Open House

Before the kids took off for their big spring break vacation, we went to the school for their Open House. Chris was super dad and came home early so he could be there. Open House is always a little bit scary when you see the kids art work and writing posted on the wall for everyone else to see.
These Marin Luther King look-alikes provided some good laughs. There were some dreams that were really sad and embarrassing like "I have a dream that my brother and sister will like me" "I have a dream that my parents will quit fighting" and some good dreams like "I have a dream that no child will ever be hungry." Mason's dream fell into it's own category, I'm not sure the name of it. His dream was that all the water fountains would be chocolate milk fountains. His dream was probably the most honest and sincere. His artwork was also awesome. The "Guess Who My Parent is Wall" was a little more embarrassing. You read some of these and just hope that when you turn it over it doesn't have your name on it. This was the case for Chris.All I know is that if there was a matching game where all the dads stood by the wall and people had to match them to the descriptions nobody would pick Chris. Mason described him more as a guy who works out on a drilling rig, getting sprayed with oil who has dirt permanently under his finger nails and spends his weekends getting in bar fights.
There is nobody in the world that Mason adores more than his dad.
What are we to do with this crazy guy???? (here he is dressed up as his alias, Mr. Brown, for the Dr. Seuss parade)

Another Sunday

This morning was daylight savings, and we had 9:00am church, and I have to get the kids and me ready by myself, and I had sharing time, and we did it!

I'm staring down future Sundays in my life and I can only see it being easier than today. I also realize how fortunate and blessed I am in my life that a morning like today makes my list of hard things.

FHE classics

Here and then, we'll have a Family Home Evening that will finds itself a spot on the best ever Graham Family FHE list.

Such was the case on Monday night when this guy was put in charge.He had the lesson and he chose modesty. It was his choice and yes it was random. After a somewhat normal lesson he finished with this bold statement. He was very serious and dramatic.
"and one more thing, you should NEVER, NEVER, wear a necklace with a money symbol on it. It makes the poor people feel very sad."
and now we all know. Random - where did he get that from. It might come as a surprise but neither Chris or I have any chains with money symbols on them.$$$$$
(we'd like to thank Dylan, Mason's best friend, for this awesome shot of his Halloween costume)
There then was a follow up activity that he created, we each drew a piece of lead from a mechanical pencil. If you got a short one you went to heaven, if you got a long one, well you weren't so lucky. So after drawing our pieces of lead, we opened our hand and he pointed his finger in our faces telling us all where we would go. Only Charlotte went to heaven, the rest of us weren't so lucky.

This lesson was immediately followed up with a brief lesson from Chris on appropriate times to say "You're going to hell." It didn't ever include yelling at someone while pointing your finger in their face when you said it.

It was the kind of night where after it was all said and done you have to ask yourself - did that just happen.

I fear(look forward to) many more of these awesome FHE nights.

Single Lonely ~ looking for a mate

The Cricut has long been an appreciated piece of equipment in this household. We have everything there was to cut on paper, until this week. The vinyl purchased long ago was broke open and here's what I produced.
Stage 1


















Stage 2


















Stage 3


















Mismatched socks have never made me so happy. Every time I go in the laundry room I get excited. With Mallory in school a few days a week, I'm feeling like the crafty side of me is on the verge of coming back out.

