Easter Egg Slaughter!

SO we decided that we would go the the city's Easter egg hunt Saturday morning. (There were about five different ones going on- all at the same time.) The event started at 10am sharp so we headed out a little later than planned (as usual) and arrived minutes before 10- like two minutes before. I realized we had forgotten the camera so I dropped the munchkins and Paddy off and headed back to the house to get it- it took me one minute there, one minute to find it- and one minute to get back. Patrick called me as I was approaching a block away to say that "it" was over. "What?! It started a minute ago!" The organizers of the event planned on each child getting five eggs and Patrick said that it took approximately thirty seconds for the egg population to be decimated. By the time I arrived, the masses of children and hoovering parents was diminishing so we did not get any pictures at the actual park- but I have one of them meeting me at the Albertson's parking lot across the street. SO when we got home I made them pose with the catch.

Hooray for Alaska!

A couple of weeks ago the munchkins got a package from their long-lost grandparents in Alaska! They each got a shirt and they wanted to model them so Grandma and Grandpa Darby can see them in all their Alaska glory!

Just a little creativity from the little people

Eve's Land of Unicorns



Esther's Alien


Isaac's Argentine Folk Dance

New Headshot

I saw a poster this week calling for auditions for a production of The Fantasticks this summer by the UVU theatre department. SO I, being the psychotic musical-lover I am, whipped together the required monologue and musical number and headed down this evening for auditions.

I needed a headshot so I created one. It really stinks to take pictures of yourself but this is what I whipped up.

I have no idea if I'll be called back or not- the audition seemed promising but there were about a million people auditioning and only one female role in the entire show. . . . . . we shall see. Either way, I kinda like my new headshot.

More manly - less hair

This past week I became more manly. Which by definition means getting greasy and dirty and taking apart mechanical things that you don't really know how to put back together again. Last fall I discovered that one of the fork seals on my motorcycle was leaking suspension fluid. The reality is that bad seals/suspension does two things: bumps are bad and if the oil leaks on your breaks, they might stop working. This usually leads to a spectacular crash and an increase in insurance rates or a depressing funeral.

The local bike shop wanted 300 bucks to do the work. I knew the parts would only run me $30. So, being the cheap skate that I am, I decide to do it myself. This past week was spring break and I had a couple of days free. The easy part was taking it the front wheel and the suspension forks off (the source of the problem.)
The next step was to open up the forks, empty out the old oil, and to replace the rubber seal and dust cap.
This lead to the obligatory lego instructions of confusion about which part goes where and of course the realization that there is a special tool that you don't have. But ingenuity and a large rubber mallet tends to fix a lot of mechanical problems...
and then the finished result. It takes a real man to trust an amateur to fix his ride.
P.S. Next weeks project is to update my will.

Hurry up, Spring!

We at the Darby household are sooooo ready for that wonderful changing of seasons that brings flowers and green grass and the end of the semester! The past few weeks have had quite a few warm and wonderful days interspersed with freezing rain, hail, and snow. Weirdness. I've been told that it's "just Utah" but I am ready for the cold to go and the warm to stay!
I'm not exactly looking towards pruning all the roses around our house- but I'm willing to trade that off for tulips and daffodils!
In general, we are just ready for change. It's been a difficult winter and hopefully the warming and blooming around us will help us out of the gloom a little easier!
Last week my wonderful sister Hilary went into the MTC in preparation for her calling to the Brussels, Belgium mission. It was hard to see her go but peaceful because I know this was a great thing for her to do. I already miss her presence and skills as my number 1 babysitter- but it will be ok.
The week before last my mother came down and did some shopping for Hil so she wouldn't look like a stereotypical "dumpy-looking" sister missionary. (As if she could if she tried!) My mother ALSO bought Eve and Esther-loo realy cute dresses- which they wore today at church. Yes, don't faint, we actually went to church. SO when we got home I marched them to the backyard and took some pictures. Isaac got a cool tee shirt instead of a dress so we just took pics of him in his self-chosen church clothes. SO enjoy the cute spring monkies!

An Evening in Vienna

or maybe like an evening in Salt Lake City. Emily and I went high class for our date night and got some reeeeaaally expensive tickets...$8 EACH! Student prices - not too bad.
The music was incredible of course but Emily and I both commented that we couldn't repeat any of the musical themes later that night. So it was something of a ephemeral experience. The first piece was a concerto that a had the violinist from Russia. I discovered that his bio said that we were the same age, but Emily said that he looks much older. I guess the Rock Star life of a violinist takes its toll out of you.