HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Well, this birthday was most un-birthdayish. Not from lack of trying, just, sometimes, that's how the cards fall.

The day was nothing special until Larry came home from work. I ran to Costco, before dinner and Ben's Eagle Board of Review. While I was at Costco I got a phone call from Larry saying that he was running Joseph up to the ER because he had closed his pocket knife on his finger. (Joseph got his whittling chip card at Cub Scout day camp two days earlier - that means he knows how to safely use a pocket knife. The cut of the finger means the bishop or cub master has to tear off a corner. Four corners and you're out, technically.)

So, I went to the Board of Review, TOTALLY CLUELESS, and Larry dealt with the ER.

Rachel went too. While they were driving, she recorded Joseph's crying on her cell phone to show all her friends comforted Joseph and applied pressure to the wound.

I really like Sacred Heart Children's ER. They do good work there. It's worth the extra 15 minute drive, in my opinion.

Just two stitches, but cut to the bone. Awesome! Not awesome - no lake swimming and no more swimming lessons! Bummer for my fish, Joseph!

Meanwhile, at the church:

The Board of Review people - Larry Lawton, Phil Sokolowski, Alan Jones, Ray Welsh, Ben, Duncan Latitnen (sp) and a very nice scouter man.

He passed!

On Saturday night (July 11th) we celebrated my birthday:

Yay! New water bottles! What I really want (a Janome or Necchi or Pfaff, a Canon SLR, and my house to sell) I can't afford and I have everything I need.

I have what money cannot buy and do not lack.

Besides needing to clear the camera lens, I love my little people.

Every year Larry gets me an icecream cake. He always puts something funny on it. This time it says 24th birthday instead of 42nd. Haha!

TIME TO TELL YOUR STORIES:

You all remember our awesome home teacher, right?

Sunday morning Rachel booked it into the church parking lot (almost on time!) and saw the space next to the Suburban was unoccupied. She threw the car into reverse and backed up ...

Right into our hometeacher's motorcycle!

She texted us in church and I went out to see the damage. The bike had tipped over but she and Ben lifted it back up. When it tipped over some gasoline spilled out. Our rear tail gate doesn't open anymore.

(Note the wounded green car in the back, perfectly lined up for the shot. I swear Rachel has had the same pained expression when she has done something "wrong" her WHOLE life.)

After the longest Sacrament Meeting (or the shortest?) of her life, we asked Brother Alder to accompany us outside. When we showed him, he laughed and said his bike was a tough old lady. There was nothing wrong with it (confirmed today that it is just fine). There is a rack on the back and that dented our car only (and real good, I might add).

Today the Alders also brought by this card for Rachel AND some rootbeer and icecream so we could have rootbeer floats for FHE.

All this leaves us wondering ... who hit who?

Now, please help a girl out. I know we ALL have similar stories from our "youth" or early driving days (or recent ones - you know who you are). I know my sister could write a book (love ya, Teilani). So in your comments, please leave your story.

We'll let Rachel pick a winner and send you a little sumthin' sumthin'.


The card read "Dear Rachel, We didn't know that you had a WILD side about you. What a WHOPPER of a FISH story! U-NO they say to LOOK for MOTORCYCLES then take a FAST BREAK! Don't be an AIRHEAD and WHATCHAMACALLIT. Have a great day and we love you! Love, the Alders, Paul, Lisa, Courtney, Jeremy, Miranda, and Jonathan.

Larry helped himself to the Whoppers since it was, he rationalized, his car that was damaged!

IT'S INDEPENCE DAY! (Gonna miss this, too!)

The 4th of July at the Pugh's lake cabin on Long Lake has been our very favorite fourth of July in our lives! Thank you so much for inviting us, Rick and Jan!

I think everyone is this picture is someone who has positively impacted our lives in the last eight years. I can't believe that we are moving!

The Pughs set up the volleyball net and just look how fabulous their yard is!

I think we'll start with some volleyball shots. Ben is in the front left.

I know. It's beautiful.

Last one, I promise!

There is also a wooded area between their house and the Smarts (who are also in our ward). Here we have Joseph, Noah Jones, Tanner Stoker, and Matthew Sant in action.

Time for some water shots, don't you think?

We were lucky enough to have the Baleros come with us this year! Here is Katie, Sari, and Christa, ready to hit the water, noodles in tow!

The Pughs have made this swimming area right at the front. The kids LOVE it! I won't even attempt to name them all, it's just to show you all the kids playing together so nicely.

