Let Them Be Little

LACROSSE FEVER

Meg has caught it!

She is enjoying this new sport so much.

Team Havoc has had some great games:

Meg is #49.  :)

Havoc won this game by quite a few points. I don't remember the score, truthfully I don't even remember the game but I was glad that I could be there and the girls were happy with another win.

 

I apologize for all of the photos but the grandmas need to SEE the action.  Hope that doesn't scare away the rest of you.  :)

 

Their most recent game was a tough one, the team they played was a very good and really aggressive team: (The Ref inspecting the sticks).

Meg played center in this game.

She seems to prefer Low A. (Attack) but I liked seeing her in the middle of a lot of action. Center plays both on the offense and defense.

As Center, she got to "face off" several times. Funny to see a the shortest girl on the team going up against the opposing (much taller) centers.

 

Team Havoc played a good game; they had to really step up their game. The opposing team, from Denver, was an excellent team with some great plays. They had so many girls on their team that they were able to rotate and sub out every player at each break. (The whole team would go off the field and the new team would come onto the field). Really impressive.

Our girls were able to make it a good game.

The parents of the other team said that usually their girls just crush their opposing team so it isn't much of a game and not much fun to watch.  They were excited to get to see some competition.

In the end, Havoc lost.

But it was great for them to play an excellent team!

They need the opportunity to improve and learn and the best way to improve as a team is to play really good teams.

It was a beautiful day, fun game and great to see Megan with Lacrosse fever.

MEGAN AND HAVOC

Never thought Megan and havoc would exist in the same sentence, she is too sweet for that!

But havoc it is, Team Havoc!

Megaroo is # 49!  (49 is FINE!)

The girls had their first Lacrosse game on Saturday and they were incredible!  They worked very well as a new team.

In fact, they worked a little too well for the other team.

At one of the breaks, Megan's coach asked them to stop shooting goals for a while and let the other team get an opportunity to score.

Throughout the game, she also asked them to switch to their weaker hands and pass the ball at least 4 times between each other in order to allow the team an opportunity to intercept.

She had the girls work on skills throughout the game - as they would in practice.

A lot of the girls on Team Havoc are new to the game but some of the girls are returning players and are really good.

The team they played on Saturday (in red) seemed like a fairly new team also.

The referees were so great at this game; recognizing the girls are new to the sport, when they had to make a call, they would stop play and explain (in the kindest way) why the call was made and how to avoid it in the future.  I was so impressed by this! What great people!

The referees also helped me to understand the game better by explaining the calls to the girls. I have a lot to learn about this game.

Right now all I know of the game is that it is FAST moving, intense, and these girls love it! Such a fun game to watch.

Once Team Havoc had allowed the other team to score several times, they asked their coach if they could try to score a couple of times before the end of the game. They really wanted to get to 20 points.

She told them when it was okay for them to try again she would yell "popcorn!"

Once "popcorn!" was out there, the girls worked quickly to make their desired goals.

The final score was 20 - 5.

 

 

Victory!

ONE OF THE PERKS OF HAVING AN OLDER BROTHER

especially an older brother with lots of friends (nice friends),

is they can become your friends (and will treat you nicely too) because you are his little sis.

 

Megan is finding out how valuable this can be!

Smash told one of his friends, Larissa, that Megan was just learning Lacrosse. 

Larissa, a very good Lacrosse player, volunteered to help Megan learn the game!

She has been voluntarily giving up her time once a week to coach Meg and work out with her on a day that Meg does not have a scheduled work-out with the team. Larissa leaves for volleyball practice right after she coaches Megan.

She has helped Meg not only learn the game, she has also been boosting her confidence!

 

We are grateful to Larissa, the awesome Lacrosse star!

Look at how happy Megan looks! 

 

(And while they were practicing, I was laying down on a picnic blanket - reading and snapping a few photos when possible. I know, I know, what a life!)

 

THE LORD KNOWS

what we need to hear

and He is mindful of us individually.

Tonight I need to take a moment and say how grateful I am for this blessing.

 

Last night I went to bed with a very heavy heart.

My thoughts were on my youngest and her little broken heart.

She is struggling to try and save a friendship with her best friend and she has never before been placed in this position with a dear friend.

The problem is religion, unfortunately.

Meg has shared our beliefs with this friend of hers many times over the past several months as questions have come up from her friend. They have had an open dialogue about their beliefs, some of those happen to be similar and others a little different. And never during the past several months has there been a problem.

Until now.

Some people (adults) have been talking to her friend and have been sharing their version of what we believe with her.  No, they are not of our faith. But she is young and passionate about her own beliefs and so she has decided to listen to them and she has shut Megan out.

She has been told that we are not Christian.

After several failed attempts to reassure her friend that she is in fact a Christian and that she believes and follows His teachings, she feels completely at a loss.

This has been so incredibly painful for Megan.  She loves her and doesn't want their friendship to suffer. Ever.

Meg said to me, "She is the friend I wanted to always have in my life.  You know, I wanted to call her from college, go to each others weddings, talk when we are married and have kids.  I thought she was that friend for me!"

 

As I listened to her concerns, fears, and sadness and as we talked, my heart ached for her. These emotional and spiritual struggles that our children have to suffer through are so hard! They are among the most difficult for my mother heart to handle.

And although I know it wouldn't help her grow and learn how to navigate through difficult circumstances, I wish I could take away her pain.

Sadly, the days of being able to put a cute bandage over the hurt and adding a magical kiss for good measure are long gone.

 So, late last night after we finished talking and retired to bed, I prayed that Megan would be able to find and feel peace somehow and that she would be able to learn through this experience and feel okay with any outcome.

Since this is general conference weekend (yay!), I asked the Lord to also help her find answers through the words which were to be spoken (and that we would all be able to be spiritually fed and renewed).

After a rough night, we got up early to go to a track meet for Smash (and team) and then came home as soon as Smash had finished in order to catch some of conference.

The talks we heard just after we arrived home were absolutely right on target for Megan. It was as if they were written for her.

I have witnessed this type of miracle (or tender mercy) before, usually for myself - sometimes for the children.

But the words and spirit from the talks this morning were so "spot-on" that I know they will help her for many days, weeks and months ahead.

Knowing that the Lord is mindful of her is such a great blessing; I hope this will help her.

I am so very thankful.

 

COLOR!

While we were visiting "the kids" a couple of weeks ago, Nathan needed a ride to Spanish Fork because he and some friends were helping prepare the color bags for the upcoming "Festival of Color."

This display of color takes place at the Lotus temple in Spanish Fork; home to the largest Holi celebration in the Western Hemisphere.

The Holi fest is a Hindu tradition celebrating the arrival of spring and bidding farewell to winter.

"It commemorates an array of events in Hindu mythology, but in short, the festival is a celebration of life and color."  ~UVU newspaper.

When we arrived at the Lotus temple, I was a little mesmerized by all of the color! Jon and the kids got worried that I wouldn't want to leave, that I would want to stay and prepare the bags.

They were right.

We had to check out of our hotel though, so I had no choice in the matter. But the kids and I did take a few minutes to put together some color bags before we left.

Each bag contained 6 different, very vibrant colors and a color medium.  The woman in charge wanted pink in every bag we put together. Pink must be important in the final display of color!

 

Em is holding up a color packet:

The Lotus temple is in a BEAUTIFUL spot!  I wish I would have taken out my camera and gotten some nice pics of the area...but again, there was no time.

What an interesting and fun (although messy) way to welcome Spring!

Here are a couple of my former Institute students after the color launch:

FROM LEO'S AND SEQUINS TO EYE GEAR, MOUTH GUARD AND A STICK! (And believe in yourself!)

From gymnastics to Lacrosse.

That's quite a leap!  ;)

(We still get to tell her to "stick it" though, ha, ha!)

 

She still LOVES gymnastics and if she could, she would go back to it.  But since it really isn't in the cards for her, she wants to remain active and athletic.

She has been searching for the right fit, she has tried track (and hasn't completely ruled that out yet) and although she liked parts of it, she didn't love it.

Here in Colorado, she has been introduced to a sport she has never SEEN before, let alone played.

Without knowing anything about the sport, i.e. the rules, the way the game is played, the commitment, the brutality (although we have been told that girls Lacrosse is not as brutal as boys), etc., she decided to go for it and give it her all.

She is working hard.  After practice she practices on her own. 

Someone on the team told her, "You're not bad, especially for having never touched a stick before...you're not good but you're not bad either!"

Megan was thrilled with that feedback.  She, of course, wants to play well but she understands that it takes time to learn a new sport - so she was happy with the "You're not bad" feedback.  Ha, ha!

Such a positive soul!

Megan is brave. It takes some belief in yourself and your abilities to feel confident enough to go out and try something new, especially something so far from what you have always known.

At age 14 that is especially difficult.

But Megan shows that although it may be uncomfortable to discover new territory, you wouldn't think it is scary for her because of the attitude she brings to new situations.

