California Dreamin'

No, we're not on our dream vacation yet. We're just practicing for it. The kids brushed up on their digging-in-the-sand skills at the park, stripping off their shoes, socks and half of the clothes I put on them this morning. Uncle Ryan got everyone in the M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E spirit last Sunday with his ears. And for practice sitting in the car for 12 hours, we went on a little 12-minute drive to pick up Star from the groomer. Of course, I needed 7 kids to help me. I have 8 seats, ya know.
I wish I had video of the kids when Star jumped in the car sporting her new look. Izzy burst out screaming in fear, while the other kids shreiked with laughter. Nonetheless, Star was quite proud, and delighted to be allowed in the van. When we got home, I could not convince Xanthe, Izzy OR Esmae that the oversized rat following them around was really Star. They were all terrified. Speaking of rats, I'm sorry if your child or children were at my house when Sinatra devoured a whole mouse on the front porch like he was on an episode of Wild Kingdom. I hope they don't have nightmares. (The kids, not the other mice.) I can only hope that Mickey and Minnie replace the images of the slow-footed rodent who encountered Sinatra.

Better Than It Sounds?

I like the quote, "It's better than it sounds," referring to the music of Richard Wagner. But it's a joke that's only funny if you're in your 5th semester of music theory, which I hope never happens to any of you. The recital tonight involving my kids and my violin students, as well as a guest pianist (thanks, Ellison!), sounded great. What was even better than the way the children sounded, though, was the fact that they got up in front of a supportive audience and proved to themselves that their practicing pays off, and that they can accomplish a goal. And all of them played very well, and I think the people holding the video cameras were happy.
Freestone surprised me the most. His daily practicing is all about rolling around on the floor being tired, or else bouncing up off his stool 12 times before he actually plays the first note. So I was relieved and a little delighted when he totally came through with his small offering.
I get all choked up when my friends and family support the "arts," Dopp style. Thanks to my oldest friends and all the steadfast family members who helped, participated and supported. Especially Grandma Dopp, bringing extra kids with her, and Coco, bringing all the stuff I forgot.
Next time, we are all looking forward to hearing a selection from High School Musical from Jacob. We know the kid can sing! In fact, we don't know if the kid can STOP singing, especially in the car! I'm glad he's graduated from the Backyardigans theme song to HSM. There's more substance. :) The Backyardigans theme song is NOT better than it sounds!

Something Old, Something New

If you've seen Ari this week, you know we got a new mini van. You may have driven by when she was out on the street shouting it to people. I put up these pictures so you can see what I'm up against, trying to keep this new car clean. One is the time Free and Ari finger painted the basement with oil paints and all the neighbors were bringing over industrial strength cleaners out of their garages, trying to get the kids clean. The other picture was taken today. Fortunately, the glue sticks and items from nature did not make it into the car. So tonight's post is dedicated to my two favorite mini vans; the old one and the new one. Here's a comparison, so you can decide which is your favorite.

Old van: Glove box full of Lagoon passes, an empty first aid kit, maps of California, and melted crayons.
New van: Glove box empty, but I may need to dust it again before I go to bed.

Old van: Kids spill a whole bag of movie popcorn right after I vacuum, and I don't even flinch.
New van: Each time the kids get in or out, I follow them with a clean rag, brushing the dirt away.

Old van: Double seat-belting OK, all kids welcome, bring your poor, your tired, your leaky juice boxes...
New van: I'm considering making the kids run behind it instead of riding. It's good exercize and I won't need my clean rag.

Old van: A family of raccoons could have lived comfortably, undetected, with plenty to eat, in the "way back," for months.
New van: Star tries to get in with her wet paws and I twist my ankle lunging at her, screaming, "Nooooooooooooooooooo!"

Old van: Two listening choices: NPR, or Suzuki Guitar Volume One. NPR always accompanied by Xanthe whining, "TAR music ON! NOW! Stop talking!" Guitar CD always accompanied by Golda hitting her head repeatedly against the dashboard, sobbing, "I can't listen to this ONE more time!"
New van: Has CD player, so the choices are endless, until all the CD's are broken or have rolled under the car.

Old van: In case of a natural disaster, we could have just gotten in the car and found enough clothes for a week, and maybe enough half-full bottles of water to keep us alive.
New van: The kids look like a troupe of mini sherpas leaving the car. You pack it in, you pack it out.

