Sixth Birthday = Sick Barfday

It's a rotten time to have a birthday. Prospective parents should really avoid each other in March/April, unless they want their prospective child to be tortured with a birthday that is constantly overshadowed by other festive busyness. The things you don't think about until it's too late....

Anyhow, Lauren was excited about her birthday, and thankfully, didn't begrudge the fact that I didn't do anything to plan a party for her until yesterday. Luckily, with just 24 hours notice, all five of her friends we called were able to come to a party today. So Lauren and I spent the afternoon yesterday preparing and planning her party. We decided on a cooking party. We bought supplies and put together chef's hats for each guest, and cool cooking-themed goodie bags, and were all ready to make personalized placemats and mini pizzas and decorate cupcakes and play party games.

The day after Christmas, we transformed our Christmas Tree into a Birthday Tree --an idea I read about in a magazine (the upside of time spent in waiting rooms at doctors' offices). It's hard to get a good picture of it, but trust me, it looks different than it did last week.

Lauren woke up hungry and excited on the big day. But as I made the breakfast she requested, she started complaining about her tummy. As I was baking the cupcakes and Lauren was trying to eat her breakfast and convince me that she felt just fine, it splattered all over the kitchen floor: vomit. So Lauren turned six and got sick, all in the same unfortunate morning.

We had to call the party guests and uninvite them, less than 24 hours after they had first been notified of the party, and only 3 hours before they were supposed to arrive.

Lauren, however, has been a sweetheart through it all. She just looks at it as her birthday lasting more than one day, since she knows we'll reschedule the party as soon as she's well. And hopefully, the sickness will stop with her...

Lauren spent her sixth birthday sipping diet soda and watching movies. I spent it scrubbing every germy surface in the house, and wishing I had knocked on wood the other day when I breathed a sigh of relief and thought, "Phew, we made it through the holidays without anyone getting sick!"

It's not just the cheap ones...

Expensive Christmas gifts are just as easily broken, almost as soon as they're opened.

For a couple of years, Emily (and some of her sisters, too) has been begging for a Nintendo DS. Finally, two days ago, Santa came through, and left a pink DS and two games under our tree.

After breakfast had been eaten and cleaned up, I decided I'd jump in and take my first turn with the new toys. The one I wanted to play was a brain game on the DS. But we couldn't find that game anywhere. (The disk is only about the size of a quarter.) We searched the house--seriously searched it, going through bags of trash and everything. It disappeared, and we have yet to find it.

Well, that doesn't much matter now, anyway. This morning, Hannah decided to give the DS system a bath in the sink, along with a few of her other toys. Bye bye, expensive gift.

I bet Santa's pretty upset.

Sugar and Spice

Baby Bidia is on her way. We opened the package tonight, and found this inside:

Do you know what Hannah immediately said?



"TOLD YA!"





The long story is this:



Doug, Katelyn and I went to my regular scheduled ultrasound appointment at my doctor's office last Thursday. Although the technician took a long time and tried several different angles, prodded my belly with the probe to try to encourage the baby to move, and even had me move from side to side, she couldn't get a clear enough view of the baby's heart to settle her mind that it was perfectly ok. So she told us that the doctors would probably recommend a follow-up ultrasound sometime in the next few weeks, just to make sure. As we were waiting for my appointment with the midwife, one of the doctors pulled us into her office and explained that there was some concern about possibly some fluid around the baby's heart, so they would like to send us to Maternal-Fetal Medicine and have them do a thorough ultrasound again. We took the doctor and ultrasound technician at their word, which was that we shouldn't worry about it, they were just being cautious. But still, you can't help but wonder and worry a little bit...



Meanwhile, I had this package with some important information sitting under the Christmas tree, which I was very anxious to open. To tell the truth, Doug and I both thought that we saw "girl parts" during Thursday's ultrasound, but the technician kept us wondering if we really saw what we thought we saw. She had a good poker face. As we left that appointment, however, I was really unsettled about it all. Boy or girl, I wanted to really see with my own eyes. So I decided that one of the good things about having to return for another ultrasound (despite the worrisome reasons for it) was that I could get another good look at the baby's gender. Just so I would have no doubts about it.

On Friday, the MFM office called and scheduled me to come in this morning--Christmas Eve. I was really glad that they could get us in so quickly, but then that sort of disrupted our plan of not finding out until Christmas. I convinced Doug that he and I could find out at the Christmas Eve ultrasound, and still keep everyone else guessing until Christmas Day.

Well, even though the baby was very wiggly and a little bit uncooperative, it wasn't too long before I could see again that it looked very much like a girl, and the technician confirmed my guess. She gave us a 5% chance of error, that it may be a boy, but tonight, when the girls all opened one gift from under the tree, I opened the anticipated package and saw that we had a second opinion to confirm--It's A Girl!


And the best news: The baby looks perfectly healthy--heart and all. Our Christmas miracle.

Sneak Peek

After enjoying the ultrasound screen this morning for about an hour, here's what I do know:

This baby is very cute! And photogenic. He or she has great leg muscles just like Daddy.

This baby is also very punctual. Bone measurements put this baby EXACTLY, to the day, at my expected due date. So I see we have a little perfectionist here.

And here's what I still do not know:

Boy or Girl???

I must admit I was looking for a clue throughout the entire session. So was Doug. (Kate was with us, too, but I don't think she was looking for anything.) And I thought I would recognize girl parts for sure, and probably recognize boy parts...but....it was never obvious to me. The technician says she knows for certain what the gender is, but she has been doing these things for 20 years, and I've only been seeing them on and off for the last 11. So, I am extremely anxious to open this present on Christmas morning!

Winter Break

It has begun. No more school until 2008. The days begin with the girls playing in their rooms, usually with Playmobil. They take the pieces out of the bin, line them all up, and take turns choosing their "team". Usually the hottest picks are horses and girls. But this morning, there was a surprising demand for one particular piece of plastic:

Emily: I'll trade you my dog for your girl.

Hannah: How about my girl for...the poop.

Lauren: I know, how about the poop and the bucket.

Can you find the poop?

To think what they'd be missing if they were sitting in a classroom right now!!





For something more appetizing, here's what we did last night:

Cheerio Christmas Trees

(a Davies Family Tradition)

3 Tbsp. butter

32 large or 3 cups mini marshmallows

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. green food coloring

4 cups Cheerios

small gumdrops for decoration

In large saucepan, melt butter and marshmallows over low heat, stirring constantly. When smooth, remove from heat and add vanilla and food coloring. Stir in cereal. Scoop onto waxed paper. With buttered hands, shape into trees (or a wreath, like Emily; or a snowman, like Hannah). Decorate with sliced gumdrops.