74 Years Young

Last week my dad celebrated another birthday. Every additional year I get to spend with him is the best gift to me. I told him on the phone that day that he's never aged to me. He seems exactly as I remember him as a young girl. He was always present, always, every sporting event, every competition, every party, every family event. He was the last one asleep every day at our house and the first one awake each morning. I have never doubted the amount of love he has for me, or my siblings or my mom. He's just a good guy to the core. I read some letters he wrote home while he was in the Marines, even then the love he had for his siblings and parents was so obvious. It seems like the only time I've ever seen him sad are the times when someone in his family was hurting or suffering. Best. Family. Man. Ever.
I have a million funny stories about him. He's always a good sport. When Chris first met him he felt bad for my dad because of the things his kids would make him do. He has always bent over backwards to help me out. I remember a football trip to St. George for a Saturday night football game. I was torn because my good friends mission farewell was the next morning that I really wanted to be at. The bus wasn't leaving St. George until Sunday morning so there was no way I would have been able to make it. He drove down to the game and then drove me back with him in his car through the night so I could be at my friends mission farewell. He probably thought it was so ridiculous, especially for a dumb boy, but since it was important to me, it was important to him. He came and stayed at my house for a month while I was on bed rest pregnant with Rozlyn. He got Charlotte ready, made our meals, drove Chris back and forth to work and took care of the house. Best. Dad. Ever. Even now when I call I have to hide if I'm feeling sick, if I ever suggest feeling down or not feeling good he'll ask if I need him to come down. I know without a doubt if I ever said yes, he'd be on the next plane to TX, no questions asked.
While he was serving his mission in Riverside, CA he would go on early morning bike rides every day and sometimes call me on a break. Those were some of my favorite phone conversations, it would be 5:30 his time, 7:30 my time, just after the kids had left for school and I was getting things in order at home for the day. I guess I was the lucky recipient because of the time zones, it would have been to early to call anyone else. I love to make fun of him for the time he called on his birthday, at 5:30 his time. I told him if he just would have given me more time I would have called him and wished him a happy birthday but that I usually waited til at least 6am to make those calls. I loved those conversations!
So I guess Happy Birthday isn't as much for him as it is for me. His life honestly is a gift to me. Happy Birthday to me. Celebrating you is as good as it gets!

Serious Catch-Up!!

Chris - Chris is always busy, always, which doesn't make him the happiest because all he dreams of doing is sitting on the couch doing nothing. He's busy at work where he was recently made a V.P. of his company. We proudly display his new, updated business card on our fridge. We are all very proud of him. He's also still busy at church serving in the bishopric. Our bishop shared a story last week about the youths trip repelling. When Chris was on top of the tower ready to come down, they asked if he was scared. He told everyone that repelling had nothing on conducting and that is the truth of how he feels. Along with sitting he couch and doing nothing, he dreams of sitting in the corner of the primary room, playing the piano. He is super dad, I'm surprised his back is holding up from the kids jumping on him each and every night. They love when he gets home. On the same note, he has awesome abs thanks to the workout he gets every morning and night after prayers, when he stays on his knees and they all try to push him over.
Rainie - I'll leave out the obvious: chauffeur, chef, story teller, referee, homework/music tutor, hairdresser, CFO and CEO of GFO (Graham Family Operations). I started going to a morning bootcamp at 5:30am that some ladies from school did. After a few freezing mornings and cancellations from rain I had they awesome(???) idea to invite everyone indoors to our church. Now I have 20++ women counting on me every Mon. Wed. and Fri. to let them in. I don't like commitments and can't wait for the weather to warm up so if I so desire to sleep past 5:00 am I can. I also started playing basketball - and I love it!!! I truly stink, can't make a shot to save my life, but I love the exercise and the laughing. I don't think it's a laughing sport but for whatever reason it gives me the giggles. I go into the gym every week determined to be more serious, I still haven't succeeded. My mind is currently consumed with re-decorating my house. Everything is brown and orange and dark and autumnish and I decided that I need more bright and light in my life, which requires a whole home make over. I will miss the decor for Halloween and Thanksgiving which requires no extra decorating, oh well. These kinds of things are hard to explain to Chris, suggestions??
Charlotte - I don't have a hard time in my life getting older, I've never been sad to be 20, 25, 30, etc. However, Charlotte getting older is a different story. It pains me so much to think that she'll be 11 in a few weeks. Whoa!! When did that all happen? She's doing great at the piano and harp. She just went to the High School yesterday with Chris to pick out her band instrument. After trying them all out, she went for the trumpet - apparently she's a natural. She gets great grades and still loves to read. She's planning on swimming again this summer. She loves babies and is so helpful to have around when I need Mallory to be entertained. She is happy, carefree, free spirited, and makes us all laugh.
Rozlyn - Rozlyn is our best family representative, she never has to be told how to act, she behaves perfectly and makes us all look a little better. That's when she's not at home:) She gets lots of awards at school for everything. She recently competed in her school spelling bee with the other 3rd and 4th graders. She finished 4th - it was really fun and exciting. It's kind of weird to have a smart kid - I can't really relate. She's doing well at the piano and keeping up her social life. Her social calendar is always very full. She started soccer again and her first game is this Saturday - go Storm!
Mason - We are so glad he's in our family. He adds a magical dynamic that no one else can. He loves school. LOVES! He dreams of being a scientist or engineer someday. It's a tough decision because he loves science, but also loves that engineers get free soda and doughnuts at work. We found this out when they had to draw a picture of what they could be if they stayed drug free at school - his was him as an engineer, with a doughnut in one hand and a soda in the other. He talks very fast and has been in speech this year since he's a little difficult to understand. He loves to make math facts for himself and loves maps, especially the United States. He knows most of the states and tell you very important facts about them as well. Mason is also the first member of our family to have a book published - Dingo Trouble, out for release on May 2. There's an author signing that morning and then we can order some. The story of how this came to be is a longer story for another day. One funny thing though is that the advisor at the school who is helping him was putting together his "about the author" blurb on the back. She had to email me because he couldn't clarify if he had 2 or 3 sisters. We keep gently persuading him to try things other then school, science and maps, like sports - he has no interest in any of it - he tells us that they're all to sweaty for him.
Mallory - our energizer bunny that never stops. She's usually the last one asleep and the first one awake. She thinks sleeping is the enemy and fights it with all her might. She goes to school two days a week. She loves (borderline addicted) to the iPhone, iPad and treats in the pantry. She loves music and dancing, she's very dramatic and emotional. That's fun:) She talks like a Vally Girl and makes us laugh. She recently moved in to share a bedroom with Charlotte. So her new name around the house is "Roomate". She has plenty of lovin to give, lots of hugs, lots of kisses, kitty kisses - when she licks you (ewww) and general affection. Sometimes it's more then any of us can handle.
More posts to come, maybe better written and even edited but I'm checking -update the blog- off my list of to-do's now. Done!