Old van: We pull up to a destination, open the door, and empty cups, homework papers and Subway wrappers fall out.
New van: We pull up to a destination, open the door, and people hear me shouting, "Freestone, you're going to break the new van! Stop pushing that button!"

Old van: We brought home two kids from the hospital and one from the airport in it.
New van: Seats eight, so...who knows? OK, Scott knows. And he's taking out the extra seat as we speak. :)

When we moved into our house a few years ago, we vowed to create lots of good memories in it, to catch up with all the good memories we had in Big Golda's house, where we moved from. Same with the new van. The old van took us to a lot of great places. The new van has some work to do. Road trip, anyone? We can put that extra seat back in!

Grace Notes

One of Xanthe's first carefully crafted sentences was, "Doh det mine bye-YIN!" She said it as we pulled up to the violin shop in the car. She knew there was a violin in the shop that was just her size. I laughed and brought it home for her. Her next request was, "Mom, bye-yin yessons PEESE, with Wooby." (Translation: Violin lessons please, with Ruby.) Since my favorite part of being a mom is helping the kids practice, Xanthe's begging was music to my ears. Now she gets to practice with everyone else. Don't expect results for awhile...she's still working on holding the thing. When she puts the bow on the string and it doesn't sound like Joshua Bell, she says, "It won't work! It boken." As I write, Golda and Ari are working out a duet of Allegro by Shinichi Suzuki. Unfortunately, Ari is in D Major and Golda is in C Major. Not a winning combination. Sometimes it's a long haul from cacophony to symphony...
Louis Pasteur said, "When I approach a child, he inspires in me two sentiments; tenderness for what he is and respect for what he may become." When Freestone insists on practicing in his swim goggles, or Xanthe sings along with Ruby's violin, I smile at what they are today and take joy in the fact that music will bring them many different kinds of happiness throughout their lives.

Friends from China

We went to an ice skating party yesterday with a bunch of adoption friends. We came home with an extra 5-year-old Chinese boy in the backseat, laughing like he and Ari had been friends forever. His mom, the Amazing Judy Wu, sat next to me in the front seat and updated me on China adoptions. She was our facilitator while we were in China. In other words, she knew Xanthe before we did, and she helped us through every step, big and small, all through China. We owe her a lot and have fond memories of her laughing with us and AT us as we navigated Chinese taxi cabs and restaurant fare. One of my favorite memories is at the cloth market in Guangzhou. Judy haggled the salespeople down like a pro, until they were practically giving us the fabric for Scott's suits. Every glitch that arose, Judy was on it.
So last night, we played in the snow and rode bikes around the neighborhood. Judy and Mike are from a tropical climate, so the snowball fight was a departure for them. We took them for a grilled cheese at Dylan's, where we munched the all-American fries, accompanied by Coca Cola. Despite the language barrier, all the kids played a matching game and got along great. If nothing else, Mike had his love of basketball to create common bonds. Who do you think his favorite team is? Houston, of course!
After the kids settled down and stopped giggling, Judy, Scott and I stayed up well past 1:00 talking and playing with Google Earth. We saw Judy's apartment building and the White Swan Hotel. Unfortunately, we are leaving to take our friends to the airport in a few minutes. We wish they could stay longer, we have had so much fun. I could have stayed up much later visiting with Judy, except that I was pretty delirious by 1:00! This morning, Ari reported that she tried to wake up Judy and Mike and they wouldn't wake up. She said, "Maybe night time is longer in China." Maybe night time is longer when you're not having so much fun staying up late, but it's worth it! Until next time, maybe in Guangzhou...:)

What Inspires Joy...

I was feeling very smug after school for giving my kids this healthy and gorgeous snack. As they were munching, Golda casually mentioned that the tooth fairy finally came, after six nights of leaving her tooth under her pillow in her tooth fairy love box. I said, "Boy, the tooth fairy must be really busy. Must be a lot of kids losing teeth these days!" Golda looked me in the eye and replied, "OR...maybe the tooth fairy is a big SLACKER!" You can't win 'em all, right? Even the healthy snacks were counteracted by the tub of cotton candy that Henry and Freestone so thouroughly enjoyed in the afternoon sun. Why don't carrot sticks inspire that kind of unbridled joy?
Despite my shortcomings, I was rewarded with a beautiful package from Tiffany waiting on my doorstep, with a cute little love box and a book I can't wait to read. Thanks, my friend! Your gifts truly do bring more joy than even a tub of cotton candy.