One batch made what you see in the picture above, so you may want to double it if you have a large family!

Seasonal Funnies

We've been listening to nothing but Christmas music. In the car, I have a cd that's mostly piano, but completely instrumental. Yesterday a slow, mellow rendition of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" was playing, featuring a deep cello. Hannah listened quietly for a minute, and then she said, with a pouty lip, "Sad song!"
I think it's funny that even to an untrained child, minor chords = sad music.


Hannah's new favorite Christmas song is "Angels We Have Heard on High". She sings the chorus, "Glooo-oooo--oooo--ooooo--ria, In the jungle, the lion sleeps tonight."

She sings another popular song in her own way, too: "We wish you could marry Christmas, We wish you could marry Christmas..."

Lauren told me today that what she wants for Christmas is a pair of those shoes that have wheels in the bottom. I told her, "I don't think they make those in your size." She thought for a second, and came back with, "Well, Santa does."

My Crazy Pregnant Mind

Yesterday was a highly anticipated day for me. It was Gerberta's scheduled ultrasound. I couldn't wait to find out what she was having. (I was already assuming it was a healthy baby, so I was mostly thinking about the gender.) Gerb was predicting that whatever she's having, I'm having the same. So we would either both continue our preset patterns (hers is boy-girl-girl, boy-girl-girl, and you know what mine is!) by having girls, or we would both break our patterns with a boy this time.

I didn't get a chance to talk to Gerb before I went to an Enrichment Meeting/Christmas party last night. And of course, everyone I talked to was asking The Question. It all just added to the anticipation of talking to Gerberta. As soon as the closing prayer was said, I was out the door, in my car, calling Gerberta to hear the news. And it was an exciting conversation. However, as soon as I hung up with Gerberta, I experienced an unexpected sensation: a deep void of anticipation. Now that I knew, it was still exciting, but, I knew.

So, I started having these crazy thoughts....maybe I don't want to experience that "void" again next week. Maybe I want to continue to let the anticipation build and build, and keep everyone (including myself) curious and anxious to find out whether we're going to have a boy or a girl.

Am I nuts??? Am I even myself?!

A True Compliment

This morning, Hannah crawled into bed with me for the last few minutes of sleepy time, as she does almost every morning. I enjoy our morning cuddle time. Sometimes Lauren joins us, but today it was just me and Hannah. Most mornings, I have to pry my eyes open with a great surge of will power, and drag myself out of bed. But this morning I was awake before Hannah joined me. She lay down next to me with her head on my arm, and we looked at each other and smiled. She took a deep breath, and then said, "You smell good. You smell like a Mom." I so appreciate those sweet little moments!
I don't have the most keen sense of smell, but there are certain aromas that are sentimental for me. Like the smell of my Grandma. A couple of months after my Grandma Davies passed away, I went to the temple, and I encountered a lady there who smelled exactly like my grandma used to. This lady, who was a stranger to me, probably wondered why I was teary-eyed and and, at the same time, grinning from ear to ear while I was talking to her briefly. But it was just that familiar smell that made me feel nostalgic in a really good way. I'm so glad to know that my aroma (whatever it may be) has that same sort of effect on Hannah.

First Snow

Meet Bob.

Poor old Bob didn't live long. He spent one Saturday afternoon in the falling snow, watching Doug and the girls have a snowball fight.



But by the next morning, Bob had met his demise. The girls believe it was the work of our pesky neighbors, the Raccoons. Perhaps they were after his carrot nose?



But by Sunday evening, Mother Nature finished him off, for good. It has been pouring rain for almost 24 hours now, and I'm wishing that instead of building Bob, we had built an ark. It might come in handy soon.

Boy or Girl?

That's the big question right now. At least one of my Beehives asks me that question every single Sunday and Wednesday: "Do you know yet if it's a boy or a girl?" It's beginning to remind me of that road trip question, "Are we there yet?", except that this question does not annoy me. In fact, I'm happy to talk about it and get people's guesses and opinions. If you were here to have the conversation with me, here's how it would go...

You: Are you hoping for a boy this time?
Me: Well, it is true that in our deliberations on the subject of whether or not to have another child, I may have been overheard to say, "If I knew it would be a boy, I would go ahead and do it." However, we made the decision to have this baby without any revealed knowledge of its gender. We knew full well that it could very well be a girl, and still, we decided to go ahead with baby #5. Not because we're trying for a boy, but because we are excited to add another member to our family. I will be thrilled if it's a boy (not to mention terrified, curious, ready to shop, as well as unsure about how we'll all fit into the bedrooms we have in this house, in the long run). I will also be ecstatic if it's another girl. I ADORE my daughters. My sis-in-law, Kaelyn, tells me that I wished so hard for a girl the first time around, that's all I get now. If that's the case, then lucky me. I am so glad to have girls!! So, coming back to the question, my bottom line answer is, I'm not necessarily hoping for a boy, but I am definitely anxious to find out! It will be a fun announcement either way. Remember that Doug has eight brothers, and no sisters, so another girl would not surprise me, and would be a fun way for our family to be recognized. But then, in my family, there are four girls, and one boy. Hmmmm...

You: When will you find out?
Me: My ultrasound is scheduled for December 20th. (That is less than 3 weeks from now, people!) When the ultrasound technician asks me if we'd like to know the gender, I'll say "yes and no". I've never had the patience to outweigh my curiosity at the time of the ultrasound. Nor have I had the desire. I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything when the baby is born and the doctor says "It's a ____!" There are plenty of other surprises that will be revealed on the birth day, such as "What color hair?", "Who does she look like?", and "Does she have Doug's toes?" Back to my point....We don't want to wait until Spring to find out the gender of this baby, but we do want to wait until Christmas. Even waiting those 5 days will be hard for me. (Maybe 4 days...we can open a present on Christmas Eve, right?) But I think it will be fun to have the gender sealed in a gift box and opened as a family on Christmas this year. So, if you're as anxious as I am for this news, you can call us on Christmas day, or check my blog. I promise I'll post it here.

Now, if "You" were my midwife, "You" would say, at my last appointment, "Well, the chances aren't great that you'll have a boy, but if you do, how do you feel about having him circumcised? (Around here, the ObGyn does that procedure, not the pediatrician. Is that odd?)

If "You" were my kids' pediatrician, you would say to me, "Wow, Doug might really be outnumbered, huh?"

If "You" were my mother, you would tell me that 12 ladies in your ward are pregnant. 10 have already had ultrasounds, and 9 of those 10 are having girls.

