Eva's Party at the Lion House

We celebrated Eva's 10th Birthday with her friends at the Lion House. 10 Years Old~! Honestly, when did that happen? I am seeing my kids getting older faster than I ever imagined. Eva is quite the girl. She is generous and loving, independent and decisive, creative and loves to do things for her family and friends. She takes good care of her brothers and is definitely the first to say she is sorry, which is a fantastic trait. I am so proud of her and love her so much. Happy Birthday Eva Deev!

We had Eva's party the day before her actual birthday. This was something I really wanted to do for her. I went to my cousin KC's party at the Lion House when we were just kids and had always wanted to have a party there . It was fun to see her looking forward to it this year!

Playing the hide the thimble game. Eva called her friends and asked them all to bring their dolls. This was something she planned on her own - it was really cute to see them all.

This is one of my favorite pictures of her cousin Katie. I love the expression on her face after the girls finally found the thimble on top of Eva's crown.

Pulling Glycerin Taffy and later having a ribbon sandwich tea party.

My mom came with us to help and to spend time with her first grandchild. The Lion House lets the birthday girl where a crown and pick out a porcelain doll to take home. She was so excited about this. There is something about having a porcelain doll when your little...

This is Betsy, our party host. She took them on a tour of the Lion House, taught them etiquette at the tea, and told them stories about growing up as a daughter of Brigham Young in that big house.

Eva with Kaitlyn, Elisabeth, and McKall

Eva and Donnell

Eva with Amanda, Natalie, Anna, Aspen, Katie, and Amy.

Happy Birthday Beepbop. 10 years old!!! I love you!

Eva had a great birthday weekend, starting with her party at the Lion House and ending at a REAL Salt Lake soccer game. Kerry was in Honduras, so it was just mom and the kiddos. Eva received cards in the mail from her Grandma Idaho and her Auntie - who STILL included birthday cash even after she already bought her a doll in N.Y. I tell ya...

After Ethan's soccer game Saturday morning, her Grandma Darrohn and Aunt Britter took her out for lunch and shopping. Eva was so excited for this part of the day to be able spend time with them. Eva got to pick out her white puffy vest at Justice from her grandma and wears it every single day.

We had great tickets from Dave at work for the final REAL game, so after the school Halloween carnival we headed down to the stadium. They had a blast watching the players, getting hot dogs and watching REAL make it into the playoffs!

Our little brood on our way home after a jam packed birthday weekend.

Update:

I just have to clarify something from a previous post. I have since changed my feelings on the whole Miley Cyrus Party in the USA song. It is NOT a party when you are jammin to the CD on the way home from Idaho and get pulled over by the Idaho State Police. I must have been a little too excited to get home to see Kerry after missing him for a week. I was going 75 in a 65, saw the lights, yelled, Oh Crap!, and my kids then asked me if I was going to jail.

When the cop walked up to my window Beckham yells out, "HEY! You're Nice!"

After waiting 10 minutes, he comes back to the car and hands me a roll of Idaho State Police badge stickers and says, "These are for the kids so they'll still think I'm nice after I give you THIS!"

It's been a good run for over a decade of no tickets. But alas, that time came to an end somewhere around mile post 133. I blame it on Miley, but I'm not sure if the judge will agree with me. Maybe he's a big fan and he will totally adios the ticket?! Yeah. Uh huh. I'm sure that's what will happen.

Between this and my loverly stitched up toilet/finger incident, Kerry is calling me a train wreck. But I'm HIS train wreck and that's all that matters.

Ode to Halloween

Four score and seven years ago......

Ethan was Abraham Lincoln

Eva was the original Peace Sign Pajama Girl

And Beckham was Thomas the Train. Again.

We traveled up to Rexburg while Kerry was away, the kids hung out with cousins every hour of every day.

Cousin Colton transformed into Batman with his trusty side-kick Abe,

and Eva and Cousin Katie were Peace Sign Pajama Girl Babes.

"Bad to the Bone" was Jack our little Dog

Beckham was the candy Nazi, saying, "Only ONE piece! Don't hog!" (ok, he didn't say don't hog, but I had to make it rhyme.)

Grandma Westenskow fed us ham and rolls to get ready to go..

Mom wanted to get in a picture with them all, but she was too slow!

"Canvasing EVERY neighborhood" was the strategy they had in mind,

I took them for hours, so chocolate in their bags their mother could find!

WAhh Ahh Ahh Ahhh.

The End.

P.S.

Only 2 days before trick-or treating was here....

Eva told Ethan that going as a soccer player was lame and quite weird, So out of his mouth it flew like a flash, "Then I'll be Abraham Lincoln. Let's go find a beard!

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that

all men are created equal.

Today I was attacked by a toilet. And the toilet almost won.

Here are all the details:

One daughter helping us change closets over at our new church.

One daughter left to use the bathroom and returned to get help with a broken toilet handle.

One mom who went in to help get the toilet to flush.

An attempt to manually flush the toilet by lifting off the porcelain top and pulling the chain.

Inadvertently pulling off the water hose and unsuccessfully reattaching it...not to my knowledge at the time.

