first week of summer and “large, or to exceed all”

Adapted from a letter to Elder Baker, dated 6/6/17. . . .

Last week was a nice one, being the first full week of summer vacation. We have worked out a good routine, I think, with Daddy being in charge of the cute ones in the morning while I work on the house, and then in the afternoon I am in charge of the cute ones while he works on various things. Super Kid makes breakfast every weekday morning, and the other two make dinner. There is lots of frolicking with kittens, chasing lizards, visiting the fish, working for Nana and Grandpa, etc. Rosebud has begun a 4-week tumbling class that meets 3 times a week. She is learning a lot! She can do a tripod, bridge, and tuck roll, and is really improving her cartwheel.

It was another big week for the house! Framing done in the basement and floor joists for the main level in. Excavation for the garage and master bedroom done, footings dug and poured, walls laid. I started bidding electrical and stucco.

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Monday was Memorial Day. We had a nice picnic at Pioneer Park (Nana and Grandpa were gone still to OK, so it was just us 5). The cute ones brought their rollerblades, and Rosebud brought Moana, who did not have a good time. Afterward we went to the Taylor Cemetery and found 8 of our ancestors who are buried there!

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Tuesday evening we enjoyed playing Sorry and Trash together, and we watched the Great British Bakeoff. We watched GBB nearly every night this week. :)

Wednesday evening Fluffy and Ham had a combined activity at Caldwell's pond, and walked all the way home afterward, across the highway and through the desert, with their trunks and flip-flops on! Rosebud went swimming with Daddy, and I sat and read nearby. Well, not much reading because Puffball came, too, and thought he needed to be right in my lap and be petted the whole time. 

Thursday Puffball and Mariah finally started to get along. Before this she would hiss at him and chase him like a whirling dervish into the woodpile. Now they have some sort of truce and Puffball is allowed to be within a foot or two of her. Fluffy took a practice ACT and did very well. We watched the championship round of the National Spelling Bee and of course some more GBB.

Friday I went to the 5:30am session at the temple. It was a beautiful, strengthening experience to be there. I was so grateful to have been able to go and be attentive in spite of the early hour! Nana and Grandpa had gotten home late the night before, but we only got to spend a few hours with them before leaving for the Valley for Fluffy's BD wish.

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It was a fun evening with the Ws. Fluffy and Ham babysat while Uncle Daniel and Aunt Becky went on a double date with us. We ate at a Thai restaurant and then did some scavenger-hunt type challenges for each other at Kohl's.

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The truly alarming thing is that there were also ties and pants to match.

Saturday we all went to the Mesa Temple Visitors Center and got to see the two new movies the Church has produced, Days of Harmony and A Day for the Eternities. They tell the story of the translation of the Book of Mormon from Oliver Cowdery's perspective and then David Whitmer's perspective. They are both excellent! As I watched the portrayal of April 6, 1830 I felt deeply grateful to be a member of the restored church of Jesus Christ! To have been able to make covenants and receive Priesthood ordinances and partake of the Sacrament every week my whole life -- it is wonderful!

Later we went swimming at a city pool with a slide and then watched Blackbeard's Ghost back at the Ws.

Sunday I fasted for you and also for E. It was lovely to attend meetings with the Ws and the Van Baileys. Aunt Becky taught Sunday School -- I loved her lesson about the Kingdoms of Glory. Baby S fell asleep on my lap. <3 :)

The evening was idyllic in the Ws' backyard. Did Ham tell you about the bunnies the Ws got for free for him?A family in their neighborhood had gotten bunnies in two consecutive Snowflake rodeos and those ones had babies and two girl ones were now grown up and needing a home. So the Ws have been keeping them in their yard until we could come get them! One is white and one is a lovely light brown. They are ripliancum* bunnies with double chins.

*Ham’s term for very large bunnies

Uncle Daniel helping Ham pass off some rank advancement requirements. #bombdotcom

When I was reading in D&C 138 this week I was especially struck by the verses toward the end, including verse 56.

Even before they were born, they, with many others, received their first lessons in the world of spirits and were prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord to labor in his vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men.

I love you, Clyn!

~Mommy

Quotable

At the dinner table, we were remembering when we watched you open your call.

Rosebud: He was still at BYU?

Me: Yeah, remember we webcammed with him.

