Tiny's Shoes Were Almost Stolen While She Was in a Tree

Tiny went outside to play and came back and told me a cute story. She said she was up the street in a tree by the tennis courts. Some guys came and were hanging out chatting by her tree. One of them noticed her Flojo slippers on the ground and said, "Somebody forgot his flip-flops. I wonder if these would fit Luke." I asked Tiny why she didn't say anything, and she said she'd been in the tree above them; they hadn't noticed her, and she'd been quiet for so long at that point that it would have been weird if she said anything, so she just remained silent. The guys moved away a bit, and Tiny dropped out of the tree, grabbed her slippers, ran down to the trail, jumped into a section of super-tall grassy stuff, and hid. She listened as the guy went back to grab the slippers and was like, "What happened to those shoes? I swear there were some here." She was really funny and animated as she told me this whole thing, and I really got a kick out of it. She's so great. 

Things the Girls Have Said, Part 6

Tiny

11/12/23 (Beware of long exposition about the difficulties of parenting and inconsequential details.) 

Jim and I wanted to go on a walk Sunday afternoon. We have been trying to make that a regular thing. We could not get the girls to cooperate with things that needed to be done before we went. We ask them to do something, and then they disappear. They take forever to do anything. We don't understand why it's so hard, and it's upsetting. Anyway, on 11/12, we were going to walk over to the park by McAuliffe Elementary, which they love. But they ruined everything, and we said there wasn't enough time before it got dark so the walk was canceled. Jim was doing something on his computer by that point, but I thought it would be nice to get out in the neighborhood, at least. Wren and Tiny went with me on the trail around the outside of the neighborhood. Halfway around, Wren wanted to come back early via the road while Tiny and I finished on the trail along the other side. So we split, and Tiny and I came upon a swing in a tree. I believe it was the spot where long ago there was a swing we discovered with the Rob and Annas, and Anders accidentally did a partial back-flip off it and then exclaimed, "That was awesome!" That original swing had been cut down years ago, and I had never seen this new one. Anyway, Tiny got to do some swinging in the twilight, and I just love the way she appreciates nature (and swinging). At one point, she said, "Wow, this is marvelous!" As she swung, leaning way backward, she went on to say something like, "It's so beautiful, with the trees and the blue sky." (The sky was a very dark blue, as it was getting close to dark.) 

1/3/24 - When I picked Tiny up from a playdate at London Yates's house, I asked her how it was. She said, "It was really fun. We completed everything we wanted to do." I love the way she talks. "Completed"? She also says "a bit" a lot, and it's my flave. See next quote.

1/9/24 - Skiing in Big Bear, Tiny always takes off first and races to the bottom. On one run, she wasn't at the lift line when I got there with Bear, and she took a couple minutes to join us. When she finally arrived, I asked if she'd fallen or something. She said yes, she'd fallen and lost a ski on "that side part." Trying to confirm where she meant, I said, "Oh, that dirt section at the top?" (We'd had almost no snow.) She said, "Yeah, but I didn't fall because of the dirt. I was just going a bit wild."  

2/2/24 - While working on homeschool...

Tiny: "Did you just toot?"

Me: "No. In my life, yes, but recently, no."

Tiny: "Yeah, because you've been alive a long time, like long time no whammies." 

The girls frequently use my made-up words and weird sayings, and it's my favorite. 

4/7/24

I told the girls I'm speaking next Sunday on tithing. Tiny ran upstairs and returned with the book Girls Who Choose God and said it reminded her of the story in the book called "A Generous Widow." It was so cute that tithing reminded her of the widow's mite story and that she ran to get it to help me. 

5/29/24

Me: "I could snuggle you all my life, Helen!"

Tiny: "And I could listen to you read The Hobbit all my life. While snuggling, of course."

6/9/24

Tiny made a list in a little notebook of the things she wants to do on her birthday: crepes for breakfast, family presents, grilled cheese for lunch, read, party with friends. (Later added family movie/slumber party.) I said, "I love that you have 'read' on your list." She said, "Of course reading has to be there! Without reading, what is it? How is it possible to be a birthday without reading?"

