Happy Birthday Noelle

My precious, gentle, squishy, rambunctious baby girl is one today. Has it really been one year? It has been a blur. Time moves so quickly. I was so anxious to be done being pregnant and I was thrilled when the doctor announced that it was a girl! Rinar and I were ecstatic. 

Noelle, you have been a blessing for our family in so many ways. We love you so much. In the beginning, you were a darling spectator as the daily circus passed before your eyes. You soaked it all in. I would just hold you in my arms for hours and hours.

But then, the spectating was done and you were ready to take the world head on. You have come so far. You walk and explore and destroy with perfect innocence. You give so much love to all of us: Dad, Raef, Zach, Eli, Harry, Julia, and me. You make us laugh and bring smiles to us all.

You are a pro at climbing up and down stairs, up and down the stroller, and love, love, love the toilet and all of its possibilities. You are now starting to talk and the words are forming and sorting themselves out. Today, you loved to say football. Maybe that is because you play in the front yard and watch your brothers practice their punting skills. You also love the wiggle board and have an obsession with my yellow iPhone, at least almost as much as I do.

You love it when I sing you to sleep and tuck you in and we always play a good game of peek-a-boo. You are a master peek-a-booer. Sometimes, you let me cradle you and sing to you and you will just stare at me, perfectly still. It is heavenly.

It is a privilege to be your mother. Thank you for choosing our family. You are my heart.

Precious Kid Moments

I just love the funny little moments in my kids lives, and I get a front-row seat.

Eli wore a green shirt to the park. Clearly, it perfectly camouflages him with the grass.

"Look mom, I am invisible when I squat down like this."

Yep, Eli. You ARE invisible.

And then we went home for lunch. It was a long morning at the park. Harry was parched.

Problem solved!

Kid Happenings

September has been a go, go, go kind of month. My calendar is packed with appointments every single day.  Here are a few things we have been doing...

I am part of a playgroup, which is comprised mostly of boys, and then there are the two girls, Julia and Molly.  A few weeks ago it was my turn to host this motley little crew. They had fun as you can see playing pool. And why bother taking turns when you can all go at the same time? Right?

Ryder, Boston, Sawyer, Harry, and Charlie

 Eli's flag football team, the Seahawks, play on Wednesdays at Galena Park. Our team is navy, Ryan P. and Jason B. are the coaches, and our entire team is made up of first graders, minus one second grader. All of the other teams are pretty much second graders so it has been a tough season.  The first game was very entertaining. When it was Eli's turn to be the running back, he really pulled out the juke moves. Of course, there was more juke than move, but it was still adorable.

And Zach was able to do the Kokopelli Triathlon again this year. I am really proud of my boy. He ended up placing 3rd overall! Whoa! I was not able to go down because I had to stay up here for Raef's football game and Harry's soccer game. But it was nice to have Rinar do the race with him and also have Monica W. down there spectating and cheering for Zach along with her daughter Natalie and husband Bart. They are good friends. We are blessed.

Zach with Natalie W.

 Julia has her soccer games on Monday, which is nice because Rinar is able to come to those. She is enjoying all of the girls and has made special friends with this cutie, Jocelyn. Whenever they are on the sidelines, this is what they are doing. But all of the girls are darling.

September is coming to a close and October will be here soon. One more month of craziness and then I will be able to breathe.

Birthday

September is my birthday month. It was a nice way to celebrate 38. Rinar was home and able to help me and do stuff to give me some free time. He even installed a bunch of motion-sensor light switches for the lights that always seem to be on, like the basement stairwell and the pantry. There is also one in the kids bathroom and the half bath. 

I was able to go to lunch with Melanie. She treated me to Blue Lemon, which opened on my birthday. There were some ladies walking around giving out presents and I came home with a t-shirt and a hat. I am a walking billboard!

Melanie and I had a wonderful lunch together and were able to catch up after a busy month of doing mom stuff.