Joseph LOVES the water. Just try to keep him out. (Foreshadowing here, wait until I get caught up on my posts!)

I bought these sharks at the dollar store and they were the best investment of my life! Daniel works on his, and Joseph rides while Sydney Grover and Spencer Larson look on.

Sorry for the glare. Matthew, at the bottom of the photo, is finally getting used to playing in the water. I am glad.

The dock is an endless source of entertainment. Jumping off. Getting each other wet with water guns... it's all fun.

The end of the dock party.

Brandon, Daniel, Darien, and Sloan made a raft out of noodles.

The paddle boat is always in demand. Usually the teens take it across the lake but they didn't this year.

Time for the out of water pictures.

Ben Pugh, Rachel, and Blake Grimes played some cards.

Camry Balero did too, when she wasn't playing volleyball.

Blake is very expressive. What caption do you think fits?
Just in from my friend, Utah: Blake: Do you have any twos? Rachel: Go fish.
VERY FUNNY! Hahaha!

Larry loves to play horseshoes. Dono and a few other men were playing also.

Yeah, he's good at it, too.

President Larson tells about the one that got away while Alan Jones, Rick Pugh, Gene Smart, and Lloyd Burchett listen in.

Rick Pugh ran things solo this year, since Jan was in Utah visiting her sweet new FIRST grandchild Kate. Kate is BEAUTIFUL! Allison's blog is listed at the side, if you're invited check her out.

Some of the womenfolk sitting around talking. Here we have Vicki Palmer, Dawn Larson, Marcie Grimes, Julie Stoker, and Stephanie Jones. Looks like Julie Grover is talking to Campbell Jones in the background.

I took a picture of Alan taking a picture because I think it's funny. I am weird like that.

My favorite young family - Hye Sean and Ku Kwon with Grace and Kaelyn! How cute are those girls!

Natalie Palmer and Courtney Grover.

I can't post about the Pugh's lake cabin without mentioning THE SWING.

It's huge.

It's really cool.

It's awesome. I love the expressions of the crowd.

I love that the big kids push the little kids, like Rachel is pushing Matthew.

Sari loves life.

She is hilarious.

This was her just before we left for the lake. Sari, Christa and Katie all made those tulle hats.

Back to the lake, and a photo of Daniel.

After the BBQ, we play some more, then we break out the Italian sodas. After that, it is fireworks time!

Here is Joseph, front of the line, launching a bottle rocket over the lake with his Stake President. Really, how many kids have that kind of relationship with their Stake President? Just one more thing we're gonna miss!

Check out all the kids, lining the lake to launch they bottle rockets! Rick lines the shore with pvc pipes so they can safely be launched. I'd be lying if I didn't say that I spend this whole time waiting for someone to lose a hand. So far, so good, though. Knock on wood.

Joseph and Sydney Grover must have lit bottle rockets for a half and hour. They seemed completely oblivious to the big fireworks going on overhead.

A sign of growing up, when we first started going to the lake, Daniel, Joseph, and Matthew would clock out. Then just Joseph and Matthew. This year, it was just Matthew.

We are so going to miss this! Thank you, Rick and Jan, for giving us some of our best Spokane memories! We love you guys!

BAPTISM DAY!

I think it is appropriate to be baptized on the 4th of July. Two reasons to celebrate two kinds of freedom!

We had Joseph's baptism on the 4th of July because the bishopric were all out of town at various high adventure camps. They all got back on Friday night.

Joseph was really excited. And so was Larry, of course.

Per tradition, the Balero girls and our girls sang a song for the Musical number. Camry, Sari, and Rachel all sewed their own skirts. I felt back that we ran out time before we got to Christa and Katie's. Maybe next time!

Such pretty girls. Not an unfortunate one among them!

While they were practicing, I noticed the similarities in what Katie and Sari were wearing and how they were standing, especially compared to Rachel and Christa, who clearly had a lot more lung expansion capabilities.

Katie and Sari seem very similar in personality. Katie was born on my birthday so she's my birthday-buddy.

Like I said, very similar.

When Joseph was confirmed, these are the men that stood in the circle: (from left to right) Uncle Dono, Scott Cordell (neighbor),Paul Alder (home teacher and counselor in the bishopric), Valdon Longhurst (chorister), Grandpa Hathaway, Bruce Palmer (ward mission leader), Larry, Tracy Grover (friend), Tracy O'Donnal (friend), and Grandpa Sant.

