Beckham turns 8!

Sept. 22, 2012

2:00 pm

Beckham decided to have his friend party at a trampoline park in Kaysville called Get Air. This place rocks!

Bradley

 There are trampolines everywhere surrounded by foam pads and have HUGE foam pits for you to jump into. The kids love it. Beckham, scene here with some kind of gansta' move,

Beckham

 asked Kevin to be the parent in charge. So I only have second hand information to share :) Kev said the kids loved it, but there were some minor injuries. Nothing serious and with 8 kids who were either 7, 8, or 9 I think we will call that a success!

Megan

 This cute girl is Megan. Before the party I took Beckham to take some pictures. Do you want to know how we got him to smile? Just mentioning Megan's name. They really are just friends. He confessed his TRUE crush to me later, but it was still funny. At one point he begged me to stopped, while smiling, and said, "Mom, you are crushing my soul!" HA!

Hallie, Megan, Brady, Austin, Bradly Matt, Beckham, and Josh in front.

 The next morning, today, Sept. 23, 2012 was THE day. Beckham turned 8!

 I didn't get a picture but we made him a special breakfast of pancakes with chocolate chips in them topped with cool whip. Yum!

Funny back story: When I asked Beckham what he wanted for his special breakfast he said, "So, you are remembering our tradition of a special breakfast." I think I may be disowned if ever I should forget!

 He's been reading Percy Jackson. Zeus is one of his favorite characters in the book so he asked for Zeus's lighting bolt in the sky for his cake.

 We had cake and ice cream at our house. The girls did this while they waited for the party to start.

 The boys?

Football.

Even Sanders. Who tackled his almost 14 year old cousin to the ground. For reals.

 Party goers. Are kids are seriously loved. Thank you for coming!!!

All the cousins there. We were missing the Davis', who are on vacation, and the Lawsons who choose not to live in the same state ;)

Notice how Sanders is copying Austin. He just loves him.

Beckham is a super lucky little boy. He loved all the generous gift people brought.

The Francoms gave him a baptism towel. I can't believe his baptism is in three weeks!

 I always seem to forget to take a picture with me and my kids. But not today my friends!

Notice Karaia photo bombing this one. Little stink.

And one to show just what kind of influences my step brother is for my kids. Awesome. :)

Tonight I read to Beckham from my journal about the day he was born. When he hugged me goodnight he started crying. He couldn't tell me why, but I had been prompted all day to read that entry to him. I'm sure deep down he knows why. I'm just grateful I listened! He is a great kid!!!!

I love you Beckham!

Cereal Stairs

Today. Oh my friends, today was an exercise in finding the joy. I'm happy to report that I succeeded, but I certainly earned that reward.

I got up at 5:30 am. Why? Because I know it is good for me to exercise. I even went to bed before midnight. That is quite the accomplishment for me! When I wake up I reach for my phone and read any emails that have made their way into my inbox. Turns out, there are more people like me out in the world and I am friends with a lot of them (go figure) so I always have about 4 -5 emails to help me wake up.

This morning, in my inbox was a blog post from my little sister, Meghan. She has a super full plate and is trying to find the right balance of fight and acceptance. Her plate is one I have not tasted. I can't offer anything that is remotely useful as far as "fixing" anything goes. I don't have a life experience to pull from. For most of the day I found my thoughts drifting towards her spirit trying to find the path that would help her best. It was kind of all day thing so I'll continue on with my day for a moment.

Sanders has play group on Mondays with Sonja and Kate. These three are really the best kind of kids. Obedient, kind, playful, just overall excited about life. We went on a little walk and gathered treasures (read rocks, flowers, pine cones...oh the pine cones!) They played very nicely until snack time. The girls decided it was girl time only which left Sanders feeling alone. We talked about including everyone and noticing how behaviors made others feel. It took some time, but soon tears where dried, hugs were given and the friendship resumed. I loved the lesson on forgiveness they taught me today.

Later in the day is was time to pick grapes. We have been so blessed this year. And by blessed I mean it has taken HOURS to pick these grapes and we are still not done. Still, we love grape juice and it's free. You really can't be grumpy about that. Plus, my cute sister-in-law, Danica, came over to help pick and offer some friendly conversation. That is always a highlight.

The thing is we both have 3 year olds. Which rocks. Except when they decide that while the moms are outside, being inside and throwing cereal at Tennyson on the stairs is a good idea. I have no idea how long they did this...but it really was everywhere. It was awe inspiring to see just how much...was everywhere! Still, my stairs needed a good vacuuming today and this eliminated any excuse I could possibly make to avoid doing it. I wish I would have taken a picture. It was impressive!

Our dear friends, the Weilers invited us to dinner. It was perfect. The food was great, the company was delightful. At one point Sanders came running back from the pack that is just beyond their back yard to tell me he had pooed in his pants. The thing is, he was so, so sorry. He kept saying, "I'm sorry mom! I held it too long." It was so different from the response I get from Tennyson who takes no responsibility when things like this happen. It's impossible to even get annoyed when they are already so disappointed in themselves.

So tonight. My thoughts returned to Megan. I put a plea out to some friends with suggestions on how to help. I got many, many responses and felt lifted and buoyed up. It reminded me that Heavenly Father usually answers prayers through other people. I'm very grateful for that today.

Day to day

I have all the Disneyland photos loaded! It's going to take...years I'm guessing to write the post. Especially, since I'm finding it hard to remember the details I didn't want to forget.

Which brings me to today. Nothing special, per say happened, but I'm feeling the need more and more to document just so I don't forget.

I helped the youth in our ward paint scenery for a thing our stake is doing called Youth Tube. Each ward's youth, mutual age, is supposed to write, direct, film and edit a short movie. The leaders aren't supposed to do any of it. I just supplied the location and the paint, that I had in my garage, for the scenery. It took 3 hours, but I am really proud of them.

Tonight was the Young Women's Daddy Daughter date. They also invited the activity day age girls which meant Karaia got to come. She was in cloud nine! She asks every week if she can come to mutual with me.

The girls did a great job and Jo'elle gave some fabulous tips and reminds of how and why to have a good daddy/daughter relationship. At one point I looked over at Kevin and Karaia and they were sitting as close as possible, snuggling. It was heart warming.

I hope all our children know how much we love them and are so proud of them..