The Wayback Machine

This gem of Sophie celebrating our return to in-person activities popped up in my Google Photos memories yesterday. I had no idea it existed before that. I can't believe it's already been two years that we've been back in person. It both feels like it hasn't been that long and that it's already been much longer. I'm so thankful for the inspired church leaders that gave us opportunities to watch church from home and had outside activities whenever possible. And I'm incredibly thankful that we kept to go to church in person now.

And this reminds me, it's time for us all to get our COVID booster shots.

Summer Camp

At the beginning of every summer break I roll out our theme for the next three months. Remember our Hogwarts summer? That was 2017. I've done something similar every summer since, but for some reason I've never put them on the blog.

Let's fix that.

A few months before our 2018 summer break started, the kids began asking what we were going to do for the summer. I hadn't originally intended it to be an ongoing thing. It hadn't occurred to me that the kids would enjoy our Hogwarts summer so much that it would now need to be a summer tradition. 

Traditions generally take a lot of work from the mom, which made me kind of anxious since I was about a month away from Topher joining our family, so I knew I wouldn't be able to do much once he was born. I started brain-storming about what our theme could be. Taking another cue from the kids' reading obsession at the time, I quickly found a solution: we would go to Camp Half-Blood.

For the uninitiated, Camp Half-Blood features prominently in the Percy Jackson series, the Heroes of Olympus series, and the Apollo series, all about the children of the Greek and Roman deities and all written by Rick Riordan. Peter and I had already read them, but Cooper and Phoebe started reading them in 2018. With that as my inspiration, I jumped in.

I spent time looking up the attributes of each deity and what disciplines they were responsible for on Earth.

I created new chore charts.

I ordered Camp Half-Blood t-shirts (which play a big role in the books) from Amazon.

I made folders for each child with a page devoted to each Greek god. The aim was to have the kids choose activities and read books to go along with the various disciplines watched over by each god, then write them down on the corresponding page. This is also where they kept their summer reading program checklist.

I printed this out to hang over our chore charts in the laundry room as a nod to the previous summer.

And I printed this to hang over the timeout spot. I thought it was funny.

Then, when school ended for the year, I told the kids our plan by giving them their shirts.

Just like they'd been sorted into houses for Hogwarts the summer before, this year we took online quizzes to find out which cabin everyone belonged in. Peter and Cooper stuck together in Poseidon's cabin. Sophie was in Artemis' cabin (which is always empty in the books) and Phoebe was in Athena's. I printed out a poster for each of their cabins and stuck them to their doors.

They were all excited about the theme. Unfortunately, due to the sleep-deprived nature of having a newborn, I didn't take a ton of pictures, and most of the activities were self directed. But I did come up with a few fun things and was able to connect them to a Greek god.

We cooked fun food all summer long. (Dionysus and Demeter)

We made weapons and created structures. (Ares, Hephaestus, and Athena)

We fashioned clever clutches. (Athena and Aphrodite)

We had adventures. (Hermes)

We spent a little time near water. (Poseidon)

And Cooper spent some time in the air. (Zeus)

We learned about science and architecture. (Apollo and Athena)

And we visited the library, often. (Athena)

A good time was had by all. Phoebe was so inspired by our theme that she decided to carry it through to Halloween. She was Annabeth Chase that year, one of the main characters of the series.

Sharing

Google Photos reminded me of this gem from when Peter and Cooper were small. I laughed when I watched it because I can imagine twelve-year-old Peter doing something similar.

Who Wore It Better: Topher vs. Peter

Just kidding, they're both adorable.

The Doctor Is In

I sometimes marvel at all the events that never make it onto the blog. For instance, I've never written about Cooper's tics. I first noticed them when he was three, I saw little movements that appeared involuntary. I finally mentioned them to his pediatrician at his five-year checkup. She dismissed my concern without much investigation. Bryan and I continued to watch as Cooper would shrug or scrunch his face or clear his throat over and over and over. At times they seemed to disappear, while at others they were very strong.

When we moved to New Jersey, I pointed out the tics again. This time he happened to be in a heavy tic season, so the nurse and doctor were able to observe him and agreed that they did look like tics. We talked about the possibility that it could be Tourette Syndrome. The doctor also mentioned that sometimes, if a person has too much strep in their system, it manifests as tics.

We ran a blood test and found that Cooper had more than four times the safe level of strep in his bloodstream. The doctor recommended an extended regimen of antibiotics. For the next three-months Cooper took medicine everyday. And you know what? The tics disappeared.

I shared this story with one of the moms that hiked with us on Saturday. We had stopped for lunch and the boys were skipping stones in the river nearby. Peter was sitting on a log retaining wall, eating and listening to us talk. As I explained the symptoms, Peter would add details. I was just about to say that we wondered if Cooper might have Tourette Syndrome, when Peter piped up.

