Father/Son camp-out (aka David takes our girls and calls them Greg and Harry)

He has actually done that in the past.  Why should the boys get all the fun?  But, this year they were a little nicer about it and designated it fathers and kids.   That was really nice actually, because the "follow the rules" dads actually brought their daughters too so that our girls' friends were all up there as well.   I would be fine with fathers and sons if they had a daddy/daughter campout, but they don't.  (no worries - I don't need a mommy/daughter campout - that's called "book the Marriott and go out to dinner!"  I like the outdoors and all.  I just don't feel the need to sleep, cook, and pee outside.)

Curious that the fathers/kids campout always concurs with Mother's Day weekend.  (Truthfully, the moms don't seem to mind the free GNO night they get.)  This year, I already had plans to be kid-free for the weekend.  That's another post.  Here's what David and the girls and the dogs did while I was gone.  By all accounts it was super fun, kind of cold (woke up to frozen rain on their tent - it hasn't rained in NM since October, so of course, it would rain the night they went camping) and a little icky (outdoor bathroom use didn't go so smoothly... hahaha... dirty dogs, dirty car, and I now have 2 bear teeth, no joke, in my laundry room.)  So, perfect weekend!

a little razr action

freaky weird cool tree

girls at the bottom of it - that split is really high up

unknown.. lichen? pine needles?  weird cow poop?  help me out babe.  

you should go back to blogging your own stuff!

Oh, and I was excited to hear that the dogs made it (barely) on a 3 mile hike and did plenty of river wading and running around.  Go Velvet and Shadow!  Not too shabby for 13 and 15 year old puppies.  I guess they were super happy. The doggies do love to camp and sleep in the tent.

Grace - Purple Sash

Whoa, I'm way behind.  Grace has had her purple sash for almost a month!

Grace has worked really hard in karate for the past year, but especially the last 5 months.  Last year, the karate class for ages 7 and up got so huge that she just kind of got lost in the mix.  There were so many students, Mr. Kao just couldn't keep up with them and give them the attention they needed at each level.  Then, at the first of the year he switched the classes from an age split to a split by sash level.  This still meant a ton of people in the white/yellow class, but for Grace, it meant a super small class of 3-7 kids per night.  It made an unprecedented improvement in Grace's ability to learn and learn quick.  She went from barely knowing a couple of the self defense moves (after months on the same stuff) and none of the forms for purple belt, to flying through them and having them all memorized within a few months time.   We're talking dozens of sequences and 2 huge forms.  (It took her 1.5 years to get her Orange Sash, so we were prepared for something similar for Purple Sash.)  Not only was she learning faster in class, she was more enthusiastic about practicing at home.  Every time I turn around she is slicing at me with a punch, kick, or strike.

Needless to say, we were pleasantly surprised and super happy when Mr. Kao invited her to test for her purple sash at the end of last month after having her orange sash for just over a year.  She was so ready and had everything totally memorized without any help from us or additional private lessons from him (both of which she needed last time.)

It was really thrilling to watch her go through her belt requirements in her test and see that she was so confident and prepared.

My luck with videos uploading lately is nil.  So here are a few pics:

Hello Harriet! (I mean Kitty)

Harriet's Hello Kitty phase is a strong one.  It has lasted the entire school year and is not waning.  I wondered if I'd have to create Hello Kitty out of fondant, but she decided she wanted the pretty, fluffy, ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins with a perfect Hello Kitty on top.  It's the first birthday cake I've ever bought for the kids.  I still made some simple cupcakes to go with the ice cream.    I couldn't let it be that easy.  Plus, Harriet really loves my frosting.  

Here's the Hello Kitty Fest Photo Tour:

I really cannot believe how many products are out there with a Hello Kitty on it.  You could buy a million things.  Harriet would like to.  These are the few that made it into the party favor bags,

along with the Hello Kitty jewelry they made.

I went ahead and took confidence that I could draw a Hello Kitty for the game.  She's pretty simple.  I think that's why I like her so much though.  It's much less distracting and overwhelming than all the princess stuff.  Plus, she's just so sweet.  Not a sassy thing about her.  

I mean, really, is there anything cuter than pin-the-bow-on-Hello-Kitty?

 well, maybe the birthday girl trying to put the bow on the wall.

Harriet has some new fun friends this year.  I am so grateful for a few NICE little girls.  

There are so many mean ones.  Thanks for coming: Gilli, Ady, Savannah, Ava, and Rylie!

And, the last candle has been blown out for the year.  

So grateful for a successful end to birthday season!

Harriet's 7th Birthday

Harriet has been so excited this year, over everything.  Each holiday has been so much for her she can hardly handle it.  Her birthday was no exception.  Sometime last fall, she got an American Girl Catalog in the mail and saw the 2013 doll of the year.  Saige - a girl from Albuquerque who loves art and dogs and horses and hot air balloons.  I mean, really - there was no question that she would go nuts over this doll.  Harriet stared at the catalog for weeks dreaming about having it.  She has never had a real American Girl doll before.  They (and their accessories!) are incredibly expensive to say the least.

