There is so much I want to capture right here, and somehow will my children to not grow up anymore.  Max likes to tell me, "Mom, the bigger- the better!"  It's true, but I tell him to keep reminding me.

*Ali says she does not like chocolate.  It is the first time I have challenged our genetic ties.

*Jonas is 'composing' songs on the piano.  He gives them titles.  This is the title progression so far:  It's Hard to be a Wizard,  Channels of the Sky,  Channels of TV,  Channels of Wheat Thins, Channels of the Backpack.


*There seems to be no end to the potty humor from some of my children (it's mild, but still-- why is there such an enchantment with the words 'poop' and 'boogers'?!?!).  Yep, Jonas is in the other room teasing Ali that she has a poopy diaper right now. Sigh.


*The children have renamed their stuffed baby Po's (Panda from Kung Fu Panda) "Stinky Po".  The boys love to throw "Stink Po" in Ali's crib. This makes her cry.  I try to remind her he doesn't actually really stink.  I don't think it's sunk in yet.

*I had this lovely master plan to do a Joy School pre-school for Ali and Jonas this summer-- my plan was twice a week.  We are four weeks into summer and we have held two sessions. And they were on the same day.  Hmmm.

*Max has been in a cast all summer because he tripped on a brick and fell elbow first onto the cement.  Cracked the bottom of his Humerus.  X-rays. Appointments.  Stressful showers and no swimming.  Overall, he has been a champ.  It helps that he is passionate about building with Legos.

*Our neighbors next door have stolen my children's hearts. (I originally typed that as 'hearst'- ha!)  You know it is bad when your children watch their driveway to see when their car finally pulls in (I've seen them do the same, so at least they are equally yoked in affection!).  We love Laura, Aiden, and Owen.  I have forgotten the fine art of finding an excuse to go up to someone's door.  It is good to see these kids keeping that skill alive.

Getting the iPad feels like getting a new baby.  Only this is a technical baby and  the mother and father reverse roles.  I'm worried as can be that I'm going to break the thing if I touch it, and Glenn operates it as if he were born to do this.  Another sigh.

My sweet aunt sent me this dress for Ali.  

Max got his cast off, then the Dr. came in to tell us the fracture line was still too clear and he needed another cast put on for a couple more weeks.  That was a downer....

He had earned a Lego spaceship, which helped ease the pain.

The rest of summer has gone up in a blur of poppers, fake mustaches, water balloons, smileys (these are jelly beans), zoo, hiking, finger paints, Dreamworks, playdates, parks, and even Chuck E. Cheese.  Soon we'll add Utah and family to the list (and happily so!).  With the exception of some noise-sensitive retiree neighbors that make me feel claustrophobic should my children dare to make noise when they play outside* (gasp!)-- it has been an ideal, lovely summer.

  Tea Party 

*Why do older (mom and dad, this does not include you!) people forget what having children around sounds like? My kids aren't unreasonable and I am always on them to be not be loud outside (a real shame because that is where they should be free to have their louder play). ULGH.

Is He Home Yet?

Jonas and Ali waiting at the window for Dad's car to pull up.  I feel like doing this everyday.

Bring Your (Inner) Child to Work Day....

Look how good Max's drawing is of Alex the Lion!  I was so impressed!

I hope Dreamworks follows this up with a "Bring Your Spouse to Work Day" because I am more than a little jealous!

Landslide

I just had one of those moments in the car where old song lyrics finally made sense.  That old Dixie Chicks song-- Landslide.

 "Well I've been afraid of changing, 

'Cause I built my life around you.  

Well time makes you bolder,

 and children grow older,

 and I'm getting older too.  

Yes, I'm getting older too."

The past eight months have been interesting.  Actually, make that the past two years.  Two years ago I had brutal experience that I wish to never relive.  I feel like I am waiting on time and feeling God's love for me to heal it up and move forward being less affected by what others may or may not think.  But I digress.

The second change has been feeling my body shift.  My metabolism is different.  I lost a lot of hair for 8 months straight.  I'm having signs of macular degeneration and am assigned to see a specialist.  I have to ice my knees on occasion after I go running.  People no longer comment on how young I look.  I am spending every other month on a diet trying to get back to where my weight had stayed for the past 14 years.  Last night, I was showing old pictures on my phone to a very sick Jonas.  Max saw one of them and I said "Max, look how young you look!".  He then said, "Mom, look how young YOU look!".  

Stop time.

When did this happen?  When did I grow up with my children (I may not mean that in a maturity level... I often feel so insufficient to actually be someone's mother.  I wish I could go back and tell my mother thank you.  I expected her to be perfect, and now that I realize that conceiving and bearing children does NOT come with  a perfecting cloak-- I wish I could go back and acknowledge the million things she did that were beyond great.)

I think that whole Dixie Chicks verse speaks to me except the "time makes you bolder".  Maybe that will be part of what comes with this next page of life.   How do we settle into being ourselves and letting others be fine or not fine with that?  I find I am terribly hurt when others are not fine with my best efforts.

I think the hardest part of that verse is the line "I've been afraid of changing, 'Cause I built my life around you".  I didn't like to realize that "you" was actually "me".  That's why aging and changing is so hard for me.  I think too much about myself.  I wish it were more simple to "forget yourself and go to work".  I can do it temporarily, but I always round back to thinking of myself again.  Will age make that easier to let go of too?

Well, while these darling cherubs have been aging, it apparently came as an epiphany to me today that doesn't happen without their mother aging too.  Why is that something hard to accept?  

Ali so chic in her dollar store glasses :)

Max makes me gifts all the time out of legos... animals, necklaces and bracelets, etc.
It's very sweet. A perfect way he chose to show me he loves me.  I love that little hand around my neck.

Getting to snuggle with my sick little boy while I tell him the tale of  the day we met the blue dragon, fed him an Oreo, and saw his fire light  up his rainbow-jewel crusted cave.
 That, by the way, is the look of a woman who has had a little boy throwing up all morning.

These are some of our missionaries-- we love our missionaries!
Max has an awesome Mr. Bean face here....

Shauna.

I just love Shauna.  Isn't she pretty?  The other day when she came to visit, we practiced Prom hair-do's just in case I needed to help with a mutual activity that night.  I think it looks great on her!  What I love when I see this pic is remembering padding the bath tub with pillows and letting her baby girl play with bath toys as we crammed into my bathroom to try to escape (good luck- the kids quickly found us and needed one thing or another!).  I am grateful for a fun friend to feel like a girl with!

Hiking

We had a fun dinner date with our friends the Roans the other day.  Kana and Taylor are dear- he is an MIT graduate and inventor by profession, she is from Japan where she had been a nurse and is pregnant with her fourth little one in five years.  She, of course, does not complain.  Their beautiful kids understand both Japanese and English and are SO cute!  We love it when we get together. The other day after dinner we decided to all go on a quick hike.

It felt so good to be out in nature again- to hear frogs croak (is that the right spelling?), find a hawk perched in a tree, and watch the sun go down.  Glenn is anxious to get back up there right away.  I second the motion.

Ali's Tonsils...

Do you see that?

I discovered the other day that my baby girls' tonsils are HUGE.  The doctor said maybe she'd grow into them.  Wow. That's a lot of growing to be had.  

I think I vote for an eventual tonsillectomy. 

Suddenly it is dawning on me that I had mine out before I was in Kindergarten...was I  like this, Dad?

I can't help but wonder if this is why she has a raspy, 'smoker's' voice.  It's stinking cute on a two year old...