Tonight I am grateful for:

And a (finally)...

 

Good night, bub.

(Pfew!)

Busy

Our Summer here is really short, (school goes well into June and starts back up early in August) so we have to pack a lot into a small amount of time. As a result, we have been one busy bunch! Here's the condensed version.

We finished school and commenced Summer festivities.

We turned 4 and got cool stuff from Grandma and Grandpa.

We had a fun, crazy party with fun, crazy friends.

We climbed...

and climbed ...and climbed...

...and climbed pretty much everything that was possible. 

(And a few things that were impossible,

which explains a lot of the little bumps and bruises that seem to magically appear...)

And we celebrated
Father's Day
with one
pretty awesome Dad.

Not bad for a couple of weeks. How's your Summer so far?

Photo Finished

We tried to take a Mother's Day photo with me and the kids Sunday.

It didn't quite go the way we had envisioned....

  

Almost.

Not...

even...

close!

So, maybe it's not picture perfect, but I love my life.

 

And I wouldn't trade it for anything.

 

Carpe Libri

We went to the library today. On our way, Alaina paid me one of my all-time favorite compliments: "Mom, you look just like a woman." Umm...thanks.

Later, as we left, one book's sensor hadn't been properly deactivated and the alarm at the exit went off. Ben looked extremely uncomfortable for a bit and then finally said, "Are the police coming now, or what?"

I am happy to report that we made a clean getaway.

Rough Day

Larry came home from work pretty tired the other day. He is awfully busy keeping up on so many projects at once, and he was just beat. It must have been a rough day in general for the Hall men because Caleb had been absolutely ornery. ALL DAY. (How can a person that small be so loud, anyway?)

I was outside at the grill and Larry came out to the backyard to play with Caleb for a minute while dinner finished cooking. He flew him like an airplane for a bit and then it got quiet. I didn't think much about it until I turned to go inside and saw this:

Afterwards, they both felt much better.

Twenty Little Things I Always want to Remember:

1) The way Alaina use to say "strah-bid-aze" for strawberries.

2) The way Caleb gently bonks his forehead on yours to say, "I love you"

3) The way Ben gets embarassed and tries to keep from smiling when you talk about mushy stuff.

4) Larry (goodnaturedly) teasing and asking if he should beat up Ben, and Alaina's enthusiastic, "YESSSSS!" (And poor Ben's scream and laugh as they "attack".)

5) Caleb repeating his favorite word over and over (Dadadadadadadadadadad...)

6) Alaina checking her dress-up outfit in the mirror and saying, "Beautiful. Just beautiful."

7) Ben's elaborate drawings and plans for gadgets and inventions.

8) Asking Caleb a question and having him very matter-of-factly answer, "Ya." (His second of two words now.)

9) Asking Alaina to do something and having her ask, "Why?" Reminding her that the correct reply is, "Yes, Mom" and getting back, "Yes, Mom. But why?"

10) The look on Ben's face when he held each of his siblings for the first time.

11) The look on Larry's face when he saw each of them for the first time.

12) Their expressions of wonder when you show them the little green shoots coming from the seeds they helped to plant.

13) Caleb picking and dutifully trying to eat tiny green tomatoes from the garden.

14) Alaina chasing Ben around to try to hug and kiss him and Ben running as if his life depended on it.

15) Caleb's grin of glee as he chases you and growling hug when he catches you.

16) My kids shivering and asking for hot cocoa when it gets down to 70 degrees. (We've definitely acclimated to the desert.)

17) Ben's astonished and delighted smile the first time he made a goal in soccer and a shot in basketball.

18) The way Caleb has always crinkled up his nose and muttered to himself when he's eating or drinking something he loves.

19) How it felt to hear them say, "Mom" for the first time (especially helpful to recall when you're hearing it in a demanding tone for the 100th time in half an hour...)

20) Everyone piling on the sofa together, sitting next to my sweetheart and the feeling that comes when our arms are full and our hearts are full...and then some.

Scent of a (Particular) Woman

I passed by the fragrance counter in the store today and decided to stop and try something. Chanel no. 5 caught my eye. I thought, "That's the most famous women's fragrance in the world. It's been around for almost ninety years. I heard once that a bottle is sold somewhere an average of every thirty seconds (my mind is full of all kinds of useless helpful trivia like that...) and I don't even know what it smells like!"

So I stopped and sniffed and sprayed a bit on my wrists. I started to walk on and thought, "I know that scent. I think I use to know someone who wore this. Who was it?"

A minute or two later it hit me. It was my great-grandmother! She wore it. Quite a lot of it actually. It's amazing to me the clarity of recall that is attached to our sense of smell. She passed away when I was about three and yet I still have such a clear memory of her; what she looked like, how soft the skin on her hands was, the fur colar on her thick wool coat and how she loved big sparkly costume jewelry...and perfume.

So now I know. No. 5 may not be the fragrance for me, but it was nice to visit Grandma for a few minutes.