Pep!

Yesterday, I had the fine experience of attending the Pep Rally at Sophie's school!  She really wanted me to come and watch her dance, so even though I was running a little late (and didn't really know where I was going to find the school gym), I made it in time to see the 7th grade dance team perform. The only downside was that I was totally on the wrong side of the gym, and therefore didn't get any up close footage of SOPHIE dancing, but it was all good, because we had promised Sophie that the whole family would make it to their home game last night as they competed against their cross-town rival.  ;)

And make it we did!  {And just in the nick of time.  There was a ton of traffic getting to the stadium thanks to a biker rally that's in town for the weekend. Also -- due to that crazy traffic, Scott was the only one who didn't make it to the game.  We figured there was no point in him getting there when the game was almost over, so he took one for the team and stayed home with Maxwell.}  Aside from lots and lots (and lots) of whining from a certain 8 year old who didn't really want to be there, I think we all enjoyed our outing!  Haha.

By the end of the game, we had wised up and snuck over to the opponents's side (which was in the shade and felt delightfully breezy) and really enjoyed the rest of our time.  And even though I know this was their big rival, I thought it was kind of lovely when the game ended in a perfect tie.  Maybe sitting with the rivals for the last few minutes and seeing their excitement when they finally caught up to us played a small part in that, but nonetheless it made me kind of happy.

The other kids and I headed out after the 7th grade game was over, but Sophie stayed on for the 8th grade game as well while switching hats from dance teamer to yearbooker.  Hahaha.  She's been staying after for most of the games this season to take pictures for yearbook and I think she really loves it.  For as much as she loves dance, it's kind of cool to see how much she's enjoying yearbook as well.  And I have to admit -- I really get a kick out of seeing her with the "press pass" that allows her on the field with her camera.  :)

 These "yearbook in action" pictures are from the last home game.

 There she is!  Kneeling at the 20 yard line getting ready to snap pictures of the football team running onto the field.

All in all, it was a fun little outing.  I can't promise that we'll ALL go to the next home game (Alex and Isaac are not quite up to that challenge), but I definitely foresee more games in our future.

A Different Kind of Busy

A couple of months ago, I discovered that TONS of pictures were missing from past blog posts -- specifically between the years 2013-2016.  Being the rather UN-tech-savvy person that I am, it didn't occur to me that I should have paid attention to Blogger when it told me that Google+ was going away and that any pictures saved to that platform would be lost forever.  Granted, there was a grace period -- I think I would have had until April or May of this year to back them all up before they were gone, but of course I didn't realize I needed to do that.  I had forgotten that several years ago, I use to toggle back and forth between loading pictures from my phone onto the Google+ app or loading them directly to Google Photos.  I think I probably assumed they were kind of the same thing and were all saved together in this nebulous Google world.  I was wrong.  And when I found out I had lost so many pictures, I felt sick to my stomach.  Especially since our old computer had crashed a couple of years ago and I hadn't finished backing up my photo library before it died.  Three years worth of family pictures and memories were gone!

Well fast forward to today, and I am shouting for joy because I finally got my hard drive back from that old computer and I have all my pictures again!!!  

For the last several hours, I have been happily transferring the pictures to my Google Photos and going back through old blog posts to fill in the blanks.  I've currently finished up 2013 and I'm halfway through 2014.  And that's what the title of tonight's blog post is all about.  As I was adding pictures and skimming though all those old posts, it struck me that as busy as I feel right now at this stage of my life, I was just as busy back then.  It was just a different kind of busy.  I can't say that one or the other is harder or easier, they're just DIFFERENT.  Some things might be easier right now, but there are other things that are much harder.  So in the end, it all just evens out. 

While looking back over those posts, my nostalgia for the old days had me wishing for a time travel machine so that I could go back for just a moment or two and enjoy that busy-ness in all it's glory!  I don't think I knew then that I should have been more conscientious in finding things to appreciate about that specific stage of life.  Maybe it's just human nature not to recognize that "the good old days" are happening right now all around us -- or maybe it's just that reflecting on the past through the rose-colored glasses of today paints a much more glowing picture than what was actually taking place.  But regardless of all of that, I really hope I can find the happy and the peaceful amidst the busy and the difficult that are ALWAYS going to be with us.  Because time is going to just keep marching by.  And before I know it, I'm going to be an old lady and all my children will be scattered to the wind!  

Ethan's calendar -- he's pretty busy himself.

Baptism Day

Alex was baptized this past Saturday.  Making things extra special was the fact that it was also his Uncle Freddie's birthday (and his cousin Molly's) AND he got to be baptized with one of his very best friends from church!  {Although obviously not baptized at the EXACT same time.}  We were lucky enough to have Scott's parents come into town for his special day and we've been able to enjoy having them here for a few extra days as well.  :)

{Isaac's little facial expressions are absolutely slaying me in this animation.}

The service itself was lovely, and I was relieved and impressed that Alex was able to sit mostly reverently and quietly throughout the program.  This is actually the first time any of our kids have shared a baptism day someone else, and it was a delight!  Sharing the responsibilities for the music and the talks and the refreshments made things so much easier and less stressful than previous baptisms have been.  It was really nice!  