And if "You" were Hannah, you would have had this conversation with me, several times, exactly the same way, during the last several weeks:

Me: What should we call the baby if it's a girl?
H: Bidia.
Me. Oh, wow. What if it's a boy?
H: It's a girl.
Me: But what if it's a boy?
H: Then I'll call it a girl.

Doug tried to tickle-torture her into saying that it's a boy, and his name (for now) is Spike. (Lauren suggested that one, and we all use it now.) That worked on Hannah, but only for half a day. She is convinced it's a girl.

So, what do YOU think? Cast your predictions! I'd love to hear them.

Birthday Girl

Guess why I'm so excited!

I just turned 3!!!

I like to answer the phone, draw on anything and everything, put on make-up and dress-ups, go to the store with Mommy, and play with my big sisters. I do not like to wear pants--only pretty dresses. My Aunt Jennifer just gave me a haircut, and even though Daddy likes to joke about it, you can see that it is very cute...as long as Mommy works with it a little bit! Oh yeah, and as long as I leave my barrettes in (which isn't usually very long).

I may not be the baby of the family for much longer, but at least I am the boss. :)

Turkey

What is it about turkey that's supposed to make you sleepy? I'm not even going to try to type that word, but you know what I'm talking about, right? Well, I didn't eat an exhorbitant amount of turkey on Thanksgiving, but I have been sleeping a lot during the last 36 hours! Maybe it has more to do with all the excitement of the week, and less to do with food.

I had a strange moment this week, when I realized that I'm actually an adult--at least in some respects. I hosted Thanksgiving dinner at my house, and for the first time ever, I had to set up a kids' table! We had eight adults and eight children. It was fantastic! I loved it! Crazy, sometimes, but absolutely wonderful!

My parents and sister Sarah arrived last Sunday night, and the excitement began. We played games, ate food, shopped, laughed, watched movies, went for walks...It is always so much fun to have Grandpa and Grandma and aunts with us. I was also very grateful to have my dad here for a major glitch in the car repair. Short story: after 5 days at the dealership, my van was returned to my posession, still broken. Brake lights and turn signals weren't working. They said it was the fault of whoever installed the tow hitch (which was done earlier this year, and hasn't caused any problems up to this point). Dad worked on it and encouraged us to take it to another dealership nearby the next morning, and guess what--they replaced a blown fuse and had it working in 30 minutes.

My sister Jill and her husband and kids arrived on Wednesday, as well. They had been cruising around the Northwest in a rented motor home. Having them here added more excitement to our Thanksgiving celebration. We got babysitters for the kids and planned an adult temple trip and dinner outing on Wednesday evening. Just as we were going out the door on our way to the temple, we called and found out that the temple was closed for the day. (My plans, and my patience, were being tested this week!) So we ended up just going downtown and having a more leisurely dinner, which was really nice.

Turkey day started out with a 5K. (See my "Appetizer" post.) That was so much fun to plan and carry off! Dad's pies and Mom's rolls made our dinner perfect. We ate early in the day, and spent the afternoon and evening playing games, eating snacks, and even having a Karaoke contest. That provided some good laughs!

Jill's family left that night, making their way slowly back home. The rest of us got a few hours of sleep, and then it was time for Mom, Dad, and Sarah to head to the airport and fly home, too. Getting up to see them off gave me an extra incentive to go to the early bird sales at a few stores. It was fun to have Jen come with me this year. But I waited in longer lines than ever, and didn't really go with any big ticket items on my list, so I was questioning my sanity at about 6:15 am. Do you know what I brought home on Black Friday this year? Mostly, it was maternity clothes! Silly, right? Oh well. It's just part of my tradition. Every year I tell myself I'm not going to participate in that craziness next year, but every new year, I head out shopping in the dark, cold, early morning hours again.

So, maybe waking up at 3:45 am had something to do with how tired I was yesterday. But I believe it was the result of my pure satisfaction with a very exciting, very sweet Thanksgiving week, surrounded by my family.

Appetizer

For a little taste of how much fun we've been having this week, read this. That should tide you over (you=all of my loyal readers!! ;) until I can manage to give you the "full meal deal". But for now, I'm off to nibble on some left-overs...

The Cars We Love

When Doug and I were dating, we walked, borrowed bikes, bummed rides, and used public transportation to get wherever we needed to go. (That's why most of our Friday night dates consisted of renting a movie and buying bagel sandwiches at Mama's Cafe, and spending the evening on the velvety gold couch of Doug's pink house apartment.) So we appreciate the cars we have owned since then.



By the time we got married, Doug had inherited a VW Rabbit from his brother and sister-in-law, and my parents had handed down to me the family station wagon. You can imagine the comments people made when we returned from our honeymoon, moved into on-campus married student housing (aka. "The Rabbit Hutches"), and drove a station wagon! Since we both lived, worked, and studied on campus, and we didn't want to pay to insure and maintain both cars, we sold the Rabbit. (Well, ok, we practically gave it away. We're much better at buying than selling cars!)



A few years later, the station wagon was starting to show signs of old age, and maybe a little abuse. So we decided it was time to buy something newer. After searching for a while, we found a car we fell in love with:


Our '95 Ford Contour. It was beautiful. Only two years old, low miles, snazzy leather interior, tinted windows (it wasn't until a few years later that my cousin made fun of me for their purplish tint...I hadn't really noticed), and a sporty 5-speed manual transmission! Woohoo! We were going to trade in our station wagon, but when my dad heard what the dealership was going to offer us for it (peanuts, you might say), he decided he wanted to buy it back from us instead. (Uh, yeah...he bought the car from us that he had given freely a few years prior. I promise, it was his idea, not mine! But that's beside the point.)



We loved driving our cool new car. I must say, it was probably a source of unrighteous pride for me. I remember taking my brother for a spin one night soon after we got the Contour. He was so jealous that I had a stick shift, and he didn't. But he made fun of my driving, because I was still getting used to the clutch. Then we pulled over, and I let him drive. Guess who was laughing then!



I also laughed, a few months later, at the Jiffy Lube technician who finished the oil change, tried to pull it out to the parking lot, and got stuck in the middle of a busy road because he couldn't figure out how to get it into reverse. (There is a little trick.)



We let a few of Doug's brothers use it for hot dates during their college years, and I'm told that there were a few historic kisses that took place in our beloved Contour. (I won't name names...) I can't blame them--it was a very swank spot.



Within a few years, it was time to add a second family vehicle, and thus began my life as a mini-van mom. The Contour officially became "Doug's car", but I still loved driving it whenever I got the chance.



