Faith's 6th Birthday

They tell me that Faith has turned six.
I'm not so sure I believe that.  How is this possible?  I mean, I know how the aging process occurs, but I thought Faith was immune to it.  She has stayed the same for so long.  But it's happening.

This year was her "off" year for having a big friends party, but she was surprised to have one of her bestest gal pals over to play.

And her big sister, Bethany, did create a very pretty hairstyle for her.  Bethany did not succeed, however, in taking a very good picture of the pretty hairstyle.  The top was lovely as well.

And she got a big set of the new Friends Legos, which are all the rage amongst the girls at our house right now.  I am in love with these Legos.  They are so so so cute.  I've always appreciated Legos for the boys, but they never tempted me to play with them.  I want to play with these.

And on her birthday she got to go to her very first softball practice with big sister, Elinor.  They are both playing on an 8 and under team.  Elinor just barely made the cut off and I basically begged for them to let Faith on the same team.   It is an 8 and under team-- they didn't have a hard and fast rule about how much "under" they can be.  I figure, Elinor is the tallest and will be one of the best and Faith is the littlest and not so skilled; between the two of them they will equate to 2 average girls.  I'm not worried for her getting hurt because it's pretty safe in the outfield.  Elinor was the same age when she started.

By the way, I LOVE softball season.  After the winter it feels SO GOOD to get outside!! The girls and I have been practicing a lot in the backyard and I think Elinor has a better arm than I do!

And this past week she finally "got" her front walk over!!!!!!  There was much cheering and celebration!  Elinor was our action-packed photographer.  Here is more of her work:

The hand-stand.

The back-walkover.

We REALLY like the gymnastics school Faith goes to and we are super happy with the progress she is making.

For a family party for Faith earlier in the week we went to the Classic Fun Center for roller skating and bounce house.  The kids had a great time, but I think I had more fun.  I was cruising around the rink with Georgie in the stroller and I even climbed to the top of Bounce Everest!  Well, the first time I was almost at the top and then I was humiliated to fall 2500 feet to my near death.  Not really 2500 ft, but it was embarrassing and a little frightening.  However, just before we left the kids convinced me to try again and I made it!

What is a half-marathon next Saturday compared to conquering Bounce Everest?

Bethany's Eleventh Birthday

Bethany turned eleven this past week and she decided to host her first murder mystery for her birthday party.

The story was set in England in 1807.  I was Lady Mazzing and I was looking for a suitable match for my dear son, Lord Mazzing (Clark).  The girls did a fabulous job and it was great fun.

In the course of the evening my charming and handsome son was murdered.  As you can see, I was heartbroken.

In the end, the birthday girl was the guilty party.

Her motive?
Lord Mazzing questioned and mocked her sense of fashion.  He said she looked like a stuffed turkey.  So she had to take care of him.

Elinor was the only young lady who correctly guessed the murderer.

Faith was so happy to get to be with the big girls.  And after patiently waiting through Elinor's and now Bethany's birthday, she is anxious for her big day next week.

Abe was Carson, the butler and the ladies kept him hopping all evening.  Several of the girls put on pretty impressive English accents.  If only we'd had our English Aunt Naomi with us!

I like what Elinor told Bethany the other day about their very different birthday parties.  "Your party is perfect for you and mine was perfect for me!".

Hippity- Hop

Let's begin this evening's sharing time with 2 very important announcements.

1.  I ran 10 miles this morning!  It took me 2 hours and 5 minutes and it wasn't horrible.  Dare I say I quite enjoyed myself?  Yes, I did enjoy it.  21 days until my half-marathon and I figure if I can do 10 and have it not be horrible, then 13.1 shouldn't exceed quite unpleasant.  Hopefully.

2.  I have now reached my first weight-loss goal and have lost 40 lbs.  I'm pretty sure the running 10 miles thing has contributed to this:)

Come on, now, everyone together,
For she's a jolly good fellow, for she's a jolly good fellow, for she's a jolly good feeeellllooooowwwwww---- which nobody can deny!

Oh, you all are too kind.

I am missing out on my more frequent blogging, but life is just keeping us hopping.  And when we're done hopping we want to sleep because we're so tired of hopping. Not so much time left for blogging.
Here are a few of our latest hopping abouts.

Little Fay-Fay learned how to ride her 2-wheeler on Thursday thanks to her big sister, Bethany.  Abe has worked with her a lot this weekend and she is cruising around the block now.  A friend/ neighbor who had been observing Abe working with Faith called me to say how sweet Abe was with her and how she wished Abe had been her dad!  He is wonderfully encouraging and patient and the best cheerleader when kids are learning to ride bikes or learning how to swim.
Oh, yes, he's a keeper!

Tonight Elinor was the host and cook for Lady Bug Dinner Club.  I listened in for a bit to their dinner table conversation and it was A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E.  I loved when they went around the table playing Peach-and-Pit.  That's where you share the best thing that happened to you that week (the peach) and the worst thing (the pit). 

Here's my peach-and-pit for the week.

