Backseat Adventures

Little did I know what she had packed in her purse. 

This is what I found in the back seat after pumping gas.

Traviesa

Elijah = 11

Here are some pictures from our home celebration of E's bday. I forgot to take my camera to Elijah's party, so we re-created some of the games at home.
This is the Elephant Obstacle course. They wore tights on their heads with tennis balls in the feet and tried to knock down cups.

This is the Bootie Shake. They had to shake ping pong balls out of the boxes strapped to their rears.

I include this one too bc it shows the VDay hair I did for the girls. Iris was jiggling so much that her heart is more of an eternity symbol.

Cheese Puff Head. 

They had to see how many cheese puffs they could throw onto their partner's shaving cream head in 1 minute.

Elijah asked for Angel Food Cake for his home celebration

Here are a few I got with my phone at the party. Elijah wanted to rent a racquetball court to play dodgeball with his cousins. Dodgeballs were his bday present (and soccer camp during Spring Break).

There was also a rock-climbing wall at his bday venue.

Elijah's 11th birthday questions.
I had Elijah fill these out himself.
Favorites
Favorite food and drink: hamburgers and soda
Favorite game: soccer and dodgeball
Favorite movie: 3 musketeers
Best friend: Ian and Eugenio
Favorite book: Harry Potter and The Giver
Favorite thing to do: play dodgeball and soccer
Favorite subject: PE
Favorite songs: Take on me, Eye of a tiger, You gave love a bad name, We will rock you, We are the champions, We are one, La copa de la vida
Favorite dance move: dab

My future
What I want to be when I grow up: soccer player
Where will I go to college: BYU
Where will I live: California 
Who I will love: what 😶?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????😡😖😶
What car I will drive: flying car
Who I am now: a soccer player
What I think about my new school: too much homework
One word that describes 5th grade: homework
Best thing about me:
If I had 1 wish: I would wish to have ever lasting wishes or to be able to understand everything
If I had a million dollars: I would buy a soccer field
My hero: Jesus

I include the above picture of him bc of the red nail polish (he's doing the dab, of course). The polish was in Sybil's stash and when I took her  screaming mouth out of church, I came back to a row of red nails. David was less than happy, but I didn't have remover at home and E was too interested in cousins to get some from grandma that evening, he went like that to school. David cared a lot more than he did.
Elijah's favorite thing is to make people happy and to move. When he finishes his homework, the first thing he wants to do is play a game of HORSE basketball in the driveway (It used to be soccer until the dog turned the backyard into a toilet) with me.

Love this boy to the moon and back!

The Marathon and more

The professional picture from the sweethearts dance at school.

This is David on Saturday. 

3:15 marathon. 

He's the man! 

Elijah and Claire told Iris, "Never ask Dad what Heavy Metal is." 

Their eardrums learned that the hard way.

I thought the neighbors had gone crazy a few nights ago. 

But that was David giving the kids a music lesson on the way home from soccer.

Kids, cheering on the winner.

Iris took a few months of tennis, but decided to change to cheerleading.

This is what happens when you are driving around for an hour with your older sisters and markers. She went to a birthday party like this. All of her facial expressions were exaggerated with her makeup. It was quite hilarious.

Trying to dress herself.

The most important parts of all of her outfits are always this purse (stollen from Claire) and 3 stuffed animals. She goes nowhere without them. 

Porfirio keeps all food off the ground, also off the bottom of the chairs. He's as crazy as ever. I broke down in tears in PetCo because this animal is driving me bonkers. 

That wasn't embarrassing at all.
I take him for a 3 mile sprint  alongside my bike every morning at 5am. That curbs his energy a little. A very little.

The good news is that we have learned that he is deathly afraid of Sybil's doll stroller. 

That's useful information.

This girl is pretty crazy too, 

but I haven't found her achilles heel yet.

Valentines' Day Weekend

Daddy Daughter Sweetheart Dance

A few texts David sent me during the dance (He said he was only on the phone a few times to text me.)
"Iris is a passionate dancer. I am going to have to keep an eye on her."
"Claire and Iris have been eating a LOT of junk!"