The Sun Is Out, The Sky Is Blue...There's Not a Cloud To Spoil The View...

I just had to post this picture to show you what hard workers Xanthe and Elijah are. In less time than it took me to fit a violin bridge, they took all the clean laundry, all the clean towels and all the clothes I had packed in my closet for Disneyland and put them all in the tub. Not even Scott's leather shoes were spared. They also added the decorative touch of coloring the tile green with a magic marker. They were gleefully adding water to make a giant clothing stew when I caught them. Of course, my first reaction was to get the camera. In retrospect, I wonder if I should have impressed upon them the idea that it's bad to load up all the clean clothes in the tub and get them wet. But they were too cute and proud of themselves, and I had to laugh. I can hardly do anything BUT laugh today, with the sun shining, school out and kids playing in the gully for the first time in months. Spring is coming!

I love pictures. These are a few of my favorites from our weekend. :) '50's day was a big success. Golda's lip synch was cute and she and her two friends won 3rd place. When I saw all the girls in their finery, I was so grateful to my mom for making such adorable skirts!
Saturday night we got to go on a mini vacation. Scott stayed home with Golda and Xanthe; Golda was completely worn out and needed down time. The rest of us packed 4suitcases full of stuffed animals and "chapter books" (Ari) and took off Saturday afternoon to Provo. We stayed at the Provo Marriott with Coco and Bill and Nana. My cousin Athena is going on a mission to El Salvador, and her parents are leaving on a mission to Nauvoo, so we thought it would be fun to make a trip out of the Farewell. As luck would have it, there was a Salvadoran restaurant just down the street from the hotel, so we sampled the fare from Athena's future home. It was great food, if a little rustic. Nana was a good sport, but Freestone said it was "Gwoss."
When we got to the hotel room, the kids immediately staked out their territory. Freestone put his stuff under the desk, and Ruby organized her spot behind the chair. I told them they could all sleep in beds, but they think it's fun to "camp." They're used to having the whole family crowded into one room! We missed Scott, Golda and Xanthe, especially when I pulled out Xanthe's pajammas that I forgot to unpack. Ari almost started to cry! But our little half-a-family had fun swimming, ordering room service and hangin' out.
The farewell was wonderful. Rita, Paul and Athena gave beautiful, inspirational talks. The clear, sunny weather and the majestic mountains outside the church added to the spiritual feeling of the day. I took a picture of Rita's china (Delft?) just for Tiffany. I knew you'd appreciate it! I got a chance to visit with my cousins and see all their children, which is one of my favorite things.
We had the King side over for dinner tonight for Jessi's birthday. Freestone kept his enthusiasm semi-contained, so it wasn't pure chaos, except when he tried to lick the frosting off all the cookies Jessi made. I can't think of anything better than a gathering of family with the drone of a sporting event in the background and the enthusiasm of kids in the foreground, girls talking life and boys talking sports. (Scott would say sports IS life, and I can't completely disagree...) I talked to Marlene tonight, after everyone left, and caught up on all the good stuff we missed at their house today. As I mull over the events of the weekend and the time spent celebrating family, I'm grateful for every day I get to spend with my kids, Scott and the people we love.