The Sant family with both sets of Grandparents. We are so blessed to have Grandparents (parents) that make such a special effort to be at our kids' important events. Thank you! The Grandmas talked on Baptism and the Gift of the Holy Ghost, Grandma Sant also was pianist since our ward STILL lacks a pianist and the Grandpas were the witnesses to the baptism.

Just the Sants.

Larry and I are so proud of Joseph!

The Baleros came up from West Richland AGAIN (they were here for the Luau, too) to be at Joseph's baptism. They are so kind and good. Really. You've never met anyone nicer. Aunt Linda gave one of the prayers.

Our good, dear friends, the Grover family. You may recognize Jake as Rachel's date, Peter Pan, when she was Tinkerbell. We love these guys and with their four girls and one boy, and my four boys and two girls, surely, we can get at least one marriage between our families. (I know my parents planned all the time and nothing ever came of it.) Still, I think Julie and I would be the perfect in-laws for each other.

Our other dear, good, BFFs, the O'Donnals! What are we going to do without SOS?! (Sant O'Donnal Sunday). It has been a large part of our lives for many years now! Tracy even wore his suit because he was giving one of the prayers at the baptism.

One of the many reasons I love this family is the boys who are Joseph's age - check out their shoes. I promise you, once you have two boys, you will have done this, too!

Our family outside our Stake Center. We are sure going to miss seeing it!

After the baptism service there was some good natured ribbing going on with Clayton Stephenson (formerly THE Clayton Stephenson of Rachel's heart) and the boys. Ann (formerly THE Ann Stephenson of Ben's heart) watched. Something about that family and our teens seems to attract...

Thank you SO MUCH to the friends and family who came and made this day special for Joseph! We are so proud of Joseph and his DESIRE to be baptized! He is such a sweet, good boy.

I bet you 10 bucks that the next time I visit my mom and dad, my mom has framed this picture.

JOSEPH'S 8th BIRTHDAY

Hard to believe that my sweet Joseph is already eight! Seems like I was just posting about his 7th birthday!

He asked for presents all day. When we would tease him that he wasn't getting any, or we would give them to him later, he was very upset. The gift he was looking forward to? His scriptures. When our kids turn eight, we give them their very own set of scriptures.

Sadly, we used the little pink camera, which is iffy at best, and all the pictures were horrible. I mean REALLY bad. Here Joseph is playing with the helicopter just like the one Uncle Jason flies.

In addition to the Cub Scout uniform, which is a traditional gift from the Hathaway Grandparents for 8 year old grandsons, Grandpa Hathaway carved Joseph his very own walking stick!

Joseph LOVES it!

Cold hard cash from the Sant Grandparents - Joseph is giddy with excitement and plans for his ten spot.

And then the cake. He wanted army guys and army fighters.

I love the brothers' expressions.

These three boys of mine are my delight and joy. (It should be noted that Daniel does not appreciate being grouped in with the "little boys" but he is still in with them in this case.)

Check out Matthew's help. I love relighting candles! Wah haha!

I almost forgot! Earlier in the day Joseph celebrated his birthday by getting his first bee sting.

Right on the ear! Ouch!

This AWESOME piciture is of the STINGER with the poison sac still attached. Cool isn't it?

Our favorite things about Joseph:
Larry: strong testimony of prayer
Tifani: sweet cuddles and hugs
Rachel: kind to others
Ben:
Sari:
Daniel:
Matthew: plays with me

WHILE THE PARENTS ARE AWAY THE GRANDPARENTS AND KIDS WILL PLAY

The day after I left for Baton Rouge Ben left for High Adventure in the Mountains in Central Idaho.

The night before Ben left, he woke up Rachel and asked her to cut off his hair.

I guess that we missed out on quite the laugh fest.

The finished product.

Looks like Grandma touched up around the ears.

That's a lot o' hair.

I LOVE Ben's hair short. I hear that the girls like it too.

My mom taught Rachel and Sari to sew. I have helped Rachel make pajama pants before and Sari has sewn little things, but my mom really taught them the good stuff. She even made their pattern!

I love my oldest!

Sari (is my) love!

The finished product. This is Rachel's half body shot.

This is Sari's finished skirt. The zebra stripes are SO SO SO Sari!

One of my parents' favorite things to do is Geo caching. They really love it and find a lot of cool stuff.

Matthew, Sari, Daniel, my dad, and Joseph near a cache whose location I shall NOT disclose! But if you live in Spokane, near Whitworth, you might know where this is...

