Summer 2017 Family Updates!

When I don't blog for a looong time there is only one way to catch up: Family Updates.  So, in an effort to reenter actually recording the comings and goings of our family here is my attempt to get up to speed so I can resume blogging.  

Let's do this.

MATT

Matt has spent the bulk of his free time this Summer building his own banjo.  It started as a collection of parts and wood and I have been amazed to watch an instrument slowly taking shape!  He has had a few bumps in the road, like when he stained the neck with three coats and then it dropped and dinged up the final coat.  He had to sand it down to the bare wood and start again.  So frustrating, but he carried on and he should be playing it any day now!

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EMILIE

I've been doing a lot of baking lately.  The Great British Baking Show is my TV passion and I love making recipes from the episodes each week.  This Summer a sister in our Ward has been going through chemotherapy.  I take a dinner to her family each week and I have really loved having this service to look forward to each week.  The kids and I love to plan what we think their family would like and Evangeline always goes with my to deliver the meal.

I'm trying to make this Summer fun for the kids, but I had a dreadful cold over Father's Day and after I recovered I had 10 days off and then a much worse cold took over.  I have been a total baby about it, but man do I feel sick! I missed the 4th of July parade and all of the fun and it made me extra cranky.

When it's not too hot I am outside in our backyard hammock, usually with the dog. I love being out there while the kids play.

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ELLA

Ella has commandeered our family cell phone and has spent her Summer texting her friends.  She is really into drawing characters from her favorite TV show, Star Vs. the Forces of Evil, and she spends hours on one drawing to perfect it.  She came to me at the beginning of the Summer with a screen-shot of a YouTube star and requested I cut chunky bangs that would frame her face and put the rest in a ponytail each day.  She loves it.

Ella is really becoming a teenager before our eyes this year.  I recently had to tell her she could no longer wear eyeliner (because she was taking it waaay too far) and she is perpetually angry with me about it.  She can't leave the house without makeup and her passion is mascara.

She is just about to go to her first LDS Young Women's camp and she is so nervous about it that it is keeping her up every night.  I know the drill with this girl and her G.A.D.  We just have to try our best to keep her calm until she goes and once she is there she will love it.  She is having the same feelings about Junior High next fall and so tonight I shared with her what a doofus I was when I was a college Freshman and took a upper-level Companionship Animals class because I didn't that the numbers next to the class titles indicated difficulty. We died laughing when I told her our class taught a chicken to play the piano and it was the most fun class I ever took in college!

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EVANGELINE

Evangeline took a Theater class at the end of the school year and when we attended the performance of The Grunch I was completely blown away! She found her passion!  I actually cried watching her because I began to see glimpses of the girl she was before her very difficult 2 years recently.  She was beaming and happy and confident!  She and Ella both went to a week-long Theater camp this Summer and the Musical Theater bug has officially hit. I could not be any happier!!  We made a huge list of Musicals they want to see and we are checking them off as we either watch the movie or see it performed live!  Evangeline's favorite so far has been The Music Man.  

She loves the Harry Potter books and is on book 4 currently.  She absolutely loves our dog and he has also helped bring our happy girl back.  She spends time with him each day, loves to take him for walks, and loves to snuggle him.

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BIANCA

Oh, Bianca.  This sweet girl has entered a very hard stage. She is too old to play with the babies and too young to play with the Redheads.  She is a bit lost right now and I am trying to keep her happy.  She has taken to singing repetitive phrases all the time and driving us all crazy.  I know she will be so much happier once school starts again.

She loves playing with our neighbors, Jonas and Ciera. She makes friends wherever we go.  She loves playdates and going out on errands with me.

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JUDE

Jude is still our happy boy.  He loves cars and trucks, but has recently developed an even greater love of baking.  Each week, on Saturday, he and I watch Martha Bakes together and talk about which Martha Stewart recipe we should make.  We made some of her cookies together and it was a huge success!  He climbs on a chair next to me at the kitchen counter and helps me measure, dump, and stir.  He loves to say "I am a great baker!" and takes pride in his helping abilities.

