Oh My Heaven! Nearly Seven!

Despite the fact that she already acts like she's 17 (she just went to bed crying after we spent the last 2.5 hours arguing about not arguing. Yes, I'm 32 years old), she's just about 7. Monday in fact, is the big day. Her dirtday (no type-o, that is how she's always said it).

She asked for a new mom this week. She just told me that she wanted me to act like I wanted to be her daughter (you know what she means). The fact that she's adopted may make me slightly more sensitive, but at least Sarah's son (biologically), packed his bags and headed last year too.

She's a great "little mama", she is very loving (generally speaking), and she's a magnificent artist. She has a flair for drama and an eye for decorating. She is everybody's friend.

She's the best 6.95 year old fancy dancer I've ever known. She is a self-taught biker and a movie buff.

Well little mama,

Happy Dirtday!

I love you and want to be your daughter, and will in fact, be for eternity :)

Vacation Home

We make the 1 hr 45 min (3.5 hours if you drive like my parents), trek to Cache Valley often. From the moment I walk in the door I am completely incapacitated. In my subconscious I find nothing to cook or clean and two bend-over-backward glorious grandparents. That's all it takes to keep me nearly unconscious for 2 to 3 days. Sometimes it's embarrassing.

My children, on the other hand, find 4 acres of pure joy. In the Summer it's sliding down plastic coated grass with the irrigation water, in the Winter it's sledding. Even Chloe has decided to get in on the action. (Georgia arrived for 5 min. of the action before returning to her sanctuary: A room with a vhs player and evey disney movie known to man).

See Isaac's position? When we got on the real tobogans (which in NC is the hats they are wearinig???), we took off to the neighboring hay field for a longer run. I noticed toward the end of the ride Isaac would try to stand up, surfer style. So, Grandpa and I coached him on how to do it from the top of the hill (I'm sure his father wouldn't approve), and I'll be darned if that boy couldn't snowboard!!! He is absolutely incredibly talented - that kid! Guess what I hope he's getting for his birthday? If I can talk my darling into it we can get a customized one from Board of Provo and maybe a few lessons at Sundance.

I got my $$ on Isaac for the Heissman, the Master's trophy, the X Games Gold, the Olympic Gold, etc.

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

The Good:

Miss Mae has decided to grow up all in one week. She now waves, calls Jason "dadadada", and gets herself into crawling position. The icing on the cake, she plays peek-a-boo!!!

Toured the Draper Temple with my family.

We had 1 incredible day of homeschool (and a couple of okay ones). I'll detail next post.

I got the most fabulous car.

Got to go to a movie, have bookclub, and a cooking class with the girls this week.

Discovered the secret to ridding my house of "pet odor".

The Bad:

Mae has decided to grow up all in one week.

Discovering my old car wasn't worth much. 173 k miles, go figure.

Had to remove lots of "pet odor".

The Ugly:

"pet" stains

My mii (no, it's not ugly, it looks JUST like me). I guess I thought it would turn out more Hiedi Klum-ish as I chose each of my features. The more I progressed, the more it mirrored me and it completely freaked me out :) It was crazy! To make a long story short, Liv and Isaac thought I was nuts as I laughed (hysterically), and cried at the same time. Now that's some self discovery! (anyone else have an insane reaction to thier mii?)

Meet Chloe

Santa dropped off Chloe to the Cowboy Grandparent's house (via a Rupert, Idaho breeder).

Grandpa told Liv that one of her boxes was making a funny noise. So he told her he'd shake it or throw it down the stairs and see what happened. "On second thought," he said, "It sounds kinda like a goat."

So, she fought her way out of the box apparently (I went up to Idaho and picked her up), and here she is. All 20.9 lbs of her.

She is adorable and sweet and perfectly lazy. Exaclty what this family needed, another Mae.

Don't you love her pearls?

Liv relishes being a mom.