Permit Passing Party

My fabulous son, Calvin, is now a proud permit carrying member, which grants him the privilege of driving an automobile, whilst being heavily supervised (and cheerleaded) by his legal guardians. What a red letter day! In a little over 6 months, that permit can morph into a bona fide drivers license. Pretty dang exciting. Well done Calzone!

Thumbs up. Waiting in line to get his permit printout.

Celebrating at Panda Express.

Seemed like the right thing to do.

Uninvited Campout on Mother's Day Weekend

Instead of being avid campers, we're not. In an effort to give moms the weekend off (I'm guessing), our congregation planned a campout for mother's day weekend. Fathers and kids were invited (which basically meant moms were uninvited.) But since we hardly ever go camping I totally wanted to join in the fun. Ryan assured me that a few moms usually come anyways, so I decided to join my herd. Long story short, I was the only woman in sight, and felt out of place and entirely ridiculous.  We played games for a bit, hiked around a bit, and cooked some hot dogs and smores. Even though it was mid May, it was still pretty chilly. After dinner, Norman and I headed home to sleep in our own warm beds.  As long as I live, I will never crash a Dad and kids campout ever again... and I will always support family campouts, you know, where the entire family is invited:~)

Simon setting up the tent. We forgot to bring our stakes, so he whittled some sharp sticks and stuck them into the ground. MacGyver. It was crazy windy. so the tent would not have stayed in place without his help.

So many friends to play with.

Look at all those dogs! We brought brats.  There is something magical about the taste of a brat cooked over a campfire in the fresh open air.

Norman loved the cliff with sand and sticks and other boys playing king of the hill.

Mother's Day was lovely bc I got to spend the day with my children. I missed being close to my mom, but was glad I would get to see her in just a few weeks for Preston's high school graduation.

My family gave me many treasures, but this doll was a highlight.

I've made a New Year's resolution to swear more. I think it's just so touching that my family is trying to help me keep my goals.

Belated Birthday Boy

My 4th son is officially 9... as of May:~) He loves baseball, watching basketball with his Dad, took piano lessons this year, just finished his 4th year in our elementary school's Chinese immersion program (Mandarin) and is basically a fantastic person. Of all my 6 children, Owen was the only one eager enough to come to our family arriving 3 weeks before his due date, and is actually usually early/on time in general. He's a high quality individual, and I'm super glad that I get to be his mum. Happy birthday, Owen!

His birthday request: breakfast in bed.

Pancakes, bacon, strawberries, scrambled eggs, and milk in a goblet.

9 years old is going to rock.

His class was assigned to do a presentation titled "I'm an expert" where each student taught the class about something they know how to do well. Owen taught the class how to turn themselves into a turkey using a sweater with a hood. Basically, I could not have been prouder. Gobble, gobble, Owen. Gobble. Gobble.

End of the year class field trip to the nearby park for popsicles and play time.

10 points to Owen for sharing his popsicle with his younger brother. What a guy!

Baseball season went very well. He was even invited to play on the Allstar team after the regular season.  

Piano recital. He played the song from memory and did us all very proud.

Happy belated Birthday handsome. My this year bring you many chicken tenders from Chick-Fil-A!