The amount we usually spend on birthday presents wouldn't be enough for Saige.  I asked Harriet if she'd like to save and make up the difference and get it for her birthday.  I was really surprised at how willing and excited she was to help buy the doll.  In some ways I felt bad that I didn't just buy it for her, but I knew once I spent that much on one gift, it would change the game for everything.  Plus, it's not like she was saving money she earned from digging ditches all day or working in a factory.   The allowance money was coming from us anyway - she just needed to conserve it a bit.  She was so patient about it and was very frugal with her money all winter and spring, knowing she needed to save.

So, as her birthday came closer, all she could think about was the day she would open the box with Saige inside!  Lucky for her, we let her open it at our family birthday party a few days early.

Grandma, Grandpa, and Christine came over for a fancy dinner and birthday cake#1 (red velvet again - the girls love red velvet lately), and brought really fun presents.  Harriet loved opening the bag with $5 bills wrapped separately in different ways and went nuts over the giant chocolate bar from Christine.  Grace was adorable and shopped for her own birthday present for Harriet.  She was so excited to give it to her.

Then, on birthday eve, Harriet went to bed, but then got up at midnight.  I don't know how, but that kid knew the calendar turned over to her birthday.  David had been in California all week and had JUST walked in the door from the airport.  She was dying to get up and open her presents from the Mitchell family.  We gave her birthday kisses and sent her back to bed.  5:30am, she was up again.  This time though, poor thing, woke up vomiting.  Who wakes up throwing up on their 7th birthday?  When Grace got up at 7, we let her open presents and then, of course, kept her home from school.  The Mitchells sent her some very cool stuff.  She was VERY excited that Mo-Deb and Grandpa Lyle sent Saige's dog and jewelry set.

We think it actually turned out to be a great day for her.  David had the day off.  She didn't have any more stomach issues, and was able to stay home and play with her new toys and soak up parent time all day.  (Truthfully, she may have just been so excited about her birthday that she made herself sick over it.)  I was so happy to get to sit at the kitchen table with her and help her with her new Legos and Hello Kitty house.  I don't get very many chances anymore to just sit with her and her toys.  So, maybe waking up sick wasn't so bad after all.  She was even able to blow out a candle on a cupcake and eat it when Grace got home from school.

Thankfully, she was completely well for her party and we didn't have to cancel the Hello Kitty Festival!

Happy 7th Birthday, my Harriet,

Dear Harriet,
It is May 2nd.  I am so sorry that I let last week go by without writing your birthday letter.  I did not forget about it, but this past week or two have been quite crazy and I haven't been able to sit down at the computer for long enough to write the letter that I want you to have.

Harriet, you have no idea how much I love you.  I am truly amazed at what a remarkable human being you are.  There is so much inside of you that is bottled up and can't wait to burst out some day for the world to see.  I know that you feel it, and are shy of it, and that's why you get so incredibly frustrated about things.

I know you feel like you walk in Grace's shadow and that the world doesn't understand you.  That is the place where all little sisters walk.  You will have to talk to your Aunt Melissa about that more.  She knows exactly how you feel.  Unfortunately, I was the big sister.  However, there are so many things about you that are not strong in your sister.  You are each very unique in your talents and strengths, and there is no point in comparing you.  I hope that you realize some day that you are amazing on your own and you don't have to compare yourself to your sister or anyone else.  I hope you realize that people look at YOU and wish they could be like you too.  Even Grace.  I know you wish you had a little sister to look up to you, but you should realize that you already have a big sister who does, even if she won't admit it.

You are a perfectionist, and you do wish that the world was perfect too.  I know it drives you nuts that other people don't follow rules, aren't kind, and don't live up to your expectations.  But, you will learn to let them off the hook a little bit, and yourself too.  You will be happier when you can learn to let things go.  Grandpa Lyle says "don't sweat the small stuff."  And, he's right.  But, in the mean-time, I so much admire your insistence that everything needs to be right all the time.  Too many people allow things to be mediocre or just "good enough."  I love that you want things to be the way they should be.  I love that you think big.  I think someday, you will make a great leader because you don't give up on trying to make things right.

I love how affectionate you are.  I love tucking you into bed at night, and watching you take care of your dolls and animals, and kissing you 20 times, plus one last time at the bus stop.  I love how spiritually connected you are.  You have insights and instincts that I don't even have.  I look up to you too.

I am so proud of how hard you are trying lately to get really good at things.  I am so proud of how you have handled some of your disappointments, and that you keep moving forward and keep trying to get better at things like playing the piano, dancing, doing math, writing, and drawing.   I think it's so cool that you memorized a whole song on the piano and can play it perfectly.  I love that you love math and keep trying to figure out more of it.  I love that you got 4 journals for your birthday and can't wait to fill them all up and have already started a page in each one.  I think it's adorable that you have locked them all so that Grace can't read them.  I love that you keep trying to make your dolphin drawings better and when you draw me, you give me brown hair with yellow stripes.  I can't believe you haven't missed a single spelling word ALL year!  I am so proud of you for trying out for the talent show again, even though you didn't make it last year.  I can't wait to see your audition this afternoon.  I loved the look on your face when you figured out that dance step this weekend and now do it with confidence.

It was a great day on the Earth, when you were born 7 years ago.  I can't wait to see what you do with each day of your life, Harriet.  I'm so glad I get to be your mom and I hope I do a good job.  You deserve a perfect mom.  Thanks for stretching me and trying to make me into one.

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl,
Love,
Mommy