Then we moved to Washington, and for the first time, our precious Contour started to give us trouble. In fact, neither one of our vehicles enjoyed this place very much, I guess. The minivan bit the dust back in 2006, and I got my second minivan, but the Contour kept going. She was getting old, and worn down, but she was still trusty. She would go through every little repair like a champ. And even though her trunk got leaky and moldy, and she lost a seatbelt, and she suffered a few exterior scratches, and her driver's seat electronic adjustment buttons started to stick, and she was testy about letting you open her driver side door....She was still a decent drive, if you could look past all that...



...Until recently, that is. Our poor little Contour has lived a good life. She has given so much. But now, she's got a terminal illness, and it's time to let her rest. Farewell, fine friend. We'll miss you. (Well, at least I will. Don't listen to Doug. And don't read the rest of this post...)



So on Wednesday, we brought home Doug's new car. There are a few similarities to our car-buying experience of one decade ago. Doug's new car is two years old. It's got low miles. It's got tinted windows (but they are not purple.) But there's one big difference this decade. We are going Japanese. When we told our mechanic (whom we adore and trust) that we'd get a new car instead of fixing the Contour, he recommended a Toyota, or a Honda. Our new van is a Toyota, and it's been great. And now Doug's driving a Honda.

We were feeling pretty happy about our wheels...for about 24 hours.

Last night, Doug took the van to the Cannery to bring home a large load of food storage. On his way home, he called me. There was something wrong with our van. The van that is a TOYOTA, and less than 2 years old, and just had an oil change 2 days ago, and has run perfectly up until that minute. It suddenly decided it didn't want to leave the Cannery parking lot.

Am I cursed? We now own 3 cars, and only one of them is driveable. What the hey?

We managed to get the van to the dealership. Whatever the problem is, it is certainly under warranty. But they're not sure they can even look at it today. They're booking a week out, they say. At the TOYOTA service department, mind you. And remember, our Ford Contour never had any issues until it was about 9 years old. Something is wrong with this scenario, I think.

Tribute

Ok, so it's not that I don't have anything to blog about lately...I just haven't taken the time to do it. So now I'm "backblogged"! I'll see what I can do to catch up with myself.

I attended the Veteran's Day assembly at the elementary school last Friday. Emily really wanted me to be there, because she and Katelyn were singing with the school choir, and also, because Emily's class had learned The Pledge of Allegiance in Sign Language. So, Hannah and I went. And a mom of one of Katelyn's classmates was pretty rude to me about sitting in her "saved" row of seats (which wasn't even true--the people next to her had slid down a seat to make room for me), and that almost brought me to tears (I'm hormonal!) but I maintained my composure.

However, I did let a few tears slip later in the program. They had encouraged any student who knew a veteran to bring that person to the assembly so the school could honor them. There were probably a dozen or so who came. Mostly parents and grandparents of students at the school. My favorite was a gentleman who was elderly, who had dressed up in his long army winter dress coat, and had a medal around his neck, and a scrapbook under his arm. I'm guessing he served in WWII. It made me cry because it looked like he was ready to share some stories, and I would have loved to hear what he had to say, but during the assembly, he only got to be introduced by name and which branch of the military he had served in, and then sit back down. For me, that introduction stirred up feelings of respect and gratitude for this great country, and for generations of people who were more grateful and respectful on an every-day basis than most of us are today, even on a holiday designed to help us be grateful and show respect. (Did that sentence make sense?)

The principal of the school impressed me with his reverence for the holiday and his gentle ways of explaining to the students what this holiday is all about, and what they could do to celebrate and honor this day. I realized that I, myself, have never really thought about doing anything to celebrate this holiday before. And I decided that I would take the principal's challenge this weekend, and honor the veterans I know.


First of all, Thank You, Grandpa, for serving as a pilot in World War II. Thank you for being an example of humility and bravery, and for sharing your stories with us.

Secondly, Thank You, Doug's Dad, for serving during the Vietnam War. Thank you for teaching your sons to be disciplined and hard-working.

Thank you, Doug's Mom, for taking care of two little boys and giving birth to a third (Doug!) while your husband was away on military duty. That's just one of the reasons we love and admire you, and in honor of your 60th Birthday, here are 59 more:

1. You joined the church and changed the course of your life as a young teenager.

2. You married Gary and turned us all into Larsons!

3. You left your sunny California home and followed your husband to places like Mississippi and Indiana. (I feel your pain! ;)

4. You gave life to NINE BOYS.

5. You even welcomed your sons and in-laws into the delivery room once! Brave!

6. You learned to not sweat the small stuff that comes along with NINE BOYS.

7. You spent 20 years of your life changing diapers and/or potty training.

8. You lived frugally, and met their needs.

9. You taught your sons to work.

10. You taught your sons to serve the Lord.

11. You kept the peace in the home.

12. You kept a clean home.

13. You sent off NINE faithful missionary sons.

14. You wrote to them regularly.

15. You have never stopped worrying about your sons.

16. You talk honestly about your concerns.

17. You welcomed daughters-in-law to your home, even if you didn't feel ready!

18. You love babies and children.

19. You love being a grandma.

20. You helped make it possible for me to graduate from college after Katelyn was born, driving to Provo to pick her up and babysit her one day a week.

21. We had good talks about what I was studying when I would come pick up Katelyn at the end of the day.

22. You are willing to sacrifice your own comfort, possessions, and desires for your family.

23. You made your way back to our beloved California, and created the best family resort: CasaLarson!

24. You keep in touch with your family.

25. You took care of your mother until her passing.

26. You don't complain.

27. You play imaginative games with your grandkids.

28. You send postcards and notes to them.

29. Sometimes you even include a dollar, for a trip to the dollar store.

30. You pamper us!

31.You always have my favorite ice cream in the freezer when we come for a visit.

32. A trip to your house is a true vacation. You work hard while everyone around you relaxes.

33. You join in the fun.

34. You get crazy at family parties!

35. You make us laugh, and you laugh with us.

36. You celebrate our successes.

37. You forgive us for stupid mistakes.

38. You have pets so we don't have to.

39. You buy chicks for our fun.

40. You let us collect the eggs.

41. You come to Disneyland and go on rides, no matter how dizzying they might be.

42. You are pretty!

43. You are patient.

44. You are devoted.

45. You are tender and gentle.

46. You make us all feel cute/handsome/beautiful...as the case may be.

47. You love the beach.

48. But you didn't sell CasaLarson and move there. :)

49. You are a good wife.

50. You do your family history work.

51. You keep us all connected.

52. You like to share recipes.

53. Your mind is always busy.

54. You handle trials and obstacles gracefully.

55. You treasure your family above all else.

56. You treat everyone kindly.

57. You work with kids who have challenges and struggles.

58. You supported your sons through 7 Bachelor Degrees, 3 Master's Degrees, 2 J.D.'s and 1 M.D....and that's not the end!

