Fourth of July

We're driving to Utah in two days.  At about 18 hours, it's going to be a long ride. Certainly, the longest the kids have ever taken.  

In preparation and fun, I took the older kids on a one way flight to Chicago just before July 4. 


Ava wanted me to take a picture of  her cheesy pizza in the airport.

Unfortunately, that would not be the last time we saw that pizza because it made it's encore appearance that night in the bed we shared. It's not a trip with kids until someone throws up, right?

Luckily, once it was out of her system it seemed she was fine.


When she finished school this year, I asked her if there was anything fun or special that she particularly wanted to do this summer.  Her one request was to see Sophia, her cousin.  This trip was born out of that request.  And lucky for her, she got to spend everyday of our trip with Sophia because after our relaxing day at Ian's house in Chicago and a swim in the pool, she came with us up to Milwaukee to Leah's house.

 Luke sure had fun with Santiago and Noah and Ian as well. 

The height of my laziness is apparent because almost all of these pictures are from my phone.

I did bring my camera.  And I did use it to take pictures of Leah's friends' brand new baby.  But I didn't really take any of us.


Besides the friggin' heat index, the fourth of July in Greendale, Wisconsin was picture perfect.  It is such a cute little village to begin with. (Really, it's called a village!)

Add in the small town parade and the up close fireworks, all without too much of a crowd or hassle, and I'd say it was a just right slice of Americana. 

We also took a trip to the Jelly Belly warehouse for a free tour.

We went to a super fun kids play place for a birthday party.

I loved seeing little Sage and playing games with my sister.

Then on Saturday, we said our goodbyes, and after a day in the car, Ava got brave and started her underwater adventures at the hotel pool (a feat she has previously been way too scared to do).

The kids were in heaven with dinner at Shoney's and we all slept great at the hotel.  The next morning we got an early start and the kids did freakishly well.  They didn't whine, they didn't fight, they didn't even have to stop to go to the bathroom any more often than the car needed gas.

 It gave me great hope for our next drive.  That is, until we made it home and I found this little bubba waiting for us. 

Out with the hope, in with the reality. Wish us luck!

5 years of Luke

Poor Lukey always seems to get the shaft. He turned 5 two weeks ago and I'm just now getting around to his post.

I wanted to take his 5 year birthday pictures on our recent trip to Chicago and Milwaukee, where the temperatures would be so much friendlier.  There is something cruelly ironic about trying to escape something (such as the heat) and finding that something even worse at your destination (such as the heat).

Dallas was slightly cooler than either of our Northern stops the entirety of the trip.  But enough about the weather, this post is about Luke.

We had a birthday party with friends about a week before his real day.  He is easy to please so our big water slide, pizza, watermelon, and cake was all he needed.  

Since the party was pretty much free, I didn't feel so bad paying Kroger to make a Harry Potter cake.  He loved it.

My friend Val came for her visit and while she was here, her sister convinced her to come back up with her kids.  

So a few days later, when Luke's constantly talked about Mario cake for his real birthday and the arrival of our guests overlapped, I turned out this beauty.

I figured since I didn't have to make the other cake, I could at least manage this one.  And I had some really cute and simple ideas for a blue skyed, white cloud, yellow starred, Mario cake.  

Clearly, it was not meant to be.  I finally gave up and stuck everything on. 

When Luke saw the cake, he let out a gigantic belly laugh and said, "That cake is crazy!"

But he didn't seem to mind and was more than happy to blow out the candles and get one more wish.

  

 I am told it still tasted delicious. 

Luke is such a sweet, tender hearted boy.  He is quiet and shy.  Unless he's really excited.  And then he runs around crazy.  He loves numbers. He knows all his letters and sounds. He has the biggest sweet tooth and asks every night, "What's for bessert?" He loves his bed.  He is usually the first to wake in the morning and he comes into our room, stands next to the bed and asks, "Can I sweep wif you?" before climbing up and snuggling in (I was sad to hear the recent arrival of the beginning sound 's').  He has recently become obsessed with certain apps on the ipad and ipod, like Swampy and Temple Run. He would play them all day if I let him. 

He is a very sensitive guy even though he is much more quiet about it than some of the rest of us. He has a mind for puzzles and problem solving. He builds elaborate and symmetrical things with his blocks and has no problem crashing them to the ground after I've taken a picture. He gets nervous to go places without me and would rather play at home unless it's somewhere he's very familiar with. He is the balancing force to his siblings.  Luke + Ava or Luke + Max is always an easier combination than Max + Ava.  I'm so thankful for each of my kids, but when I say that I'm lucky to have Luke, it's more like I'm so grateful for Luke and his personality because I feel like it's saved my bacon on more than one occasion.  In many ways, he is my reprieve.  I enjoy him, I adore him, I love him.  I am so glad he's mine.

What She Knows

Yesterday we were late to church.  What's new?  From our seats in the back, we listened, kids coloring and thumbing through the hymnbook.  But it wasn't until a primary-age child got up at the pulpit to speak, that Ava looked at me in a panic.  That was the signal to her that this was not a regular Sunday, but indeed the Sunday where the opportunity is open to anyone to get up and share what they know.  Fast and Testimony meeting.

As the realization dawned in her eyes, it was followed by what appeared to be urgency, frustration, and excitement.

She has expressed her desire to share her testimony before.  She wanted us to tell her what to say.  We explained that it was something she needed to think of herself.  We've taught her the parts of a testimony,  we've reviewed possibilities for what she might share.  But she got kind of hung up on needing it to be "right" (as she does with many things) and also on being able to remember it once she got up there.

We emphasized that there was no "right," all that was necessary was she share what she know and we settled on the fact that she could write down what she wanted to say and practice as much as she wanted before hand.

But the first Sunday of July came, she had no idea, and we didn't know how serious she was about it until she looked at me with that face.

Within a few minutes she was on her way to the front with a paper in hand.

She stood in front of over 300 people and this is what she said:

I know that Jesus loves me and I love him.  I feel happy when I feel the Holy Ghost.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

When she returned to our row, there was no panic, no anxiety, no frustration, instead her eyes were lit up with excitement, pride, and joy.  And she said, "I can't wait to do that again."