it's great to be 8

July 6, 2013

Miss Fin turned 8 the end of June. 8 is a big deal in our church. 8 is when you are eligible to be baptized. We had kind of a crazy day, but it was pretty awesome. We all got ready and drove 45 minutes to a cousin's baptism. Afterwards, we went to their clubhouse to snack and chat with my dad's side of the family. We dropped some kiddos off at home and then went to find some white shoes for Finley to wear with her dress. We were unsuccessful. She wore the Tangled shoes she got for her birthday. She was more than pleased. Everyone got dressed up again and we went over to our church. Their were 5 other kiddos that got baptized with Finley. After she was baptized by my dad, we headed into another room where she was confirmed and given the gift of the Holy Ghost. Everyone is capable of being prompted by the Holy Ghost at times in their lives, but being confirmed gives you the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, as long as you are making the right choices. When a confirmation takes place, worthy priesthood holders are invited to participate. The circle of righteous priesthood holders that placed their hands on Finley's head was quite large. It was really special 1) because those men work hard to be worthy to carry out priesthood duties and 2) because so many family members and friends gave up so much of their time this week to support my family. We bought Finley's dress last year because my mom knew it was the perfect one for her. She looked so pretty in her dress with her hair braided.

After the baptism, we all went to a pizza buffet for dinner. I had visions of a dreamy backyard party filled with decorations, but we chose a simpler route because 1) we were afraid it would be too hot (actually it ended up pouring rain right after we started eating) and 2) we knew had a lot on our plate this weekend. We brought over a bunch of balloons (including a number 8 that was 3 feet tall) and it was great. We weren't stressed out and we had plenty of time to talk to everyone. We had the whole upstairs section to ourselves and everyone had a great time. Since we have another family event in the morning (a baby blessing), 2 of my cousins that are close to Ainsley and Finley's ages are sleeping over. They are spread all over the family room in sleeping bags. I was worried about them keeping my grandparents awake (they are staying at our house since they live 5 hours away) but my grandma said "they are so giggly you just want to giggle with them." I have spent more time with my extended family this week than I have all year and it has been so fun. Everyone has really sacrificed in order to be there and support each other.

finley foo

June 17, 2013

This is Finley. She's almost 8. That's a pretty big year for us. 8 is when you are eligible to be baptized as a member of our church. My dad was grilling up some dinner and the lighting was dreamy so I took the chance to snap some pictures of this girlie. She has always been pretty willing to pose for me.

My mom and dad have tried incredibly hard to ingrain the 80s in me. Especially the music. Well, here's an 80s reference for you: She has "the most unbelievable blue eyes I've ever seen."

Finley loves people and has since she was tiny. She loves to serve and entertain. She loves talking to new people and makes it very hard for them to leave.

I was a little surprised she let me take these pictures without brushing her hair first. Ainsley doesn't seem that much older than her and since Ainsley gets to wear make up, Finley thinks she ought to act grown up too. I caught her wearing mascara and told her 7 was too young for that kind of thing. She looked at me incredulously and said in her best sassy tone, "I had a meeting!"

Finley has been able to do the splits since she was 2. It's her favorite party trick. Up until she was 6, she would introduce herself saying, "I'm Finley and I can do the splits!" And down she would go, into perfect little splits. She has recently started taking gymnastics classes. In fact, I think the reason she was outside in the first place was to practice.

This girl is mighty persuasive. Once she knows what she wants, she is unrelenting. She has the art of begging with puppy dog eyes mastered.

For example: See those little stars in her ears? Ainsley and I had to wait until we were 11 to get our ears pierced.

Our neighbors are letting us borrow their keyboard until they get moved into their new house (which happens to be right through our backyard). Finley plays that thing at least 3 times a day. I don't know what she'll do when we have to give it back. Finley has herself convinced that I know how to play the piano. I may be able to read music, but I certainly don't know how to play the piano. I had to mark middle C with a piece of washi tape. I'm not even a little bit kidding. I can figure out the right hand of most of her favorite songs. She can't read music, but she memorizes songs from watching me stumble through them.

My mom and dad have always said that she is a miniature version of me. She is definitely as klutzy as I am. Quite often we will hear a bump, smack, or crash, and before she even has time to process the situation, she yells, "I'm okay!"

You never have to wonder how Finley is feeling. She wears every emotion plainly. She is extremely excitable and just as easily heartbroken.

She is also a goofball. Which makes for entertaining pictures.

Given the choice, Finley would wear leggings every day of the week.

Yup. Goofball. And she loves to put together outfits like this.

She held this pose for a solid minute until she was sure I had taken a picture.

This is about as gangster as she gets.

Finley is extremely tender. If she gets into trouble or thinks she's hurt someone, she's in hysterics.

Here's a better view of that outfit she picked out.

birthday photo shoot

June 1, 2013

Since we were gone for Ainsley's birthday, Owen's is tomorrow, and Finley's is at the end of the month, I decided some birthday pictures were in order. Ainsley wanted some pictures with her best friend, Jordan. We like Jordan. She makes our home a happy place. She might move to Washington. And I might cry. We moved around our yard a little bit as the sun was going down, giving us some really spectacular lighting. My favorite spot was in front of my neighbor's worn storage shed. Really it's worth looking through all of them just to find the one of Owen that cracks me up every time I see it.

hospital: day 2

November 15, 2012

Drew had tubes put in his ear today, so hopefully he will start getting better. He might be able to come home tomorrow, if he doesn't need an IV anymore. Owen is still home-bound, due to the sores on his face, and he is really missing his friends. I worked hard to keep him entertained, but throughout the day, I kept noticing his fascination with getting taller. He stood against the wall and measured himself no less than 15 times today. So I decided to ask him about it.

Me: Owen, why are you measuring yourself. Owen: To see if I got taller. Me: Why do you want to be taller? Owen: I want to be bigger than all my friends. Me: Why's that? Owen: I just want to get taller, so I can be a grown up so I can unlock dad's iPad because his has a password.

I tried getting kids to help clean once they got home from school, but we didn't have much success. Ainsley was beside herself because I was a meannie who made her clean and she just wanted Jessica (my roommate) because she would be nice to her and let her do her hair and not make her clean anything.

Owen has really been into rhyming for a while. He is particularly fond of the letter D. Examples: Ains-a-Dains, Fin-a-Din, Kens-a-Dens, Sam-a-Dam, Owen-Dowen, Mom-a-Dom. But he runs into trouble once he gets to Drew or Dad.

trunk-or-treat

October 27, 2012

We went to the grocery store so the kiddos could trunk-or-treat. 'Twas a success except for Owen's screaming. The girlies were superheroes. I didn't have the heart to tell them that Super Girl doesn't actually use guns...

Showing off their super strength...

This is Ainsley's best friend, Jordan. Yes they are the same age. Yes Ainsley is a pipsqueak.

Owen wasn't into the picture-taking thing. Actually he wasn't up for anything that didn't involve candy. Until he got his balloon. Note the elaborate balloons the girls chose.

When it was his turn, Owen said he wanted a ball. My mom said they couldn't do that, but the weary balloon-blower-upper quickly disagreed. She blew up this green balloon and Owen's eyes lit up. He chased that thing all over the parking lot. He enjoyed his ball more than the girls enjoyed their creatures. "It has polka dots!" he exclaimed to anyone who would listen.