Friends...

Middle school girls are cute huh? However....they can be moody, mean, jealous, and just downright fickle. BUT, Chloe and her cute friend Lauren seem to be able to avoid that with each other...Lauren helps Chloe be a better friend and Chloe does the same for her. They are so darn cute, and they are funny and they are good to each other. I have had my fair share of  the drama from Chloe and Caeley's friends...it happens at this age. And I am not one of those parents that think that their child is always without blame. I know they give it back too. BUT as a mother of 4 daughters I should be having conversations about what to do and NOT to do in a friendship. How NOT to act. How to admit when you are wrong or unkind , how NOT to pout, ignore, roll eyes, and gossip about your friends. I am constantly lecturing the girls on what NOT to do. I tell them before any school or church function..." don't pout if things don't go your way, don't leave another friend when someone better comes along,  don't invite a bunch of friends to do something and leave out ONE girl, don't act moody, include everyone the best you can...and last but not least...don't say one thing until you get home and then you can vent to your mom and sisters and be done with it" .For those of you with young daughters,,be warned..this list is from personal experience and it will probably happen to you! hahaha. I am probably doing this whole parenting thing all wrong, but I am taking my own advice and  trying to be better friend myself:) if evryone  did this how happy we would be with all our wonderful friends.

Caeley...

This first-born daughter of mine is quite unique...She never ceases to surprise me with her humor or her insights to the world. She is compassionate and tries really hard to be a good friend to her friends...She has friends coming out of the woodwork. Her phone goes off a thousand times a day with the buzz of summer plans. She is always smiling and really is such a sweet girl. She is a mother hen to the 4 other apparently helpless siblings... she likes to micro-manage them all.  I often find myself saying" I am the mother, and I will take over from here, thanks though":) then comes the slight eye-roll...like I can't manage on my own. I know I am under water most of the time, but I really do have my "stuff" together. She is growing up so quickly and I find myself realizing how little time I have left with her before she speads her wings and flies. I find myself asking " have I taught her everything she will need to know out there? Like, nothing good happens after 11pm and go with someone EVERYWHERE. I know, I watch way too many "Datelines"....I silently pray for a good young man to be worthy of her someday and hope he is being raised by loving parents who are good and kind to him. Ugh, its hard having a daughter, let alone FOUR!! She wants to do so many things and live for every minute and I can't wait to see what life holds for her....just not yet...is it bad to wish the clock would just slow down? ;)

The Hundred Dresses

As a mother to 4 daughters I often look for creative ways to teach the value of friendship. More often than not I probably fall short, but then I pull out our worn copy of The Hundred Dresses and I sit all 4 girls down and we read. It only takes us two nights to read the 7 chapters and at the end my girls roll their eyes as I tear up yet again...but this book is to to be cherished ...
It tells the sweet yet simple story of a humble girl and the love of a dress. or a hundred. After we read, I let the girls sketch a favorite dress that they would love to wear...this summer my idea is to make one of their sketches...
I think the best part about this little story is the lesson that can be learned. that no matter what we look like or what we wear or what we WISH we wore, we are all wonderful and talented and lovely...each in our own way:)

Cj and Caeley - Besties.. These two love each other. they are good friends. they laugh and tell each other everything:) Kinda sweet.

We left crazy and turned the corner to normal..whatever normal is:)

 

Today was Redwood's Promotion! We had such a great day with Caeley...This week was so much better than the last couple of weeks too...CJ got all the bandages off his face from his surgery . About 3 weeks ago he was attacked in the water at a water polo game..The kid broke CJ's nose and shattered the orbit around his right eye. He had surgery to re-set the nose and repair the broken bones around the eye. His face has been covered up for 8 days but this week he had everything taken off and although he is a little pale and still puffy, he looks great! His nose was broken so badly that the septum was folded over like a taco. The doctor had to sew it basically back togther, but looking at CJ you would never know that his face looked so bad only 3 weeks ago. Anyway , in the midst of the chaos and craziness which truthfully is a constant around these parts...Caeley quietly tried out to sing at the Promotion ..They picked ONE ( count them..one) person to sing and it was CAELEY! However, being that I am just shy of medication from the nutiness of the last few weeks, it sort of had me slightly freaked.
I'm kidding about the meds ..btw.
And I will tell you why...
You should know that I have a slight  sickness ....clothes, shoes, accessories, shoes, hair, make-up, shoes, nails, eyelashes, and the list continues to grow. So, once Caeley found out she was singing and I found out CJ would look normal when the bandages came off...it launched us into a search for the perfect, yet MODEST dress. not easy. Don't ask how many places we looked...and looked and looked..but we found one..
Then of course the babies ( yes, i know they are 12, 8 and 7 but they will always be the "babies") all needed something fun to wear and don't forget me...and then I thought about sitting in the sun for two hours and bought coloring books for the babies too. Oh and new crayons. and princess water bottles.  And since CJ has been so sick and in so much pain, I bought him a few new things as well...
Oh and lets keep this info between us ..no need to tell the hubby about the quest for perfection.
again,  kidding..
In the end it was a beautiful day, a beautiful song and she looked lovely and we all cried and hugged and smiled and were grateful for our little family. Crooked nose and all:)