Hummer, correcting my verb: Webcome.

adopted by ranchers and Fluffy’s first date

When a man is kind to dumb animals, I always say he has got some good in him.
― Owen Wister, The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains

Adapted from a letter to Elder Baker, dated 5/29/17. . . .

I will try to tell you briefly about an eventful and interesting week. On Monday, we had Fluffy's BD dinner and party. Rosebud fell asleep right after school and slept for several hours. Between that and work on setting up the bunny palace and planting the big evergreen, the celebration ran really late but it was so fun! Rosebud gave the sweetest FHE lesson spotlighting Fluffy, and the strawberry meringue cake was a smash hit. Also we played a game and he opened presents.

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Tuesday we had an adventure with Grandpa's red truck. I used it to pick up the kids from school so that Ham could bring home his aquarium from school and so we could go to Hector's Hay and Feed and pick up 3 bales of straw to stack behind the bunny hutch (wind shelter, hopefully).

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Wednesday was Daddy's last day of work until the end of July! Woohoo! He is going to look for some non-contract work but for now he's free as a lark for the first time in years. It is so nice! Uncle Duff and Aunt Lori and B and A arrived in the afternoon -- they came to visit for Lori's sister's HS graduation. It was so fun to hang out with them and Nana and Grandpa treated us all to dinner at Eva's.

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. uncle duff (in his last year of optometry school) teaching DC how to do magic eye :).

Thursday Uncle Duff offered to take the kids to their last day of school, and that was a fun bonding time for them (especially regarding having the radio on). Little B and I helped my Dad to plant the garden and it brought back delightful memories of Tucson childhood days. Rosebud's caterpillar hatched! She named it Swirl. Nana taught me and Uncle Duff and Ham a new card game called Trash (it’s kind of therapeutic, actually). Nana and Grandpa left to fly to Oklahoma. That evening Fluffy sang in the seminary choir for Snowflake Stake Seminary Graduation, held in the Main Street Chapel for the first time since about Nana's graduating class. :) We stayed up very late visiting afterward.

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Friday the framing on the house began! It was pretty chaotic out there because the concrete guys were still working on the outside, waterproofing and installing the french drains, so very loud, and the wind was crazy-high, blowing dust like you wouldn't believe. It was happy, though, to see so much progress going on at once. That evening Daddy and I had a very fun date, playing tennis at a park in town until the sun set, then having a yummy dinner at El Cupidos, then watching some Great British Bakeoff and having ice cream.

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Saturday was zauber interesting. It was the Flakes' day to do calf-branding, and at the service auction we had purchased the opportunity to help with it and have lunch afterwards. There was a bonus attached -- Rocky Mountain oysters -- but all of us declined that (ew). It was truly amazing to see real cowboys at work and to get to "help." They let us try everything we wanted to. We tagged ears, gave shots, and branded. Fluffy, Ham, and Rosebud rode horses, too.

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In the evening Fluffy went on his first date! With me! It was so fun! He had planned it very well, and was a perfect gentleman, opening my door every single time we went in or out. Also he was very fun to talk to. We ordered a pizza, then drove on Taylor's Lovelake Rd (near where you were baptized, I think) while we waited for it to be ready. We ate at a park – Fluffy had planned ahead and brought plates and water bottles. Next we went to 5-Mile Draw and hiked down into the canyon while the sun set. We saw a beautiful caterpillar that I've never seen before. Then we drove the temple and sat by the waterfall and talked and talked for a long time. And last we went to McDonalds and Fluffy bought us chocolate-covered ice cream cones! So happy!

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Sunday was nice but I was groggy all day because I slept in too late. :( Daddy played in sacrament meeting to accompany R Flake singing My Heavenly Father Loves Me. It was really lovely. I had a spiritual experience in choir practice after church. We are singing Sally Deford's setting of The Lord is My Shepherd, and Bro. Flake had Daddy pull out his violin and play the obbligato while we rehearsed it. The words of the last verse touched me so deeply. I felt how much the Lord has blessed me, and how much the Savior loves us all!

Thy mercy will follow me all of my days,

And in thine own house thou preparest my place,

With blessings unmeasured my cup runneth o'er,

Oh, what shall I ask of thy providence more?

I feel so grateful for the care He has always given me. He truly is my shepherd. I want to serve Him better!

I love you, son.

