face of six

The face of six, number six is six.

Our birthday sugar cereal buffets have become more rushed lately, but still appreciated.

Little Mary got snow for her birthday.

I took treats in to her class. Chocolate zingers.

In the evening we all went to a new birthday spot, Pirate Island, for pizza and games.

Sophie often looks skeptical,

but everyone else gave their full approval,

especially when the pirates came to serenade,

and brought ice cream with whipped cream and a cherry.

It was fun for Mary to have her dad there.

Back at home there were the gifts.

Meanwhile, someone was up to something. 

And of course, it was William.

Mary reluctantly forgave me for leaving her cake unguarded.

I love you Mary.

web cam

Sometimes doing my best looks like this.Friday night I got the idea that I would fold laundry while watching a movie. But Sam brought home The Rainmaker from the library.Too entertaining for multitasking.  So by Monday the pile was back. 

I try to remind myself to relax and embrace this time.  A new born is in the house.  So I was thinking about putting a web cam on the laundry pile

so that anyone who wanted to could watch the ebb and flow of the pile.

Here's the aerial view.

I just made a simulated web cam, since really, who's that interested in my laundry? 

Sophie's easy to embrace. So how to embrace this time of facing other transitions? Transition is a polite word. I am learning that. What to do with the happy memories? Welcome them. The sadness? Accept it. Be grateful for and try to understand the lessons that life is trying to teach me. The confusion? Pray that when it clears there will be a new light on tomorrow's path.  Something like that.

And in the meantime, I'll embrace other things, like Olivia's whimsical spirit.  It made me smile to imagine her hanging Olivia the Pig's dress up in her own closet.

And then I looked out her window and saw the leaves changing colors and the clouds moving across the mountains.  Autumn is meant to be embraced.

So Tuesday afternoon I got a call from the police department asking me to pick up Sam because he had been in a bike accident. Dispatch didn't think he needed medical attention. So imagine my surprise when I approached the designated intersection and saw the police cars, the fire truck, and Sam being carried in to an ambulance on a stretcher. I almost turned left into the on coming traffic.

The officer explained to me that Sam's bike had been hit by a driver turning right, while Sam was in the cross walk with the right of way. The car didn't touch Sam, but it bent in the handle bars on
one side of his bike and the other side hit him in the stomach. The paramedics where taking him to the hospital to check for unseen injuries. I peeked in the ambulance before they took him away, then ran to Grandad's house to drop off Sophie with Judith who called to ask Granddad to stay with the kids at home. Sam and I spent several hours in the emergency room, where they did a catscan, chest x-rays, etc. All the tests were normal. The doctors and paramedics all praised Sam's bravery. He hobbled up to bed as soon as he got home. The other boys were jealous that Sam had gotten to go in the catscan machine.  I never knew that would interst them so.

Wednesday I had him stay home to recuperate from the night before.  I thought all throughout the day how grateful I was that he was not seriously injured.  It turned out that the driver was a woman who goes to church with us.  She was very sorry and came by to check on Sam.

She brought potatoes, squash, and these amazingly sweet raspberries from her garden.

We had a picnic lunch in the park.  I love Halloween Happy Meals. It was nice to have Sam's company.

Here's a midweek shot of the pile.

Feeling quite disfunctional about this.

But by Friday morning I was seeing some improvement. 

So we went to Paul Ream Nature Park because it was a perfect October day.

I brought some really old "duck bread" that I told Grant not to eat. Grant said he wanted some "human bread."  He said, "That was awesome feeding the ducks mom."  I wish I could remember all the moments like that one.

Friday Caitlin brought her spider made from marshmallows and pretzels home and rearranged the legs a bit, but was still quite proud.  We branched out from our normal Little Ceasars to San Fransisco Sourdough. Yum. Chicken and pesto. And since October is national pizza month they were giving out free slices of barbecued chicken pizza on Saturday.  Free lunch. Score. 

After the free lunch, which I insisted remain free, no drinks nothing, in and out for free, we finished up the Halloween shopping in the pouring rain.

Sunday I made the kids participate in my favorite sabbath "service project." Clean the house for mom. We had been pile free for two days so we were actually able to run the vacuum. Ben made lemon bars, which smelled heavenly, so for a moment, the house felt quite holy. That was a moment to embrace.

up to something

William's always up to something in the kitchen.  Stacking doughnuts now, even sour cream "guh-laazees on Wednesdays" doughnuts.  (Anybody know what movie that's from?)

His lovely little stack could give me a leg up next time I get handed one of those development questionnaires by the pediatrician, those awful instruments of shame.  Fortunately, I'm so often running late that I can simply respond with sorry didn't have time for this instead of how the heck should know when asked how many words, how many steps backward, how many times can she clap for no reason, how many blocks or in this case doughnuts can she stack.  Those doughnuts are looking good to me right now.  We don't mind the floor.

