Party Girl

Santi waited until Lito and Nana were in town to have her birthday party. I'm glad she did. Lito and Nana got a little taste of just how crazy it gets around here. I think we all recovered nicely. After much deliberation (and I mean MUCH), Santi chose a High School Musical theme, which means that sometime in the near future, Abram will be having a HSM party. Or somebody is. We recycle.



The picture above illustrates how Brian is only the coolest Dad (and husband) in the world. He always gets involved with the kids parties (and with whatever whim of a party Michelle and I dream up). Here he is running the East High Wildcats vs West High Knights basketball challenge game. Boy is he ever the man at extemporaneous made-up games.

Abram's contribution during the party was to get as naked as possible. A nice touch at a seven-year-old's party. Good thing the girls don't seem the least bit embarrassed by Naked Bro.

Luckily, Abram put at least a shirt on for the outdoor movie. After Marin's movie party, Santi was convinced she wanted a night party so she also could have an outdoor movie. She chose to show the Wallace and Grommit shorts. Good plan. No one stayed too long.

Lito and Nana really enjoyed the outdoor movie too! It was also a nice break from the intense noise throughout the house. 

Thanks to Abram and Lito, all of the basketballs were pumped up and ready to go for the party. Phew! In the video below, you can see that Abram is always a super helper.

Abram couldn't help but get into the party supplies box and give everything a dry run. Or not so dry.

Cleaned up

Abram cleaned up at his imaginary swim meet. We're pretty sure he came in first in all the different races he swam. I'm not certain, but I think the first race was a sprint, and the second was either a 100 Free, or maybe even a relay where he swam all the legs.

Abram picked up this sport of bathtub racing when he became aware that Marin is racing while she's swimming. So now, every time he's at the pool, even just for her practices, he's cheering her on to go faster.

We're all very proud of him and encourage him to swim his heart out. The soggy bathroom floor has become evidence of that. He's even tried on the goggles, though he's yet to figure out he can see underwater. I can't wait to play with him in the pool this summer. I have a feeling there are many a good times up ahead. And probably a few tantrums when it's time to get out. Definitely.





I like in that last video how he sees the camera and says, "Cheese!"

Love is

Say it ain't so. Can this be happening already? Marin received a Valentine's candy gram at school from a "Secret Admirer." The most adorable thing about it (though Dad would say nothing whatsoever is even remotely adorable about it), is that the young man wrote his first and last name and then crossed it out and chose to remain anonymous. Sort of. We can still read his name.

It was a great lesson for all of us. We as parents realized that Marin is getting older and there isn't much we can do about that. But it was a great lesson for Marin to decline someone's affection in a respectful and (hopefully) classy way. She agreed that the best response is to tell everyone who's been asking about this boy's crush that he is a very nice boy and that she's happy to have him as a good friend. Dad was quick to make sure she told everyone she will not be dating ANYONE until she's sixteen. GROUP DATE. And between you and me, he's not promising that he'll make good on that deal when the day comes.

Brian and I woke up to a very delectable Valentine's breakfast thanks to the dynamic duo. Who wouldn't fall in love with Peach Oatmeal, Cocoa Crispies, Bananas, and OJ? It also would've been nice to have eaten the food prepared in our honor. It's still funny to Bri and me how the girls linger until we ask them if they would like to share with us. To which they respond by instantaneously jumping up on the bed and taking over our forks.

I heart these girls.

The girls and I made these yummy suckers. Choco-covered Red Velvet cakey truffles. And on a stick? Matchless.

On a side note...

I went out to meet the girls on the corner as they walked home from school. As they got closer, I could see that they were holding hands. Just swinging along between them as they walked together. But it can't always be like that I suppose. We definitely, definitely need a little drama. Like fighting over the bathroom and homework space at the table. It's nice to know that there are quiet moments between them where they feel each other's love. It makes my heart swell to think those moments happen beyond my sight and hopefully, more often than I imagine.

7th Heaven

It was all sevens for Santi's seventh. She had such a great day...I don't remember her enjoying a birthday more than this one.
We woke up and got ready early so Santi could call Nana on their birthday. She happened to call at 7am (5am California time. That Nana is such a sport).