7/6/24, as Tiny was putting sprinkles on her birthday cake

Me: "Ideally you would have washed your hands before you did that." 

Tiny: "Ideally. But I'm not ideal." 

I've been noticing for a while that Tiny uses good words she's learned from books. The other day she said she was "able to tolerate" something. She also used the word "disown." She told me she understands a lot of words she has read but never heard. So I guess let's hear it for her excessive reading.

7/7/24, having received a little practice balance beam and gymnastics bar the previous day for her birthday

"I think I could be amazing on floor and beam. I'm the only one who can do tricks on the floor. I, personally, am horrible at beam, but I just need to learn balance." 

8/8/24

Ever had a small cavity at her dentist appointment. I believe she had one other small cavity when she was really little. Other than that, we haven't had any. Tiny was shocked upon hearing the news and said, with feeling, "You're a horrible person!" 

9/3/24 

"I know him. I necessarily know him. He has already attended school." 

She doesn't totally seem to understand the definition of "necessarily," but she has said it multiple times lately. I enjoyed her use of "attended." She also mentioned something about being "occupied" the other day. 

9/12/24

The lady a few houses up the street has annoying chickens that used to poop all over our driveway because she just lets them roam. They haven't been on our property for a long time, but two showed up in the backyard this afternoon. Tiny ran out and started shooing them with a broom, but they kept running into our glass doors because she was pushing them toward the house. Finally she got them along the side of the house and out through the side gate. She came back and reported that there were two, and "I think they are a married couple. I got one through the gate, and then it stood there and waited for the other one."  

9/22/24

Tiny and Wrenzy were building with Legos instead of going to bed, and I went to regulate but was also singing Phantom of the Opera music. Tiny said, "It's not the time to vocalize. You don't vocalize right before bed." 

6/9/25

The Littles have been on summer break for a couple weeks; Ever is finishing her school year in a few days. Today, the Littles asked me to play the game of Life with them. After I triumphed, Tiny said, "Well, you didn't actually win because you didn't have any children, so you'll be forever sorrowful." Wren says Tiny speaks like an adult. She sort of does, and I love it. 

7/5/25

Tiny and I were making her birthday cake, and she said we needed to spray the pans. I asked if we needed to spray and flour or just spray, and she said, "You can spray, or you can butter and flour. That's my understanding." 

7/11/25

Tiny told me she wants to have five kids and lots of grandkids. She wants the grandkids to be babies. I said, "You know babies grow up, right?" She said, "They'll have one baby, and then three years later they'll have another baby, and then three years later, they'll have another baby..." I said that the other grandkids will be sad when she only likes the babies, and she said, "I'll like them all. I just need to have new personages to make it interesting." 

That same day, Tiny was eating at the table while I was in the kitchen. She said, "I want to snuggle somebody." I repeated, "You want to snuggle somebody?" "Yeah," she said, "I feel like it." 

7/31/25

I asked Tiny to pick up the fly that was dying on the kitchen counter and throw it away. She said she'd pick it up and take it outside. I said, "Why does it need to go outside? Why can't you just throw it away?" She answered, "It needs a tomb!"  

8/5/25

Tiny tried a cookie I made, and I asked her how it was. She answered dramatically, "It was spectacular."

Wren

11/5/23 - Wren told me her life plan: JCS Mountain Oaks through middle school, Sage Creek High School, BYU, and then live in Wisconsin and drive a pink Jeep. "Do you know why I want a pink Jeep? Because pink cars are good luck, so I want to give people good luck." 

11/15/23 

Berry has been saying "I love you" a lot before bed. We go back and forth a few times. Here's a sample:

Me (or Jim) "'Night, Bear. Love you."

Bear: "'Night. Love you, Mom."  

Me: "Love you, Berry." 

Bear: "'Night, love you." 

