School Pictures - The 2013 Sequel

I thought I was done thinking about school pictures this year when I wrote about my family's experience a few weeks ago here. Well, there is a "rest of the story" :-) I'll share now:

I knew retakes were coming up and I thought about turning in the paperwork for my youngest to get a retake:

Can you guess the photographer was a boy? She's afraid of boys, but really - boys should be afraid of her.

But, I decided not to because we got family pictures taken about the same time and some really good ones turned up, like this one: 


Just a little pure emotion here

No, seriously - she can be a real beauty, I promise.
The problem is that if she is mad, she won't hesitate to let you (mostly me) know about it. So, picture re-take day rolls around and I didn't fill out any paperwork or have any plans to have her get a retake. I remember discussing with all of YOU about her first round of pictures, but I don't recall saying anything to her about the grimace above.

When I picked her up after school, the sub kindly let me know, "Your daughter got picture retakes today." I followed up with, "Um, I didn't send any forms back in with her." The sub just reiterated that the retakes were done. Fast forward a few weeks and my little beloved comes home with a packet of retake pictures. Let me just explain, I do not pay for the biggest picture package. Ever. Here she is, in all of her conniving little glory:


This is kind of like a stolen picture.



Somehow, I guess she walked up to the female photographer, signed herself up for the most expensive picture package and said "cheese". Now we have dozens of pictures of her, since we have the most expensive package including a large 8 x 10 that I guess I should frame and put up in her room. I'll let the other kids think she is the favorite. Would you like a photo?

By the way, I did call the picture place and told them I hadn't paid for the picture package that came home with my daughter. They just said not to worry about it.

My Poofy-Haired Bro-in-Law

The things kids latch onto . . .

A few years ago, my sister miraculously put together an Amazing compilation of life histories from four generations past each of our parents plus she was able to motivate our entire family (8 children, plus spouses) to each write a few pages of our own life history.

I can't believe she did that. No wonder I've always referred to her as The Queen (she is the youngest).

I have been reading small parts of the book to my girls some nights. When we got to my sister Marci, we came to a part that my children can't seem to forget. This is what she wrote, describing her life at about age 8:

Having field days with the Weston Elementary

was quite the anticipation for us girls.

There were all boys with just 5 girls. I remember

my friend Jennifer Henderson telling me she

really liked this blonde haired boy from Weston.

She was worried about competition with me.

When she pointed out the curly, permed head of

Greg Bingham I told her not to worry. I was

not interested in his poofy head.

   My girls thought that was pretty funny. They have since referred to Greg's poofy hair a number of times. They can't figure out why Uncle Greg would have ever wanted poofy hair.

Gird Up Your Loins

We have been trying to read about five verses of scripture each night. My son makes it as difficult as he can, on a regular basis. However, this time, his interruptions got us all laughing so hard. We had just read the phrase, "Gird Up Your Loins" and he pipes in, "Mom, who would ever really say, "Gird Up Your Loins"?"

So, I'm thinking I should submit a suggestion to hallmark for a greeting card idea, maybe for graduation.

Boys and Girls,

fresh courage take :-)

 Go Out,

Conquer the World.

and by all means

Gird up those Loins.

The Kitchen Sink

I'm usually pretty happy to make it to church on time and dressed, although there are times the kids' choices in clothing aren't super coordinated (how many times does a child need to be told white socks do not go with navy blue dress pants). I carry my own three bags and expect my children to carry what they need (I know "need" is pretty subjective, but just know the kids usually just bring their scriptures and a notebook).

This last Sunday, I needed to be at church early enough to practice a song with a small group. We actually, miraculously made it at the appointed time. The girls' hair wasn't done, but they were all dressed (I did the girls' hair in the restroom at about three minutes to the meeting start time).

I'm leading up to a good story, I promise.

During the meeting, I noticed my youngest coloring a picture. She pulled each crayon out of her slipper.

And, why not -- really? A girl needs her crayons and there could be nothing better than carrying them in a house slipper. So, we took slippers to church and crayons and a hairbrush, pretty much the kitchen sink :-)  I'm sure you can relate.

