Brielle is 12

This week my baby Bri turned 12 years old. 

She has been so excited for this day and spent the two days before her birthday very anxious that she was going to get sick (like the rest of us) and it would spoil the day. But she didn't! She was healthy and happy and "had the best day ever!"

First thing in the morning she opened all her presents, which were all clothes and shoes, and some beads from her siblings. The crepes for breakfast and off to school. I brought doughnuts for her class and sushi for her lunch in the morning while her grade was practicing their play. 

After school she helped me finish up her devil's food cake with chocolate ganache and then it was time for her party. She had five friends come to have pizza and go to Urban Air for a couple of hours. They all had so much fun and Tim and I loved watching all the kids run around with big smiles. 

Brielle is such a sensitive soul. She is definitely at a difficult age, emotionally, and it's driving her nuts. But she has grown and learned so much this year. She is still a big fan of her mom and I could sit and talk to her forever. She is a hard worker and keeps her mind on her goals. She is on the elite stunt team this year and it has been a huge new challenge, but she's taken it on with total determination and has seen a log of progress and success. And she loves it! When it's not making her so nervous that she can't sleep or think about anything else.

My girl has a smile that will light up any room, its infectious. A happy Bri is about the best thing in the world. 

An AVA Birthday

 My sweet Ava girl turned TEN this week! Double digits!

She has been asking for a pet for a few years. "A rabbit, a lizard, I would even take a fish!" So, even though we vowed we would never have another indoor pet, the day before her birthday Tim and I headed to Petco to pick up a fish. An hour later we left with two geckos, a terrarium, plants, dry food, and live worms and crickets. We both walked out of the store a little stunned.

We set everything up in our closet and told her it was too hard to wrap and she positive that was because it was a fishbowl. The morning of her birthday was so exciting! And she was totally shocked that we had actually gotten her a pet. All the kids were beyond happy about it. She is determined to take perfect care of them and she just loves them. 

We had the whole day planned out. Presents, go out to breakfast (we went to IHOP for crepes), come home and get Bri ready for her first stunting competition. Take her to the comp while the boys go to Bus' basketball game, and then take her to lunch at Hug Hes. We didn't have time to go to the restaurant because Bri was too nervous to leave for long, so we got some McDonalds and then back to watch. The home to play and then Mason's basketball game. Then finally have all the family over for cake and ice cream at night. Only we got the time wrong for Mason's game and he and Tim had to leave for the game just as everyone was arriving. All the hitches to the plan aside, she had a great day.

Ava is so easy to please. She is so happy. She is always looking for way to have fun, which can be exhausting, but also makes life so much better. So much more fun. Instead of watching TV or playing Xbox, she wants to bake something, or play outside, or have a friend over, or literally anything! Please, give the girl something fun to do! She is kind to everyone, especially her siblings, even when they don't deserve it. It makes her happy to make other people happy. There really is no one better to turn to when you need a little cheering up. She will drop whatever she's doing to make someone feel good. I remember when she was toddler, she was so so busy, and a little crazy, and sometimes it would get overwhelming to other people. But I have always just been in awe of how much joy she finds in life. Her energy and her fun spirit is the best thing in the world.

Christmas Break

We had a great time with the kids out of school for two weeks over Christmas. I had been hoping to travel after Christmas since the break was so long this year and the break can get pretty boring, but with airfare quadrupling that week, it wasn't really an option. So instead we took the kids up to Nordic Valley to ski several times, went tubing, played a lot of games and watched a lot of movies. 

We had the Arbon family Christmas party the week before and it was so fun! Angie and Sue came with all the plans and decorations and we set everything up the day before. We had a grinch theme and it turned out really cool. Lasagna, lots of fun games, a Christmas message, and ice cream sundaes. We just laughed and loved it the whole time. The kids always come away from the is party with a lot of loot, which makes it that much more fun. It was a little foggy for me because I was on day 6 of some serious vertigo, but it was still great.

Christmas Eve was spent at Pop's house with our traditional Mexican feast. Emily bought tamales from an abuela off Facebook and I made carne asada for the first time. Everything was delicious. Then we did the nativity, read The Night Before Christmas, exchanged gifts, and had bread pudding. Sometimes I feel like we don't have a lot of traditions, but lasagna with the Arbons and Mexican with the Englishs are some of the my favorite traditions.

We pulled all the kids mattresses out to the floor in the living room downstairs and let them slumber party down there. They stayed in bed all the way to 6:00 am and then we opened nearly all the presents before our 8:30 church. I actually love having church on Christmas and I wish there was always a program, even if it doesn't fall on a Sunday.

I love looking forward to Christmas, it really is the best time of the year. Now we just have to make it through January and February!

He's a teenager now!

Mason turned 13 yesterday. ThirTEEN. Yikes. I feel like I should say that I feel too young to have a kid that old, but it actually seems about right. He had a really really good birthday, which was a good thing after last year's fiasco. 

First things first - no one gets any sleep and we all wake up way too early because Mason is so excited to open presents. He has been asking for a phone and been very nervous about getting his hopes up. He was so happy when he opened it.

He wanted to go to a water park with the family during the day, so we decided on Cowabunga Bay in Draper. Only Ava had ever been and it was really fun! It was a little windy and rainy for the first couple of hours, but it's so hot right now that it didn't even faze the kids. Once it cleared up a little, Tim and I joined them on the slides and around the lazy river. 

Once everyone was properly worn out we went over to Ikea to get dessert but they all looked terrible. So we just did some shopping and headed home. Everyone got cleaned up and we took Brielle to dance and the rest of us went to Tepanyaki for dinner. Then we came home and had ice cream sundaes (Mason didn't want cake) and watched the first half of The Hunger Games, which we've been listening to in the car.

So often I look at Mason and I'm just amazed how much he's grown up. I am just impressed. He is so smart and aware and thoughtful. He really thinks about things and it is fascinating to be let in on that process once in a while. He doesn't talk as much as the other kids, and I wish he would confide in us a little more because I would love to know what's going on in that head. 

He's been having a great summer going to Lagoon all the time with his cousin, Beau. And he's a little nervous about going to Junior High in the fall. That part is weird - that he's old enough to go to Junior High. But I'm excited to watch him navigate it, and I'm thankful that I get to be along for his ride. 

4th of July

 Kelson and Lexie recently moved from Dallas to Las Vegas and drove up to Brigham to visit for the Fourth of July weekend. It was so fun to see them! Ava had been so excited to play with Luke because, "he is the only cousin that can match my energy level." He and little Jane were so adorable.

We hung out with them on Friday at the splash pad at John Adams Park, and then visited Sunday evening. On the 4th we went up in the late afternoon to let the kids play on the slip and slide and have a BBQ. We did some backyard fireworks and then left just before it started to get dark. We didn't want to stay for city fireworks this year because we had just seen some at West Haven Days, and everyone was pooped out. I love the drive home though, when you can see the fireworks shooting up all over the valley.