Blood, Blood Everywhere...

Last weekend I sat down to organize my grocery list. Micah was bored and needing something to do. I got one of my brilliant ideas and had him come and sit beside me. I had a number of recipes that needed to be cut out, so I let him take care of them for me. After he was finished I told him he could continue cutting paper into shapes.

Everything was going well. He was having a great time, and I was able to focus on getting my task accomplished. Suddenly Micah started screaming. I looked, realized he'd cut himself, grabbed him and ran to the sink. Fortunately James was home and able to take charge. It took a LOT of pressure and a LOT of time to get the bleeding to stop. Micah was not happy at all that we were making his finger hurt even worse. Even after we got the bleeding to slow down, it still took a lot of time to get it to stop. We sat down and read "Harry Potter" to get his mind off his new injury. That seemed to do the trick, and we were carried away into the land of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Finally, once the bleeding stopped we were able to "glue" the cut together with "New Skin" and put a band-aid over his finger. It was a pretty deep cut and we're glad everything worked out all right. I think Micah will be a little more careful with scissors in the future. And I may re-think my brilliant ideas...

School Begins

Although I know this is a bit overdue, I decided to post the pictures we took on the first day of school. We have no pictures of Tori and Emma, just Micah and Isabel (Tori and Emma started school 3 days later, so by then we weren't thinking "1st day of school" thoughts anymore). But regardless, I thought it was worth posting since they both look so cute in their uniforms.

Isabel and Micah prepare to head to school.

Micah's 1st day of Kindergarten.

Isabel's 1st day of 7th Grade.

Future Lyricist?

Many of you know that the Truax Trio has composed and recorded a few amazing songs. Micah has decided that he doesn't like being left out of the song writing arena, so he has composed a song of his own. You can check out the lyrics yourself (no recording as of yet) and let him know what you think about his future career. (In order to see the picture more clearly, you may need to click on it. However, I've typed the lyrics below... and without spelling errors... so you can easily check it out.)

On a high hill

Little men sat and sat
And waited calmly.
But one day a lion came
And ate them.
But Jesus came
And saved them.
And then wonderful
Things happened.

-Micah James Truax
August 29, 2009

Sacrament Meeting Scare

Yesterday Tori was the youth speaker in our ward. She had worked on her talk all by herself and James and I were looking forward to hearing her speak. For those of you that have never heard Tori speak, she is a great speaker. She is engaging and dynamic.

After the sacrament, the bishopric member announced that Tori would be speaking next. She stood up to speak and began sharing her thoughts on "Integrity". After about the first paragraph I started thinking, "What is going on? She is stumbling over her words. That's not like Tori." Then I realized that it was probably something with her vision. Perhaps her contacts were bugging her, the font was too small, the lighting was bad...

She continued on and I watched her and wished that I could help her not stumble so much. It was so unlike her. Then she started saying the same 2-3 words over and over again. She just couldn't seem to get the words out. I wondered if she was feeling emotional. When suddenly she fainted and fell to the floor.

Instantly James and I jumped up and ran to the stand to check on her. By the time we got to the stand she was just starting to come to. A Doctor from the ward came up and checked her pulse and made sure she was all right. He asked me if she had been fasting. I said, "No". After she rested a bit on the floor, we were able to help her back to her seat where James sat next to her for the rest of the meeting. I went and sat back down with the our other kids and found out that I had been mistaken (off course this should be no surprise since I had been busy with my own Sunday meetings and responsibilities). Tori hadn't eaten that morning. It suddenly started making sense. The day before she had been sick and had stayed in bed all day, hardly eating anything. Sunday she hadn't been feeling 100% yet, but felt that she was okay to go to church. However, again, she hadn't eaten much if any food that morning (our church is at 1 o'clock). No wonder she had such a reaction.

We decided that this would be the most memorable talk Tori ever gives.

(I wish I had a picture or video of her fainting, but no such luck. You'll just have to imagine it.)