The person in front of me turned around and looked at my girl, then the slipper, and then at me. I just shrugged my shoulder and muttered "Girls" or something like that.

When the final "Amen" was said to the first (of three) meeting, my children tore off leaving me to the crayon-carrying slipper. My bags were too full to fit the slipper, so I just got to tote it around for the rest of the meetings. No one asked me about the slipper, but I received many strange looks.

At least everyone in my family was dressed for church today. . .

Kid Jail

When I was a little girl, I always pretended to be in an orphanage. I was the orphan and played with my little sisters or cousins.

One day, I overheard my children playing in the other room. Only, they weren't playing "School" or "Orphanage" or "Family" as I've sometimes heard them describe their playtime. They were playing, "Kid Jail".

From my children's perspective, this picture can be construed as "Life as we now know it" or "Dad and Mom's life pre-kids" :-)
 

I posted something about this on Facebook and got quite a kick out of peoples' responses so I will paste them here:

OK Parenting Experts: I've enjoyed listening to my children play in the other room this afternoon. I realized they were playing "Kid Jail". When I was little I always played "Orphanage". What does this mean? Do my kids feel like they are in jail? Did I think I was an orphan?

• Ann: I played dollies but I wasn't really a mom yet. Lol

• Catherine: Great imagination! We played "Monster".
•  
• Monika: We always played orphanage too :-) Probably the tv drama of the times like all the law and police stuff is now.
•  
• Cailean: I remember playing "office" where we filled out all these pretend forms. Can you believe we thought that would be FUN as an adult? Hahaha. My guess with the jail/orphanage thing is kids pretend things they don't understand to help them feel some sense of control -- so it's not as scary.
•  
• Janie: I think we played "orphanage" to have an excuse to be mean to poor little Emma, I mean Jessie, without getting in trouble. :) Actually, I think we felt quite secure in the fact that we weren't orphans, so it was fun to pretend.

   
• Jess: I loved every minute, meaness intended or not... I felt included. Interesting and thought provoking question you pose Colette. I wonder...

   
• Me: Now I think I just want to have a playdate so we can play office and orphanage :-) Catherine, I think I am too gullible to play monster :-) I think "kid jail" sounds like a horrible place to be
•  
• Melissa: Where is that pinky doll?
•  
• Holly: We played school, library and market. Usually all at the same time.
•  
• Me: @Holly - love it, I remember staying with your family when you lived at the old white house, all the girls (or at least three of you) were in one room. I thought it was the best fun jumping from bed to bed @Melissa - my Pinky doll should be bronzed, she was so great. I hope to restore her to full playing capacity someday, right now she is taking a breather under the gray table in the laundry room downstairs in Clifton
•  
• Melissa:  I might search out that doll and reenact past uh memories...
  I tell sav abt us playing house with the wood blocks. The tall round ones were the parents ect. Best place to create the house was the piano bench
•  
• Linnae:  That's funny! My kids play hospital all the time. (I guess because of what their dad does for a living.) sometimes Jacob tells me he can't do something I've asked, because he has to go do a c-section. O-kay then!
•  
• Me:  Linnae - that is hilarious. I've never even thought of playing "hospital". Definitely a chuckle on this one; @Melissa - I am not worried about you and Pinky, I think all the Mom=ness in you has softened your heart and yes, those wooden blocks were the best, slightly grimy but the best

School Pictures

I know we all have some real winners in our history. I wrote about one of my best here.

Well, of my three children and their school picture packets, two packets have returned home. They didn't come home the same day. One trickled in one day and another the next. I assume my son will bring his home at some point. His pictures must be crammed in his desk until the teacher threatens his recess time till he cleans it out.

My oldest daughters' picture is just OK. I figured I would keep it and be semi-OK with the results.

The youngest, however, I just don't know. What do you think? Should I keep her?

I mean it?

Little Boys' Dreams Don't Change

I am a Red Sox Fan by default. My father is a large enough man that to cheer for some other team really wasn't an option. I recall being in about the third grade and the Red Sox were playing in the World Series. They lost. The kids at school asked me if my dad had stomped a hole through my floor that night.

I kid you not, visions of my dad's big, work-booted foot, stomping through the family's green-carpeted living room floor haunts me to this day. I think he really could have done that.

