Clone Wars Episode VI: The Birthday Party

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• A clever invitation designed by mom (even if Cameron had no idea what the jokes meant and Dave thought Becca did it for me. Should I be insulted or grateful Becca usually does them for me?)
• A clear/sunny afternoon (thankfully... this was definitely not conducive to the indoors.)
  
• A bunch of wild young Jedi's
• 1 Star Wars Hero and 2 Evil Villans (aka Sam, Christian and Lauren)
• Guess Who I Am (Thanks Wendy ... as always such a great game!)
• Station 1: Yoda Soda, Light Sabers in Mud and making candy/pretzel Pod Racers
• Station 2: Create your Own Light Saber and Jedi Training with Annikan & Darth Sidius
• Station 3: Astroid Hunting and Planet Blasting (Thanks Lisa -- you really went above and beyond the call of friendship.)
• The Final Battle: Annikan vs. Darth Vader/Darth Sidius. Congrats Annikan for winning!!!
• Cake by Lauren (great cake!)
• Kill the Droidica (aka pinata time)

Race for the Cure... one of my favorite Mother's Day Traditions

Inspirational, touching, emotional, sad, funny ... one of my favorite Mother's Day traditions.

Happy Mother's Day Mom... Kenzi and I shed a few tears for you today along with race route. We all miss you and love you!

And Happy Mother's Day to my sisters, nieces, aunts, cousins, mom-in-law, friends and my own sweet girls! I can't imagine what life would be like without you!

The Karate Kid... Cam

A few things about Cameron and Karate.

1. He LOVES, LOVES, LOVES it!

2. He LOVES, LOVES, LOVES Master Shaun. If Master Shaun fixes his belt, Cam fixes his. If Master Shaun smiles, he smiles. Next to his dad I think Master Shaun is #2 on his top Idol list. He begs to go to class early because he loves to be the 1st one there. He loves it if for some reason he is the only kid at class that day... a day with just he and Master Shaun is heaven!

3. He is so intense and take it very seriously. He wants to be exact and precise and good. I love watching his face during class. At the end of each class Master Shaun passes out a "best in class" award to whoever worked the hardest, practiced, etc. One or all students can get it. Cam gets one nearly every time because this is very serious stuff to him.

The History Fair... is history! Good job Lolo!!!

After months of hard work, interviews, hours and hours on Dave's laptop, lots of laughing, and a some moments of great frustration, Lauren's first history fair is... well... history.

She made a documentary on Angioplasty and the Impact it Had on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Heart Disease.

She won her school, the district and made it as a finalist and got to participate at the State History Fair today! (And a funny side note. I had to check her out of school at 9:30 am. However, she refused to wear a dress to school. So she braided her hair, put some old jeans and a t-shirt and went to school. When she got in the car at 9:30 am she changed into a dress, unbraided her hair and even put a cute little bow in. As soon as the history fair was over and she was in the car, she took the dress off, rebraided her hair and was back to the Lauren she loves to be!)

There were some amazing projects at the State final today, but Lauren's was definitely unique and caught the judges attention. We had to laugh because there was one judge that was asking lots of very specific, kind of tough questions at the end of each documentary. After Lauren's she didn't ask any questions and finally said "you'll have to hold on for a minute, I need to get my composure. Medical things make me really queasy." She never did ask her a question. Not sure it was a good thing to "gross out" the judge right before lunch, but it was pretty funny. She did a great job answering their questions, even though it was a little intimidating to be in front of a room of people/kids being asked questions about Heart Disease and Angioplasty.

She didn't win the State competition, and she was ok with that. (This final round wasn't nearly as fun for her because several kids from her school and soccer team had made it to the District competition so it was a very social event. This was definitely a little more pressure and serious than the district so it was a good experience for her.) She had great composure during her presentation and the Q&A.

We ended the day with a trip to In-and-Out Burger and then to the "Sweet Tooth Fairy" for dessert.

My two biggest fears of being a mom was (1) potty training and (2) science fairs/history fairs/etc. Well, Kenzi was super easy to potty train, Lauren was ok, and Cam was as hard as I thought it would be. But so far, thanks for Lauren being a super hard worker and such a good student, science/history fairs have not been too bad.

Great job Lolo! We love you!!!

PS... And the good part of the State History Fair is that Lauren didn't even care that I stood by her!!!

I'm Just Not Ready... maybe I'll get a dog.

So have you ever not been ready to hit a new stage in life? Except for when my mom died and I was forced to start a new phase of not having a mom and not being a mom, I've always looked forward to what would happen next.

