When Dad's Away, Mom Will Play

Well, Tyler snuck on here and wrote an amazing tribute to mothers. He really is the stud he claims to be. He failed to mention that he left Mother's Day weekend. To go visit his mother of course. Trust me when I say that I had no reservations to his going. In fact, I spent most of the weekend surprised to see shocked expressions when I explained Tyler's whereabouts. (I guess I see it this way. I'm happy Tyler was able to see his family. I would have gone with him if it were possible. And it only would be wrong if I had asked him not to go in the first place. But I encouraged him. So no hard feelings.)

My Mother's Day was quite lovely. I should rewind because Saturday had some important activities that required my motherly skills. (Meaning that I had to show up, as I am the 'mom.')

In our church there is a group called 'Activity Day Girls' which include the girls between the ages of 8-11. These girls put on a wonderful Mother's Day party. I showed up bringing not one daughter. No. Not two daughters. But THREE daughters! And mind you, I do not have a set of multiples. I know my kids are not too far apart, but it seemed painfully obvious at that activity. I'm sure it is compounded by the fact that they are all the same gender.

Despite the slight strangeness, I had a great time. I love all three of my girls a ton. And I love spending time with them. (Even if it wasn't exactly one on one.) They made picture frames, and each was unique and beautiful. Here is June's.

And Ivory's.

There was also a dessert contest. I made toffee and we came in third place. Check out our very official award.

Oh, and the kids painted my nails. I forgot to take a picture, but trust me, that they were awesome. June got one hand, Robyn the other, and Ivory did my feet. (One lady took a picture of me with my entourage.)

The rest of Saturday was spent enforcing my slave labor. I kid, mostly. I did tell the kids that I wanted a clean house, and they all dutifully did their chores with minimal complaining. I'll take it.

I went out and did some more hedge trimming. Wow, this new house has a lot of hedges. We actually got the hedge trimmer last Sat. and I trimmed one side of the house. Tyler was out at a ward activity and I was happy to send him this text.

"I've trimmed four hedges and one extension cord. You're welcome."

Amazingly, he let me use another extension cord later. I guess he figured I learned my lesson. This week I tackled the front hedge. I wish I had a before picture. That beast was getting quite unruly. I trimmed him back enough that I hit sparse patches. But it needed to be done.

Sunday morning dawned with five beautiful girls ready to shower me with love.

They brought me breakfast in bed. (I requested cereal. Less mess left in the kitchen.)

Robyn made me flowers.

And then they gave me a million cards. (Have I mentioned that my children like to write notes and draw pictures? They do. A LOT.) I sat in bed and read and read. Each was so sweet. And then I built a shrine to myself. (I promise the banner was already one of the gifts. They thought of everything.)

I took a selfie and sent it to Tyler because I knew he was missing me.

The girls and I sang in church (one of the reasons we didn't skip town) and it was lovely. (If I do say so myself. Although I did hear some other people say it too, so it is truth.)

And then Tyler came home. He kind of stole my thunder. You have never seen five girls so excited to see Dad on Mother's Day. I can't blame them though. I was happy to see him too. He made me dinner, bought me a new crock pot, and came home with a grandfather clock. (A clock I didn't want, but immediately repented of when I saw it in Carnegie Hall. It really deserves its own post. Along with the organ. Man, I am behind.)

Let's just say that it was a great day. My mother is awesome, Tyler's mother is awesome. I'm pretty awesome on a good day. And I have five awesome kids that make me proud to be a mom. One more picture of each, because they make me smile. (I kept the sassy one of Robyn because I get that face a lot.)

I am one blessed gal.

Mothers

There are at least three mothers to whom I owe my undying allegiance and love. It is certain that many mothers have assisted in my life—probably some prolonging it beyond Tyler's life's short precious play. (Kudos to anyone who gets the reference). But there are three, above all others to whom I owe the most.

Naturally, the first is my mother, Vicki. She it was who gave me life, and threatened more than once to take it away. It was she who clothed me, fed me, taught me. This was Mom who kissed away sore knees, and scraped elbows. It took a few more kisses over a few more days to heal the stitched fingers and hands—but she seemed to have an endless supply. This was Mom who hugged me as I left for preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school. It was less cool by junior high and high school, but she still squeezed in a hug here and there. She waited up for me to return from dates, punished me for all the stupidity, and showed me the way to recover from my mistakes. She hugged me goodbye to Europe, Brazil, and Ukraine. She has always stood strongly, nobly, and wisely: a shining beacon of virtue and honor. To her I owe much, and I can never repay.

