My Six-Year Old Fella

HIS ANSWERS:
What's your nickname? Stevie Beans
What's your Favorite Song? Follow the Prophet or One, Two, Tie My Shoe (What???)
If you were a superhero, who would you be? Humungasaurus--because he's strong and has super punches.
What will you be doing at age 21? I'll probably be in high school (gulp!)
What's the silliest thing you do? Call my brother goo-goo baby.
What's the best thing about you? The best thing about me is that I'm awesome. (Well, he's got a point there...)

MY ANSWERS:
What's Stevie's nickname? Love, Sweetheart, Baby, Sweetie Pie, Sweet Boy of Mine
What's His Favorite Song? He likes for me to sing him "The Donut Shop"
If Stevie were a Superhero, who would he be? Hmmm, he's so incredibly super, it's hard to narrow it down. But I'd have to say SuperHeart, because he has the biggest heart in the whole world.
What will Stevie be doing at age 21? Hopefully, returning from a mission and then immediately accepting his Nobel Peace Prize.
What's the silliest thing Stevie does? Tell crazy knock-knock jokes!
What's the best thing about Stevie? That while he was still in heaven, he actually picked ME to be his Mom. He is smart and handsome and hilarious and kind and capable and full of every good thing I can think of, and I love him so much I could burst.

Stevie's Birthday Party

Stevie's birthday fell on a Saturday this year, and so we had his party on his actual birthDAY. It was supposed to be an outdoor party, with lots of fun, rowdy, outdoor activities for the kids. Unfortunately it poured buckets of rain that day, and so improvisation was required.
One of our improvisational games was a balloon popping contest. It got pretty intense. Look how much air Erin got in this picture! Unfortunately, she missed.

We lit candles for all the kids and had them blow them out all together (Stevie's idea). Stevie seems to be looking rather suspiciously at his number 6 candle.

David wouldn't budge from Stevie's side during present time.

Steven and Brandon provided some climactic drum rolls for dramatic effect.

I'm terribly excited about something in this picture...

"Holla!" I'm not sure what he was opening here, but evidentally it was a rousing success.

Mommy and Daddy were possibly more excited about Bakugan acquisitions than he was (possibly).

The pile of shoes at the front door. Random picture, but hilarious. Thanks, Jed.

Blast From the Past

My dear friend Toni sent me this lovely picture of myself:


Circa 1990--7th grade, I think. Celebrating, evidentally.

Toni attached a bright yellow sticky note pointing to my mountainous bangs stating, "Wow, this is amazing." I think a more accurate word would be "frightening."

Cupcakes in the Classroom

I brought cupcakes to Stevie's classroom in honor of his birthday today. Chocolate cupcakes with a piece of hershey's chocolate in the center, topped with chocolate frosting and another piece of chocolate. They were a big hit, if I do say so myself---though I think I probably could have gotten a similar reaction with just a can of frosting with spoons.

I really love Stevie's teacher. She is very easy going and lovable. All the little kids ooed and ahhed over Jacob, too. Then they all proceeded to tell me (simulataneously) about their own siblings, parents, favorites foods, and various broken bones and other injuries, etc. It was a bit overwhelming and I ate it up like cake. What sweet little kids.

I'm relatively sure Stevie was glad to see us. He acted a little sheepish at first, but warmed up when he realized his cupcake-serving responsibilities. Such a funny kid. He wouldn't ride home with me, though. He refused to be robbed of his coveted bus-ride home.

Last Night...

1) I threw an enormous hissy fit because our babysitter cancelled on us 5 minutes before we walked out the door. I cried and yelled and stomped my foot like a 4-year-old. It was a truly spectacular display.

2) I called a friend in the tiny hope that her in-laws really WEREN'T in town and she'd take the kids for us. 2 minutes into the phone conversation, she says, "Jenny, just bring them OVER! We're not doing anything." And so I was saved from a night of silent fuming and watching episodes of LOST. Friends like that don't grow on trees!

3) I danced and danced and danced with a strange manic energy that I hadn't felt in years. I stepped on Steven's foot every two seconds but had a blast doing it. We sweated like two warthogs in the jungle and felt like we'd have coronaries at any second, and STILL we kept dancing. (Though admittedly, our foxtrot is a sad sight indeed.)

4) Steven and I finally danced our fill and left to retrieve our kids. We had a nice little chat with Shani and Ben (and Ben's parents!) and finally shepherded our children in the car and then home and then bed. I absolutely collapsed and fell into a deep sleep ridden with strange, anxiety-filled dreams.