Tonight she explained to me that she feels like she has to say "I love you" last because the person might die in his sleep. Or get kidnapped or something. I'm not sure if I should be concerned.  

6/13/24

While we were driving home from swim lessons, Berry suddenly said, "Mom? How much money does it take to start a business?" I told her it depends on the type of business. She said she wants to start a baking business (inspired by the cafe in The Bookwanderers) where they sell baked goods described in different stories (in other words, they're making and selling in real life the fantastic made-up treats from books). At home, she and Tiny were brainstorming, and Berry said, "I'm going to go get clothes on, and then we can talk more." They're so cute together.

6/30/24

Tiny warmed herself up some chicken nuggets, and she forgot that I had asked her to have peas and corn, too. We were discussing this, and Berry said, "Well she could just have some freeze-dog." I add "dog" to the end of lots of things. And the Littles often eat their peas and corn frozen instead of warmed with butter and salt as Ever prefers them. I just love to hear them say my weird language inventions.  

8/25/24

Wren and Jim made cookies quickly after church so that we could take some to our 1:00 meetup with a new piano teacher (and the rest to the Karners' that night when we went for dinner). As they were making the cookies, Wren started calling herself an "exceptionary" baker, confusing the words "exceptional" and "extraordinary." So she and Jim became the "Exceptionary Bakers." 

9/7/24

We are having a nightmarish heat wave and decided to take Wren home after her soccer game in the morning rather than have her wait in the heat for an hour and a half and then watch Tiny's game with us. I was talking to Wren about what she should do while we were gone, and she told me this was her plan: "Shower, get dressed, acai [she's obsessed with making herself acai smoothies/bowls], Wordle, piano, weekly job." 

She's like an old person, totally addicted to Wordle and other New York Times word games. She wants to do them every day. Ever got her into them.

9/always/24

While watching one of Ever's soccer games, Wrenzy needed to use the restroom and asked Tiny to go with her. Wren said, "I'll give you a favor, but it can't be, like, I don't have to go to the bathroom with you." And thus it came to our attention that the girls have a favor system. They ask one another other for favors and keep track and pay one another back when a favor is called in. It's pretty cute. 

7/10/25

After family prayer at night, Wrenzy has been asking me to carry her to bed "wedding-style." That means like a groom carries his bride over the threshold. She even lets me snuggle her face while I carry her, and it's amazing.  

8/5/25

Wren and Tiny played with Luc and Amelie Oddou and their cousin Olivia (who is visiting) this morning at our house. Wren and I had to leave for a piano lesson, so the other kids went up to Oddous'. At piano, Wren asked, "When we get home from piano, will they still be up there [at Oddous'], or will they have dispersed?"

11/2/25

Jim calls his phone his "dhone" (I don't know how to spell that, but it rhymes with "phone"). I sometimes use "dhone" but more frequently call it a "denwa bango," which means "phone number" in Japanese. I say "denwa bango" instead of just "denwa" (which would actually be the correct term) just because it's more fun to say. So one afternoon, Jim said, "Where's my dhone?" Wren said, "What's your dhone? Your denwa bango?"  

Ever

6/14/24

Wren, Ever, and I went to Leela's dance recital and took flowers. I was debating leaving the flowers in the car in water during the show and then running out to grab them afterward versus holding them the whole recital. I told Ever that I think I worry more about keeping plants in water than other people. She said, "That's funny because other people keep their plants alive." Truer words were never spoken. I kill everything instantly. Touché, Goose. 

8/8/24

Ever got super mad - like, crying mad - at me for not taking her to use a Starbucks gift card (which I desperately wish she had never gotten) after her dentist appointment on account of our recent excessive sugar intake and a lack of time (we had to pick up Mel and Alina Karner to go with us to middle school registration). Then when we got to MLK, she got mad at me for not telling her that she was going to get her picture taken. I said, "Add it to the list of things you hate me for." She retorted, "I will." Then, "It's a long list. There's not any more room." So this is not a fun memory but a parenting memory, nonetheless. 

