Happy Birthday Julia!!!

Julia turned 13 this year, at the beach! What a lucky girl to celebrate her favorite day in one of her favorite places!! Again, couldn't get all the Hawleys together - the boys are visiting friends and relatives in AZ.
Happy girl!

13 things I love about Juicy:
1) That smile! She has one of the biggest and most genuinely happy smiles - ever since she was a little thing! A smile that stays with you long after you can't see it anymore.
2) She likes to sit on my lap (even now) and run her fingers across my knees until I can't stand the tickles any more. This makes her smile.
3) She *loves* kids, all shapes and sizes. She is a favorite babysitter among many of my friends' kids and I love that she enjoys making them smile so much.
4) She loves the beach! (me too!)
5) She is dedicated to helping. One day at the beach, Melanie lost her flippers in the surf and we figured they were gone. Julia combed up and down in the water, just like an official CAP Search and Rescue mission, until she found them.
6) She will clean up the basement all on her own, without being asked! She *loves* to be helpful.
7) She loves to sing! One day, I was upstairs and she and Nik were in the basement - Nik played "Let It Be" on his keyboard, and Julia sang that song at the top of her voice, with wild abandon. I love that she can give up her inhibitions like that.
8) She always (almost) does a good job at her chores. I can count on her to get them done every week. So consistent.
9) She splattered painted her room with her friends, then had the idea to paint their hands and put handprints in the middle of the splatters. Frankly, it looks awesome. I love her room b/c it is such a great expression of her colorful and sometimes scattered personality (scattered in a fun and good-natured way, of course!)
10) She talks to me about problems with her friends. She really thinks about and tries to solve problems and be a good friend (to me and her peers! Lucky me!).
11) She loves to read! (me too!) We read a lot of the same books!
12) She loves to help anyone at any time. Sometimes, she jumps in and helps without finding out if the person wants help, which doesn't usually produce the results she's hoping for, but she's always willing!
13) Her testimony - her testimony of the importance of loving others and connecting with them is so strong, she is a great example to us all!

Birthday Catch-up

Chris' 17th birthday, and possibly the last one he'll celebrate in our house for at least the next few years, so a very important birthday!We have a hard time getting all the Hawleys together at one time. My guess is that Nik was at marching band practice (where he spent the entire fall, after spending a huge part of his summer there). But we love to celebrate with whomever we've got, and it's not so bad to be a 17 year old boy surrounded by such beauty!
Nothing says "Happy Birthday" like a smiling monkey cake! Chris loves cupcakes, so I formed a rough monkey shape with them, and then piled on the frosting!

A little about Chris, since I slack off at Christmas and didn't get a letter out:
Chris wants to attend either the Air Force Academy (1st choice) or West Point. He has had a lot of training in military protocol, advancement and duties during his 5 years in the Civil Air Patrol - any moms and dads who haven't checked out this wonderful program should look into it. Great opportunities to develop leadership skills, learn practical skills - like actually flying planes, earning an FCC communications degree and interning at a radio station, etc etc. - and gain maturity. Chris has learned a ton of things, in many different areas, not the least of which are his search and rescue practical skills. He has amazing knowledge of things like survival skills - what plants are edible and which ones are poisonous, shelter making, in some ways like Boy Scouts on steroids.

This is an excerpt from a college application he's writing: As a member of the Hawk Mountain Ranger School cadet staff cadre I regularly lead squadrons of cadets varying in size from 10 to 40 cadets on search and rescue exercises and training sorties in a woodland environment.

Wow - Chris can really *do* that? Yep, he's good, even though he chooses when to turn it on and when to turn it off, he's that good. And that's why I think college will do so much for him. He has the skills and there I think he'll learn how to incorporate that maturity into everyday life.

Chris loves to sing, participating in the highest level of choir at his school. He has participated in plays and musicals there; you should have seen him in "Crazy For You" last Spring. All those years of goofing around with his brother, speaking in a British accent and parading around the neighborhood in a Pith helmet finally paid off, as he was selected for the part of Mr. Fodor - he was wonderful! Currently he's practicing for the musical "All Shook Up". He loves to play lacrosse, pick on his siblings, and teach me about all kinds of hip things that I'd have no idea about if it weren't the kindness of our kids 'cluing me in'.

October continues

Word Girl! Continuing with our October pictures, we spotted Word Girl at a local elementary school parade! Quite exciting as we watch her on TV almost daily. She has a vocabulary a mile wide and is from the planet Lexicon, so we're lucky to have spotted her.
I realize this little picture of Pooh is of poor quality, but still irresistible!! We have a similar picture of Melanie; they could be twins!
This is the entire Trick-or-Treating crew: Minnie Mouse (a little punked out), Word Girl, a lion and a zebra friend we lassoed along the way. It was wet, literally raining a good part of the time, and there was a Phillies World Series game on that night (Allison didn't last long, only about 8 houses; then she came home and answered the door with me, yelling "Go Phillies!" to everyone.). There were not many kids out, but our crew made the usual rounds, and ended up with about.... 6 lbs each. Crazy nuts.

Stripling Warrior-ette (from Oct 09)

Going back in time again to capture highlights of aught nine, this is Melanie, our Stripling Warrior-ette, fighting for truth, justice and self-defense (although in sparring, it looks like the best defense is a good offense). This is during her test for her Advanced Yellow belt (yeah, she really is going for a kick to the head; she can kick short adults in the head and can kick her dad in the shoulder - yikes).After successfully, completing her test, this is Melanie's karate master tying her new belt on her. She's a toughie - true dat!

The end

These are the last of the beach pictures. Gotta end on a good note, and these are the best! Is this an awesome smush of people or what?
Melanie is 7.
Julia is 13 (almost, two days from the picture is her birthday).

And Ally-baby is 2! A terrific, wonderful, energetic, challenging, laugh every minute, two!And this is why we go to Oak Island. Because we have a million of these smiley, fun, playful, sometimes crazy moments every day when we are there. The sun is bright, the sand is soft, the water is warm, and it is the natural and preferred habitat of the Hawleys.

Pioneers at the beach?

I had no idea what a beach pioneer looked like until Allison donned this costume. I think the pioneers would have liked the bright colors.

Remarkable things at the beach

Remarkable thing #1: can you believe that Julia can do a handstand on the beach? Can you believe that she can hold herself up at this angle?Remarkable thing #2: These two people are just remarkable!
Remarkable thing #3: the sand castle is still standing with a toddler so close! Not many castles last this long (and you might be able to see that this is a super cool drip castle).
Remarkable thing #4: This is *ocean*, not a lake as you might guess from the lack of waves.
And finally, Remarkable thing #5: Boundless optimism. That's what I call this picture. What other reason would there be for sitting on a surfboard in this flat water?