Birthday With Brothers

I had a few people ask if we had an adventure for my birthday. As a matter of fact, we did. We spent the entire week leading up to my birthday in Atlantic City. Now, you may be asking yourself, "What could a girl who doesn't gamble or drink possibly find to do in Atlantic City?" Quite a bit, as it turns out.

I'll talk about our Atlantic City adventure tomorrow (or the next day). For my actual birthday we drove from our fancy hotel by the ocean to visit my brothers near Baltimore. It rained pretty much the whole time we were there, but that was fine with us. The stormy weather just meant more family time inside.

The cousins had lots of fun playing together. And eating together. And being slightly mischievous together.

These two had lots of girl time. They had a cousin sleepover in the guestroom and Uncle Ian even french braided their hair. It was appropriately fancy considering I overhead Phoebe say to Clara at one point, "That's what they do at Princess school!" Or something like that.

Uncle Jordan took on a baking project with the kids which resulted in delicious banana-strawberry birthday muffins. He also supervised Peter in making decadent chocolate chunk cookies. They were popular with everyone that could consume sugar.

Sophie loved Ian's cats and dog as long as they stayed a respectable distance away. She did not care for them as much when they came within arms length.

The boys played together too. Henry always starts out shy, but I think he had warmed to us by the time our two-day visit was over.

Thank you Ian for letting us stay at your house, eat your food, and monopolize your washer and dryer. And thanks Jordan for orchestrating the visit. Spending time with two of my brothers made for a great birthday gift!

Entering Adulthood

Yesterday during Primary we had a birthday celebration. I wore a birthday crown and we learned/reviewed almost all of the birthday songs in the Children's Songbook. There were even balloons.

A few weeks ago when Bryan had his birthday he told me that turning 36 felt different. Somehow it was much older than 35 had been. And now I'm 35, looking forward to that different feeling that 36 will bring next year.

It's ridiculous to say that I feel old, because I don't, not really. But I do feel older. I've noticed several moments in the past few months when I actually feel like a grownup. For the seventeen years since I entered adulthood I've felt like I was faking. Yes I was paying bills and working and raising kids, but I often wondered when I would stop feeling like a little girl playing house.

I don't feel like I'm pretending so much anymore.

Happy birthday to me.

Moving On Up

We are finally done with school for the year. This was our first school to have a promotion ceremony for each grade. The auditorium for Cooper's ceremony was full of grandmas and grandpas and moms and dads, many of whom ran up to the front to take pictures long before their child walked across the room. That's why this is the best picture I got of Cooper.

Here he is with his teacher after the ceremony. He had a great year in school. I didn't get any calls from the principal or any reports of dancing on his teacher's desk, which I think is progress. He was invited to participate in the gifted and talented program and that's provided him with some fun learning experiences. And now he's excited to be a second-grader.

His school was attached to a building that used to be a convent. He didn't ever have class in it, but they would take tours and play on the grounds. I didn't have school in or near a building like this until I was in college. I think it's pretty impressive for first-grade.

Peter and Cooper both had wonderful teachers. Peter's teacher was very patient and put up with a lot of silliness from Peter. He spent more time in detention this year than ever before, but he did show emotional and social growth towards the end. And he wasn't suspended at all this year, so that's a plus.

At Peter's end-of-the-year ceremony, awards were given out. I didn't know Peter was going to get anything until they announced a certificate for the person in each grade with the most AR points. A general hum of "Peter" broke out among the third-graders. Peter discovered Accelerated Reader (AR) tests this year. He's always reading so he figured he would take tests and earn points as well. He took as many tests as his teacher would let him. By the end of the year he had earned 601.6 points. Not only did he have more points than any other third-grader, he had more points than anyone is his entire second-thru-eighth grade school. That's kind of a big deal.

The Monday after the AR tallies had closed, Peter was sitting at lunch, reading. Some of his friends came over and asked why he was reading since he couldn't take a test on that particular book. His answer made me smile. "You guys," he said matter-of-factly, "I don't read to take AR tests. I just love to read. The AR tests are a nice bonus."

Fancy Footwear

These shoes are not meant for these little feet, but that didn't stop her from scooting around the playroom in them...

Royalty

One day last week, during lunch, Phoebe turned to her little sister and observed:

Phoebe: Sophie is the princess of happiness.

Me: She really is, isn't she? And what are you the princess of?

Phoebe: Glitter. And sparkles.

Tick Talk

Remember the friends we saw during General Conference this April? We wanted to squeeze in another visit while we still live in the same timezone, so on Saturday we met up with them halfway between our house and theirs, at a state park in Massachusetts.

It was raining at our house when we left and the rain followed us all the way up to their campsite. We arrived just in time for Bryan to use his scout skills and help rig up a tarp-shelter between the trees.

