September 2011

The biggest event this month was that my little man became an official teenager! I can't believe that he is almost as tall as me and much stronger. He wears bigger shoes than I do and plays football instead of dinosaurs. I know it is a natural course of things, but sometimes I wish that I could freeze time.

Here are the highlights of this last month:

Alpine Slide: We won tickets to the alpine slide at Heritage Square, from a school silent auction. We decided to take my parents with us on this adventure. This is a cute little town in the foothills. We rode the chair lift up and slid down with increasing speed each trip. We were even able to get my parents to do it! We decided to take a family photo, and I love the one of the 'shotgun wedding' with my parents. We shopped and ate and generally had a really fun day together.

Splish Splash: This was a water themed fund raiser for B's school. She attends a private Christian school that lost a lot of funding when the vouchers were over turned. It is now a little school, but we love it. There was food, bouncers and even water toys to play with. B loved it!

Moon Festival: We really only celebrate two Chinese holidays, mixed in with all the other holidays that we do. The moon festival is a kind of harvest one and we had moon themed food and read the story of the Moon Goddess and the Jade Rabbit. Unfortunately we couldn't wish on the moon that night because it was totally overcast, but it was a yummy time with our family.

Spaghetti Dinner: E is going on a trip this spring with her women's choir and needs to raise money for it, because it is ubber expensive. As a result they do fund raisers throughout the school year to help. This one was very interesting though. We had to bring the spaghetti to serve 18 people, and then pay $10 per ticket to eat it, $9 of which went back to Em for her trip. We did get to watch her sing though, which was fun. She did a duet with a friend of hers from 'Wicked'.


Grandparents' Day: B's class did a really special day for their grandparents at her school, and my parents were able to come. They made a craft, had really great food and generally enjoyed being together. It was a great way to celebrate what wonderful grandparents my kids have.

Court of Honor: M has been really busy trying to get his scouting all done. His goal is to get his Eagle by May of next year, which is before he turn 14. It doesn't hurt that my parents have promised him a cruise to Alaska when he completes it! At this court of honor he finished all the merit badges that he needed for his Life award. He has to wait until November to actually receive it though. He is now working on getting all of his merit badges done for his Eagle, so that as soon as he has his Life, he can work on the final project.

Hunger Games/M's 13th Birthday: For M's party this year, he wanted to do a Hunger Games themed one. I made t-shirts, and put together camo bags filled with water, paint balls, whistles and a special item from each district. There were 24 kids there, 12 boys and 12 girls. We divided them up in teams of one boy and one girl. We had them don camo bandannas, safety goggles, and their t-shirts. I explained the rules and we set them loose in a controlled open space to take each other out. We even had a cornucopia with sling shots, and other things to help with the game. Once they were out, I gave them home made rolls and hot chocolate (Katniss' and Peeta's favorite foods) and put them on border patrol. We had a final four of girls that were pretty good hiders. The winner won a $15 gift card to the local theater to see the Hunger Games movie when it comes out in March. We went to the park and had orange cupcakes with an homage to President Snow. Aside from having the police called on us, it was a really fun night!
Homecoming: The same night as M's birthday party was E's homecoming. She got prettied up in a dress altered by my talented mom. We did hair and make-up and sent her on her way with a ton of her friends. It seems crazy that they get so gussied up to hang out with their girl friends, but what do I know. Tim couldn't speak when he saw her. I think it took his breath away that his little girl could be so grown up.


Flag Football: M decided that he wanted to play football this fall. The middle school offers a flag version, which is great with me. It allows him to get a feel for the sport, while staying safe. M is the center on offense and the nose guard on defense. They aren't doing that well, but it is still a good experience. He can't wait to be able to tackle next year.

Choir: E is in the select woman's choir called Versailles. She had her first concert this month and they were really good. I love watching her sing and get all into it!

I don't think time will ever slow down, but it is really fun being the mom of three!