The Christmas Zoo

In December of 2016 a sweet friend gave us passes to visit the Brookfield Zoo, not too far from where we lived in Illinois. It was a chilly night, but not so cold that we didn't enjoy our time there. The zoo lights were especially fun. Look at all those young faces, including the parents.

The Giant's Kitchen

Once upon a time, way back in December of 2017, Sophie and I visited a restaurant supply store. She was delighted to find a whisk that was nearly as tall as she was. I'm pretty sure she could have fit in that stock pot if she had tried. 

DIY Nativity

In December of 2018 we attended our Ward Christmas party on a Saturday morning. The highlight was a live Nativity that the Primary kids acted out. The parents were told to provide costumes (as simple or elaborate as desired) for their own little performers.

Phoebe was one of the angels. Her baptism dress worked perfectly.

Sophie stole the show as a sheep. 

Cooper was one of the wise men that came to give gifts to the Christ child. His crown was made from a hat loom and gold ribbon. Tablecloths played an important role in the rest of his costume

It's kind of amazing to look at this picture and realize that most of these kids are now in Young Men and Young Women.

When I Grow Up

Today is my 43rd birthday! I've enjoyed being 42 for the last year. I think I moved with a little more confidence knowing that I was the answer to life, the universe, and everything. I'm sure 43 will be great too, I'm just not sure how it's going to top that.

Colonial Cooper

Ready for more previously unpublished posts from the past?

In fifth grade Cooper participated in his school's Colonial Day celebration. He had to learn about a particular job from colonial times, create a model, prepare a verbal presentation, and come to school in costume. Two years earlier Peter had picked the role of cooper and thought it was hilarious that he could say he was Peter and cooper. This particular year (2018), Cooper also chose cooper. For those that don't know, a cooper is a barrel maker. I think he did a great job with his model of a cooper's workshop. That last picture shows that creating is not a tidy process.

Sophie's Favorite's (From 2019)

Oh look, it's Sophie's list of favorite things from her sixth birthday. Yes, she is nine and a half now. And I'm going to share the list anyway.

FAVORITE FOODS: vanilla and chocolate chip and bubble gum ice cream

FAVORITE ANIMAL: red panda

FAVORITE CANDIES: Malteesers, Cinnamon Laffy Taffy, Bubble Gun Laffy Taffy

FAVORITE BOOKS: Angelina Ballerina and How to Be a Doctor book

FAVORITE COLORS: pink and purple

FAVORITE SHOWS: Angelina Ballerina and Sofia the First

FAVORITE MOVIE: Frozen 2
FAVORITE SONG: Into the Unknown and All is Found from Frozen 2
FAVORITE BOARD GAME: Chutes and Ladders

FAVORITE CARD GAME: Spot It!
FAVORITE VIDEO GAME: Minecraft
FAVORITE THING TO DO: go to school
FAVORITE MEMORY FROM BEING 5: Jumping high and reaching one of my birthday banners when I turned 5.
FAVORITE PLACE: Freefall (indoor trampoline park) and Imagination (a tiny town for kids)
FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL: Everything!

FRIENDS: Anabelle, Mrs. B (her Kindergarten teacher), mommy, Phoebe, Granny Lucy, Topher, Reagan, Elinor, Lily, Lily, Zalie, Aria

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP: fashion designer mermaid and a teacher and a librarian and a mom

Peter Turned 16 (in 2021)

How did I not publish this one?! The rest of the post is as I wrote it, a year and a half ago.

I realize that 16 is only one more than 15, but somehow it feels like a much bigger difference. We now have a 16-year-old at our house and my brain can't quite wrap itself around that fact.

FAVORITE FOOD: sushi
FAVORITE ANIMAL: elephant
FAVORITE SONG: End of Time by K-391, Alan Walker, and Ahrix; Bleeding Out by Imagine Dragons
FAVORITE BOARD GAME: Catan
FAVORITE VIDEO GAME: Minecraft
FAVORITE THING TO DO: Sleep.
FAVORITE MEMORY FROM BEING 15: Hang out with my best friends. (He means his siblings.)
FAVORITE PLACE: Home.
FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL: Reading.

FAVORITE CANDIES: Red Vines

FAVORITE BOOKS: Oathbringer or Rhythm of War

FAVORITE COLORS: #0000FF and #FF0000 (blue and red)

FAVORITE SHOWS: WandaVision and Loki

FAVORITE MOVIE: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

FAVORITE CARD GAME: Uno Flip

FRIENDS: My family and friends.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP: Either Mechanical or Aerospace Engineer.