"Yeah, we think he might have meningitis."

All three moms burst out laughing. Warning: when seeking medical advice, don't ask your eleven-year-old.

By the way, those tics have come back.

Let's Hear It For the Boys

Thanks to the Rediscover this Day feature on Google Photos, I came across these pictures. I remember how long those days felt, before we were constrained by the hours of school. We would read and play and color and read and go to the park and play and read and eat and go to the library or the store or the museum and find all kinds of activities to keep active little boys busy. This was before we had pink or princesses in our house, back when I was convinced I would only ever be the mom of boys.

I know that the boys don't remember this far back, but I am so thankful that I do.

A Tooth Story: TBT Edition

I just found this unpublished post from exactly five months ago. Phoebe lost all four of her front teeth in rapid succession. She had a little help from a brother's accidental elbow to her mouth that resulted in lots and lots of blood. But don't worry, that's not included in the pictures.

And, not to be outdone by his little sister, Peter lost two teeth that week as well. With all the talk of missing pearly whites, Sophie began telling anyone that would listen that her teeth were loose and would be falling out very soon.

Ten Years Ago

Peter just moved into size 14 clothes. He sure has grown in the last ten years.

Big Brown Eyes

I was looking through some old pictures and found this treasure. Cooper had a funny habit of getting himself wedged under beds. It's hard to tell, but that's what he's doing here.

Room for Brains

The girls and I were looking through photos from last Thanksgiving when we came across this one.

After oooing over how cute Sophie was, Phoebe asked, "But Mommy, why is her head so big and her body so tiny?"

Because that's how the cutest babies are built.

Friends Indeed

Today's Throwback Thursday post is brought to you by our dear friends who live in New York. These are the friends that we had so many adventures with last year. 

We miss them. 

A lot. 

But one of the many wonderful things about these fine folks is their ability to pick up right where we left off. I'm not sure when we'll see them again, but when we do, we will still be just as comfortable as we've been for so many years.

Starry Night

We have a crayon reproduction of Van Gogh's Starry Night that lives on the wall of our playroom. Cooper sat in front of it one day while we were still in New Jersey, a piece of paper and a box of crayons in his hands. Then he went to work. This was the result. It's unfinished, but shows great potential.

Cub Scout Camp

Also from the draft file, I found this picture of Peter at Cub Scout camp. This was in Oregon at his first Cub Scout day camp shortly before we moved away from Washington. He loved scout camp and was especially good at archery. He still laughs about the funny counselors that worked there and the silly skits they performed.

He enjoyed this summer's cub scout camp in New Jersey as well. It turns out that Peter is on his best scout behavior when he's at camp.

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.

Boys and Girls

Sometimes I'm a little surprised that I spend my days with two little girls. Once upon a time my days were full of the cars and blocks and train tracks of their older brothers. The girls sometimes play with those things too, but more often it's dolls and dishes and dress-up.  

When the boys were small I was convinced I would always be a mom of only boys. Now I can't imagine life without these sweet girls.

They teach me different things and each bring their own personality to our family. I am not the mother I was when I first started. With each child that has joined us I have grown and changed.

Just to compare, here's a five-year-old picture of the boys. I was pregnant with Phoebe and had worked in the garden with the boys by my side. The girls might have ended up just as messy, but, knowing how different they are from their brothers, probably not.

I am so thankful for my boys and my girls.

Question Nine

I meant to answer question nine last week, but I didn't. I can't remember why at the moment, but I suspect it had to do with exhaustion and a lack of mental alacrity. And so, I will answer question nine during week ten.

What were some of the family traditions that you remember?  Did your family have special ways of celebrating specific holidays?

The major tradition that stands out in my head is Christmas caroling. I have no idea how many times we actually went and stood on the doorsteps of our Primary teachers and Bishopric members, but the memory is so happy that I don't think it matters how frequent it was. We would bring treats of some kind, and we would sing in the car as we drove from house to house, making sure we all sang the same song at the same time. At least once we were invited in for sugary goodies. I've gotten my little family to go caroling a handful of times because I loved going as a child.

On Christmas morning, before any gifts could be opened, we would read the account of the Savior's birth in Luke 2. As kids we loved the presents, but the scriptures helped keep our focus on what was truly important.

Visiting my Grandma Bonnie for General Conference was another tradition. She had a satellite dish, one of those gigantic kinds that look like they're strong enough to communicate with alien life. She would point it toward Utah (or so I assumed as a child) and we would sit in her living room to watch instead of driving to the Stake Center. Someday I'll tell my children this story and they'll marvel that I was a child back in the dark ages before we could watch Conference on our computers and phones and wristwatches.

