Abby's Birthday 2012

One of the best things about the beginning of summer, is that we always get to celebrate Abby's birthday during those first few days.  It seems like the perfect way to kick-off summer - plus it gives us a chance to celebrate one of our favorite girls.

This year, Abby's birthday was on a Sunday which interfered with her typical birthday celebration: sushi for lunch, a mani/pedi, and a little birthday shopping, and dinner with the family at a restaurant of her choice.  But even with her birthday falling on a Sunday, it was still a pretty great day.

It started off with all of us singing heartfelt rendition of "Happy Birthday" to wake her up, followed by a yummy breakfast of French Toast and the opening of presents.  The first few presents she opened were small little craft items for her "Never Be Bored" box, a bag of salt-and-vinegar chips (her favorite food on earth) and an i-tunes card.  But there in the middle of the table was a large box, wrapped in green paper.  Abby knew it looked promising and she waited until the end to open it.

Blurry i-phone shot, but you get the idea.

Inside the large box was tons of tissue paper that Abby dug through looking for whatever was in that box.  Finally, at the bottom of the box, she found an envelope and inside the envelope was something she had been wanting and asking about and dreaming about for nearly four years: a ticket to see the musical "Wicked." When she saw that ticket, her eyes lit up and she ran over and threw her arms around me.  She was so excited.  Andrew, of course, quickly joked that this was the first and only time that Wickedness ever brought happiness.  I am so excited to go see "Wicked" with her.  It's just too bad we have to wait until August to see it.

That night, we went to Oma's and Grandpa's for dinner.  We had birthday cake for dessert and then following dinner and dessert, Oma planned a "Summer Kick-Off Fiesta" - the perfect celebration for Abby's birthday.  The "kick-off" started with a treasure hunt around the neighborhood.  The prizes included things that everyone needs for summer: bubbles, sparklers, candy and at the end, each grandchild got a towel with his or her name embroidered on it.

Once the treasure hunt was done, it was time to do a piñata in the front yard.  This piñata was huge and stuffed with more candy than 20 kids could eat in an entire summer.  Each of the grandkids took a turn trying to hit that piñata, but even then, it took awhile to bring it down.  When it finally fell, there was a shower of candy and the chaos that ensued was impressive.  

The rest of the night was spent roasting marshmallows over the fire pit, doing sparklers, and enjoying a perfect summer night.  It was a pretty spectacular way for Abby to spend her 11th birthday.

There are so many things I love about Abby.  She is one of the funniest people I know.  Seriously.  She can make me belly-laugh with her witty observations and comments.  She is kind and makes an effort to be a friend to those who need one.  She is a loving big sister.  She has a fabulous imagination and can always come up with amazing games and activities for her younger siblings to play.  She loves to read.  She is quick to smile and laugh.  She looks for the humor in every situation.  She is willing to try new things.  She loves to set and accomplish goals.  She loves music and is learning to play the piano and sing beautifully.  She has a good understanding of decisions and consequences and always tries to do what she knows is right.

I am so grateful for this beautiful girl, who, eleven years ago gave me the gift I had wanted my whole life: she made me a mom and I have treasured every single day with my girl.  Abby, we love you, love you, love you.  You are such a light and a joy in our family.  Happy Birthday my baby girl!

Beginning of the End

Summer vacation was so slow in coming this year.  The weather in Utah turned summer-like sometime in April and for nearly six weeks, it felt like it was time to be done with school.

The whole routine became torturous:

Those last few weeks of school, the afternoons were so warm and gorgeous, the only thing my kids wanted to do was play outside in the sunshine.  Which meant that homework was postponed until after dinner.  Except i was always late getting dinner ready and then the evenings were so lovely, all we wanted to do was hang out in our backyard until it started to get dark.  Except it wasn't getting dark until nearly 9:00.  Which meant homework wasn't getting started until it was past bedtime.  Which meant my kids were getting to bed much later than they should.  Which meant they were soooo tired in the morning. Which meant we were always running late for school and we had usually skipped practicing.  Which meant we had to do it in the afternoon - except, did I mention how gorgeous those springtime afternoons were?

Anyway, you can see that I had lost all control of our schedule and for weeks, the kids and I were all dying to be done with school.

When school finally ended on June 1st, I couldn't have been happier.  I was so excited to have my kids to myself for the summer and was so excited about all the activities and lack-of-activities we had planned for the next three months.   Those were my thoughts as I walked to the kids' school for the closing flag ceremony.  But then halfway between home and the school, I had the sinking realization that another school year had come and gone.  I thought about the past year and it felt like only weeks before, I had been at the school for the opening flag ceremony.  And wasn't the Halloween parade just a few days ago?  And the Christmas program?  And the school play?  How had this year flown by so quickly?

