a day in the life

Faith with a capital F

9 years.

Sometimes I feel like it's zoomed by, like so many people say. Sometimes I feel like I've already forgotten too many bits and pieces, but most of the time I know that I was present and in the moment and have completely enjoyed you for these nine years. So today I'm not struck by what has passed too quickly, but instead, I linger in the precious here-and-now moments.

Like how sometimes your beauty surprises me. When I'm tucking you in and I slow down for the day and really look... I love the sweet lines of your nose and your full little lips when they curve into a smile; your lovely green eyes that go so deep.

Sometimes I want to hang on your every word. Even when there are lots of words.

Sometimes I think you are so brilliant and so talented that I forget you're only 9.

Sometimes I tell you not to be so silly, but I forget that you need to be silly. So be silly. Because I am wrong.

Sometimes you show more comapassion than I knew was capable at your age. And I'm in awe.

Sometimes I want to pick you up and swing you through the air. But I really can't anymore because you are up to my shoulder and nearly wearing my shoe size and clearly not my baby any longer.

Sometimes you get my jokes. The ones that weren't even intended for you, but you get them. And that brings a wide smile to my lips.

Sometimes I can't wait for you to get older so that we can be friends...because I know you would make such a great friend.

Sometimes you are a spitfire. I just close my eyes, breath deeply and remind myself that those 'skills' will be useful in life when I'm not there to fight your battles.

And of course, sometimes I want to fight all your battles for you.

Sometimes you cuddle...but it's less as you get older and we get busier...I cherish those moments.

Sometimes you make mistakes. And I forgive you. It will always work that way. And I do hope the other way 'round as well.

Sometimes you reach for my hand when we're walking and you have no idea how happy that makes me; that it makes my day.

Sometimes you catch my eye and smile at me knowingly from afar and I feel my heart swell and then squeeze so tight that it takes my breath away. Not because I think you mean everything to me, but because I know you do.

 

 

Faith Takes the Stage

Faith had a good time on the stage this winter.  And she learned a good deal about hard work and preparation, as well.  She joined a group of friends to perform in Sunset's Annual Talent Show for the first time.  I love 3rd graders.  They chose the song Dynamite and correographed a dance/gymnastic/ hula hoop number.  Oh yes, they did.  And you thought they'd have to choose between gymnastics and hula hooping... 

Introducing Act #21:

 

That's Isabelle, Faith, Catherine and Allie.

I loved how they worked together to come up with ideas (each of them brought something to the table) and how they didn't point out each other's weaknesses.  I loved that they wanted to practice more than we had time available.  I love that they worked through a few glitches without any tears.  Oh--and i love that they were fearless about getting up on stage in front of their whole school to do cartwheels and hula hoop to the beat!

Here they are in action: (and yet still-shots) I'm good that way.

 

 

 

 

Ta-da!

#3

Claire lost her third tooth in November (2010)!  And yes, that little mention of the year is for me when i'm old so i know it was in 2010 when she lost it and not 2011, when i happen to be writing about it.

ANYway, it was soooo loose--one of those serious danglers--and she wouldn't do a thing about it. 

Then at church, while eating a very plump and delicious-looking donut (drool...she didn't share) it popped right out.  She was shocked and thrilled--in fact, looked a little like this:

 

Complete with chocolate donut on her cheeks, chin and nose.  That girl knows how to bogart a good donut.

Perhaps you don't see the missing tooth at first glance.  That would be because her second row of shark teeth are right behind it, causing the hole to blend in.  All in good time...

We almost had a tooth disaster as a friend spilled water all over our table and she grabbed up all the napkins to clean it up.  As she gathered them all up we had to swoop in and save the tooth from the garbage can.  Mission accomplished.  Tooth safely delivered to the tooth fairy later that night.

LOve

I love this photo.  It's got that Je ne sais quoi... I love it so much i'd put it up on the family wall...that is, if my almost 9-year-old wouldn't be horrified and demand (okay, she's not very demanding)-- beg me to take it down before her friends or possibly a boy who's a friend might see it.  Yes, she's arriving at 'that place'.