The next mother to whom I owe a great deal is my mother in law, Megan. It was she who performed the varied duties of motherhood for Maleen. From her, Maleen drew strength and courage (both of which would be necessary to endure me during marriage). She imparted her sense of humor and responsibility to Maleen—both of which I shall forever enjoy. Maleen and others relied and rely on her for her mothering, and her steadfast ability to hold it all together. To Megan I owe much gratitude, and this I can also never repay.

Finally, Maleen is the mother to whom I owe the most. She is the mother of my wonderful girls! Maleen was the only one brave enough to say "yes" to my ultimate proposal. She is able to match my wit, charm, and humor; yet stands on ground far above me in categories of virtue, honor, and genuine sexiness. She too kisses scraped elbows and skinned knees. She demands baths, bedtimes, and hairdos of my little mothers-to-be. She teaches them honor and virtue, responsibility and accountability, and steadily shows the example they need in order to properly pattern their lives. She is the mother to whom I owe the most, and the debt continues to rise.

So I suppose that is the message of Mother's Day: to take a moment and make an account of all it is they have done, all they do, and peek into the future and gaze upon all that they will yet do. This day reminds us all who gave us life, who gives life to day, and who makes life worth our while in it.

Thanks to all the moms in my life, especially these three.

Rubberband Jewelry - It's a Stretch

Ola. Anyone noticed a craze around rubberbands recently? Perhaps it is only here in Utah. I usually ignore the current trend, because I know it will be short lived and I'm not interested in investing the money. But Ivory had friends at school who were sharing rubberbands with her and showing her how to make bracelets. Also, she wanted to use her own allowance to buy more rubberbands, and I am ALL for them using their own money on their hobbies.

June was also sucked onto the rubberband train and has been making quite a few of her own designs. I snagged these from her room and modeled them so you can see some of the different styles. (There is a name for each one, but I can't remember them. I think one is called 'Educated Fishtail.')

Ivory came down wearing all her bling one evening and we got some pictures. Some of those necklaces are long.

For hands and feet and anything in between.

I don't think those are true earrings. I think they are connected to her glasses somehow in the back. (Still creative.)

In general I am pretty amazed at the artistic abilities of the kids. And even if they don't rival Picasso, I am entertained and enlivened by the beauty they bring.

We are currently out of sidewalk chalk, and no one has earned any from the store. (Sorry, store will be explained in a different post.) But the kids did borrow some from a neighbor the other day. I'm glad I took pictures because it poured in the evening and washed away all the designs.

June didn't get to finish her jellyfish, but I really liked it.

Ivory made a girl. (Self portrait?)

Robyn started a train.

Their drawings are pretty big sometimes. Check out June beside the jelly.

This summer I think we will do our own sidewalk chalk competition, much like the one in our brief old neighborhood.

Last picture for the day is of Robyn. She lives in her robe. (Probably the best Christmas gift yet.) And when she came downstairs with her hair in a towel, I thought she looked like an alien with a big brain. She is rather smart.

One Sad Happy Birthday

Robyn is 10 now!! She hit double digits last week. It is not a friend party year, but I didn't have anything special in mind from mom and dad, so instead of a bigger gift, she took two friends to Color Me Mine. (What am I saying? That is a bigger gift. Fun, but not cheap.)

Temekula and Lexi had a great time. Lexi painted her lips so she could leave a 'kiss' on her mug.

They all did a great job and had fun.

Three Amigos.

And then, like a bomb, illness dropped from the sky and landed squarely on Robyn. The next morning she woke up at 3 am with a fever. She snuggled in bed with me until it was time to get up, but she clearly wasn't going anywhere. She spent most of the day like this.

Poor thing. I had even left her a birthday message and some balloons, but I think they were received with a lackluster glance.

At one point, we roused her enough to open gifts. It was a pretty somber affair. I think one of her favorite things was the fluffy seahorse from Grandma Dargan.

She snuggled with that thing for the next three days, which meant it got a good wash later in the week. I told her the story of the Velveteen Rabbit, but she didn't seem that worried. (I guess she doesn't believe that I would burn her toys.)

