I do have other children...

Contrary to how it looks on this blog...

I do indeed have other children.

Here's a bit of what they are up to.
DanDan is my music man. I don't think he could possibly go a whole day without making noise. But, it's good noise (most of the time). He plays the piano for pleasure, not just practice. That makes me happy. I love that he loves it. He also plays the bass in orchestra, and the bass guitar in Jazz Band. But, he also owns a ukulele, and electric guitar and a banjo. A lot of times, I think he plays without realizing he is playing.

He starts 8th grade tomorrow. He is super tall. He is a good boy and I'm proud to be his mom.

Sam
Sam is my sensitive one. He loves babies and toddlers (but doesn't want to admit it, cause that's not cool). He loves to give me hugs--oftentimes running at me and almost knocking me over, because he got the big genes, too. When I come home from being out of town, Sam is always the one who needs the most hugs, always the one to keep coming back for more. He won't go to sleep without his nightly hug and kisses (I can't kiss him, but he has to give me three kisses--one cheek, then the other, then the first one again). When he gets in trouble (which is often), he takes it hard. But somehow, he gets over it, and goes right back to what got him in trouble to start with.

He starts 3rd grade tomorrow. He is also a good boy, although sometimes, it's buried deep down. I'm happy I'm his mom, and I hope I don't screw him up too bad.

Julia
Julia is... Well, I'm not sure what she is yet. She loves TV. And I canceled the cable a few weeks ago. So, after watching infomercials for a couple of days and trying to get Dad to buy this "really cool mop", I think she finally gave up. And got the dollhouse out. She plays contentedly most of the day. She is very imaginative. She also loves dogs--at least the stuffed kind. She has many. And as long as she can put a leash on something and drag it around the house, she is happy. She also likes to collect things. Her room is full of "stuff". I don't know how Olivia is going to fit back in it when she comes home. She also likes to wear the same clothes every day. Even if they are dirty (especially if they are dirty, I think). I hope her teachers don't think too poorly of me. She does have other, clean clothes, I promise.

She will be in 2nd grade tomorrow (hopefully in clean clothes). She is toothless. She misses her sister terribly. She is my baby, and I'm so glad I have her.

What I miss about my girl...

My dear Olivia has been gone for two weeks now. Today was a tough one for her, and she called home in tears. Needless to say, it was super hard to not be able to fix it for her.

I cried.

She cried some more.

Now, I'm crying again. Stupid "leaking". (Had to be in YW on Sunday to get that one. Love you, Mary Ann!)

So, we talked about how Heavenly Father knows her, and can comfort her because I can't be there to give her a big hug. We talked about how exciting what she is doing is. We talked about what a mean mom I am (just ask Sam or Julia). We talked about practice. We talked about this weekend when I'll be there to hold her as long as she wants.

She promised to call me later, and then she went to say a prayer, dry her tears and eat dinner.

I went to my computer and sent her as many emails as I could think of.

She called later to report that Heavenly Father answered her prayers. She got a letter in the mail from a dear lady in the Ward. She had asked Heavenly Father to help her feel better, not as homesick. And then she went to dinner and got that letter. She said that she knew that she was loved, and that Heavenly Father would watch over her. I know that, too.

I miss having her sweet example here. She is the one who reads her scriptures without being reminded. The one who wants to go to church in a far away place, by herself, and then bears her testimony in front of a bunch of strangers. The one with the faith that when she asks, she will receive. She is such a good example to me. I miss her. I love her.

The Amazing Adventures of Olivia

***Warning*** Shameless bragging about to start...

Olivia is amazing! Not only is she beautiful, smart and super nice and thoughtful, but she is an an awesome synchronized swimmer. In May, she went to Indianapolis for National Team trials. She made the team!!! And she finished in third place (missed second by .015 is all). Then, in June, we went to Buffalo, New York for Age Group National Competition. She swam with her club team, the Arizona Desert Dolphins at this competition. It is the highest level competition she is eligible for with AZD. She swam a solo in her age group (11-12) and a trio and team in the 13-15 age group. She finished 2nd in the country in solo and figures, and her trio finished 7th, and team 9th. Yesterday, she left for National Team training. She is now in Lake Placid, New York at the Olympic Training Center. She will be there for 4 1/2 weeks, then she comes home for three days, then goes to California for a week, and finally to Lima, Peru for a week. While in Peru, she will be competing in the Pan American games and swimming both a team routine and a duet. Did I mention that she is amazing? She will miss the first month of 7th grade, but who could pass on this kind of opportunity?

Also yesterday, the magazine article that she was interviewed for came out. Click here to read all about it. This makes the third time that she has been featured in a magazine. While we were at Nationals, some girls from another Arizona team asked for her autograph. She was super embarrassed! I think she better get used to it.

I miss my Olivia. She is my buddy, the one I like to go shopping with, hang out with, or talk about books with. I hope the time goes by quickly. I hope she doesn't get too homesick. And I hope that I don't miss her too bad. XOXO to my girl...

Goodbye?

I'm thinking it's time to say goodbye. I find that I have too many things to do with my day, and blogging just doesn't float to the top of the list very often. Besides, who really cares what goes on it my life?

BUT, it just seems like quitting.

And it seems like following the crowd. You know...a couple of years ago, everyone had a blog. Then facebook happened, and now everyone has a facebook, and very few blog anymore. So, if I quit, it seems like I'm just one of the many. And I hate being one of the many.

So, I guess I'm still thinking about it. But, I probably won't post a whole lot, I'll just think in my brain. Which pretty much is quitting, right?

Stud Cupcake

Dan wore this shirt to school the other day:
Some kids told him they didn't get it. Stud Cupcake. Oh well.