Valentines Day Tag

I thought I was going to take a bye on blogging tonight, but Nikki tagged me and I got kindof excited about it. So, Nikki, here are my answers: Two names you have gone by: Circe King, which I miss, and Circle, every time a telemarketer calls.
Two things you are wearing right now: a red sock and a grey sock.
Two things you did last night: Took all the kids to Dolcetti Gelato, on 11th East and 19th South. Highly recommend it! Stayed up past my bedtime reading. (Closing my eyes halfway and resting my body while reading did not help me feel more awake today, like I told myself it would.)
Two people you talked to: Scott, on the phone from his conference in Wendover, and Ari, when I found her rifling through the fridge at 2:30 in the morning.
Two favorite holidays: I can't answer this one. My two favorite holidays in February, though, are Valentines Day and Chinese New Year. But not Groundhog Day. I thing it should be retired. Judging by the snowstorm we had today, we're in for six more YEARS of winter.
Two things about me you may not know: I cannot sleep without socks on. And I have an aversion to going out for breakfast. It depresses me. Oh, sorry. I thought the question was, "Two things that prove you are lame and neurotic."
Two favorite foods: I'm with Nikki on this one...cookie dough and salmon.
Two places you'd rather be: Out on the driveway with Freestone yesterday, when it was 50 degrees! And if I could take Scott and the kids with me, I would definitely choose Hong Kong.
And my extra credit question: What makes your kids eat veggies? Answer: These plates with different sections. Putting the foods in the different sections thrills my kids to no end. And for some reason, they will eat whatever I put on those plates, no matter how healthy it is. (Never mind the hot dog in the big section!) Oprah should have these on her favorite things show.
And now I tag anybody who wants to play! And if nobody wants to play with me, I'll have flashbacks to Miss Campbell's second grade class, and that would be sad. So please play!

Happy Lunar New Year!

While we hibernate here in the snow, gluing doilies and red construction paper and popping candy hearts, half the world is having a two-week party. Happy Lunar New Year, everyone! We went to a wonderful party last night with our adoption friends in the area. The Yarbroughs hosted, and all the kids and adults had a great time visiting and eating dumplings and Tso's chicken. There was a proliferation of black, spiky pigtails like you've never seen! All the little girls are so beautiful. They were pretty interactive with one another, more so than last year, when most of them were still babies. I love to see them all together, and to share the common bond that we parents have. There were also plenty of older siblings. It's fun for them to see that other kids have the same kind of family they do. I really enjoy celebrating Chinese New Year. Having Xanthe has given us a few more holidays to observe, which is never a bad thing! When we got home from the party last night, we discovered Grandma and Grandpa had left valentines for all of us! Thanks! We are so lucky to have such fun grandparents. They always make holidays special. Well, they make every day special by loving us so much. We love you!
Yesterday was also Freestone's un-birthday at school. He took toy cars for the boys and lip gloss for the girls, and came home with a crown. He was so funny over the weekend. He fell in love with Golda's friend, and exhibited the same symptoms an older boy (or man!) would, upon being attracted to a girl. He strutted around saying how much he did NOT like this girl. He ripped up a paper plate and threw it on the ground to impress her. He told me he had to go to Coco's to "get his muscles." (They have weights and a work-out room.) Golda's friend treated him very kindly. He returned the favor by telling her he was in love with his imaginary friend, Emma. (She lives on his ceiling fan.) Boys never change, do they?

Golda is preparing for '50's Day at school, another 5th grade tradition. She and two friends have been working on a lip synch from Hairspray. They absolutely needed poodle skirts, so I bought all the trimmings, knowing full well that it would be a miracle if I managed to take the project from a pile of fabric to finished skirts. I'm just no good at patterns, in life or in sewing. Same thing with cooking...I skim the recipe, get a general idea and go from there. Sometimes it doesn't work. I love to sew straight lines, like on a baby blanket. But I got a C-minus in home-ec in junior high because of my inability to follow a pattern. A C-minus. Now I'm CEO of a household of seven, so there!
Anyway, my idea was to send the girls to Coco's house. My mom could be Vera Wang. She sewed all of her clothes as a teenager, without a pattern. She went to the expensive stores, looked around, and knocked off all their fashionable clothes. Even before that, she made so many sock dolls as a kid that her mom had to put a stop to the mass production because of the nightmares Mom had that the dolls were coming to life.
When I was little, my mom made dresses for me that my kids wear now, to things like pioneer day at school. How sad is that! Once, my mom made a dress for me that matched the cushions she made for the patio furniture. It was like cocktail party camoflage.
Anyway, Coco took over on the poodle skirts, whipping out one for Golda and one for her friend, throwing in a trip to the fabric store for zippers and the right color thread. (See, I would have just used what was in the sewing machine.) Just to display her sewing proficiency, Mom made a poodle skirt for OUR DOG out of the fabric scraps. (Golda's idea, of course.) So THANKS, Mom, for sparing me the humiliation of making a skirt that would have had the poodle upside-down and one side 3 inches longer than the other, all sewn together with black thread. Incidentally, there is a Beverly Cleary book where one mom makes an amazing dress and the girl's best friend's mom makes the same dress, only it turns out really dumpy. What book was that? The dresses had monkeys on them. I was so afraid Golda would have to experience the same thing!
On the contrary, we now have a poodle skirt that every 5th grader coming through the ranks can use and be proud of. Golda's friend has lots of little sisters, too, so both families are set for '50's day. Now, what's next...?

