Tuesday, October 11, 2016

The New Adventures of Skippidy

Skippidy is doing new stuff! And it's exciting!

First of all, we've got this girl swimming. We have never had great experiences with those group swim lessons at a big pool where a cute teenager teachers 5 or 6 kids a lesson.  No one ever seemed to make any progress. Cap and Bitty figured it out on their own, but so far Skippidy has just not gotten the deep down hang of swimming where I know she's safe and can get to the side of a pool on her own. I found out, through that awesome machine called the neighborhood word of mouth, that Westminster College has a pool (who knew?) and that you can sign up for PRIVATE half hour swim lessons for $12 a week.  So worth it!  Skippidy goes swimming with the awesome Sarah once a week and is making real progress.  She's not quite the water-safe swimming gal yet, but almost. I should probably put the other two in a few lessons so they learn some actual skills instead of just knowing how to get around. This teacher is great because she's firm, she doesn't let Skippidy squirm out of things, but is soft spoken and kind too. I really like her.







We take a raccoon-eyes picture every week after she swims. Those goggles are not letting any water in, by gum!

Also, blessings be forever on the head of The Becky, Skippidy started taking violin lessons. I was not sure I was ready to start child number three on the daily practicing schedule, but it seemed unfair not to. And as it turns out, so far, she absolutely LOVES it and practicing with her every day is going so smoothly. I'm sure we'll hit rough patches as she gets frustrated from time to time, but that's nothing new around here! The Becky is a wonderful teacher. Skippidy is really zooming along already. I'm so very grateful for her.




Yay Skippidy in all your new adventures!


Another Year Gets Started



Another school year is upon us. 2016-2017....wait, is 2017 right? That number is just SO HIGH!! That is seriously weird.  But here we are. We made it through another summer.


Here's my giant 8th grader - feeling a bit more confident than he had one year ago. (And puh-leeease don't remind me that next year he will be a high schooler. I can not currently handle that.)




Now that some weeks have gone by, I'm thrilled to report that Cap is having a really great year. I was quite happy with our choice to send him to Clayton last year, but I'm even more so this year. I love his teachers, he is doing really well in his classes, he's happy and more confident. Okay, we still have our moments, but the child is 13 going on 14. That's how it's supposed to be, right?



And the girls!  This is actually the last time they will ever be at the same school....ever.  Wah!!!!! I hate that! They haven't figured that out yet and I'm not telling them because Skippidy has already had a few very tearful incidents thinking about being at Wasatch without her big sister next year.  I'm sad too but I'm trying to be brave.  Bitty is now a 6th grader which is just crazy - I'm imagining that I'm going to feel that way pretty much from here on out.  And Skippidy is a 2nd grader - still one of the cute littles but not for long.  Both of them have lovely teachers whom we have had before with Chase. Bitty is blossoming as a sixth grader although her math homework is starting to bring her down.  Skippidy is enjoying her pirate-loving teacher, although is occasionally anxious about her strict nature when other kids misbehave. (Hi, anxiety, nice to see that you've made it to another family member.) She has decided to omit the "Mrs." from her teacher's name and refers to her as just Lloyd. As in, "Lloyd was barely even strict today." It is so funny.




And me? Poor me? What was I to do without my kids at home to ask me to do stuff for them all the dang day long?  I'll tell ya:


Here's to a wonderful year ahead. And just so you know I was only in that hammock for like 10 minutes before I had to get up and start doing the stuff I couldn't get to all summer long. But those were 10 awesome minutes.  

Bitty's Birthday

Our baby Bitty turned 11 this August, and had a really lovely birthday. Of course, it happened the day before school started, so naturally it was kind of hectic, but hey, at my house, what kid's birthday isn't totally crazy?

Bitty planned her birthday celebration all on her own, and her idea was charming. Before that though Bitty got a really really sweet surprise.  On Saturday afternoon we arrived home from an outing of some kind. I have no idea what it was. That's what happens when you don't blog about something until six weeks have gone by. Some of the details get a little fuzzy. Anyway, we arrived home to find a very large box on our front porch addressed to Bitty, and it was from her cousins in St. George. I was going to have her wait until the next day, her actual birthday, to open it,  but she was too excited. I was feeling slightly horrified deep down to see this huge box - what on earth had they sent? As it turns out, it wasn't a gift really, not a toy or box of new clothing, or anything big and expensive. Instead it was a priceless memory that Bitty will remember fondly forever. The box was filled with confetti and balloons. Each balloon had a message written on it telling Bitty something each person loved about her, plus a bunch spelling out Happy Birthday! It was amazingly sweet. Bitty was so filled with joy and love. Couldn't ask for a better present than that. Thanks for taking the time and energy to do that, you guys.



That evening we had a little celebration for Bitty.  It was all her idea. First of all, she just wanted to go out to dinner with one friend. This cute gal has been a buddy of Bitty's since 1st grade. They really wanted to go to Noodles and Company, so we did. Skippidy and I sat at a different table to give the birthday guest a little pre-teen privacy.



After dinner we came back to our house for a viewing of the original Ghostbusters. Bitty and I made cupcakes earlier in the day, and she had a very specific plan for them. She wanted to make the cupcakes and then cover them with "slime." (Actually a very tasty lemon curd.) She then decided that she would announce that it was cupcake time and I would go get them, then start exclaiming in distress over the state of the cupcakes. Bitty and her friend were to run into the kitchen to see what was the matter, whereupon I was to cry out, "Your Cupcakes Got Slimed!!"  I'm happy to report that her plan worked perfectly and everyone was delighted with the slimed cupcakes.  I'm grateful for famous baking you-tuber Rosana Pansino for the idea, and even more grateful to my daughter who did not insist on completing the recipe with a hand-piped Ghostbuster symbol made of icing to perch precariously on top of each one.





On Sunday morning we had just enough time for a breakfast of scones with a couple little gifts such as new pajamas and some school clothes. Not to mention a GIANT watermelon balloon, which was all I could get from Smith's at 11:00 on a Saturday night. (No....I didn't do Bitty's shopping the night before, nope, not me!) I need to state here as I write this on October the 11th that that balloon is still afloat to this day. In fact, it's hovering right behind me in our laundry nook where it was a nuisance for a long time but has now become a permanent fixture. I think we just are waiting to see how long it's going to last.







After church we held a little family celebration where Bitty received her big and much longed-for gift of a Nintendo 2DS - I'll just say that so far we've gotten our money's worth out of that thing. Probably too much money's worth. She loves it.


Auntie Margaret and Apa came over for key lime pie - Bitty's absolute favorite.


It was a grand celebration to celebrate my truly grand girl. Bitty is one force of nature, I'm telling you. What a big heart, what an ability to be generous and kind. I love watching her become a young woman, knowing herself better and better. She's a truly darling little performer - I can see her in a comedy troupe someday. (Season 19 of Studio C! Yes!!) I look forward to the years ahead as she blossoms into a person who's not only my daughter but a really neat person who brings a lot of good to the world.

Love you, my Bitty.