Ancestry

Peter has been very into family history recently. While digging through family records this week, he found this relative. His name was highly amusing to us. I'm breaking my "no last names" rule to share this picture, but since he died in 1667, I figure it's okay.

The Assistant

Another First Day

We all made it out the door, fully clothed and fed and carrying required school supplies, in time to catch the bus yesterday morning.

Then Sophie and I spent the majority of the day running errands, with a detour to the park.

The afternoon had some rough patches, but chores and dinner were both accomplished and all the kids fell asleep at a reasonable hour.

I'm the only person that had homework, and Bryan and I shared the burden and got through more than half of it. My eyes grew so heavy, I figured I should put aside the rest for another day and save the teachers the burden of interpreting my brain-weary, head-bobbing, hand-weaving writing.

'Twas the Night Before School

Last night we had our traditional night-before-the-start-of-school Family Home Evening. Bryan gave each child a father's blessing. It was a lovely, spiritual experience. Each blessing was unique, but they did share two common elements. Each child was told that they have a sharp mind and that they should learn to work hard and not procrastinate. When the three oldest were done, Bryan called Sophie up and she happily hopped out of her seat to have her blessing as well. She was told to obey her mom and continue being good.

When we finished, Bryan had the kids get out a piece of paper and a pen and write down their impressions. Peter took it a step further and wrote out his list of goals for the school year. Most of them were about being a good role model and friend and working hard.

Then the kids set out their clothes for the first day and did their best to fall asleep despite a mixture of excitement and anxiety.

Ready or not for the new year, here we come!

No Fear

Tonight at bedtime Sophie asked me to shut the door so she could sleep in darkness. This is the exchange that followed.

Phoebe: No! Don't shut the door! I'm afraid of the dark!

Sophie: (looking at me) I like the dark. Dark dark dark. (turning to Phoebe) Phoebe, did you know that I'm not afraid of anything? Not the dark, not anything. (pausing for emphasis) Not even pandas.

The End of the Break

Tomorrow is our last weekday of summer break. We've been doing our best to balance fun adventures with relaxed playtime/chores at home. I discovered this summer that the kids really enjoy just being at home, playing together and reading. I guess it took a summer without moving to discover that.

One of those fun activities this week was building a fort that covered most of the main floor of the house.

We've also been going through everyone's clothes and making sure that the stuff that doesn't fit gets pulled from circulation. This involved each child trying on nearly all the clothing they own. We thinned the heard by a respectable amount.

Our last school-related errand was to tame the beast that is Cooper's hair. He said to me last week, "Mom, my hair doesn't really grow longer, it just grows bigger." That is true. His hair, and Phoebe's hair, are both now groomed. Peter didn't require such pruning.

Now, I must get back to my task of updating school records electronically. I took a break from reading the twenty-four page acceptable use document I have to sign to write this post. It's not the exciting thing I've read. Wish me luck.

Glitter and Sparkle

The girls have formed a club called Glitter and Sparkle. Their inspiration came from Phoebe's desire to be a little shinier than usual and Sophie's desire to be just like her sister. On a related note, our art project glitter now lives in the top of my closet.

Camera Obscura

We enjoyed the eclipse thanks to Bryan's homemade camera obscura. It was fun to watch that tiny moon change shape and shrink. We also had one pair of official, keep-your-vision-intact glasses that we passed around, thanks to our friends and neighbors who drove by and saw us staring at our poster board. We weren't in the path of totality, but we still had fun.

I Don't Play Favorites

A few nights ago at bedtime, Sophie looked at me sweetly and said, "You're my favorite mom."

I lovingly looked back at her and gave my standard, child specific, reply, "And you're my favorite Sophie."

This response is generally well received, but today she wanted something slightly different.

"No, say 'You're my favorite child.'"

Uh oh.

Sweet Sixteen

Sixteen years ago today, many of our loved ones gathered with us at the San Diego Temple. Bryan wore a tux, I wore a white dress, we made life-changing promises, we smiled all day.

As a very young twenty-year-old I chose to say yes when Bryan proposed. I said yes again as a slightly older twenty-one-year-old bride.

It is the best choice I've ever made.

Happy sixteenth birthday to our family!