So, you want an update, do you?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know it's been a while. I was kind of waiting for Tracy to put together a video of spring break and well, time just slipped away. There is still no video of spring break. But that's okay. You can see pictures of our spring break on Lindsay's blog. We had a great time.

Well, let's see. It's been a whirlwind of concerts, awards assemblies and other end of the year stuff. May always seems to pass by in the blink of an eye. Here's a little about everyone:

Xander is crazy as ever, microwaving burritos, going outside whenever he feels like it, getting into Sam and Fin's room and playing with their legos... You get the idea. I am trying to potty-train him. It's going...slow. He loves to snuggle with me and have me sing "I Am a Child of God." He sings along too. So cute!

Camary graduated from Kindergarten last week. She did so well this year and she's reading like a pro! She even reads aloud from the Book of Mormon during family scripture study. Today she made a little house for her toy animals, complete with furniture made from play-dough. So cute. Right now she is helping Tracy make cinnamon rolls. Yum!

I went to Finlay's author party at school Friday and got to read all of the stories he's written this year. He's terrific. And doing so well at everything in school. I don't know if I mentioned he got braces on his front teeth. This makes him look like a mini-teenager. So adorable!

Sam is just finishing seventh grade. He has been in the advanced orchestra this year--one of the only seventh graders in it--and he is first chair bass! Plus he is one of the only seventh graders in the jazz band. He played electric bass at their last concert. It was great. Sam is so creative. He's always drawing or writing or making up his own languages (just like Tolkien!). He's getting taller too.

Rusty just finished playing soccer with the Salem Shooters. Unfortunately, they lost every game. =( But I think he had fun, in spite of spraining his ankle last week. It's feeling a lot better now. Rusty tried out for the high school jazz band (yes, he'll be in high school next fall) on the bari sax and he made it! He'll also be doing marching band again this year.

Ryan graduates from high school on Wednesday! I can hardly believe it. He's graduating with high honors. Tomorrow I am going to go to the Senior Sob Assembly to hear him perform a song that he wrote. It'll probably be the Mom Sob Assembly too. I am so proud of him. Eighteen years old! Wow. He's got so much wonderful stuff ahead of him.

I (Angie) had my novel accepted by Walnut Springs Press! I. Am. So. Excited! I have been waiting for this day for seventeen years. It will be out later this year, hopefully in the fall. I am having a blast coming up with fun ideas for the launch party. I hope you all will come to that and celebrate with me. I finished this year's Christmas story. Yeah. Last week was my Musettes concert. It turned out well. Tracy made a video of it, so if you are ever at my house and want to watch it, you can. I also ended my term as president of the Musettes. It was nice to serve, but I'm glad to have a break now.

Tracy is gardening, making videos, taking pictures, and working, working, working. At the moment he's making cinnamon rolls. What a guy!

So, ya still reading this looooooong post? I started a new facebook profile for family and friends that I actually know and feel comfortable sharing more personal info with. It's Angie Taylor Lofthouse (my regular profile is just Angie Lofthouse now), so if you'd like to be friends on that profile, please add me. I added too many friends all at once, so Facebook has banned me from adding more friends. =( But I think you can add me. Hopefully my friend adding ban will be lifted soon. Whatever, Facebook!

Here are some picture highlights, since I know you all want pictures with these posts:

At the Jacob Hamblin Home

Dying Easter Eggs

Ryan heading out to prom

Sam on electric bass

Rusty playing soccer

Pelicans on the pond in Springville

Catching Up

So, I know I need to post here again. The thing is, I don't have any great pictures or exciting events to write about. My brain doesn't feel like putting together beautiful sentences right now, either. I guess I'll just ramble.