He is just starting to learn to catch a ball well and he could spend hours and hours playing catch.  He is quite good at throwing, but not as good at catching yet.  We have had a real problem with him sneaking into the backyard, turning on our house, and dousing himself with the water.  He loves it!

He is a dreadful eater right now and I don't even know how he sustains life.  Recently he came into the kitchen while I was preparing dinner and said, "What are you making for dinner? Something really, really, gross?"  Every bite at dinner is a chore. Of course, there is always room for treats and dessert.  I am really hoping he grows out of this phase.

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CECILIA

Cecilia is our hot/cold girl. She is either a crazy monster or totally sweet. No in between! When a family member comes in our front door she yells, "You're home! You're my best friend!!!"   She is still the loudest human ever, yelling everything she says. And she is still ballsy in every physical activity.  She's a girl of extremes for sure.

She absolutely loves imaginative play and says to people "Will you play me?"  She hands you one of her dolls or figurines and the role-play begins.  She speask in different voices, sings little songs, and acts out tea parties.  It's so fun to observe.  She still loves Peppa Pig and has added an obsesion with the movie Trolls.  She carries a small Poppy figurine around with her everywhere; church, stores, and to bed.

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RECAP: My 38th Birthday

I awoke on Monday morning to a house already bustling with before-school activities.  My kids know me well enough by now to know that I DON'T want to start of my Birthday or Mother's Day with a surprise 6:30 AM breakfast in bed. The way to my heart is sleeping in.

I hopped out of bed and grabbed our Blue Tooth speaker, set it up in the front room and blasted my birthday song at full volume while the entire family danced!  It was pretty much the greatest birthday beginning of all time and I am now going to do it every single year.

Matt had taken the day off of work and once we got the redheads to school we packed up the other kids and dropped them at my in laws for a few hours so Matt and I could have a fun birthday get-away to SLC.  Before we left town (around 10:30 am) we got a call from the elementary school. It was Evangeline, telling me she needed a permission slip for school today.  I ran home and grabbed it and headed to the school.  When I dropped it in her classroom, her teacher pulled me aside and said Eva had been quiet all morning and was crying.  I pulled Eves into the hallway and asked her what was wrong. She started sobbing and said her stomach hurt and her "bum".  She has Urinary Reflux and it was rearing its ugly head.

We ended up checking her out of school and taking her to my in-laws after making a Doctor's appt for her at 2:45 pm later that day.  We stopped by the Urgent Care, where she had been seen twice this month for the same problem, and picked up the records from those visits.  Finally we were off!

Our first stop in SLC was to Sur La Table to buy my big birthday gift, a 12" pedestal cake plate.  It's gorgeous, by the way!  We took some time to browse the store and had a great time.  yes, these are the things which thrill me.

Next stop was lunch at Pizzeria Limone where I got the best pizza ever.  Garlic and olive oil topped with cheese, tomatoes, onions, fresh basil. and balsamic reduction. If you know me you know I hate raw tomatoes, but on this pizza they are soooo good!

After lunch we headed to Eva's Bakery for dessert. I got a truly divine Lemon Maeringue Tart and some colorful Macarons.

Oh, macarons. So pretty, but so...meh. You trick me every time with your trendiness, making me believe you taste better than you do.

We got back to Layton at 2:00 and picked up the kids.  I took Evangeline to her appointment.  I told her to give me the "I'm Dying" face for this photo in the waiting room and she nailed it.

We went back to our house for baby naps and to wait for Ella to return from school. We went shopping at Hobby Lobby so the kids could get me gifts and I could buy a large off set cake spatula. Yep, I'm a nerd. That evening we headed to Little Taste of Britain for a perfect dinner of British-style Fish and Chips. I also picked up some Bird's Custard powder from the small store on my way out. Yum!

That evening we met our brother and sister in law and their kids at Nielsen's Frozen Custard in Bountiful for dessert. The doctor visit left no time to make a birthday cake, but this was even better!

I fell asleep early that night since it had been such a crazy day! I got phone calls and videos and Facebook love from so many friends and family. It was a truly great birthday.

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An Ella Milestone + lots of extra trauma

Poor Ella.

