Lexi Girl

And now to introduce the four exceptionally tall Hobbit children. Each child deserves their own post because they are so incredible and talented and need to be in the spotlight. Also, I have neglected my blogging duties for the past 7 months and want to document each child's There and Back Again experiences that I've missed. I will begin with the eldest, Alexis. How do you describe a girl like Lexi? She is smart, sassy, funny, thoughtful, confident, silly, beautiful and talented. She was destined to be an older sister to 3 rambunctious little brothers because she is, almost always, so patient and good to them. She used to beg and beg to have a younger sister, but alas, the odds were never in her favor. So what has the charming Miss Lexi Shea Shea Shanaynay been up to this last half of her Sophomore year of high school? Prepare to be amazed by her talents and accomplishments!

Lexi is an athlete and loves to go to any Open Gym, any time. She never complains about early morning practices or when she goes straight from volleyball practice to track practice. She is a Middle Blocker on the High School Volleyball team. She's a real team player and rarely makes silly mistakes. She's very good at keeping her head in the game and not letting mistakes break her concentration. She also plays club volleyball so the season doesn't ever really end. She doesn't care though because she loves to play anywhere, anytime! She doesn't love it however, when her mom starts yelling at line judges so there's been a bit of a learning curve there for some of us. Ahem.... This past year she also decided to join the track team. Initially she was just doing High Jump but then got talked into also throwing Javelin. She made huge progress during her first season and even got invited to the BYU Invitational in high jump which requires fairly difficult qualifying jumps. Next year she wants to try a few more events, possibly long jump and maybe a sprint distance or two.

Alexis is also very musical. She plays the Trumpet in two High School audition only bands, Jazz Band and Wind Ensemble. She has had a few mic solos which are scary but she does a great job. Lexi also plays the piano. Poor child had her mother as her piano teacher, but somehow we made it through the tough spots and she has become quite a good pianist. She is now to the point where she just prints out her own sheet music and teaches herself. Occasionally she will ask for a bit of help, but usually she can sight read well enough on her own. She prints so much music I sometimes wonder if I should invest in an ink cartridge company!

This summer has been eventful for Alexis. She has reached the age where she tests the strength of her mother's courage. In other words, she has a learners permit and I have to take her driving. The first several such adventures were truly terrifying and there were a few construction barrels that had a close call with destruction, but with time, and practice, I barely have to hang on to the You Know What Handle anymore. She has now done her time in the Driver's Ed car and last week she passed the Driver's Ed test. Now we just have to wait until her birthday in August and she can start driving her brothers to soccer practice! There are, apparently, perks to teaching your children life skills, even if it does seem like you have to defy death to do it!

Also this summer Lexi was asked to join the Price Youth City Council. She meets periodically with other exceptional youth from the city to plan and implement activities that will benefit our city and especially the youth in the community. It's an exciting opportunity for her to be able to contribute to the community and experience public service. She hasn't done a lot with it yet, but she has some great ideas and a lot of enthusiasm for the project. Alexis and I went on a grand adventure this summer to Washington D.C. Lexi won Honorable Mention at the State History Fair for her website on The Newsboys Strike of 1899 (the event that the Newsies play/movie is based on) so she was invited to go to the National History Day Fair in D.C. Of course, I had to go with her! We had such a fantastic time and learned so much. It was an amazing Mother/Daughter bonding experience and I'm so glad we decided to go. Hopefully there will be a post later devoted just to our trip because there is too much to do it justice in this post. I certainly lucked out getting a daughter like Lexi. She makes me happy every single day and there's not a lot of people who can probably say that about their teenage daughters! She's definitely my Favorite......Daughter!

Over the Edge of the Wild

In a peaceful little town in the deserts of Utah there lived a girl who had once (or twice-ish) been accused of being a hobbit. It's true that she was short, had big brown eyes and curly hair that she often attempted to tame with her flat iron. She was good-natured, clever, loved to laugh and was loyal to a fault. She even observed all the correct hobbit meal times (Breakfast, Second Breakfast, Elevenses, Lunch, Afternoon tea, Dinner and Supper.) Unlike other Hobbits, however, her gardening skills were atrocious, she didn't smoke pipe tobacco and she had no hair on her feet (Oh fine! Maybe a tiny bit, but you would be better off never to mention it!) She had gotten in the habit of sticking close to home, living a quiet, unassuming life. Until one fateful day near Christmas time.....

On this day her sweetheart of 18 years asked for a divorce. Yes, it's true my dear readers. Not all stories have happy endings. "So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their endings..." (J.R.R. Tolkien) Fortunately, the girl/hobbit and her not at all hobbit-like sweetheart, Tyson, still cared about each other very deeply and remained the best of friends (There! The evidence of the depth of her loyalty!) She had always been the Sam to his Frodo and didn't want that to change, despite the differences they couldn't mend as easily as a hobbit fence. The girl/hobbit and her sweetheart were still unequivocally joined in their quest and intended to see it through (In this case, the quest was the successful raising of their four adorable, yet exceptionally tall, hobbit children.) During their many sad, heartfelt discussions it was often said that "Where there's life there's hope." (J.R.R. Tolkien) and no truer statement was ever uttered before or since.

For quite some time the girl/hobbit experienced a period of darkness like she had never felt before. The light at the end of the tunnel seemed fearfully distant.

"It cannot be seen, it cannot be felt, 

Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt. 

It lies behind stars and under hills, 

And empty holes its fills, 

It comes first and follows after, 

Ends life, kills laughter." 

(J.R.R. Tolkien - riddle answer: darkness) 

"But in the end it's only a passing thing, this shadow; even darkness must pass." Sam Gamgee

At this point in the story you may assume that Gandalf or some such powerful wizard came along and said "I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it's very difficult to find anyone." And she would have responded with "I should think so -- In these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner!" But, alas, this was not Middle Earth and wizards were currently in short supply. So the hobbit/girl took the advice of the noble hobbit of legend, Bilbo Baggins, and said " 'Go back? No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!' So up she got, and trotted along with her little sword held in front of her and one hand feeling the wall, and her heart all of a patter and a pitter." It was at this point that Amber stopped. Going on from there was the bravest thing she ever did. The tremendous things that happened afterward were as nothing compared to it. She fought the real battle in the tunnel alone, before she ever saw the vast danger that lay in wait."

Fortunately, Amber, the hobbit/girl of this narrative, had the most important hobbit characteristics of all; a Tookish sense of stubbornness and a craving for happiness, adventure, and to enjoy life to the fullest! "Then something Tookish woke up inside her, and she wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking stick." (J.R.R. Tolkien) This blog is intended to chronicle the adventures of Hobbit Amber and her four hobbit children. Even the unhobbit-like sweetheart may make an occasional appearance due to his role in the great, and all important, Child Raising Quest. Will you join me in our grand, and sometimes not so grand escapades? Will you set off with me into the unknown? "I am looking for someone to share in an adventure." 

"There are no safe paths in this part of the world. Remember you are over the Edge of the Wild now, and in for all sorts of fun wherever you go!"