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June 2014

Memory Grove Park

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I sort of feel like I should retire from blogging after my last post.  Every single one of my siblings commented which was unprecedented.  If you know my Dad and haven’t read all the comments from my siblings for that post, you should go revisit it.  Hilarious stuff.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago the weather was so mild that we decided to take advantage and go explore Memory Grove Park.  We left and realized we were driving into a rainstorm.  I was a little nervous the rain would ruin our plans, but Dallas stayed the course and by the time we got to the park there were only a few rogue raindrops falling.  We ended up having a great time hiking the trails.

Right off the bat Brooke caught a snake and he was our hiking companion the rest of the evening:

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Madison was so bright-eyed looking around at everything and taking it all in:

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Spencer was wearing his “gloves” during the hike.  (They’re really socks that the kids use as gloves when they’re playing Frozen.)  As we walked we frequently heard Spencer mumble, “Conceal it.  Don’t feel it.  Don’t let it show.”

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As we were leaving a nice man said, “You guys look like you need a family picture.”  How did he know?  Behold, I give you only the second picture we have in existence of all six of us together:

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Things I Remember My Dad Telling Me When I Was Growing Up:

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As I was writing this post I couldn’t help but also think of things my Dad would say to us kids throughout the years.  I was immediately able to remember things he said leading me to believe that he actually only speaks in exclamation marks and catch phrases.  Dad, this one’s for you!

“Your word is your bond!”

“The best thing a father can do for his children is love their mother.”

“Let’s go sports fans!”

“She is risen, she is risen!” (Sung to me every Saturday morning when I finally rolled out of bed at around lunchtime.)

“Rise and shout the cougars are out!” (Sung to me on the mornings when he was waking me up.)

“Top o’ the mornin’ to you!” (This often followed one of the previous two phrases.  Does my Dad sound insufferable to you in the mornings?  He is if you’re like me and just want to be left alone for the first two hours after waking.  Is that too much to ask?  Now you know who my teenage “Perky Morning People Should Be Shot” nightshirt was directed at…)

“I heard Him come…” (Sung every morning.  I’m realizing how much he sang.  Especially in the mornings.)

“Is that the best you could do?”

“Stick to the task ’til it sticks to you!  Beginners are many but enders are few!”

“The deal is…”

“It’s a quick read.”

“You’re noticing that now because it’s hit your reticular activator.”

“I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say, but when ye do not what I say ye have no promise.”

“That which you persist in doing becomes easier to do – not because the nature of the task has changed but because your ability to do has increased.”

While one or more of these phrases was met with severe eye rolls when I’d hear them, I find myself irrationally happy when I can work them into conversations with my own children.  But make no mistake about it – there’s very little singing going on around these parts first thing in the morning.

Siblings – what did I miss?

Seven

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We have a seven-year-old in the house!

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Brooke made a chain to count down to her birthday:

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As usual Brooke had grand plans of what she wanted to have happen on her birthday.  We did a friend party last year so this year we decided to keep her party a family affair.

We started off waiting anxiously for Dallas to get home from work so we could start the celebration.

First, presents:

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She has been dying for an umbrella.  Dreams come true:

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Oma got her a book to teach her how to draw.  She’s been loving checking books like that out from the library so this was perfect:

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Brooke really wanted to go to Seven Peaks to swim but it was a little too chilly for that so her second choice was going to Hollywood Connection.  The kids love that place.

We began with miniature golf:

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Then we went up and played the arcade games for a while.  After that we did the rides including the carousel:

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Then we rushed home so I could make it to a Relief Society activity.  We didn’t have time for cake so the next day we did the candles.

Brooke wanted cake and chocolate covered strawberries and cookies and congo bars and popsicles and more for her birthday.  I made her choose two treats.  Upon much deliberation she decided on chocolate covered strawberries and congo bars.  Yum!

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Congo bars meant I got out of having to decorate a cake.  Hallelujah!  I did put some ponies on her congo bars to make them a little more fun.

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Happy birthday my wonderful Brooke!

Paperwork

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Brooke has been amusing us with some recent papers she’s done.

For Mother’s Day she gave me a bookmark…or a “Brookemark” as she liked to call it:

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Brooke has a wart on her foot that we’ve been putting acid on every night.  Brooke drew this picture to show what she imagines is happening when the medicine (the green blobs) meets her wart (the evil red blob):

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This particular week Brooke got all of her spelling words right.  More than her grade, I love how each “y” has a curlicue on it…just like the “y” from the My Little Pony logo of course:

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When Spencer had his birthday in March, Brooke took all of his wrapped presents and stacked them up to make a fire truck shape.  That gave her the idea of arrange her birthday presents in the shape of a pony.  She drew me a picture of each present that she needs to get so that she will have boxes the right size that can fit together to make a pony:

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Last, we have a school paper.  This is an interesting story.  I got a call from the secretary of the school asking me to come bring Brooke new shoes because she lost a shoe.

She lost a shoe.  At school.

Wha?…Huh?…How?…I’m not understanding?…Come again?…

Luckily the secretary left a message because had I answered I’m not sure I would have been able to form a response.  How exactly does one lose a shoe at school?  I taught first grade for four years and have never once heard tell of such a thing.

Brooke Golden:  Doing the Unfathomable Since 2007

Weeks later I’m still unsure as to how her shoe vanished into thin air during recess but that’s apparently what happened.  She lost her shoe right before math and was obviously a little distracted by her unshod foot to fully focus on her paper:

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I love the pony in the corner wearing the detective hat with a magnifying glass cutie mark.

Alas, the Case of the Missing Shoe is still unsolved.  The numbers 90 and 30 have been cleared of all involvement.  Brooke continues to be the sole person of interest in the case and investigators believe she may know more about the disappearance than she is currently revealing.  The parents and teachers involved in the incident remain completely baffled.