She was very polite and thanked all her sisters in turn as they gave her cards and gifts.

But you could tell she was barely managing the whole business.

The next day was when she mentioned her throat. I think she had mentioned it before in passing, but it didn't seem a big concern. But when she told me that her throat was really hurting, in less than an hour we had a positive strep test in hand. I was actually grateful she had strep. So many times we go in only to find out it is some virus that the kids just have to endure. With strep came antibiotics and a happy Robyn again just a day later. (Still tired, but much happier.)

Robyn didn't want cake and she couldn't have eaten it on her birthday anyway. So I didn't get around to making her 'birthday danish' until almost a week later when I knew she was good and healed. It was nice to have the well Robyn back.

And we could all feel good about eating something she blew all over.

The candles were really skiwampus because the danish was still hot so the candles were melting from the bottom up. It was fun watching Robyn trying to blow them all out in one go.

She is such a good kid. I'm so glad she is part of our family. She is smart and sensitive. She showed me her journal recently and I was amazed to see how detailed it was with pictures and cute notes on the sides. She is very observant and funny. She always seems to have a quirky remark ready at the right moment. (And possibly at the wrong moment too.) Out of the kids, she might be the most like me. (Not sure if that is a good thing. She definitely has a bit of my sarcasm in her.) But I will take her as she is. She is a keeper.

Soccer - The Final Showdown

So....soccer. Again. If you missed round one, you are welcome to catch up here.

Caught up?

Last season's highlights: Daisy is cute. Daisy is not really made for soccer.
This season: Much of the same.

She didn't complain about running at all this time around. And she went to games that included snow, rain, and HEAVY wind. She didn't whine. She also didn't kick the ball that much or make any goals.

We were faithful cheerleaders - Pearl, Dad, and me. One of us was always there. (Well, I'm pretty sure if Pearl was there, there was probably an adult as well.)

I didn't take as many pictures this time around. (Slacker mom.) Here is a nice day, weather wise.

Oh, I thought I took one on the day it snowed. Proof that I did.

I was wondering somewhere along the way if Daisy knew that she was not the most stellar player. She did say one time, "I have never made a goal." And I naturally said the programmed parental response, "That doesn't matter. As long as you try your best and have fun." (I really do believe that, but it is kind of a bummer NEVER to score a goal.)

Today was the last day. It was super, SUPER, windy!! I made all the kids come so that we could support Daisy. It was trying. Robyn went home early with Dad. (I wanted her out of the wind. She is just getting over being sick. Spoiler: stay tuned for news of her best birthday present...strep.) Pearl and June kept each other entertained, and Ivory hunkered on my lap trying to soak up my heat, but ironically making a nice windbreak for me.

The soccer kids were playing well. They were dueling the Queen Bees, so it looked like ketchup and mustard on the field. At half time Daisy posed with her orange. Can you see her hair flying in the wind?

It was like that the ENTIRE time, unless you count the four (yes, I did count them) brief seconds that it stopped blowing.

I mentioned to the mom next to me that I wished (this being their last game) that they could somehow stage it so all the kids who hadn't scored a goal all season could kick one in. (But it is possible that my child was the only one who hadn't scored a goal, and it wouldn't be right to stage it. I am a firm believer in earning your rewards. There is a place for winning and losing.)

That said, I sat in the chilly wind and cheered for the Red Dragons for the last time.

Daisy was slowing down. I was encouraging her just to get in there and kick the ball once or twice, while simultaneously not really caring since it was the last game. The Queen Bees were actually quite good. They had some aggressive, strategic players. (June likes to keep score. When she asked, I just said that I think the Bees had scored more goals. Like a lot more.

Someone yelled one minute. Nice. Time to get out of the wind.

And then the miracle happened. DAISY SCORED!! SHE MADE A GOAL!! Kaiona (one of our better players) had the ball down by our goal. She kicked it from the side and it rolled to the middle, right in front of the goal. Amazingly, Daisy was right there, and there were no bees nearby. She neatly kicked it in.

I screamed like a crazy woman. Daisy raced down the field and I scooped her up and swung her around. I seriously was so happy for her. And the game was over.

Daisy scored the last goal of the season. Way to go, babe.

They all got a medal. (Daisy asked me later, "Mom, if I hadn't scored a goal, would they still have given me a medal?") Of course they would. They give medals for everything now days.