The Summer Breakdown

The summer of 2011 cruised by way to fast. Possibly because of everything we jam packed into it. We have a million pictures and even more memories. Here's the timeline of what happened to my life for the past three months. Each one of these adventures/vacations is worthy of it's own lengthy, pictured filled post. However that boat left the harbor long ago, so it's cliff note time.
Sous Chef School Summer Series #1. These two are serious in the kitchen - don't mess with them. A few times each week we'd introduce a new recipe. They'd get the ingredients, make it happen, serve it for dinner, take photos every step of the way, then type and edit the recipes into their own little file. Someday it will be cutely printed and bound.
Branson - it's okay you can make fun of us. Why does Branson have such a bad rap? It seriously was such a fun vacation for our family. We loved it!! It's like the PG rated Vegas, lights, shows, buffets, etc. We stayed at Big Cedar Lake the first few nights, that alone was an awesome vacation. We went rowing, canoeing, and horseback riding. Then we headed up to Independence and Liberty Missouri and saw some Church History sights. The whole week was exhausting.





The 4th of July Flip Flop Craft Factory was in full operation

We welcomed the troops home on the 4th of July. It was a great way to celebrate the 4th. Hopefully it will be a family tradition when we're here for the holiday.



In honor of Mason's toddler hood, we saw his first love - The Wiggles. Not. Worth. The. Money.
Swim Team - We're almost famous.

Mason gets his trophy!
Mason and Chris's guy trip to ID for his nephew Scott's wedding. My favorite picture they took was this one at the temple, classic, only in Idaho. They also got stuck in SLC, had to wait in lines like this and come home a day later because of mechanical troubles:(
After the guys trip, it was the girls trip, minus Mallory, to Couer d'alene. We got to see lots of cousins, take lots of pictures, visit Silverwood Amusement Park and spend a day at the lake. A perfect weekend.


