A new adventure

How excited is this brand new cub scout? Sooooo excited! When I picked him up from his first night, he said, "That was really, really, really, really fun. Even funner than I thought." And he thought it was going to be pretty darn fun! I'm so glad that he has a group of fun kids he gets to experience growing up with. And I'm glad that he has good excited cub scout leaders who are getting him excited to learn new things.

The Empire Birthday

We had so much family in town for Todd's actual birthday that we shared the festivities with family this year rather than having a "friend party" (though Todd is sure this is still up for debate in the week ahead). It was delightful to share games and laughter with family. I really missed having the big family gatherings when we lived so far from everyone. It was so much fun to have a big ole' party here at our home.

Todd chose the theme of Empires, since he loves all things history and the computer game Age of Empires. We had a chariot race, park bench jousting, castle rocket siege, and pinata bludgeoning. We are firm believers in non-violent party games. Hah. There were no blood injuries and no tears.

Aubrey taking a swipe at the pinata

Kyle jousts the cones

Todd uses his every-improving baseball skills to swing at the pinata

Filipe takes aim with the help of his dad

Ben leads off the chariot race with his trusty steed

The doorway was the actual target for the castle siege.

Lizzie felt perfectly confident that if she sat here, she was safe.


Grammy takes aim with the rocket. She's a feisty one.


The "senior" team, with super Lizzie and Aubs


I think these guys won, but I don't actually remember.

Uncle Scott really got into the chariot race

It's Great to be Eight!

Round 1 of catch-up blogging. Moving, company, baptism, easter, etc. has not made for great communication lately. So I picked the most important one to start up with again.

Todd was baptised last Saturday. He got to be baptised on the same day as his best buddy, Jared, which made it an extra special day. Jared is quick to point out, however, that he is almost exactly one month older than Todd. This detail is very important when you're eight. Todd was baptised by his dad and the bishop all at the same time, which was pretty special for him. I'm grateful that I have a husband who uses his Priesthood to bless the lives of his family.

We were also blessed to have a bunch of family here to share in this special ordinance. One set of great grandparents (you guys rock), both sets of grandparents, three sets of aunts and uncles, and two sets of cousins were there for the event. An especially cool attendee was Todd's great great grandmother, affectionately referred to as Grammy. She turned 98 9 days before Todd's eighth birthday. She is still spry and fun to be around. We're grateful to everyone who came and missed very much those who couldn't be with us.

Todd is an amazing eight year old. He was a blessing when he came to our family eight years ago and he is still a blessing today. He has a quick wit and a quirky sense of humor. He has a voracious appetite for all things involving ancient world history and loves to learn about wars, battles, and weapons. He has especially been fascinated to learn that the Book of Mormon is full of ancient history. He has finally come to realize (on good days) that food is to be enjoyed, not just endured. He is a great helper when he forgets that it isn't cool to help. He is a fun big brother who dearly loves his little brother and dearly loves to tease him as well. He has an excellent ear for music and a beautiful voice, though not the heart of a performer. He is creative and artistic and loves to make things. He is a joy to us and we are grateful that Heavenly Father has shared him with our family.

Holy cow! Can you believe I have an eight year old?

Good Behavior

So, I had to make a quick trip to the Urgent Care last evening to check into the matter of a fractured nose (more on that later). Ryan had appointments scheduled at church, so I took the little cherubs with me. They were fantastic. They waited patiently in the waiting room (while I did deep breathing exercises as I considered the germs breeding there), they were fascinated by the x-ray of my face, and entertained by the model of the progressive worsening of the arteries of the heart.

We went to In-N-Out Burger to celebrate such good behavior.

So, anyway, as we drove home I said, "Thank you so much for being so great at the doctor's office and again at dinner."

Todd got a serious look on his face and proceeded to explain, "Yeah. Jared said that when you turn eight, you just aren't as wild anymore. So I guess that's what's happening." (Note that this bit of Jared wisdom is from his friend who turned eight two weeks ago).

"Really," I replied, trying to keep a straight face, "but you're not eight quite yet."

"But I'm close. So I must be getting less wild a little early."

Ben-ism of the day

Ben was tired frustrated, and ready for the end of his day as I put him in the bath tonight. He had a pouty face and was telling me for the 100th time today that he had boogers. He began recounting how frustrated he is when he gets water in his eyes in the bath--recall that he was not yet in the bath, just thinking about it. He was so tired that he started to actually cry as he was telling me about the thought of it. "I get water in my eyes and then I can't see and I get so frustrated," he cried.

In an attempt to stop the downhill nature of the conversation, and the evening in general, I commented, "Mommies sometimes get frustrated, too."

"I know," he replied with understanding, "like on Sundays when Todd and me ask to play computer or playstation. You get frustrated then."

True. And by the time he had proclaimed this three-year-old understanding of the world, the tears were over.

Leadership?

I recalled a funny story tonight and thought I'd share.

A few weeks ago, I had assigned Todd and Ben to clean up the car, as it is their nastiness that accumulates on the back seat, not mine. They were supposed to clear out all the trash, bring any books or toys inside, and straighten things up in general. I added that I would pay them for vacuuming if they so desired.

When I went back out to check on them a few minutes later, Todd was half-heartedly picking things up, and Ben was lying in the back window ledge, doing nothing.

When I asked him what was going on, he responded quite firmly, "I'm the boss and bosses don't work."

Classic. Perhaps we need to work on our leadership lessons?

Refrigerator Love

I'm not sure if his post will reveal my sense of cheapness about all things, or the amazingness of my children, but judge as you will:

We were in a need of a new fridge for the new house we will someday in the near future close on. . . .still waiting. Anyway, I was having a hard time stomaching the $1500 price tags for the fridges I actually wanted, because, let's face it, I'm a budgeter. Plus, the rest of the appliances in the house are bisque, and I was realy having a hard time buying an expensive bisque fridge. Well, we finally decided to take the Craig's list plunge and found a beauty for $350. So much more satisfying! Ryan and I picked it up on Monday morning, with help from Ryan H. (thanks, Ryan) and brought it home to our garage since we still don't have the aforementioned house.

When I got home with the kids later in the morning they saw the fridge. I am not exaggerating when I say they were thrilled! Todd said, "OH, MAN!" Ben quickly followed with, "We are SO lucky!" What, you may ask, was the source of their excitement? Have we been living out of an igloo cooler for the past several years? Nope. There is ice and water in the door of our new fridge and the joy my boys feel for this feature is evidentally boundless.

I love that my kids can be excited about fun surprises in life. They aren't so used to getting everything that they just expect it. And I love that a fridge can make their day!