Peach:  I ran 10 miles and lost 40 lbs.

Pit:  George is drawn to the toilet bowl like a moth to the flame, or should I say, like a fish to major bacteria laden water.  WHY WILL NO ONE IN THIS HOUSE CLOSE THE FREAKING BATHROOM DOORS??????????

Holy Moly!-- little boys have a lot of energy!  But they are the cutest little things and they are both fiercely jealous of their snuggle time with mommy.  If one is getting some loves, the other quickly arrives on the scene to fight for what is theirs.  I feel so loved-- so many males vying for my attention.

Now that is a good looking bread stick.  But that's not what I want to discuss.
Cannon enjoys superhero cartoons, but he can only have it in small doses because he really does behave quite naughty if he watches too much.  He gets very aggressive.  Once again, not what I want to discuss.
I want to share a conversation with Cannon from this past week.  He regularly keeps us in stitches during dinner with the funny things he says.

Abe:  Cannon,you can have the Star Wars poster in this cereal box.
Cannon:  YES!  I knew their was a poster in that cereal!
Abe:  Really?  How did you know that?
Cannon:  My spidey-sense told me.
Betsy:  Where did you get your spidey-sense?
Cannon:  Heavenly Father gave it to me.
Betsy:  Did Heavenly Father give everyone spidey-sense?
Cannon:  No, only the boys.
Betsy:  Oh, what did he give to the girls?
Cannon:  Green Lantern Power.

I want to trade.  Spidey-sense is way better than Green Lantern power.  Everyone knows that.

There is Time Enough

I'll start this post with this picture of Elinor because I love her and she looks just lovely.  I'll refer you back to this picture later in the post.  

My dad is retired and spends much of his time and energy in local and state politics--especially when the legislature is in session.  But, by his own admission, some days he has more leisure time than he knows what to do with.  I know it wasn't always like this for him.  He was a career Army officer for 20 years, a bishop in an LDS ward three different times, and father to four children.  He had his very busy days.  I do not begrudge him his retirement at all, and we occasionally reap the benefits of his flexible schedule.

But.

It's hard for me to even imagine what that might be like.  Time-- time to do whatever you feel like doing when you wake up.  Time that isn't allocated for the entire day before you even get out of bed.
I am simply observing-- I am not complaining.  I am busier than I have ever been, but happier as well.  If you'd have told me a few years back how busy and full my days would be with six children I would not have believed you.  I would much rather have too many good things to fit into a day than a lack of meaningful activity. 

As it is we go, go, go all day long--school work, meal prep, diapers, baths, hair, scriptures, callings,  dance, tae kwon do, piano, violin, swimming, gymnastics, reading, laundry, Shakespeare class, book club, exercise, and on and on and on.  Sometimes I don't like reading long lists like I just wrote because it makes me feel kind of dizzy.  It makes me worry that perhaps we won't have time for family life's simple, creative, spontaneous moments.

But then I take a look at the latest pictures on the camera.
No need to worry-- there is still plenty of time for creativity.

Clark prepared an "Iron Man" costume for Cannon out of a Frosted Mini Wheats box and a plastic container.

Why do we even have any regular toys?

Remember that lovely picture of my sweet Elinor at the first of this post?  Now would be a good time to picture it in your mind.
The girls were making themselves really cute Chinese hairstyles with paper umbrellas for accessories. 

They went terribly wrong.
Elinor turned herself into a fire princess and she painted her face to match.

Faith got into the action as well.  This wasn't face paint-- it was just the good old craft paint.

These were the same two who covered their bodies with scars and battle wounds in red acrylic paint while I was off running an errand. 

Here is a little more productive use of time.  Bethany made THE MOST DIVINE bread sticks a few days back.  Oh, YUM!  Oh, BAD for Operation: Get in Shape Girl.

Here's a funny little thing.  For the last two weeks Cannon has broken out in hives as soon as we get to church.  A bit of Benadryl takes care of it, but it begs the question--- is Cannon allergic to church?

Abe got these pillow cases for the girls for their birthdays.  He feels uncommonly strongly that pillows MUST have covers on them at all times.  These were his solution and I agree that they are really cute and the girls love them.  It's fun to get a present just from their daddy.

George is trying to say more and more and he is a source of constant entertainment to the children and their friends when they tell him, "George, don't pick your nose!"  This of course gets him to do that very thing. 
Hilarious. 

A parting image for the evening.
She is my daughter.

Weekend Wrap-Up

Following an afternoon of espionage yesterday for Elinor's birthday party, we surprised Elinor and Bethany with their big birthday presents-- new bikes!

Here they are flying out the front door when they saw them on the sidewalk. 

The girls have made the best of a very sad collection of ill-sized, non-functioning bicycles for the last couple of years.  They are looking forward to a long bike ride together tomorrow.

Because their birthdays are so close (2 weeks apart), they frequently get their presents together since they often get the same thing.  Besides, it is more fun to play with something when you play together.

