a last hurrah

I decided that we had to cram in some more summer fun during the last week before school started.

It started with our second (gasp!) trip to Seven Peaks. (The boys went 3 or 4 times, but we only all went together twice! At that rate, it might have been cheaper to just buy the day passes.)

I forgot to take my camera – this photo is from our first foray of the season. The long lines we had to wait in while everyone's bags were checked for contraband food/drinks were enough to make you want to scream. It was much better the last time we went.

We took Landon and Eva's friend Riley with us. Eva got really brave and finally went on a few slides – the kiddie ones. Riley was disappointed that she didn't want to go on the big ones!

At one point in the wave pool, I was in serious trouble. Eva had her life jacket on and was sitting on top of the waves, but Riley, who is a good swimmer, was getting mouthfuls of water and was holding onto me for support. It was too deep for me to stand, so I was treading water and trying to hold her up to the surface. Waves kept crashing over my head and I was choking and starting to feel panicked. For a second, I feared the life guard was going to have to jump in after me, and the next second I was hoping she would! She didn't even see me. So reassuring. I managed to drag us all to the edge. I really wish I were a stronger swimmer.

The next day was Lucas's friend birthday party. We took him and a bunch of his friends to play laser tag. Of course I forgot to get any pictures of that.

In the short time that I was with his friends, I rediscovered that I really do not like one of them very well. All he could talk about was girls (in not the most respectful of terms), and when he wasn't doing that, he was putting down some of Lucas's other friends.

I didn't want to make a huge deal out of it and possibly make said friend more attractive somehow, so I just quietly told Lucas later that I was uncomfortable with the way this friend was talking and behaving. I hope it sinks in.

Fortunately, Lucas requested donuts from Costco! Even though I love baking cakes, I really wasn't up to another one that week.

Everyone had donuts and milk and then after Lucas opened his gifts, I took them all home. Easiest party ever.

Lucas totally scored on his gifts with money, iTunes cards, and treats. He was thrilled.

The next day, I took everyone to Trafalga (including Landon and Riley). Thankfully, Landon didn't mind spending a third day in a row with us, because Landon is such a good friend and a great influence that he is always welcome!

Max and Landon on the climbing wall.

We all played laser tag together, a first for Eva and me. I wish I had pictures of that, it was hilarious. I could not seem to get the hang of holding my gun in the right place, because it kept flashing and giving me the message: "HOLD WITH TWO HANDS." I was holding it with two hands! It was still fun, though.

Riley spraying water at us in the bumper boats. She was just barely tall enough to drive one by herself. (Eva was not and had to ride with me.)

I had not expected to get so soaked! Our clothes were totally wet and I ended up with unplanned smoky eyes – on the top and bottom!

Riley rode the airplanes. Eva watched from the ground.

Eva rode the carousel twice, but held on for dear life. (Apparently this is one result of our being extreme homebodies.) Never mind that she rode about a hundred carousels in Paris. Two years ago.

There was just enough room on the go-karts for all the kids to go at once. I'm amazed that Eva agreed to it, but she seemed to feel comfortable with Max at the wheel since he drives a lot these days.

Landon volunteered to go with Riley. Lucas frustrated everyone by going too slow and not staying in one lane so that everyone could pass him. Good times.

These two were delighted to share a lunch of chicken strips and fries.

The Frog Hopper is Riley's favorite ride and she probably went on it 10 times. She really wanted Eva to go on it with her, and Eva finally relented, if I would do it, too. There is one seat in the middle for adults. I figured, what the heck? No big whoop. Oh, there was whoop.

It drops you down suddenly and then goes back up. Repeat many times. I couldn't stop myself from screaming a little. Eva was white-knuckled the entire time. I won't make that mistake again! I am now a total wuss about rides.

And, of course, Riley did the climbing wall.

Eva preferred playing on the indoor playground. Maybe next time we'll spare ourselves the drive and just go to a McDonald's playland!

The next day was Friday, and I treated myself to a lazy day at home. I think it was well-deserved. I also think I should get some major points for being a fun mom that week.

not quite wordless Wednesday

Jessie and I saw this car in the temple parking lot.

Seriously. Car eyelashes. Have you ever seen these before? You can't really tell in this picture, but there is a row of large rhinestones on the other side of the lashes.

I am so intrigued. Does someone manufacture these? If so, why have I never seen them on any other cars? And if not, does that mean that the car owner just decided that her car needed some falsies and made them herself?

People are endlessly interesting.

five for Friday

1. Eva made this card to give to her teacher. The glitter glue was taking way too long to dry, and she wanted to write her holiday message. I told her she would just have to wait, to avoid ruining the picture. Instead of listening to me, she turned the card around and wrote her words upside down! What the? She showed me.

2. We made a batch of Rolo turtles the other day. Apparently these have become an essential part of Christmas for my kids. I'm partial to the ones with pecans myself, which is surprising when you know how much I love m&ms.

3. This is a terrible photo (taken at night), but when I took Max to get a haircut, I turned and saw this dog sitting in the driver's seat of the car next to us! I did a double take, then totally started laughing. When we came back to our car, this one was gone and Eva said, "maybe the dog drove home!"

4. I was waiting for Max to finish his cello lesson and realized that I could zoom in and see him working with his teacher. The Christmas tree, the picture of the temple, the classical music... I love this scene.

5. On Tuesday, Eva got to go to school with Landon. (Seventh graders bring a young child to school and do activities with them for an hour and a half.) She was so excited to go to the junior high and said, "I love Jill's kids. She has really nice kids. They don't boss me around." Okay, then. (For the record, she does have really nice kids.)

I ended up going to Starbucks (for the first time ever!). I ordered a salted caramel hot chocolate and sat and prepped my Christmas lesson for YW while I sipped. I also talked to Jessie on the phone. I'm not going to lie, it was a pretty great way to spend the time before I had to go back and pick up Eva.

She had a pretty great time, too!

p.s. Last Sunday night, our elementary school was robbed. Around 50 new computers were stolen, as well as some cameras. Today we found out that the police were able to recover the computers and apprehend the suspects!

wordless Wednesday

our daily trauma

With Eva, you never know what to expect. But expecting at least one trauma on any given day is a pretty safe bet.

This morning it involved homemade raspberry jam.

Eva helped me make this jam last Friday morning. She was pretty excited about it. As were Max and Marc (and myself, I really love freezer jam). Incidentally, Lucas doesn't like jam. But then, he doesn't like fruit...

So when Eva asked for a pb&j sandwich this morning, I reached for the homemade jam.

When she took a bite of her sandwich, she started crying. Because I used homemade jam, which apparently she hates.

She seemed to feel betrayed, but I assured her that I see homemade jam as a special treat. At least I didn't use homemade bread, I know better than that. (Why do my children enjoy store-bought items more than homemade?!)

Well. I won't make that mistake again. On the upside, I enjoyed a tasty sandwich for breakfast.

seriously.

Jill and Jenn came over this morning to help me out. They were both dusting (I rarely seem to get around to dusting!) and I was gathering and sorting. Suddenly I caught a glimpse of something hideous on my wall!

Not a bug, nor bodily fluids or anything of that sort. No, this little beauty was hung there on purpose.

What the? In fact, I actually purchased it at one point (albeit about 16 years ago). My only excuse is that, at one point, I liked it. And now I hate it. And apparently I stopped seeing it. I have no idea what brought it into view with such clarity today, but it was such a relief throwing it away!

I mentioned it to Marc, and he said, "well, it did have some cool keys hanging from it." As if THAT excuses this monstrosity.

But the worst part was that, when I mentioned to Jill and Jenn that I was going to throw it away, they both breathed a sigh of relief and said they had been wondering for years how that had made it into my house. Years!

I demanded to know why they never mentioned it, and they said it wasn't their place to question my decor. And so, a declaration is in order: if ever you are wondering something like that, please tell me! Please. I promise I can take it.

the pink party

Let me just start by saying that I was prepared for the worst at Eva's first birthday party: tantrums, screaming fits, emotional meltdowns caused by being the birthday girl and thus the center of attention, arguing over the opening of the gifts, etc. And I could not have been more shocked by the way the party turned out! It was the calmest, quietest party I have ever seen. The guests and even the birthday girl were all polite and well-behaved.

We invited 6 little girls. Jill's niece, Ashley, couldn't make it because she lives in Freakin' Eagle Mountain and her mom had to work. Another little girl from Eva's Sunbeam class was taking a mega nap and her mom couldn't wake her! (which was really sad because it was going to be her first birthday party as an attendee and she was very excited) Perhaps it was the fact that we only ended up with 5 girls total that accounted for the quiet nature of the gathering?

Since the party didn't start until 3:30, Eva had a lot of time to fill. She kept asking me all day when her guests were going to arrive. Mostly we worked on party prep, such as making and frosting the cupcakes and going to get balloons, but we also took time out to paint her nails with sparkly pink polish. We had to put on two coats to satisfy her need for glitter.

before the guests' arrival

I bought a kit of 30 foam crowns at the craft store (thanks for the tip, Jill!). I could not believe how focused the girls were on decorating their crowns. I think this quiet activity lasted about 30 minutes.

We had another little activity where I passed around a bag of rice that had sparkly gems buried within. After each girl had found two gems, I took them and hot-glued them together with a paper clip sandwiched between. We then strung a sparkly cord through the paper clip to make a necklace for each girl.

Comparing necklaces.

A variation on Duck, Duck, Goose was very popular. The person who was "it" would walk around the outside of the circle and quietly drop a pink napkin behind someone else. That person would, in theory, jump up and run around, sitting down before getting tagged. In actuality, it ended up being kind of a running free for all, with the girls sometimes running in opposite directions and then bumping into each other. They didn't seem to care, it was all good, and I think they played this game for at least 20 minutes!

Pink table settings for pink cupcakes, strawberry ice cream, and pink lemonade.

She must have told me 20 times throughout the day that she wanted the cupcake in the middle with the most edible pink glitter. Yet, just prior to the candle lighting, she pointed it out again, lest I forget.

She could use a little practice with her blowing technique. But look at that concentration!

Our little pink princess holding court.

When all the little girls were leaving, we gave them the party bags we had assembled -- filled with pink items, of course! (bubbles, Littlest Pet Shop velvet art, giant rings from the dollar store, balloons, YoGos, pink-wrapped peppermint patties, pink bubble gum)

Our little neighborhood friend actually told me she had a lovely time! I could not believe it, especially from this tomboy.

To sum up, it was unbelievably calm and smooth. But I was still glad it was over. For this introvert, planning and pulling off a party is a stress. Worth it, of course, but I'm glad I have a good long time before another one rolls around...

p.s. I'm so glad Marc was on hand to take pictures!

Wonderful Wednesday!

I've been so excited for Wonderful Wednesday! When Jill arrived, I was in the midst of cleaning off the kitchen counter (I've been letting my filing pile up and was sorting it all into piles).

9:30 a.m.

10:30 a.m.

(note the new mixer's provisional home!)

I took some paperwork downstairs and then put the finishing touches on the recipe box for my dear neighbor Heidi (her birthday was in December, good grief!). Look familiar, Jane?

11:30 a.m.
After searching long and hard, I found some brush sets and fonts that seemed promising.

12:30 p.m.
Making good progress on my new tags!

1:30 p.m. Break to make lunch for Max, who is still sick, and for me.


2:30 Well on my way with another set of tags!

3:30 p.m.
put in a load of laundry
and picked up Lucas and some neighbors from school.

4:30 p.m.
had fun creating some ledger "papers", but I'm questioning whether they might be too ink intensive to really use much.

5:30 p.m.
Pulled soft pretzels out of the oven to share with Jill when she brought Eva home. (Recipe from Jordan's food blog.)

6:00 p.m.
Called Jill to see why they weren't back yet! She was killing time, trying to bring Eva back later. Can you believe? And then. Then she told me that Eva bit Ashley today! Bit her, on purpose, and didn't seem remorseful about it. I'm a little scarred by that. I had to leave at 6:15 to go to Enrichment, and I've been trying not to think about that little incident too much.

With the exception of the biting, it was truly a wonderful day.