Haley Dawn

My Haley turned 11 last week. She seems like she's about 13 to me already so it was almost weird telling people that she was only 10. She's gone from this sassy, spunky child .....

... to a very confident, sassy, spunky 11 year old. Totally love her.

This year for her has been the year of Hunger Games. She's just a tiny bit obsessed. She's read the books, seen the movie and begged for her own bow & arrow for her birthday. Mike repeatedly told her that he didn't feel safe giving her one and that she should consider another present, which made the surprise of her own bow & arrow that much sweeter.

Haley & her friend, Kate, both have bows and spend time shooting at targets in our backyard. No injuries or impaled children yet. Cross your fingers.

For her actual birthday, I took Haley & long time friend, Sara, to lunch at Haley's choice of Jimmy John's. I told the workers that it was her birthday and they shouted and hooped it up to make her blush pretty hard. As we were leaving, they presented her with a wrapped french loaf of bread. Pretty cute.

Then we went to Hunger Games. Again. For the 4th time. Of course.

Interview with my 11 year old

What is your favorite hobby? Any kind of sport.  Sports. Sports. Sports.
Favorite food:  Smoothies
Good friends:  My entire class.  We've been together for 3 years and I know them all so well. 
What are you good at? Anything that revolves around a ball.
Favorite vacation? Obviously the cruise.
What are you excited for? Going to Sun Valley in a couple of weeks.
Favorite tv show: Psych
Favorite movie: Hunger Games
Best subject in school: Recess
What is a good thing about our family? We're all the opposite of each other so we always have something to talk about.
What is a not-so-good thing about our family? Same answer.  We're all the opposite of each other so sometimes we don't get along.
What do you like most about the new house? Wide open spaces
What do you miss about our old house? Memories that we have there
When I grow up, I want to be...: A medical scientist
My favorite thing about my big brother: He's really funny and creative.
I love my dad because: Do I have to give just one answer?  He takes me to football games.
Favorite scripture story: Whichever guy it is that cuts off people's arms. ;)
What are you scared of? Things possibly being in my closet, and I'm not talking about my clothes.
Favorite color: Orange
Morning or night? Night.  Definitely night.
Winter or summer? Summer all the way.
Chocolate or fruity? I wish I could say fruity but I'll have to go with chocolate.
Sparkly or plain? Neither.  Sparkly is alright but plain is too bland.
What age seems old to you? 60
Place you'd like to visit? Fiji.  It's like Hawaii but without tourists.
Favorite book? Hunger Games
Big city or farm? City.  Hands down.

In her free time ....

Walked in on Paige doing this in her room.

Some people are so weird. :)

Snapshot on a Sunday night

One reason that I love our new house is because of scenes like this ....

Our backyard neighbors, the Olsens, are so much fun -- for the kids and for the adults. They live right over the back fence and our kids match up in age so well. I love looking out the window and seeing the kids doing various things together. Right now, there's a mean game of Annie-I-Over going on. Love it. :)

Monster hunting

The kids discovered a creature lurking in our backyard. It would be in sight one minute ... gone the next. There has been screaming and squealing aplenty at our house the past couple of weeks. So they decided to take action and capture the monster.

Be prepared for its awfulness .....

He's so tiny!! They never could catch him. And here's the thing now .... a master gardener told Mike that what we really need in our backyard is a snake that will eat the grasshoppers and snails. Coincidentally, we have one already. So he's here to stay, for the summer anyway. :)