A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

 Happy Friday, y'all!  And what a happy Friday it is!  The Thanksgiving break is upon us, and I for one could not be happier.  I figured I should commemorate that happiness by blogging about EVERYTHING everyone has been up to for the last several weeks.  Because everyone likes a photo/story dump of a post, right???  Let's take it from the top...

ETHAN 

• Finally finished up all those college essays and applications!  
• Fun Fact:  Without even knowing, he wrote one of his BYU essays on the exact same topic -- playing the piano -- that I did more than 20 years ago.  How's that for solidifying his place as my mini-me?  Hahahaha.

(He's such a good kid to humor my ridiculous requests.  In this case it was to wait to press send on his BYU application until I could take a picture of him doing it.)

• Successfully convinced me last weekend to put up the Christmas decorations.
• I mean, 2020 has been a dumpster fire of year, so why not start spreading some Christmas cheer a little earlier than we normally do??  I think the kids were surprised that I agreed so readily to their request, but we really do need a little Christmas now.  :)

(The perfect addition to my little Christmas village.  😍)

GRACE

• Has blossomed during this election season into a real political activist -- if by activist we mean creating baked goods to commemorate her favorite candidates and then DM-ing them with pictures of the final product.  Hahahahahahahahaha. 
• (Truth be told -- I get quite a kick out of Grace.  Hahahahaha.  She certainly makes life un-boring.)

• Continues to rock that home CEO life, posting schedules of important Zoom meetings on her door to make sure everyone stays out (and stays quiet).  
• In all seriousness, though, she's been doing school from home quite a bit these days.  She's had really bad headaches off and on for the last several weeks and I've taken pity on her and let her stay home (but still getting school done virtually) on more than one occasion.

SOPHIE

• Giving Grace a run for her money on the political baked goods front, Sophie has really come to play as well.  Hahahaha.
• All three of the girls have become VERY politically aware over the last couple of months and it's been quite a vibe.  I mean, I love how much they care about our country and want to be in the know of what is happening around them.  I don't love quite as much that they get most of their "news" and information from TikTok.  But we all have room for improvement, right?  Hahahahaha.

• Has discovered a latent talent for fashion design.
• I'm not even sure what class these drawings were for, but I was beyond impressed when I saw her sketches.  Sign this girl up for Project Runway!  (Fun Fact: the high school here DOES actually have a Project Runway class.  I'm trying to convince Sophie to sign up for it next year, but we'll see how that goes.)

JANE

• Has really mastered the art of the selfie.  
• (Or at least the art of swiping my phone constantly and taking pictures of herself and occasionally others.)

• Has been feeling her feelings on an all new level these days.
• Being 11 is rough.  (For both the 11 year old and the ones around her.)  I can't tell you how many times this week I've wanted to call my sister Sarah -- the third-born of the first three girls in my family -- and apologize to her for whatever I may have done to make her life miserable as her older sister when we were kids.  Because I'm really hoping that Grace and Sophie will have a similar impulse in about 20 years or so.

ALEX

• Got his braces off this week!!!
• FINALLY!  He was just doing a phase 1 treatment for now (to make more space for his back molars to come in), but it still seemed like it took forever for the gap in his front teeth to completely close.

Before

After

• Learned a lot about the electoral process at school.
• (I'd say more, but I promised him I'd stop talking about it because I made the mistake of telling Grace about one of the slides he filled out for an assignment, and she mentioned it to him and he flipped out because it made him feel so self-conscious/embarrassed.)

What do you think makes someone a good presidential candidate?

ALEX:  If they do the stuff they said they would and be nice

What question would you ask a candidate at a caucus?

ALEX:  Why do you want to be president

Why do you think we have these requirements to vote?

ALEX:  Because if we didn't kids would be able to vote and everything will be messed up

ISAAC

• Desperately needs a haircut, but won't let me touch his "crazy hair."
• Hahahahahaha.  That kid.  But seriously -- the hair is crazier than it's ever been.

• Thinks he should totally get a phone for Christmas since he's 5 now.
• As if!

Can you guess which one Isaac likes the best because his face "looks the coolest" in it?