At the beginning of Thanksgiving dinner we would all say what we were thankful for. I took this for granted and thought that everyone did it. However, when I went to college and ate Thanksgiving with other families, I discovered that was not the case. I like focusing on gratitude. This is another tradition I've carried over into my family.

For the Fourth of July each year we would drag our kitchen chairs out to the edge of our backyard. From our perch near the fence we could see two, and sometimes three, fireworks shows. Once, as a teenager, I went to the beach with friends and watched the big fireworks show out over the Pacific. That was awesome, but I kind of missed sitting with my family while we sang patriotic songs in the dark of our backyard and gazed at the faraway flashes of light and color.

An unspoken tradition was going to church. I know, that doesn't seem like a tradition, does it? But we went every Sunday, barring illness and General Conference. I think attending church as a family is the most consistent thing we did, with family prayer coming in a close second. Now as an adult, the Sabbath is not complete without my church meetings.

Question Two

Lucky you, mine is the one birthday I name on the blog, which means I can answer the second personal history question. I know, you're all relieved.

When and where were you born?  Describe your home, your neighborhood, and the town you grew up in.

I was born at 4:44 in the morning of Friday June 27, 1980 in the bedroom of my parents tiny apartment in Perry, Utah. There were cherry trees behind the building. The apartment was attached to the back of a diner that was famous for their delicious pies. That apartment is now a dining room. I went back to the diner as an adult and thought about walking into the dining room, standing amongst the people while they ate, and announcing, “I was born right here!” But I didn’t. We moved to California when I was six months old.

When I was five and a half years old my family moved from our apartment in Garden Grove, California to a modest home in north San Diego county. My parents still live in that house. It has a huge backyard and when I was a kid we had a swing set and a tether ball, then later a trampoline. The house itself wasn’t large, but we all fit. When we first moved in, I got the room that had two pink walls and two walls covered in Strawberry Shortcake paper. I guess that combination automatically made it the girl room. The carpet was shaggy and golden. When I was twelve I got tired of that carpet so one day I moved all my furniture out of my room and then ripped up the carpet. The problem was, I hadn’t asked my mom before I did it. She found out about my project when I was done. I was afraid she would be mad, but instead she asked me to pull the carpet out of her room too.

Our neighborhood was full of houses that looked very much like ours. There were a few kids to play with, but not many, and none that were my age. We lived on a cul-de-sac and, when I finally figured out how to ride my bike at the old age of ten (yes, really) I liked to ride my bike in front of my house.

I always thought it was funny that I grew up in a town where people vacationed. The sight of palm trees and eucalyptus trees makes me nostalgic for home. Even though we lived a few miles from the Pacific Ocean, we rarely went to the beach when I was little. When I was a teenager we would go and walk on the beach as a family in the evenings, but I assume that it was easier to take older kids to the beach than small kids. There is a heavy military presence in our town, lots of my classmates and friends had at least one parent serving in the military. In my hometown flip flops and shorts are the norm, most people surf or boogie-board, and everyone knows where to find the best Mexican food. The weather there is so sunny and temperate and beautiful that I've been ruined for weather anywhere else.

The Big Three

We'll call this one a Friday Flashback. My mom sent me this picture yesterday and it puts a big smile on my face. I think I was four (or nearly four), so I was about the age Phoebe is now. I remember posing for this photo. We set up a little studio at my Grandma Bonnie's house and gave our best smiles.

When my brothers and I were young people thought we were triplets. We're not, but we are close in age and at the time we were close in size. I never wanted for someone to play with because I always had my brothers. Those poor boys had to put up with a very bossy big sister, but they didn't seem to mind too much. Let's be honest, I'm still a bossy big sister. I'm so glad I got spend Thanksgiving with them.

Thank you for the picture Mom!

Update: I've been corrected. Apparently this picture was taken at my Grandma Miriam's house. I must be combining memories because I remember taking pictures at my Grandma Bonnie's house. Oh well, it's a cute picture no matter where it was taken.

Daydream Believer

The boys had a day off from school a few weeks ago and Peter spent most of the day doing art projects. This was my favorite. It's supposed to be him, lying on the couch, daydreaming about being an astronaut.

Caped Crusaders

Remember last year when I was sewing a Christmas gift for the kids and kept breaking my sewing machine? I realized I never wrote about the final product. I made hooded towels for each child. I used a full-sized, thick towel for the body and a matching hand towel for the hood. The kids love them. Sometimes they're used as capes, but are more often employed for their intended purpose of being warm and snugly after bath time.

I used this tutorial, with a few minor modifications.

I have another project in mind for this Christmas, but I won't be sewing this time. Perhaps I'll write about it soon after the holiday. Or maybe I'll write about it sometime next October...