Matthew, Sari, Daniel, my pops, Rachel, and Joseph at another location.

Rachel, Daniel, Grandpop, Joseph, Sari, and Matthew at another place.

My kids LOVE LOVE LOVE doing this with their grandparents and spending time with the Hathaways! They can hardly wait to see them again.

I am sure there is a picture some where, but my dad also did some wood carving with the little boys. They loved that, too!

THANK YOU so much Mom and Dad! You did such a great job! Thanks for sharing your passions with my kids.

MAY THE ROOF ABOVE US never fall in And may we good companions beneath it never fall out. ~Irish Blessing

The day after the Luau, I left our kids in the capable hands of my parents and flew out to Baton Rouge for the do-or-die get someplace to live trip. Larry had gone out there the week before.

It is super HOT in Baton Rouge. And humid. When it rained, the roads steamed FOR A LONG TIME and made it even more like a sauna. It was awesome. I can hardly wait to be there full time and walk around with sweat running down my face and my clothes suctioned to me!

Back to the houses...

Over the weekend Larry looked at a house that he really LOVED. It is in a neighborhood called Lakes of Ascension. Here it is:

That's a real balcony (so many down there are fake - grrrrr)!

The house has an awesome backyard, a loft, 5 bedroom, 3 1/2 bath, and a nice kitchen.

Meanwhile on my day of looking, in addition to the above house I really liked:

A lovely home in my favorite neighborhood in Ascension Parish - Seven Oaks. No pool, but a beautiful backyard that goes down to the lake.

This house:

Another beauty in Seven Oaks. This one with lake property and a pool:

And this house:

In a newer neighborhood, called Manchac Harbor. This house is two years old. It has a pool and a backyard lake, too:

I should say right here that what they call "lakes" we would call "dentention ponds".

One other house that we really liked was sent to short sell the day we arrived and so it was in the middle of paperwork and it would have been useless to see it because there was no way to get everything done in time. We are ARRIVING in Baton Rouge on July 31st, after all!

Our contingencies are that we close when the Spokane house sells and (hopefully, but not a deal breaker) we would like to take early occupancy and rent from them until our house does sell, starting August 1st.

The house Larry loved and I liked a lot, the owners pulled if off the market about 10 minutes before our Realtor called their Realtor.

Okay.

Next house, Seven Oaks with a pool. That house is under a Relocation Company and they do not do contingencies under any circumstances.

Not a problem, next house also in Seven Oaks.

The Realtor was adamant that there was NO WAY the owners would consider any sort of contingency.

Then the Manchac Harbor house Realtor said, "Let me call you back." They accepted our contingencies, they will let us move in early (we are paying them an ENORMOUS amount of rent - which rent is ENORMOUS in Baton Rouge) and now we have a place to live! We are officially under contract! Yay! Inspections are happening this week and so on.

The Home Owners Association in Manchac Harbor make Nazi Germany seem friendly (I know, entirely politically incorrect, sorry). We have to have 100 shubbery in our front yard, 5 trees, nothing can be on our side yards (play toys, pool stuff, garden, etc.) No privacy fences, no outdoor storage sheds. Only approved mailboxes. The list goes on and on.

This is our family room. Two bedrooms and a large Jack and Jill bathroom are to the left of the picture. The master suite is on the other side of the built-ins.

The kitchen with it's ginormous island/bar. Larry said, "This bar is too big, what are you going to do with it?" Silly man. I am just going to lay down on it, for starters. The two doors that you can see are pantries. Further down that hall is another bedroom and bathroom, a laundry room, a bonus room and the garage.

I wonder what other non-alcohol drinkers have done with their wine storage racks? Any ideas, people? The grandfather clock does not come with it. You can see the dining area through that doorway. The family room entrance is on the other side of the clock.

The entry and the diningroom from the back windows looking toward the front of the house.

More of the dining room. The shades are wooden shutters on the windows.

The bonus room is really a mudroom, because you have to walk through it to get to the garage. I have no idea what we will put here. Or why or when.

Long hallway from the bonus room to the kitchen. I super-hope that the owners forget their Pottery Barn organizer on the wall! Not likely, I know!

A super lame shot of the Master bedroom. Not to worry, there are more bad shots coming. I didn't think I would be posting these - just taking some pics for Larry to get the general idea.

The master bath and closet. The shower is behind the door on your immediate left, the closet is on the right and the ... what is it called? poo room? is at the back on the left. Lots of doors. I find myself missing our pocket doors already.

