Hawaiian entertainment

At the beach today, Allison and I were sitting on big rocks, which were actually boats we were driving to Hawaii. I asked Allison, "What do you think we'll see in Hawaii?" Quick as a flash, no pause, she said, "Chickens dancing!" Of course! Doesn't everyone know that???

Church fun with Allison

President Monson perfectly described Allison when he said, "Great big spirit, little tiny body."

One Sunday for the Sacrament, a yummy rosemary bread was used. When Allison ate a piece during that quiet, reverent time, she yelled, "YUCK! That bread is YUCKY!" It seriously reverberated off the walls. Subsequent announcement from the Stake President (visiting our ward that day, of course): we will only use plain white bread for the sacrament.

At the beginning of the year when the kids switched primary classes, I asked Allison about her new Primary teacher. She said, "She was grumpy and naughty. I captured her and I tied her up with a rope!" I guess they aren't getting along so well?

There are a couple of older women in our ward who usually sit together in Sacrament meeting. This past Sunday we sat directly in front of them. During the announcements, Allison looked back and called out to me, "Mommy, LOOK! There are 2 Ursalas!!"

Preliminary pix from the recent snowfall

This is the view from our front door. Can barely see to any neighbors across the street. Our tree is just gorgeous in this heavy snow. Unfortunately, we lost a big branch to the heavy snow. Probably needed to be trimmed anyways.
This is the view from our porch. Dontcha love it? It was a beautiful day. The snow dampens sound. No cars driving, just peaceful and quiet. Everyone is mellow - no expectations, nowhere to go, no deadlines or appointments. Just gorgeous.

3 down, 3 to go

Nikolas is the latest in a string of Hawleys to reach the 16th birthday!! We are half way there!! What did Nik do on his birthday? Well, he woke up early to go to the local middle school and recruit kids to join Civil Air Patrol. His squadron has recently made some positive changes and Nik feels like it's something other kids would really like. He has taken it upon himself to spend several of his days off school recruiting. Yea, Nik! I really am not worried about what this kid does when he's not at home!
Allison and I made a Hawley favorite for Nik's birthday - Dump Cake. Found the recipe in a "Toddler Busy Book". We all love it and it earned Runner Up in a dessert contest. I can't understand that because it has no frosting. But Nik loves it.
And we love Nik. He is a crazy good kid who's biggest problem in life is trying to do too many things super well. Oh yeah, he can get a little wild with his siblings, he of course likes to torture and tease the little ones (a rite of passage, I guess), but he's our 'go to guy'. We can always count on him. Turning 16, he is now eligible for his Learner's Permit, and dating. Fortunately, he has declared that he hasn't met anyone he's overly interested in. For now, we get to concentrate on his Eagle Scout project and more CAP (and try to avoid the DMV). Happy mama!!

Happy Birthday, Baby! Allison is 3!!

My sweet little baby isn't a baby any longer - she is a full blown preschooler! Although she tells me "Beeb (Melanie) is big; I am little." What a wonderful little girl we've been given.
This is a Hawley tradition dating back a few years - squirting whipped cream straight out of the bottle into little mouths. Allison's head jerks back in surprise every time but she keeps asking for more! (Sorry for the blurry picture; it's an action sport.)

Allison got paint for her birthday, which was probably her favorite gift. Our birthday celebration immediately turned into a painting party and a lot of beautiful finger painting commenced.

Allison seemed thrilled at the feel of the paint (she is so texture oriented), and the fact that I would let her get so messy.

What a wonderful day. At 6am, Allison came into our room (as usual) and when we said, "Happy Birthday!!" she said, "The Goodsons are coming over?" I said yes, and then she said we had to go downstairs and clean the house for the Goodsons. That family room was perfectly tidy by 6:30am, waiting for those Goodsons who weren't coming over until 7pm. Allison's version of cleaning meant shoving everything that was in the family room into the dining room, which was fine since we had a couple of hours to fill until the party started.

Allison's birthday consisted of going to Ikea to play and going swimming at the YMCA, with pizza for dinner.

My favorite things about Allison right now:
She says prayers all by herself, and always includes her list of friends: Minta, Reese, Kyler and Caleb. Every night in her prayers, she says, "Please bless Daddy can get a job so Beeb and I can get a pretzel at the Y, and Mommy can drive us there."

She loves to be held. And every time I come home from activity, she says, "Hi Mom! How was your exercise class (or wherever I was)?" And then, "Were your friends there?"

She loves textures, loves to explore through touch. One day we were driving by City Hall and there is a big fountain outside with water flowing down it. She said, "Ooooooo, I want to *taste* it!"

She knows how to say things like, "Melanie and I" when it's appropriate. She knows the letters of the alphabet. She knows how to count (finally!) by pointing at each object and giving it only one number. She still gets stuck after 11, counting like this: "...8, 9, 10, 11, 8, 9, 10!"

When we got a new and fuzzy rug in the family room, she fell to the floor and just rolled and rolled on the carpet, rubbing her face and any exposed skin on it. She does the same thing in the sand at the beach.

She is tremendous at expressing her big feelings - a huge wonderful smile, loud raucous laughter, and big loud screams. Recently at preschool there was a yelling contest (not at my house, of course) and the mom was surprised at how loud Allison was. I wasn't, but I'm glad that she reserves that for home.

Allison is a great big spirit in a little tiny body, and it will be exciting to witness her growing up. I'm so lucky!!

Pennsylvania in May '09

This is one of my all-time favorite trees. Actually, it's not just a tree - it's a tree and a vine; each alone is beautiful, together magnificent. Dogwood and wisteria - the image is much more powerful than the names. I was just driving down the street on the way to the grocery store, such a mundane task, when I looked out my car window and saw this, so extraordinary. We are abundantly blessed to have such lush beauty surrounding us in the Spring. Such vibrant colors.

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!