For a couple of years Clark has wanted to put together a Dungeons & Dragons club-- a group of friends to get together once a month and go on "adventures".   Putting aside the fact that I have never really understood why this is such fun for Abe and his brothers or Clark and his cousins, I was FULLY in support of him setting this up.  I'll explain why in a moment, but this is a picture of their first meeting this past Saturday evening.

They had pizza and played for about 4 hours.  I must admit, that in listening to these young men and hearing their enthusiasm, my mind was opened and my heart was softened.  I think that maybe, perhaps, just a little, I began to understand how the game is played and why it is so fun.  Maybe.

But here is why I was so happy for Clark to set up this club.  There was an article in the Deseret News just this morning addressing the nurturing of young men.  This article pointed to Boy Scouting as a means of meeting the needs and desires that young men have to be challenged, accomplish things, make friends, and be morally strong.
The article suggested (and I COMPLETELY agree) that young men too often spend hours upon hours playing addictive and/or violent video games that appear to provide for all those needs, but are actually counterfeits, leaving the young men with nothing.

Instead, Clark took the initiative to make a plan and contact all the boys to organize this club.  He spent hours over the last couple of weeks writing the adventure and designing the maps and such.  For four hours these young men communicated as they used their imaginations and thought through the story and setting and characters.  They were charming and polite-- talking with Abe and I and being very kind to the younger siblings.  They will rotate around to each of the boys' homes.  I think it is a perfectly suitable and enjoyable way for young men to spend an evening.  Who knew I could enjoy D&D so much!

i Spy

I haven't posted for a little while because I've been spending my usual blogging time in the evenings preparing for today.

Elinor's Nine Year Old Spy Birthday Party.  The soon-to-be spies arrived promptly and dressed all in black-- for security reasons, of course.

They were taken deeper into the spy training center where they each received their spy kit.

Inside was a notebook, pen, glasses, cell phone, and watch.  It also contained a welcome letter with their code name written in code.  They used the attached master code breaker sheet to decipher their code using one of the five codes.  They had to figure out which code would work for their name.  Once they cracked their code name they received their official special agent badge.

From left to right by code name:  Striker, Shadow, Crusher, Commander Q (Abe), Stretch (Faith, Sherlock, Pacer (Bethany), Skinner (Cannon), Mask, Hunter, Maverick (Elinor), Laser (cousin Gentri), Blade, Femme (me), and Razor.  Then they were ready for the next phase of training. 
Laser avoidance.

It could be done successfully, but it was very challenging.  There were those who underestimated the difficulty and they suffered laser burns to severed limbs.

Pacer (AKA:  Bethany) was one of the few to make it through unscathed.

Skinner (AKA: Cannon) was little, but that didn't help him too much.
Next up:  Bomb detection.

 Two different teams took turns finding the hidden bomb somewhere in the house.

Master Spy Commander Q was in charge of training this elite team. 
The next phase was weapons accuracy and as Commander Q's assistant I prepared this magnificent cross-hairs pinata for them as a moving target.

Unfortunately our trainees were too powerful and it was quickly knocked to the ground and we couldn't string it back up.  So we improvised.  That's what good spies have to do, you know.

Swing around and take a whack at a ball in midair.  It worked.
Time to be sworn in as full-fledged special agents of the CIA.

Things I love about this picture:
Cannon saluting in the front row.
Elinor and Gentri looking at each other and laughing.  These two were eating it up.
The kid with the Civil War hat.  Why not wear your Civil War hat to spy training?

Immediately upon finishing the swearing in, Commander Q received an urgent message---- THE BIRTHDAY PRESENTS HAD BEEN STOLEN!  And hidden within one of the presents were secret jet plane plans.  There were two suspects-- rogue special agents in cahoots with the other side--- Viper and Covert (AKA:  Clark and his friend Taylor)

There was grave concern.  They listened carefully to get the details.

"How can this be happening at my birthday party???"

Some coded messages led them to the mailbox where they found evidence of the stolen presents and learned that they needed to go to the park to apprehend Viper and Covert.

And apprehend them they did.  And tackle them and pulverize them.
Commander Q told the spies to search Viper's and Covert's pockets, where they found more clues to decode.  The last code proved that Viper and Covert were innocent, and had been set up-- framed by Commander Q.  In a rage, the spies ran home to confront Q. 

He admitted his guilt, but said HE would have the last laugh-- he had activated the bomb and they would all be toast unless Maverick (AKA: Elinor) could figure out how to deactivate it. 
Thank goodness she did.  Red to red, green to green, yellow to yellow.

In desperation Commander Q threw himself into the red hot lasers and in his dying breath he told the agents where the birthday presents were hidden-- in his bedroom.

Time to celebrate their success and sing to the Spy of the Day!
As darling a group of children as there is anywhere on the planet!

Happy birthday, Elinor!  She is a girl with varied interests.

She was thrilled with the spy watch and the invisible ink/light pens.  She LOVES her nerf guns and super sturdy, 3-setting flash light. 

But she was equally ecstatic over the pillow pet, cooking supplies, nail polish and jammies.
Talk about well rounded.

And we love her to pieces!!!!