Dad

My father has broken his ankle! He was stepping down from a curb, and ended up falling in a heap. An immediate trip to his doctor revealed that yes, the bone was broken, and he'd need to use crutches for 6-8 weeks.

I'm a bit worried about him, because his house isn't terribly handicap accessible, and the crutches are a bit unwieldy. I went over to house today with kids in tow to see if there was anything I could and to just keep him company a bit. We ended up having a nice chat and enjoying some LOVELY apple turnovers (thank you Pillsbury).

At one point I was in the bedroom gathering laundry when I heard David crawl up into Dad's lap and ask him to read him a story. Dad perused through his beautiful leather-bound book collection and pulled out some volumes of poetry (Edgar Allen Poe) which he then proceeded to recite to an absolutely entranced David!

It may seem strange to think of a 4 year old boy being enthralled by his Grandfather reciting poetry. But then again, I can actually remember my father reading those same poems to me as a child (Annabel Lee, the Raven, and El Dorado), and I remember how fantastic I thought it was. There was always a hushed wonderment, listening to my father's passion for these poems--it was so evident in his reading and in his facial expressions. It really WAS exciting, and it was neat to see my child enjoying the same experience.

My Dad is truly one-of-a-kind.

Labor Day

On Labor Day, Steven and I felt like it would be great idea to take advantage of the neato animatronics dinosaur exhibit at the zoo. We packed up the kids and drove on down, noting the weather was getting more and more questionable the closer we got.

By the time we actually located a parking space (which took a good 20 minutes) and started walking to the zoo entrace, it looked like this:


Okay, granted I accidentally took this picture with the night vision on, so its not clear what I'm trying to communicate here. Let me explain. The sky turned black, and then proceeded to angrily spew abnormal amounts of water at us. We tried waiting a few minutes, but our legs go tired, so we walked over to the Miller Outdoor Theater to wait under the awning.


We finally decided that we wouldn't melt, and so we braved the storm and traipsed down to the zoo. We figured that since it was raining, everyone would leave and go home. Not so much. There were oodles of soggy people there splashing through the puddles in order to look at enclosures where animals should have been but weren't (they were too smart to stand out in the rain and took shelter where they could).

The dinosaurs were pretty awesome, though. We enjoyed pretending that they could eat us at any moment (the carnivores, at least).



Truthfully, though? Probably not worth the ridiculous weather and crowds. But at least we were able to take the coveted prairie-dog hole picture (Daddy even squeezed in this time).

Songs of the Savior

For the past month or so, I've been rehearsing with several other people from church to perform a musical fireside entitled "Songs of the Savior." It was designed to be a night of various performances of sacred music, and hopefully a wonderful missionary tool as well.

We rehearsed once or twice a week for the past month, and had a blast doing so. It's so incredibly fun to create music, espeically with other enthusiasts. Last night was the performance, and it was wonderful.

I sang in an ensemble consisting of piano, french horn, and harp performing "Amazing Grace." I also sang "Consider the Lilies" in a trio with two other gorgeously talented ladies. Several men from our ward did a lovely version of "How Great Thou Art," in which Steve sang a solo (quite perfectly, I might add). Steven and I both sang "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need" in a vocal ensemble with harp, clarinet and flute (amazing). I also was able to sing a duet of "I Stand All Amazed" with Jenn Thompson, one of the aforementioned gorgeously talented ladies, as well as an organizer of the event. I also listened to the most exquisitely beautiful performance of "The Lord's Prayer," sang by Rebecca Busselberg, a professional classical singer from Clearlake 1st ward. I was absolutely transfixed by her voice.

I can not express how much I enjoyed participating in this fireside. I feel so fulfilled. The process of music-making is such a joyful one, and I'm counting on spending countless millenia in the next life reveling in song with as many like-minded people as I can find. Talk about paradise! Making music forever with people you adore. I got a little taste of it last night.

My Fabulous Birthday Week

I had a really good birthday this year. My family, my sweet friends, my husband and my kids all made a terribly wonderful fuss over me, and made me feel like yeah, they were all pretty glad I was born. I received so many wonderful birthday wishes and beautiful presents. It just kinda makes you feel gooshy inside, seeing so many people of such high caliber doing their best to make sure YOU have a special day. Maybe even a little verklempt.

But the absolute highlight of the festivities—in all its glory---was the cake my husband and kiddos made and decorated for me. Now brace yourselves---


We had a fire extinguisher ready…


Jake also enjoyed decorating.


In conclusion, thank you—oh, thank you sweet family and friends for giving me a really great week.