Halloween 2013

Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit were the inspiration for the Harper family costumes this year...

Galadriel, Arwen, Frodo, Smaug the Dragon, and Gandalf

Baby Smaug (not quite as ferocious as the dragon in the movie, but super cute, and warm as she consented to wear something WITH sleeves! Hip hooray!).

Frodo, the Hobbit. Complete with creepy hairy feet. His bag has the one ring to rule them all on it (which incidentally I neglected to print in mirror image so it would show correctly once ironed on... then I am pretty sure I ironed it on upside down, but who's keeping track anyway?).

Galadriel, the lovely elf... her elf ears made it a little hard for her to hear, but helped her look oh, so authentic.  Her bag says (in Elvish and English) "The world is changed. I feel it in the water, I feel it in the earth, I smell it in the air." and has a drawing of Galadriel's flower symbol.

**What were you for Halloween this year?

Reflections--Magic of a Moment

This year Olivia and Coleman entered the Reflections contest. The theme was "The Magic of  a Moment."

Olivia composed a song and won! She got a cool certificate and a trophy.

Coleman entered in the literature category. He also got a certificate.

Sophia didn't enter, but I am sure that at some point she will enter in one category (or more)...

We got notified a few weeks later that Olivia's entry went on to the next level and she will be compete at the district level... Way to go Liv!

This is the song that she composed:

Extreme Makeover--Olivia Edition

This lovely girl got contacts and braces all within a couple of days.

She keeps looking in the mirror and says she doesn't recognize herself.

She looks beautiful, no?

Duet Festival Fall 2012

Olivia competed in a duet festival this year with her cute friend Julia...

They played really well together, despite the fact that Olivia had strep throat and hadn't been feeling well all week. We used a whole lot of hand sanitizer to make sure she didn't spread disease :).

Their first song was "Spanish Gypsies" by Martha Mier:

Their second song was "Broadway Lights" by Robert D. Vandall: It It is so fun to see them progress. She practices for 50 minutes a day (most days) and loves it!

Hey Ferb, I know what we're going to do today....

 Trick or Treat!!!

Happy Halloween to all.... This year we decided to continue on with our love of Phineas and Ferb...

The Flynn-Fletcher Family... Sadly, Lawrence didn't make an appearance... and Ferb had to be on Coleman's bag since we couldn't convince any of our neighbors or friends to join our family for the night...

Liv made an excellent Candace... she doesn't often try to "bust her brother" and isn't in love with someone named Jeremy (lovely bag, no?) but she still pulled it off. She had a parade at school that Sophia and I got to go to. She had to explain to people who she was... but if they were fans of the show, they totally got it as soon as she said it. Sophia loved being there because all of the kids would point to her and say, "Hey, look! It's Perry!" She felt just a bit famous :).

Coleman loves, loves, loves this show. I love that the the characters are mostly nice to each other, tell the truth, and are quite intelligent. The plots are simple enough that Sophia likes it but witty enough that Ryan and I even sneak in an episode or two after the kiddos go to bed. People who know the show loved the costumes and recognized us immediately... those who didn't... well, they didn't. Some thought Coleman was a rooster! Sophia and I went to Coleman's class for his party.

Ryan made a great Doofenschmirtz... all evil and ugliness aside, he at least had the clothes down :). Sophia's debut as Perry the Platypus was great. We've been planning this for weeks... and a couple of weeks ago Soph decided she wanted to be a cat instead. We finally convinced her to put on her Perry costume by telling her she would be a kitty cat that looked like Perry the Platypus :). In the days leading up to Halloween we kept asking Sophia what she was going to say at the door... her response: "Me want candy!" I think she caught on to the whole idea of trick-or-treating... when they got home I asked her if they had gone to a few houses... she answered with, "No... a lot!" and then I asked if she got a few pieces of candy she said, "No, a lot, a lot, a lot!" She's been chowing down ever since.... She loved her Major Monogram bag and kept calling it "my Major Monogram bag."

Ryan rigged up speakers and played the "Doofenschmirtz Evil, Incorporated" jingle from his lab-coat.  We brainstormed about what "inator" he could carry around but never built one.... we should have made the Trick-or-Treat-inator to suck all of the good candies out of trick-or-treaters bags...

We all know that Linda and Heinz didn't end up together... but they did go on that one date... :)

It definitely wasn't my best year for creativity in the culinary area, but we had a few yummy Halloween treats... My headstone cakebites didn't work as well as I hoped (the white chocolate seized up, likely from the food coloring I added?) so we turned some of them into ghosts... We made some mummy pigs-in-a-blanket, spiderweb salsa with chips, and had some jack-o-lantern slush. The cake in the top right corner was made by someone at Ryan's work and I loved it... they just used strawberry pieces to make a pumpkin. I loved the Frankenstein rice krispy treats that two of my friends made for our pack meeting this month. We didn't have very many trick-or-treaters this year, which was strange because we had beautiful weather... 71 degrees! The ones that did come to our door got to take some Perry fruit snacks, Smarties, Nerds, or Dum-Dums. I am quite sure the significance of the candies was lost on everyone but me and Coleman (and Liv after we explained it to her) but that is okay :).