Weekend in Your Ami

Scott and I still think it's hilarious when the kids argue over whose "Ami" it is, as in "I'm going to Miami." "No, it's MY Ami!" or "Why can't I go to your Ami?"
Anyway, I just got back form my "Ten Year Old Trip" with my dad. A little late, but really fun. It's never to late to have your dad all to yourself for a few days, is it? :)
It was great to take to the skies with a new book and a couple extra shirts. Plus, I got to do things that I never do anymore, like eat food while it's still hot and go to the bathroom without anyone pounding on the door.
Part of the weekend was a classic road trip to the Florida Keys. My aunt Tricia's condo, where we stayed, is just north of Miami. We took her PT Cruiser and drove straight south on Highway 1 all the way to Key West, the end of the road. It's a 400-mile roundtrip, but I knew when we started out that we'd go ALL the way down and ALL the way back. My dad finishes things. If he's at a basketball game and one team is winning by 50 points, he'll still stay until the buzzer. So there was no turning around halfway. We did stop midway along the route to have lunch at a marina restaurant, overlooking fishing boats and some very friendly pelicans. By the time we got to the "90 miles to Cuba" landmark, it was dark. The area around there was quaint, so we strolled up and down the streets and listened to the New Orleans-style jazz coming from a patio wedding at one of the bed and breakfasts. The open road called, and we headed north, back to the condo. I got to hear a lot of stories about my ancestors and Dad's life as we drove. It's one Saturday I'll always remember.
Sunday was an equally memorable day. We went to church in the local ward, which was completely different than church here, yet exactly the same. I was moved, watching the ward members pass the sacrament to one another, a white arm reaching out to a deeply black arm, to a heavily tatooed arm, to a little child. All these people, so diverse, and so much like me, in that we all share the gospel. It was a real testimony builder to hear so many converts bear their testimonies of how the gospel changed their lives when they found it. Their strength and love inspired me.
My dad was in his element when we happened upon a classic car show. Just the previous night, he and the security guard at the condo were watching slide shows of vintage cars on You Tube and naming the makes and models. So it was fun to peruse the line of cars and hear Dad tell stories like the time the engine of Dad's Jag blew up when he was driving 110 through the Nevada desert, trying to break his Salt Lake-to-San Francisco record. Or the time he tried to elude the Kaysville police by driving straight into a cornfield and turning off his headlights. (Right, Dad, like there were several red jaguars in Kaysville in 1954. They probably knew it was you even before they missed the turn and headed into the cornfield, too!)
Dad, thanks for a great "Thirty-six Year Old Trip!" It was an amazing opportunity to spend that much time with you, and I had a great time. Thanks also to Scott for being a fun dad while I was gone, and to Coco for organizing our storage room (I LOVE IT!)and watching the kids! And thanks to Tricia for letting us use your condo and car!
I loved dinner overlooking the water at Le Tub, breakfast and walking along the beach in the balmy air, talking to all the retirees from Quebec and Boston. One of my favorite memories is Dad pacing around the condo at midnight, waiting for Josh to text him the final score of the Jazz game. Meanwhile, he debated about calling and bugging Trajan, and talked to Mom for a few minutes, asking about all the kids. (She was watching Esmae.) When the text came in, he asked me to open it for him and see what it said. Then he called Josh and ranted about Sloan, even though the Jazz won by about 25. I remember that particular moment because it tells so much about Dad. He loves his family and loves to stay connected to them, through sports or whatever. He has built many ways for us all to stay connected, i.e. working with Josh and Scott, visiting us when he walks his dogs, jumping for the phone to call the others whenever one of us shows up. "Well, now that you're here, let's call and see what Trajan is up to." Dad has so many great quirks, I couldn't list them. But I love 'em all! Thanks, Dad!