9/4/24

We have a middle-school carpool going with three other Henie Hills girls - Alina Karner, Maggie Gustafson, and Evan something-or-other who lives near Maggie. We've been picking up the girls 20 minutes after school gets out so that traffic isn't insane. Conner Warr, a boy from the ward, lives close to the school and walks home. He started hanging out with the girls while they wait for their ride, and it's very cute. Ever came home from school today and said Evan asked, "Why didn't your boyfriend come talk to you today?" Ever said, "A) He's not my boyfriend, and B) [he's at] cross-country."

When I heard (and saw) Conner chatting with the girls (mainly Ever) after school, I suspected that there was a mutual crush, but I hadn't said anything to Ever. Her story about Evan's comment gave me a natural opening. I said, "I wondered if you and Conner had the hots for each other." Ever had never heard that term before and laughed about it. Then she said, "I'm going to date when I'm 16." I said, "And Conner is on the list of potential dates?" She responded, "All Mormon boys are." Enigmatic as to her feelings about Conner, but excellent answers.  

8/23/24

Ever was telling me about a boy in one of her classes, and I asked what his name is. She said, "I don't know. To me, he's a Gavin." 

10/4/24

Jim had an NWSL soccer game on, and the rest of us were doing things and talking in the vicinity. He said something about how he would really like to hear what the commentators have to say about that play, but he couldn't hear anything because everyone was talking. After a beat, Ever, who was sort of bending over near the couch for some reason, said, "Is that what they call ... microaggressions?" 

6/22/25

While walking by the Provo River and chatting, Ever announced that she is not getting married. "I'll go on some dates, but I am not getting serious with anyone, and I am not getting married." I asked why she didn't want to get married, and Tiny said, "Because dating, kissing, all of that." Ever concurred emphatically, "Yes, all of that." 

Jim (bonus)

8/13/24

Jim talks in his sleep not in frequently, and he has said some funny stuff. Tonight, as I was heading to bed he said: "Oh, no. Took my pants again, Par." 

White Girl

Ever laughingly told me two little anecdotes when she got home from school today.

1) Somebody in one of her classes asked her where she was going to go to high school. She said, "Probably El Camino, but maybe Coastal." A boy responded, "Don't go to El Camino. You won't fit in there. You should go to Coastal where all the white people are." (El Camino is our district school, and it, like the middle school Ever attends now, is majority Hispanic. Great Schools says it is 19% white.)

2) They were talking in her history class about how Christopher Columbus wasn't Spanish, and someone asked if he was really white. The teacher, Ms. Williams, replied, "Well, not as white as Ever."  

Wren's Favorite Things That I Say

Tonight, after I had just said "island view" (code for "I love you") to Bear, she said, "Guess what my favorite thing is that you say?" 

"Island view," I guessed.

"Yes," she said. "I also like 'wing na.' And 'egregious and Kathie Lee.'"

"Wing na" means "why not" and was originally inspired by the actress Ming-Na. I've been saying it for decades.

"Egregious and Kathie Lee" means "agreed." "Agree" became "egregious," which suggested [Live with] Regis and Kathie Lee. 

After I wrote this, Jim said he invented the whole "Egregious and Kathie Lee" thing, so maybe I don't get all the credit for the quirky sayings being passed down to our offspring. But I love it.