Love,

Mommy

Quotable

Ham talking to our cat Puffball: "You want to go outside? In your glitterbox?" (Unfortunately this is the sandbox, as opposed to a regular litterbox).

quotables–time to chuckle!

One thing that has really helped me lately is remembering that I have a sense of humor. And that life can be very, very funny. I’ve been beefing up my “funny bone” Pinterest board, reading Calving & Hobbes and Middle-Aged Mormon Man, and best of all, just paying more attention to the hilarious people who live in my house. . . .

At the dinner table,

Rosebud told a long story about a pig named Connor, for whom things worked out ideally in almost every situation, from what he wanted his mom to fix for dinner to his dad giving him a story after all because Connor had been “naughty by accident."

The best part was when a razorback came into Connor's room while he was sleeping, and his dad was sleeping there too because Connor had asked him to, and the razorback roared and it woke them up, "and suddenly there was a flyswatter in Connor's hand."

Connor killed the razorback by hitting it really hard with the flyswatter and “then his dad threw the razorback out the window into the backyard so that they could have it for leftovers the next day.”

(And yes, the ending does frighten me a little.)

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Rosebud: Hummer? After dinner, let's get married, okay?

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Rosebud : I want to name one of my babies L'chaim. (with a surprisingly satisfying 'ch' :)

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As we were driving,

Rosebud having had a rather short night and we having weathered several tantrums,

Rosebud, from her carseat: I wonder why I'm so creepy today?

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Discussing a prospective purchase,

Exacto: I don't have enough money.

Hummer: Are any of your teeth loose?

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Fluffy to Rosebud: Hi, princess!

Rosebud, fiercely: No! I'm a cicada!

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Calling to the family generally,

DC: Let's have scripture study!

Exacto, at the table: Not right now -- I'm grading Fluffy's math!

Hummer, getting a drink: Photoshop comes from Greek.

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Here's an old one I just found from about September. It's a story that Rosebud told me about Branchy Kum-and-Go's sister.

"Her name was. . . . . .Elizabeth. And she was a grasshopper. She jumped up into a tree with the squirrels. And the squirrels said, 'How are you doing, Grasshopper?' And she said, 'I'm doing great!'

. . . .<long pause>. . .

It goes on forever, so I'm just going to tell PART of it."

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Walking around couch, singing,

Rosebud: My name is Humbelina. . . .

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It was time to take Fluffy to band, and Rosebud insisted she couldn't go.

Rosebud: I need to take care of my children.

Me, seeing Pink Dada and Blue Dada in the doll high chair: You can bring them with you.

Rosebud: But they don't have seatbelts in the car!

Me: Tell them they need to wait patiently until you get back.

Rosebud: But they will be sad!

Me: Just put them down for a nap.

Rosebud: But their food will burn!

Me, getting desperate: You're such a good mommy, Rosebud. But you need to come now!

Me scooping her up and carrying her down the stairs,

Rosebud, pleading: What about my children?!

Buckled her into her car seat, and as we were pulling out of the garage,

Rosebud, solemnly: I can hear my babies crying.

An hour and a half later, after a productive trip to King Soopers and picking up Fluffy, we were pulling into our neighborhood.

Me: Rosebud, do you think your babies will be excited to see you?

Rosebud: I don't know. <pause> They're still crying.

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Exacto: “They are herding us and we are bleating." (say it out loud :)

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All during a scripture quiz. . . .

 

DC had asked Fluffy if he could name 4 missionary attributes from D&C 4, which he did.

We started to list some more: temperance, humility, diligence. . .

Hummer: Exuberance!

Fluffy was asked who the two sons of Joseph were.

Fluffy: Um, Ephraim, and um, Bangladesh.

DC was carrying Rosebud off to bed,

Rosebud: Put me down! I need to toot!

She ran over to the corner in our room where we are currently keeping the tax forms and paperwork and Daddy's OT textbooks.

Rosebud, squatting: This is where I toot.

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Rosebud calls s'mores "mores", e.g., These are going to be yummy mores!
I love how she also says "lellow", and "flammly."

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Rosebud helping me get dinner in the crock pot, adding whatever ingredients I hand her.

Me: Okay, next is 3 cups of chicken broth.

Rosebud: I want to put in the chicken bra!