This is how close we were to the lake. It was very pretty, but also scary. I kept sharp eyes on the big three and Sophie never walked more than a few feet away from me.

Phoebe and Cooper got up close and personal with a salamander. I was impressed by their bravery and had no desire to emulate them.

We enjoyed talking with our friends and the kids had a grand time running between trees, throwing rocks in the lake, and building fairy houses. Due to the weather. we alternated between standing in the rain and standing in the campfire-smoke-filled canopy. Our kids expanded their palates by eating tinfoil dinners and s'mores, both unusual fare for us. Finally, to the consternation of our children, we decided it was time to leave so we could make the long drive home. All eight kids gathered for a picture and it only took twenty-seven tries to get a good one. For real.

Our friends, who are experienced campers, cautioned us to check carefully for ticks. We looked at feet and ankles, then got in the van and drove home. It was after 11pm when we rolled in, and I really just wanted everyone to go to sleep. But we all smelled like campfire, so a round of showers for the lot of us was ordered.

As Cooper was getting ready to wash, he called out from the bathroom that he "found something weird" on his hip. That my friends, was our first official welcome to the world of ticks on our children. Bryan, ever the professional, deftly removed the creature and we proceeded to examine the other kids. Peter was clean, but Phoebe and Sophie each had one, both in locations similar to where Cooper's had been.

Of course at this point all the laundry had to be done to wash away any possible tick-stowaways and the grownups needed to get clean as well. By the time everyone was tucked under their covers and Bryan and I were able to fall into bed, it was 1:30 in the morning. And yes, we still got up and celebrated Father's Day and then got ready for church. We were even on-time. Soooooooooooooo tired, but on-time.

In spite of the rain and the ticks, we had fun and are glad we were able to see our friends again.

For the Grandpas

Happy Father's Day to the Grandpas!



Sophie didn't sing along with the others, but she did have something musical to contribute.

Better Than a Prince

Bryan spent the last week house hunting for us in Chicago. He experienced the intense Chicago traffic, drove all day in a torrential downpour, and scouted several homes. Applications are in on a few, but we have no real answer yet to where we'll be living next year.

His flight got in after midnight this morning and he finally arrived home near 3AM. A few short hours later, he got up and went to work. Then in the afternoon, instead of napping, he came home and helped us get the house ready for potential renters to see it. I had spent the last two days unsuccessfully imploring the kids to help me clean. He used his dad magic and suddenly five out of six people in our family were cleaning.

I could tell he was struggling to stay awake, but he kept going. He finally crashed at bedtime, right after family scriptures and prayer.

I am so thankful that Bryan is not afraid to work hard. I'm thankful that he is anxiously engaged in providing for our family. I'm thankful that we are a team; we work together and take turns leading. And even when he's taking the reins, he always seeks my counsel. I'm thankful that he holds and uses the Priesthood righteously.

Last week I told Phoebe about a royal wedding that had just taken place in Sweden. At first she was thrilled to see a picture of a real princess, but she quickly became concerned. What if there weren't any princes left when it was time for her to get married? I smiled and said, "Not all princes are actual royalty." Confused, she questioned what I meant. "Well, Daddy's not a real prince."

I didn't have to finish explaining. She grinned with understanding.

Happy Father's Day Bryan. I think you're better than a prince.

Like Twins, Only Different

Phoebe loves to coordinate her outfits with Sophie and me. Tuesday morning before school she triumphantly announced that she, Cooper, and I were all wearing v-neck shirts, so we matched! Yesterday she walked into my room wearing Cooper's too-small BYU shirt. I was in the process of picking Sophie's shirt, so I decided to use Phoebe's favorite method of choosing clothes. Out came the BYU shirt from the drawer and onto Sophie it went.

The big sister was pleased.

On our way back from the bus, we stopped for a picture.

Strawberry Fields Forever

Some friends in our neighborhood invited us to pick strawberries with them last week. Peter and Bryan stayed home, but the rest of us had a hot, dusty, juicy, wonderful time. I had planned on keeping Sophie in the stroller, but she wanted to jump right in with the big kids. Bonus: most of the berries she picked were a delicious deep red.

Ah Cooper, the man of a thousand faces.

And balancing skills, apparently. Thanks go to my friend Melinda for taking the next two pictures and then sharing them with me. I'm great at taking pictures, but lousy at sending them to people.

Look, Phoebe and I were there too! In fact, all four of us are in this picture, although Cooper is clearly focused on something other than posing for an awesome photo.

We had fun and came home with scrumptious strawberries. They were so sweet. At dinner that night Cooper took it upon himself to pass berries out to everyone, one at a time...

I'm Going There Someday

Bryan and I went to the Manhattan Temple on Saturday. It had been too long since we had been to the Temple together. We had both been separately, but since a babysitter is required to get us there at the same time, we can't go as often as we would like.