If he wanted to :-)

I was living in Provo and married when the Red Sox won the World Series (first in my lifetime). That was the greatest win ever. Not only had they come from behind in the series, but that last game was pulled off in heroic fashion (anyone remember the bloody leg?).

Well, tonight is another night to go down in history. Congrats to all Red Sox Fans and most especially for my dear dad. Sweet dreams :-)

 

 

Just a note to add for fun memory sake:  my mom didn't return home till almost midnight, the night the Red Sox won the World Series. Apparently Dad waited up for her. He had gotten out all of his Red Sox Memorabilia and spread it all over the living room couch. The next day was Halloween and there was no question he dressed to the nines in Red Sox everything :-). 

Still Fits

I don't need to give much dialogue for this post. We got out our Halloween gear/décor for the month ahead. My daughter was just convinced that she could be Strawberry Shortcake again (costume from two years ago) because it totally still fits.

Not to pleased when she saw me chuckling after she matter-of-factly stated, "It still fits"

Lookin' Down on Creation

You know Karen Carpenter's song, "Top of the World"? Well get that one in your head because I'll show you some pictures that felt like we must have been up there quite a ways :-).

Over Labor Day Weekend (note I said over the weekend, we didn't actually go ON Labor Day which was kind of an issue for my children - who insisted they needed something to write about the next day for the first day of school. You know, the "What did you do over summer break question?" Never mind all of the travel and fun we'd had all summer, what really counts is the day before school starts.), my children and I traveled westward to the Washington coast.

I didn't tell the kids where we were going, I didn't tell them how long we'd be gone. I wanted to be flexible and kind of "fly by the seat of my pants" on that last weekend before school was to start.

We headed to the ferry,

Guess you can't tell, but this really is a ferry. Our car is underneath

waited along with hundreds of other residents yearning to "get out of dodge". It seemed like getting over to our destination took quite a long time, even though on the map it didn't look so far. We went through many windy roads interspersed with simply breathtaking views. Lake Crescent took my breath away, such a beautiful huge lake right in the middle of the heavily forested mountains. I hope to return to Lake Crescent for camping or canoeing another time.

We went clear over to Forks Washington, a small town the size of the nearby "city" where I grew up. We swam until 9 or 10 pm, that night.  The next morning, after having a nice conversation with a cashier at the only grocery store in town, we headed over to the coast - La Push. I loved this part of the drive because there were signs all over (big, homemade kind of signs - none of that neon, flashy stuff in the city) talking about werewolves and references to the hit story series set in Forks, "Twilight".

Love the Beautiful Ocean

La Push was perfect. The beach was sandy (much to my surprise, I thought WA only had rocky beaches) and the atmosphere so calming. We spent all morning on the beach.



You can just feel the sand in your toes right?

Heading back toward home, we stopped for ice cream at Lake Crescent and again determined we must go back there. Since I had already paid the National Park Fee (Sol Duc Hot Springs - had to pay to enter forest, but found out the resort was full, so I didn't even stay there), I headed on up to Hurricane Ridge - the top of the Olympic Mountains. What a windy road to get there, but wow was it worth it.

Catching the Wildlife on our Sunrise Point Hike

You can see the road way down there can't you? Seriously high up

I've given you a travel log, which isn't funny but these pictures make me smile because we all had a great time. Just looking at these Hurricane Ridge pictures makes my stomach turn knots. We were SOOO high up there.


Hurricane Ridge -- Visitors Center View



I may be smiling, but I was scared to death

Where's Brody?

While in Idaho over the summer, one of the truly funny stunts pulled by my youngest and two of her cousins ended with this picture:

You can imagine the story that precedes the picture :-). I must have been downstairs. Tawna had gone somewhere and let me know she had gone. What I am trying to say is that I KNEW the kids were in my charge. I just kind of let that responsibility slide for just a minute.

When I realized the house was pretty quiet, I went upstairs looking specifically for her youngest son. I called out, no one answered. I checked around a few of the rooms and checked outside. I heard nothing in response. I realized I had somehow lost my nephews, who were under MY care.

Oh no!

