2018 :: week 44

October 21

Lauren is 7! She is as sensitive and kind and smart as she is beautiful. She makes her parents smile everyday. She pays impeccable attention to detail, builds amazing Lego creations and has a generous heart. Her quick wit keeps us on our feet and her thoughtfulness is inspiring. We are grateful for her everyday, but especially today on her birthday. We celebrated by eating donuts for breakfast and opening gifts--mainly lego sets and LOL dolls--before church. She got sung to at church in primary AND by the youth at our house during the BYD that night. Sunday birthdays when you have afternoon church and your dad is the bishop make it a little hard to have the day just as you'd like it, but Lauren handled it well.

October 22

Anthony and I met Lauren for lunch at her school to close out our birthday celebration weekend. She requested a McDonald's Happy Meal and we obliged. We hear some strange rumors about rules in the lunchroom, so it was fun for us to see what it is actually like.

October 23

Elliott and I met Kendall and Stephanie at a new-to-us park (Santa Marta) Tuesday morning. We discussed going to story time at the library, but decided with the idyllic weather we were experiencing this week, it would be more worth our time to get outdoors. The kids had fun climbing and playing some game that involved moving rocksfrom one area of the park to another.

October 24

Will is such a great sport! When he accompanies us to Lauren's soccer practice he often ends up entertaining the younger boys. Elliott loves soccer practice. He is guaranteed at least one and often two or three of his buddies will be there. There are rarely any siblings Will's age at practice, but he is nice to play with the preschoolers and keep them out of their parent's hair.

October 25

The boys played with Legos Thursday evening after baths. Will seems to have caught the viral cough that has been going around their elementary school. That night we tried every natural remedy we could come up with to help soothe his symptoms--steam shower, Vicks Vapo Rub, swallowing a small spoonful of honey, humidifier in room. It seemed to help him feel better, but it didn't get rid of the all the pain.

October 26

Will performed in his first piano recital Friday afternoon. His piece was "Frankenstein's Waltz" and he performed it perfectly. He had it memorized and played it with a nice, even tempo. I was a little worried because at home he would sometimes "jazz" it up a bit, but when his time came he played beautifully. The students all dressed up in their Halloween costumes, which was convenient, because our ward's Trunk or Treat started right as we finished.

October 27

Lauren played in her last soccer game of the season on Saturday (her team has one more game Sunday). She had a great year! She continues to improve and gain confidence. She is a good teammate and friend. Anthony and I are trying to convince her that it is okay to play with full intensity. When she plays she seems to be pacing herself, only giving about 75%.