Slumber Party - November 2024

Jim was gone on his surf trip Thursday, November 7 to Tuesday, November 12. Ever had her last regular-season soccer game Saturday morning; the Littles had had theirs the week before. The Littles had two free Menchie's yogurts coming to them via these things they'd gotten at school for reading a bunch, and we could only redeem them at certain locations - including San Marcos but not including our Carlsbad location. So after Ever's game, we got sandwiches at a nearby Jersey Mike's and then went to Menchie's. That afternoon, the girls did their weekly jobs (vacuuming upstairs, vacuuming the car, and cleaning a bathroom). Ever wanted to play pickleball or soccer at the courts, but Ella was gone. So I invited all the Henie Hills kids in the ward. The Pete and Meagan Bunnell kids went, along with Maggie and Norah Gustafson and Alina Karner. Wren didn't want to go but ended up joining after I told her Norah was there. Tiny was playing with Nathan Cikanek at "The Tribe," but after he had to go home, I ran her up to the courts for the last little bit. Things didn't go super smoothly, largely because I couldn't find our courts key. (Ever thinks Jim put it on his key chain, so it was in Mexico.) Ever can reach through the fence and open the gate at the upper courts, but she can't get into the lower courts without the key. But it was lovely to see a bunch of neighborhood kids playing together up there, being sporty and being outside. I want to take advantage of our amazing neighborhood and do that more often. 

Because of the impromptu gathering, the girls and I started our planned slumber party festivities late. I made pork chops and cheesy potatoes for dinner (between running people up to the courts). Ever really likes pork chops, and Jim hates them; it seemed as if we should eat them while he was gone. Then we watched the movie Eight Below while eating popcorn and muddy buddies. Traditionally, our living room slumber parties conclude with my reading to the girls while we're all in our beds. I thought maybe we should skip that part since it was so late, but when all else was done, Tiny said, "Now, reading time!" So I read On Fortune's Wheel (one of our current "family reads") until we discovered that Ever had fallen asleep, about 11:00 P.M. 

Sunday afternoon, I asked the Gustafsons and Nearents if they could take my kids home so they didn't have to hang out during my Relief Society presidency meeting. The Nearents took Tiny; Gustafsons took the other two. (Too many extra kids for one car.) The Nearents didn't want to leave Tiny home alone (she arrived before the other two), so they took her to their house. Then Gustafsons picked her up and took all three girls to their house until I got home. They fed them and everything. It's so amazing to have nice friends in the neighborhood. 

Ever wanted to nap when we got home and asked me to read her to sleep. I loved so much that my nearly 13-year-old wanted me to read to her. We went up to the guest room, where she has been sleeping (with sisters) a lot of the time lately. Ever got in bed, and I lay down next to her and read to her until she was asleep or nearly so. I read the part she'd slept through the night before, plus a few extra pages, which I then had to read to Wren and Tiny separately to catch them up. I've been sad that we haven't been doing much family reading lately, and it's something I never want to end. So my heart was warmed by the whole thing. 

Tiny's Sleepwalking: A Snapshot

4/9/23, 10:15 P.M.

Jim got up from the couch and went to the downstairs bathroom before heading up to bed. He found Tiny in the dark bathroom asleep on the mat in front of the toilet. 

4/24/23

I was hearing movement upstairs, probably in the ten o'clock hour. I went to see who was up and why. The light in the girls' bathroom was on and the door closed. When I tried to open the door, it was blocked by Tiny's body. Again, she was asleep on the bath mat in front of the toilet. I couldn't open the door to lift her up, but she awoke when I said her name. She got up quickly and said, all squinty-eyed and confused, "What's going on?" 

The next morning, I asked her if she remembered what happened. She didn't remember but had seen on the floor of the bathroom the red panda stuffy with which she'd been sleeping the night before and figured it out. 

Around 5/8/23

Tiny got out of bed and came downstairs while Jim and I were watching TV. My instinct is to hurry her to the bathroom because I assume that's why she wakes up. She said she didn't need to go. She came up onto my lap and hugged me, and then I took her back to bed. She just need a late-night snuggle, I guess. It was quite nice. She had no recollection of it in the morning.   

6/26/2023

Dawn came for the weekend to visit Grandpa. We got up at 4:00 A.M. to leave for the airport Monday morning. When she flipped on the kitchen/family room light, she discovered Tiny asleep on the couch. Nobody knows when Tiny relocated herself in the night. She, of course, did not remember going downstairs. 

