Hulk smashes S I X

And then my baby turned six. Another year slipped by and it felt like six was too big. Enzo had very specific birthday wishes- Bot Bots, Ramen and Thanksgiving Point. We were happy to make all those things a reality. Oh Enzo Niels- it makes me a little sad that you are turning into a big boy. Your chubby cheeks are fading away and you are starting to become your own little person. You are still deathly afraid of Halloween. You love Transformers, tiny things (like Bot Bots, coins, minifigs), long baths, "scary" things like Jack O Lanterns like on your favorite shirt, playing with friends, riding bikes and having sleepovers in the basement. I love that you still love to snuggle and that you are so tender. You are the best at following directions, drawing Godzilla and robots and making us happy. We love you.

HAPPY SIXTH, HULK.

Feeding a Llama

R A M E N

 

Combined birthday at Mimi's with Hamburger cakes. 

Lawrences take St Geezy

When mom asked if we could all make it work to stay in a house in La Verkin (St George) that had it's own pool you know all the Lawrence kids were stoked. We had an amazing weekend. I think that this was the first time in almost 6 years that all of us have been on vacation together. 

We had an absolute blast! The kids (and the Lawrence sibs) lived in the pool. We had meals together, the kids had their own bunk beds and we just enjoyed being the same space.

The house was awesome! We all had our own bedrooms, there was a theater room, a huge kitchen, enough bathrooms for everyone and plenty of space.

We went to the Stagecoach for an expensive steak dinner, stayed up late, waited up for Brittnee for her online date, swam, ate, snacked and swam. We all voted that we should do the exact same thing next year. It made the summer that much more enjoyable and felt "normal"- like something we would have done prior to COVID- and that was what made it so awesome. 

 

K Man Turns 9

Kingston Grant is N I N E!  

What a fabulous boy you are! You had a great day- the most favorite gift was your baby Yoda doll. Who would have thought that nine year old boys would love a little doll that much- the whole first day, you and all your friends gently packed him around. He has already come on one vacation, one playdate and is with us all the time. 

You are one cool kid. You love LEGO (for life I am sure), Star Wars, friends, being outside, candy, snacks, soda, long baths, Nacho Libre, doing back flips on the trampoline, swimming and buying anything at the Dollar Store. You are sweet, tender hearted and kind. You are a great friend and we love that you always help others to choose the right. You don't like when we tell you that you can't do something and usually, with copious amounts of whining, you will get your way. You can build any LEGO set in record time, solve a rubix cube like it's nothing and make us so happy every day with the kind of boy you are. WE LOVE YOU, DUDE MAN!

You picked Sakana for sushi for your birthday dinner. You ate an entire roll and a half by yourself. Love our seafood loving boy.

CHHS 2000

In January 2020, Jeni Sorensen reached out and planned a weekend trip for us to get together- a HS reunion of sorts of the people we would actually want to see again. We planned for April and then COVID happened. We rescheduled for June and her sweet parents offered their house in Preston, ID or us to stay. I was SO ready to get away for a weekend. 

I literally haven't "seen" most of these girls in almost 20 years. We are all friends on insta and FB that was all. It was SO fun. They are all wonderful, beautiful adults and we had a blast. Jeni's house is HUGE- we each had our own room. I slept in, left the window open to let in the breeze, we had rain and thunder to wake us up one morning. There was also a rooster wake up call at 5 AM. 

Our sweet friend Jen Walker cooked for us the whole weekend (we only ate out the first night). She made tikka masala, breakfast cinnamon rolls from scratch, chicken salad,  breakfast burritos- no cooking was the definite win of the weekend. 

We laughed, looked at yearbooks (those inside jokes we thought would last forever were clearly forgettable). We talked about our kids, our college lives, our jobs- we have a lawyer, a Derm PA, teachers, city councilwoman and moms with awesome kids. We have all been successful in our own right and that was the most amazing part.

