Eden's 11th Birthday!

How is this beautiful baby girl of mine already 11?!  Wow - time really flies.  She is becoming a young woman right before our very eyes and I'm so excited to watch her path unfold.  She is strong, unique, disciplined, smart, compassionate, creative, resilient, and so much more.  I love her sweet hugs and cute laugh.  She is gracious and appreciative, and her light really shines.  Eden, we are so excited and happy to celebrate you today!  

Her highlight this year was a waterproof digital camera.  She was so thrilled!

She also got a cupcake maker and was excited to test that out. Olive was a great helper.

Then Eden and I got to have a nice lunch date together.  She chose Ghangis Grill so we got our food to go and then ate it outside at a park - picnic style.  I loved that we could be one-on-one.

No increase in age can be official until we check the increase in height! She had some great gains this year!

That evening she got to have a pizza and pool party with friends.  With COVID things are still tricky, and some people are still in strict quarantine, but her core group was able to come and enjoy her birthday with her which we are grateful for.

Naale, Avery, Molly, Bailey, Eden, and Vienna!

She got great gifts from her friends who know her well.  She was very excited.

It was an overall great day, celebrating a one-of-a-kind girl.  We love you Eden.  Happy birthday!!

Ruby, the green dog...

 Why oh why you strange dog.... we got the new grass, and it got it's first cut and for some reason she had to roll in it and make herself green.  Strange dog...

Karly

 Karly, Karly, Karly - my baby forever. In many ways, I still treat her like one and she will soak in every bit of that!  She loves to snuggle me, let me hold her and rock her, sing to her, and carry her around.  She is my little buddy and sidekick, though I'm not nearly as fun anymore now that all her siblings are home to play with her all day.  This girl is a firecracker, a mix of her siblings in many ways, but unique in her own way too.  She is creative and playful and loves to perform, but she can also have times where she wants to be very quiet and focused on a small, detailed task.  She is funny and silly, and loves to have the attention of everyone in the room.  But she also hates any attention if she makes a mistake or something embarrassing happens.  She is starting to discover a love for games and tries to rope dad, myself, or Bentley in on them as much as she can.  She is also practicing her swimming regularly so she can be without a floatie soon.  That will be a good and comforting day.

She can sometimes have a pretty strong opinion about things and doesn't like to be told no.  That's a tough one for us all - but look at that face....

Karly LOVES babies.  We recently got to babysit for a friend while her family came swimming one afternoon and Karly couldn't get enough of this baby.  She doesn't play with baby dolls a ton, but she sure loved this real baby and didn't want to share her with anyone.

She is like her daddy and Olive when it comes to Star Wars creatures, and she loved this strange thing Brad brought home from Disneyland.  Her personality shines through in these photos and I love it. She has always been so photogenic.

She loves the turtles and spends a lot of time outside talking to them, trying to guide them around, and feeding them.

One other very cute thing about Karly right now is that she often likes to sing her nightly prayers.  Words can't capture it, but fortunately I do have a secret video or two of her cute prayers to a random made up tune.  It's the best.  So cute, and so sincere.

I just wish I could slow down time and keep her as my little baby, but at the same time, it has been so fun to watch her grow, develop her personality and become the cutest and most fun girl.  She is spicy, and silly, and smart and quick to learn new things.  Fortunately for me, she still lets me hold her like a baby so I'll just keep doing that as long as I possibly can.  Slow down time!  I love you Karly baby.

Olive

 When I think of Olive, it just makes me smile.  She brings a fun, lighthearted energy to our home that is a breath of fresh air.  She has a free spirit that allows her to flow in a creative and imaginative world and it's beautiful to watch.  She is quick to giggle, quick to forgive, spontaneous and care free.  She is full of emotions and I have loved watching her mature in those and to learn herself and her feelings and how she wants to manage them.  She really is unique and so in tune with herself, and socially with others around her.  She is a magnet for family and friends alike because she has such positive and fun energy.  She has a sparkle in her eye that is contagious.

She is our most social child and loves to be with friends, but she is also aware and in tune with herself enough to know when she needs some alone time to recharge.  I love watching her in those moments of solitude, the whole time still imagining and creating in her own world. She always has something good going on in her imagination, and lately she is a warrior and fighting off the bad guys.

