Anna gave a Family Night lesson while licking half of a lemon. I can't remember what the lesson had to do with it, but in between licks she named off what she would do to help each person in our family. For Mom and Sarah: "Help [them]." For Nate: "Clean up his room." For Julia: "Help her say her prayers." For Rebecca: "Help her put her glasses on everyday." For Eliza: "Help her clean up her room." For Peter: "Help him pick out his clothes." For Lane: "Help him teach a lesson."

Eliza's sacrament meeting note to Sarah: "You are the best bigger sister on the earth."

We were talking about summer coming. Sarah said, "Will you just ship me off to boarding school in summer and bring me home for family vacation?" This sounded kind of unusual to me for her to ask, so I questioned why. She explained, "I just don't want to do yardwork!"

Nate was telling me how his friend has a certain kind of gun, which he thought was an AK47 (but isn't). [Remember, Lane was born in Cody and his mom is as good of a huntress as anyone you know, with the exception of Lane's oldest brother, so talk about guns is nothing radical here.] "C. [a friend] has an AK47. If you were cool like that, you'd buy me one."

"I hate practicing! It is the bane of my existence, the death of me!" Nate, waxing eloquent on his great love of practicing.

"I want to make a quote: Someday I want a yarn doll. " (Anna, when I sat down to blog.)

"I'm so thankful you got married so you could have me!" Anna said out of the blue, embracing me in a bear hug.

Sarah finished her plaid skirt at the end of the week and wore it today with heels, keeping her heels on all day. "I like wearing heels," she chirped.

I had just finished a triumphant violin/harp practice session, and exclaimed joyfully, "How long did I practice? An hour?!" Peter responded, "More like TWO!"

Rebecca was singing lustily, "I could have danced all night" when Nate, eating his bowl of Lucky Charms, grumped, "Becca! Stop singing!" "Nate, practice tolerance," I chided. "I did," he defended. "Already."

The children put on some dancing music ("The Contradiction" by Celtic Woman). Anna approached Sarah and bowed and extended her hand, asking, "May I take a dance?"

Eliza took a bite out of an orange slice and grimaced. "It tastes kind of awkward...for an orange."

When I commented about the children's choice of maple bars and strawberry milk for breakfast, Nate remembered Bill Cosby and justified, "It has wheat and milk and eggs--a perfect nutritional breakfast, Mom."

Last night when I was on my moderate tirade about all the slacking that was going on, Lane could hardly contain a smile and a laugh. I was NOT about to ask him in that moment what he found humorous about it all. So I asked him later. "You looked so funny," was his answer.

"Mom, I know how to spell pernicious," Eliza disclosed at breakfast. "Really?" I queried. "P-e-r-n-i-c-i-o-u-s," she gave. "Where did you learn to spell pernicious?" I furthered. "Gabby's mom taught us memory strategies. I chose 'People eat ramen noodles in Canada. I often use spoons.' " Wow. Good morning!

Today I read Tacky the Penguin to Anna. As I closed the book, she said, "I'm a nice bird."

After recounting a humorous story from school, Peter concluded, "It just makes my funny bone stick out!"

I had just started reading my scriptures this morning in my room (still in my pjs and robe) when Anna knocked on my door. "Can I come in?" she asked in her morning voice. "Yes." I said. She walked in, heading straight to my lap. Spying a book nearby, she asked those words that often come out of her mouth first thing in the morning: "Can you read this to me?" Guess what the book was: Five Minutes' Peace. 

Don't you love being tongue-twisted as a mom? This morning I called out to Nate after dropping him off for school, "Call me on my cell phone, but call me twice in case I can't answer it the first time. Sometimes I just can't get it that fastly!"Fastly?!

Peter just came upstairs after waking up in the morning. "I just sounded out 'cupcakes:' c-u-p-c-a-t-i? No, e-s!"

ALL of our children have been in this trend the last few months of saying, "Yesssssss!" when they are excited about something, such as Sarah today: "Mom, can I have a donut?" (I give the affirmative answer...) "Yessssssss!" I think it is funny to hear everyone from Anna to Sarah use this expression. Guess it's the new "cool" for our family!

Julia: "Mommy, what do you do when you're on page 19 of a book that has 279 pages, and it's due in the morning?"

Rebecca: "READ."

We were looking at Jenny's blog and saw their family all dressed up as a farm family. I saw her husband's outfit and said, "What a hoot!" Anna asked, "Was he a hoot for Halloween?"

How many moms in the history of Lucky Charms cereal have made this comment like I did this morning? "You have to eat the cereal and not just the marshmallows!"

The past week or so has been "color week," where the kindergartners wear a different color each day. Yesterday was pink and today is purple. Pete's response both days was the same: "I am NOT wearing pink!" "I am NOT wearing purple!"

Eliza (7), walked into the kitchen, a big smile playing on her lips and a twinkle in her eyes. "I'm wearing lipgloss because it's the Fall Festival."

Peter told me yesterday, in a surprised tone, "I was playing a game at school. I was trying to frighten the girls, and theyliked it! [Face drooped, voice quieted]. "But no one would be on my team."

Anna was in the car with me as we went to pick up football players. "You're so nice, Mom." Touched, I responded, "You're so nice, too, Anna." "I love you." Again, "I love you, too." Pause. "Mom, will you take me to Disneyland?" I'm smiling. "Yes, I would love to take you to Disneyland." Another pause, but not so long. "Will you take me there for my birthday?"

I was singing "Honor to Us All" from Mulan when Anna announced, "I want to hear that. The John Wayne one." I went to iTunes to play the song, and clicked on the song I was singing. "No, I want the John Wayne one." "Do you mean 'I'll Make a Man Out of You' ?" I asked. YES! She replied. I guess that is pretty much what John Wayne tried to do, right?