That panic feeling comes back pretty easily, just thinking about this.

However, I went into the computer room one more time and saw what you see now. Those little rascals think they are soooo smart. . . .

Charmin -- We all go, why not enjoy the go?

I took my girls to Costco tonight just to grab a "few things". My older daughter made multiple requests of food as we bustled around the store as quickly as possible (always - right?). I said no to the pumpkin Halloween cookies that kids can decorate, I said no to the produce room that is always fun to explore. I can't really remember the other things I denied my children :-).

When she started to lose control and really turned on the whining, I still said no. She said, "Mom never buys us anything good." My youngest daughter then chimed in helpfully to her sister, "but, look, Mom bought us all this toilet paper."

 I did break down and buy the girls a $.25 gum ball out of the machine. See, I'm not so bad.

Pack-Jammed

I've been looking over summer pictures and just wishing I could roll back time. We had another great summer. You know, I am very grateful for a husband who works so hard to give our children and I such great summers. He really misses out on all the fun.

I could do a million pictures, but I will have to try and single out all the fun and stretch it on until next summer. You'll just get a few at a time :-).

Each picture has a story. 

Fourth of July with the Mattsons (my sister); we went on a little walk. Captain Eli was in charge and let Peter Pan (my daughter) come along.

My Little Thief -- we always visit cemeteries in Idaho and I'm not sure where she found these pretty flowers but, I am certain they didn't get put back where they belong. I didn't take this picture so I really have no part in this thievery.

My child was missing his WA friends and thought he would take a "selfie" to let them get just a glimpse of how much fun he was having in Idaho.

After driving for 10 or so hours, we rounded the corner on I-90 and transferred over to I-405. The sweet Bellevue city skyline comes into view. I am always awed by the beauty of that panorama. It really is very pretty (especially at night). My daughter's observation: "This place is pack-jammed."

Home Sweet Home

Twin

My sibs and I have been passing around funny notes about a picture found in a local (local to four of eight siblings) newspaper:



That guy could definitely be my brother

 

Let me record some of the comments so far:

 

Betty,

Will you forward this wanted poster?  Or was I part of a set of twins mom never told me about?

Someone out there is posing as me and making money.

Please forward any information of the imposter!

Discovered by Gaylin.

 

Dan is famous -- who is cashing in on our bro?

 

I actually think that really is you -- have you been doing advertising on the side?

 

I had to go look in the mirror just now to see if I have a dimple in my chin.

I don't....so I am the real Dan....That guy is a fake.

 

Wow. Only one difference - They must have filled in the hair line a little.

 

That's ok for me to notice but not you........just kidding

 

I am convinced this is Dan.  I have the newspaper at my house and I have studied it over and over.  They probably Photoshopped the "hair plugs" in so our unique Fuller hairline wasn't showing.
And I can totally picture Dan falling asleep at a table with no problems.  Not so sure about the slight smile while sleeping though.
Dan, you never text back to me that you looked into this, I was waiting on the edge of my seat :)

 

I didn't see the actual picture until later that day....to Marci

 

 

Here's a closer view :-)

 

Screech Owl Strikes Again

First Day of Summer Vacation pt 2

My youngest daughter has been participating in a dance class all year. She loves ballet and tap. She was the oldest in the class, which really built her confidence. Today was her "Show Week" which is sort of like a recital, only no costumes or stressful performance. The Little Gym has some pretty good methods for teaching children coordination and appreciation for dance without a lot of competition. I enjoyed seeing her follow the routines so closely and so accurately.

After watching her dance, we headed for our summer vacation celebration food destination (of Mom's choice -- make point of that, hey, I really deserve something for making it through another year).

On the way, I picked up some cupcakes from a fancy shmancy shop for which my coupon was going to expire any day. I let the girls buy some cute little sixlet candies: pink, white, and brown. I'm telling you, this cupcake shop has "little girl" written all over it. The girls brought their little containers of sixlets into the pizza shop that I wanted to try out for lunch.

The three kids were sitting (and I thought settled) across the room while I finished ordering. All of the sudden, I hear - wait, the whole shopping center, hears a blood-curdling scream. Apparently, the big brother taunted his little sister just a bit, ("Who me?"), about eating her little candies. The whole place was at a stand-still while I tried to discreetly (ha ha) calm the situation down.