At school, Marin ran ahead of Santi so she could tell Santi's class that she was coming. So when Santi opened the door, her whole class jumped up and yelled "Happy Birthday!" It sure pays to have a big sister.

Even though Santi had a math test on her birthday, she scored a 97. She was pretty pleased that it ended in 7 and considered it an extension of her birthday.

The cupcakes she took to class each had little heart shaped rings on top. Six of the boys in her class didn't want them and gave the rings to Santi. So six extra rings plus Santi's equaled...you guessed it...7 rings.

We did end up eating cake that night around 7pm, although I stopped at the idea of her eating seven pieces. Even I have standards when it comes to sweets.

She got lots of phone calls from family and friends. What a happy girl she was to know how much she is loved and cherished.



Dad and Mom gave Santi puppets for her birthday. These Melissa and Doug puppets were on crazy clearance, so we got a few. It's certainly a gift we can all enjoy. I'm curious to see what else will come out of the mouths of these puppets.

Lost it

Santi is a proud loser of her first tooth. You just have to love that first lost tooth. She was too excited to contain it and I was loving every minute of it. She immediately cleaned it up and put it in the special Tooth Fairy box. She kept checking on it and she even lost it for a while. Luckily Big Sister Marin helped find the twice-lost tooth just in time. We almost sent Santi to bed without it since we had warned her not to keep taking it out of the box. Thank goodness for big sisters who are used to searching for small things lost in the chaotic playroom. Phew!



The Tooth Fairy does not go unrecognized in our house. The girls usually leave her a little note explaining how they lost their teeth and they even leave her a miniature snack of some kind. Santi chose to leave her the corner of a graham cracker and the corner of a napkin just in case she's a messy eater. Such sweetness.

I'm trying to take advantage of this little losing tooth stage. It's such a small window until it's closed off forever and thoughts like that just make me want to cry. Usually because they lead to the inevitable idea that I will one day be an empty nester and my children will no longer come home from school everyday with ridiculous stories to tell. I know I'm too sentimental, it's a lost tooth for goodness sake. I'm trying my best not to lose it.

...sting like a BEE

Marin participated in her first District Spelling Bee. She did a great job and somehow stood tall among all those big kids. It turns out that the District Spelling Bee includes grades 3-8. I thought it was crazy that these little third graders were asked to spell words that were challenging enough for the junior high 8th graders. (Many of them words I had never heard of before.)

I was so nervous for Marin, uneccessarily though. Even though she didn't make it to the top three (barely, she was in the top five), she saw the sunny side. She pointed out that she was the last elementary student on stage. And her initial goal was to get through round one and maybe even be the last fourth grader standing. Kudos to Marin for seeing her accomplishment despite the accolades eluding her. I'm so stoked for her that she looks for the good. I could do with a little more of that.


The winner of the District Bee was our friend Jason (who is the 8th grader in a blue sweatshirt behind Marin in the picture above). He is a sweet kid from a great family. We were in their ward before the stake/ward split. I was his Primary president during that time and can't believe he'll be in high school next year! It was such a delightful surprise that he also remembered good ol' Sister Hulse. He was really sweet to Marin during the Bee, they were sitting only a seat apart. So nice.


Above is a picture of Marin's Bee mates from her school. They were a fun group of kids. I wanted all of them to win. I cringed every time one of them got out. It was funny to hear them over lunch, repeating the words that got them out and trying to use them in sentences and laughing about them like an inside joke. I was so happy that their coach, Mrs. Phillips, provided an easy going and fun experience for them.

And the word that Marin misspelled was "pasteurize." She omitted the "e" and will never forget it. She also made the connection between "pasteurize" and Louis Pasteur, whom she's learned about in class. It was one of those lightbulb moments and she came home and looked at all the containers in the fridge to see what has been pasteurized. Methinks I see some investigative research skills forming. It was so cute.

The final buzz about our house is that there's a Bee to catch next year. We'll let you know.