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And last I heard, Studio C’s new season starts next Monday! Hang in there, everyone. :)

quotables bonanza!

1/27 ~ Exacto was practicing Keep the Commandments and Rosebud was singing along, "Keep the commandments, keep the commandments, unless there is safety, unless there is peace. . . ."

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~Rosebud: "Mommy, would you like me to tell you a story?"

Me: "Sure!"

Rosebud: "Once upon a time Rosebud was playing with toys quietly while Mommy was teaching piano lessons, and then she saw a big gray eyebrow and it swallowed her and it went to [Hummer’s school] and the eyebrow spat her out and Hummer said, "Whoa! Hi, Rosebud!" . . . .And then the eyebrow thing ate Rosebud in its stomach again and it went to Nana's and Grandpa's house and spat him out and Nana and Grandpa said, "Whoa! Hi, Rosebud! Would you like to eat some food with us?" And Rosebud said, "Sure." And so she got to eat a whole bunch of food. And I think that's the end."

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1/24 ~ A Rosebud joke. . .

Where do pencils go on their missions?

To California!

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1/12  ~ To illustrate how out-of hand the grammar police have gotten around our house, especially when it comes to adverbs. . . .

Me to a restless Rosebud: "Go ahead! Go potty!"

Exacto: "Go PottiLY."

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~ Me to Exacto: "You don't hafta be the grammar police. You can just be happy!"

Exacto, sweetly: "Being the grammar police makes me happy!"

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~ Rosebud singing the Primary birthday song: "If I had a gift then it would be. . . ."

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1/1/14 ~ Rosebud: "I'm going to hug Benjamin."

Me: "How are you going to do that?"

Rosebud: "I'm going to reach my hands way up high in the air and hug them together." (which she did, very sweetly and lovingly).

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12/28/13 ~ Hummer advising Fluffy about to leave on a bike ride. He recommended that if he needed help, to "look for a grandma or mother with children." I agreed, and then he clarified: "A grandma or mother with children who are HAPPY and CONTENTED."

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~ Exacto had the chairs in rows in the living room while he mopped the kitchen. This became an airplane for Rosebud: "We're flying to Marzipan!"

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12/27/13 ~ We passed a place where we had forgotten to attend their Santa event a few weeks before. Rosebud said thoughtfully: "If I were there now, I would say thank you to him!"

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12/24/13 ~ Rosebud, just before going to bed on Christmas Eve: "Want me to tell you what I wish for from Santa?"

Me: "Yes."

Rosebud: "To see when Jesus was born."

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12/23/13 ~ Rosebud: "Can I watch The French Stole Christmas?"

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12/19/13 ~ Rosebud had moved to Fluffy's seat while he was away taking care of the laundry. I said: "Rosebud, you'll need to move to your spot when Fluffy comes back."

Rosebud: "I don't want to. I refuse."

Me (calmly): "Rosebud, you'll need to move to your spot when Fluffy comes back."

Rosebud: "Okay, I will. I promise, Mommy."

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12/16/13 ~ Rosebud lying with her head in my lap: "I think you are my favorite pillow."

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12/6/13 ~ Hummer to Rosebud: "Do you want me to tell you what C-T-R stands for?"

Rosebud (without missing a beat): "It doesn't stand for anything, bud!"

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12/5/13 ~ Me in a warning tone to Hummer: "You're burning your own bridges."

Fluffy, cheerfully: "I'm burning my own britches!"

{ quotables }–Thanksgiving edition

Working on catching up the Dear Mom posts, but wanted to post these before it got too much past Thanksgiving. . . .

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11/27/13 ~ Rosebud prepared a wonderful breakfast feast for Exacto and me to enjoy up in her room. As we downed our variety of plastic foods (she requires us to put them in our shirt so we can see how full we are :) she said, "There wasn't enough food, so I just gave Daddy and Hummer a lot of ketchup."

 

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11/23/13 ~ Rosebud's on-the-spot thankful list

"I'm thankful for getting married in the temple,

I'm thankful for fish,

I'm thankful for roses,

I'm thankful for the way we smell things,

I'm thankful for presents on Christmas,

I'm thankful for Christmas,

I'm thankful for our families,

I'm thankful for having dinner,

I'm thankful for the rest of the food,

I'm thankful for Hummer, because he's wearing his onesies tonight,

I'm thankful for Exacto,

I'm thankful for you! (talking to me :)

I'm thankful for myself,

I'm thankful for my heart (patting it :)

I'm thankful for Fluffy,

I'm thankful for Daddy,

I'm thankful for Exacto, because he shares his calculator sometimes with me but not anymore,

I'm thankful for our home,

I'm thankful for the mushroom chair,

I'm thankful for mushrooms,

I'm thankful for things that we like,

I'm thankful for breakfast,

I'm thankful for dinner,

I'm thankful for lunch."

