Malan's Golden Birthday

Malan turned 9 on the 9th of October, her golden birthday! It was fall break, and so nice to get to have her home all day. Some memories from the day:

Breakfast in bed and getting lost in a new book from Grandma W. (She read the 2 Grandma Hale sent preemptively.)

The family spa party! This was all Malan's doing, and I so love being off the hook when it comes to planning parties. Malan asked everyone to wear something gold to the party in honor of her golden birthday, and of course Aunt Katie went above and beyond! So awesome.
Here are some spa guests, soaking their tootsies in hot and fragrant foot baths:

Golden birthday presents and golden goodies.

Facials!

Josh, Olivia, Lucy, and Emme pose before getting their nails painted. Josh opted for green "monster claws."

Malan is treated to a foot massage and Amanda helps Malan light the candles...

Malan makes a wish...

This is one seriously incredible girl and we all love her so much! She is so super smart, responsible, kind and good, creative, ambitious and funny and gorgeous to boot. Happy Birthday Malan!

Lake House Two

Here is the second of the lake house photo essays, including some beach time, nap time, face time, and a little cliff jumping.

Malan jumped all the cliffs right along with the adults. I was so impressed by her fearlessness.

Does your bishop have moves like this? Mine does.

Olivia gets up the nerve...

Such a fantastic getaway. Thank you Hales! It did us a fat lot of good.

Lake House One

I've been neglectful. I can't really excuse myself, I just didn't feel much like writing. 

But I'm willing to move on if you are. 

Katie and Joey once again treated us to a wonderful several days away at the lake, this year at Heber Springs, Arkansas. A little boating, a little skiing, a little hiking, some late-into-the night chats with kinfolk. Bonus: My sister Victoria, her husband Michael and the irresistible wee Sarah joined us. And best of all, four straight days and nights with Caleb around. Goodness that made me happy. Here is the first of two lake house photo essays:

(Let's hear a "Well done Emme" on the socks with sandals. I'm afraid packing was a bit of a rush job.)

(Sorry about the tree branch on your face, Mike! Not the best positioning of the camera for the timer shot. But look, we're all there.)

 Lake, we love you.

Homebodies

Well I have renewed faith in the young people of America via the young people of Southwestern Tennessee. Like a real champ, I rounded a corner too tightly and high-centered my minivan on a culvert when pulling in to the the parking lot on Olivia's first day of preschool. As a bonus, it was right in front of the drop off doors, so I got to make an awesome first-impression with several moms. One tire was spinning four inches above the ground and I was going nowhere without somebody with a truck and a winch.

I got out to peek under the car when, out of nowhere, there were suddenly 15 high school boys standing around my van. Their school books lay scattered on the ground and the macho guys declared, "We can totally lift this thing off of there." Then they just picked up my Mazda and made my troubles disappear. Turns out there is an auto shop class next to the pre-school. Not a bad place to make a dumb driving mistake. I tell you what, they are all getting warm chocolate chip cookies tomorrow morning. 

Makes me happy when I get to witness kids being so darn great. Makes me hopeful that my girls just might have boys to date who will be kind and respectful and unselfish. Made a bad moment into a warm fuzzy.

Also, Olivia is in love with preschool. Along with her awesome teacher, she has seven sweet high school girls to shower her with attention for three hours, three days a week. Just what a 3rd child needs, and I am so happy for her.

But boy do I relish the days I get to keep her home with me. Here are my two homebodies whiling away a morning: