Birthday Wrap-up

It is late and Mike and I just finished watching Twilight. I had seen it before, but this was his introduction to it. After watching something intense/scary/action-packed I find it hard to go to sleep, so I came downstairs to do some laundry and upload some photos. Now I am blogging while fighting off serious desires to play baseball. (I love that part of the movie.)

In our family, birthdays seem to go on for weeks. We have each of the family parties, the birthday itself and then the friend party. This birthday boy has been so excited for the big day(s).

Breakfast in bed. Christian reminded us several times about this tradition. Sweet Bev got up before me and had the whole thing done for him.
He chose Golden Crown (aka Golden Corral) for his dinner. Sean, Julie, Tyler, Courtney and Katie joined us for the feast. It was also very important that the waiters sang to him.

At school he had his BIP (aka VIP.) I got to go in and tell about him. His teacher even had a green crown for him (which stayed on for most of the day.)

Although Andrew has one, Kiki wanted his own Lightsaber building kit. Cause you know you can never have too many lightsabers in the house.

All the cousins on Mike's side.

Cousins on my side.

Finally, the birthday marathon ended with his party at Bouncin' off the Walls.

He is so lucky to have such great friends.

Five things I love about this boy:

1. He says the funniest things and makes us laugh every day.

2. He has such a kind heart.

3. He does everything with boundless energy and optimism.

4. He makes us love notes and other projects.

5. He is a snuggly, kissable, sweetheart. (He told me that even though he is five I can still call him "baby" and that he will still snuggle me.)

Twins no longer

Wednesday was the last day I had two 4-year olds. Yesterday Kiki turned 5. This was a much-anticipated birthday. He has been counting down the months and days since December when Jessie turned 4. Apparently, he did not like sharing an age with her, so when she turned 4 we adjusted his age to 4 and a half. That made him happy. He has a strong identity as the "older brother." I grieve a little at every birthday--it is going so quickly. I couldn't be too sad because he was SO happy.

Special Primary Moments

Yesterday Mike and I substituted Jess and Kiki's primary class. After the lesson I had a few minutes to kill so I asked each of the 4 year-olds what their favorite primary song was--then we sang the songs. Christian chose "Follow the Prophet." For those of you unfamiliar with it, it's got a little bit of a beat to it. He wasn't singing at the beginning, but was instead playing with his fingers. He joined in at the chorus. It was then that I discovered what he had been doing with his fingers. He had made them into "horns"--you know where the thumb holds tall man and ring finger down--and was rocking them above his head while singing his little heart out. I think all the Guitar Hero being played around here is starting to affect the children.

Kindred Spirits

My Junior year at BYU I did a semester in D.C. interning for Senator Hatch. It was my favorite semester. I met some great people--a few of which became life-long friends. We are somewhat scattered, and we get together occasionally, but it has been 7 years since the four of us were together. We came from Utah, Chigago and California and all met in San Francisco for the weekend.
In the picture are: me, Cindy, Alison, Nicole. I just love these girls. We definitely had a pampered weekend--great food, massages, movies, shopping, a little sight-seeing and staying at the Ritz-Carlton (a great deal thanks to Nicole.) It was a much-needed getaway for me.

It doesn't matter how long it has been, whenever we get together we pick up just where we left off. I am so blessed to have such great women in my life.

Creativity

A friend sent me the link to this video. I heard this talk at the General Relief Society meeting last fall and I loved hearing his explanation that creativity is a part of our spirit. I came home from hearing the talk and told Mike that Pres. Uchtdorf said I needed to go to the craft store.

I have a desire to create on a daily basis. I am not able to "make" something everyday. Sometimes I create a mess. Sometimes I create a clean room. Sometimes I create clean laundry. Sometimes I create an environment where we can all be happy. I am making it more of a priority to make time to do the things that I love. Right now those things are scrapbooking and playing the piano. (I am also making it a priority to go to the gym. Unfortunately I can't list that as somenthing I love--at least not yet.)

He's Back (on my I-pod anyway)

Let me take you back twenty plus years. I had an obsession with all things Michael Jackson. I owned a Michael Jackson purse (purchased at Stone Drug.) His was the first "tape" I ever bought. I watched and recorded his videos on Friday Night Videos. My girlfriends and I memorized the dance to Thriller. I know ya'll learned to moonwalk.

So, last week that kid on American Idol sang Man in the Mirror and I was all, "Where and when did I forget about Michael Jackson?" Well then I remembered him going all weird (my dad always told me he was weird) and lighter and facially-altered. Then came the child abuse stuff. I guess I couldn't listen to his tunes without thinking about that. Apparently I have forgotten all of that--I have just put him on my I-pod. I am also, apparently, singing Man in the Mirror around the house a lot.

Yesterday we cleaned out kids bedrooms and I guess I was humming or singing it. Christian asked about the song, so I took him downstairs and showed him this video--I try to teach the rascals a little music appreciation every once in a while. His only response was, "Why does he have so many hiccups?" He watched for about 1 minute, then left.

Now I admit, he is lip-syncing for the first half, but it is still a great performance, and such a great song. Oh, and I just love a good gospel choir.

Deja Vu

When I was a little girl, many a Saturday night was spent watching Donnie and Marie or Little House on the Praire while my mom put spongies (curlers) in our hair for church the next day. Last night I found myself putting spongies in Bev's hair while watching Little House. We have been tivoing it for a few weeks and the kids love it. Mike and I like it too. Part of my joy comes in watching my kids--all four of them--enjoy something I liked as a kid. They laugh hysterically at parts, they get teary-eyed at parts. It is just a darned good show. With all the crap on tv it is great to be able to watch something uplifting together.

Since watching it again, I had this revelation--I think Pa Ingalls is a bit of a hottie, and I think, back in the day, my mom thought so too. So, last weekend I asked her. She confirmed what I suspected, but then informed me that Michael Landon had some issues in his personal life. I still love Pa--he's a hunk, he's wise and funny. He is a hero.