(It's Pose 2)

ME

• Basically falling apart these days.
• Maybe it's because I turned 40 this year and I'm just sliding down the other side of the hill, but I've had so many random aches and pains the last month or so and I don't like it!  Ever since I had Covid, my left shoulder has bothered me (weird, I know, but I had weird random joint pain while I was actively sick and I think I somehow tweaked my shoulder during that time and it's never gone away); I threw my back out last Sunday when I bent over to pick something up; AND I've had major wrist pain the last couple of days that I think might be tendinitis, but I don't know for sure.  Womp womp.  Hahaha.

SCOTT

• Still winning that bread and bringing home the bacon, too.
• Poor Scott, he's probably more in need of next week's Thanksgiving break than any of the rest of us.  Work has been stressful lately (what with the pandemic and all), but he keeps on keepin' on, and I'm extra, super grateful for that.

And that's a wrap!  With Thanksgiving coming up next week, I've been thinking a lot about gratitude while reflecting on this past year.  We had a family activity a few weekends ago, where I felt impressed to challenge everyone to think about and share some of the things that have been GOOD (or even great) this year that only happened BECAUSE of Covid/quarantine.  It was a really helpful activity!  We have certainly been blessed in interesting and unique ways that wouldn't have come to pass if this had been an ordinary year.  For instance, after we realized back in March that we weren't all that prepared, Ethan was able to create our food storage system (aka "The Rations") from scratch; over the last several months, Sophie has become a bread-making expert; Grace and Sophie have both became master cake decorators; I mean, I wrote a book; we've had PLENTY of family bonding time -- which, yes, has had its moments of aggravation, but has overall been a blessing, especially knowing that this is our last year with all the kids still at home; not having to go anywhere or do anything for the bulk of the year has been marvelous; and finally, having church at home each Sunday was beautiful, and I loved it.  So, yes -- there HAVE been good things happening right alongside the bad this year.  And isn't that life in a nutshell?  I believe it is.  

And with that, I'm out!  Happy Friday everyone!!!

5 Trips Around the Sun

 We've got back-to-back birthday posts happening here!  Haha.  Isaac's birthday was November 10th, and -- fun fact -- he and Grace both had the SAME due date.  Grace came a week early, however, while Isaac was two days late.  But better late than never!  Amiright??  This kid...is hard to put into words.  Hahahahaha.  He is equal parts naughty and nice, angel and imp; with a healthy dose of ∗Non-Stop to top it all off.  (∗Hamilton reference.)

(Dropping him off at Preschool on his birthday.)

For Isaac's birthday this year, he was supposed to have a friend party {I only muster up the energy to host those for a few specific ages -- 5, 8, and 12 to be exact; and technically 16} but I actually didn't even THINK about that fact until he was about to blow out the candles.  Family parties have worked pretty good for us in 2020, though, so I don't think he even realized what he was missing.  Hahaha.  (I did promise him that he could have a friend party NEXT year instead.)

Isaac picked out the design himself after scrolling through my phone for ideas.  Also, this cake was delicious.  I'm pretty sure it's because I may have put twice as much butter in the frosting than it called for, but I don't know for sure -- I think I wrote the recipe down wrong.)

For his big day, I know he was excited to bring cookies to school to share with his friends, and I'm pretty sure he loved the attention his birthday crown brought him.  On the home front, the theme for this year's cake was Minecraft and the theme for this year's presents appears to have been anything goes.  As a result, he racked up a "Burping Bobby" game from Grace; a Slinky from Sophie (which he still loved playing with even after it got bent out of shape within 24 hours); a Nintendo Switch game from Alex (that we all know he really picked out for himself); a new Wii remote from me and Scott; and Hot Wheels stuff from Ethan and Jane.  It was a real smorgasbord.  Hahaha.  

(That hair, though.)

As I was talking to Scott over the weekend, I mentioned that rather than feeling like "the past five years have just flown by!", it feels more like it was FOREVER ago that this little nut job joined our family -- another lifetime ago, even!  I'm not sure what that says about Isaac -- or the past 5 years -- but Scott agreed with me, so it must mean something.  Hahahahaha.  In all seriousness, though, we love this crazy little babe of ours and wouldn't be able to imagine life without him!  {Although, for the record -- I'm certainly fine with imagining the day when he is no longer a semi-permanent roommate.} 

Jane combined the best of both worlds with a MarioKart Hot Wheels track.