 

The video below is fabulous! Emily and her friends love this and it is a must see! (Thanks for sharing it).

I love this little guy and his words of wisdom (and his enthusiasm!):

"I feel happy of myself!"

"I know you can believe in yourself..."

 

Isn't it cute how he walks over and stands on the median in the road when his dad asks if he has any words of wisdom for other kids out there who may be learning to ride a bike?!

"Thumbs up everybody - for rock and roll!"

 

 This video below is a fun tune that some guys put together from the words of the cute little bike rider:

A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE WHEN WE GET TOGETHER

 An impromptu visit -

 (and oo-wee, is it ever hard to get a photo of them together).

Happy St. Patty's Day!

 

 These goofy kids really love each other.

They tease and joke and get crazy (sometimes until it hurts!) but there is definitely a lot of love between them!

We had hoped to go see "the kids" (meaning the big kids) during spring break but Smash became really sick after his track meet.  He had a sinus infection and I believe he also had heat stroke. He was one sick kid for nearly the whole break.

As soon as he was well enough to get out of the house, and after he and Meg went skiing with their dad, (and I of course fit in my two physical therapy sessions) we decided to head out for a quick road trip.

I had several things I wanted to deliver and other things I hoped to take care of for them.

All things were accomplished, yay!

What a nice couple of days!

They (the big kids) are busy in their lives at school, which is great to see.  They seem to love life right now; what a blessing.

Meg went to classes with Em, and Smash went to a 4 hour art class with Nathan. Cool, huh?

 

So, why do we call them "the kids?"  Well, it all began way back when...

Meg was a baby and Smash a little tot.

When the school day was nearly over and it was time to pick up Nathan and Emily from school, I would let the 'littles' know it was time to prepare to leave.

One day they started asking me if it was time to pick up "the kids" and then they would refer to "the kids" throughout the day while they were away from us.

We would visit "the kids" during lunch and often see "the kids" while volunteering at their school.

It was so sweet that these two littlest of ours were calling their older siblings 'the kids' that it stuck!

I sure do love those kids, all of them!

SPRING SLOPES

Spring break - the kids and Jonathan were able to enjoy warm spring skiing. Fun! Fun! Fun!

I'm so happy the kids get to have such great fun with their dad. The slopes were really good to them!

The kids came home with exciting news that they couldn't wait to share with me:

Smash can now out-ski his dad; by that I mean he goes REALLY fast on the slopes and Jon can no longer catch him. 

Meg is now doing black diamond runs (!)  and is looking like a "real" skier - which according to her - means she doesn't have to snow plow...she can swish back and forth.

AND a fun story and great ending of the day:

On what would have been the last run of the day, the kids wanted to make it the second to the last run of the day and asked the attendant at the lift if they could make it back in time to have one more run.  He told them that the lift would close in 15 min. and there was no way they could make it up the mountain and back down in time to catch the lift again.  They were worried when the lift ride up took 10 min. but they made it down the hill and to the lift with 3 minutes to spare! The attendant was very surprised to see them and he happily put them on the lift for their last run of the day.

 

While they were gone, I treated myself to another physical therapy appointment. (A touch of sarcasm, sorry).

When I told my PT that my kids and Jonathan were skiing and that I would have loved a day out with them and that maybe by the time I am 50 I will be healthy enough to ski with them. (Hint, hint)...

my PT just laughed and said, "I bet you FEEL 50!"

(I really chuckled at that one...silently and internally, but it was still chuckling!)

I told him, "Actually, I feel more like 80 , no today is a better day, so I'll say 70." 

(I'm guessing he isn't great at math...if he had "done" the math, he would know that I am closer to 50 than I am 40 or any other __ty age).

As far as the therapy is going, we have had to adjust it and back off quite a bit. The therapy was too aggressive for my injuries at this point.  Hopefully we will find the magic combination soon and I can heal!

There is nothing I would love more than to spring into Spring with a spring in my step!

COSTA RICAN SEA TURTLES

Little Miss Megan fell in love with so much of Costa Rica.

One of the top three on her 'favorites' list was her interaction with the sea turtles.

Late one night, while on a night hike, they had the rare opportunity to watch an adult female sea turtle (or as Meg called her, "a mama turtle") lay her eggs.

Megan said it took a little over an hour for the entire process, they could not take photos because it would interrupt the process but they were able to watch it all. (Twenty four 13-14 year old kids were quiet and not intrusive for over an hour!)

This "mama turtle" (female) was around 4 feet long; a pretty large turtle!

She dug her hole with her back feet quite far from the water, so the eggs would be safe at high tide.

(Most female turtles have a homing instinct so they return to the beach where they were born, that is so neat!)

She then began to lay her eggs, around 90 eggs total in her clutch (nest).

Once she had finished laying her eggs, the kids watched her cover them up and camouflage the area around the clutch so the eggs would be kept safe.

After the female completed the entire process, she returned to the ocean.

The warm sand becomes the incubator for the eggs and the baby sea turtles (hatchlings) dig their way out of their nest at the same time, about two months later. The hatchlings weigh as much as a pencil and can fit in the palm of a hand; they are tiny!

They must make their way to the ocean on their own and it is not an easy thing. They have to go fast to remain safe from the sea gulls and crabs, etc.

One day while the global leadership kids were cleaning up a beach as a service project, they were also able to see baby sea turtles hatch and make their way to the ocean.  They were not allowed to help any of them, though. (That would have been hard for me.)

Megan said that 70 of the 90 made it to the ocean and when they reached the water, "they looked so happy!" Their little flippers would start fluttering back and forth quickly when they hit the ocean and she said she thought they looked "relieved." Cute.

 

One of her teachers brought this funny little stuffed turtle to compare to the hatchlings:

 

 Go little turtles, GO!

They must swim to the waters of the open sea and remain there until they are young adults.

If they survive the first 10 years, the most dangerous years of a sea turtle's life, they have a great chance of making it to age 80 and beyond!

 

And just for fun, here is a photo of a very popular sea turtle:

NEWS FROM COSTA RICA!

FINALLY!

The teachers had let us know that they might not be able to have much (if any) contact, via email, with us but promised to send a quick something if they could.

I didn't expect to hear from them but I hoped we might...

and tonight we did!

They said the kids are all doing great and are having a wonderful time!

Here is part of the note we received tonight:

"Today we went to an organic two acre farm and the students learned all kinds of things with plants (they even learned some math).  The farm is amazing--we had a delicious lunch there as well.  Some students were even brave enough to try a hot pepper right out of the garden...it was hot!!!

I've attached a picture of the kitchen at the farm--they can feed 40 people every day--Tilapia, pigs, cows, chickens, and a beautiful garden.  Everything is so fresh."

 Doesn't that look great?! (I think I could really have some fun right there!)

I know you are anxious (as I was) to see Meg in a photo, I was so excited to see that they did send a photo with the kids (Meg!).

I couldn't hardly contain myself while I waited for these photos to load!

Meg is on the far left, front row, orange helmet.  Cute girl!!

And the next photo is also very cute! A baby sea turtle! (And that colorful beach! Wow!)

I certainly cannot wait for Sunday to come and for time with her to hear ALL about it!

 

 

A BIG SURPRISE FOR MEG!

 These cute girls planned and carried out a surprise party for Megan. 

She had NO idea and never figured out what they were planning, even though there were some suspicious activities going on that caused her to question a few of their actions. :)

They took care of nearly everything. We just had to make sure that Meg was totally in the dark and get rid of her for an hour while they (and I) set up for the party.

Meg was asked to help her dad last Saturday.  She was NOT happy about it.  She had plans to go to a gymnastics meet with Emiley and didn't want to miss it or be late. She wanted Smash to go and help Jonathan but Smash had too much homework.

She really did not want to leave but went any way and made herself (and Jonathan) a little miserable along the way.

When she finally returned, a little late -thanks to her dad, wink, wink - she didn't notice the streamers covering the outside ofthe door, or at least they didn't register to her.

All she could think about was that they had returned home late; remember, she thought she was meeting up with Emiley to go to the meet.  So, while in this frame of mind, she really didn't notice anything from the party: such as the balloons and streamers hanging throughout the room or all of the food out on the table, etc.

In fact, she had no idea what was happening until the kids all jumped out at her and completely scared her! Even after she saw all of them it took her a minute to find out why they were there.

It was all so funny!

Megan did apologize to her dad later. She was genuinely sorry for feeling upset that morning.

Perhaps the next time I ask her to go help him she will be a little more happy about it?! (Ha, ha).

 

 

They all had a great time, Smash and a couple of his friends joined in on some of the fun too.

And Megan and Emiley did get to go to the last couple of hours of the meet where Emiley's sister and team took 1st place.

What a fun day!

 

 

MY (lovely) BABY IS 14!

Isn't that unbelievable? 

14!

The baby of the family - 14!  (And she STILL wakes up happy!)

