Huntington Park, Stormfield, and 11 years

We have had the privilege of visiting both Huntington Park and Stormfield over the last couple of Sundays, and it has been wonderful.
Last week we headed to Huntington Park on a whim, having never been there before. We were dressed and ready for church, but seeing as how it didn't start until 2pm, we wanted to go on a walk. It was absolutely gorgeous. It was just too perfect and picturesque, that we turned it into an impromptu photo shoot - some of the pics were posted on Facebook already.

Today we were invited (along with many others) to Stormfield, the location of Mark Twain's last home, and where he passed away, for a musical gathering at our neighbors house. It is technically "next door" to us, but requires a 5 - 10 minute walk (reeeeeeally long driveway). The invitation made the whole thing seem pretty casual with phrases like, "bring your kazoos and leave your inhibitions". My girls practiced songs they could sing and brought drums and shakers, but it wasn't really that sort of a gathering. They were not, however, disappointed because there were games, things to eat, hills to roll down, friends to make, etc. I was blown away at the whole thing. Advent Creative's Ben Zurcher got to join us as he is staying with us for a couple of weeks for Advent related things. Viv's mouth was full of food in the following photo, but I made her smile...

In other news, we celebrated eleven years of marriage on the 17th. That is just crazy. We were lucky enough to drop our kids off at a friend's house (Jackie and Eddie - Thank you!), who happen to live on the water, and who happen to own kayaks. So, after we dropped off the kids, we hopped into a double kayak and began rowing across the way until we made it to the other side at a restaurant. Lunch was lovely. We only had to row for about 15 minutes each way. It was a lot of fun. Plus, Ru made this card for us all be herself! "Happy Anniversary Day. I love you!" Adorable.

Also, we've pulled out a few more ticks. So far no Lyme.

Finally, the girls have spent hours creating fairy houses in hopes that real fairies will come visit. This is just the inside of one of them. Wish you could see some of the details. They are gems.

Viv the Butterfly is Turning 7

It is surreal to think that seven years ago, on the other side of the world in Thailand, I was in labor, about to welcome my first born to the Earth. She has been a strong, determined, sensitive soul with an incredible desire to be good. I continue to learn so much from her, and I am so grateful for the privilege of being her mom.

She has had quite a year. She suffered the emotional anxiety of leaving loved ones in Utah and moving across the country into the unknown wiles of Connecticut. She was a champ and made new friends effortlessly in her new school. She continued gymnastics. She survived Lyme disease and poison oak. She got a retainer to correct a cross-bite. She began learning what it takes to take care of chickens. She took some sewing classes. She became a book worm, devouring a series of fairy books. She lost her two front teeth, not to mention two on the bottom as well. She earned a few more freckles on her face, and she grew taller. She is amazing, and we love her more that we can say.
This year, despite our urgings otherwise, Viv really wanted to have a "friend party" - at our house. For years we've gotten away with doing very simple birthday celebrations at grandma's houses with cousins. It was great. No invitations, no hassle, etc. Also, we all agreed that gifts could be recycled toys from each others houses. I loved it. This year we took the plunge into the real world of kid birthday parties. Out east the parties are pretty out of control. It is not unusual for parents to spend $1000 or $2000 on the event. We can't afford that, and even if we could, it's...RIDICULOUS...to me. Plus, I get uncomfortable with too much stuff, and didn't want a ton of new plastic toys that we don't need.

So, Viv and I spoke about it all. She made a list of fun things to do for her birthday at home, and we talked about the purpose of a friend party. I asked her if it was to get presents or to be with friends. She said the latter (thank goodness), so I asked if she'd like to use this opportunity to help someone in need. We discussed a few different options, and in the end, she decided that she wanted to help her preschool friend, Nicolas ("NICO") by suggesting that her invited guests all purchase NICO t-shirts instead of bringing her a gift. I was so proud of her decision. The party turned out to be a lot of fun (and work), and it was so cool to see all of the NICO shirts. The kids helped to decorate a sign for NICO, and they made up funny skits to make him laugh (we filmed them to send to him). There was party hat decorating, cupcake decorating, a balloon race, a pinata, and a bit of dancing/karaoke. We love you, NICO!!

In other new, we said goodbye to PamPam. It was an emotional departure for her (I took that as a very good sign). We had such a good experience, and we intend to keep in touch with her. Also, Scott (super-cool guy with Advent Creative) has been staying with us for over a week now working on things for Viridian. He leaves tomorrow. It's been fun getting to know him better.

Fresh Air

This week we picked "PamPam". Her real name is Oluwapamillerin which means "God makes me laugh" in Nigerian. She lives in NYC and we are participating in a program called The Fresh Air Fund. In the first year, you get to do a one week trial with a child.

We have had PamPam for 3 days now. It has been so fun for the girls! I have been impressed at how brave and confident this beautiful little six year old girl is. I wonder how Viv would fair under similar circumstances. The three older girls are sharing a room and getting along very well. PamPam says that so far this experience has been one of many firsts; first time in a house, hearing crickets at night, holding a sparkler, seeing live bees in a glass beehive, jumping on a trampoline, holding a chicken. They have been playing in our kiddie pool, running through the sprinklers, painting, singing, dancing, we went to a nature center, and have plenty planned for the next 4 days. We are so grateful for this opportunity to get to know this sweetheart.

 The girls made us breakfast in bed! Scrambled eggs and a roll. Very sweet!

 This is one of the displays at "Earth Place", a nature center that we went to.

 A friend invited us over for dinner and a little fireworks show (clearly no restriction in this humidity like they have in UT).

The timing, I'll be honest, has been somewhat challenging for me. Adam is pretty much on a business trip, except that he didn't go anywhere, but he's unavailable to help out. On top of that, Noma has decided to not be potty-trained (*whimper of desperation*) for the last two days. So I'm beside myself trying to keep up with the mess of the 3 older girls' whirlwind of fun and excitement and Noma's accidents all over the house. Oh well : ) At least we are having fun between the messes, and at least I can (and do) resort to sugar therapy - both key to enjoying life.

In other news, my cousins, James and Jordan dropped by for a quick one hour visit today on thier way to the airport. They flew out to see their sister, Angie, who recently moved to NH. It was great to see them, even if it was quick!