Grandma and Grandpa sent him this velcro dartboard which he LOVES.

To close things out, here are 5 Fun Facts about our Favorite 5-year-old:

1.)  Despite being four years apart, he and Alex wear ALMOST the same size clothes

2.)  Snuggling is his favorite -- but only with mom

3.)  He enjoys sneaking on screens

4.)  I've successfully convinced him that he really wants to learn how to play the cello 

and 5.)  He loves playing "collections" -- which is how he describes imaginary play with random inanimate objects that he might find lying around the house, be they toys or not

And that's a wrap on birthdays for the year 2020!  Happy Birthday to our little Caboose!

16 Candles

Last weekend, we opted to focus on Grace's 16th birthday rather than Halloween 2020.  With Covid cases on the rise in our area, along with recommendations for extra caution if trick-or-treating, we decided we'd just as soon stay in and stay home this year.  Or at least that's what I decided.  Hahahaha.  Thankfully, no one really pushed back on my plan (of laziness) and after buying our own Halloween candy, the girls were happy to dress up for themselves as some girl group from some Disney movie (I think?) that I can't even remember, and Isaac found himself a crayon costume in the dress-up bin that really tickled his fancy.  Hahahaha.  Alex's self-consciousness renders him super okay with NOT dressing up for Halloween anyway, and Ethan nixed costuming YEARS ago, so I'd have to say it was a win-win-win all around.  (Especially for me, since I really enjoyed staying home and doing nothing.  Hahaha.)  

Grace says they're "The Wiggies" from Standing Ovation.  👀

(Left to right: Sophie is Twiggy Wiggy, Grace is Zita Wiggy, and Jane is Zoey Wiggy)

With Grace's birthday on the heels of Halloween, it was the perfect excuse to pivot for our weekend festivities.  She started her celebration Saturday afternoon when Gianna came over to spend the night, and for the rest of the evening, they hung out and had fun while everyone else mostly did their own thing.  {I actually don't think Alex even realized that we hadn't gone trick-or-treating until WELL after the fact.}  

Hahahahaha

Sunday was Grace's actual bday, and after church that day, I made her requested "just surprise me" cake while the other girls wrapped her presents.  After singing and opening gifts, we took a quick break to eat her requested birthday meal of Mac and Cheese, before cutting into the cake and scooping out the ice cream.  All in all, it was a pretty low-key day.  Which thankfully, Grace didn't seem to mind.  ;)

What could be more perfect for Grace than a Netflix icon cake??  Hahahahahahahaha.

Grace and Sophie are oddly obsessed with Harry Potter right now, so this Harry Potter themed daily desk calendar is what she really wanted.  Hahaha.

The piece de resistance!  Confession -- I've always REALLY wanted a record player.  Thankfully, Grace was excited about it, too.  Haha.

To round out this birthday post, I have to end with 16 things I love about Grace since I'm pretty sure that she doth protest too much when she says she hates Words of Affirmation.  Hahahahahaha.  In no particular order, here we go...

1.) I admire the way she can sleep in like a champ

2.) The way she keeps us on our toes is an art form

3.) She's easily the most chill and go-with-the-flow vibe-er of all of the kids (unless she's in a mood)

4.) She can see right through phoniness and insincerity

5.) Her cake making skills have really skyrocketed during the pandemic

6.) Her need to talk non-stop is so endearing

7.) I appreciate that she doesn't care too much about superficial things

8.) She's very easily entertained

9.) Her methods of working smarter rather than working harder are awe-inspiring

10.) She is RELENTLESS in pursuing the things she really wants

11.) I love how much she loved To Kill a Mockingbird when she read it last year

12.)  She's a really good friend

13.) She has always been unapologetically Grace, and I love that

14.) She binge watches shows like a boss

15.) She is a master negotiator

and 16.) She's a natural leader

And there you have it!  Gracie Lou Who is sweet sixteen!  I sure am thankful for this ever-surprising surprise of mine.  ;)