Daradie's Day

8 a.m: Surprisingly front tooth #2 is loose. Serious, focused wiggling begins.
8:30 a.m: Daradie refuses to brush teeth, eat breakfast, take a bath or anything else until front tooth #2 is out.
9:45 a.m: Tooth is out. Examination of holes. Constant begging to listen to more whistling sounds from the now new hole. Tooth Fairy "landing zone" is prepped and ready for the big drop-off.
2:15 p.m: Lunch is finally served to two children who would rather play all day.
2:30 p.m: Bank errand.
2:45 p.m: Gas in car.
3:00 p.m: Haircuts for the girls. Daradie went short, above the shoulders, and she can't help stare at her reflection.
4:15 p.m: Visit to the grocery store.
4:25 p.m: Koen tells the checkout lady that she is cute. He gets a treat. Daradie shows her her missing front teeth. She gets a treat. And I get the bill.
4:40 p.m: Dan and Koen are on date night.
5:45 p.m: Daradie is allowed to wear some lipstick and blush.
6:10 p.m: Purchasing school supplies. Discussion of why a first grader does not need a fire proof box. Discussion on why first graders do not need protractors. (Glad discussions on why a preschool student doesn't need these as well is refreshing.)
7 p.m: Daradie participates in my temple recommend interview with the bishopric member.
7:20-7:45 p.m: Daradie draws on chalkboard in high council room waiting for stake presidency's interview.
7:45-7:55 p.m: Daradie smiles at me when she hears the same questions in the interview. Stake president smiles back and helps me feel like a good mom knowing my daughter knows I have a testimony.
8-8:25 p.m: Daradie is granted one of her summer wishes. She walks through the cemetery. She is reminded to stop picking the flowers. She loves reading the names and looking at the pictures on the headstones.
8:40 p.m: After tucking in Daradie and on the way out the door, "Mom, I had a fun day. Thanks for letting me do soooooo many fun things."

And there you have it. Make any ordinary, dull day turn into a memory by visiting a cemetery.

Nauvoo Night

After my parents came back from their Nauvoo LDS mission, we all ventured up to the cabin to experience "Nauvoo Night" and a couple of days with the whole family. Mom spent a lot of time making each grandchild a bonnet or a teamster hat. We had a school lesson on spelling back in Nauvoo days, braided headbands (admire Sophie's headband and admit that cute lil' face melts your heart),

Kelly took a stab walking on stilts .

To top off the evening we lit sparkles,

talked and laughed together,

(If you think daughter/mother combo look the same, they sound even more the same on the phone), ate homemade ice cream and shared more stories around the campfire.

Pioneer games and Nauvoo night was a big hit.

Obvious? Thought so.

More Hours Needed in the Day...especially in the Closet

Wow! I just can't seem to fit everything in 24 hours in the day lately. I honestly think it's been almost 3 weeks since a bathroom's been cleaned around here. Let's see, what have we been doing....sandbox digging, weed pulling, raspberry picking, hiking and pit-stopping at a beachy knoll at the cabin,

and decorating our "float" for the July 4th parade

and of course, Daradie hanging on for dear life on the "chalupa" (and that's her seeping into the tube)and Dan wake boarding like he's 19

and Koen wanting to show his "man-ness" and ride the boogey board, but Ethan had to ride with him

and then Diana stepping up her game with this trick

and so me, deciding to give it a whirlbut hey, who am I kidding? My kids are proud of me no matter how I look.

Maybe some more time in the day needs to be involved in deciding what to wear.... Dan, you married a hot one.

Ohhhh, the Joys of a Mom

During family home evening:
Dan: Close your eyes, Koen, we're ready to say the prayer.
Koen: I don't have to close my eyes.
Dan: Yes, you do. That's how we say prayers.
Koen: It's the opening prayer. My eyes can be open during the opening prayer but I shut them during the closing prayer.
(wonder how long that's been going on....)

Daradie: Mom, can we paint on your real car?
Me: No.
Daradie: It will look really pretty.
Me: No.
Daradie: Just a picture of you driving the rest of the family?
Me: No.
Daradie: Really small in the window?
Me: No.

Kiddos talking about borrowing someone else's shoes while hauling hay (more on that later):
Daradie: I borrowed his shoes and they were ties and they fit me perfectly. Koen wore cowboy boots.
Koen: And they were super too small. My toes were scrunched up.
Daradie: Koen said they hurt his feet but he had to wear them. Right, mom? To keep the pokies out, right, mom?
Koen: And my ankles hurt kind of but mom's ankles would hurt super bad. Her ankles are huge.