59. You've celebrated 60 birthdays, and there is still so much in store. We can't wait to see what's yet to come!

*Sorry that tribute is a week late. I've been thinking about doing it for longer than a week. Does the thought count?*

And finally, a tribute to Emily.

Emily just finished her soccer season. She played with a great team and had a good coach who helped her develop her soccer skills over the last few months. I think it's amazing that not one of Emily's games got rained out. In fact, I don't think we experienced anything more than a drizzle, and that was only once or twice. It was cold, don't get me wrong. But I think it's quite lucky to be dry around here.

Emily was a pretty timid player in the beginning, but by the end of the season, she was awesome! She scored a goal in her last game on Saturday (her second goal of the season), which was so satisfying!

Because the team celebration was held at a pizza parlor on Sunday evening, Emily didn't get to attend. So we're making a soccer ball cake and having our own family celebration tonight. I'm so proud of her!

Since this is the season of thanks, I'll have more tributes coming soon! Coming up next: A Tribute to the Contour...

Tagged

I was sort of tagged by Sarah, and since I can't come up with anything better to blog about, here it is...
And if you are also experiencing blogfreeze...consider yourself tagged.

Best thing you cooked last week:
I made a good lasagna last night. I can't remember much past yesterday!

If money and time were no object, where would you go and with whom?
I would spend the entire winter (around here, that means I won't be back until July) on a warm beach with my family.

When was the last time you cried?
Well, I had a good cry on Saturday, and I also had a brief cry on Sunday, but remember: I'm pregnant!

5 things you were doing this month 10 years ago:
1. Driving my cool new car (95 Ford Contour with purplish tinted windows, which Doug still drives), and getting good at shifting gears
2. Finishing my last couple of classes at night at BYU. (ASL 101 and...something else?)
3. Spending my days with 1-year-old Katelyn, reading lots of board books, and sewing dresses for her
4. Daydreaming about the holidays, and whether we should have another baby yet
5. Writing our Christmas newsletter


5 things on your to do list today:
1. Clean the bathrooms
2. Buy milk
3. Clean out the freezer
4. Take a walk
5. Think of something more exciting to add to my list

6 favorite snacks:
1. Cold cereal
2. Nuts
3. Veggies & dip
4. Apples & cheese
5. Halloween candy (sshhhh!)

5 bad habits:
1. Eating Halloween candy
2. Buying things I don't really need, because it's a "bargain"
3. Collecting baby boy clothes, just in case
4. Checking Gerb's blog multiple times a day, knowing that she's tracking me every time I do
5. Sleeping in

5 favorite foods:
1. Anything Mexican
2. Pasta
3. Grandma's cookies
4. Mom's rolls
5. Cold cereal

5 places I've been:
1. In the states: Scottsbluff, Nebraska (may not be exotic, but it is unique!), but nowhere in the south (except Disney World)
2. Spanish-speaking: Puerto Rico, but not Mexico
3.Europe: Germany/Switzerland/Austria, but not France
4. Hawaii: Oahu and Kauai, but not Maui
5. Church History sites: Martin's Cove area, Wyoming; Palmyra, New York; Kirtland, Ohio; All over Utah--but not Nauvoo, Illinois.

6 favorite memories (or more!):
1. Kindergarten: Mr. Bagan's beard; Sneak attacks from Astro; Bringing a candle shaped like an ice cream sundae for Show & Tell; Erika's ice-packed green popsicle snack in her lunchbox
2. Riding in Dad's half-remodeled Model A in the St. Patrick's Day parade, and getting drenched in the pouring rain!
3. Youth activities in the San Ramon II Ward. Singing together. Greater Than Us All. Learning to water ski at Camp Ritchie.
4. Doug: first date, wedding day, Lake Powell together without kids...
5. Planning Doug's big 30th birthday surprise
6. Katelyn, Emily, Lauren, Hannah (that makes millions of memories right there)
7. Visiting CasaLarson: Games with Dad & The Sisters-in-Law; Spending all day swimming; A Happy Birthday Serenade by the Larson Boys; The Grapefruit Gauntlet
8. Creating Nativities: painting figures with Jill in Pennsylvania; molding clay figures with Mom and Kaelyn the day after Thanksgiving; cross-stitching mini pillows for Mom in PR; painting plastic figures with my husband and kids one Christmas Eve.
9. Our first real family vacation in Moab--holed away in a little trailer in the mountains for 3 days, riding 4-wheelers, playing games, visiting Arches, listening to General Conference on the car radio

Lots of Fun on Halloween

One of the girls asked me the other day, "Why do we celebrate Halloween if it's about evil spirits and stuff?"

My answer was a question: "Do we celebrate evil spirits?"

Of course not.

We celebrate candy! :)

We don't really "celebrate" anything, except for the fun traditions of carving pumpkins, eating goodies, and dressing up. We celebrate good times with family that go way back. My Grandpa James started it, I guess. Maybe enjoying Halloween goes hand in hand with enjoying a good prank.

This is my grandpa with Katelyn, on Halloween several years ago.

Notice Doug's costume above...the family traditions continue!

My mom sewed the best, most beautiful, and elaborate Halloween costumes for us when I was growing up--until we turned 12, and then we were cut off from homemade costumes and Trick-or-Treating. (What a great mom! She went the extra mile to make things special for us, but she knew when enough was enough!) Some of my favorites: a purple Maid Marian costume in 2nd grade; a lacey bridal gown, complete with veil and bouquet of blue flowers; and--my most favorite of all-- a gorgeous, satiny Miss America evening gown, complete with a real hoop skirt.

I tried to follow in her footsteps, and create beautiful and unique Halloween costumes for my own little girls. I hit my peak with this little number

and believe me, we have gotten many years of use out of it! I've made sure of that--it was a royal pain to make!

So after that, I succumbed to the racks of treasures at second-hand stores and after-Halloween clearance sales. But even if I don't sew the costumes myself, we take great excitement in choosing our costumes each year. Come August, it's time to bring down the chest of costumes from its storage spot, and start hunting for any new items we might need to add to it.

For example, I found these dresses at D.I. one August, and was inspired with that year's costume idea.

A little accessorizing and....Adorable, right?

My daughters take after their mother, and love to dress up in something flowing and beautiful....most of the time. This year, Hannah chose to be a witch. But next year, she'll be wearing the gold dress I made. It's ok, I have faith that she'll come around. In fact, I recall wearing a witch costume in Kindergarten. My mom even found some black tacky stuff to put on some of my little teeth. (Like I said, the extra mile!)

And of course, a big part of the anticipation of dressing up is adding a touch of make-up. This year, as an added bonus, we have Aunt Jennifer in the house, who can create a princess hairdo extraordinaire.