 

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~ I noticed a new gap in Hummer's mouth and asked him, "You lost a tooth?"

Hummer: "Two! One was last Saturday, when Exacto and I were fighting, and then I found out whether or not the Tooth Fairy needed to be told. . ."

{ laughter from all of us }

". . . .and the other was when I was reading Pollyanna."

Exacto asked about the fighting -- he didn't remember when the tooth had come out, and Hummer said, "It was when I elbowed you."

 

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~ Rosebud was enthralled with some lovely hand-me-down gold sparkly shoes. She put them on, saying fervently, "I want to wear these shoes until I'm old and feeble!"

 

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~ Rosebud singing "The Farmer in the Dell" got to the last verse: "The cheese says hello, the cheese says hello. Hi-ho, the dairy-o, the cheese says hello."

 

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11/22/13 ~ Mommy, distracted, talking to Rosebud: "Do you want to sit on my lap, Fluffy?"

 

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11/20/13 ~ The weather was going to be bitter cold, and I was worried about Exacto walking home from school. (I usually pick him up on his way home). He said, "It's okay, Mommy."

I said: "It's not okay, you will freeze!"

Exacto: "It is okay. I will just curl up in a little ball, and you will see me on the ground."

 

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11/19/13 ~ Hummer was dinking around on piano playing chords.

Rosebud: "That one sounded like a forest with a wolf in it."

Hummer laughed and played another one. "What about this one?"

Rosebud: "It sounds like being poor."

 

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11/18/13 ~ Exacto's thankful list (provided with glib explanations of each one):

ottomen (sic) - octaves - lines - mushrooms - math - movement - saliva - eyebrows - candles - locks - carbon - bikes - magnets - imaginary numbers! - staples

DC's thankful list:

Rosebud - Benjamin - Exacto - Fluffy - Hummer - Gip - Nana - Grandpa Bailey - Grandpa Baker - Grandma Baker - a warm house - yummy food - scriptures - apostles - temple blessings - the Atonement - the Resurrection - running water - gravity - our bodies - good health - ice cream - peaceful place to live - smiles - hugs - good movies - love at home - beautiful fall colors - spring flowers - sunshine - blue sky - cars that work - computers

Fluffy's thankful list:

the Friend - the Ensign - the New Era - the Liahona - food - dessert - desert - cactus - birds - butterflies - Fablehaven - Little Women - Little People - Rosebud - Imm. Family - Nana - Grandpa - Grandma Baker - Grandpa Baker - aunts - uncles - cousins - 2nd cousins - Extended Family - veterans - America - American flag - George W - Abe L - teddy bears - stuffed animals - cats - Precious - dogs - Ruby - Guy Smiley - scriptures - prophets - Priesthood - sacrament - temples - baptism - Holy Ghost - Atonement - Jesus Christ - general conference - President Monson - Mormon TC - Missionary TC - IC (ice cream) - chocolate - sun - moon - stars

Hummer's thankful list (in beautiful cursive):

Family - House - Bathrooms - Food - Nature - Laws - Schools - Church - Life - Books - Electricity - Bodies - Doctors - Light - Prophets - Animals – Plants

 

