Play Ball!

Topher told us recently that his favorite sport is baseball. I guess that explains why he wanted to play baseball one day last week while he was still in his pajamas. Of course, it was after lunch by that point in the day...

Ha Lay You La

Topher has a special way to sing the Hallelujah Chorus. It may be my favorite rendition.

I Love to See the Temple

I had the opportunity to teach a class on making and keeping covenants for a stake women's conference on Saturday morning. I spent several weeks reading, pondering, and preparing. I also followed a prompting and made time to attend the Philadelphia temple the day before I taught. My soul needed it.

Sunday Selfie: Sophie Edition

Flower Child

Sophie and the other Primary Activity Day Girls were invited to learn how to arrange flowers. Sophie loved the experience and brought home this darling flower puppy.

Busy Hands

See what I'm pointing to in this picture? There should be a chain there. The missing chain turns the lights on and off in my room. I made the rookie mistake of going to the bathroom and leaving someone cute and bouncy and four-years-old alone. And now we can't turn those lights on. We're pretty sure it can be fixed, and we have some additional lighting in our room, but it is a little dark at the moment.

Progress

Topher the Builder

Putting together IKEA furniture is exciting. Putting together IKEA furniture while assisted by an eager four-year-old takes it to a totally new level.

Dancing Kings

Peter and Cooper went to church prom on Saturday night. The preparations included making sure all homework and chores were completed, washing laundry, and performing any needed clothing alterations. Peter's vest arrived that morning and didn't fit as tightly as he had hoped. I had him put it on backwards, pulled it to his preferred level of tightness, then pinned it in place. I sewed a line up the back, following the pins, hoping I wasn't ruining the vest since this was all very last minute and there was no backup. It worked out fine, thankfully.

They also had to do their hair. Whoever thinks boys don't care about their appearance doesn't know my boys. I reached out to Bryan's brother Spencer, who has amazing hair, and asked for tips to give Peter's hair volume. We followed his suggestions and they worked well, very very well.

After looking in the mirror, he agreed to let me cut his hair. I did a very quick, not super thorough job, but it worked. Cooper's hair naturally has lift, so he didn't need any extra help from me or the hairdryer. By the time they were both ready, they were running late. I stood on the front step and snapped a bunch of pictures hoping for a good one. I got a few, but none that is a good picture of both of them.

Then Bryan drove them nearly two hours to an IHOP in New Jersey where they met kids from our ward (some of them live in our neighborhood) for dinner, then on to the dance another twenty minutes away. The boys thought it was fun and had lots to report when they got home. The Dedication Award for the night goes to Bryan who sat in the car during a massive rainstorm while the boys danced the night away.

The Poet Recognized

Remember the sonnet competition that Phoebe entered a few weeks ago? She was thrilled to learn that she won second place for the middle school division! Our family was invited to attend an awards ceremony at the university that hosted the competition. She was anxious about attending and being recognized for her work. That anxiety was not calmed when the woman conducting the ceremony announced that each of the winners would read their work aloud. They had not let the participants know this beforehand. Phoebe smiled and silently panicked. I was very proud of her when she got up and read her sonnet, even though she really didn't want to.

Here's a picture of all the winners:

As we left, each winner was handed a gift bag. When we got to the van Phoebe discovered that she was awarded a $50 gift card! It was both a stressful and rewarding experience for her. I'm so glad that she pushed herself to write the sonnet, enter the contest, and then read it out loud when the time came. Well done, Phoebe!