She can even help a spooky witch look glamorous:

And there's nothing evil about that.

The Real Fairy Tale Princess

Once upon a time, two young and silly parents were blessed with an incredible, beautiful baby girl. (Well, actually, at first sight, this newborn baby was sort of gray and puffy, but within a few days, she transformed into a beauty!)

This baby grew quickly into a little child, and she was loved by all who knew her. She was brilliant and clever, cute and sweet, and just plain good.

Then one day, this magical little girl turned 11 years old. Her parents could not believe it, because at the age of 11, the girl was beginning to look like a grown-up kid.

She wore grown-up clothes

she ate grown-up foods

and she rode a brand new grown-up bike.

But the parents still considered her their baby, and they still loved her like they did when she was a squishy little baby, but even better, because they knew so much more about her, and they liked what they knew. They knew that they had indeed been blessed.

It wasn't the last one, after all....

Yesterday was a beautiful day! Sunny all day, blue skies with no clouds, and temps in the 70s. Can you believe it? In October! What a perfectly pleasant surprise.

Guess what the sunshine inspired me to do: Wash my windows. Wow, with the sunlight shining through, I could see how dirty they really were. You would think with all the rain, they would naturally stay clean, but no... So I dressed in short sleeves and spent the afternoon washing my windows. Doug helped me set up the ladder. (He worked from home yesterday.) The hardest windows to clean were the front, 2nd story bedroom windows. I had to climb on the roof to get to them. And I almost fell to my death once. And after taking that kind of risk, I'm not completely satisfied with those two windows. But at that point, I decided I'd rather have my windows less than perfect, and still have an unbroken body. :)

Have I ever mentioned how much I love the sun!?

Pesky Neighbors and Incentives

Question: What happened to our back fence?

Here's a hint: There are four culprits. They are all young, mischievous, have lots of hair, and some people consider them to be cute. (No, they are not our daughters!)

There really were four of them. This was last Sunday afternoon. We used to believe that racoons are nocturnal creatures, but around here, they're 24-hour party animals. Maybe it's because of the constant gray skies. Sometimes even I lose my sense of time in this place.





Now on to part two of this post.

Question: What will motivate Lauren to learn to ride a bike?

Answer: A new bike. It's not really "new", but it was new to her. It was a hand-me-down from our friends, from their youngest son, who has outgrown it. I love it when incentives come free! I don't think Lauren knows it's a boy's bike, but I don't think she would care. She was so excited to get a new bike. And it didn't come with training wheels. So Lauren decided it was time to learn to ride. Doug pushed her for about 3 steps and then she was off. He says, "She was ripe." Well, she is almost six years old.




She was so proud of herself. Of course, starting and stopping are the tricky parts, but she can pedal like a champ. And she is anxious to practice some more tomorrow. It will probably be raining, but does that matter? Nope.

2 in a Row

I'm one of those people who get sick on spinny rides. I always have. As a little girl, I would spin anyway. In the neighbor's spinning chair, on the merry-go-rounds at the park...I would spin until I got too sick to keep going. But it didn't take very many years for me to grow out of that sadistic tendency. I learned that I don't like feeling sick to my stomach. It's similar to feeling carsick, which I also experienced more as a young kid than I do as an adult--probably because now I'm always sitting in the front.

I don't know if this is how other mothers would describe "morning sickness", but it's the best way I can describe the way I've felt, basically 2 days out of 3 during the last couple of months. I'm grateful that it's been mild, but still, it's annoying.

But guess what--I've been feeling pretty good for 2 of the last 3 days. I'm crossing my fingers, hoping that this means I'm crossing a threshold. Now, if I could just talk my bladder into not waking me until morning...

Anger Management

Our home teacher came for a visit today. And it was probably my most embarassing moment in a very long time.

Katelyn sat pretty still, and even made a couple of sensible comments.

Emily was playing with a marble, as loudly as possible. She was rolling it along the coffee table, rolling it around in a decorative bowl, sucking on it, and trying to keep it away from all of her sisters.

Hannah kept calling our home teacher "President Hinckley". (He is pretty bald, but he's not very old!) She brought him books that she wanted him to read to her, climbed on his lap, and gave him hugs, when she wasn't running, dancing, or climbing around the house.

Lauren--where does this kid come from?? She was just plain goofy! She was stacking dominoes and knocking them down, gathering dust on her hands and clapping it in the home teacher's face, teasing him about his bald head, and calling him names like "Beaver Pants".

Meanwhile, Doug and I were trying to keep a handle on our wild children while still maintaining pleasant conversation with our guest, and then listening to his message about--guess what--not getting angry. Hah! I'm pretty sure our kids were set up to be a part of the lesson, for both us and our home teacher.

If we have new home teachers next month, I will not be surprised.

This may be the last...

Saturday was a glorious, sunny day. It had been a while since we had had one of those, and I loved it! Emily had a soccer game that was about a 45 minute drive away, in a more rural town that had several farms and open spaces. With the sunshine and fall leaves, it was a beautiful, enjoyable drive. It was nice to sit through Emily's game and not be wet or shivering the entire hour. She has really enjoyed soccer this season. She had her first goal (in a game) last week, and she had two assists yesterday. She also was in charge of bringing the after-game snacks, and she had decided a long time ago that when it was her turn, she wanted us to bring powdered min-donuts. They were a huge hit with the girls and the parents! Wow!

We had time for a really short family bike ride in the afternoon, which was bittersweet, since all I could think was, "This will probably the last bike ride we take for months!"

On the bright side, however, we are looking forward to lots of birthdays and holidays and a few family visitors during the next few months. Jennifer is going to be joining our household soon, and if nothing else, that means at least one good thing: convenient at-home haircuts! I will be so happy to have some family living close!

I'm sure Hannah will love watching Jen at work, too, since she has definitely shown an interest in feminine fashion and primping. She loves make-up and dress-ups. This morning as I was drying my hair and getting ready for church, Hannah came in, opened my make-up drawer, pulled out her favorite lip gloss, applied it to her lips, put away the lip gloss, stood on her tiptoes, looked in the mirror and puckered her lips and said a few inaudible words to make sure her lips shined enough while she was speaking. I guess she was satisfied, because she climbed down and left the bathroom without saying a word to me. I'm not sure she even noticed I was there, she was so focused on her adorable self. I think I know what she wants for her birthday next month...

And if Hannah is the last little girl we ever have in this family, she's certainly a good one to end with, because she wouldn't leave us wanting for anything more girly than herself!