Thursday and Friday the kids were home for Fall break.  Thursday evening we went to BYU.  The kids wanted to split up.  Half went to the art museum with me.  They loved this electronic media exhibit.

The rest of the kids went to the science museum with Sam. 

Holographic Olivia.

We caught up with them before dinner.  That was easy since Grant was screaming. Dinner was Taco Bell at the Wilk.  Remind me never to eat soft tacos in public again.  Lettuce everywhere. Total loss of self-respect.

Friday we took our now traditional trip to Cornbelly's Corn Maze at Thanksgiving Point.

We went on a Friday after dark so the big kids could go in the haunted maze.  Turned out to be too terrifying for all but Sam, who had to turn back to escort his sister out anyway.  And going after dark made it all the more difficult to keep track of Grant who pays the likes of us no never mind these days and would just as soon get lost and taken off to the information booth where they give him a free sucker shaped like a piece of corn no less while I have to come and collect him in shame.

 So by way of evaluation, next year we'll go back to weekdays, which are considerably less expensive, and less crowded.  (We missed the hayride this year due to a too long line and too tired children.  Sam and I were sad about that.) And we'll go in the daylight hours and take at least one more adult along to help keep track of wayward little boys. No more stoicism at Cornbelly's for me.

Saturday we had perfect weather for a picnic lunch at the park with Aunt Judy, Uncle Jeremy and the cousins.  Little Caesars' pizza.  Grant was being helpful and dropped the Hawaiian pizza on the floor of the van, which isn't exceptionally clean, but that didn't stop me because I love pineapple. Sophie's getting more mature looking. Don't you think?

The boys took naps  while Sam was up to something in the garage.  Designing his own haunted house for the siblings.

 Sometimes imagination looks like this.

went there tomorrow

Driving by McDonald's the other day Grant said, "Hey, we went there tomorrow."

If that didn't express something that haunts, nags, drives me to the point of questioning my own sanity, not that I don't do that in almost every post, I don't know what could.

Went there tomorrow.  A grammatical error, wishful thinking, or for me, what seems like a memory of the future.  Does anyone else know what I am talking about? 

When did it start?  Back in Oklahoma at Jenny Kugler's playing house I would line her bedroom wall with my children. They were really stuffed animals.  Good thing she had a lot of them.  What else... in Santa Barbara, who remembers Sonny's Pizza on Cabrillo Boulevard?  The absolute best pizza, even New Yorkers would say, and the sea air coming through the doors that practically opened on to the beach.  The first time I walked in I knew that I worked there.  Spent two wonderful summers there, loved going to bed smelling so savory.  And then there was my uncanny match making ability in college, once told a date he was actually meant for my roommate. They did marry, but as far as I know, neglected to name any child after me. Ingratitude. And other things, but why be boring?

The future has always been an obsession.  Do they have a clinical term for that like say... anxiety?

So what about reality?  Sophie's one month old.

Reality has been a bit sad for me lately, for complicated reasons, but here is a list of what turned out to be eight things that made me smile. Could have been longer but time constrains.

1) Some mystery gardener raked our first pile of autumn leaves in the backyard.

2)Cinnamon rolls on General Conference Sunday. (I'll admit we used the canned kind this year.)

3) General conference, in general...but especially President Monson's singing "Here we go up a row to a Birthday Party."

4)Pumpkins, particularly Kyle's that he painted at Boy Scouts. And Caitlin's photography.

5)Dog noses, especially Baby Bear's. And Sam's photography. Enjoyed a barbecue with Grandad and Judith Sunday.

6)Sophie in the blessing dress that Grandma Julia made for Bethany. All of the girls have worn it.

7) Samples for lunch at Costco Saturday.  Ben loved the peppermint hot chocolate.

8) Bethany's list of names for her future children, including Pinnochio and Lip Gloss.

So last Tuesday the kids had the day off, for some reason I forgot. We went shopping together, then out to lunch.

Saw the first bit of snow in the mountains.

Went to Golden Corral. That's how I bribed the kids to sit still for G.C.

Some people didn't actually sit still.

But they got to go anyway.

The boys got handsome and much needed haircuts..five dollars on Tuesdays at Craig's Cuts.

And today, Tuesday already again, had to drop Mary off at school since she missed the bus.  I let the boys play on the playground. Picked up Caitlin, then went to the library.  It felt good to be out for most of the day, not at home feeling overwhelmed by all the aspects of my life that I should be getting in order, not the least of which the fallen "honey and cheerios."

Drove by the park on the way home.  Grant said, "Hey, we went there today."  Thought about that one.  Today has elements of past and present, and still some anticipation of the future. Why it should be embraced I suppose.