Of all the family, this COVID quarantine has been the hardest on Olive socially.  She really misses her friends and playdates, and seeing her classmates at school.  I often find letters on her desk or in her room like these below "I mis my fress. My fress are the bess. I wat tu see them. Thae are my BFF's. Love, Love"

Another one "Dere Elle. You are the best. I mis you a lot BFF. I loved what we yousd (used) du tugethr. I wat to see you soon. Love Olivia"

This long brown poster paper was one huge invitation for friends showing all the things they would be able to do together next time they played - swimming, jumping, bikes, dolls, and many more ideas.

Sometimes she just needs to be sad and she lets us snuggle her through it most times.

Every night at bedtime she prays for COVID to go away so people can be healthy and things can go back to normal.  She was having an emotional and sad day the other day, missing her friends and she said, "That's it! Why am I the only one around here who prays for this to go away? Doesn't anyone else want this quarantine to end so they can see all their friends?!"  I know this has been hard on our social  butterfly.  Fortunately, our bubble is expanding and I'm seeing her love tank from friends start to refill again.  

Another side of Olive that has been so precious to watch is her interest in managing her emotions and hard or frustrated feelings by trying to meditate.  I will just find her in a pose like this somewhere and I try to be so careful not to interrupt her, or let her know I'm watching or taking a picture.  I just love it so much.  It makes my heart fill with so much love for her and I just want to go scoop her up and hug her.  She really is so darn precious.

More meditating in the pool chair.

Though it has been hardest on her socially, she is also having a ton of fun.  She is living her best life in the sense that her schedule is free and her spirit can be free to imagine and create all day without school, church, or all the other things that dictate a schedule for her.  Heck, she is even playing herself to sleep in the most random places sometimes.

She loves deeply and likes to show it through her artwork.

She loves to be silly and make others laugh.

She's goofy and lighthearted and can make everyone feel carefree.

She also wears the cutest things that make me smile.

I have loved this time where the pressure of life is off and I can be fully present to live in Olive's world with her more deeply.  It's a beautiful place. I love everything about you Olive.

Bentley

Bentley - this guy.... he is my little love and I can't get enough of him.  He is fun, energetic, athletic, strong, smart, creative, focused, and really fast!  He really is a light in our family that fills a unique space.  In many ways, he is just like Brad, and then in many ways he is just like me.  Brad and I have talked about this and decided that he really does have the best of both of us; a mixture of both our individual strengths.  That's one pretty awesome dude.  And isn't he the cutest too?

Bentley loves to create games and has several in his collection.  He has very intricate rules, and gameboards or cards, and they are very fun.  I am always impressed with his creativity and how he pulls his ideas together.

Bentley turned 8 a couple months ago, but because of COVID all baptisms have been on hold.  We are not allowed to use the stake center at this time, but bishops have recently starting approving baptisms to be held in locations outside of church buildings.  Bentley's buddy Parker recently got baptized in the river which was so cool to watch.  Bentley just went with Brad last week for an interview and got approved to get baptized in our swimming pool - how cool, right?!  He is very excited.

One funny thing about Bentley is that he loves his PJs.  If left on his own, he will stay in PJs all day, every day.  Funny guy.

And remember how I mentioned how fast he is?! Even the lizards can't escape him.  He is quick and knows how to trap them before they even know what's happening.

Bentley also started piano lessons this past January. He has been very dedicated and focused, and his skills are taking off! He is learning fast and it's beautiful to watch.

Oh Bentley, I just love you. Thank you for being a light to our family.  Thank you for sharing your kind, thoughtful, and generous heart.  Thank you for tolerating the drama of the girls, and bringing in a masculine energy that we need.  Thanks for the laughs, and for all the hand and footprints you leave on the walls as you climb around like Spiderman.  You're one gem of a boy.

Eden

 Eden, my beautiful girl.  She is really one of a kind.  She has a heart of gold, a strength of steel and a soul of goodness.  She brightens our lives every day and brings a calm strength to our family.  She is a great older sister, reliable and responsible, and such a good leader.  She see needs around her and steps up to help without being asked.  She has a laugh that is so adorable and contagious. She loves to read, and goes through books like crazy.  Her reading has also helped develop her skills in writing and she has real talent in the poems and stories she has written.  Her dedication to piano is really paying off and she plays beautiful music, and takes her commitment to it seriously. She also has a creative side that is full of ingenuity and she creates beautiful and detailed crafts and projects that makes me think "wow, where did you come up with such a creative idea?"   She is blossoming into a beautiful young women and I'm so grateful to be part of it all.

And I know I've mentioned this before, but in an update about Eden, there also has to be mention of Quaker.  This is her buddy right now - big time.  They love each other.

I love you Eden - I see you girl, and it's beautiful.  Thanks for being you.