Lifting the chain, hearing it flush, and then realizing the joy of being sprayed with a powerful force of water by the now unattached, posessed hose that looked like a loose firehose.

One frantically freaking out mom getting sprayed all over her face and clothes alone in a church bathroom.

Same mom reacting by grabbing the porcelain lid to cover the spray and realizing that it wasn't stopping.

Same mom lifting the lid, getting sprayed again as she reattaches the hose.

Relieved, puts the lid back on and notices red spots all over the place.

Looks down and sees a large gash in her finger - porcelain lid chipped and guilty as charged.

Travels home and is told by 2 different people that this one was a stitcher.

Mom who was attacked by the toilet is now sporting her new blue finger splint and 3 lovely stitches, and a new tetnus shot.

Mom 0. Toilet 1.

One husband gone to meetings. 2 awesome friends that helped watch my kids.

Both friends fed my kids. One of them even saved some salmon, squash, and bananas with dark chocolate for when I got home.

One awesome doctor/family friend who stayed late and bypassed me through the huge waiting list at the after hours clinics.

One very grateful mom.

So IN YOUR FACE, TOILET!

The other night at Wal-Mart....

(be ready for the run on sentence..) I found myself looking for change to use a payphone, to call home, because my phone was dead, because I had to use it as my main camera at Eva's party earlier that day, because my brand new camera had died at the party, because I had to return it to the lovely afore mentioned Walmart, because I needed to get a new camera for Kerry to take on his flight that left in 2 hours, and because when I got home I realized that yes in deed the new camera did not work either, and promptly and frantically raced back to that lovely place and picked out a new camera, and barely made it before the electronics department closed and Kerry had to leave for the airport in 8 minutes.

It was an awesome night.

But really, the only reason I thought this was post worthy is because I felt as if I had gone back in time. I don't know when the last time was that I used a payphone. Maybe a decade ago? I think it was when calls were 10 cents. Now it is 50 cents for 2 minutes!

I had to ask Kerry a question before I could leave because he had tried to call to tell me to pick something up for his trip and my phone died while I was talking to him. My only option was the shiny blue and silver payphone in the corner by the arcade and drink machines. I found the coins, made the call, and then as I hear who I thought was Kerry answer on the other end of the line it started clicking and I yelled out, "NO!" thinking it had cut my call. I grabbed at the receiver and accidentally hung up on him. Crap! No more quarters. I just had to sit there staring at the phone hoping he would know to call me back. I felt like I was 14 years old at Lagoon calling my mom to come pick me up. Completely helpless and totally at the mercy of the payphone. After a minute the phone rings - I pick up the phone and hear a voice that sounds not at all like Kerry saying, "Hello - this is Randy. Did someone at this number just try and call me?"

"Dad? Dad? Did I just call you? This is weird. I'm trying to get a hold of Kerry but I must have dialed your home number instead. Can you do me a favor. I'm out of coins and my phone is dead. Kerry has to leave for the airport in a half hour. Will you call Kerry and have him call me on this number? Thanks Dad."

So then I find myself waiting - again. Leaning up against the brick Walmart wall watching weird people walk past me and wondering if I may have to use my martial art training that I don't officially have.

Waiting. Waiting. Geez - what could be taking him so long! Are they talking golf? C'mon!!

And then Ring! Finally. I get to my husband and ask him the ever so important question and am on my merry way.

I just thought that it was interesting that I would dial my parents at my old home number from growing up. Almost as if when I picked up the payphone my brain reverted back a decade or two. It was like hearing an old song on the radio that you danced to at your first Stomp. Bizarre.

Now I just realized that what I just said was a lie, because I remembered something funny we did this summer with a payphone. (So I have in fact picked up a payphone recently) Something that is really fun to do to your kids that are under 5 or who still might fall for it. My Becks loves to pick up the payphone receivers and pretend he is talking. They always gross me out and I tell him to put it back and get over here. But one night at Cherry Hill my little brother Steve saw Becks playing with the payphone and decided to call the payphone from his cell phone.

So the next thing I hear is this shrill riiiinngg and Beck's eyes light up and he picks up the phone. I ask him who it is.

He yells out almost hyperventilating..."It's Thomas!! Thomas the train! Thomas the train is on the phone, mom! It's Thomas!" My brother does not sound a thing like Thomas, yet the conversation ensued for another 5 minutes.

It's so much fun to play with their minds when they are young and impressionable. If you are trying to teach them to not talk to strange people on the phone, this might not be a good idea for you. But we found it quite entertaining. I did it to him a few weeks later while we were waiting at the TRAX station. He fell for it again. Give it a try - you could always tell them it was an astronaut calling from the rocket and was looking down at him trying to find a good place to land, or that it was an elf calling to let you know they were checking up on you for Santa or that, by golly, it was actually Santa on the other line! The possibilities are endless.....

Confession

OK. I have a confession to make.

My favorite song right now is teeny bopper Miley Cyrus "Party in the USA".

so i put my hands up, their playing my song, the butterflies fly away, noddin my head like yeah, movin' my hips like yeah...

It's sort of become our family theme song. Kerry can even do the actions while he is cooking in the kitchen...

It's our little secret...Lock the vault and keep it to yourselves!