That sounds so old to me.  Nathan was just 14; seems like only a little while ago.  Emily was just 14...

they are both out of the home now.

Smash truly was just 14 not too long ago.

And now Miss Megan.

Oh,and no worries, she won't mind me calling her the baby. She loves being the baby of the family; she believes there are "perks" that come along with that. :)

 

Here is 14 on Meg (the morning of her birthday as she left the car for school):

 For her birthday she wanted an intimate little dinner at home with a few of our close friends.

Here she is with her best friend (in CO), Emiley.

Emiley has been heaven sent.  We love her.  She is so much like Megan that it seems as if they have grown up together.

They are both very sweet and kind, it is wonderful that they found each other. They met at school and became good friends right away.  

Emiley and a couple of Megan's other friends decorated her locker!  She was so excited! It was the first thing she told me about when she got into the car after school. (She LOVES zebra stripes! And PINK!)

Those cute friends of hers made her day!

So, there was a funny story from her birthday that I want to share here.  A week before her birthday, a friend of hers, Ben, found out it would be her birthday soon.  When he heard that her birthday was coming up, he said, "I am so there!"  Meg replied, "Where?"  He said, "At your party!" She then disappointed him by letting him know there wasn't going to be a party.

He let her know he would NOT forget her birthday.  And he didn't.  As soon as he saw her at school, he had to wish her a happy birthday. He wished her a happy birthday over and over again as he said it every time he saw her.

At lunch he came up to her and held out a Doritos chip for her. Not a bag, just a chip. He offered it to her for her birthday and then said, "I wanted to get you Gushers, but I don't have enough money." She said, "That's okay" and then thanked him for the chip.  Then he asked her, "Unless you really want the Gushers, if you do, you could go in on them with me?"

She told him she was fine without the Gushers.

I laughed and laughed when she told me this story.  Isn't this quintessential 8th grade?!

Awkward and sweet.

So FUNNY!

For her birthday she got a big duffel bag full of the remainder of her much needed items for Costa Rica.

The duffel is big enough for her to fit in it...yes, she tried it out.

She loved her new sunglasses - as you can see in the photo.

She's nearly ready now for Costa Rica and is excited and happy with life in general.

Love you, Megaroo!

 

 

 

IMAGINE MY SURPRISE

 when I found these photos that the kids had taken while we were on our trip to Alaska back in June and July of 2008!  

The other day I needed another SD card for my camera. My favorite one is full and I don't want to erase it - still have the jitters about my computer and I don't want to lose the photos. I know, I know, trust issues...

So, I grabbed an old card that I don't ever use and when I put it into the computer to upload the photos, these precious photos were there!  Taken from the kids point of views; mostly Meg and Smash as the photographers.

I was so excited to see these and to see the changes in the kids in the last few years.  2008 doesn't seem all that long ago and yet a lot has happened and changed since then; many of those changes are evident in their faces alone. 

The photo below is of Meg and I on a bus in Denali National Park.  Look at Nathan and Emily just behind us.

 

Here we are with the girls. Emily had long hair then and had it in braids.

 

 And here we are with the boys.  Smash smiled in photos back then! 

Not the best photo of us but I had to show just how much Smash and Nathan have changed since then:

Smash was SMILING in photos then. :)

 

Although the moose photo is a little blurry, it's fun to remember all of the moose we saw - as well as other wonderful animals and scenery.

The blond in the photo below is me. 

Just kidding, it's not a Mar-bear, it's a real bear.

  The kids zoomed in on him, or her:

 

Kids are great, aren't they?  There were a lot of photos taken of this next creature! Ha, ha!

They did make friends with him, he followed them all over while we were stopped at this little picnic area.

But they took a lot more photos of him than they did of the moose or bear, or anything else.  I love kids!

 

I think Meg took the photo below of Smash; it's so cute.

 

 

The kids caught whales too - - on camera.

Whale back.

 

Whale tail.

 

 

2!

And the photo below is a really great capture.  Not sure who took it but he/she managed to capture the sea lions on the rocks and a whale in the water next to them.  Really cool!

 There are many more photos but that's all I will share for now.  It's a lot, I know.

What a very fun find for me, I'm kind of happy that they were tucked away until now because it makes them seem even more special.

Great job at capturing these photos!

Kids, do you remember taking them?

LEAVING THE "EAGLE's" NEST

One of the most difficult things (from the move) for the kids (especially Smash) was having to leave Eagle Gymnastics. 

Smash began coaching there 3+ years ago.  After he had to quit competing as a gymnast due to kidney problems, the head coach and the owners of the gym asked if they could bring him on as a coach.  They felt he had a great capacity to influence the other gymnasts for good and they missed his presence in the gym.  Since he was not old enough to work yet, he began as a shadow coach, volunteering his time while learning skills that would help him to become a good coach.  He was able to work with one of the best male coaches in Texas; Coach Mark has an excellent reputation as a boys gymnastics coach (he is also a great guy). 

When Smash was old enough, he was promoted to Junior coach and began getting paid for the work he was doing. 

Smash absolutely loved the work! He loved the gym and all of the people there. He loved the kids and he really enjoyed getting paid for coaching. :)  He has been saving nearly every cent of it for his mission. (He has saved enough for one year).

The kids absolutely adored Coach Smash!  This was fun and sweet for me to see the love and respect these children had for my young son.  If one (or more) of them would arrive early for their workout, they would wait by the door for Coach Smash to arrive.  Each time he entered the gym, those boys lit up all over!  (Some of the little girls, too! Hee, hee).

They are still in contact with him.  They still want him to return; which he would if he could...  The owners, boys and coaches want Smash to be there for their State competition in the Spring.  If at all possible, I would love to make that happen for Smash.

The night before the kids left TX, the gym had a going away party for them.  The parents of the team members and the owners of the gym threw a BIG bash!  They asked me to attend.  The kids were both coaching for the afternoon and then when it was time for the surprise party, workout ended (early) and the partying began. 

They gave beautiful and heartfelt tributes to both Megan and Smash.  Many, many tears were shed.  The owners and coaches shared their feelings for the kids and our family.  Their words were kind and very meaningful.  If I had known they were planning to say all of those things about the kids, I would have had a pen and paper ready!  It would have been nice to have for the kids to refer back to one day. 

 At the end of the tributes, the kids were presented with the most beautiful and precious gifts! 

The gym had compiled photos of the kids through the years, as gymnasts and then coaches.  They had those photos placed into wonderful and large frames.  What a treasure!  Everyone enjoyed looking at the photos!  Take a look below, they really are fabulous!

Warning:  There are a lot of photos...but since this is a record for the family, I am including them (and Smash asked me to post a lot of photos!).

Now, you will understand a little better why I had such a hard time making the decision to leave TX, we had such wonderful things happening there for the kids.

Party time and food.

Coach Carol (one of the owners) as they begin tributes to the kiddos.

I was down on the floor, trying to be inconspicuous (tears were flowing), and I saw these cute pairs of feet.  I love how differently they stand, how different their shoes are, and yet, there they are standing together.

Coach Mark and Coach Stephen.  Coach Stephen is the tall one and is like a brother to Smash. Coach Mark is phenomenal and was such a great role model.

Smash and the boys checking out the photos of Coach Smash through the years.

 

Megan with Coach Ginger.  She is the other owner of the gym but was Megan's first coach there.  We LOVE Ginger!

  Meg is delighted at the photo display (and mortified by some very cute and young photos of herself!).

I, however, love every one!

 

 

MOVING CAN BE "CRUDDY"

BUT good friends can make the time you have left together very happy!

 

For example:

These girls took Megan with them to an activity at their church - the activity was called "CRUD WARS." 

They came home looking very cruddy indeed!

These pictures were taken AFTER they had gotten all cleaned up!  It took them HOURS after the photos were taken to get the crud out of their hair.  I believe some of the clothes were ruined; which they were counting on.  These cute little gals loved getting yucky and cruddy together.

So how do they get cruddy? 

It is something like a HUGE food fight but they start with water games and get wet first.

Then flour, sugar, instant mashed potatoes (those were hard to get out of the hair), cheese, water balloons filled with MILK, and other messy things get thrown on top. 

If you think they might have been stinky - as well as cruddy - you would be absolutely correct.

There were less cruddy goodbyes too:

This little group came by for brunch and then swimming.

  Megan's sweet friends gave her a little book that they made especially for her with beautiful photos of all of them through the years and some very nice notes to her.

 

But a little going away party would not be complete without doing a little mattress surfing:

What started out, years ago, as a one mattress operation (which meant they climbed on a mattress and rode down the staircase) has grown into a train of mattresses and a slick blanket.  They sail down the lined-up mattresses on a very silky blanket and (ooweee!) do they ever get some great speed! 

BORDER CROSSING

OR hanging, or jumping...

We don't ALWAYS take a photo at every border crossing, although I wish we could!  (Not sure why, I just think it's a fun little record of our travels).