They got home with so much candy and spent a bit of time trading and paying the 'mom and dad tax.'

They taught Sophia how to say "Happy Halloween!"

Hope your Halloween was great too!

Rocket's Away

One of the most anticipated activities at Olivia's school is the 6th Grade Rocket Launch. According to Liv all of the students can't wait for the day to come when it is finally their turn to buy (cha-ching!) a rocket and some motors, assemble it with specialty plastic cement (that may or may not be available through the school), and launch it into the heavens in front of all the other sixth graders and their cheering families. She picked out the rocket she wanted and built it herself (with minimal supervision from Ryan). Today Sophia and I got to go and be the cheering family and we got to watch Liv and her friends (and all the other sixth graders) launch their rockets. Olivia had a great time and when I asked her if it was as wonderful as she thought it would be.. she said it mostly was, but she regretted that her rocket didn't do anything crazy like spin out of control or burst into flames... maybe next time around, Sweet Liv.

Another School Year

The end of August brought the start of another school year.

 Olivia was excited to start 6th grade! It's hard to believe she is one of the "top dogs" now. She loves school and loves being involved with Service Club. She fought long and hard to convince us to try out the early track and so far it's been great (although I admit that many mornings I am still a little bleary eyed while we are getting ready for the day). Before school started she was a little nervous about her teacher assignment... we talked about giving him a fair chance and judging him on her own experience instead of what she heard others say. She came home the first day so excited and happy and didn't want to tell me how great her teacher was because she was afraid that the words "I told you so" would come out of my mouth.  Give me a little credit... but I did tell her :). A few more months of sixth grade and it's junior high for this little lady!

Coleman was so excited (and a little nervous) all summer long to start school. He changed schools this year to be a part of the A.L.L. (Accelerated Learning Lab) program at a neighboring school. He has loved his teacher and his classmates and it's been a great change for him! His teachers in previous years were great to work with him and give him opportunities to be challenged, but it has been wonderful to be a part of a program where the students are like-minded and motivated to learn and do as much as they possibly can. On his first-day picture he showed three fingers on one hand for third grade, and on the other did a sign-language "A" to represent A.L.L. (He thought that was pretty clever!)

Coleman and Olivia realized that they will never again be in the same school (except for maybe college) so they wanted a photo together before they went their separate ways. Sophia wanted in on the photo action too... we took the early photo just before Liv left (while Soph was still in her PJs) and another one by the bush when Coleman left. After things finally settled down I actually did something with her poor hair and had to photograph the cute little ponytail. It still isn't super long or thick, but we can get it gathered into one or two "little piggies." The bottom right photo is Sophia's go-to position once the kids are off... a "Fro-Yo-Yo" (frozen Go-Gurt) and an episode of "Lil Ty-Ty" (Little Einsteins). She loves that corner of the couch! I think she was pretty bored at first with just me to play with... and she often pulls my hand and asks me to play "tea-party stuff, now!" which is much more enjoyable than doing laundry or dishes or any other housework :). I love that I get to spend some focused time with her during the day while the older kids are gone.

The school year is already passing by quickly... and my summary of it so far is "Thank goodness for carpools so I don't have to drive to both schools twice each day!"

Clear Creek

Olivia and a few friends spent a week at Clear Creek--our school district's summer camp. She loved all of the outdoor activities, caught a few wild animals in the trap she built (sadly--or humorously?--one of the pot guts died a sad death of exposure and/or starvation while in her trap), made new friends, and managed to make it through the week without getting too homesick. I was reminded how much of a helper she is around the house and with Sophia. We missed her a lot and were so grateful when 3 pm rolled around on Friday and we got to pick her up.

ELEVEN!

This lovely lady turned 11 last month! We were up at Snowbird with Ryan's family (post to follow) and we got to spend the day in a beautiful place with the people we love.

She got spoiled rotten, as per usual, and had a great day. Her buddies J.D. and Anna even got to spend the afternoon with us. She requested German Chocolate Cake (that makes TWO times in one year I get to make that lovely labor of love) and Cafe Rio salads for dinner. We invited my mom and Mike to come up to celebrate and eat with us. We loved sharing Liv's day with so many people that have been important in her life.

Olivia is thoughtful, responsible, intelligent, funny, caring, faithful, and she does so much for others, without being asked. I feel so grateful that she is a part of our family and love that she loves being with us too. She is already on the countdown to being in Young Women's! We know this will be another great year for our Liv.

The Great American Challenge

Olivia worked really hard with a handful of other fifth graders to earn the 

Great American Challenge Award

They had to memorize the Pledge of Allegiance, the Preamble to the Constitution, the Star Spangled Banner, all fifty states and their capitals (and spell them correctly), all of the U.S. Presidents (in order), and finally the Gettysburg address. The last one was pretty difficult for a lot of the kids. Olivia worked SO hard on it and finally nailed it. (I would like to say I memorized it with her, but I am pretty sure my brain cells have atrophied to the extent that memorization isn't so easy any more.)