Let's see. Finlay won 2nd place in the pinewood derby a couple of weeks ago. That was exciting. Best our family has ever done in a pinewood derby. Rusty is playing soccer on a freshman/sophomore team that's not actually affiliated with the high school. It's a club team. I think they're called the Salem Shooters. He'll be getting his learner permit in a week or so. Not sure how I feel about that. (Well, I feel good about it. I just don't want to be the driving instructor). Camary is super excited about her first loose tooth. The adult tooth is already growing in behind it, so hopefully it will fall out fast!  Ryan got glasses. He doesn't have to wear them all the time. Only for reading. I got new glasses too. It's nice to be able to see again. Hmmm...that leaves Sam. Let's see. He started a project for his family life merit badge. Something to benefit the whole family. He is organizing and cleaning out the toys in the common room. That's quite the project!

Tracy and I talked to each of the kids individually today. We want to do that every week, but it's been a couple of months. It was nice to talk to them. We discussed topics from Ryan's impending adulthood and future plans to Camary's loose tooth. It was nice.

Oh, yeah. I didn't talk about Xander yet. Xander. Oh, man. He is quite the little handful. So cute and yet such a terror too. Still, I love it when he says "I love you, too." Or the other day when he said. "I just so love you, Mom." Awwww. Almost makes up for his reign of terror in Sacrament Meeting every week.

Tracy got a tripod for his camera at last. He's wanted one forever. (Really. For.ev.er) I'm so glad he finally got one. He's been having fun with it. You can see his pictures on Facebook. (I would post some here, but blogger isn't letting me.)

I still haven't heard from the publisher who expressed interest. I'm dying from the suspense. Three other authors (that I know of) have signed with this publisher since they contacted me. I don't know if that's good or bad for me. (I am happy for those authors, though.) Their books are all coming out in like two or three months, which is super fast, so I hold out hope that they will want to buy mine for later this year too, but I don't know. I fluctuate between hope, despair and frustration. But I'm trying to choose hope! (I can't really talk about this over on my writing blog, though it has to do with writing. I don't want to stick my foot in my mouth in any way.)

Well, sorry to ramble on for so long. Basically, we are doing well. We have our ups and downs, but who doesn't?

Love you all!

A Week Made of Awesome!

(Except for the part where we all got the stomach flu one by one and I had to clean puke off the carpet.)

Aside from that, I have had like the best week ever. It actually started on the 11th, when Tracy and I went to stay in this Bed and Breakfast in Spring City.

Cute, huh? It's called the Osborne Inn, and I highly recommend it if you want to stay somewhere in Sanpete County. It was next door to this beautiful church:

Neat, huh? Built in 1902. I almost wanted to stay until Sunday so we could go to church there. We went over to Ephraim that night so Tracy could play for Ryan's music scholarship audition. It turned out to be a pretty laid back audition. I felt like Ryan did well. Anyway, I got sick the next day, so we won't count that in the week of awesome.

Last Monday, we celebrated our nineteenth anniversary! Yeah for us. Tracy, I love you. You are awesome.

Tuesday, I got the following email from a publishing company who shall remain nameless at this time:

Dear Angie,
Is Defenders of the Covenant still available? I have read a portion of it, and we may be interested in publishing it this year. If the manuscript is still available, please send me a detailed synopsis by chapter.

Woohoo!!!! Happy dancing!!!! It's not a sure thing yet, but pretty darn close. Keep your fingers and toes and all other appendages crossed for me. Or say a little prayer. =)

Wednesdays are always awesome. I sent off the chapter synopsis and had Musettes.

On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I went to Life, the Universe, and Everything, a Science Fiction symposium at BYU. It was so much fun. If you read my writing blog, then you know that I got to do some panels there. That's just a dream come true for me. I was so nervous at first, but I learned something. I LOVE sitting in front of a room full of people and talking about writing! Seriously, I loved it. Two of my panels were with the hugely popular, successful Dave Wolverton. I was just in awe. What an honor to be able sit on a panel with him. I saw so many of my writing friends and made so many new friends. (If you want book recommendations, I have them!) It was a great three days. And Tracy stayed home and took care of the kids. I got home last night to find them playing board games together and the house all clean. What a guy! We topped off the week of awesome by going out to Coldstone for ice cream.

Pretty cool, huh? Hope you guys all had a great week too!