Lest I Forget

I just need to record a couple of quotable quotes lest I forget them.

1.  The kids and I were watching the X-Factor finale and there was a song performed by a contestant called "All you need is love".  I think it's a Beatles song...maybe.  After the song was over Max said to me, "love is not all you need" in a totally serious tone.  So I asked him, "what else do you need?"  I was thinking he might answer with food or something basic like that.  Oh no, his answer was much more profound.  Without a moment's hesitation he answered with, "second chances".  I had to hold the giggles in, because again, he was completely serious.  But after the silent giggles passed, and I thought a little more deeply, I realized how true that is.  Here's to second chances!

2.  Same night...X-Factor finale...I was shedding some tears over a clip that tugged at the heartstrings.  The kids all noticed my tears and these were their reactions:

Max - "Mom, do you have tears welling up?"

Sophie - "Yes her tears are swelling up."

Capri - "Mom, I'll be your tissue" as she jumped up and wiped my tears away with her hand.  I've used my "tissue" a few more times since then, including during the church choir's singing of "Oh Holy Night" today!

Arm Ankle

Capri came home from cheer practice the other day and said, "My ankle hurts.  Not my arm ankle, my leg ankle."  One would assume that arm ankle means wrist.  Never assume anything with Capri.  I asked her to point to her arm ankle, and of course it would only be logical that an arm ankle is an elbow...when a leg ankle is the knee!

The Year of the Zebra

I let the kids choose whatever Jansport backpack their little hearts desired that was on sale at a great discount website.  Sophie chose the one I was hoping she would...we both love bright coral color and zebra print.  It's a perfect combination!  As Max and I were scrolling through all the options, I pointed out a really cool blue plaid backpack, then a green one...and then he saw "the one".  Nothing would change his mind.  He wanted the neon zebra print backpack.  Personally, I thought it was an excellent choice - I always love finding something that no one else will have and I was 100% sure no one else at Paramount Elementary would have this backpack...but, I was worried that Max would get teased relentlessly!  Before pushing the "complete purchase" icon I made him promise me that no matter how much bullying occurred because of this backpack, he would use it the entire year.  Well, it's three weeks into school and other than a few boys in his class who thought it was super cool, it hasn't even been a topic of discussion.  He sure is comfortable in his skin, zebra print and all!

On to more important things...Max and Sophie each have amazing teachers this year.  We are so excited.  They both know Grandma Pat really well, which has been so much fun.  Max's teacher is in Grandma Pat's ward and was Steve's seminary teacher in 9th grade!  And Sophie's teacher taught for a few years with Grandma Pat and claims Pat as her teaching idol!

Off to school they went, leaving the two queen bees home to party!  

P.S.  Bus routes apparently changed this year so I sent the kids home on the wrong bus (for any of you keeping track, I did this on Max's first day of kindergarten as well!).  They ended up at the school office and I picked them 45 minutes after the final bell.  All it took was a smoothie from the Coffee Mercado drive thru to gain their forgiveness!!

Posing at the Park

Steve had an emergency dental situation so the kids and I headed to park for the evening.  I thought the sky was absolutely beautiful (obviously pre-forest fire season) so I pulled out my phone to capture a few photos.  The kids all climbed the big rock and I told them to pose away.  Max said "I'm posing as George Washington looking out over the Delaware."  Alrighty then!!  Sophie is obviously in cheerleading mode, and Capri, well, she beats to her own drum as usual. 

Tell Me A Story

My kids ask for Steve and I to tell them stories all the time.  We've told the one about Steve's brother Dave getting bit by a dog in his man parts...many times!  We've told the one about Steve's brother Mike choking on a gobstopper.  We've told the one about my brother Sam getting his leg torn open by a jagged tree branch while he was fishing by himself.  Max knows how many points I averaged in my basketball games in high school because he asks all about those legends.  He knows that I collected frogs when I was a little girl/tomboy.  We are fresh out of stories from our past.  The other day Max asked for a CREEPY story.  The only one I could think of was something my Arizona hair dresser told me.  I proceeded to tell him in gory detail about a very large wolf spider that was crawling up her salon wall and when she smashed it with her shoe, hundreds of baby spiders swarmed out because it had an egg sac on it's back.  He stopped me and said, "that's not a creepy story, that's a sad story...all those babies lost their mom."  I guess I'm fresh out of creepy stories too!  

Maxwell's 10th Birthday Bash

Now this is how I like to party!  I love it that my kids are starting to make friends that I would choose myself, and they are starting to have fun the same goofy ways I do.  Maxwell, being the jock he is, wanted to have an all sports party.  The boys played foosball (yes that is a sport!) then ate lots of pizza and even more cinnamon sugar pizza.  Then they played kickball, basketball and danced a bunch, interrupted by a little sno-cone run.  Music was blaring the entire time, and the song of the night was "Call Me Maybe", which is evident by all the phone signs being made in the pictures.  This is when we should have called it a night because that is when the invitation said the party would conclude, but they weren't done having fun, so I had to do the next most responsible thing...text all the parents for permission to stay late.  They watched "Like Mike" which is a movie from the 90's, otherwise known as "old school" in my house, and they topped it off with more foosball and rowdy wrestling.  I only had to text the parents two more times to get permission for extensions to the night!  When we finally dropped the boys off at their homes around midnight, Max and all the remaining boys in the car would yell out, at the top of their lungs, to the boy at the doorstep, "call me maybe"!!!  I think my favorite thing about the whole night was how Sophie and Capri were included in all the fun.  They truly felt a part of it all, which I attribute to Max and all his kind friends...I couldn't have hand picked them any better!

Humphrey Hawk

Boise has a minor league baseball team with a rad mascot named Humphrey Hawk.  He showed up to one of Maxwell's baseball tournaments and then we saw him again when we went to one of their games.  It was fun to go with newly made baseball friends, but after about six innings Steve said, "I think Max's games are more exciting than these", I couldn't agree more.  I think baseball is only fun to watch when your son is on the team!