The Conspiracy

I’m pretty sure I know what my kids talk about, late at night, when they are supposed to be sleeping.  I suspect they lie there and talk about how they can create the maximum amount of work for me, while maintaining a facade of innocence.

I can hear it now:

“When mom asks me to do something, I’m gonna pretend to be agreeable, and then when she turns her back, I’ll ‘forget’ to do it.  That way she’ll have to ask me several times, and follow me around to make sure it gets done.”

“Oh yeah?  Well my plan is to sneak all the clean laundry back into the dirty baskets so she’ll have to wash things over and over again.”

“I’ve been leaving wet towels on the carpet in the corners of my room.  By the time she thinks to look for them there, they’ll smell so bad she’ll have to wash them with bleach!”

“Well when I clear my dishes, I leave big chunks of food in them.  By the time mom figures it out, stuff is always crusted on there, and she has to scrub them double the amount of time.”

“One of the easiest ways to drive her crazy is to put things away in the wrong place.  She’ll spend forever looking for things!”

“Yeah!  That’s a good one!  She may catch on to some of our tricks, but by the time she has to ask each person to find out who made which mess, it probably won’t be worth it.  It’ll just be easier to clean it up herself!

Even Simon has joined in on the fun.  His secret weapon is to suck on the top of the salt shaker, so that every time I want to use it, I have to clean it out to unclog it.

Jeff tries to assure me that it isn’t conscious sabotage, but I’m not so sure.  Maybe tonight I’ll listen outside their bedroom doors…

Alston Family Reunion 2011

Here are a few pictures from the recent Alston reunion in Payson.  I don’t really have anything eloquent to say about it, but only because my brain is barely functional these days.

Simon slept in the bathtub of our hotel room.  We’ve got to make good use of the space, you know!

Swimming with cousins in the hotel pool.

We spent one afternoon at the Verde River, where I remember playing as a kid.  The next generation jumped off the rocks, swung from the rope, and hunted for crawdads.  Of course my dad was the first one all the way in the water.  And fully clothed!

One of the highlights for me was sitting and listening to Uncle RT and Aunt Frankye, two of the “origional” siblings, sit and tell stories from their childhood.   They talked about working long, hard days in the fields, and only getting to keep $.25 of their earnings each week.  The rest went toward supporting the family!  It made realize, again, that I really don’t require too much of my kids. 

Oh What Do You Do In the Summertime?

We’re finding all sorts of creative ways to stay entertained!

Fwee dollars

Simon asks me every day: “Da baby come out your tummy today?”  And every day I have to answer “Not today, buddy.”  It’s going to be a long 3 months of waiting!

Yesterday he was on my bed rubbing my tummy and talking about all the things he will do to help when the baby comes out.  He will hold it, and hug it, and bring mommy diapers.  Those ideas all came from my coaching.

He came up with one idea all on his own.  “When da baby comes out,” he said with an air of importance, “I give it fwee dollars.” (Translation $3.)  I asked, “You think the baby will need three dollars, huh?”  He answered confidently, “Ya. And diapers, and binkies, and blankies.”

Sounds like Simon knows just what his little brother will need.   I’m glad he’s planning ahead!

Savannah – 12 years old!

This is a big birthday for Savannah!  She turned 12, which means she gets to go to Young Women’s at church.  That includes weekly activities and girls camp this summer!  She also gets to wear make-up, and takes on the responsibility of managing her own yearly clothing budget.

 

To celebrate the big step, she got to have a sleep-over party.  That’s a big deal, because we don’t do sleepovers… ever!

The girls had fun with a snowball fight (ordered from Bahama Bucks) and water balloons.  They stayed up late and watched a movie, and spent some time just hanging out and having fun.

Savannah is such a great girl.  When she was a toddler, I wished that I had given her the middle name of Joy, because she had such a happy disposition.  She still does.

She always notices when I am having a hard time, and is quick to offer to help.

She is FUNNY!  Her sense of humor keeps us all laughing.  I often hear her and Rebecca in their room giggling long after they should be asleep!

She is really smart.  I’m not sure she realizes how smart she really is.

Besides just natural brains, she is also a high achiever.  She always tries her very best on whatever she does.  In some of her classes she earned higher than 100%!

She loves to learn new things, and has a variety of interests.  She makes rolls from scratch, takes really artistic photos, excels at piano lessons, and has a list of other things she’d like to learn.

Happy Birthday, my sweet Savannah!  You are truly a joy to me!

Why I love 2 year olds

 

This guy makes me smile so many times a day!  He spent the afternoon, happy as can be, wearing only his big boys, his new “fli-flops,” and his stickers.

He’s  a willing participant in whatever schemes his siblings think up:

And he’s full of enthusiasm!  He runs, jumps, and dances all day long.  If only I could borrow a fraction of that energy!

Having a 2 year old in the house makes life a lot of fun!

Jonah – age 6

Jonah had promised me that he would stay 5 forever… but it was a promise he just couldn’t keep.

He turned 6 on May 21st, and planned a super fun Halloween-themed party to celebrate!

All the guests came in costumes.  We had pizza and a jack-o-lantern cake, and then everyone went Trick-or-Treating.  He got a Lego watch (which he’s been wanting for months), a glow in the dark doodle pad, and lots of other cool stuff.

Some things we love about Jonah at this age:

He is super smart.  He reads his chapter books in his bed at night, and tells me what happened in the book the next morning.

He’s crafty.  He spends lots of time making cards and pictures for all of us.  Many of them are stuck to the walls around the house with duct tape.

He’s a good big brother.  He and Simon can spend hours outside together jumping on the trampoline or playing in the sandbox.

He’s very loving.  He likes to tell us that he loves us frequently, and gives really good hugs when I ask him.

He’s got a great imagination, and a vocabulary to match it!

We love you Jonah!  Happy Birthday!