I thought about Abby, who when we first moved into this neighborhood from Minnesota, was just starting Kindergarten and somehow, that same little girl will be in sixth grade next year.  How did that happen?

Abby's first day of Kindergarten - which was yesterday.  Ouch.

I thought about Isaac, whom I still think of as that little first grade boy who, on the first day of school, clung so tightly to my hand until the last possible second and then gave me the tightest squeeze that his little body could manage.  How is it possible that he's now a couple of inches taller than Abby and is going into fourth grade next year?

Isaac's first day of Kindergarten - also yesterday.

I thought about Henry, who on the first day of school this year, was a little shy and timid about being in school all day and about learning Spanish.  Now he's my boy who sings Spanish songs non-stop and stays up late into the night reading Magic Treehouse books.  When did he make that shift?

Henry's first day of Kindergarten - wasn't it yesterday?

I thought about the fact that when school starts again in the fall, I will have my four older children all at the same school and that they'll all be able to walk home together in the afternoon.  How sweet will that be?  But, behind the sweetness I fee as I anticipate the coming year, is the gnawing feeling I have, that once Abby hits Junior High, life will be on fast-forward.

So, as I walked to school on June 1st, ready to celebrate summer and free time and late nights and all the things I love about this time of year, there was a part of me that longed to turn back the clock and just slow it all down.  

I felt a little emotional as the flag was lowered for the final time this year and my kids and I said good-bye to their teachers for the last time.

But then, before I got too carried away by emotion, we went boating and I forgot all about feeling nostalgic and all I could think was, "HOORAY!  IT'S SUMMER!!  BRING IT ON!

On A Boat...

One of my favorite memories from when I was a little girl, was when my grandpa would invite our family to go out on his boat fishing.  As a young girl, I didn't really have the patience required for fishing, but I was willing to put in my time as I knew in the end, my patience would be rewarded.  It wasn't with a prize winning catch after hours of fishing.  Oh no.  My reward was that at the end of the day, my grandpa would drive his boat as fast as it would go across around the reservoir.

I still remember sitting on his boat with my orange life vest resting heavily on my shoulders, catching my breath every time we hit a little wake or every time he made a sharp turn.  I can almost feel the wind in my hair, the spray in my face and the butterfies in my stomach that made those trips on Grandpa's boat such a treat.

I think it was from those early boating trips, that I made the decision that someday I wanted to own a boat.  When I was a teenager, I loved church activities that involved boats and I was so grateful to have friends whose parents owned boats.  I looked forward to trips to Bear Lake and Deer Creek Reservoir and although I was never a great water-skier or wake-boarder, I was more than happy just to go along for a ride on the boat.

All through my childhood and teenage years, I begged my dad to get us a boat.  Unfortunately, my dad was not a fan of boats and he assured me that he would never buy our family a boat.  He may or may not have said something like, "It would be much easier for me to just flush my money down the toilet."  Luckily, however, after several years of begging and pleading from me and all my siblings, my dad finally agreed to buy a boat.  The next day he came home with a 3-person canoe.  As much as my dad loved it, it really wasn't what any of the rest of us had in mind.

How my dad pictures family boating. Unfortunately, he has eight kids and owns a 3-man canoe.

Since marrying Andrew, I have often brought up the idea of buying a boat.  A few years ago, we went to Hebgen Lake with my aunt, uncle, some cousins and their kids, and our three oldest children.  It was a great week spent on the water, watching our kids squeal their heads off as Steve pulled them behind the boat.  Andrew and I both renewed our relationship with wake-boarding and slalom water skiing.  It was such a great way to spend time together as our little family and with my cousins.  I  came home from Hebgen determined that someday we would own a boat.

Well, finally this past spring, the stars aligned and my wish came true.  Somehow, just in casual conversation with friends, we found two other families who were interested in buying a boat.  None of us, has any real "boat experience" so the idea of sharing the costs and the responsibility was very appealing.  And so, two days after making the decision to do it, we were the proud and somewhat nervous owners of a boat.  The timing of it all just happened to coincide with Andrew"s birthday, so in my mind, I will always be able to say that I bought Andrew a boat for his 38th birthday!  

Happy Birthday to Andrew! Our first day on the water in our new boat.

So far, having a boat has been everything I ever hoped it would be.  I really can't think of a better way to spend time together as a family - we always include yummy food, fun music, great conversations, and we get to cheer each other on as we try new things.  I love it!  I am looking forward to years of waterskiing and wake-boarding  and cold-water plunges with my kids as we spend time together on the boat.  

