Worth the Tri

On September 24th, Matt participated in a sprint triathlon in South Carolina. A friend and associate organized the event to honor his daughter who died at the age of ten from SADS (sudden arrhythmia death syndrome). I'm so proud of Matt. He did awesome! It was overcast, but not cold (out of the water at least).

Right after the last swimmer got out of the water, a thunder storm started and we were caught in torrential rains. Matt was on the bike during the rain, and said it was actually really cool. He had tree cover that blocked most of the rain. We, on the other hand, were not so lucky. The kids loved it. There is something exhilarating about jumping around in the rain, don't you think?

Six Years of Joy

We celebrated Emily's birthday a few weeks ago. I was able to attend the Trips Around the Sun celebration.

We had a family party this year since someone wasn't on the ball enough to get out friend invitations. She had fun anyway.

Here are a few of the conversations I've had recently with Emily to give you an idea of what she's like right now.

She has her own idea about what things should be called. For instance, she refuses to call granola "granola" but instead pronounces it "grin-ola". She argues with me about the proper pronunciation.

One day after school, she was telling me about her day.

Emily: The funny kid didn't get ice cream for ice cream Friday.

Me: Why not?

Emily: I think maybe 'cause he was too funny.

At recess all of the boys chase her and her friend around. The first day this happened she was quite distressed and thought the boys were horribly mean. The next day, however, she was proud to announce that she was too fast for any of the boys. It evolved into a game, and Emily would sometimes be put in jail. She would buy her way out of prison with clods of dirt that served as money. My favorite part is that Emily was explaining the money to me and knew she was pulling one over on the boys because "it's just dirt but they think it's money." It so reminds me of the games we used to play in elementary school!

The other day, I had to go to Target to buy a couple of things. My mother in law stayed with the kids while I ran really fast. As I walked out to the car, Emily saw me coming. She said, "Finally! Holy Cow! Come get your crying baby, woman!" Not sure about the disrespect, but it was so funny.

Her Grandma sent her money for her birthday, so we went to Target to find something to buy. We looked at Repunzel things and then Zhu Zhu pets and My Little Ponies, but then she saw a purse with two stuffed dogs in it and she was sold. I said we should look around the rest of the toy section to see if that's what she really wanted. She responded, "You can't beat a double dog."

This morning, she asked if the purse her puppies came in could be her lunch bag. I said no and she replied, "Why? It's fabeeulous!"

Emily is in love with wearing dresses. It is really difficult to get her to wear anything else to school. She is such a girly girl. And I love her!

Facing Our Tents

What could be better than a tent indoors (well, aside from a tent outdoors)? As I've said before, one of our kids' favorite things is to set up our camping tent in the living room. This is a rare treat since it takes out the entire living room and we have to move the couches and table to the far reaches of the downstairs. Recently, a friend gave us two pop up tents. Smaller, portable, shaped like cars: What more could you ask for?

One afternoon, while the kids ran all over the house with their tents, I was cleaning the kitchen and watching an old conference I had recorded. While President Packer was speaking, Emily came down with one of the tents.

"I love conference!" she shouted and immediately brought the tent into the living room and positioned it in front of the tv, with the door facing it.

Every time conference rolls around, the imagery of King Benjamin from the Book of Mormon comes to mind. Mosiah 2:6 "And they pitched their tents round about the temple, every man having his atent with the door thereof towards the temple, that thereby they might remain in their tents and hear the words which king Benjamin should speak unto them;"
Matt and I have made a great effort since our children were born to make conference stand out and be something that the kids learn to love and really enjoy. Emily watched the speaker for all of two minutes before going to play again, but it was such a reassuring pat on the back. We may be doing a lot of things wrong, but we are getting some things right, and we are teaching our kids some things that we actually intend. Our children know which way to face their tents, and (so far) want to do it. And I am so excited that conference is in three weeks!

Mary's First Day. Aaaah!

If something's right, it shouldn't hurt! My three older children are now all officially in school. My instinct is to snatch them all up and hold on to them tight, never letting them leave me. But, this is the best course for them. Hopefully this little ache will go away. Maybe when they come home and I can wrap my arms around them again.

Okay. Enough boo-hoo-ing. So far so good for Mary. She was all smiles when I dropped her off and cheerfully said good bye without even hanging on. At all. She was reserved, but that is to be expected. She got very little sleep last night, so hopefully the rest of the day goes well. At least her friend from church is in her class.