I came across nearly year-old writings from Ever (from August 2021) that were interesting and revealing.
The actress thing sounds familiar, eh? I don't think her desire is as fervent as mine was, though.
The girls got some awards. Wrenzy with her "Personal Best" certificate:
Ever was acknowledged for passing 45 out of 45 lessons with 100%, winning the fourth-grade spelling bee, and doing her personal best.
One afternoon, Rebecca poked her head through the slider by the kitchen and called to me, "Um, Tiny's like 40 feet up in a tree. Do you maybe want to see this?"
It was definitely not 40 feet - Rebecca struggles with distance estimation - but Tiny was very high up an incredibly skinny tree above a concrete ditch. She insisted she was fine up there. "I'm a really good climber. I'm a monkey. Right, Mom? Aren't I year of the monkey? ... See, even my mom has to admit it." I took pictures, but then I told her she should probably come down. She had a bit of a hard time descending. There were almost no branches for her to use. No one could help her because the "tree" she was on would have snapped under anyone else's weight. At one point, a branch about as big around as a thumb withstood her weight, so that was fortunate. The girls have had amazing times in those trees, and we're lucky they're light. About the first time Noah tried to climb with the girls, he fell, hitting branch after branch on his way down. Rebecca soon forbade him and Nathan from climbing the trees.
I took this picture only to show Susan Oddou that Tiny was wearing Amelie's old dress from France, but it's a sweet one and Tiny's hair is lovely.
We took another Sunday evening walk to the playground at McAuliffe Elementary.
Berry read the first book in the Harry Potter series and loved it. I thought first grade was too young, but it's hard to stop a Bear.
I don't know why we were at Calavera Park on a Monday with the girls in their church dresses (possibly Ever had a Girl Scout meeting), but the outing did give me this great series of photos.
Berry climbed things, and probably other moms judged me for what I allow my kids to do.
Berry combines the weirdest foods. I've stopped worrying that she's going to mix things together and then not eat it, though, because she always eats it. This day, it was English muffin + peanut butter + strawberries + raspberries. She named it "peanut butter berry cupcake," and she at it all up.
Wrenzy and Tiny did a little six-week spring soccer thing with City SC (Carlsbad soccer club). They just practiced/played for an hour on six Saturdays. The last day, Wrenzy did not want to play. I was irate; we paid money for this thing, and she needed to get out there and see it through. Jim passed a ball with her on the side while I raged. At the very end, the coach got her to go out for a few minutes. She even accepted her medal and posed for pics.
I proposed a Big Bear trip with the Paul and Susan Oddous. I thought Susan and I could take the kids up Thursday, and then Paul and Jim could come meet us after work on Friday. But Paul works from home at a not-normal job, so everybody but Jim went up on Thursday. Thursday evening we took a walk, and Berry collected all sorts of trash/treasure. She was so heavy laden she couldn't carry it all.
Friday we tried to go kayaking. We (Paul and Susan) got the kayaks down to the water and blown up, and we all donned vests and set out. Susan and I had two kids in our kayak, and Paul had three kids in his. Before we got far, Susan started freaking out that our kayak was sinking. I wasn't worried, but Susan doesn't know how to swim and was really scared. We docked and climbed around on a big rocky area for a while. Then we got back in the kayaks (switching so that Paul was in the sinking one) for the very short ride back. It turned out that there was a hole in the kayak, so I guess it was correct that we didn't go farther. It was a lot of work for a short adventure, so that was too bad.
Jim came up Friday night, and we did a little hike on Saturday. Jim and Paul spent a lot of time using apps on their phones to try to identify every plant we saw.
Berry did her hair so cute and added flowers.
Luc and Ever spied a plant they had learned about that is used to dye things red. Ever rubbed it over her head and played injured.
We hit the Alpine Zoo.
On the way out, Wrenzy started a fad of walking on the posts along the sidewalk. Ever followed, then Tiny and Amelie.
For some reason when Tiny drops to the ground in the middle of a path and starts drawing, it reminds me of the story of Jesus drawing in the sand. Is that wrong?
Jim wanted to live it up and take the girls on the Mine Shaft Alpine Coaster and the Alpine Slide. They are insanely expensive, but Jim thinks it's something we should do once a year or something. Paul and Susan definitely didn't want to spend the money, so it was awkward. They participated minimally. I think Luc did the Coaster but not Amelie.
Back at home, Tiny made herself a really fun reading area in the middle of the floor.
And she lost a tooth!
We ate at Panera, and Ever somehow managed to fling soup all over herself. I've never seen anything like it.
She goes to town on their broccoli cheddar soup and bread bowl.
I found notes by Bear, who apparently was practicing cursive (which she has never learned) and love-letter writing.
Ever and Wren did a "Sunsational Camp" through the City of Oceanside. It was the week of June 27, but they had to miss a couple of days when we camped at Doheny State Beach with the Karners, Gustafsons, Bishops, Sorensons, Fishers and maybe another couple of families from the ward. The Biggers were tired and passed out in the car Tuesday afternoon after day camp on the way to Doheny.
Jim was working, so I had to go by myself with the girls. People (mainly the Bishops, who have somehow taught their kids to be incredibly helpful) helped me carry things and set up the tent. (John and Zach Bishop actually just set the tent up for me. Super nice.) We all barbecued and ate dinner together, and it was a nice time. Saturday the girls played on the beach with the other kids.
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| Norah Gustafson on the left. Tiny in the middle. Wrenzy on the right. |
Jim came up Wednesday after his half-day of work and helped us finish getting packed up and out.