The backyard pool and detention pond lake. It is a gunite salt water pool. The lake is stocked with five different kinds of fish. Bass and carp are the only two I remember. Right now it is a catch and throw back lake, until they get really established. The other side of the lake is county land. It will never be developed.

A view of our side yard. The yard is completely fenced in with non privacy wrought iron fencing.

This side of the house is mostly east facing so it will be warm in the mornings! The three set of windows of the right of the house are the windows in the keeping room, which is what they call their breakfast areas because they are usually big enough for a table and a couch. Not when your table seats 8.

So, there you have it! Our new house! It's all one level. It's "only" 2500 sf so we are going to be big time downsizing!

Rachel and Ben will be going to Dutchtown High School, it's about 25 minutes away.

The student parking lot is a click below the one at Mead.

One of the doors was open so I just walked on into the gymnasium. All the buildings are separate with courtyards in the middle of them.

The chapel we will be going to, a good 30 minute drive, has the temple in it's backyard.

Hibiscus bloom everywhere! So does plumeria. I am excited about that.

On another gardening note, most homes do NOT have sprinkler systems. Isn't that weird? I guess it usually rains every day (even in the summer) so there is really not a need.

For your entertainment, I will now post some pictures of a few other houses.

I call this style the frog style, a substyle of French Creole. Notice how the windows look like eyes and the side of the house looks like a frog nose. Once I made that connection, I noticed they were everywhere! Haha!

Something I just couldn't get past:

I HATE how out of balance the tops are. See the disparity between the glass topper and the top of the doorway? I would go nuts.

I loved the etched concrete, ice maker, and pass through in this Seven Oaks home, no contingencies please.

And now for the coup d grace. I will just say "you are welcome" now.

This beauty of home was in Fountain Hill where homes start at 560,ooo or so and go up from there. This one was listed at only 375,000. I wonder why? For starters, that balcony is fake. This home is only 200 sf larger than the one we bought. It doesn't have a pool, but it is right next door to the neighborhood pool and clubhouse.

Sadly, the owners are taking all their statues with them. We counted more than 20 on the property. The above is in front of the house and may be my favorite.

From the family room looking into the entry and up the stairs. Yes, that is gold leaf on the railings.

And yes, that is more gold leaf on the kitchen cabinets. But enough gold leaf, lets move on to the light fixtures, shall we?

One of them is reportedly imported from ITALY! I have no idea which one. Do any of you know?

This is the light over the family room.

The light over the keeping room.

The light over the bed in the master bedroom.

The wrought iron cover over the unsightly fan and light in the poo room.

Sorry, I found this gold leaf picture again and had to show it. Notice this is her house STAGED. They asked for a day to get it ready to show. Because we must cover every square inch of counter space to show how much counter space there is. The placemats are beaded. The knobs on the cabinets are crystal. Real crystal, according to our Realtor.

The family room from the kitchen. More gold leaf on the cabinets. I wish I had taken a picture of the dining room. The drapes were black velvet with the pastel plaid that is on these curtains for accent ties.

"Clearly, these people are from Nah Orlins" our Realtor said.

The divan in the Master suite, which Sari would give her right arm to own.

The girls bedroom. But wait! There's more! Note how tall the headboards of the bed are in relation to the door next to them.

Another view of the girls' bedroom.

One of the boy's rooms. The tree stuff was all painted on. It was impossible to get a good picture, they had a gun safe in front of the window.

The mandatory LSU bedroom. Every house has at least one.

GROWL! Tiger stripes on the ceiling of the LSU room. Geaux Tigers!

The half bath. Really. Can you see all those dogs?!

I think the owners must have had a monkey at some time in their lives.

Apparently monkeys are good voodoo to Nah-Lins folk, according to our Realtor, who is the nicest lady, and a long time Baton Rouge resident herself. She LOVED the house!

One closet.

And another. There were several like this. Clicking on the picture does not produce a good image so let me tell you right now that EVERY thing she had was Coach, Channel, and Prada. She had the entire storage room in the garage filled with the same stuff - and hats on actual mannequin heads. It was disturbing.

Here is why the house is priced so low:

That beautiful backyard is about six feet deep and backs directly on Interstate 10. You couldn't hear a thing when you opened the door, except cars flying past. No sound barrier.

You know you are a better person for having taken the time to look at these pictures. This last house is still available, if any of you are interested. The sellers are VERY motivated!

And again, I say, you are SO WELCOME! It was my PLEASURE!

