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!

Party of Six

Circe is in Miami with her Dad, so I figure I (Scott) will post the blog for the day. I used to think I was the funny one in the family, but after reading Circe's blogs day after day it is clear that she is much more funny than me (although I still have my moments). It is 1:30 a.m. and I can't sleep (already watched Sports Center) so I will attempt to recreate our day: Golda and Ruby went to dance this morning at 8:15. Xanthe decided to treat the tub as a toilet so I bleached the tub and all the toys in it then attempted to do Xanthe's hair. After 15 minutes of trying to style her hair I ended up with the slicked back mousse look and found a headband and threw it on. I told all the kids I had a surprise for them, so when Golda and Ruby got home from dance I loaded all the kids in the car and took off for our destination. On the way we were listening to President Hinckley's funeral and during one of the songs Ari said, "This is making my eyes water." We arrived at our destination - the Cheesecake Factory and the kids all started shouting and were totally excited. We walked around the mall while we waited for our table and Golda was shocked when she picked out her favorite pair of ear rings in Nordstrom and I pointed out that they were $135.00. The kids felt like royalty when we were finally seated in a big round table in what the kids thought was the coolest part of the restaurant. They were all so cute and good during our meal and we even had people comment on how well behaved they were. I just loved watching their little faces as they happily ate their macaroni cheeseballs, or as Freestone called them, "huge meatballs with spagetti inside." I had a Cuban sandwich, in honor of Circe in Miami. On the way home we played guessing games and laughed at Ruby trying to keep Xanthe from falling asleep. Later I took Ruby to her master guitar class, which I hope will improve my Guitar Hero skills on the Wii. Ruby is quite talented on the guitar. The kids are doing great Circe and they all miss you. We hope you are having fun with your Dad.

Cuteness and Fiddles

So cute...and I don't mean the violins, although I think they are pretty. This fiddle picture tells a story...Ari sneaking food to her cousins in the TV room while I finished setting up 18 violins for pickup at 1:00 yesterday. Phew, just made it! The tulips inspired me. The swimsuits are inspiring, too. The kids are ready RIGHT NOW for our trip to the beach and Disneyland, which still seems far off when I look out the window. But there's fun to be had in winter, too. Araceli helped Collin and Free decorate plastic knives with markers, stickers, ribbons and puff balls. I don't know where she gets her inspiration, but she has loads of it. At the last SEP conference, her teacher let me know that Ari wasn't finishing her work because she was writing everything in bubble letters. Right on, Ari!
Tonight, I dropped off Ruby and Lexie at Arctic Circle all by themselves in their fancy attire. I was next door at the violin shop while they dined alone, relishing their independence. Since Golda was at ballet at the time, Lexie used her free ice cream coupon to get a cone for Golda. Wasn't that nice! Scott took the three girls to a movie to celebrate Lexie reaching double digits! Thanks to Coco today and Grandma and Grandpa yesterday, all the littles survived my absence. Thanks! Collin finally crashed before his head even hit the pillow tonight. We have had a fun-packed week, one that I wouldn't trade for anything!

Happy Birthday, Alexis!

thanks for the presents!!! I think my shirt is pretty cool!!! I love you so much. see ya later!

Thank You, President Hinkley

I like this picture because it's in China, and because it looks like what I imagine Gordon B. Hinkley's arrival on the other side of the veil to be. A celebration, and a joyous reunion with his beloved wife. Although I never met the man, I have always felt like President Hinkley loved me personally and believed in my infinite potential. It is an inkling of what Heavenly Father feels toward us all, that immeasurable, abiding, parental love. I am thankful for President Hinkley, a brilliant example for us in every aspect of his life. Tiffany and Michelle both posted great quotes and thoughts...check them out. We are bereft, but we celebrate a life well lived in the service of Christ and Humanity.

Hi Mom and Dad!

Everyone is having a great time and being really nice! Have fun, guys. We love you!