Olivia left for Seattle today for West Zones. She is excited, and I just hope that she gets some sleep. I'm glad she likes her teammates, but sometimes I wonder how they ever get anything done. Anyway, good luck, Roadtrip team!

Sam was home from school sick today. I think he coughed most of the night, and he has a fever. He just wants to be held. Too bad I can't take the day off and just be a mom. But I can't. He did manage to spill my entire glass of Diet Coke this morning. So I got to clean out the drawers (because they were full of Diet Coke). I guess that's one way to get me to do some cleaning, right?

Julia is toothless. And so are the girls she swims with. Maybe we should rename them the "toothless teddy bears" or something.

Brandon is busy working. And going out to dinner. And working. We don't see him much, but he does manage to play hoops with the boys quite often. I'm so glad we have the basketball court. It's a good use of space.

I'm almost done with routine suit orders, but I keep getting orders for other stuff from my website :) But, really I'm spending my time working on the Watershow fundraiser for the synchro team. Keep the date open!
Come and watch my girls swim!
Buy raffle tickets!
Bid on cool baskets!
(I'm in charge of all of this, by the way).

Long...

Okay, here is my {long} awaited post. (at least, I hope it's long awaited for at least somebody, and I'm not wasting my time...) If nothing else, at least it's long.
Here's the recap:

October

We had our annual Murder Mystery Party. (Seems like forever ago). This year was "A Knight of Murder", and it was a lot of fun. I had the brilliant idea that a medieval feast would be a great idea, so I planned dinner for 20. Having never done that before, I didn't realize how much work it would be. Oh well, it was fun. I also made a whole bunch of costumes for it. We even let our kids in on the fun this year--Olivia and a couple of her friends were the serving girls, and Dan and one of his friends were the court musicians. They even danced for our entertainment! It was great! Here's a couple of pictures:

Then there was Halloween. Olivia was a mailman-complete with rabid dog attacking her leg, Sam was Harry Potter and Julia was a Princess bride.
My parents came to visit for two weeks, and we had lots of fun with them here.

November
Julia lost a tooth, Sam was as crazy as ever, Dan got contacts,
and I took part in a Holiday Boutique that was a fundraiser for the girls' synchro team. I made tons of cute little bags and lots of homemade cookie dough. It was a lot of work, and we didn't make as much money as we hoped, but I guess it was fun, in a way.
Then I took a trip to the Fashion District in LA to buy swimsuit fabric for the upcoming season. I went with a couple of friends and we had a great time. I bought over 200 yards of swimsuit fabric! Hopefully, next time we go, we can spend an extra couple of days doing something fun, but we did have a good time laughing and enjoying each other's company.

We didn't have anyone over for Thanksgiving this year, and it was kind of a bummer. Anyone want to come next year?

December
National Team Training Camp for Olivia, Orchestra and Jazz concerts for Dan (he rocked the string bass and the electric bass), 2nd grade musical for Sam the reindeer,
and the first synchro meet of the year for Julia and Olivia.
Julia got 3rd place in the 8 & Under Novice category,
and Olivia got 2nd place in the 11-12 Age Group category.
Then there was the Ward Christmas party (I'm on the committee now), and the 12 days of Christmas. On the 8th day, the kids opened tickets to Disneyland, and we had a great 5 days in southern California (including another trip to LA for fabric), coming home on Christmas Eve.
Christmas was nice, and it was good to be home. The big present had been the trip to Disneyland, so the kids didn't get much from mom and dad. However, Santa brought presents, including a Plasmacar for Julia that everyone loves and an electric guitar for Dan that no one but Dan loves. (Actually, he is a very talented musician, but sometimes, my ears just need a break and I long for a soundproof room--or at least a basement, or an extra bedroom, or something. But alas, it ain't gonna happen.)

January
New Years Eve came and went, and we didn't even stay up for it. How sad is that?

Brandon's work party for the two of us, Sam started playing basketball, Dan went camping in the snow, and I sewed and sewed and sewed. I have made over 200 swimsuits since October! It has sure kept me busy, and my bank account likes it! Here's a sampling of what I have made:
We had a big storm come through toward the end of the month. It blew our neighbor's tree over (almost hit me as I was taking the garbage out). It hit our fence, and Brandon has spent many hours working with Jim getting it down (even had the Priests over to help).

The girls had their first big synchro meet on the 30 and 31st. Julia took first place in duet and trio (1 out of 1!), and 2nd in figures.
Olivia got 1st in trio, 3rd in team and 2nd in figures. I heard lots of praise for my work on suits, and it felt nice to get a little recognition.

I also got sick in there for a couple of weeks. Ugh.
February

We got a new niece on the 1st! Brandon's brother Devin and his wife Mandy adopted this cute little girl:

Her name is Elin and we are so happy for them!
Yesterday, I had to make ANOTHER trip to LA for fabric, so I went and came back all in one day. I'm so tired. But, I got what I needed (I hope) and can now continue with the suits I have left.

Now, hopefully I can keep up with what life throws at me, and keep the blog a little more updated as well. I'll keep my fingers crossed!

No, I have not fallen off the face of the earth.

I know it seems like it...after all I haven't updated my blog in almost three months, I didn't send a Christmas letter, I never call my friends, etc. etc.

I am still very much alive, but SUPER busy.

So busy, in fact, that I have about 2 minutes until I have to leave on a fundraising extravaganza. Oooo, lucky me!

I hope to remember that I have a blog, and post an update soon (lots has happened, and I think I'll forget if I don't get it down!)

Until then, thanks for being patient with me!