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quotables

11/6 ~ Exacto was shivering during dinner, and Rosebud looked at his face with concern, saying, "You have goosebumps from your acne."
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~ We were at the mall and walked by some headless mannikins wearing fancy clothes. Rosebud said, "Look, there's some scary americans!"
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11/5 ~ The Mexican hot chocolate drink was ready to serve, and I called up to DC: "Sweetie! It's ready!"
Rosebud, helpful as ever, yelled: "COME FOR ABUELITA, SWEETIE!"
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11/4 ~ Rosebud had a baby towel on her head. Daddy said, "That's a nice hat." Rosebud responded, "It's not a hat. I'm going to be Mary. And Mommy's going to be an angel. And Exacto will be the hay."
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11/2 ~ Rosebud and Suzie-Q. . .
Rosebud: "Do you ever buy anything expensive?"
Suzie-Q: "Yeah, sometimes."
Rosebud: *GASP* "That is NOT good."
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10/29 ~ We were listening to Grandma Baker's CD as we drove to King Soopers, with her beautiful singing of I Feel My Savior's Love. I parked and turned it off. Rosebud said sweetly, "I love Grandma Baker. And I love Nana. And I love King Soopers."
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~ Rosebud: "Grapes have raisins in them."
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10/28 ~ The boys' epithet for rap:  King Noah's poetry
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~ Rosebud was on Song for FHE and insisted that we sing "Shoo fly, don't father me."
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10/24 ~ Hummer, referring to the cute little bowl of M'n'M's on the counter: "May I please have an M'n'M?"
Me: "Sure."
I was reading something. A minute later. . .
Hummer: "May I please have an M'n'M?"
Me: "Sure. Didn't you just have one?"
Hummer with a grin: "I was hoping you would have déjà vu."
………………………………………………..
an old one I just found. . .
9/12/13 ~ Rosebud: "Scary things are cool."
< pause >
Rosebud: "Do you want me to tell you a story?"
Me: "Sure."
Rosebud: "Once upon a time there was a centipede and a girl.
“She screamed for help.
“And then Daddy came, and happily ever after!
“The end."

{ quotables }

10/22 ~ We were at a volleyball game and Fluffy asked Rosebud: "Do you want to be a cheerleader when you grow up?" She responded without hesitation: "No, I want to be a garbage truck driver."

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~ Rosebud: "I'm going to be a butterfly for Halloween. And for Christmas, I'm going to be a shark!"

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10/20 ~ Rosebud, at the dinner table : "I apologize for the inconvenience, but we are out of all the lobster bisque." (see this for cultural enlightenment :o)

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~ We were discussing moving to a place with lower rent. The boys were convinced that being homeless and living in a tent would be a great idea. Hummer even suggested that we could camp at the temple site and face our tent toward the temple, like in the Book of Mormon. I said that maybe it would be better to do something to earn more money, like maybe I could do some babysitting / daycare. They all liked that idea, too. I said, "So the ideas you like best are being homeless and starting a daycare?"

Hummer : "Yeah! You could do both and have a homeless daycare!"

(Who’s ready to sign up? :o)

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10/14 ~ Rosebud and I saw some Canadian geese at a park as we were driving by. I stopped and let her visit them. She walked around "chasing" them and when it was time to go, she wanted to take one and "put him in the car."

I told her he would be sad to be separated from his family and said, "You wouldn't want someone to take you away from us and go somewhere else, would you?"

She answered thoughtfully, "Sort of, yeah."

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10/12 ~ Rosebud: "Daddy, you are the coolest one in the whole world. Because you kill scary bugs."

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10/10 ~ We were trying to convince Rosebud to let her pet ladybug go, as it had already endured nearly 24 hours of captivity. She was feeding it cookie crumbs and I told her it needed its own regular food. She said, "No, she likes it. I'm going to name her Borscht!"

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10/9 ~ Rosebud, in a cheerful, matter-of-fact tone: "After I'm on timeout for 100 days, then I would be dead. I would be dead on timeout!"

quotables

9/15 ~ Exacto: "I guess choir teachers have to go to la school."

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~ Rosebud, with fervent tenderness: "I love worms better than potahto bugs now. Because they're too sweet."

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~ Hummer, as our home teachers were leaving, just before we shut the door: "Thanks for the brownies!"

Me: "They gave us brownies?"

Hummer, wistfully: "No."

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~ Fluffy and Rosebud were outside on the driveway. Rosebud pointed at the wetness on the driveway and said, "Can you hear it evaporating?"

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9/14 ~ A common conversation with Rosebud.

Rosebud: "Mommy, look at this worm I found!" (or potahto bug, or grasshopper, or any living critter she finds)

Me: "Oh, he's a cute one!"

Rosebud: "You mean SHE."

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9/10 ~ I was listening to a lovely song, one of my favorites, and singing along as we drove. For some inexplicable reason Rosebud kept telling me to stop singing and insisted that I turn it off when it was done. There was silence in the car (I was trying not to be resentful). Then Rosebud said, "I would like to eat a blue quesadilla."