I think my almost 7-year-old would like it though.  She works really hard to roll her eyes like that.  In fact, that look probably took three tries to get it right.  Usually she rolls the whole head to get the eyes to move.  It's goood entertainment.

Yep, this one's a keeper.

 

November2010

There was was a month called November.  Much of which I cannot remember. 

For 'tis now almost May and I'm behind, let's just say,

And at this rate i'll post March in September.

SO.  Let me TRY to do a shortened version of the winter lest i blog nothing because i'm overwhelmed by the concept of blogging something. 

There was some celebrating of neighbor's birthdays with much-needed adult nights out.  There were dinners and dancing and drinks...good clean fun.  Well, good fun.

 

 

 
And there was even some clubbing action.  I hate to admit it, but i think i'm past the clubbing scene.  I had no idea what to wear, my 80's moves were not stopping any traffic, and my ears were ringing for days.  And not in a good way.  Is there a good way?

More partying was in order when my friend Julie turned 40.  More dining, drinking and dancing...i'm beginning to see a pattern here.

 

So apparently the celebrations were well under way before the actual holidays hit.  It's always good to have a running start, don't ya think?  

Mixed in with all those parties was a visit from Nana and Papa (and Coco).  Let's just put it out there--the kids DO love their grandparents, but we believe that Coco is the main attraction.  Just telling it like it is. 

 

Well there's that and then of course, any good excuse to get together and make a room tent.

 
Multiple choice question:

When Nana and Papa visit, i like to:  A) make large meals in crock pots  B) have the kids eat in the kitchen so we can have an adult table  C) Open several bottles of wine or D) all of the above ?  Answer:  D, baby.

Now we weren't just making crock pot meals and drinking wine the whole time, Nana and Papa also helped us celebrate the end of Faith's soccer season with a last game and pizza party. 

Here Dad and I are looking very dashing...we could be downtown shopping or something, not at a muddy field in very cold weather.  But we aren't.  Shopping, that is.  Dad isn't much of a shopper unless it's a hardware store.  But i like the photo so i put it in here.  It's my blog.

 

Here's Faith with Nana and Papa (who, btw, took up his old video hobby again and "filmed" Faith's game).  Ahh, that brings back memories...of a LOT of basketball games on VHS tapes.   Look, he's even filming me taking a photograph of him.  No, really--he is.

 

Mom got some good shots from a bird perch she found... this one shows how to act as goalie:

 

This one shows how to act as a forward:

 

And this one shows how to act as a wind block:

 

And here's how to finish your season with a smile:
 

Spidey

In the backyard...

 

 

 

Scrapalicious

October means not only candy and costumes, but it brings with it the much-awaited yearly get-away.  The scrap-weekend with my scrappy girls!  Just grown-up girls for three days, doing nothing but scrapping.  And talking.  There's a lot of laughing.  Oh and eating.  Um...and drinking.  Which leads to dancing.  Yeah, there's some of that. Good times, people.  Gooood times. 

It never ceases to amaze me how this group came together in the name of a little time away and a hobby that we share.  And how we've grown to know and care for one another.   This year, we lost one but gained another.   Believe it or not, we forgot to take a group photo till the last day.  But don't we still looking smashing?!

 

There are many, many photos i could share...but then i'd have to explain them.  So i'll share this to show you our beautiful view:

 

And i'll show you this one so that you know we don't go hungry:

 

This is to prove that we manage a well-balanced meal in there somewhere:

 

And this one is all about my camera being hyjacked:

 

And this one's about hot tubbin time to soothe our sore scrappin' muscles: (nice camera work, btw)

 

And my post wouldn't be complete without this: BAM

 

But I have to go now.  That is all i can show you.  Or i'd have to kill you.