The next morning, we all participated in the Parada del Sol parade.

Elijah distributed his V-Day candy among friends in the back of the truck. 

And they Dabbed.

The girls and I rode in the float.

Watching the tail end of the parade.

Playing in downtown Scottsdale with Basiru. 

We went to his Mosque that night to watch them pray and learn about Islam.

Valentines Day!!!

The Love Bug finished off the rounds with, "Will you be my Valen-Slime." I couldn't find slime, so they got playdough instead.
This girl was visited by the tooth fairy for 2 lost teeth and by the Love Bug on V-Day eve. That was a lot of magic for one night.

And this girl was sick on V-Day morning, so we watched Frozen (David--it was in Spanish which means it was a learning experience).

Elijah and I were stricken with the plague on Sunday, Iris is today, and I'm sure Claire is tomorrow.

David doesn't sin, so he's inoculated.

Gourmet V-Day 

The best part of the day was delivering Vday notes and candies to 14 older single people in the ward. 

The kids got a tour of a Christmas town from a recent widow who worked at a Christmas store for a decade and a half. The store owner paid in Christmas decorations. From others, they got to pet a pack of rescue greyhounds, a view of a new food storage supply, Texas-sized acorns, were told that that was the best Vday she had ever had because of them, got lots of hugs and kisses, stories, candies, and bliss.

Heart List

Update to the Dog Update: The water bottle has lost its potency. Instead of a pistol, it's more of the nagging Aunt Petunia who tells you you shouldn't, but it's just so darn fun.

I have been so focused on chasing the dog's disobedient hiney that I haven't been as positive as I should be. Last night as I was falling asleep to the Mormon Channel, as per usual, I was inspired to write a "Heart List" in honor of the upcoming Vday and to get me out of my dog funk:

The Amazing Day:

• David bringing donuts for breakfast.
• Watching Sybil's cadence as she runs
• Seeing Claire take Sybil by the hand and lead her to her room
• Looking at Iris' skinny arms and remembering how young she still is
• Having a friend over to help me make Vday cards for older, single women in the ward
• Elijah calling me from the office because he was so excited to tell me he got a 102% on his math test and already finished his math homework.
• A friend asking my advice and telling me how much she valued it.
• Finally making a dinner that my family would all eat (except sybil--she's a wild card).
• Putting different spices in the homemade granola. They smelled so good baking.
• Working hard at the gym but letting myself cheat a little and not feeling bad about it
• Really sore muscles. Love them
• Making David laugh. 
• David getting off the computer to go help the girls pick up dog poop.
• Organizing the top of the fridge in the storage room.
• I knew I wasn't going to be able to get to the girls' school in time to pick them up bc there was traffic by Elijah's school so David picked them up for me. That was a huge stress relief.
• The girls planning the dresses they will wear to the daddy daughter dance tomorrow.
• Sybil "helping" me edit by writing all over the pages.
• Porfirio dropping the sock so I didn't have to chase him.
• Making a new friend. Her name is Dana.
• Reading scriptures  as a family and David doing the dog voice while reading even though at the beginning I could tell he wasn't in the mood to do it and we all ended up in giggles.
• Not thinking today was a particularly great day but then being able to write such a long list and not even feel like I've written a fraction of the good things.

Dog update

I don't hate him as much as I did a few days ago.
Because of my new best friend
And his new worst enemy

A squirt bottle will work wonders.

I tried it on my kids too.
It wasn't as successful.

The Season of Love

Even though all 3 know who the real Love bug is, she still visits from 0 to twice a day.
She refuses to deliver on Fast Sunday because that's self torture. But school days are a whopping 2ce bc she accidentally printed out too many love notes.

And this Love Bug has become the newest escape artist.

But the biggest trouble maker is this one:

Sending a living creature to the pound would indicate a heart 3 sizes too small. 

Mine has been 2.999 sizes too small for the past 2.2 weeks.

We should have named him Taz the Tasmanian Devil.

I offer a good price to anyone who will take him and be humane.  

I might even pay you because I am past humane.