For years she has wanted to have her ears pierced, but her anxiety made it impossible. Recently she finally decided to be brave and try and conquer her fear. We took her to the Claire's store in the Layton Hills Mall. I made sure to go when there were 2 employees who could pierce her ears at the same time because of her fear. Unfortunately, we had a horrible experience because of the incompetence of the employees.

The employees marked her earlobes and we made sure the holes were even. When it came time for piercing the employee piercing the left ear did not line the piercer up with the drawn hole and pierced it a full 1/8" lower than the mark. The employee piercing the right ear caught my daughter's cheek in the piercing gun and pinched it terribly, leave a large scrape with bled, and the piercing gun got caught in her ear and it took both employees to remove it while my daughter cried. Even the employees admitted the holes were very uneven and said we could come in and have the one ear re-pierced, but I don't think Ella will be able to do it after the amount of pain she experienced. Now we have a girl with incredibly uneven ear holes for life!

Regardless, I am so proud of her!!!
Go Elles!!

What should we do?!!

(This is the good side without the scrape)

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First Day of School: 2015

Because we are on year-round school the redheads only got about a six week Summer vacation. But we packed a lot of fun activity into that short summer and, before we knew it, a new school year began. 

On Sunday night I stayed up a little bit late (okay....until 1 am) and made little surprise packages to hide in the girls backpacks. Each package had a note from mom and a note from dad, their favorite candy treat, some stickers, and a small mini poster with words of encouragement (which were actually 3 x 4" project life cards). 

All of the products I used (except for the twine) were from the Dear Lizzy "Serendipity" Collection 

I made sure to set my "school year alarms" on my iPhone before I went to bed. 

I got up early with the girls and made them their requested breakfasts. Ella wanted bagels and cream cheese (okay, I didnt "make" those). Evangeline requested Eggs in a Frame. Bianca also wanted an Egg in a Frame and the two babies had scrambled eggs. I had my usual 0% Fat Greek Yogurt and a banana (in case you're wondering).

Evangeline spent a full two hours picking out this outfit. As she was choosing it she was talking to herself out loud, deciding what was the perfect "match". I almost died laughing when I saw her final decision. What about these two pieces match? Nothing. But she's so crazy adorable that I like it. 

I gave her a side braid using the tutorial found here.

Ella was more concerned about her jacket. She has been asking non-stop for a leather jacket for almost a year now. I've explained to her that leather jackets are really expensive. 

When I saw this leather jacket at Target last week on sale for $20 I secretly bought it for her and surprised her with it. Then I spent the every day of last week making rules about when she COULDN'T wear it, including but not limited to... the dinner table, the shower, to bed, over her church dress, etc. 

With a surprisingly few amount of nerves they hopped on their scooters and were off! I was completely amazed all day at how quiet our house seemed. 

They returned home triumphant and over dinner that evening we heard 100% happy stories of their first day at school. They both love their teachers, they both have friends in their class, they both can't wait for the coming year. This is music to my ears. 

Tuesday evening was Back-to-School Night. I went with the two redheads and Bianca. We met their teachers, heard their parent instructions, saw the classrooms, and everything went great. 

Then we found the preschool classroom that Bianca will start at in the first week of September. All of her friends from last year's preschool, except one, moved on to kindergarten this year.  Bianca missed the cut off by a few weeks. So I thought it would be best if we enrolled her in the preschool that's inside the elementary school so she felt like she was progressing.

I really could not have asked for a more successful transition into this new school year! I wondered if we should move over the summer into a larger house with more bedrooms to accommodate our family, but I didn't because I felt it would be too jarring for the kids to change schools again in less than a year.

I'm confident now that I made the right decision. Here's to a wonderful 2015–16 school year!!

3

A Visit to Granny's Grave

This past April my Granny Bannatyne passed away. I wrote about her here. I loved my Granny. I lived with her for a time after my parents divorced and also when I was a teenager.  She was a constant, positive, presence in my life.  She truly helped raise me.