Our good friends who live in the city watched the kids for us. And by watched the kids, I mean endured happy yelling and jumping while engaging them in creative and imaginative activities. The Manhattan Temple is in the same building as the meeting house, just on different floors. That means that our kids played in the nursery on the third floor while we were upstairs in the Temple. We returned to them minutes after finishing rather than the one to two hours it would have taken if they were at home with a sitter.

One thing that stood out to me was the beauty of the Temple. All Temples are beautiful and while I admired the loveliness of Manhattan I was impressed that I should tell Phoebe how beautiful they are. I know all the kids could appreciate that information, but Phoebe connects the most with beautiful things. During our move to Chicago, I'm hoping that we can stop at the Open House for the Indianapolis Temple. Peter and Cooper have been to Temple Open Houses, but the girls haven't. I want my children to have a love for the Temple and to go as soon as they're old enough.

Thank you Janet and Stephen for making our time in the Temple possible.

Fly

Phoebe's dance recital was this weekend! She did a lovely job and was very graceful.

A few weeks ago this dance studio published their class schedule for next year. All the moms of Phoebe's classmates were asking the teacher for her recommendations for their little dancers. Phoebe wants to continue dance next year, so, even though we're moving, I asked the teacher where she would put our sweet girl next year.

"I would stick with a combo class for another year, either ballet/tap or ballet/jazz, but definitely ballet. I don't tell everyone that, but Phoebe is very graceful and should really keep doing ballet."

This made me beam in a proud-mom kind of way. Phoebe liked hearing it too.

The performance below is from the dress rehearsal.

Woosh

Running Man

The boys and I left the house for the bus a few minutes later than we should have this morning. Peter took off running and I followed. Cooper started running as well, then slowed down, then sort of lumbered. Still running, I turned back to him and called out, "Come on Cooper! Run!"

His breathing was labored with the effort of running and talking, but he replied, "I can't. I ran a lot at field day yesterday and it's still in my body."

Play Ball

Dallin's Day Out

Bryan's brother Dallin trekked many hours to spend Memorial Day weekend with us. We were all excited about his visit. He had never been to NYC so that's how we spent our Saturday. We asked him what he most wanted to do and see and we made our plan. Lucky for us, four of the five places on his list were new to us as well.

We had most of the subway to ourselves when we first got on. We were quickly joined by lots of other passengers, including one talented man singing and playing the guitar, a teenager selling fruit snacks, and another man who was attempting to sing for his supper. Cooper was especially concerned about this last man and was upset that we didn't give him any money.

Dallin's first stop was the Brooklyn Bridge. I think he wanted to actually walk on it, but the view from Pier 17 was pretty great too.

We took several pictures before we got one of our whole family looking at the camera. At least, we thought we were all looking at the camera. It wasn't until I sat down to do this post that I saw Cooper's expression. He made this face in every picture we took at the pier, and then again several times throughout the day.

Our next sight was One World Trade Center. That is a very tall building. When Bryan and I were there ten years ago the feeling of the area was one of reverence and solemnity. Now, while there are memorials to honor those that died, the feel is quite different. The bustle that exists in other parts of the city is here as well.

There's that look on Cooper's face again.

After that we trooped over to see the Charging Bull. We took pictures near the bull's head, but Peter and Cooper were startled when they realized that many people chose to take pictures near the bull's hind quarters. Both boys agreed that was not appropriate.

We fully embraced our touristiness as we gazed upon the Statue of Liberty from Battery Park. It looked much bigger than it appears in this picture.

Battery Park, still under construction after the damage done by Super-storm Sandy, was a great break for all of us. Sophie did lots of walking and we all enjoyed the sparse crowds.

It was a good thing we took our time and soaked up all that space, because our next stop included the crush of humanity. Hello Times Square! This is the best picture we took of Dallin in that iconic part of Manhattan. There were so many people that I was afraid to take my eyes (and hands) off the children. We were thankful that Dallin was with us to provide additional hands for the kids to hold.

Sophie was exhausted at this point and took a much needed siesta.

Our final destination before getting back on the subway was FAO Schwarz. I had been wanting to go, just to see what it was like. Then last month I read that the store is closing. When we realized that we would be nearby (well, near-ish), we resolved to visit.

The big kids were tired too, and pretty cranky at this point in the day. Our sightseeing had been decidedly grownup-oriented and they were craving something kid-friendly. We didn't tell them where we were going, which made their awe-struck reactions upon our arrival pretty gratifying. Of course, when Peter realized he had cleaned out his bank account at the school book fair the day before, and therefore had no money to spend on toys, there was some unhappiness. But the rest of the excursion was pleasant.

We even danced on the Big Piano! Dallin stayed with the sleeping Sophie and played photographer while the rest of us boogied up a din.