9/12/24 (tacking this on way later because we just had another funny incident)

Jim and I were on the couch around 10:00 P.M., and I heard footsteps coming quickly. As I was getting up, I caught a glimpse of Tiny rushing around the corner by the bathroom. I called to her, but she just flung open the door to the garage and rushed out. I made it to the garage door right as she reentered the house. I asked her if she needed the bathroom and pointed her to it. After she used the restroom, she came out, waved to us when we said goodnight, and went back upstairs. The next morning, she said she had awakened with an extra t-shirt on. In her sleepwalking, she had put a tie-dyed t-shirt on over the one she was sleeping in. When she got up in the morning, she wondered why her shirt felt heavy and discovered an extra layer. 

Hawai'i with the Homers - Hilo, Mana Road (August 2024)

 Cozy morning TV watching.

We went to Hilo sans Jim and Ever, who stayed home sick. This was my worst day with the illness, as well. I felt really not good but tried to downplay it and power through.

First stop, obviously, was Tex Drive-In for malasadas (and pancakes for Wren and probably some local breakfast for Dun Dun). 

Next stop was Laupahoehoe Point. Wrenzy climbed on the first concrete tetrapod. 

Then Tiny had to take a turn. And we did a whole photoshoot. 

Some boys were backflipping off the dock, and I was impressed and jealous. It looked so fun. 

We checked out Kolekole Park. I have happy memories of coming here a lot during my childhood and swinging off of rope swings into the water on the far side of the river. They've put in all this fancy infrastructure now - parking lot, restrooms, picnic tables. Back in the day, there was nothing there.  think I'd like to swim there again, but it would have to be a really hot day because the water is so cold. I must have been braver when I was a kid.

Rainbow Falls. 

Bag Lady very much did not appreciate the Littles' banyan tree climbing because then her kids wanted to follow. But how can you stop super climbers from climbing the best climbing tree in the whole world? 

Dustin got involved to keep the Homer children safe. 

Such a glorious tree (with no children in it in this pic, as far as I can tell).

Back at Toots and Pops's house, Ever took a COVID test and confirmed our ailment. Super lame. But the amazing news is that the Cocos never got it. 

Toots is the most fun, and she got the kids painting. 

We did a short evening walk on Mana, and it was quite magical. We've always gone in the morning before. This time, we got amazing sunset colors, and then fun fog rolled in.  

Wrenzy was doing some fun fighty moves, but when performed for the camera, they got weirder. 

Hawai'i with the Homers - Beach and Anuenue Park (end of July 2024)

 To the motherland! The ladies love airplanes because movies.

Walking to church. I love this place more than anywhere in the world. 

The Littles were very excited about going on the roof, but Tiny got really filthy. 

Tiny and/or Wrenzy borrowed my phone to take lots of pictures of the house and property. Below are a few of them. Who knew there was so much growing by the roof on the side of the house? I never go over there! The humidity is tough.

The girls were fascinated by the WWII truck. I found this by Wren. 

We hit Hapuna, and it was glorious.

Ever took some post-snorkeling selfies.

Bear's sweet, sunburned face outside the shaved ice place in Kawaihae. 

The geckos roam freely in the house. The excrement they leave everywhere - especially on top of picture frames and door trim but also sometimes just on the middle of the couch - is troubling.  

The Cocos arrived! By that time, though, Jim was sick. I hated telling that to Coco as soon as they walked into the house because she hates when visitors/guests infect her family, but what could we do besides share the house and hope the Homers didn't catch it? There were a couple days when Jim felt really awful and pretty much just stayed on the couch and watched the Olympics. Ever also came down with it, as did I, to varying degrees and for various lengths of time. Definitely there was more Olympics watching and a lot less activity on this trip than there normally would have been. 

Anyway, the Homers' first day there had to be a beach day. 

That afternoon, we played at Anuenue Playground. 

Speaking of anuenue, this really is the land of rainbows. 

When I was diving in high school, it seemed as if we saw a rainbow nearly every afternoon during practice. I love them. 

We went back to the beach the next day. 

The girls thoroughly enjoyed POG / passion orange Hawaiian Suns. Wrenzy would be really good in a commercial.