Good Times With Gerb

I got to spend the weekend with the one-and-only Gerberta. Let me tell you why Gerberta is such an outstanding friend.

a) Do you know anyone else by that name? Nope, I didn't think so. Not many people can say they have a BFF named Gerberta. I can.

b) She didn't even get irritated when she had to wait at the airport for 1/2 hour for me to pick her up. At least, she didn't act irritated. She was her smiley self.

c) We both enjoyed a few waxy chocolate donuts during the weekend. Thanks, Gerb, for turning me on to that good idea of a snack. We also enjoyed cheesecake, Thai food (did you enjoy it Gerb?), and even hot dogs (at 10:30 am) together. Good thing we both have pregnant appetites.

d) Yes, that's right. Once again, Gerberta and I are going through the ups and downs of pregnancy at the same time. (She's not the only one--there's a whole slew of babies coming next spring--but that's another subject...) The ups, such as, she got to come to my ultrasound with me last Friday. And the downs, such as crying over something silly at the grocery store, and spending lots of time on the couch.

e) We love games. We squeezed in Settlers, Blokus, and Ticket to Ride this weekend. And she's not a sore loser. ;)

f) We are quite the bargain shopping team. Her visit coincided with the semi-annual city-wide Yard Sale. We didn't let the freezing rain or driving in Doug's old, breaking-down car deter us from our bargain hunting. It was so much fun! And, I'd say it was successful. When Gerberta arrived on Friday, she brought with her a purse and one duffle bag. But she left with all this:

g) Gerb understands that my home (especially when I'm pregnant and hosting company and dealing with a delicate potty training situation--once again, another story) is not a showcase, but a lived-in space. And even though we all love a spotless, glamorous place, she was ok with my imperfections.

h) We're both sure that at least one marriage will occur between her (going-on-nine) kids and my (soon-to-be) five. We're betting on Herbie and Hannah. It's the easiest and most legit way we can figure out to become "family". But to me, she feels like family already.

The Biggest BOO!

Every October, we get BOO!d. Someone comes along one night, early in October, and leaves a Halloween treat and a BOO! sign on our front porch. We've never caught the BOO!ers. This year, I realized that the first day of October happened to fall on a Monday, so I determined that we would be the ones to start the BOO!ing for FHE that night. We took buckets of candy to 3 families in our ward, and had a giggling good time doorbell ditching them (even though our crew is not the sneakiest around, I'll admit). Since Monday, I've seen a few new BOO! signs on other people's houses, so I knew the ball was rolling. And I was feeling so smug about being the first BOO!er this year.

Last night, just as it got dark, there was a loud knock on our own front door. Not expecting anyone, my first thought was, "Who could that be?", and then a split second later, I realized, "It could be a BOO!" I ran to the front window, anxious to catch someone running away from our front porch. I didn't catch the BOO!er again this year, but what we did see made us all gasp and laugh hysterically. Check it out:

I'm pretty sure this is the biggest BOO! ever. The garbage can wasn't full of candy all the way to the bottom, but it did go a good 6 inches down. Here's the loot, all organized into individual flavors:

Bummer of a time for Doug and me to be on a sugar diet, don't you think?!

My Gift

Happy Birthday Mom! Actually, it's a Happy Birthday/Happy Mother's Day present. Expected to arrive around May 10th. :)

I know it doesn't look like much now--it's only about 1/2 inch long. But I'm pretty sure that in 7 more months, it will be an adorable little thing!

The New Do

Jennifer cut my hair for me yesterday. It was the longest it had been in about 16 years, which was fun for a while, but took too much time and effort (unless I just stuck it in a ponytail, which was not very attractive for a woman my age ;) ). So I had been thinking about cutting it for quite a while, but this time I finally got the courage to do it. I really like it. It feels like the new, old me.

This morning I was getting myself ready for the day and enjoying the ease of my new style and how little time it took to dry and finish my hair. Just as I was finishing up, I heard a crash downstairs, and Hannah started crying. So I ran downstairs to see what had happened, and this is what I found...

Good thing my hair only takes a fraction of the time to dry and style now! Just imagine the trouble she could get into when my hair was longer!

Think Happy Thoughts

I don't like getting wet in the rain, but I do like to listen to the rain on my rooftop.
I hate it when my feet are cold, but I love my soft slipper socks.
I can't stand wearing turtlenecks, but I love sweaters.
I really dislike the inconsistent temperature controlled by our furnace, but I do enjoy sitting by a fire and reading. (Just bought another case of firelogs yesterday, and trust me, it won't last long around here.)
It makes me sad that the trees will soon be naked and gray, but the colorful fall leaves I see all around me are so beautiful right now.

I'm trying hard to focus on the positive...and it's only September!

A Dry Day

You may know that dry days are almost as rare as sunny days around our house. But today was a very special day that met both uncommon conditions, in more ways than one. Yes, it was sunny and pleasant, weather wise, but also...

Hannah stayed dry in her panties ALL DAY LONG! Yahoo! We ditched the diapers on Monday, and today was her first day without any accidents. And that put me in a sunny mood, even though I wished we could have left the house (and the nearby potty) for longer and enjoyed more of the sunshine outside.

That's ok. The sun will (eventually--who knows when) be back, but hopefully the diapers are gone for good. :)

Good Sabbath

Today was a good one. Doug stayed home to nurse himself back to good health, so it was me and the 4 girls heading to Sacrament Meeting. They were surprisingly well-behaved today, which means that I was able to get a lot out of the meeting. The theme was "Reverence", and the speakers were inspirational. I came home feeling well fed.

Driving in the car this afternoon, Lauren said to me,
"I'm glad that Heavenly Father is real, because then we don't have to be invented."
She went on to list all the creations that would not exist if He wasn't the one who created them.

It's so nice to have a pretty-darn-perfect Sabbath Day once in a while--just to know that they still exist, even for imperfect me. What a gift after a rather long week.

I'm grateful.

The Worst: Part II

Guess who's sick now? The nice guy, Doug. No good deed goes unpunished. The poor guy started puking his guts out in the middle of the night. And what did I do to help him feel better? Well, I gave him more room. I scooted over to the farthest edge of my side of the bed and turned my back to him and worried all night that I would breathe his air and catch his sick germs. Because, vomitting, that's one symptom I have not experienced in the past week, and I'm not seeking to elongate the list of symptoms I have expereinced with my recent illness.

It just goes to show who's the more compassionate half of this couple. (Hint: It's not me.)

The Worst and The Best

Viral respiratory infections are the worst.
It started as an itchy throat, but I toughed it out. Then along came a dry cough. The next day, my nose started to drip. I'll stop there, but suffice it to say that every night since Thursday night, I have gone to bed thinking "Tomorrow I'll feel better." And then I feel worse the next day. It hasn't stopped me from normal life until today, when Doug made me take it easy.