I don't know what they were looking at in this picture, but it was clearly something awesome.

We walked our worn-out selves to the subway and smashed our way into a car. Standing on a moving subway while holding a squirming toddler and acting as a support to two other children is a skill I didn't know I possessed. I was thankful to the kind stranger who gave up his seat when he saw me. We were all happy when we finally made it to our car and headed home.

The rest of the weekend was filled with church, rest, visiting, and good food. The kids were so sad when Dallin had to leave on Monday. The adults were sad too, but we weren't as vocal about it as the kids.

Thanks for visiting Dallin! You're welcome anytime.

Cool Kid

We were doing our normal after school homework and chores routine today when Cooper strolled into the dining room. As I tidied, he spoke in a nonchalant manner, "Mom, did you know that cool kids follow their dreams?"

I tried to process what he had just told me, but I felt like I was missing information. "Oh?" I replied. "Which dreams?"

Cooper was not deterred by my silly question, "You know, their dreams. I'm a cool kid, because I follow my dreams."

The Next Chapter

The kids and I made a list of things we want to do in New Jersey (and on the East Coast) this summer. We've accomplished some of them (NYC and cloud watching), but have several left. Bryan and I sat down with a calendar and planned out almost all the Saturdays between now and the end of July in an attempt to get everything done.

Why is the end of July our deadline? Because our time in the Garden State is coming to a close. At the end of July we'll say goodbye to New Jersey and hello to Illinois when we move to the Chicago area. We're all excited for the pizza and the chance to visit old friends to the north in Wisconsin. We're not so excited about the winter (people keep telling me it'll be worse than NJ) or Bryan's probable long commute.

And just like when we've moved in the past, I'll miss the people here. New Jersey gets a bad rap for having rude inhabitants. Those that live in our corner of the state do not fit that stereotype. Our friends and neighbors have made our time here lovely.

We're on the hunt now for our next domicile. We've been praying that we will find the right place for our family. Hopefully that place is safe, near a good school, and free of mold. After so many moves, I'm getting better at making friends and getting settled quickly, but I still do not enjoy looking for a place to live.

Legoland: The Movie

Remember that time we took our family to Legoland? Bryan has been enjoying the new Google pictures and all the goodies (panoramic shots, picture collages, movie compilations) that they have to offer. He sent me this movie that Google put together of our 2010 trip to the land of the plastic bricks.

The Golden Plumes

The Way Of It

Sometimes I sit down to write a post and discover I don't know what my topic is. This isn't the same as last week's writer's block, not really. No, it's more like each day has a designated subject and that information has not yet been made available.

I'll start to write, only to be met with the distinct impression of, "Nope, that's not what you need to write about today." Some days I begin (and then subsequently delete) four or five posts. At that point I usually stare at the screen for a while, waiting for inspiration to strike.

A few of these end in picture-only posts, others in movies. Occasionally I'll remember some funny thing one of the kids said and I'll quickly record it before the memory slips away. And sometimes, when I'm really lucky, I realize what I should be writing about and compose a post that I adore.

There are stories that I never tell on the blog. Some of them I want to share, but the words get jumbled and I have what the scriptures call a stupor of thought. This stupor is different than the regular I'm-a-mom-and-so-tired-I-can't-think-straight brain fog. No, this feels like the words themselves are being snatched from my fingers even as I try to type them. I'm not always sure why some experiences and insights make it onto the blog, while others are left to fade out of memory.

And then, every once in a while, I'll have a post that writes itself. The words will pour from my brain like water from a faucet, quick and clear and fresh. Just like the stories that don't appear on the blog, sometimes I record things that I hadn't originally deemed blog-worthy. Even as I type, I wonder, "Why am I writing about this? This was nothing. I'm sure I have better things to put in this space."

Somewhere down the line, on a day when I'm feeling nostalgic, I'll reread one of those inspired posts. And then I'll understand, "Oh, this is why I needed to write that."

It's Coming

Peter stayed home from school today. When asked what was wrong he claimed that his head and stomach and nose and eyes and knee hurt. I was suspicious of his wide range of maladies, but I said that if he was really that sick he could stay home. However, I made it clear that there would be no screen time and he would need to rest all day.

This proved challenging.

I had to keep reminding Peter that he couldn't do art projects or play Legos or chase Sophie through the house or play video games. He found a new book to read (the first of Brandon Mull's Five Kingdoms series), which helped some.

When it was time to get Cooper from the bus stop Peter decided he was well again and wanted to go to the library and play with Cooper and go on a drive. Instead, I told him he was too sick for school which meant he was too sick to play. We went home.

As we parked the van in the garage, Peter was the first one out of his seat. He must have had a premonition about what I was going to say next, because he quickly said, "My knee is starting to hurt again." Then over his shoulder as he left the van, "It must be able to sense when chores are coming."