Only Lucy would go boating with a tutu, a purse and a binky.

Loving the tube we bought from Costco - fun for family and friends.

It isn't often that childhood dreams come true - and mine may have been a frivolous one - but as my family cruises across the water in our boat, with the mist blowing up around us, I can almost feel the weight of that orange life jacket on my shoulders and I can definitely feel the butterflies in my tummy I first felt so long ago.  

My Baby is Three! (sob)

It's almost more than my heart can take to think about how quickly my tiny baby girl has gone from this:

to this:

to this:

and finally, to this.

Lucy turned three last week and while I was in denial for most of the day, it was so fun celebrating our sweet girl and remembering the day she was born.

I have always been confused by the phrase "terrible twos" because in my experience, the threes have always been a much tougher phase.  Although we are just at the beginning of the "threes," I recently told Andrew that I wish we could have a 2 1/2 - 3 year-old-girl for the rest of our lives.  Maybe it's just that I have always had a new baby when my other kids have turned three, but more than ever before I am loving this time with Lucy and am delighted by almost everything she does.

There are not words for how much we adore this girl.  As far as we're concerned, she really is spectacular.   She is a princess in every sense of the word.  She is funny and sassy, but she is also so sweet and tender.  She is convinced she is one of the big kids and does her best to keep up with everything they do, but she still let's me snuggle and cuddle her like a baby.  She talks non-stop and asks so many questions - I love the conversations I have with Lucy.

She has become very opinionated about what she wears, but most of the time, she just wants to wear her princess dress and her Dora flip-flops.  

Andrew recently took Lucy shopping at REI with him, and I don't think REI knew what hit them.  The girl definitely knows how to accessorize but she certainly doesn't fit their usual customer profile. 

Oh, how I love this girl.  I love how she dances through our house singing, "Shake-a-booty! Shake-a-booty."  I love how she swims in the bathtubs like she's an Olympic swimmer.  I love how much her older siblings adore her and take care of her.  I love having her sleep in bed with me and I love the way she snuggles right up next to me while we're asleep.  I love how she has me and her dad wrapped around her little finger.

I know I've mentioned it before, but the name Lucy means "light" and she certainly is a light and a joy and brightness in our family.  I can't believe it's been three years since she came into our family, but I am so grateful that she did.  

But oh, my little Lucy, just stay a little girl for a little longer - okay?  We love you our Lucy-girl.

Mother's Day

The Best Thing to Ever Happen To Me...

these five kids.

I'm not one of those moms who hates Mother's Day.  So far, I haven't found anything to hate about it.

1. Breakfast in bed - this year I got crepes with Nutella, fresh strawberries, and topped with whipped cream. (Thank you, Abby!)  What's not to love about that?

2. Gifts and handwritten notes from my children telling me what a great cook I am.  (I hear at least one of them complain almost every other day of the year, but on Mother's Day, I might as well be Julia Childs.)

3. Springtime.  What could be more beautiful than a Sunday in May?

4. I get to hear my children sing, "I Often Go Walking in Meadows of Clover."  I love that song and the image it paints in my mind.  I especially love the second verse, which unfortunately, they don't sing very often.

5. My kids are forced willingly pose for a picture with me - and while it's usually a process to get even one decent one, I love these pictures with my babies.  

6. Although I've never been perfect, when I look at my children I can't help but think, "that somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good."  I am amazed at the blessing I have of being a mom to these delicious children.  I love each of them so dearly and I am so grateful for them (and for their dad.)  There is no one on earth, I would rather spend time with.

How could not adore a man who unintentionally wore a tie to match my skirt on Mother's Day?

My two girls, whom I hope, someday, will get to be mothers too.

My mom and Abby (when Abby was just two-years-old.)

And of course, my own amazing mom. (She is a wife, mom, oma, school teacher, seamstress extraordinaire, lover of books, lover of righteousness, terrible joke-teller.)

  I love having a day to celebrate what she means in my life.

"Everything I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother."

Abraham Lincoln

Amen.

The Giving Tree

Five years ago right now, I was pregnant with Peter and we were looking for a house.  We had moved from Minnesota ten months before and had been renting our friend's house.  But now, they were coming home and we needed to find a place to live.

Every morning, one of the first things I would do, was search the MLS to see if there were new homes on the market.  I would peruse pictures of interiors, study maps to see exactly where the homes were located, and check out the schools associated with the homes I saw.  Occasionally, I would find a house I liked and I would make Andrew do a drive-by.  Even less frequently, I would find a house that seemed ideal enough that we would actually go walk through it.