It was pretty moving to watch this group of children (three of them are Olivia's closest friends) recite from memory the Gettysburg Address (below): 

Sophia endured the assembly well (mostly well, thanks to the help of my friend who pulled a fun toy out of her magic hat). So proud of my girl Miss Olivia!

Dance Festival 2012

The end of school came before we knew it. The kids always enjoy the dance festival... and I am always glad when I find where they are in their group so I can watch. I am always more glad when Ryan gets to come so he can take good photos!

The fifth graders wore their Hope of America shirts and dressed up like islanders for their Beach Boys songs.

Olivia did a great job!

The second graders did the Monster Mash and Coleman wanted to be a vampire... he wore his teeth around for several days after the dance festival (yuck!). 

 Loved this last photo... it's a great monster pose!

We love our Superhero Teachers

Our school celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week by treating our teachers like superheroes...

We helped with the door decorations for the kids' teachers. We invited each of Ms. Knowles' students to write why she is a superhero.

Olivia's teacher has been teaching for 29 years and is retiring this year. She's been a great teacher for Liv and has supported her and helped her do good things.

Coleman's teacher has been great too, she has really worked hard to challenge him. Don't judge me for my drawing of Mrs. Incredible, nor for my inability to judge the size that her head needed to be to fit with said Mrs. Incredible. All of Coleman's classmates filled in a paper saying why Mrs. LeBaron is incredible.

We are grateful for good teachers!

Mother's Day

I was sufficiently spoiled rotten on Mother's Day! My cute family made me a yummy breakfast (Kneader's French Toast with a fruit smoothie) and showered me with gifts.

Ryan worked for hours to get our blog posts from 2008 ready to print! Hooray!  The kids prepared wonderful gifts at school and they were all good to me and each other all day long. 

Olivia helped Sophia make a lovely message out of blocks...

...and Sophia's nursery leaders captured her handprints for this sweet picture.                                         They also avoided getting paint on her dress, which I greatly appreciated :).

Coleman made an awesome card that was all about me... "My mom's name is Lisa. My mom likes to do crafts. My mom's favorite flower is a forget-me-not. My mom has taught me times tables. Mom's favorite food... girl scout cookies. My mom helps me do homework. I love my mom because she lets me do what I want. My favorite thing to do: Anything with my mom. My favorite memory: when my mom plays jokes." He also illustrated and wrote his very own book about me.

"What I know about my mother: My mother is very thoughtful. She is about 60 inches tall. She weighs about 90 pounds. She has green eyes. She has brown hair. The food she likes best is girl scout cookies. Her favorite color is green. My mom's favorite food is girl scout cookies but she doesn't like fish. The thing my mom likes to do for fun is go to disneyland. Mom helps our family by doing chores... to do list: laundry, dishes, put clothes away, bake dinner, sisters diaper. She spends most of her time having fun with the family. When my mom daydreams she thinks about Hawaii. If Mom could have one wish come true, she would wish for going to Hawaii. What I like most about my mom is she gives me presents."

Coleman knows me well!

Olivia wrote a letter nominating me to be "Mother of the Year" and gave me a lovely certificate. Her letter said:

"Dear committee members,

"Once upon a time in a land far away, there was a warlock. This warlock was a noble warlock. He loved a queen so very much that he cast a spell on her. This spell made her the Queen of Everything. My mom is the Queen of Everything. In this letter I will tell you why my mom will be the next Mother of the Year.

"My mom is the best because she is helpful. If I need help with my homework she will help me and work with me. If she sees that someone needs help, she will help them. I tried making a treat and needed some help. I asked my mom if she would help and of course, it was a yes!

"Another reason my mom will be nominated Mother of the Year is that she is truly, a very good cook. She has the Best Bites cookbook and is always trying new recipes. One of my favorites is called Cheeseburger Soup. My mom cooks everything perfectly. If you tasted her food, you would immediately fall in love with it.

"One last reason that my mother will be the next mother of the year is she is very loving. Recently my mom became the new Relief Society president. There was a tragedy the day after she got called. She has loved that family so much. Amazingly she got through the week. My mom loves me every day so much. I can tell, she sacrifices a lot for me. Only every once in awhile you can catch her being the Dragon Queen.

"As you can see, my mother would be the perfect mother of the year. She is helpful in all ways. If you tasted her food, you would know one of my other reasons, a very good cook. Finally, if you met her, you would know immediately she is loving, very loving. Now, any day now I should be getting a certificate that says "Mother of the Year" on it. I love you Mom! Happy Mother's Day!

"Sincerely,

Olivia Harper"

After that letter, I would vote for myself for Mother of the Year (I think she might be a little biased... but right on with the dragon queen part :) ).

We spent the evening at my mom's house and Sophia LOVED playing with the snowball flowers.

She loved having Coleman shower the petals on her head....

...that smile is so cute!

These three kiddos are the reason that my job is the best job in the world!

Additionally, I am so grateful for my mom and Ryan's mom and our grandmas and all of the wonderful women in my life who help me to be a better person.