On Sunday our family woke up, attended church, made quick sandwiches, and hopped in the car to visit her grave for the first time.  We were out of town when she passed and then waited a bit for her to have a proper headstone placed before our visit.  Granny chose not to have a funeral and did not even have a formal graveside service, just a bagpiper and a prayer at the graveside.  I wanted more for my children (and for myself).

It was such a beautiful, Summer day.  And the cemetery that she chose to be buried in was the most quiet and peaceful I have ever been to.  I could not hear a single noise from the busy, outside, world. No cars, no birds, nothing.  Just peace and quiet and an opportunity to reflect on a life well-lived.

We easily found her headstone and quietly sat down in the grass and spoke of Granny's life. How she took care of everyone (and every stray animal) that crossed her path. How she loved with her whole heart. How she made the very best pound cake. How she loved to read and owned a bookstore for years where she was surrounded by books and customers that she knew and loved.  How she walked everywhere because that was the Scottish thing to do.  How I used to snuggle in her bed at night and we listened to the BBC news on the radio while I fell asleep.  How she used to sing songs to me with her lovely, faint, Scottish lilt. How strongly she stuck to what she thought was right.  How peaceful her home was.

Our family gathered there and sang a song to her (Families Can be Together Forever) and told her we loved her and missed her. Being Scottish, my Granny always affectionately called her children and grandchildren "wee hen". I love that it's on the back of her gravestone. Below are the names of her children (my mother is Lorayne), including one she lost as an infant (Alma).

It was a perfectly, wonderful experience.  One I think Granny would have very much loved. She chose to forgo a funeral because she didn't want "a big fuss". But I felt her spirit in our visit. I can clearly hear her voice saying, "Och, just bring the wee hens on a peaceful day to visit my grave. Sing a song and share memories and just have a lovely day." 

And we did.

5

Evangeline gets Baptized

Evangeline got baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Saturday, May 2, 2015. In our faith you get baptized at the age of 8.

We were so lucky to have Jenny Lemmons and her kids come for the weekend to support Eva on her special day. We woke up on Saturday morning, finished up a few things, and then headed over to the stake center for her baptism. 

The dress we had bought for her to get baptized in was too small, but likely they had a baptism down at the stake center that fit perfectly.  We changed her into that dress and the program began. 

We sang one of her favorite primary songs for the opening song. 

And her primary teacher give a talk about baptism. She did an excellent job. Next we open the doors to the baptismal font and I walked Evangeline to the edge of the water where she met her father. He raised his arm to the Square and baptized her in the name of Jesus Christ. And he lowered her into the water just as Jesus Christ himself was baptized. 

Afterwords I went into the changing rooms and help her dry off and get changed into her beautiful white dress for after the baptism. We returned to the room and a sister from our ward Evelyn Martinez shared a talk about the gift of the Holy Ghost. Again, she did a lovely job. 

Afterwords a member of our bishopric spoke briefly as did a member of the primary presidency. Evangeline was given this adorable pillow which was made just for her to commemorate her baptism as well as a small stuffed teddy bear, which reminded her of the baptismal covenant she had made that day. 

After the baptism we headed to blocks over to our ward building for a family cookies and milk party. Each family brought two dozen cookies and we provided the gallons and gallons of regular milk and chocolate milk to drink. I had gone to the church ahead of time and decorated in Evangeline's favorite color - robin egg blue. 

And we stuffed our faces with cookies and milk, visited with each other, and had a great time. 

We returned home and had lunch with the Lemmons' and then changed in the swimsuits and spent the afternoon at the Clearfield Aquatic Center. I had free passes from when they botched Ella's birthday party and this was the perfect day to use them. We swam for a few hours with Jenny and her kids and me and the three older girls. We had a fabulous time. 

For dinner we picked up pizza and then headed to the backyard where the kids kick soccer balls, played in the grass, and jumped on the trampoline. Matt brought out his mandolin to play and we built a fire in our fire pit. Obviously we had to make s'mores. That's a given. 

We had the perfect low-key evening with friends and food and fun. 

Before going to bed Evangeline cried her eyes out. She said this is been such an amazing day that she wished it wouldn't end. I assured her that there would be many amazing days in our future.  

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