This is how we roll.......

I feel so bad for CJ. This past weekend he played in a couple of polo games. He is a good player. His team relies on him actually quite a bit. He makes things happen in the water. He blocks goals, he draws ejections, he swims down and scores...he is a good player.
He got attacked this past weekend during a game. His nose is broken, the bone around his eye is broken..he has a concussion...and if a smoky eye was in style for guys, he could be on pinterest with a tutorial.
He needs surgery.
I need a bat. I could kick the you-know-what outta this punk kid. He is at school with his buddies having fun...we spent almost all day waiting for a CAT scan and test results.
Someone talk me down off the ledge.
I thought about positng the pictures of his face.....and I just can't do it...maybe in a few days when some of the swelling goes down:(( Enjoy the pictures of Prom below cuz he doesn't look like that right now.

PROM 101...

PROM 2012...It is called Mormon Prom. It happens every year in April. 16 stakes from around the South come together and it is WONDERFUL...Here is why...
The girls have their dresses approved by the Young Womens Leaders. I love this idea...Girls can be elegant, stylish and beautiful without showing off everything they have...shoulders are covered and the dress length is modest at the knee or below.
The kids all travel together in chartered buses with chaperones and no one is allowed to drive themsleves to and from the Prom. No chance of drunk drivng or "drunk" anything....yay!
This year it is at the Science Center at USC.
They are picked up by their parents after the dance in the church parking lot around 1 a.m. and taken to someones home who serves them breakfast and treats and lets them laugh, and play games and have fun until the bleary-eyed parents come and get them once again ...at 3 in the morning!
There is no "getting a room".
There is just  friends and dress up and fun....
LOVE IT!

Friends...Corri and Nick and Victoria and CJ..

Thousand Oaks 2nd Ward Buddies...

      Papa and Nana with the kids:)

                                         

Jon, Austin, jake and CJ

Okay, I know I am biased but are they stunning or what??:)

Spring Break started Amazing.....and ended at the hospital...ugh..typical:)

We couldn't wait....Spring break was here. We were headed out to the beach house with dear friends and family for a week of fun in the sun and surf! We loaded the clothes,the food, the towels, the surfboards, the food, the toys, the food, we even remembered the kids , oh and the food. We played. We ate. We laughed. We sat. We tanned. We walked. We hunted for shells. We slept in. We watched the men surf. We watched movies. We looked at magazines. aahhhh this is the life. and then...

Something is weird with dad, says one of the kids. He doesn't feel well.
"oh..he is fine"says mom. "He just needs to relax and take a nap"...."no, I think there is really something wrong..." says a wise child. Again mom comes back with " well, I'm not moving from this lounge chair."
Now , did no one remember last years fiasco at the beach with chloe and our trip in the ambulance to the E.R.???what do I have to do to be able to look at a magazine, sip a diet coke, and get some sun for the love of all? HOWEVER, remember last year when I posted how mortified I was with the cute lifeguards all around and I hadn't even had a shower or put on a bra??Well...I took a shower and actually got ready BEFORE I went to the hospital...smart huh?If you haven't read that post you should get out of the archive and read it...its a winner.

Two hours later finds us at the E.R. room...Peter's appendix gave way about 5 days before and filled his body with some yummy poison. Off to surgery he goes.This is where I say "I'm guessing thats it for the tan, huh?"

Searching for shells...my favorite:)

Ahh the view ..spring break has begun..

Min, Sunny and Carrie.

Group field trip to the tide pools...even found an octupus that day!

half the group on field trip day..