And once again, not a word from my parents. Nothing. Crickets. It kind of bothered me for a bit, and even more so when they called me a week later. I just really didn't want to talk about it. I just didn't. It brought back memories of my 8th birthday when they completely forgot because they got into a big fight. It was pretty miserable, I am not going to lie. And every time this happens, it just takes me back there.  I have thought about what I want to do about it because it bothers me with how much it bothers me.

So now I have a plan. Next year, I am going to call them on my birthday. They never remember, so I will remember for them. I will call them and have a nice conversation and remind them that it is my birthday and then the problem will be solved. I really like this plan. I don't like all of the attention anyway. But it is nice for my parents to remember me.

Violin Recital

This past month has been pretty darn crazy. Every single day I have been taking the kids to something or another and Saturday is the worst because Raef and Harry have games and they are usually at the same time. The nice thing is that their games are always in the morning, so the afternoons are free. 

A few weeks ago Zach and Eli had their fall recital. It was wonderful. Eli played "Lightly Row" and he was a pro. He kept going even though he had a few little hiccups in his song. He also played "Old MacDonald" with a group in the middle of the recital. Zach's group piece was "Ashokan Farewell" it is a stunningly beautiful tune. I love it so much and his group played it exceptionally well.

Zach played Violin Sonata in E Major, 4th Movement by Handel. It looked like a walk on a sandy beach for him. No problem. 

Overall, the boys represented well. I am one proud mama.

Labor Day Get Away

We had a wonderful Labor Day this year. Since there was no school or work, it was time to take a mini road trip. We took everyone up to Fort Bridger, Wyoming for the Mountain Man Rendezvous. It is quite a festival in the middle of nowhere. We were able to get there at lunch time and made sure to get some funnel cake to start the trip out right. Plus, the kids were kind of hungry and something in their stomachs was better than nothing. 

Noelle really liked the funnel cake, but so did everyone else. We enjoyed it while watching the Native American tribe members perform traditional dances.

Everything at Rendezvous is authentic. There is nothing made from China at the festival. Plus, they have hands on stuff and learning booths. Raef and Zach were able to play an old-fashioned game of tug-o-war with one of the mountain men. They really liked it.

Eli especially enjoyed the festival. He is a sponge. We watched fire making the mountain man way, spinning of wool, touched animal pelts, and searched for old coins to add to their coin collections. He really loved everything and wants to return next year. You got it, Eli!

After we made the rounds, we headed to Mountain View to eat at the local burger joint and then hit the road for the scenic way to Utah, through the Uintahs and Mirror Lake. On the way to Heber City we stopped at an enchanted fairy forest. Yes, a fairy forest is in the Uintahs! It is an art lovers dream on the Mirror Lake Scenic by way at mile marker 17. You can make your own little city for the fairies when they come out to play.  The kids enjoyed looking at all the contributions. We will definitely be returning to add our own vignette to this special forest.

As the day was winding down, we finally were able to visit WISP, Lindsay and Justin's shave shack in Heber City. The treats were delicious and it was tons of fun. And we even got to see them as they were down the street hanging at the Provo river. We visited for a little bit and then hit the road to get home before it got too late. I mean, the kids had school the next day. We had to be responsible.

Church Walk

I am the mean mom that makes my kids walk to church every week. Okay, maybe not every week, but nine times out of ten, we are walking. The church is a little less than 3/4 of a mile away, and it is up a pretty good hill. When we first started doing this, there was a lot of complaining. But I think they are just resolved to their plight. 

It definitely has its advantages. First of all, by the time we get to church, they are more than happy to sit for a while. The wiggles are obliterated, at least for 30 minutes or so. 

And on the way home, there is a plethora of grape vines. This past month, we took advantage of the harvest and found some pure deliciousness along the way. The Glad's have many types of grapes and they are so different and scrumptious.  This was a simple but wonderful highlight of the summer.