Many times we cross when it is late, very dark, and /or the kids are sleeping.

Other times, they protest.

This happens to be one of those times! 

We were on our way to see Emily, it was beginning to rain and the kids really didn't want to humor me...

but they did!

They got out of "Larry" and humored me:

I think Smash ended up with splinters in his feet!  And he had to get some assistance from his dad on the way down.  (I had already put my camera away or I would have definitely gotten a shot of that!  It was rather funny)!

Thanks kids!

So, dear friends, do you celebrate the borders?  Anything special you do with your family? 

HANGING OUT WITH MEGAN

ON the sidelines of a football game can be pretty fun.

Why, you ask?

Well, other than she is just an all-around sweet and fun girl to be with, she says and does random things that keep me laughing.

Like this, for instance:

"Hey Mommy, watch me, I could be a hair model!" 

(Remember, she is 13...not sure about your kids but my others stopped saying "watch me" well before that age, ha, ha!)

THE BEST SURPRISE PARTY

EVER!!

For this cute girl!

Our one and only Bemmer-BO!

(At 8 years old)

We pulled off the biggest and best birthday surprise! 

I contacted a few of Emily's friends via text and FB and asked them to help me give her a MEGA surprise for her "golden" birthday.

Her friends are the best!  They were absolutely wonderful! They were more than happy to help.

And not one spilled the beans.

We drove halfway to Provo on Friday night, then the rest of the way on Saturday morning. (We had to leave to return to CO on Sunday morning; a fast and furious trip... well, not too furious, no one was angry, ha, ha!).

When we arrived in Provo, we picked up all of the necessary party items  and then went to the Cougareat at BYU to set it all up and make it feel festive!

Her friends were to arrive at 1 PM, which they did, and then Mary would bring her after that for the surprise.

Emily had NO IDEA that we were in Provo.  Not even an inkling.

Now for full disclosure:  Emily loves the color red (me too!) and so in thinking of Emily and NOT thinking of THE DAY we were having this shindig...well, not thinking through it fully...I decorated with RED.  Mm-hmm.  RED in the Cougareat, in the heart of BYU blue, on GAME DAY!  And not ANY game day, the big rivalry game day between the Y and the U!

Yes, we had looks and even a few comments and although I felt silly for setting it all up in red, I loved every bit of it. I was so excited to do this for Emily.

This birthday was special!  We had not seen Emily since she went away to college in June. 

My oh my, did that ever feel like a              l    o     o    o     n     n      n       n        g      g         g               time!

Once her friends had arrived and we had chatted with them for a few minutes, the kids, Jonathan and I went to hide around the corner.

Waiting for her to get there seemed like an eternity.  It wasn't.  But it felt that way because we were so very excited!

When she came in to the Cougareat with her friend (Mary), the rest of the gang began to sing "Happy Birthday" to her.  That is when we came out.  She was facing away from us so as we approached her, we sang along.  As soon as she heard us singing, she whipped around and BURST into tears!  So did I.  Tears, tears, tears.  And lots of hugs! 

It was the sweetest reunion, ever.

Mary is the one in the blue-stripe shirt next to Emily.  Greta is on the other side of her.  Those three gals are planning on rooming together as soon as their contracts are up and they can move in together.  I really love those girls!

Unfortunately, I did not get photos of all who were there (I was busy!) but I did try to get photos of many of those who attended.

  Ha  ppy birthday, Emily!  I love you!

SMILE-MAKERS

*While talking about the cost of living difference here in CO with the kids (cost of living is HIGHer here), Meg was questioning WHY on earth things have to cost so much more in one place over another.

Smash, in all his wisdom, put his arm on her shoulder and with his other arm outstretched and while gesturing to the sky, trees,  and mountains, stated, "Do you see all this?...  It's beauty!...People pay for beauty!"

 

*When I drop Meg off at school, we take all of the back roads.  The ride to school is so beautiful (and fun!).  We pass a lot of farmland along our route.  The other morning as we were passing another cattle ranch, she let out a huge sigh and said, "There they are doing the same thing AGAIN!  That's all they (the cows) do is eat grass all day.  They have NO LIFE!  They just eat and eat and eat and then one day they are hamburger. I would not want to be a cow!"

 

Just wanted to share the latest funnies with you. 

Hope it gave you a smile too!

 

 

 

 

 

BREAKFAST FOR DINNER?

OR LUNCH, or even for breakfast...

it is Meg's favorite type of meal to make for the family currently.

Here is our little breakfast angel aglow with evening sunshine streaming through our kitchen window.

Sent from my iPhone
Mar~

A FUNNY FROM ONE OF OUR ROAD TRIPS

Not sure exactly why but Emily was talking about the day she learned to "read in [her] head." (Silently).

It was a huge deal to her.

You see, I taught her how to read before she entered school so during reading time in Kinder, she would be asked to read silently.  (I beleive because the teacher was working with the other students on learning how to read).

Well, having to read silently really stressed her out!  She didn't know how. She worried about reading out loud when she had been asked to read "in her head" but couldn't.

Because I read aloud to her and had her read aloud to me, she never learned to read silently, I guess...

On our road trip this summer, she asked me if I remembered when she learned to "read in her head?"

Of course I did; it was a HUGE deal to her!

Meg and I laughed and laughed and laughed some more.  Emily laughed but then asked Meg, "Don't you remember learning to read in YOUR head?"

Meg said, "Ya, it was when I learned to read."

More laughter...

and funny looks from Emily! ha, ha!

Love that girl!

CAR DANCING

Want to know how Meg and I kept awake and alert on our       l          o            n              g        journey home from UT?

Watch this:

Download IMG_0839.MOV

 

 

She is too cute for words and the best traveling companion ever!

I have found a forever-road-trip-buddy in Megan.  Yippee!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone
Mar~

A QUICK HELLO

and a sweet goodbye.

The Sunday after Meg and I dropped Emily off at her dorm, we got to go to a special church service for our friend, Aticus.  He will be serving a mission in Taiwan for the next two years.

Aticus with his sister, Anna, our Megan, and his mom, Cynthia.

We met this cute family here in TX a few years ago, since then they have moved to KS and UT.

It was such great fun to see them again and to hear Aticus speak in church before he left for his mission.  He is prepared and ready; he will be a fabulous missionary!

 
  If you look behind us you will see his dad, Bruce, walking through the front door.

We felt it such a privilege to be able to spend this most special day with them!

 

WHAT'S A "MATER" WITH YOU?

A smile-maker! (Mater-style!)

 

If you have kids or grandkids who love "CARS," they will love to see these photos of Meg with her good friend...  :)

 

 While traveling through a little town in the panhandle of TX, we came across the most popular "CARS" in the nation.  Mater, however, was absolutely the cutest of them all!

So, we had to stop and get better acquainted...

He is so happy to have a hug from Meg that he appears to be slightly blushing, ha, ha.

 

Now, that's a Smile-Mater (Maker)!

GIRL TIME

 

Goodbye hugs for the college girl.

ON THE BORDER(S)

TX to NM + NM to CO + CO to UT= great fun. fabulous road trip!

For years now as we have driven to our beloved Colorado, we have laughed at the plain brown, "colorful Colorado" sign.  But, hey, when the rest of the state is so gorgeous, a plain brown sign is perfectly fine.

Life Elevated.  I like that for a motto.

 

TX-NM BORDER

SUNSET.

One of the (many) things I love about road-tripping is the beauty along the way.

This sunset on the TX-NM border was unreal!

The display of light and color was magnificent and continually changing.  I wish we could have stopped the vehicle and watched the entire sunset (but if I were to stop every time I thought something was beautiful we wouldn't ever get anywhere).   :)

The girls and I are enjoying a fun road trip together while the boys are at home working.  (No worries, they got in their play time too!).

 

Unfortunately I believe the breathtaking colors of this sunset (red/orange haze) were courtesy of the AZ wildfires.  I do hope those fires will be contained soon.

SUNDAY WALKS IN THE PARK

= Smiles all around!

 

We love our Sunday family time in the park (weather permitting!).

The last Sunday that we were able to go to the park, we saw a green corvette in the parking lot and knew immediately who happened to be the owner.  Our old neighbor and good friend.  (A Friendly, Friend's friend...who has the last name of Friend.)  :)

(Meg's nonchalant look).

That is when the treasure hunt began.  We didn't find him until we had given up and were on our way out of the park.  But once he was spotted, the kids went crazy!  They were so excited! 

Smash sprinted straight for him and you can see what happened next.  I think our friendly "Friend" was just as excited as we were.

Yes, that is Meg in her jammies...no matter how much we tease her about wearing those out in public, it doesn't bother her.  She feels that she needs to be extra comfy on Sundays after church so if she wants to wear pj's, she does.  :)

 

21 May, 2011

Update:

I started this post probably around a month or so ago and have not been able to publish it, crazy, I know.  We haven't enjoyed this type of Sunday afternoon since.  But I have high hopes for more.  And I hope an afternoon such as this will happen again before Emily leaves home. 

