Here is Abe with the birthday presents given to him by Goldie and Teddy • And at our Celebratory Lunch Date after he passed his driving test and got his driver's license! The lady Abe drove with said, and I quote, "If only every student driver I drove with was as good as your son was." Abe at 16 is such a delight. I can't get enough of him. He drives me everywhere (has been doing that for a year), opens doors, cleans up without being asked, makes everyone laugh, and is just the best company anyone could ask for. The other night we were playing Balderdash—the version where you make up movie plots and dates and people's names as well as dictionary definitions—and we were given the movie title "Thirteen Women." Abe wrote that it was "A movie about the travels of thirteen men, later renamed by the Feminist Standards Board to comply with regulations." Hee hee hee. • And finally. What do you do with a baby in a box? Carry him around, of course.
Abe's and Seb's cross-country seasons are over now (Abe ran with Herriman High; Seb ran with the Herriman Rec. Center group), but we had lots of good times watching the races while they lasted. • The girls spent their down time doing headstands and cartwheels on the grass, as girls have done since time immemorial, I suppose. • We (especially Teddy) were always very pleased when the race courses had playgrounds nearby!
Other good times watching races: A. When I left Sam home without a baby carseat, so we borrowed our neighbor's front-facing seat, and Ziggy acted as if this front-facing development was a blessing straight from heaven. • B. When there was a cute orange pig at the house bordering the park, and the owner told us the pig's name was Juniper!
C. At another cross-country meet, we put Daisy's coat on Ziggy so he wouldn't be cold. Did he appreciate this kind gesture? He did not. Then we added insult to injury by putting a hat on him—the same hat he had been summarily yanking off and throwing to the ground for the last half hour. He couldn't do anything about it and he was SO MAD. Finally we took pity on him, removed both hat and coat, and gave him his blankie—whereupon he began to ferociously suck his fingers with an air of wounded dignity.
Malachi got his Arrow of Light award, and—the best part—he got to hold a cute little falcon. • The kids wore matching rainbow clothing to this important occasion, naturally. • Sam fed Ziggy a donut, which he (Ziggy) ate scarily, with outstretched mouth. How can one have an outstretched mouth, you ask? Just look at him!
Usually I tell the girls I won't do anything to their hair on Sunday mornings, as we have to be at choir practice by 8:15. Somehow they got round my rigid rule and got me to do buns for them one Sunday. (Daisy did her doll's to match.) • Buns again, this time in Park City on our way to do a ropes course. • Teddy asked me to take his picture there in front of some random statue. Done!
Girls on the aforementioned ropes course. I was so worried about Goldie getting through it! I could tell she was really nervous, and I had to stay on the ground with Teddy and Ziggy, so all I could do was watch and pray and think of various gospel applications to this situation. She was SO brave and I was so proud of her! She made it across all the obstacles with lots of yelled encouragement from me, gentle hands from her sisters and a couple of kind strangers, and a great inner reserve of courage. What a champion. And she was so pleased with herself when she was finished!
Zipline at the end of the course. Scary, but fun!
Happy sisters at the end of it all (and with buns taken out…because helmets don't fit over buns!).
The girls are in gymnastics this year as well as swimming lessons. It means a lot more driving to and fro than we're used to, but they are liking it all so far. Their dolls all have matching leotards, naturally (I didn't make them—ordered them from here and they are beautiful!).
Daisy and Junie were dressing up as butterflies and sipping nectar from flowers one day. • Playing in the rain…wearing rainbows.
More rain and rainbows.
Somehow we have acquired these two bathrobes. I'm not sure how. But they are cute. • This is a happy sight to see in the kitchen sink of an evening—it means the boys and Sam and I have been eating root beer (or, more often these days, Pomegranate San Pellegrino) floats! • Here is the breakfast Sam brought to me one harried Sunday morning as I was trying to finish preparing a lesson I had to give. I usually just skip breakfast on Sundays because it's too much trouble, so this felt like the best and kindest gesture ever! (Plus Sam makes the best scrambled eggs.)
A couple more pictures in the series of "Goldie plays with whatever she can find and makes herself an elaborate nest before falling asleep." She also tells me almost daily, "I can NEVER fall asleep for my naps! I just lie there awake the whole time!" She will NOT believe me when I say she DOES end up asleep every single day! And that she even snores occasionally! When I said that, she just shook her head sadly like I must be imagining things. • It's getting colder outside! That means snuggling in blankets. Daisy and Junie have these two impossibly soft ones.
My dear midwife Cathy asked me to speak at the Midwives' Retreat she was holding at her house in Erda. I got to do it for two different groups during two different weeks in September. It was so lovely to see Cathy and to drive (alone!) out to that beautiful place. The silence and the open spaces did me so much good!
Such lovely, lovely, lovely memories you're making.
ReplyDeleteIt's happening!! The insane change that occurs between ages 14 and 16!! Especially in that picture of Abe holding Ziggy in the box! He just looks so old!!
ReplyDeleteAlso, your buns are marvelous! I struggle mightily with even getting a proper ponytail! Bravo!