I'm ready for one of the cupcakes . . .

Take It!

Another post dedicated to my little sweetheart child, the third :-).

She got a little upset this week for some injustice. Life just isn't fair. I must say that a hundred times a day. So, this is what happened when she got mad earlier in the week:

She ripped the drawer right out of its home - I am thankful she didn't smash a toe

She really is just five years old, but has the strength and furor of the Incredible Hulk.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=incredible+hulk&id=8F9C8CAE9AA8A49FC37885219653EE36BB9F21D8&FORM=IQFRBA#view=detail&id=8F9C8CAE9AA8A49FC37885219653EE36BB9F21D8&selectedIndex=0

 

Tonight I accidentally came upon a photo of her from three years ago, which really cracks me up. Her personality has been that of the Incredible Hulk since the get-go. Just look at the book she was reading and insisted join our family picture photo op.

Name of the book, "The Teeny Tiny Women"

She is a cute little bugger - I must admit :-)

 

Funny story behind the fact that the baby of the family wouldn't part ways with this slightly scary book is that her older sister wouldn't sit through the story - just too frightening.



It's All Fun and Games Until . . .

Today is the first day of summer vacation. What a great day to look forward and sleep in and not pack a lunch.

I woke up extra early, headed off to exercise and came home to find my 9 yo practically giddy to "do the next thing" (which is chores or music). He accomplished all of his morning responsibilities before 8:00 and headed out the trampoline. Although the girls weren't quite as efficient with their time, they were outside with him.

It was raining.

No matter right? They started out their day, their summer with a bang.

It rained all day.

Needless to say, we had some fun today. We celebrated by having pizza at a new place that now tops my list:   Mod Pizza. I may go off on it a bit -- everything made fresh right before my eyes and all done super fast. The pizza isn't too crusty, which I love. It was delicious and affordable. They have mini-pizzas just the right size for my children to individually order what they wanted (of course they ended up all wanting the same kind, but at least they got their own same kind).  I just realized I will be needing to do a separate post about our experience there. Oh my! Children sure know how to make life interesting, that's all I will say about that.

We also bought some really fancy cupcakes, from a cute little pink cupcake store.

It was still raining this evening. The kids (mine plus a friend) ran outside because who wouldn't want to jump on the trampoline, in the pouring rain.

We won't get hurt - promise

I was just a tad nervous about the liability. I could just picture the children slipping off while climbing off (cement pad underneath). Anyway, they had a great time. At some point in the play, they migrated to the front yard and then the friend had to go home.

The next thing I know, I hear the outside water turn on and screaming.

Yup - you guessed it, big brother got an idea. Soaking wet sister - who is now also dripping wet -- didn't want to be wet anymore.

Look. Mom

Cousins Crack Me UP

I meant to post this awhile back. I LOVE having a cousin nearby. We see each other every four or five or six months. Having grown up with family gatherings galore, I relish the time I get to spend with cousins.

The last time I saw this family was for a missionary meeting prior to departure (Sadie is going to Milan Italy to preach the gospel -- exciting huh?).  Sadie has three sisters and one brother. While at their beautiful home, after the meeting, the older sisters showed me a book they made for their parents for Christmas. I laughed till I cried at the pictures in the book.

According to Chelsea, the idea for the book is "all over pinterest", however, since I am not an aficionado of pinterest (yet), I'd never seen or thought of the idea. Hilarious.

Here's the rundown, well, study these two pictures and see if you can figure it out before I tell you:

the bangs just kill me - wait, Chelsea, where are your bangs?

They had made an entire book of these types of pictures. I was laughing so hard, I had tears running down my face. These girls are not, wait, these women are not rag-a-muffin, sloppy, oops-I-forgot-to-do-my hair ladies. These are well-read, super-trendy, well-mannered people here. I loved seeing these memories and their re-creation. What a fun time, they must have had reliving these relics.

 

Getting to know Cousins is the best and definitely something that makes me smile.

Dad and his boots

This picture has to make you smile:

Not only do I love the people in the picture (my dad and his dad), I mean, just look at Grandpa's smile. He is content. I love it. Dearly.