We have been enjoying other outings with the kids though: awards ceremonies, banquets, concerts, etc.  Our days are packed and our weeks are flying by.  Great things are happening and I hope to share some of that with you when I can grab a few minutes from somewhere.  (It appears that I will have time since the world didn't end today as predicted by a preacher in CA.).

 

 

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Introducing the Spring play - Barbecuing Hamlet - and welcoming all who came to watch was the assistant director, Megaroo! 

Meg decided to give the other side a try and so she applied and auditioned for the role of the assistant director.  She learned quite a few things by being on the other side of the action and I think she really enjoyed it!  She worked hard for her teacher, the director.  She was required to be at every rehearsal and she loved every minute of it.  Each day when I picked her up from rehearsal she would share a funny story or two, or three, from the day.

At the cast and crew after party, the cast gave her a chef hat (for bbq-ing) signed by each member.

That was so very thoughtful of them. 

 

There were quite a few funny parts in the play on the evening that we went to watch, some which had been rehearsed, and some that had not.  :)

One of the funniest moments to me - not  necessarily a funny "ha, ha" moment, however entertaining and somewhat intriguing - was when a girl came on stage in my dress!  Well, not actually MY dress.  It was a dress that looked exactly like one I had worn in the late 70's.  A Gunne  Sax dress!  I had no idea that any of those were still around.  When I saw her walk out on stage in that dress, my jaw dropped open and I took in a significant amount of air, enough to make an interesting noise; I was shocked!  :)  Want to see the dress?  Some of you may recognize it...

  So, doesn't that dress give you a little giggle too?

 

  Our cute friend, Eden( in the middle), with some of the other cast members.

THE PRINCESS DID IT!

She did!

Our little princess got up at 4 AM to watch the royal wedding!  Hee, hee. 

 

It was just the two of us in a dark and quiet family room watching the 'tele' and eating English scones.  That is something I will always remember fondly.  Thanks for getting up with me Megs!

Meg fell asleep through some of the ceremony but she was wide awake for all of the most important moments.

Her favorite part of the whole thing was the QUEEN!  She absolutely loved her!  She loved her in her bright, canary yellow suit.  She loved her hat.  She thought she was such a "cute" Queen and grandma.   Megan spent more time talking about the queen than anything else, isn't that so sweet?! 

Later in the afternoon, while we were driving from point a to point b, Megan told me that she would like to be the royal cook for the queen.  "That way" she said, "We could be on a first-name basis."  I told her that no one, not even her chef was allowed to refer to her by her name.  She replied, "Oh ya, I know that, I just thought it would be cool if she called ME by my first name."    Then she went on, "You know, we could see each other, I could curtsy and smile and she could say, What's up, Megan?"  

She said she would even be happy cooking for Queen Catherine, once she is actually a Queen.

We will be looking into laws regarding whether or not an American can become a royal chef and cook for the Queen of England.

Up until now, she has wanted to be a pediatrician...

right now she's still our little princess.

A LITTLE LOVE

 

and a lot of sandwiches.

1, 530 bologna and cheese sandwiches were made by Megan and her friends on Saturday -

to feed the homeless in Dallas.

 

 

RIGHT ON TRACK

Meg and Smash both decided to go out for track this season. They are up before the sun and out running every day.

This year Smash tried the hurdles and pole vault as well as some other races.

The coaches had Megan running some long distance races which are not her forte but she does what she is asked to do.  She also tried the long jump and some relay races.

I know you probably are wondering how in the world these kids who are a little on the short side could do pole vault, hurdles and long jump, believe me, I wondered how they would do as well.  They both have quite a bit of bounce and spring, it has been so much fun to watch!

Here are some photos from a few of their meets: 

(I know there are a lot of photos but since Jonathan couldn't be there in person, I wanted him to get to see as much as possible. If you can make it to the end, there is a great little story...)

Smash says he loves the pole vault because he "loves the feeling of flying!"

Megaroo and Smash both love the social aspect of track.  Every time I see them with any sort of down time, they are socializing; with any and all kids on the field, no matter which school they represent.

 

Meg below, running a very lonely relay:

At the last track meet, Meg was asked to anchor the 4 x 100 meter relay and the 4 x 400 meter relay.  Her little team did not do too well.  In the 4 x 400, her teammates were so far behind the other teams that when Meg was waiting for the baton, she could see her teammate bringing it to her and the other teams about to lap her and finish the race before Meg even had a chance to run.  They did not lap her teammate but they did finish within seconds of Megan beginning her 400 meter lap.  Even though she knew this race could not be won (they had secured dead last) and even though she knew she would be the only runner on the last race of the night, she took off like a shot and gave it her all.  As she rounded the track and began her sprint to the end, the very kind parents in the stands cheered her on.  It was a sweet moment and a bit of a tear jerker for me to see such kindness shown to my daughter from friends and strangers alike.  Several parents stopped me in the stands and commented on how impressed they were that she ran the race anyway, even when she knew what place her team would secure before she began her portion of the race.

I could see she felt a little embarrassed before she began the race, I too was glad she gave it her all.

The week before in the 800 meter (too far, she is a short distance runner), as she was coming in last, the folks in the stands cheered her on just when she needed it the most.  She was discouraged, it was written all over her face as she approached the finish.  This was so hard for me to watch.  However, approximately 100 meters from the finish, I could hear a lot of cheering, her speed had picked up considerably and she was sprinting to the end - with her brother running beside her on the sidelines, cheering her on.  When I saw what he was doing for her my heart began to burst!

They do have their squabbles but when it matters, they are there for each other. 

Moments like those help me to feel that we just might be on the right track.  :)

A SUNDAY WALK THROUGH THE PARK

Last Sunday evening was gorgeous!  Actually, right now every day has been gorgeous; warm, Spring weather has come to north TX, hooray! 

I love that this season of the year comes earlier here than other places we have lived.  The winter months aren't around long enough to get tired of them.  This year, the spring blossoms have seemed even more beautiful than in other years.  It could be that I have just forgotten or perhaps the cold snaps we had in February attributed to a glorious March? 

When I left the beginning of March for the wedding, the buds and blossoms were just beginning to show and when I came home  a few days later, everything was in full bloom!  Spring is breathtaking.

Back to our Sunday walk.  Emily had just returned from Indianapolis, Smash had come home from climbing in OK the day before and Meg had returned the night before from Girl's Camp - just in time to make it to some of the wedding reception - which was gorgeous, by the way.  So, Sunday afternoon/evening brought on some tired and weary-from-traveling personalities.  I'm sure we are not the only family to experience this but sometimes after the kids have been away from each other (and indulged somehow by friends or other sources) there is a warming up period upon reentry.  They have to get acquainted with each other again.  There are times when they can do this in a happy manner and other times when they are cranky with each other.  Sometimes these reacquainting periods remind me a little of the first week of Kindergarten; after school they are tired, cranky and clingy.  They have spent all of their good energy elsewhere and come home depleted.  As happy as they were last Sunday to reunite, and believe me we were all SO happy to be home together again, we were all tired and not at our best.  But the Sunday walk and a frisbee did the trick.

The park was in bloom, the weather perfect for enjoying a stroll, trees were begging to be climbed and with each step we were getting back to us.  Ahh.

I didn't bring my camera so I snapped a few with my cell but a few days later I returned for time alone in the park and more photos.

iPhone pic, Em

iPhone pic, Smash

 

UNLUCKY 13?

I THINK NOT!

13 is definitely lucky in our home because we feel very lucky to have Meg!

(Homemade ice cream cake!  Yum!!)  Her birthday fell during our ice days in February - she got her wish - which made it easier to invite her friends over ON her birthday because everything else had been cancelled. 

 

If there was a catch phrase such as 'Sweet 16' for thirteen, it would be used to describe Megaroo.

I suppose we could start one...

'Tender Thirteen'

'Terrific Thirteen'

'Thoughtful Thirteen'

'Treasured Thirteen'

Which one do you like for Meg? 

Can you think of a better one? 

 

Meg is a great girl with wonderful friends.  Her studies are very important to her.  At this time in her life she misses gymnastics still and is searching for an athletic activity to fill the physical hole left by having to leave the sport.  She is sensitive to others.  She cares about her relationship with her Savior and wants to be Christlike.  She loves her family!  A lot! 

And we love her!

We definitely feel lucky to have her in our family.

 

HER WISH

CAME TRUE.

Meg crawled into my bed this morning after finding out the good news.

Sent from my iPhone
Mar~

 

Last week while we were enjoying our 4 day, unexpected winter break, Megan uttered a birthday wish:

"Please, please, please, let it snow for my birthday."

She wanted another day home from school. 

She hoped for everyone to be home on her birthday.