So that brief chapter of soccer in our lives is over. I think we learned a few things and had a good time.

Hope Of America

I had never been to Hope of America before this year. Most likely because I did not have any kids who participated before and I am still a newbie to Utah. Wait...do they do Hope of America in other states?? I still am mostly clueless as to the origins and reach of the program. I do know that lots of kids participate, and it is a LOOOOOOOOONG program. June brought home a CD ages ago and I know she learned most of the songs. I just followed along like a good mom and made sure she was ready on time. 

Even better, there was a mom from her class who was working at the show, so she volunteered to take a car load of kids early. Perfect. Now there was no chance that I could do something wrong and make her late. I packed her a lunch/dinner and sent her on her way.

Good thing too. The flyer warned about heavy traffic and they weren't kidding. But I stressed less, because performing child was already there.

Arriving on the scene, we found some suitable seats and I went to locate June to give her a general idea of where we were sitting. (Very general, since she really couldn't see anything from where she was. After all, the lights were shining on them.) She got to sit by her bestie.

Notice June was wearing a pink jacket. When they were getting ready to take the pictures, they were making sure everyone looked right and they announced that someone had pink in their lap. Not sure if that was June, but I noticed she took off her jacket in a hurry.

Okay. They are all ready to go. Take your picture and let's get this show on the road!

The songs sounded great and the kids did such a good job. They weren't the hardest moves to learn, but there were still plenty of songs to get right. 

There were other numbers between the kids singing. My favorite was a group of older ladies. (54-96 years of age. Sorry I can't remember the name of the group.) They did a fun number and then came back later wearing ears and fox tails. Bet you can't guess what music they danced to.

My other favorite number was the finale. They turned off all the lights and all the kids took out their flashlights. This picture doesn't quite do it justice, but it is cool nonetheless.

It was a bit of a long evening, but worth it over all. Those are some great kids. They certainly are the hope of America.

*A big thanks to Tyler who brought the binoculars. And a reminder to bring both pairs next time.

Final Crack in the Road

I need to record the last Crack Off we had before it gets lost in the archives. (Because now I know that does happen sometimes.)

We like to do a neighborhood Crack Off to inspire people to take the event home and carry on the tradition. Add that to the fact that we are living in a new neighborhood, so there is plenty of fresh blood.

My mom was still in town, and unsurprisingly she came up with two more stellar egg designs. Spoiler: She totally won the design contest with Harold.

Don't forget the hidden snail the octopus was gunning for.

I made a couple more eggs as well. My Faberge came in second.

Tyler always does his last minute, but they are still amazing. (Dave came in third. We swept the podium.)

I apologize that I do not have pictures of our design competition. There was one in particular that I loved, but it was eaten by the time I thought about taking individual pictures. (Egg casualties, they can be pretty final.) This is the best I got. Okay, it stinks...

Lest you think that our neighbors are weak-sauce, let me put your mind at ease. Here is a battle involving a huge brown egg, and one painted with nail polish. The brown one was so large, we nicknamed it the 'Raptor' egg. (For the record, nail polish did not help. You can scratch that one off the list of potential cheats.)

The Raptor egg did rather well. Terrie was in total disbelief when she lost at the end.

But our winner was Jana.

Does she look familiar? Look closely in this post. Did you see her? She is Hannah's Mom!! Two winners from one family in the same day. I suspect foul play. Not really. However she boiled her egg though....I want the recipe.

Like last year I allowed Robyn to take on the winner. Champion battle.

And Robyn LOST. It is a good thing too. I was beginning to think she was invincible.

We played some 'My Team' later. It was a good group.

My favorite moments include everyone asking each other if they were a pig or cow. (It sounded insulting, but our category was farm animals.) Most people did not know what a gander is. Do you? And Aktar wore the viking hat to cover his smile. Apparently his lips give him away when he lies.

I'm not sure if this is true, but he did much better the second round when we did ice cream flavors.

After the party, it was my family's last night, so we stayed up late and played Scotch Bridge. I think Tim felt picked on. One hand he bid zero and then threw out a 6. Most likely, someone should have something higher. It didn't go so well for him.

Take a closer look.

Ha ha. What are the chances? We all had a card lower. Too bad it wasn't poker. That would be a nice hand.

Good times. It puts me in the mood to play games. I think I need to go talk some children into losing playing a game.