This was a time of sincere fasting and prayer.  I believe that Heavenly Father cares where we live and where we raise our children and I needed his guidance as we made this huge decision.  And so, five years ago this week, after a colossal melt-down (during which I cried and wailed that I didn't know where we were going to live and Abby encouraged me not to think about the house, but to "just think about candy, lots and lots of candy") a woman in our ward called and said they were selling their house.  She asked if I would like to come see if we were interested in buying it.

Andrew was at work, so I took the three kids and went over by myself to see the house.  I sent the kids out to play in the backyard while I walked through the house.  I would give anything to go back in time and know what I was thinking as I walked through the house. The house has the most ridiculous and nonfunctional floor plan.  It was decorated in a style somewhere between Little House on the Prairie and Holly Hobby and everything that had been done to the house, was done on the cheap.  It only has three bedrooms - including the master bedroom - so it's not really big enough for a growing family.  I honestly don't know what I was thinking as I walked through it.

All I know, is that after walking through the house, I went out in the back yard and I saw my three little babies playing happily on an old apple tree.  I looked at the big yard and the expanse of grass and that wonderful old tree, and I felt the feeling I had been longing for: we were finally home.  I knew this was where our family belonged.

Over the years since we moved into this house, I have spent more time than I should complaining about  all the things that drive me crazy about our home.  My list of complaints is long and detailed and there isn't an easy solution for any of them.  However, the one thing that hasn't changed in the five years we've lived here, is the love and attachment we all have for that apple tree.

Abby swings high in the branches of the apple tree - August 2007.

One of the first things Andrew did after we moved in, was hang a rope swing from it's branches.  Countless hours have been spent whiling away summer afternoons playing on that rope swing.  The kids also love climbing the branches of the tree, finding a perfect perch to read or daydream. Whenever friends come over, the first thing they want to do is climb the tree and swing on the rope swing.  We have hosted birthday parties in the shade of that dear old tree the tree and have photographed family and friends in its branches.

Isaac swinging on the rope swing shortly after we moved in.  He was only 4.  

Abby's birthday party in 2008 when she turned 7.

Since moving into this house nearly five years ago, we have found reasons to love living here.  We love our street and our neighbors who have become some of our dearest friends.  We love the kids who live on this street and are such good friends to our children.  We love the old trees and the windy road and the view of the mountains.  We love watching the sunsets from our front porch and we love gentle breeze that blows down from the canyon.

I still believe Heavenly Father cares where we live.  I know he has a plan for each of us and I believe he puts us where he needs us to bless the lives of others.  I believe he cares who our neighbors are and where we raise our children.  I don't think he cares about floor plans or marble countertops or even having enough bedrooms for our children, but I know that he wants what's best for our family.

That's why I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for our old apple tree.  It was seeing my children climb in its branches the first time that drew me to this home where we have now put down roots of our own.

Abby and Lucy loving and swinging.

My five babies still play in the branches of the old apple tree.

Performances

Last week our family was inundated with performances.  In fact, Lucy was the only one not involved in the performing arts.

Peter had his preschool performance on Tuesday.  For months, he had been singing his songs as he went through the house, and when the day came, he was so excited for us to see him perform.  When I woke him up in the morning and told him we needed to get ready for Kindermusik, he said he wasn't sure if we had time for Kindermusik because we had his performance that night  - at 8:00.  I assured him we could do both.

Peter was proud and a little reserved as he made his grand entrance.

 It was a little hard to hear most of the kids sing, because one girl sang, yelled at the top of her lungs. 

 I tried to think it was cute.

I loved it when the kids sang, "Proud to be an American."

Peter's performance came at the end of crazy day with all the kids needing to be different places at once.  I loved ending my day watching my cute boy perform and it made me more than a little sad to think that this was his last preschool performance.  I am NOT ready for Peter to start kindergarten in the fall.  But, as he often reminds me, "at least you get Lucy for like six more years, or something."

Anyway, on Thursday and Friday of the same week, Abby and Isaac performed in their school's production of "Beauty and the Beast."  This was a play that they had been working on, two mornings a week before school, ever since October.  It was nothing short of fabulous.  

Isaac played the part of a villager.  He was adorable up on stage singing praises to Gaston, doing push-ups as part of a dance number, grabbing a plunger to use for a weapon as the villagers went after the beast, and fighting with the silverware and plates in the final scene at the castle.  

My own little villager - the most darling one on the stage.

Abby had a roll as a "Silly Girl;" you know those girls who flirt with and fawn over Gaston.  She was absolutely adorable in her roll, and while I have never known her to fawn over any boy (yet), she was very convincing up on stage.  

Abby conspiring with another Silly Girl.

Giving her dreamiest expression - far left.

