The age of accountability.

Lily's birthday brought on the ripe old age of accountability, which, in our church, means she has the opportunity to choose to be baptized.  Her recent comments have reflected nothing but enthusiam for this awesome event.  In her words, "I've been waiting since I was six for this!"

We housed 19 people(including our family) for the weekend, which was the perfect excuse to clean and make some awesome food.  Lily was excited to have several of her cousins, aunts, uncles and all of her grandparents attend.  We were so blessed to share this occasion with so many.  Thank you for coming!

Valentine's Day.

 Afterschool snack.

 Dinner.

Dessert.

 

Why is it that holidays always seem to revolve around food?  Not that I mind...

 

Anna went all out on her Valentine box for school this year.

 

Not bad, eh?



Bigger is always better. Well, at least for Tim.

I've been planning out a kitchen workstation for a while now.  Our computers are currently in the office, down the hall from the kitchen and not as visible/accessible as I would like my children to be when I'm working in the kitchen and they're completing homework or indulging in a bit of media time.  I spent hours finding just the right sized desk for just the right price and mapped out exactly what I want on the walls and where(though that part has yet to come to fruition) to make our homework corner a functional spot.  I left the computer-buying up to Tim.  We needed a flat screen to optimize the small space and since he is the techie of the family, it was his arena.  Here's what he came up with:

Flat screen?  Check.  Good price?  Check.  All in one computer?  Bonus!  Size of that monitor?  Ridiculous.  It takes up half the desk I carefully chose to fit in a small corner.  I laughed out loud when I pulled it out of the box.  Even the girls made comments.  He's still defending the purchase, of course.  "It was such a good deal!", he says.  That's my man.

A few days after the computer arrived, Tim took Eve out for a little treat.  Scratch the word "little".  Tim simply cannot, cannot buy a small shake.  It's just doesn't hit the right price point.  So much more worth it to buy the large shake when you consider the price per ounce.  Nevermind most of the shake spent its final days in the freezer, forgotten until I put the freezer-burned delight out of its misery.  By Tim's logic, every family (regardless of size) should shop at Costco and nowhere else.  Ever.  That's my man.

Year of the Snake.

One way we beat the winter doldrums around here is by celebrating Chinese New Year.  My ties with Asia go way back, I love cooking Chinese food and hosting friends so there you have it - the perfect recipe for a Chinese New Year par-tay.

We made it a family affair - four families total.  Homemade steamed buns, potstickers, spring rolls, 3 stir-fry dishes and chow mein.  It was a feast.  After processing the deliciousness, we opted for a Weird Chinese Food/Fear Factor Style Taste testing game for the kids.  In short, we gave each kid a cup with a lesser-known/eaten Asian food beginning with the least weird and then graduated to more weird foods.  Whoever could not eat the food within the allotted time was eliminated from the competition.  I kept it pretty tame: no fish balls or stinky tofu this year.  But considering that 6 kids were still remaining after five rounds (and we only got one kid to cry- Boo!), I think I'm going to have to up the ante next year.

Here are a few pictures (the video is much better, but those don't show up in blog books):

Add a little Mah Jong for the adults at the tail end and it was time to call it a night.  Til' next year...

Follow the leader.

A week or two ago, Lily came into our bedroom after bedtime to inform us that she had completed reading the Book of Mormon.  After a much-deserved congratulations, I asked her how she managed to read her scriptures often enough to finish it.  She said, "Well, I usually forget.  But then I see Rachel reading her scriptures and she reminds me to read my own."  Bravo, Rachel, bravo.  Perhaps we should put all four girls in the same room so she can rub off on the rest of them, too.

Lily, Lily bo Billy.

Two months ago(backdating all the blog posts), this little darling turned eight.  Eighth birthdays are a bit of a splurge around here.  The birthday girl gets to pick a "party place", invite a whole slew of friends, and we let them do all the work.  Yes, it's pricey, but I do this for two reasons: 1.  They only get such a party once in 18 years.  2.  I get to spend my energy planning the more important part of an eighth birthday in our family... the baptism.

In any case, Lily decided to do a ropes course party.  Here are a few shots of the action:

 Not so sure about this...

 Anna's been there, done that.

 It didn't take the kids long to figure out that they could just sit in their harnesses and swing from apparatus to apparatus.  Brilliant.

 The girls were pretty much the only kids that stuck around for present-opening.  Boxing became the boys first activity choice.

And now, eight things I love about Lily:

1.  She's grateful.  I never have to weasel a thank you out of this girl.

2.  She's fun!  Our top laugh-generator.

3.  She is her own person.  Doesn't really care what others think.  I hope that lasts.

4.  Lily's friendly.  She is always the first to start a conversation with some random person when we're in public.

5.  She is no respecter of persons.  At an age when many kids begin to think boys are gross, Lily just thinks they're one of the gang.  Very healthy attitude, if you ask me.

6.  Lily is affectionate.  Best hugs ever.

7.  She is beginning to eat things she doesn't like.  This is big.

8.  She "gets" the scripures.  Sometimes we catch her losing her spot while we read aloud in family scripture study.  The reason:  "it was just so interesting, I couldn't stop reading ahead!"

 

Aw, we love our Lily!