ALO-HA!

As most of you know - Rachel and Sari take Hula lessons from our bishop's wife, Kuulei Johnson. She is an amazing Kumu (hula teacher):

At the end of the year, she throws a hula. Usually she kills and cooks a pig in the ground, but she didn't this year. We still had kalua pig, it was just all pig roast instead of the whole pig. I think there were some old Hawaiians there who missed the ears ... (yuck!)

This year Kuulei really kicked it up a notch and wanted to do a Lei Day celebration, like what they have in Hawaii, with the Queen, King, and all the Princesses, dressed in colors from each island.

After the conch sell blowers (Sloan and Darien Kraus- how did I miss getting a pic of them?!) the pu'ili bearers went up, bearing the ... pu'ilis. They were Ben and Samuel Johnson. They got to STAND at the front all night long - three hours. Lucky!

Next came the Queen. Traditionally, the Queen is the girl graduating from High school. I will spare you ALL THE DRAMA associated with this year's queen. Except to say that she behaved in a most unroyal manner.

Because I am so disgusted with THE QUEEN I refused to take any other pictures of her. Here, she is being escorted by Miles, a very nice boy, who is the King.

Rachel was one of the princesses. And that's my dad. He took off his Hawaiian feritility lei for the occassion.

Because Larry was out of town, my dad, her Grandpa Hathaway, was Rachel's escort. All the princesses had escorts and all nine of the islands were represented. I will spare you and the space on my blog pictures of all of them.

Above was a nice picture, but this one below is my favorite. I think I shall frame it:

The motorhome in the background was the changing room.

This hilarious picture won a place on my blog because I caught Todd winking. Haha. That's not his wife. Luana's kids got sick so Todd, whose wife is my good friend, FayeLisa, got wrangled into escorting her. He didn't want to do it, but he is a good sport. And you get to see another dress that my Cindermama and I sewed.

There's the whole court. Yep, Cindermama and I sewed all those dresses and sashes and capes.

Let's let the dancing begin:

Miss Sari rocks the Hula world.

She looks tired... but usually she is biting her lip. I just realized that I am biting mine while I am typing this so I guess it runs in the family...

Are you having a hard time finding Sari? She's in the orange dress.

I did NOT make the dress with wings for sleeves. Another long story that I will spare you the details ...

I really love the ancient hulas. This is Sari's costume for those dances. The oranges dresses are for the modern dances.

This year the keikis painted muslin to look like tapa and they wore them as keikepas.

They were very cute.

Now for Rachel's dancing:

I loved the modern dress.

Can you see the train sort of thing off the back? I think it is so elegant and simple and beautiful. Cindermama and I sewed about 45 of them, I think?

I didn't sew these. One of the students picked them up at the Aloha stadium swap meet. Rachel borrowed Tearzah's.

Blurry. Bummer.

Rachel mastered hiding behind other dancers so we (five cameras going) pretty much have NO pictures of her dancing in her ancient costume. You can go here to see last year's luau and her ancient dress, if you would like.

The princess dance:

I had to hike over half the yard to get a picture without the queen dancing in front.

I do heart my Rachel.

And my Ben who is watching her with brotherly disinterest in this picture and that makes me laugh.

Then the rest of the women danced with the princesses.

At the last minute this year, because I had NOTHING else to do, I put Matthew and Joseph into Hula to help Kuulei have more keikis (kids). The keikis always steal the show.

Yes, some of you may recognize that little girl as CoCo, Kristine Stevenson's daughter. Her real name is Katherine and we call her Katherine now. I miss the CoCo days, though, back when Rachel babysat her.

Joseph, Matthew, Katherine, and Hailey (Katherine's cousin). Kristine made the blue dresses for Katherine and Hailey. They were exqusitie, of course.

This year Kuulei did a lot of layered dancing, where a lot of different classes danced the same song, with coordinating choreography. It was cool. Can you see my boys kneeling at the front?

One of the songs the keikis do is a Tahitian and I have to say - Joseph has got it going on! He has Elvis hips, Baby.

Can you see what I mean?

No one you know, but Cindermama and I made all those dresses, too:

The finale:

The people at the Luau:

My dad and my Cindermama.

I spent most of my time counting Joseph's freckles. Gosh, I love this kid!

And while we are on the topic of kids I adore.

He's a little pillhead, but I sure do love him.