I loved High School, but had dreamed my whole life of heading off to BYU and getting an education. I loved every second of my BYU time, but after graduation I had a job that I loved, had great friends, loved my church calling and met a handsome guy who worked for me... and soon Dave and I began a new phase that I had waited for my whole life.

Like most girls, I had always dreamed of being a mom and for the next 7 years looked forward to, fasted for, prayed for, stressed over and eventually was blessed to start that next phase. (Even during the 7 years of waiting I loved my life. We spent time with my parents/mom before she died, I loved my nieces and nephews (and still do Kelli), we traveled, I had a fulfilling and challenging career and I totally loved the Young Women I worked with.)

I think it might be that I always wanted 5 or 6 kids, and that it felt like forever getting started, but my "hanging out at home" time with my kids has gone way too quickly. I loved my time with just Dave and I, and I loved my time in a professional career -- but nothing compares to the joy and fulfillment I have felt in being a mom.

Lauren is starting Jr. High and with Cam turning 6 and finishing up Kindergarten -- I'm forced to face a phase I'm just not ready for. Don't get me wrong, I love where my kids are right now. I love seeing them progress and grow. I just wanted this stage to last a little longer and to do it with a few more kiddos.

Lots of friends around me are pregnant and maybe I wish I could be in that phase too (ok... if Dave reads this he'll choke or at our age probably even have a heart attack) and two of my college roommates are even starting the Grandparent phase.

It isn't that I'm worried about filling my time next fall, it is just that I love having kids home, reading in our PJs on the couch in the morning, going to the museum, skiing on a weekday by ourselves, having a buddy to shop with or biking/running around the park together.

Cam and I went to the park today and we were the only ones there. He rode his bike around a path and played on the playground as I jogged around. He ran up to me and said something and it hit me "like a ton of bricks." I'm at the closing of what has been a wonderful stage of my life. My eyes were stinging with tears and I could hardly breath (and not from being out of shape).

I don't mean to sound like I'm feeling sorry for myself. I have a great life and I'm grateful for everything about my life. I think it is just going to take me a while to convince myself that I'm ready to be where I am.

After my mom died I had a really hard time. Dave surprised me and bought gave me a darling little puppy in an Easter Basket. Kids... I guess it is time to get a dog.

Happy Birthday Cam!

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Tomorrow is Cam's 6th Birthday... man I love this kid. (LM...little man... here are a few reasons you are so awesome.)

10. He is seriously the most sweet and tender little boy I've ever seen. He loves to hold open doors and tell me how beautiful I am. He loves to give kisses and snuggle. Today I kept telling him he had to kiss me one time for every marshmallow he ate, so he kept running to the bag, grabbing a handful and telling me he just ate 100...

9. He is super intense and takes things very seriously. If you ever want to be entertained come watch him at a karate class.

8. He doesn't give up... ever. When learning to tie his shoes or ride his big new bike (way big) he is determined to do it until he has it mastered. I should have taken a picture of his face tonight as he went around and around the cul-de-sac, trying not to fall off the big bike and learn to use hand brakes.

7. He is such a hard worker! He was a machine at the ward clean-up and spending a day with his dad in the yard is one of his favorite things to do. He also loves to get out of bed and come unload the silverware from the dishwasher without being asked.

6. He listens really well... and does what I ask him to almost the 1st time every time. (I soooo hope he does out grow that one.)

5. He loves homework. After years of watching his sisters do homework, he thinks it is super cool to sit down at the table and work. In fact, he loves school so much when I want to tease him I tell him I'm going to have him do Kindergarten again next year so I can spend more time with him. The first time I said that he got a little teary, and looked at me very seriously and said "you can't do that --- that would be illegal!"

4. He can spend hours in his own world... sometime it is karate chopping, sometimes it is star ward or transformers. Tonight he laid up in his bed acting out a total transformer world. (Don't you wish you were a kid again.)

3. He idolizes his sisters, especially Makenzie. He absolutely adores her and would do anything in the world for her!! (So boys, watch out... when Kenzi is 16 Cam will only be 12 but I have the feeling he will be a very big 12 year old.) He also idolizes Dave. He wants to dress like him, act like him and be just like him.

2. Thanks to Brother Tangren and the mission fund tradition he started, he loves to save money. His Grandma called tonight to tell him she's sending him some money for his birthday and asked him what he wants to get with it. "Hmm... I think I'll just put it all in my mission fund." Apparently she was so impressed she said she'd send him some money for his mission and then some extra to just spend.

1. Everything! You were more than worth the stress, heart ache and trauma it took to get you here and I'd even do the years of sleepless nights, night terrors, occasional melt-downs (see pix on the deck of the cabin) and awful #2 potty training with you again!! (I have to write these things about you Cam since my blog doubles as my journal and we don't want to forget these good/bad memories.)