Candy season

Really, i think it starts with Halloween.  The candy-season that is.  From there it's just one big eating fest of a winter and sprinkled all through-out the turkeys and the hams is candy, candy and more candy.  It's February--acutally we are on the brink of March to tell you the truth, and i just threw away the rest of our Halloween candy.  And Christmas candy.  And now we're full of Valentine candy.

*sigh*

It's not that i don't like candy.  And it's honestly not that i eat the candy.  It seems as i've aged, i have less of a sweet tooth and more of a hankering for salty, salty bad goodness.  So the candy is not really a threat to me or my thighs.  But I like to control the amount of candy that my children eat.  I'm funny that way.

And this just sends little shivers up my spine (not their happy faces, but the hoards of candy before them):

 

BUT, I like to think I am also a fair and fun mom and want them to enjoy the candy-of-it-all, so I let them eat it.  Slowly, over the months of the candy season.  

Speaking of Halloween... Here was the team effort this year:

 

A little Scooby, scooby doooo action.  It all started with Claire and her wish to be scooby.  Then Faith swiped the Daphne position, even though i wanted to be a red head again.  Bryce got Fred since we already had a blonde wig and Shaggy was not on our favorites list.  That left me with Velma.  Ahhh, Velma.  I did what i could with that booksmart, mystery-solving brunette.

Neighborhood party at Buycos, trick-or-treating and bucket-loads of candy later, I'd say kicking off the candy season was a success.

Just for Ty

In September we returned to Spokane for the JDRF walk for Tyler.   Well, it wasn't JUST for Tyler, but he was our focus, that's for sure.  That little guy will melt your heart with his sweet smile, his red hair (i've always been a sucker) and his fearless personality.  Just happens to be that he also has Juvenile diabetes. A disease close to our hearts. 
Check out Ty on this block in River Front Park--how perfect was that?!

 
The walk was three-miles on a beautiful blue-sky day and since it was for kids, the kids all joined in.  Team Ty had family and friends, cute matching T's made by Aimee, coffee on hand...and was a total success.  Not just because of the coffee.  But it helped.  Here's Ty and his crew:

 
And here's the view at the start of the race--not too shabby...

 

That's the rushing Spokane River, folks.  And the River Front Park Clock Tower (not really sure if i needed to capitalize all that...) and the giant tent from EXPO '74--the world's fair.   I was just a peanut then, but it's been a part of my whole life.

I laugh every time i see this one:  The Albrechts doing the chariots of fire to start the 'race'.  Good stuff.  As you can see there were a lot of laughs along the way.

 

Bryce and i getting our 'walk on'.  Here we are near the famous (for Spokane) Carousel.

 

Faith and Claire were thrilled to hang out with their cousins.  It was really more play time than race time for them.  There was a lot of posing and goofing, sliding and dancing, running and riding--and somewhere in there, they managed to cover 3 miles of ground with us.

 

 

Nothing says fundraiser like kids in boxes, I always say.

 

We were so thrilled mom could make it too!  And she brought along my third sister, Coco.  Yep, i said it.

 

And finally...we made it to the end.  There was a finish line with goody bags and burgers hot off the grill.  Seriously, if you're looking for a good time and a good cause do the JDRF walk next year! 

 

Franklin Falls, Sept '10

I saw pictures from a friend's hike to the falls and decided we just had to do it ourselves.  Well worth the effort!  There was nature, beauty, exercise, discovery, togetherness and so many little thrills along the way.  What there wasn't: complaints.  Oh, and bathrooms.  fyi

 Check out Franklin Falls! 

The girls could have spent an hour alone just playing on the rocks and watching the rushing water at the entrance to the hike.  Would be fun to go back when there's more sunshine and actually play in the water and get wet a bit. 

 

It was a drizzly day though so we were prepared to get wet from above.  The tree-cover was a nice surprise and turns out we hardly felt a drop!  We weren't cold either, as hoofing it up 200 plus winderness stairs is a great way to get the blood flowing.

 

Leave it to a boy to find time between the rock pathways and the log stairways for a little air guitar...

 

The girls walked and talked and explored.  They counted steps together and helped one another over rough patches.  They pointed out beautiful scenic views and strange moss growths to one another.  Faith photographed many, many things...including Claire.  This is one of our favorites for no good reason:

 

 And here's one of my favorite moments captured from the day:

 

Oh my, so many poses, so little time.  You gotta see this one:

 
Let's see, you probably want to know if we ever made it to the falls.  We did.  In one piece and with only slightly fatigued thighs.  The final stretch was actually a precarious little walkway--and very exciting for the girls.  We reached the bottom and felt success...and water spray from the falls.

 

It was all downhill from there.  But in a good way.  We'll do it again, i'm sure.  Would love some hiking buddies for anyone up for it, too.  And maybe someone to take our photo...

 

Butterflies and Bees

Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee, right?  Last year Claire's basketball team was named the Butterflies.  And they were as cute and flighty as the name suggests.  This year, the first grade girls soccer team was named the Yelllow Jackets.  Just a little bit tougher-sounding.    

So there we were.  Cute little soccer team with a name that means business.  And no coach.  So we decided, who better to coach than two parents from the same family who've never played the sport themselves?  Right.

For lack of anyone else volunteering, we went ahead and signed up.  Bryce coached, I assisted and Faith was a Jr. helper.  It was a real family affair.  We just didn't want to do the girls a disservice, but it turns out, the way the ISC runs the season made it a real cinch.  Train with the league coaches, practice with your players, scrimmage, cheer, see ya next week.  And luckily, we've paid a bit of attention to the last two years Faith has played the sport.

We were blessed with decent weather the entire short season and fun little girls to coach. All in all a great experience!  Here's our adorable team:

Coach Bryce, Sofia, Kiana, Maclaren, Claire, Diksha, Coach Melissa

  

To top it off, it's made me a celebrity.  The girls from the team still get excited and come running when they see me in the halls at school.  Maybe it's wrong to enjoy that, but it's probably the closest i'm going to get to adoring fans, so i'm taking it.

Back to School 2010

Big surprise:  it rained.  First day of school and we needed raincoats. Actually not such a big surprise after the somewhat weak summer weather we had.  But in years past we've purchased 'fall' school clothes only to have to break out the summer shorts for the first day of school.  I kind of preferred that...if only for the photo opps.

Difficult to get a great picture of the kids in the rain.  Unless you completely embrace the rain.  I did not.  But i do however have a covered walkway.  

Here's Faith heading off to 3rd grade.  3rd!

We hear her teacher runs a tight ship and that in her class you will 'learn to be a very good student'.  We are all thrilled.  Faith likes having structure and guidelines by which to gauge her own progress.  She thrives when she knows what's expected and she uses her time well in those situations.  She also thinks her teacher is 'so nice', so double thumbs up from the Heins. 

And here's Claire, our big 1st-grader: 

For Claire, first grade means a full day at school.  It means having lunch with friends and getting an extra recess period.  To me it means nearly 7 straight hours apart from my youngest.   Letting go is certainly a process.  It's taken time, but i've finally let go of the need to be there to supervise what she's eating from her lunch, making sure there's sharing on the playground and even reminding her to relieve her bladder now and then during the school day.  Like i said, it's a process.

Luckily she has a sweet and adoring teacher who wants her to have a wonderful and successful year.  And to use the restroom when necessary.

I suppose some things are okay with this new gig.  Like having some time of my own in the grocery store to actually read packages.  Having both time and patience to shop for clothing somewhere other than Gymboree and Target.  Sitting down to eat.  Reading…something.  Making a phone call with nothing in the background but silence.  Watching a program or listening to music at any time other than 10pm. Lunch dates... 

Okay, so now I’m convincing myself that school is okay and that we might just survive this ‘back to school’ adjustment.  So long as you understand that it's my right as the mama to be slightly conflicted this year.  

And to wait eagerly for the bus to both come and return.  

Got a plan

I'm hellbent on catching up on our lives so that i can enjoy myself in the moment.  My darling husband got me a laptop so i can blog wherever i am.  So i can upload, download and reload on the road.  He knows i have a thing with keeping busy.  Knows that i would rather keep my hands busy than sit idle.  And so this brings forth my plan.  I have a plan to catch up.  By the end of January.  It's my resolution for 2011 and i fully intend to keep it and by doing so i will complete my resolution for the year in the first month of the year (and be free).  Following?

You see, I have a thing with order.  You might laugh if you saw my daily 'organized chaos' or heard the one about all the Christmas receipts safely clipped together and stored...somewhere.  But i have a way about my organized chaos that usually works for me.  Nevermind a moment or two of panic here and there.  But when it comes to keeping track of memories (and especially when dealing with my babes and what they do) i need order.  I'm writing this blog more like a scrapbook for my family than a facebook for everyone else.  I forget things easily and this is like my journal. 

You know about the order thing if you've scrapbooked with me.  Getting out of chronological order in my books makes me batty and brings everything to a standstill.  So my goal is to catch up (because i can't just SKIP things either--also a scrapbooking issue since it's a little overwhelming to scrap EVERYthing).  So there it is:  To catch up to the current month.  Of course then the challenge will be keeping up...  But i've got 2012 to make that resolution, right?

Who let the dogs out?! (August 22 2010)

My dog-crazy second-born wanted nothing more than a dog party for her birthday.  So we treated her to a dog bowl of coco puffs for breakfast and it was a dog’s day from there on out.

 

Both girls wanted smaller parties this year and Claire probably would have been thrilled with just a few friends over to play doggy for an afternoon.  We went a little further though…I mean it’s me, here.  But a dog party it was! 

 

For the first year ever, the weather did not cooperate for the party and we were forced inside.  Inside!  That meant a little rearranging and a lot less of the running puppy games we’d planned, but the girls rolled with it.  And Claire says her favorite memory from the party is playing fetch down the hallway with all her friends.

We painted doggy faces to get in the spirit and wore dog collars and doggie ears.  The girls were so cute!

 
There were Scooby snacks and ‘pupcakes’ and lots of free puppy play.  They made Puppy door hangers and played simple games like Cat Cat Dog and Dog Trainer Says.  Faith enjoyed leading some of the games for her sis and made it really easy on me.  She might just be re-hired next year. 

We spread out newspapers for puppy protection and let them have their pupcakes in real doggie fashion, too.  Then served the birthday pup her dog paw cake…

 

 Cutest little 6-year pup ever!  Happy dog-day, baby!

Horse Sense (Summer 2010)

Horses.  The other big summer camp.

Something about little girls in cowboys boots.  Or, as Faith corrects me, cow GIRL boots.  So sweet and tough at the same time.  Adorable but rugged.   Makes me want to turn the pictures to sepia and pretend they are cowgirls from times gone by.   

 
Something a little like this:

Don’t get me started on jeans and braids…

 
 
Oy.

And I love this shot.  So imperfect and funny the way each girl is standing… and somehow so color-coordinated.  Of course i love that.

 

But maybe you're looking for the horses at horse camp.  Here are the girls with their friends at camp--and there are the horses!  

 

They learned everything from care and cleaning and horse terminology to prepping for rides and cleaning up after.  The younger girls learned how to lead and control their horse with basic commands.  They walked a course by themselves and we were so impressed by what they had mastered in one week.  Claire looked so little on that big horse, but she was the one in control!

The older girls did all that and also learned to trot. Faith was so excited to show off her new talent.   Both girls fell completely in love with “their horse” for the week and are still talking about them now.

Here’s more of Faith working with her horse, Hope:

 
And here’s Claire with her pony, Lacey:

 

Word is, we'll be doing this again.  If the girls had it their way, we'd be doing it right now but i told them for now it was one of those sports we'll save for 'dryer weather'. ;)