Eliza: "Mom, guess what I'm reading at school? It's calledSomething, Something [she couldn't recall] but it's notCaptain Underpants."

Me: "Stop bouncing that ball and clean up!"

Child: "I can clean up and bounce a ball at the same time!"

Sarah and I were folding laundry together one late Saturday night. I pulled out a pair of Peter's PJs that had a hole in the knee. "Another hole? One more thing to mend! I think my lot in life is mending." I stuck the PJs on a pile, went back to folding, and starting singing a song that popped into my head. "We are sowing, daily sowing...." Sarah started cracking up. "What?" I asked, not getting the joke. Sarah kindly clarified: "We are sewing, daily sewing!"

"How long ago did that happen?" Sarah asked me when an event occurred. "Ten years ago? Wow. That makes me feel like an old woman." (!)

I handed Anna her piece of toast. "Is it toasted?" she questioned. "Yes," I answered. "Is it burned?" she furthered."No," I defended. "I wanted it burned, like Joola's [Julia's] and Lauren's!" 

In our family, we have some pretty funny memories of talking in our sleep. (Some of us are more famous than others for doing this. I won't mention who that is...) This morning, I woke up early after Peter came and crawled into our bed. Soon I got up to read in the closet where I could turn on the light without hearing him. As I was reading, I heard him say, "Blah, blah, blah." !

Eliza was reading a coupon for flavored popcorn: "Caramel corn,...white cheddar, jalapeño...." she didn't know how to pronounce "jalapeño," so I said it again for her. "Is that some kind of coffee bean?" Julia queried. 

Yesterday Nathan asked me what I would do during the day when Anna was in school--if I would work at a job. I told him I didn't think I would unless I had, because there are other things I'd like to do, like volunteer work and being able to go help when my children start having babies. "I want to have children," Anna piped up instantly. "I want to have children and play little games with them." Pause. "And they will help me work all day. And they will do everything I say."

Grandma called today, and Anna HAD to talk to her. "I have to tell you something," she announced soberly. "I have an owie on my finguh." (Finguh was her emphasis pronunciation.). I think that listening to little children talk on the phone (when they get past the just listening or breathing stage) is one of the PURE DELIGHTS of motherhood.

On Sarah's driving, chipper encouragement from Rebecca: "[It was] not so jerky this time!" and, after getting out of the car, "No dents, no scratches--High Five!" And from Anna: "You're a good driver, Sarah!" and "Sarah, slow down on the bumps!"

"I have had enough camping to last me my lifetime." Sarah, after attending her 4th year hike, Young Women's camp, and Youth Conference (which was hiking and river rafting). I just had to put that down for the record. Let's watch her be a YW president for 20 years.

Anna to Peter: "Guess what?" "What?" "I love you."

"I wish I had my own horse. Then you wouldn't ever have to drive me to school!" Peter, (who has heard stories of Grandpa Doug riding his horse to school from his earliest days). Dream big, Pete.

"My dream is to have a baby like Jane. I cry sometimes I miss her so much." Eliza, when she was looking at photos. She really got close to her name-sharing cousin in June.

Eliza was spreading tomato sauce on some pepperoni slices. (It is 9:38 pm). I asked her what she was doing. "I'm making homemade pizza bites for my dinner!"

Eliza was teaching Peter how to play "Yankee Doodle" on the piano. Peter excitedly reported, "I can play 'Yankee Doodle went to town riding on a pone. I can't play pon-y yet.' "

As I eyed the pieces of Eliza's meat up that I cut up for her, as per her request, I encouraged her to cut them smaller since the pieces were a little large-ish. "That's OK," she replied. "I have a big mouth."

"Mom, can I count the stars tonight?" (Anna)

"My dream is to have a baby like Jane. I cry sometimes I miss her so much." Eliza, when she was looking at photos. She really got close to her name-sharing cousin in June.

Eliza was spreading tomato sauce on some pepperoni slices. (It is 9:38 pm). I asked her what she was doing. "I'm making homemade pizza bites for my dinner!"

Eliza was teaching Peter how to play "Yankee Doodle" on the piano. Peter excitedly reported, "I can play 'Yankee Doodle went to town riding on a pone. I can't play pon-y yet.' "

As I eyed the pieces of Eliza's meat up that I cut up for her, as per her request, I encouraged her to cut them smaller since the pieces were a little large-ish. "That's OK," she replied. "I have a big mouth."

"Mom, can I count the stars tonight?" (Anna)

"How do you know I'm old enough to do my laundry basket?" asked Peter this morning. I said that if he was old enough to go to cousin sleepovers, then he was old enough to do his jobs. He conceeded.

"It feels so lonely in here." Eliza to Becca, after waving goodbye to Sarah, Mallory, and Christina, who had just left for EFY.

Anna, with great excitement, as she watched the eggs boiling on the stove: "Mom! The eggs are dancing!"

Eliza, on driving: "I know how to drive a car. I just don't know what the gas pedal is for."

To me and Lane, after we got home from our trip: "I'm so glad you came home, guys...'cause I really missed you."

Anna is working really hard on manners. "Can I have some lunch may please?" The syntax isn't there, but the feeling is.

Here's a sticky note Lane found today on the bottom of his shoe, in an unnamed handwriting: "Tornado hit. DO NOT Come in!!!! Enless [sic] Your name is liz or lane." I just wasn't sure if it was meant for my bedroom or hers....

Mom, do you want to play "Google" with me? (She meant "Boggle.")--Eliza