When it came time for the actual baptizing, Alex was so excited he apparently jumped off the stairs and into the water in the font.  {I would say that the ultimate emotion of the day for him was excitement.}  And on the flip side, when it came time for his confirmation, I was so relieved and impressed once again that he sat so reverently and took things so seriously when I was worried he would be too wound up and silly.  It's always nice when your children pleasantly surprise you.  Hahaha.

Once the program was over, we enjoyed some delicious refreshments (including our traditional CTR sugar cookies) and managed to take a few good family pictures as well.  The rest of our day was spent in a leisurely and relaxing kind of way and much to Alex's delight, I finally relented in the end and let him pick out a present from Target to commemorate his day.  Because nothing says commemoration like Pokemon cards.  Hahahaha.

Alex and Keleni!

All in all it was a day to remember!  The only thing that kept me from feeling like it was a total success is that we forgot to order new, "real" scriptures for Alex (like we've done for all the others for their baptisms) and even more sadly, I haven't been able to make him his baptism quilt because I no longer have a working sewing machine.  Doh!  Hopefully, he won't hold it against me that we didn't have these two items at the ready for his special day.  ;)

A Birthday Girl

Not too long after Alex's birthday extravaganza, it was Jane's turn.  I think after the excitement of Alex's Chuck E. Cheese friend party she was a little bummed that all she got was a family party this year, but she was gracious enough not to complain and we celebrated her big day a couple of Saturdays ago.

The cake she picked this year was from a lovely cake decorating cookbook that I recently bought {Layered by Tessa Huff} and I was really excited to give it a whirl.  Unfortunately, luck was not in my wheelhouse that day and the end result was rather subpar.  Mostly thanks to Maxwell getting into the freshly baked cakes that were still on the cooling rack before I'd had a chance to assemble them.  Doh!  I salvaged the cakes by carving out the spot that the dog ate from -- turning the round cake into a crescent shape -- and then finished up the job by attempting the "ruffled" frosting finish.  It was a rough attempt.  Hahaha.

 (I'm afraid it looks more like brain tissue than ruffles. 😬)

Nevertheless, Jane still thought it looked beautiful and after lighting some sparkler candles and singing happy birthday, she was excited to open presents and eat the cake.  It may have been a smaller affair than she would have preferred, but I think it was still exciting enough to make her happy.

 (The Game of Life -- everyone's new {old} favorite.)

And that's a wrap on our August birthdays.  Technically, you may have realized that Scott was never represented in that mix this year, but I'm pretty sure he's totally fine with that.  One of these years, I'm going to get around to throwing him the hugest, most over-the-top birthday extravaganza EVER.  But clearly that was not this year.  Hahaha.  Thankfully, Scott is easily the lowest maintenance member of the family.  We could all take a page out of his book.  Hahahahaha.

Hardly Controlled Chaos

Oh hey, peeps!  Long time no talk.  School and activities have made life extra busy the last several weeks, and quite frankly, I'm just too tired at the end of the day to blog.  Womp womp.  However, I've received several injunctions from various kids that I need to start updating, so here is the first in a series.  ;)

Alex celebrated his 8th birthday with a "friend party" a few Saturdays ago.  We decided to go with a venue for the first time ever, and I have to say it was a genius move.  Even if the venue WAS Chuck E. Cheese.  Hahahahaha.  {I feel like they should start paying me commission for how often I promote this place.}  Since he was turning 8, I told him he could invite 8 friends to his party and as a little lagniappe, I let Jane and Isaac tag along as well.  You'd be surprised at how upset this made Sophie and Grace.  Hahaha.  Ethan was working at Sonic for the day, so I think he was fine.  ;)

 The birthday boy.

Having Chuckie take care of everything -- from the cake to the party favors to the ice cream to the food -- was awesome, and it made for a less stressful than usual party planning experience.  Unfortunately, the stress of planning the party was replaced with the stress of a packed Saturday at Chuck E. Cheese along with a multitude of hyperactive 8 year olds.  Haha.  Two hours of unlimited play time later, and I was more than ready to call it a day!  Hahaha.  {There's a reason this blog post is called "Hardly Controlled Chaos."}

Unfortunately -- as is often the case -- by the end of the party, Alex's mood was crashing hardcore.  Not enough sleep the night before, combined with lots of treats and the adrenaline rush of partying, helped to create the perfect storm of emotional release as we headed home from Chuckie's.  And by storm, I do mean storm.  Screaming, crying, threats, and tears were our reward for throwing an awesome birthday party, and by the time we got home he had really hammered home his point that we are the worst parents ever and that he hates us.  Winning!  Doh.  After forcing him to go to his room to chill out once we got in the house, he calmed down enough to rejoin the family and we were able to finish out the day without too many more outbursts.

 This is as good as it got for getting a group shot.  

 They were all pretty stoked to find a game with a busted ticket dispenser that kept spitting out tickets long after the game was over.

 (Still dispensing those tickets.)

 (Scott hit a jackpot of his own.  Hahahaha.)

Now that all is said and done -- and plenty of time has gone by -- I think both Alex and myself would agree that this was still a pretty awesome 8th birthday and we would probably do it all over again if presented with the option.  :)

 The piece de resistance at the end of the party was a stint in the ticket blaster!