And as crazy as it is for this to happen again here in TX, it did!

It is really just ice, not the fluffy snow that makes for lots of fun, but school is canceled and we are all home.

If you are here in the area and had wished for school to NOT be canceled again today, I'm sorry.  Perhaps it will ease your pain to know that there is a very happy birthday girl at our house today.  :)

I need to go now and make some birthday magic happen!  (It isn't every day that 'the baby' becomes a teen!  Let's not talk about that just yet...).

Happy 13th birthday, Megaroo!

 

*I wonder if Hannah is skating in the street again today?!  If you haven't seen her video yet, click on this link and go to the middle of the post; it is worth watching.

Have a nICE day! 

 

THE BEAUTY AND THE REALITY

 

Day 5 (and most likely our last) of our wintry weather.

 

The beauty:

Morning sun and snow.

The reality: 

Yesterday while sledding with the kids, I fell.  Hard. I slipped and fell onto about 4 inches of snow which was covering 2 inches of ice (in a parking lot).  Not a glorious way to go down if one is going to get hurt while sledding.  On my tail bone.  Ouch.  It hurt a lot, as you can imagine.  I wish I could say I was sledding with the kids and got hurt while nearly landing a "Shaun White - Double Mc Twist 1260 or Tomahawk."  But no, this adventurous girl was merely walking along (gingerly at that) to position myself for a better photo op.  (Sigh)

Years ago when Jon and I were water-skiing, I had a really nasty crash and hurt my back; you know the kind of hurt that leaves the lower half of your body numb for a little while.  On the ice yesterday, I felt that old injury rejoin my body like an un-welcomed guest.  The only thing I could do was stay on the ice and let it numb me as much as possible; getting up was rather difficult.  Once I did get up and walk around, half numb, I did just fine...until I came home and sat down for a minute.  Ha, ha! 

This morning, I couldn't take laying in bed even a minute longer.  I needed to get up and walk and get my body moving.  So, just before sunrise, I put on my scarf, hat, heavy coat and boots (over my pj's, of course) and headed out to numb the pain check out what was left of our beautiful snowfall from yesterday.

The walk and the bright yellow sunlight did not disappoint.

 

The beauty:

Lovely winter light on snow, well, there is just nothing quite like it.

Peaceful.

 

 The reality:

Lots and lots of clothes, coats, layers, socks, scarves, hats, undies, shorts, and more clothes worn and soiled to be washed and dried (and sometimes just dried) in order to be worn again!  Add to my own 3 children's clothes those of the neighbor kids (I only dry those).  Rarely do these sopping wet clothes make it into the laundry room immediately.  They typically land on the floor in piles by whichever door was a port of entry. 

 

The beauty:

Soft snow scapes.

 

The reality:

The constant search through storage for more coats, warmer coats, gloves for all, and where is my scarf?!   Ha, ha!  And of course, more heavy clothes to be laundered.  (Boy does outerwear fill up a washer fast)!

 

 

The beauty:

Even the littlest of God's work (and/or art) is magnificent.

 

The reality:

Boots, boots, everywhere!  Tall boots, short boots, wet boots (and shoes).  All of which bring in puddles and mud and more.

 

The beauty:

Long, lovely shadows!  (Self-portrait, not bad, eh? ha!).

 

The reality:

The reality is the beauty. 

 

All of those layers of clothing, coats and boots, hats and gloves, climb up and sled down a snow-packed hill for hours of fun with friends.  They provide warmth while go-carting on ice and snow.  In Texas, they are rarely needed or used...but on the occasion that they are brought out, it usually means F.U.N!

And that's the beauty and reality of it!

 

 

 

 

TWICE AS ICE...

make that THRICE.

Three days of ice before we welcomed snow!  (Boy, did we ever welcome that snow)!

With the snow came a bit of a warm-up and some thawing.

The day before our ice (and sleet) storm, I received a weather update on my phone.  Miss Meg has become somewhat of a weather bug (comes by it naturally) so I was reading her the storm warning issued for North Texas. While I was reading out loud, Megan interrupted me and scoffed, "Ha! I really don't think that is going to happen!"

It happened!  (The picture of our driveway appears harmless but that is actually a thick sheet of ice that didn't melt all week!  Every surface was covered with a sheet of ice, fun, haha!).

Here is a video clip of  a girl who went to the elementary school where I worked (she is now in high school) until a few years ago:

 

Tuesday was the first day of school cancellations.  Since we typically have school cancelled for one day (if even that!) due to weather here in TX, I asked the kids to make good use of their time on Tuesday morning.  They cleaned out backpacks, got caught up on homework and  instrument practicing, worked to get ahead in their studies and checked their teacher's blogs to see if anything new had been assigned while they were out of school.  They even cleaned their rooms. 

By the afternoon, they were 'done with that' and on to better things...(all involving me...which I love...). 

  Games.  This is one of our favorites - Ticket to Ride. 

 

Hot cocoa floats!  The kids love them.

  I usually just have my cocoa straight up but the kids love to float ice cream in theirs.  Jonathan and I experienced this for the very first time as a young married couple living in Vermont.  At their winter festivals, they sell huge cups of cocoa with a scoop of Ben and Jerry's.  (My favorite is New York Super Fudge Chunk)!  They also always offer cups of fresh snow with maple syrup!

Dipped some yummy strawberries.

We had lots of food before the weather event.  I had planned on bad weather and was prepared.  We also had some extra items on hand for a really fun activity that Emily had planned for her youth group. The activity was cancelled so we made the most of it.  :)

 

Fireplace time.

  If I was sitting down at all this week, it was by the fireplace.  While we were experiencing rolling blackouts, we played games by the fire.  I was especially thankful for our fireplace this week; we could keep warm, no matter what.  I was also very thankful for our gas cooktop...NO electricity required to cook a hot meal!

Megan is now hoping for snow (or ice) on her birthday, which is on Wednesday, the 9th.  She has been watching the weather and there is a chance that her wish could come true; so watch out North Texas, we could be hit again!

HOW TO STUDY FOR EXAMS - MEGAN STYLE

 

This is how Meg and her friends prepare for exams.

First, they get together and figure out a way for their parents to agree to an all-nighter.

Next, they find the willing parent to host the   L   O   N   G  study session...me.

Then, they pack their bags and move in.

That is when lots of giggles commence.

Finally, they do their hair.  Oh, it's a must!  Didn't you know?  It's true, 12 and 13 year old girls must have their hair properly coiffe before beginning to cram for exams!  Ha, ha!

 
 Brittany, Deepa, Meg and Devika.  Deepa and Devika are twins.
 
 

They rolled their hair with strips of brown paper bags. 

 

Meg's three friends have been taking a Skills for Living class at school and they were VERY worried about their final exam.  They had to know a lot of facts about cooking methods and the purposes of various utensils.  They asked me to go over everything with them that would be on their final exam; they said they hadn't yet learned any of it in class.  They also said they had to make pancakes from scratch for part of their final exam but had not been allowed to cook in class yet, so they did not know how to make pancakes.  Well, we fixed that!

  

  
 
 
I thought they might be able to earn some extra credit if they made Mickey Mouse pancakes for their teacher.  I think the one below is Devika's that we decided to call Dumbo instead.  Cute, huh?

 

You will be glad to know that they received 100's on their cooking finals!  Yippee!

The girls really did study well together - in all subject areas - and all got terrific grades on their finals.

What a fun (and tasty) way to prepare for exams.

SNOW FUN

is SO fun!

 

Smash-man on his machine! 

When the kids went outside to play in the snow, I went out with them hoping to catch a few photos of the fun before the snow disappeared.  It never stays long when it snows in TX, so we have to make the most of it right away.

I heard the shouts of excitement coming from around the corner and I knew...even before I heard the engine...or the sounds of crunching snow and ice...I knew.  I knew he would be coming around the corner in his favorite machine any second.  He did.  Mom's know.

 

Snow is such a beautiful and wondrous sight.

  Meg and I did have to run after Smash and ask him to not tear up our neighbors' yards or run over small children who were out building snowmen.  But other than that it was all fun and games, ha, ha!

Look at the seat of his pants.  He was soaked through and through and couldn't have been happier!

Snow in TX is always a surprise; I love surprises!

BEWITCHED

by her favorite present!

Megan has a fascination for all things vintage...or retro.

I think her love for some of these things comes from becoming completely bewitched by the old TV series, Bewitched.

Years ago I began purchasing the DVD's for Bewitched as the became available; because it was a favorite show of mine growing up.  I thought the kids would get a chuckle or two out of Uncle Arthur or Aunt Clara.  And boy did they ever!  They love all of the old stuff!

But Megaroo fell head-over-heels for the series Bewitched. 

And I believe a few of her wishes, including the ability to twitch her nose and make things happen, have come from watching this cute show.

