my tormentors. One was merely grazed, but the other, one Caleb Tyler, received the force of the pipe full on in the middle of his forehead, causing a huge ruckus, raising an enormous goose egg, and resulting in a trip to the emergency room. And thus, my glorious end is a lesson to all who would meddle with . . . Cub Scout piñatas!

Our first college graduate....

I am sure we all thought Alison would be the first Tyler child to graduate from college--after all, she is four years or more older than all of her siblings.

But no, Megan Marie turns out to be the winner. She just graduated April 29th with an associates degree from Utah Valley University. She'll be heading off to BYU in the fall.

Megan with Lauren Bobo

Megan with Kory Tryasakorn

Megan also went to prom:

Don't worry about Alison, though. She'll graduate from BYU with honors and a degree in English and Psychology in August, 2011.