Our Kindergartner

School started on August 10 this year for Isabel and Micah. After a lot of deliberation, we finally consented to allow Micah to attend kindergarten (the first of our children able to experience this). Not knowing how our youngest and only boy would respond to being thrown into a classroom where he wasn't the center of attention anymore, I held my breath waiting for his return home. The first few days were great. He loved his teacher, he loved learning (although he is constantly saying, "Mom, you don't learn things in kindergarten, you just have fun!"), and he seemed to be making friends.

However, by the end of the first week, we got a note home from the school. "Micah is calling people names." Apparently he had called someone a "stupid-head". We sat down and discussed the importance of treating people with respect, signed the note, and sent it back to the school.

The second week of school I sat down with Micah to do homework and opened his folder to find another note from the school. I said, "Micah, what is this." He said, "I don't know. Let me see it." He grabbed the note (see picture below), read it and fell to the floor sobbing. He cried out "I HATE kindergarten! It's the worst place in the whole world. You can't even hug and kiss there!" After calming him down, we were able to talk about when it's appropriate and who it's appropriate to hug and kiss. Then I asked him to sign the note. He said, "FINE!", grabbed the note from me and signed it adding his own little note (see picture below... it says "Micah will never kiss and hug").



It's going to be a fun year.

Bye Bye Birdie: May 2009

The Truax kids have always been overly dramatic, but now they are starting to put this gift to some good use. Recently Tori was cast as Rose Alvarez in the Dixie Middle School production of "Bye Bye Birdie". She looked beautiful, sang like a bird and definitely captured the essence of "Rosie" with her acting. We can't wait to see what the future holds for this talented girl!

Tori singing "One Boy Reprise"


Tori waits patiently backstage for her entrance.


Rose & Albert proclaim their love for one another.


Tori celebrates a job well done!

Beach Vacation: May 2009

Every year Granddaddy Stewart and Grandma Nuki take advantage of their time-share and rent a condo for a family reunion/vacation. This year we were able to go to San Diego. Our family wasn't able to go for the entire week, but we were able to enjoy a few days in Southern California. We spent time at the beach (in spite of the chilly weather), swam in the pool, went to the 3-D movie "UP", went shopping at the Orange County Swap Meet, enjoyed good food & company and watched "The Mummy" and "The Mummy Returns" until the wee hours of the morning (the kids favorite activity). All in all it was a nice change of pace for our family and wonderful to spend some time together.

Isabel building a fortress on the San Diego beach


Shelly & Micah getting ready to head back to the warmth of the condo.

Tori & Emma winning the "Teen Dance Contest" at the Orange County Swap Meet (they were the only teenage participants, but still deserving of the prize).

James enjoying a dipped ice cream bar with almonds. A favorite treat at the Orange County Swap Meet. Thanks Grandma!!!

Micah is excited about the toy car he was able to purchase at the Orange County Swap Meet.

Emma, tired after a late night of watching "The Mummy" enjoys cold cereal for breakfast.

Desert Adventures

Tonight James and I went for a run. When we got home, James noticed a small snake in the street. He caught it so that Micah could see and hold it. Micah was so excited. He said, "I have wanted a pet snake ever since I was a little baby!" We explained to him that we weren't going to keep the snake as a pet, but that he could hold it for a bit and then release it in the grass outside our home. The girls weren't quite as enthusiastic about having the opportunity to hold a snake, but some of them came around...

Micah loved holding the snake. It tickled. He sat and giggled and giggled while holding it. Before releasing the snake he gave it a big hug and kiss and said, "I love you little fella."

Isabel quickly got over her fears and held the snake:



This is Emma after she almost held the snake and then freaked out and pulled away. At least she's still smiling.



Emma got a little more courageous during the group shots. And finally...



She held it just long enough to get a photo.



Are you wondering where Tori is? She came out to see the snake, and quickly decided this is where she would rather be: