Happy 7th Birthday Zachary

     I look out the window again, finding Zach diligently tossing the ball repeatedly to Aspen. Neither one has shown the slightest bit of fatigue over this latest game of fetch that has lasted well into the late hours of dusk. While he tries to squeeze the last bit of activity into this, the busiest day of the week, I am trying my best not to climb into bed. Both of us waiting on Mike to get back home.  

     As every birthday goes in our house, we begin the day with hugs and kisses, a birthday plate left out for the special day piled with whatever the birthday boy desires for breakfast. It was a school day so, of course, two dozen cupcakes are delivered to the classroom and a loud, unharmonized version of Happy Birthday is sung by his peers.    I am humbled by how much Zach is loved by his classmates and teachers who all have wished him well today. 

     After school, we piled into the car and made it to daddy's work where, yet another birthday cake and chorus of Happy Birthday is sung to him by the office staff and his siblings. Mike looks so proud showing off his son to his patients, who stand out the doors of their rooms peeking out at the raucous going on. I see Mike whispering into Zach's ear and see how our son's face lights up with whatever the two have shared. They are always thick as thieves these two. I feel with every day that goes by my son is drifting farther and farther away from the little boy I loved to hold in my arms each night. Now, he is growing into a little man that wants to be just like his dad, dress like his dad, hang out with his dad, play video games with his dad. I am the "in between" parent. The one who gets hugs in between running out of the house, or getting a bowl of popcorn from the kitchen, or walking back to his room to finish homework. I am the afterthought of daily activity, yet, I know that he loves me just the same because he never lets the "in between" moments seem meaningless. He knows I need a stronger hug than his dad, a longer kiss, a warmer smile. How can I complain that he is becoming more independent. 

     Daddy arrives home and a deafening ring can be heard in the house as seven children scream with excitement as he enters the house. I love this scene, it never gets old. It is a rock star welcome and Zach is the president of the fan club. I'm taken back by  how long my son's legs appear as he get's a piggy back ride into the house. Where did those chubby little thighs go? When did they get replaced by the long sinewy muscles? When the initial excitement dies down we manage to eat dinner and have the last birthday cake of the evening but I notice Zach hasn't touched his slice. I'm sure he is probably in a sugar coma by now. The kids give him their gifts which seem both comical and yet so touching. Zach holds each gift as if it were made of gold, mesmerized at their craftsmanship, he doesn't miss the opportunity to thank them and hug them, making sure each sibling knows how much he appreciates them. I feel tears threatening to come but I shake them away. He's seven, I remind myself, not seventeen. 

     Finally, when the babes are put to bed I see those two buddies whispering again and smiling. I little pang of jealousy hits me but I ignore it. I know he will come say goodnight to me before he goes to bed. I go to my room to get ready for bed and find that Mike and Zach have followed me in. Both still smiling from ear to ear. 

"Go ahead, tell her," Mike says. 
"Tell me what?" I ask. 

     Zach walks towards me and from behind his back he pulls out two pieces of cake and hands them to me. "For my birthday, dad is letting me sleep in your bed tonight." I look up at Mike who is looking at me knowing without my even saying a word what my heart is  singing. 
"This is really what you want to do, Zach?" 
"Are you kidding, mom? Cake in bed, a movie with you guys. I've been asking dad for months." 

  I can't remember who jumped in bed faster but I think it was close. It may be seven years since I gave birth to this boy who is quickly becoming a man but tonight he wants to still be my baby. Why would I complain. Hours later, the TV is off, the room is still and I can see my son's sweet face in the moonlight. He is a little bookend to my husband lying just across from him. I can't help but smile at the sight. I stretch out and am about to roll over when I feel Zach's arm wrap around mine as he snuggles in to me. Now, in the dark, when no one is around, I let my tears come. Whether they are tears of joy or sadness I do not know, I'm too tired to diferrentiate them. All I do know is that I am grateful. So grateful my heart could burst. 
Happy Birthday Zachary, my sweet boy. I love you to pieces. 

Golden's 14 Years of Bliss Celebration

     

So you are fourteen, how is your second teenage year? Great. I have good friends and teachers.

What is your favorite color? Blue why? There are pretty blues like the light blue in the sky and it goes great when its mixed with other colors.'

What's your favorite food? Pizza. The salad (Turkey Cobb salad from Publix)That should be your favorite because you eat it every day even though it used to be for me and I can't find it now when I want it. He laughs.

What is your favorite show? I've seen so many good ones. Naruto right now.

What's your favorite movie? The Lego Movie

What is your calling at church? I'm a teacher. Congrats! What does that mean to you? I get to talk about gospel principles and I still pass out the sacrament. 

What is your favorite extracurricular activity? I like tennis. 

What's your favorite subject? Science and reading

Tell me something smart? The measurement of light passing every year is a light year. 

Who's your favorite sibling? I have trouble with that. Why? They can all be a bit obnoxious at times especially Nico now that he's going into the terrible twos. 

But do you love your siblings? Yes

I still catch you cuddling Nico and sometimes Carlos. Silence

What do you want to be when you grow up? Doctor What kind? I don't know. I haven't given it much thought. 

What do you think the hardest thing about growing up is? The school work . Life is just going to get harder. Mrs. Voss taught me that. I kinda miss her. 

What do you want to tell your 30 year old self if you could go into the future? Thanks for making it this far. Maybe remind him he likes tennis.

OK so what would your 30 year old self tell you now? Thanks for reminding me and pick the right girl and don't make your sister take out the trash

Speaking of girls, what should you be looking for in a girl? Pretty, smart, a Mormon, maybe a little bit sexy. I know it sounds inappropriate but I'm pretty sure teenagers like me think about that stuff because we are at that stage. Oh, and likes me no matter what I do.

What's your favorite vacation? I liked North Carolina. I liked everything the house with our own basement, the lake, hiking, rafting, biking even though I can't remember a lot of what we did.

What do you like most about your dad? He's nice. He's kind and gets us stuff no matter what. He's very good at doing the right thing and he's a doctor. 

Now I'm jealous. What do you like about your mom? Your a doctor, your sweet, you take us cool places for vacation. 

I feel better. Why do you like traveling so much? To get away from school. I like to see new things. I like room service. I have trouble sometimes because I'm worried about the triplets and Nico.

Let's talk about that. What worries you? That they might get lost or hurt. I wonder why you worry. We've never lost any of you. Sometimes I just think your not paying attention. And sometimes it makes me feel like I'm better than you sometimes.

Do you think your afraid because of Zachary? (Wants his reply stricken)

Do you remember Zachary? Yes. Do you remember who named him Zach? You. No Dad No, you did. You were quite stern about this and wouldn't hear about any other names. 

What do you look forward to most this Christmas? Getting presents and being with you guys. And having the spirit in our home. But remember Jesus was really born in April. 

Any last words of wisdom? I hope that no matter how hard life gets we have to keep moving forward because I know the Lord will be with us every step of the way. So how does that sound? Pretty darn good, Golden. I love you. 

 

Disney Star Wars Weekend 2015

    What is summer without a trip to Disney? At least in this house. We especially love our favorite Star Wars Weekends at Disney. It's like being told you are having dessert first at dinner and that the entree is actually more dessert. Certain folks in this household may be referred to as Star Wars enthusiasts or Big Time Nerds as we like to call them but there is something about seeing the Star Wars cast up close and personal that leaves the rest of us standing in line for Yoda backpacks and pretzels in the shape of the Millennium Falcon and afterwards still feeling really excited about it. 

     We stayed at the Grand Floridian this time. The last time we stayed here we were only the proud parents of two children not partially embarrassed parents of six but it was still grand indeed. I particularly love the monorail at our door to the Magic Kingdom vs. parking getting on a tram to get to a monorail to get to Disney. With this many lemmings to corral I'll take whatever short cut is allowed. And Disney doesn't disappoint in the hospitality category either. We had turn down service with chocolates, a pull out bed from the wall with a Mary Poppins mural hidden behind it, spacious rooms, planned children's activities by the pool every hour, a camp fire with smores every night with an outdoor movie and an electric light parade on the water to end the day with fireworks soon after. But we still managed to leave the hotel to go geek out at the parks.

     On arrival to Hollywood Studios, Bobba Fett was talking about hunting down Solo and pointed straight at me with my brood in tow and said, "I see you have captured many." I think I might have squealed then snorted with glee. 

My prisoner's mug shot with Bobba Fett

     On our way from the Star Wars ride to the Brown Derby for lunch we spotted several of our favorites who gave us a hearty hello.

Even Darth seemed happy to see us....I think.

    After the Buzz Lightyear ride we happened to stumble across some of Carlos' favorite folks. Can you see how he's trying to keep his stuff together in this picture? He's probably repeating something like, "Keep it cool Car. Don't flake out in front of Buzz. That's it keep it cool. Definitely don't toot right now. Yeah, your pretty awesome right now."

     We would always end the day in the pool. Trying to bring the feeling of mass hysteria down a notch before dinner. I found bubbles to be very relaxing as did the triplets. Until, Gigi started playing a game we do in our pool called " Save me " where she pretends to need rescuing and I come give her a piggy back ride in the pool. The life guards were not familiar with this game and dove in to rescue her. I was mortified. She, on the other hand, thought it a fun game and immediately took off down the thirty foot slide.

     You can't come to Disney and not dine with the characters. (Really, it's like in the contract.) Highly overpriced but can you really handle the guilt associated with depriving them of the opportunity to let Alice and Mary Poppins interrupt your breakfast to stand for awkward pictures and conversations? 

     Mary was pretty cool though. When Nico started to fuss she said, " Now pish posh, there will be none of that." And he quieted down and took this picture. 

     We ate in Germany at Epcot and toured the tiny Romantic Road train village about twenty times before the kids let us move on. At the Biergarten, the kids got up and danced their little hearts out with the band. It was pretty fun.

     Here are just some of those things you never knew you needed until you see them at Disney. In their defense, they still wear them and Beau calls them her "Rock Star" glasses.

The nostalgia of watching your kids enjoy what you enjoyed at their age is priceless. Disney has that market cornered. It's a time machine you get to revisit with every new babe.

  Here was my favorite dinner at the Contemporary with a 360 view of the park.I just love my Krewe.

     I don't know if he is on to me but my favorite Mike photos are when he is just loving on our babes. I luckily have many moments to capture in our life together but I swear he looks taller, healthier and more attractive in these photos then when he is in a shot by himself. I doubt that is the case but only how I see him, a loving father and husband...who just happens to be a babe.

     A princess Leia Minnie. Are you kitten me right meow? Almost as adorable as my Beau.

     

Waiting for the boat to Disney. 

Just another day at the hotel.

     One of the last things we did was eat at the boardwalk and then strolled into Epcot for some pastries in France. Most of us were too excited for words to spot Princess Aurora who couldn't get enough of our gang. All those who were excited are in this picture. I must say  that Sleeping Beauty was just a little to affectionate for my taste (notice how she is cuddling up to my prince and looking at me while she telepathically tells me, "Don't I look good here?" ) All I have to say is listen here Ms. Sleep Apnea, this is my prince and these our my minions. Move along....but thanks for the picture the kids just loved you. See you next year.

Family Reunion at the Lake 2015

Now that school is officially back into swing I can take time between my no sleep, no rest, taxi/waitress/laundry mat attendant/ personal shopper etc duties and sit down to post a bit about our summer adventures. Well, there goes all my free time. Catch you all in a year. 

    As usual, I will let the pictures do most of the talking but we made it to great grandma Tillie's 90th birthday bash/ family reunion and it did not disappoint. We even managed to squeeze in some family photos with the always entertaining and supremely talented Meslissa Squires at A Girl in Love Photography I have a love/hate relationship with her in that I can take the same pictures of my kids just like she does but they never give me the amazing faces and smiles that she seems to capture. It's photography envy at its best but I just keep going back for her to keep rubbing it in with great photos. 

He never gives me this natural smile I love. 

Can you just eat him up?

Probably the last shot of us together since Melissa took our last pictures. But I swear we still hang out together despite the lack of evidence.

One of my all time favorites of these kiddos

     

     The grands house never is at a lack of entertainment or eye candy for the babes. My first second after arriving I captured these two in their bromance hug out in the garden. And yes, my kids seem to disrobe the second they arrive here.

Four of Tillie's children along with her nine grandchildren brought all of their spouses and great grand kids to the lake house. Richard and Jimbo taught the little ones how to fish. Beau went right up to him and said, "Hey mister, can you teach me how to fish?" and off they went. 

Baby Aiden (title now under discussions with the panel) was always hugging and trying to carry the actual Baby Nico. The picture may not be an adequate representation because Nico sort of loved him doing it. 

The cousins could be found all over the place learning a little about each other and forming those life long bonds people read about in novels. Long sunny days, fishing, swimming, making smores  by the fire, catching fireflies kind of days were had here. 

Old friends catching up and Arell trying to bribe Nico without success

Here are the grands with their grandkids. I think next year we may even get them to all look into the same camera.

The original crew of grands picked up right where they left off. 

Even though he just had twins, Nico may have done Rich in.

 We loved seeing all of our Michigan friends and family and catching up with their growing families.

He let her drive! 

     A highlight thanks to aunt Kellie was the arrival of Elsa and Olaf to the festivities. Yeah, it was pretty spectacular. She sang songs, painted their faces and hair and danced with the kids. Gigi was first in line. Can't you just feel her excitement in this picture?

Alex danced with Olaf and made him copy all of her moves. 

I feel a whole lot of trouble will come from this friendship of fine females.

I think Beau was most in awe over the visit. She barely spoke a word for two hours.

All kids, including the lawyer grandkid was excited to pose with Olaf.

Not all guests were invited but dealt with accordingly

Here is Tillie with her children. She was such a good sport during the party. She didn't even complain when I dressed her up like Bernie (from Weekend at Bernie's ) for a picture because when planning this event she was sick and we said we would have the party with or without her cooperation by dressing her up and moving her limbs with ropes..

     The house, as usual is magical, Sheila and Dave work 40hours a week on the yard for months and we come in and revel in it. It is lovely to every last detail.

Ah Summer, you will be missed.