This was taken July 4th, 1969 so my dad was  married and really getting into responsibilities of life. He probably had one or two kids (my family members can verify) thus his more somber expression (I also learn he never really had a tendency to smile in pictures).

Later, while jogging, I figured out that my oldest brother was born in 1969, July of 1969 in fact. So, my dad's serious expression might be due to the fact that his wife was ready to pop down below. He must have been worrying about her :-).

Ha ha -- do you like how I am putting my own spin on it? I will have to ask my dad about this picture, but in the meantime it is his boots that made me smile. He's wearing those big work boots. Those boots will be a part of my dad's legacy for sure. He always wears those type of boots to do his outside work: gardening, mowing, pipe-moving. Those are the big boots that showed me how to plant corn and potatoes (don't "cut and cover"). Those are the boots that I pictured stomping a hole through our living room floor when the Boston Red Sox lost a game, and finally those are the boots that I would see my dad lace up, all the way to the top to go on motorcycle rides or hunting.

And Grandpa Fuller can just keep smiling - he probably wore the same thing :-).

Another editor's update - my oldest brother was born before 1969, it was my second oldest brother who was born in 1969, and his birthday is August, so my mom was hugely pregnant and wrangling a toddler down below.

Ode to Mothers -- from a kid

Kid President's Mother's Day Message To All Moms (VIDEO)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ4Rnba85o8&feature=player_embedded#t=2s


I don't know how to paste the picture so it looks cooler but this is seriously so funny. Please watch and then watch again. I think I've listened to it three times in the last 30 minutes.

Happy Mothers Day!

Technological File

I guess I am not raising a future NBA player. When my son came home from basketball practice talking about "technological files" and how a person could earn one while playing basketball, I really knew any hope I have is dashed :-).

Of course, he asked me if I've ever earned a "technological file" and I said no. In discussing this privately, my husband and I decided of our three children, our youngest would be the most likely to earn a technical foul. She can get pretty heated up in arguments and actually just lets out a blood-curdling scream when she can't take it anymore.

Onions and Vocal Cords

Every family has their oddities, or I should say every person. Two of mine are that I worry about things like "damaging your vocal cords" and that I had bunion surgery the summer before 9th grade.

Big deal right?

I spent a lot of money learning about vocal cords back in my readin' ritin' 'rithmetic days,  so I might as well train my children to be paranoid of injuring their vocal cords :-). I can't deny that I try to enforce good vocal habits (drink lotsa water, don't make crazy sounds that will strain your voice and my ears.

It wouldn't be unusual to hear this phrase in my house, "My vocal cords are hurting." I always get a good smile about that one. I wish I could post a cool picture of vocal folds on here.

You gotta admit, that is cool isn't it? I am fascinated by it. I am always wondering about birds and whether or not they have vocal cords. Anyway . . . I am pretty sure my child had a sore throat, not sore vocal cords.

The other oddity is those bunions of mine. Again, I will find a cool picture to illustrate.

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/picture-of-bunion

I inherited my bad bunions. But, I hold no disregard for the people before me. Honest, I don't. There is still a slight scar on my feet and my children like to inspect scars. So, they've heard my story many times (about having surgery and having to wear two gigantic boots and how my friend came and played "Easy Money" with me the entire summer when I was laid up).

So, the funny thing is that my youngest daughter will look at my dainty (ha ha) little feet and say, "Mom, are those your onions?"

What kind of odd things are you passing onto your children?

My own little Stevie Wonder

Last week my daughter's eyes were dialated for an eye exam. She was given a pair of flimsy sunglasses to be worn out in the sun for the hours following the appointment. I really didn't think anything of the glasses. I saw that she didn't want to wear them into her school when I dropped her off and left it at that.

This morning, I noticed she had those glasses in her backpack still.

When I picked her up this afternoon, I saw a girl walking along the sidewalk, kind of a determined-neck-forward type look. It was none other than my own little Stevie Wonder:

I have been chuckling about this all afternoon. I guess she thinks she still needs to be wearing her special glasses. I wonder what all of the passersby were thinking about my daughter :-).