Earlier in the year, well before Christmas time, she began telling me how much she would like a REAL rotary phone.  She didn't care if it worked, she just wanted to be able to dial on a rotary.  When I asked her what she would do with a rotary phone that didn't work, she told me she would just dial and pretend...saying, "It would just be cool!"

Color did not matter.

If it was able to call out or receive calls did not matter.

All that mattered to her was that the dial functioned.  She wanted to be able to put her finger in the rotary and dial away!

The clue in her stocking this year led her to Christmas bells that really ring. 

She got her wish...and more.  It rings (LOUDLY), it dials, it makes calls, it takes calls (well, she does).  She would like me to call her when I wake her in the morning now, ha, ha!

Give her a call (our home #), she'd love it! 

(If you do, she may bewitch you too!)

 

 

HAVING A BLAST!

 

As tradition has it in our home, the children (young and old) generally find rockets (and engines) in their stockings on Christmas morning.  Sometimes the rockets need to be assembled and painted, etc., which provides hours of artistic fun; other times assembly is all that is required.

I believe the favorite part of receiving rockets in our stockings is the actual blast-off outing.

This year, Karen and Tyler, Brent, Tracey, Fallon and Amber joined us for our annual blast.

 

 

 

Fallon's new nickname - "Cousin It."  As she made her way around the football field, we had to laugh...if you remember Cousin It, then you'll know just what I mean.

It was a little chilly that day, everyone bundled up as much as possible.

Oh, and did I mention that Karen has put her pen down and picked up firearms instead?  Just kidding, the coat is a loaner from her dad.Fingers on the trigger! (Ha!)

I believe that Karen must feel very serene most of the time; her eyes are closed in a lot of the photos I took of her.  Tyler's taking great care of her.  :) 

 

I love watching the kids run for the rockets!
 

 For some reason our launch pad was missing.  So Jonathan made a temporary pad out of aluminum foil.  With our first launch, the pad looked like Jiffy Pop!  We pieced it together and flipped it from side to side until there was nothing left! It did, however, make it through quite a few launchings. Couple of things to note (for next time):

Buy a new launch pad.

Buy another launch pad

and set up two launch sites. 

Since the kids are older, shooting the rockets off one right after the other would be a real blast!

MY {NEW} FAVORITE ORNAMENT

To me from Megaroo!

                                                                                

She put this year's date on the back.  How thoughtful of her to use a photo with ALL of us in it! 

 

She also made this key chain for me.  (The photo was taken on her baptism day).

 

 

OUR SWEET CHRISTMAS DAY

BEGAN AT 4 AM for me.

That is when I jumped (flying reindeer style) out of bed and into the kitchen to begin our traditional Christmas morning cinnamon rolls.

Though I am not typically what you would call a morning person...it takes me a while to warm up to the day ahead...I really love Christmas morning and waking before the rest of the family.

It gives me the opportunity to reflect on the year, quiet moments to think about all of the people we love, and it offers me plenty of time to get REALLY excited about the day ahead!

This year as I was rolling out the dough, I was looking at my red tree (truth be told it was a green tree decorated with red lights) and the ONE stocking left hanging on the fireplace - Nathan's.

Such bitter-sweet feelings came over me as I thought of our son in a distant land; serving and loving the people there.  He is learning of and becoming a better disciple of the One we are celebrating this day. That is such a comforting feeling for me as his mother.  This is such a unique time for him, I hope he is embracing each moment.  Before we know it, Christmas will come around once again and he will be home.  When that happens, Christmas day will be bitter-sweet for him as he misses Argentina and all that he loves there (and must leave behind), and as he celebrates once again at home with us.  I wrote a note for him and left it in his stocking.  It will be there for him next Christmas (when he is home!).

 

About 100 rolls later...the kids were up, actually, Meg was up first and going crazy trying to force her siblings out of bed.  Eventually (when they smelled the aroma of fresh cinnamon rolls) they were all in the kitchen.  They emptied the contents of their stockings and then helped me wrap, tag and ready the rolls for delivery.  They all said that delivering cinnamon rolls is their favorite part of our Christmas traditions.

We delivered.

Some folks were ready and waiting for us this year with hot chocolate waiting (in to-go cups!) and homemade salsa to bring home with us!  Yum.  At the home pictured above, we also got to hear the news that their number four child (to be born in June) will be a boy!  That makes two and two for them also, yay!

 

Smash said that he loves it when people ask what they got for Christmas and the kids tell them they haven't opened gifts yet.  He said they always tell them, "You'd better hurry home then!"  The kids all say that they love opening their gifts later in the day after they have delivered the cinnamon rolls.  This is the one part of our tradition that I thought they might dislike, but they love it!  That makes me so happy!

We did NOT get all delivered in the morning though.  I became very worried that Nathan may try to call the home phone while we were out.  So we went home and finished up deliveries after our AWESOME phone call with our missionary son.We were able to talk for an hour, never long enough but fabulous!  We opened the package he sent to us.  He had asked me to keep it a secret from the rest of the family when it arrived, and boy, was that ever hard!  But I did and they were so excited to get to open it while he was on the phone with us.

Everything in the package was so personal.  He had a special little gift for each of us.  He also included a very personal, handwritten letter to everyone and an outline for a special family night.  (If you look closely at the photo you will see the letters, notice the little bow he put on the paper, cute!).  We each had parts to say, and he had specified what we would sing together, who would pray, in what order we would do everything and then he left time for each of us to share how we felt at the end.  It was the most thoughtful thing; he is such a sweet person.  I am in awe that the Lord chose to send him to us and so very grateful.

I really loved the package.  Even the stamps were so very beautiful to me. 

Our Christmas day couldn't have been any sweeter.  I loved every minute of it!  We all did.
 

WISHING YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS

SERIOUSLY.

 Really.  Seriously.  We want to wish you a very, merry Christmas...

 

Smash touched Em's collar bone...yep, it landed her on the floor.  If you see her, give it a try, it works  E V E R Y  time.  :)

 

Alright-y then, back to business.

Our Christmas Eve:

We kept with tradition and had our nice (Italian) dinner on Christmas Eve.

Following dinner we read from Luke 2 (and acted out the Nativity story, of course!).  This year Jonathan veered from his typical role as the very important donkey and played the part of Joseph (Smash did not want to take on this role since Nathan usually plays him).  Emily was Mary again; Meg was the angel once again - she secured that role as soon as Thanksgiving was over!  Smash played the donkey and shepherds.

 

The donkey looked a little nervous at first, ha, ha.
 

The donkey had a little trouble channeling his inner shepherd.  He sure can get his sisters to crack up though.

Eventually we were able to get back to the reenactment...
which was fabulous! (As well as entertaining).  Thanks everybody!

We missed the folks who had hoped to join us and couldn't.  We missed our usual Joseph, Nathan, most of all! 

(If you want to see our last Christmas Eve with Nathan (Marilyn and Karen were here too) click here).

We did, however, have a wonderful evening - with really good food, a great feeling while remembering the birth of our Savior and lots of fun together!

Before bed, the kids opened their Christmas pj's and presents* from each other.  They are always so excited to give to each other.  I think they look forward to giving each other gifts more than anything!  We have a tradition of opening one gift on Christmas Eve (which is usually pj's) but these kids wear me down...how can we NOT let them open each others gifts when they are so excited to give?!

*Each year they draw names, to give secretly to a sibling.  I'm not sure exactly why we do this every year...they always give to all of their siblings any way.  But they love it and want to keep doing it, so we do! 

So, this year they opened gifts from their secret giver on Christmas Eve and then on Christmas day, they opened the gifts from each other. 

I love our crazy little bunch!

 

 

CHRISTMAS MUSIC

The sounds of Christmas have filled our home all through the season (and a little beyond!).  

 

I could not wait for the Christmas music to be played this year; there is so much of it that I love! (I will admit to getting it out a wee bit early).

We had several wonderful opportunities to enjoy beautiful Christmas music outside the home (and car) as well.

 Concerts:

This year the middle school band had the choir join them at their concert.  Some of their tunes were played separately and others together.  It was a really nice evening and both the band and the choir sounded great!

One thing I LOVE about the Christmas band concerts is the amount of percussion in Christmas music.  Since Smash is a percussionist, it makes it twice the fun!

Very poor photo of Emily next but that girl does not stop moving her head!  She was laughing and talking and moving quickly, etc., as soon as the concert was over. I don't have the type of flash needed for that venue.  And I could not see her through the other musicians during the concert, she is too little!  But the sound bite below more than makes up for the poor photo.

Be sure to listen to the French horns, they are lovely!  The sound clip is several sound bites from the songs they performed for us.  It is worth listening to, they really are quite good.  The recording was taken on my phone from the middle of a packed auditorium, so keep that in mind.

Download WHS Christmas Concert  (only a few minutes - snippets of some of their songs)

Meg's piano recital was held in our home.  It was super fun to host all of the students and their families for the night.

  Such concentration!

Here is a cute photo of Meg with her teacher:

 

We also went out caroling a few times; such a fun family activity!