He is the best.

He stayed home and let me sleep in and hang out in my pajamas all day. He got the girls off to school. He worked from home. He did laundry. And he made me a yummy lunch. Now he has taken all the girls to the park, and then he's bringing home a pizza for dinner. He is truly the best.

But as wonderful as he is, and as nice as my lazy day has been,
I really hope I'll feel better tomorrow.

What's for Lunch?

Today I made black bean dip. I've been snacking on it with pita chips, but I think I'm going to make a quesadilla and dip that, and officially call it "lunch". I probably should have soup, because it might make my throat feel better. I have an annoying itchy/sore throat, which came on yesterday. Emily started hers a day before me, and she has stayed home from school for two days now. And it's only the second week of school. This is not a good beginning.

Anywho....here's my yummy black bean dip recipe. (Actually, it's not mine. Originally, I got it from Family Fun.) You should make some. Your tastebuds will thank you, even if your throat complains.

BLACK BEAN DIP
1 15.5-oz. can black beans
1/3 cup medium-hot salsa, plus 1 tbsp. for garnish
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, plus extra for garnish (optional)
4 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, minced

To make the dip, drain and rinse the black beans, setting aside 1 tablespoon for garnish. Combine the black beans, salsa, cilantro leaves, lemon juice and garlic in a food processor. Blend until smooth. Garnish with the black beans and, if you like, cilantro leaves or salsa. Makes 1 1/4 cups and serves 4 to 6.

Bloody Gums

Why is it that going to the dentist fills me with more dread, not less, the older I get?

When I was a kid, I think I had at least 9 cavities in my baby teeth. Even though I eventually lost all those, my mouth is still full of lots of silver (and some white) fillings. What I'm trying to say is, in my youth, I was very familiar with Novocaine and a drill in the hands of my very gentle dentist, Dr. John. Even with all that familiarity, I don't recall any fear or pain....until I was about seventeen.

That's the age I was when I'm pretty sure I hit full immunity to Novocaine, and dental visits began to hurt, and thus, fill me with dread. At the age of eighteen I had my wisdom teeth removed, and thank goodness Dr. Adams was very liberal with his administration of the laughing gas. I only remember coming to once, as he was tugging to extract a giant tooth, and he saw my eyelids flutter and told the assistant to crank up the juice...and then I was out again.

I still fear cavities and fillings, but I haven't had to deal with that fear much as an adult. Did I start brushing more vigorously and effectively? Perhaps. But now they tell me that I'm brushing too well, and it's giving me some gum issues. Which brings me to the point of my title. I had a dental exam and cleaning today, and it was incredibly painful and bloody. Might I mention that this appointment was at 6:00 am, I had skipped breakfast, and my stomach complained about the fact that bloody saliva mixed with a few grains of tooth polish was the first thing it got to digest for the day.

Question: If my gum tenderness is, as they say, caused by aggressive brushing, then how could it solve anything to hack at my gum line every six months with a small ice pick? Doesn't it make sense that, because of the way they scrape at my poor teeth in the dentist's chair, I'm inclined to believe that I must not be brushing well enough, and go home and redouble my efforts?! Who's confused here, me or them?

I had to eat soft foods today. My teeth are very tender. And flossing tonight was terrifying.

Clark, is this normal? Is this the type of torture they teach you in dental school? Breanne, is there a compassionate dental hygienist out there? Especially at 6:00 am, for crying out loud!

Awkward

Guess what today's YW lesson was about...Ok, you might not guess, and then I'll have people leaving comments wanting to know the answer, so I'll just go ahead and tell you. I had to teach a group of Beehives about the Sacred Powers of Procreation. Yikes. That was probably the most nerve-wracking lesson I've ever had to prepare. I used to think (and actually, I still do) that teaching Gospel Doctrine would be seriously intimidating, because I don't feel like I know enough to teach those lessons. Well, this lesson wasn't difficult for that reason (I'm pretty sure I know more than all the Beehives about today's subject), but it was awkward for other reasons. a) they are Beehives, and they are silly about just about any topic you could think of...especially this one!
b) I felt like I needed their parents to sign consent forms first
c) I really hope that this was not the first talk on the subject for any of the fresh 12-year-olds!
d) I can just imagine the conversation those families had on the drive home from church today.
Mom: So, honey, how was YW today? What did you guys talk about?
Beehive: Sex.
Mom: WHAT?!?!

So, I've been building up my anxiety over the last couple days, for the above reasons. And then, to make it even worse, I ended up with only FIVE MINUTES, literally, to teach the lesson. That's exactly enough time for me to get their attention, delve into the topic, solicit a bunch of red faces and eye rolls and a couple of giggles, and then say "Amen".

Good thing we have Stake Conference next week. Maybe with two weeks before I have to teach them again, we will all have gotten over today's awkwardness.

I Never Seen

This is the way Hannah adds great emphasis to a compliment: She adds those three words, "...I never seen," at the end. For example, she might say, "This is the best dinner I never seen!", or (my personal favorite), "Mom, I love you. You are the best mom I never seen." That's how she woke me up this morning.
It's good to know she still thinks I'm the best mom, even after her struggle on the potty yesterday. She made poops in the potty (yay!), but only after overcoming an hour-long struggle against her fears and my encouragement. Anyway, it's progress, and hopefully this week she'll get the hang of it all.
So, how are things going for all of you? :)

And They're Off....

Three of the four girls are now in school. Hannah is very jealous of her sisters! So am I, to tell you the truth. Who didn't love elementary school? This is the first and only year that they will all be at the same school. Aren't they absolutely adorable?! (Not to mention, brilliant!)

Happy Birthday to Emily!

We celebrated Monday morning with a special breakfast made by Daddy (it's so nice when these occasions fall on holidays!), and opening some gifts.

Then we went to the zoo.

The celebrating continued into the next 24 hours. On the last day of summer vacation, Emily had a birthday party. It was a dog theme. The guests got to paint ceramic puppies, play Pin the Tail on the Dog, eat hot dogs and cupcakes for lunch, and make dog pins to wear.

The two hours flew by. In fact, Emily was disppointed that there wasn't enough time to play Dog Bingo. But it was a fun party and she received lots of nice gifts that she's trying to learn to share willingly with her sisters. I learned that 8- and 9-year-olds still enjoy running around the house and screaming, if the party parent doesn't maintain a pretty tight structure to the party.

Lifestyles of the Enriched and Famous

Jennifer and I went with some others from the ward to a Ladies Night Out/Enrichment Activity at the Macaroni Grill last night, and while we were being enriched, we ran into someone sort-of famous. Do you recognize him? :)