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9/9 ~ Rosebud, eating dinner "The crust is yummy! It's as yummy as a lark!"

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8/23 ~ Hummer was watching me fill out paperwork to enroll him at his new elementary school, and as I marked his race/ethnicity as "White" he commented, "They should have a checkbox by 'Tan.'"

quotables

9/1 ~ We were having scripture study and suddenly Rosebud quietly got up, walked over to DC and patted his knee, then sat back down. I thought it was a love pat and smiled approvingly at her. She smiled back and said, "When the Birthday Boy fell asleep, I patted his knee."

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8/15 ~ Rosebud was displeased with her brothers for some reason (can’t remember why). She announced, “Mommy, I don’t love my buvvas.”

Me: “You don’t love your brothers?”

Rosebud: “Except Benjamin. He’s cute.”

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8/15 ~ There have been some epic Monopoly games around here lately. The boys set up our card table in the basement--which is unfinished but nice and cool in the summer--and have spent hours on end down there. Probably too many. Today at lunch Exacto was serving Hummer some milk, and suddenly Hummer said, “I own it! . . . .I mean, when!”

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8/15 ~ When the boys were catching crawdads at the Poudre river, I chuckled when I heard Rosebud calling them “crawl-mamas.” (the crawdads, not the buvvas)

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8/14 ~ Fluffy and Hummer were presenting their projects from the wonderful art camp they got to do this summer. Fluffy was presenting his collage in the style of Henri Matisse and said his name like “Henry” Matisse.

Hummer corrected his pronunciation, then commented, "He was ornery." :)

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7/2 ~ Exacto was teaching Rosebud how to play chess. She pointed to the white knight and declared, "I call these Mornings."

Exacto: "You do?"

Rosebud (pointing to the black knight): "Yes, because these ones are Nights."

Dear Mom, (+ quotables :)

week of June 24 - 30

It’s been kind of a tough week and I can’t even explain why. It was like we had been blessed and helped along so much during the move, and now we were being set down and left again to more of our own strength. Anyway, it felt like there were lots of problems and not much progress on any of them, and the kids were bickerish all week and I was restless and wishing I was the one going back to school! (DC says he’d gladly trade me :). Add record heat and the decision by the Supreme Court to disregard the clear voice of the people in California*, and it was a bit cranky around here.

(*Did you read the Church’s statement on that? Pretty strong. I think I detect Elder Oaks in those words. :))

But we tried to make the best of the week, anyway.

idyllic backyard scene.

(don’t let it deceive you. three of the above people were picking at each other all day.)

I didn’t take many pictures. Thus, I shall add some quotables, so as to end with a smile.

It was Exacto’s last week of summer band, and they finished it off with an outdoor concert on the grass in front of the high school. We sat on a blanket and enjoyed. Rosebud got restless, but then danced and did somersaults through a lot of it. :)

We are so happy to be coming to the family reunion soon. I hope that you are happy to have us there. . . . We’ll try not to bring the crankage with us. :)

Love,

Michelle

quotables

 

5/15/13 ~ Hummer: "I wish that I was allowed to grow maggots in the house. That would be very nice of you."

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5/19/13 ~ Fluffy: "In Priesthood everyone was singing in a low voice and I was the only one singing high and it was horrible!"

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6/1/13 ~ Rosebud, singing: "I am a child of God, and so my knees are great. . . ."

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6/11/13 ~ Rosebud: “Please may we buy a cow?”

I explained that we don’t have enough room, and the cow would run out of grass.

Rosebud: “Well, then we could open our gate and she could eat the next grass. And after she eats all of that grass, she could eat the dirt!”

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6/9/13 (as recorded by Fluffy)

Rosebud: “There’s a wheel in our nose that turns really fast, and I think I just broke it, because my nose really hurts.”

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6/8/13 (as recorded by Exacto)

Rosebud was trying really hard to shut the screen door so that bugs wouldn’t come in, but she couldn’t. Finally, she said, “I guess the bugs really want to come in!”

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6/29/13 Rosebud has a cute little stuffed rabbit that she has named. . . .

“Pink Warshmellow Icecream”

(Saying “warshmellows” is something I desperately hope she never grows out of! It’s actually the most fervent desire of my heart right now. :)