Below are a few (not good) photos taken with my cell phone on one night of caroling with friends to an Assisted Living Center. In one of the photos (not easily seen) is an elderly lady who stood as we sang to her.  When we were leaving she thanked me and told me that no one had ever done that for her. I'm guessing she probably suffers from a little memory loss.  But she was so excited, it was kind of fun that she thought this was her first experience.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of our Christmas music this year!

 

SWEETENING UP

THE NEIGHBORS, teachers, and friends with lots of sugary goodness.

Lots of fudge, caramels, cookies, truffles and tiger butter were delivered just before Christmas.  Thanks (mostly) to Emily for driving all over making deliveries...and loving every minute of it!  Thanks to Meg and Smash for going on deliveries with her.  (Having teens that love to get out and go together is a good thing!).    I was really happy with all of the cute boxes I found for packaging the goodies.

 

 

GRATITUDE DAY 15

VISITS TO THE DENTIST.

The kids had their 6 month check-ups and they LOVE their dentist.

I'm thankful their dental experience has always been positive!  (I recognize that is not always the case for everyone).

 

We have a very special relationship with our current dentist.  We were some of her first patients (straight out of dental school), Emily worked with her and was mentored by this dentist during her independent study and mentorship program.  The kids were asked (years ago) to be photographed for her business brochure - wow, have they changed since then!

 

A few months ago, she mentioned how cold the children are if/when they come out of sedation.  She only has to fully sedate one or two kids per week but mentioned how hard it was to keep the sedation room warm enough for them.  I asked if she had a washer and dryer there, she does.  We decided then that we would bring her some fleece blankets.  Meg wanted to do this service for her and make the blankets.  We watched for the material to go on sale and then Emily and I helped Megan put them together (Smash supervised, ha, ha!).  Meg presented the blankets to Dr. CC today. 

The blankets were darling and both Meg and Dr. CC were very happy!

 

 

 

Oh, and no cavities, great check-ups all around.

GRATITUDE DAY 14

THE SABBATH DAY.

I am thankful for a day that is set apart from the other days of the week.  I'm grateful to have one day each week that is dedicated to the Lord.  What a great plan - from the beginning - to establish a day of rest and worship during the week.  (smile)  To be totally truthful, there are some Sunday's that are less restful and more stressful than others but I can always find something that lifts my spirit and offers renewal on the Lord's day. 

This Sunday was very sweet.  During our Sacrament meeting, the young women (ages 12-18) presented us with a program.  They all did a beautiful job.  Megan and Emily had speaking and singing parts. 

Before the girls began their program, our friend, Don, was asked to share some of his thoughts on Veterans Day.  He spoke of his experiences during the Korean War. I'm thankful he was well enough to be there and share those things with us.  Once again, I am thankful for our country and thankful to good men (and women), like Don, who have chosen to protect and defend our freedoms.

Back to the girls, I was overcome with emotion as Emily began singing in the beginning of the program.  She seemed so well put together, so grown up, I could see her as a college student in the very near future.  I could see that this would be her last time to participate in a group like this.  In fact, I began to wonder (while she was singing) if she might sing in her college congregation, or if and when she will address other students from the pulpit. Her voice seemed even sweeter and more angelic to me, probably because of all of those thoughts I was having.

I had to laugh at Meg yesterday before church began.  She came into the kitchen wearing a pair of my high heels.  A pair of 4 inch heels...a pair I denied were 4 inches high until I saw Meg standing in them!  I gave her the look.  Then I shook my head.  She knew what I meant by that but still asked the question.  I told her to find another pair, maybe a pair better suited for a 12 year old.  She found another (more appropriate) pair of heels (yes, still heels) that I had given to Em (she's grown out of them).  Once the girls were all standing together in front of the congregation, it became crystal clear why Meg was hoping to get out of the house in 4 inch heels.  In fact, I had to stifle a laugh.  Even with the extra inches, it wouldn't have made a big difference, she would have still been nearly a foot smaller than the girls she was standing beside.  But I certainly have to give her credit for trying.

 And finally, I am thankful for friends who invited us to dinner after church.  Grocery shopping just didn't happen this last week.  Early in the week I couldn't do it, by late Saturday night I didn't want to go out one more time, so I had decided we would be eating cereal or granola bars, maybe waffles if I had enough ingredients for them.  I did have some apples, it wouldn't have been too bad.  But our friends, not even knowing our cupboards were bare, invited us to dine with them.  All I had to offer when we came to their home was a plate of goodies and drinks.  Oh, and a jar of Nutella (which is always welcome, right?).  The dinner was delicious, the friendship, conversation and laughter was the best!  Indeed I am grateful for wonderful people in our lives.

 

GRATITUDE DAY 13

A PARADE.

FRESH, WARM LINENS.

TIME WITH MEG.

 AND I AM THANKFUL FOR SATURDAY.

 

The parade was fantastic.  We have been attending (and participating) in the Veterans Day parade in our town for many years now.  Meg and I went to see Emily march in the parade with the band - I guess we are official groupies!  Meg and I ran along side the band as they marched down Main Street yelling for Emily, all supportive of course, and trying desperately to cause Emily to crack a smile.  When the band is in full uniform and marching, it is all serious business.  We do think we were successful though.  She cracked, it was small and very brief but I saw the corners of her mouth turn up. 

I also think we may have surprised her (a lot!) when we were yelling for her in one location and then a couple of minutes later we were beside her and yelling for her again (down the road)! 

Watching the kids participate in the things they love is so enjoyable.  I'm thankful today that I have the opportunity to be present for my children.

 

Today I am NOT thankful that I cannot upload any photos yet.  We are working on a solution for all of that but I have difficulty being patient.  As of right now, I can only send cell phone photos to the blog, and let's face it, those photos are not nearly as nice.

 

On to being thankful for warm linens.  I love warm sheets/towels, etc. When they come right out of the dryer, it's the best!  I realize that's a little silly to be thankful for that but I am.  Just after my sheets came out of the dryer, I threw them over me and let my body warm up from head to toe.  Ahh.  I have been in some pain recently, when I try to get out of bed in the mornings it is difficult for me.  Jonathan tries hard to make life easier for me and I appreciate him for that.  He recently bought a Tempur-pedic mattress topper hoping that it would help me feel better.  We have had it a few nights now and although I still wake up in pain, I can tell during the night that it is taking pressure off of some of my most sore areas.  I hope it will begin to make a difference and I love him for wanting to help me.

 

As I said earlier, Meg went with me to the parade.  She ran with me along the parade route.  She also went with me on errands today.  I'm thankful she went with me.  She was happy to carry things for me, talk to me and go wherever we needed to go! I loved every minute of it.  We enjoy our time together.  We laugh and sing (with the music up way too loud at times!).

And, of course, it's Saturday!  I love, love, love Saturdays!  Even if it isn't possible to spend the day together, we get to watch the kids 'do their thing' or spend a portion of the day with them. I'll take a Saturday over a school day, any day!

GRATITUDE DAY 11

OUR VETERANS

(and our favorite Who!).

Veteran's day.  Today I am thankful for the men and women who have served our country faithfully.  I am thankful for their bravery and patriotism, their protection and service - here at home and abroad.  They have given in ways I could never understand but I am still grateful.Denali National Park, Alaska (Our family trip in 2008)

 

AND

Today I am thankful for our favorite WHO! 

Who #1 to be exact!

 

 Megaroo had her WHO debut! 

She was Who #1 in Seussical Jr., the Musical.  Of course she was our favorite Who! 

 

Meg played Who #1 and a hunter.  She sang in several group numbers and also sang a little solo.  Meg's solo part was fantastic!  Her friends performed well too.  It was a fun night for all; Who's and non-Who's alike.

 She was worried about getting her Who hair tucked into her hunter's hat when she had to become a hunter, but she did it and I don't think anyone could tell that there was Who hair under her hat.

I'm also thankful to her supporters in the audience!

Marilyn (my niece) came to watch Meg, as well as our friend, Myrna, and our friends the Tolbert's (which means I got to have little Tad sit with me!).  It was fun to watch Meg as she took the stage.  She came out singing, scanned the audience, and when her eyes landed on all of us - her people - a big smile spread across her face!  So cute! 

Meg has been eating, dreaming, living and sleeping Seussical for a couple of months now.  She was giddy leaving for school this morning; they were performing for the elementary school students during the first few periods of school.

I dropped her off at the school early this evening (to get into costume, etc.) she wasn't nervous at all, just excited.  I'm happy that these types of activities don't make her nervous. 

I asked her tonight if she liked performing on stage as much as she loved competing in gymnastics.  With a big smile on her face, she told me she really liked being on stage and will try out again for another play.  I'm thankful that she is finding new activities to enjoy!  Just a few months ago she didn't know what she would do without gymnastics in her life, and  now she is finding new loves.  That's something for which I am truly thankful.