Makes me wonder, why did we stop at 6? Let's have some more of these cute thangs. Then I remember puking a lung for 7 months, vertigo, and my favorite - a uterus with a hole in it - and then I say, Oh, THAT'S why.

It's all good.

Steven and his kiddos - Zoe, Zina, and Zane.

My darling, thoughtful niece, Christa.

My birthday-buddy niece, Katie. This expression captures Katie perfectly!

Yep, I love this kiddo too.

Christa and Daniel.

Two more nieces. Camry is a lovely young woman. Zina is full of surprises. For the first time in her life she acknowledged my existence in this world. I was honored.

Mom and Dad Sant with the little boys before they changed into their hula gear.

Our Spokane BFFs the O'Donnals. We want to box them up and move them to Louisiana with us but they won't come. Rude!

And now, some behind the scenes:

Rachel and Ben before the Luau.

Rachel and fellow princess Emily waiting for the show to start.

Joseph, Katherine, Hailey, and Matthew before the show.

Ben and oops - is that the queen again? Well, I must not have taken this picture. Plus, Ben is smiling, so I for sure didn't.

Grandpa Hathaway and Ben.

Also there, but no pictures (?) was Aunt Kathryn. Thanks so much to the family who came out to see a 3 hour dance recital! We love you all!

Oh yeah! And there was food. The food was first, actually! There was a lot of food. Here is Grandma and Grandpa Sant in line.

There were a lot of people there. A LOT.

Copious amounts of people.

Can you see Matthew and Joseph at the bottom?

Camry, Christa, and Katie waiting in the LONG line for food. Such cute, good girls! And Daniel hamming it up, as usual.

By the time we got through the line most of the dishes were empty.

I have issues with potlucks. I want to know who made my food and what their kitchen looks like. Do they have cats? Do they let them on the counter? Do they wash their hands, etc.

Sari, Emma, Tearzah, and Tearzah's cousin eating the dinner. Sari does not share my issues.

I am sorry that my girls won't be dancing hula anymore, and I miss the Luau's but I will NOT miss sewing for them.

Girls Camp

This was Rachel's 6th year at Girls' Camp. She pretty much hates Girls' Camp but she has gone every year and certified every year and made the best of it. I sent the camera with Sari to give to Rachel. This is the ONE picture of Rachel on the camera:

Rachel and her good friend, Courtney Alder.

The rest of the pictures looked like this:

Journey O'Donnal and Sari

Hannah Stevens and Sari

Courtney Grover and Sari

Sari and Tearzah Johnson

Courtney Grover, Natalie Palmer, and Journey O'Donnal hanging out in the tent.

Rachel has gone through Young Women's with only one other girl her age. Sari, on the other hand, has had tons of girls her age in church.

THIS WEEKEND MY BRAIN EXPLODED

My mental status went out the window on Sunday. It was coming on for awhile and the crash was inevitable.

It was ugly.

I was going to write about it, but let me just say, doing what is right doesn't mean that it will be easy. I have to remind myself that Heavenly Father loves me. (Really, I do. I feel like I am being punished.) Everything works out the way it is supposed to.

Deep, cleansing breaths.

Repeat above mantas and deep breaths as needed.

PART FOUR (OF SIX) EXPOSE - all about me, by my kids

Me - What is something I always say to you?
Sari - "Clean up your room! It's like a pig pen."

Me - What makes me happy?
Sari - Me being happy.

Me - What makes me sad?
Sari - Me not being happy.

Me - How do I make you laugh?
Sari - When you do stupid things.

Me - What was I like as a child?
Sari - Funny and clueless.

Me - How old am I?
Sari - 41, but to me you're 21, no, 25.

Me - How tall am I?
Sari - I don't know, I think, like 2 inches taller than me.

Me - What is my favorite thing to do?
Sari - Have dates night date and eat steak.

Me - What do I do when you're not around?
Sari - Have a date with dad.

Me - If I become famous, what will it be for?
Sari - Hmmmm...for being funny and how do I say this? uhmm... and you're outspoken.

Me - What am I really good at?
Sari - Public speaking and being funny

Me - What am I not very good at?
Sari - Being quiet.

Me - What do I do for a job?
Sari - Be a mom.

Me - What is my favorite food?
Sari - Steak?

Me - What makes you proud of me?
Sari - Being a mom.

Me - If I were a cartoon character, who would I be?
Sari - I could have fun with this...hahaha... hahaha...oh gee...either Sponge Bob, which you hate, or Betsy Higenbottom.