Phoebe's 9th and 10th Birthdays

When Phoebe turned 9 (in 2019), I interviewed her about her likes and dislikes...and then never did anything with the post. Then I said the same thing in 2020. Oh well. Here are Phoebe's favorite things from her childhood.

9th Birthday

FAVORITE FOODS: pasta with butter and Italian seasoning, pizza, waffles, and cake

FAVORITE ANIMAL: tigers

FAVORITE CANDIES: M&Ms, Airhead Extreme

FAVORITE BOOKS: Fablehaven, Masterminds

FAVORITE COLORS: teal and purple

FAVORITE SHOWS: Miraculous, The Worst Witch

FAVORITE MOVIE: Love, Kennedy and Ever After
FAVORITE SONG: Silent Night and I Don't Want to Live on the Moon
FAVORITE BOARD GAME: Connect Four

FAVORITE CARD GAME: the card game Cooper made up
FAVORITE VIDEO GAME: Minecraft
FAVORITE THING TO DO: read
FAVORITE MEMORIES FROM BEING 8: second grade, moving into third grade
FAVORITE PLACE: school and home
FAVORITE SUBJECTS IN SCHOOL: writing and gym and music and art and science and everything else

FRIENDS: Kenzie, Claire, Amelia, Cecelia, Isabella, Sophie, Peter, Cooper, Topher, Elizabeth, Alexia, Lexi, Connor W., Liam, Gianluca, Nadia, Ashlyn, Layla, Kaylie, Mom, Dad, Hunter

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP: Kindergarten or 1st grade or preschool teacher and an author

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO ABOUT BEING 9:One more year till I get my ears pierced.

10 Birthday

FAVORITE FOOD: nanaimo bars

FAVORITE ANIMAL: tiger

FAVORITE CANDIES: Good and Plenty, Hot Tamales

FAVORITE BOOKS: Harry Potter series

FAVORITE COLORS: purple, green, and teal

FAVORITE SHOWS: Babysitters Club, Miraculous, Wizards of Arcadia

FAVORITE MOVIE: Incredibles 2, Frozen 2, Harry Potter series (that she's seen so far)
FAVORITE SONG: Trouble by Taylor Swift, Catch My Breath by Kelly Clarkson, Because of You by Kelly Clarkson, Stronger by Kelly Clarkson
FAVORITE BOARD GAME: Carcassonne

FAVORITE CARD GAME: Uno
FAVORITE VIDEO GAMES: Run 3, Super Mario Odyssey, Legend of Zelda, Minecraft
FAVORITE THINGS TO DO: read, imagine, write, make comic strips on Google Slides, play with Sophie
FAVORITE MEMORIES FROM BEING 9: the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving play, meeting Kari, acting (in general), rereading Harry Potter
FAVORITE PLACE: our friend's backyard
FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL: reading, writing, science, all of them

FRIENDS: Kenzie, Kari, Sophie,

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP: 

Bishop's Camp

I prepared this post a year ago, then, for some unknown reason, never published it. I'm going to sift through the other draft posts and see what I find.

Last June Phoebe and I were able to go to Bishop's Camp for our ward. Our stake has Young Women's camp, but many years ago our ward started it's own minicamp to get the girls ready for the big stake camp. It has since morphed into a wonderful chance for the girls in our congregation to bond.

We were still social distancing when the camp took place. Phoebe and I had our own tent and made sure we were distanced while with the group. We went to a campground and beach in New Jersey. We both had so much fun!

After three days and two nights of camping and the beach, we were both exhausted and ready for showers. But we were also so glad we had gone.

Topher Is 5!

Topher's fifth birthday started the night before when his Primary teacher dropped off a present for him. He opened it first thing in the morning on his birthday.

Then he moved on to a breakfast of chocolate donuts with sprinkles.

We visited Party City and got a fun birthday call from Uncle Jordan, Aunt Leah and cousins while we were there.

After Bryan and Peter got home, Topher unwrapped his other gifts.

Topher requested chicken nuggets, french fries, cheese balls, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and pineapple. When he named all that fruit I said, "Oh, you want a fruit salad." He made it very clear that no, he did not want a fruit salad. He wanted them each served separately.

He had a Bluey themed cake. I forgot the buy the correct frosting to write on the cake, so Bryan pulled some cookie decorating icing out of the cupboard. It did not stay where he put it. Then the Heeler family kept falling off the cake, so Bryan pushed them in waist-deep. We decided they're in a pool, which also explains the runny words. Yup, that works.

He's been happily telling anyone who will listen that he's now five. And, in case you didn't know, that means he's a big kid.