Although Henry didn't get to be up on stage, (it was only for 3rd - 6th graders) all the kids in the school were taught a dance routine to "Be Our Guest." Then, in the middle of the performance all the students who were spread throughout the audience, did a sort of flash mob dance and performed along with the kids on stage.  Henry loved being part of it, if only from the audience and it was great to see so many students in the audience participating.  Henry's class also helped make masks for the wolves in the forest to wear.  He was so proud of his contribution.

As I mentioned, Lucy was the only one not involved in a performance last week - but that doesn't mean she didn't try.  All throughout the play on Thursday and Friday, Lucy stood in the aisles and danced along with the musical numbers.  Then, as the play progressed, she would walk up the aisle toward the stage.  At first it was just a couple of feet and then she would come back to our seats, but by the end of the play, she gathered her courage and went right up to the stage.

Lucy makes her way to the stage and tries to get Abby's attention.

Finally gets noticed by Abby.

Makes a run for it back to the seats.

I'm sure Lucy is already counting down the days until she can be up on stage.  She is already a little performer.

Anyway, the play was awesome and I loved every minute of it.  At the end of the night, the teacher who directed it and spent thousands of hours putting it all together (without extra pay), stood on the stage and talked about the importance of the arts in the lives of children.  I got really emotional as I was filled with gratitude for the experiences my kids have with the arts.  I am so grateful my kids go to a public school that emphasizes the arts in so many ways and I am grateful for teachers who work hard to make a difference in the lives of their students.  I know that the opportunities my kids are having, will last with them always.

I loved this past week seeing all my kids involved in various performances.  I loved the work that went into preparing for their performances and I loved the excitement and satisfaction they all felt when they were done.  Congratulations to all of you cuties

Henry's First Birthday (Party)

Because Henry and Isaac have birthdays only five days apart from each other, all the birthday party excuses I outlined in my last post about Isaac, also apply to Henry's birthday.  Henry just turned seven, and like Isaac, he's never had a birthday party either.

So a few weeks ago when I agreed to let Isaac have his first birthday party, I immediately knew I had signed up to throw a party for each of my kids this year.  Earlier in the week, when I saw that a perfect day had been forecasted for Saturday, I knew that that was the day to host Henry's party. Lucky for us, the forecasters were right, and Saturday was the most amazing day imaginable.

Henry had a hard time narrowing down his guest list, so we ended up having a party with 14 of the cutest seven-year-olds you have ever seen.  

Andrew and I (after perusing the internet thoroughly) thought up some fun games for the kids to play.  We had a game with a parachute and bouncy-balls.  There was an Orea eating competition.  There was a game in which the kids had to use a straw to make a face with M&Ms.  There was a race using a straw to blow a cup down the table and for the grand finale, there was a water balloon toss.

We assumed these games would take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour to get through.  What we didn't take into account was the boy who just wanted to hang out in the tree house, or the girls who didn't want to compete against the boys or the boy who had a peanut allergy and couldn't take part in the M&Ms game.  

All I know is that we were somewhat shocked (and dismayed) when 20 minutes after the games started, the kids were done.  We still had an hour and half before the party ended and we had pretty much burned through all our tricks.   

Luckily for us, it was a hot day and all it took was turning on the hose to keep the kids entertained for the remainder of the party.  There was jumping on the tramp while someone sprayed them with the hose, filling up more water balloons, and then there was this hilarious girl who just kept filling up the silver bowl and dumping it on her head.  

We also had a raucous game of Red Rover.  Yes, as a family, we enjoy sponsoring games and activities that are banned by public schools everywhere.  

Finally it was time to open presents and eat brownie sundaes.  When Isaac saw how many presents Henry got from inviting fourteen friends, he was really disappointed with himself for having only invited five friends to his birthday party.  Live and learn, Isaac.

Andrew ate all the brownie edges before Henry even blew out the candles. 

Anyway, it was a fun afternoon.  Henry invited such a cute group of kids and we loved having them all at our house.  

Most of all, we love our Henry.  He brings so much joy and laughter to our family.  The day before his birthday, his hair was getting shaggy and I asked if I could please trim it a little.  Well, one thing led to another and given my poor haircutting skills, poor Henry ended up with a buzz (which he had specifically said he DID NOT want.)  I felt really bad, but Henry took it all in stride and forgave me for ruining his long locks of hair.

Henry is a great boy.  He works hard in school and is learning Spanish so well.  He loves to sing and has some great dance moves.  He has so many friends (as evidenced in the picture above) and his siblings adore him.  Everyday, I am grateful that this boy is part of our family.

Happy Birthday Henry-boy!  You will always be my Minnesota Sun, and I love you!