We did the Napoleon Dynamite tour- what else is there to do in Preston, ID? It was nice to go to a place that wasn't completely shut down by COVID too. We could go in stores, didn't have to worry about masks. It is such a small town- so weird. They have soda machines on the street so you can get a can of soda after church on Sunday and not have to break the sabbath. There are literally two stop lights, one grocery store and farms for miles. It was beautiful and quiet. We took out the side by side to a quiet lake, sat on the wrap around porch and just enjoyed being outside. 

I don't remember much from high school- I wanted to be done so badly but what I do remember is these ladies. We were good friends and they were good examples. It made my heart happy to spend time with people who knew me when I was a teenager and still like me now. These are the kind of high school reunions I can get behind. 

Napoleon's house-  left to right, Jen Walker, Ginger Thompson, Jeni Sorensen, Karissa Young, Rebecca Sorensen, me, Trica Norwood. 

Karissa and I- I think I missed her the most. We were SUCH good friends. I missed being able to laugh with her about stupid movies and music that we used to watch. 

Yearbooks

breaskfast and chill

A Day for Mothers

The Lawrence children and our mom. 

Still Quarantining

Here we are, 9,256 days in quarantine. No, but for real, it feels like forever. We are well over a month of doing homeschool- I think we have done pretty well. Days are full of Zoom meetings, Math (when Mc decides to do it), snack trays every day at 10 AM, work meetings, science, Art for Kids Hub and trying to adjust to this new "normal". 

Enzo and his Zombie Taco that he proudly displayed to his class. 

Kingston and his "hat" that won 2nd place in his class Zoom. 

 I was sad (gasp) that Kingston didn't get to do his Wax Museum at school. He had decided WAY back in December that he wanted to do his project on Stan Lee. He did an awesome little interview. Such a cool kid.

Enzo had been really good getting up and brushing his teeth and combing his own hair in the morning. I guess one lovely quarantine morning he decided that he needed a little off the top. It was SO bad. I couldn't help but laugh. Mark did a good job to buzz it so it's bearable. Plus, we don't go anywhere so hats are perfectly acceptable. 

The quarantine fad is EVERYONE getting new pets. We have begged Mark but he wasn't having it. Luckily, Tyler and Jade filled my puppy bucket by buying this darling little nugget. His name is Wicket and we have ridden on our bikes multiple times to visit him.

We had our first fire of the season on a Tuesday night when there was supposed to be a meteor shower at 10 PM. We didn't see much ( it was too bright) but it was fun to sit outside with the kids.

 We had a Sunday adventure where we saw a building that said "The Mckinley", stopped at the Cents of Style wall for Enzo and hit Gilgal Gardens to show the kids where we used to live (right across the street). It was nice to get out. The world is such a different place. It kind of feels like this will be the new 9/11 where we talk about things we used to do before COVID-19.

Last Sunday we did a social distance Sunday lunch with the family. I hadn't seen Brayden and Alina since our birthdays so it was good to get everyone together. The Mayor had just changed social restrictions from groups of 10 to 20-we barely slid by with 18 (don't count the dogs). 

Quarantine Easter

 Easter was different this year. We had no egg hunts, no family parties, no rushing. We did baskets on Friday night. The kids played with their easter toys and we just relaxed on Saturday. Sunday morning, we got up and REALLY got ready for church (I hadn't worn make up in weeks) and we had a spirit filled home church that centered on the Savior and his sacrifice. Our ward made an amazing video of various members of the ward reading segments of the Living Christ. Me and Kingston made the cut. We all bore testimony of the Savior and I love that Mc said, "When I see him again, I am going to give him a HUGE hug and tell him, 'Thank You'".  We are truly blessed to be able to have church at home and to still feel the peace and love that the Gospel brings.

Easter Williamsons

Baskets- to be fair (as pointed out) Enzo does NOT have more than the other kids- his basket is just smaller. Ha

Quarantine Tisha also lets her kids play in the rain. 

While out for a walk, Kingston bent down and immediately found a four leaf clover. Let's hope that good things are on the way. 

Mimi and Papa stopped by to bring the kids their baskets- practicing good social distancing.