The following pictures are a series of unfortunate events.
1. My favorite kind of picture - a jumping picture

2. Sometime during the jump, my earing came out, sometime before the landing it was waiting to go into my foot

3. The clean up



Last but definitely not least was here. One of my favorite places on earth. I met up with my sister and mom who drove down from Idaho for Education Week. My spiritual tank is now full, just in time to start a new school year. I wonder if my kids will start to resent Ed. Week when they make the association of: Mom comes home from Ed. Week = all sorts of new parenting tools, rules and crazy ideas. I also bumped into these two fellas while I was there.


I couldn't resist leaving this tidbit about our summer out. As of today we're at 56 days and counting of +100 degree days. It was hotter then tamales around these parts.

....and just like that it's all over. RIP summer of 2011 we will miss you.

The Tale of Two Teeth

Approaching a day back in May, two girls had wiggly teeth. These girls happened to be the best of friends, the played together, shared a room together, told their most personal secrets to each other, etc. So you can imagine their joy when they discovered that they shared the same wiggly tooth!!! What luck. As the days went by and their teeth got looser a visit from the tooth fairy was sure to happen soon.
The day started out like most, showers, breakfast, school, that was until the first girl lost her tooth!!! They events that soon followed are what really make this tale a tale. In tradition the girl walked to the school nurses office where she picked out a coveted yellow treasure box, a safe place to keep the tooth until it could make it home. Just like her treasure box was filled with a tooth, she was filled with the excitement of soon seeing her best friend and sharing the news that her tooth came out!! The day seemed to drag on forever as you can imagine. It seemed forever until lunchtime, and then after lunchtime forever until it was time to go home. Just when it was approaching time to pack up and go home, the 2nd girls tooth came out, she rushed down to the nurses office, scavenged through all the colors until she picked out the perfect treasure box.....a yellow one. It was just in the knick of time. You only receive a treasure box if you lose your tooth at school. The weekend doesn't offer such a reward. The dismissal bell rang, each girl ran to meet the other, each girl carrying their yellow treasure box. Each treasure box holding the same lost tooth. (I'm no dentist but if you're looking at the teeth, it's not the two big ones on the top in the center but the one just to right of those). Unable to keep their news to themselves they shared their story. What are the chances that two girls, two years apart, could lose two teeth, the same tooth, on the same day without knowing the other girl lost their tooth, without knowing the other girl would pick out the same yellow treasure box. It's difficult to comprehend. These are the situations that bond two people for life, this will stay with them the rest of their lives.
authors side note: Anticipating the tooth fairy coming each girl wrote a thoughtful letter. In those letters were some pretty pressing questions, how old are you, how long have you been a tooth fairy, have you ever been ours before, what's your name, are you a boy or girl and my favorite question, are you Mormon?? I love this game we play.

Tiny Dancer

Here is Charlotte at her first ever recital. She is gorgeous. Another picture I wish I would have captured was when she walked down stairs in her costume dreading performance day(does anyone remember the Christmas Story and those pink footy bunny jammies??)) She did great and would willingly admit that she was glad she did it, even the performance. It was so fun to be at a recital watching my not so little girl up there as one of the performers. Occasionaly parents yelp out their kids name. When Charlotte was up, Rozlyn asked if she could yell out, I told her that some kids like it and others don't, so no. That didn't stop the proud dad, their was a loud and proud "GOOOOO Charlotte". Did I say loud?? It made me happy. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank her good friend Addy, who convinced her to give dance a try. After years of trying to push and persuade her into lessons, it was some positive pressure from a peer that finally got her to commit. Everything is funner with a friend.

Locks of Love

Someone is about to get to some awesome hair like this.Going Going Gone So long locks, we loved you while we had you (minus combing you out day and night). Now someone else can enjoy you. We will miss you, I kind of already do. This was all Rozlyn, she heard about Locks of Love awhile back and was on a mission to participate. Mission accomplished. I'm proud of her and her good heart. This meant alot to her as you can see by her big smile, she's so proud.

...and don't leave this little squirt out of the action
Mallory's first haircut
The new do complete with her recovering goose egg on her forehead.