Me - What do you and I do together?
Sari - Go on dates and go to JoAnns and hang out with the sari fabric and see dream fabric.

Me - How are you and I the same?
Sari - We love to sew.

Me - How are you and I different?
Sari - I am more of a quiet person in public and you are more of a loud person in public.

Me - How do you know I love you?
Sari - When we go on dates you always buy me a treat. And you say so.

Me - What do I like most about your dad?
Sari - His sense of humor.

Me - Where is my favorite place to go?
Sari -After April 25th - Hawaii!

GONNA MISS THIS TOO ....

This morning I saw this in my front yard:

Can you see it in the lower left corner?

Which got me to thinking and I realized that I never posted about the Ward Memorial Day BBQ. Which got to me to thinking about some more "things" I'm gonna miss:

I love that our ward has BBQs on Labor Day and Memorial Day. It really helps when you live so far from family. Here we have the Dupapes, Dawn Larson, Marci Grimes (turned), Julie Stoker, Chris Grimes, and Blake Grimes.

More of our Northpointe Family - Chad and Jan Pugh, Cathie Layman, Rick Pugh, Alan and Stephanie Jones, and Ken Stoker.

Foreigner is tucked behind Journey's Happy Birthday balloons. You can see Journey smiling in the background talking to Emma Grimes. When we moved to the ward Emma thought she was a kitty cat and she walked on her toes and meowed at you. Now she is a beautiful young woman.

The reluctant Relief Society President and my dear friend, Charmaine hanging out with Faye Lisa. Faye Lisa makes those chairs look worth the $50 they cost...

I'm gonna miss Bro. Dupape's food and just hanging out with the ward friends and always having someone to talk to.

The Shuemachers were just baptized in our ward. The WHOLE family! Do you know how unusual that is?! Awesome.

Those tall boys in the middle are Jordan Larson and Jared Tolman. They were Larry's little deacons when we moved in. Now they are leaving on their missions.

And since I have pot-luck food issues, I am going to miss knowing whose dish belongs to whom. It's important to know.

And since my mom is in the picture I should add that I am really going to miss that my parents are just one day's drive away, or a 2 hour flight. Now they will be a one day flight (if you can get one) and a 3 -4 day drive.

And now, what may be my favorite photo of the day:

Noah, Joseph, Matthew, Tanner, and either Jackson or Kylen. I just would have LOVED to be in the ward as these boys are all baptized, then ordained to the priesthood and eventually all go on missions.

At least I will still have the imporant "things" - here are a few:

You know, I never once thought of snakes this whole day. When I get to Louisiana, I know that is going to be all I think about ....

I COULD WEEP WITH JOY...

Ben's Eagle Project is done!

Today they took the forms off and sanded the pieces.

Then they sanded them and drove the pieces to the Hospice House and placed them.

The final helpers - plus Larry, who must have been taking the picture.

Ben and the happy Hospice House ladies.

Afterwards the Hospice House ladies invited the boys and leaders in for cake.

God bless you, Larry Lawton, master of getting Ben to do his Eagle project and filling out all the paperwork and doing everything. Thank you!

And good job, Ben. I think your project will be well used.

BEN'S GOT HIS MOTHER'S KNEES

Yesterday in the middle of my near panic over getting stuff done, I got a phone call from Ben. He said that he popped his knee out (again) and this time he and his coach couldn't get it to go back in.

So I left my home-girls painting my house and ran Ben to the ER at Sacred Heart.

Knee cap definitely in the wrong place! His leg was locked like this. While he was sitting up his foot went numb, blue, and cold. They laid him on his side and circulation returned.

Eventually the pain meds kicked in and Ben said the dots in the ceiling were connected with green lines. I took a picture to show him he was wrong, but low and behold, there they were - green lines - can you see them?

Post reduction - still not feeling great - in more pain in fact.

When he has kids with three eyes we can look back to this picture and we won't wonder why.

Later in the evening, with the splint on, he straightened his leg and put pressure on it and it went back in all the way, complete with pop.

We have a follow up with the orthopod next week.

"MATTHEW HAS A VERY SMALL GIRLFRIEND WITH VERY STRONG LIPS" - Todd Krauss

Yesterday Matthew got his first kiss. Those aren't cigarette burns, baby, those are HICKEYS!

Oh yeah, work it.

The kisser?

I would like to say this kind of shenanigan is limited to 5 year olds but Rachel and Ben both did it to themselves, too. I am so proud. What mom doesn't want three of her six kids walking around with hickeys?