Age is only a number.

Grandma Franklin turned 70 this year.  (Hard to believe, isn't it?)  She had originally wanted us to all go up to Wisconsin together, which we were pretty excited to do, but unfortunately Grandpa Franklin broke something or other and was just not up for making the trip.  So (Glenn's sister) Amy and I decided we would throw her a party.

The best thing about this party, other than celebrating Grandma, was that the grandkids all got involved in helping.  The girls decided they would decorate two of the cakes!  Becca made the flowers and the other girls all helped pipe the borders, leaves, and the "70"s on.  They did it all by themselves and did a fantastic job.

The grandkids also came up with questions for a quiz all about Grandma for the guests to answer.  They were pretty tough questions and there might have been a cheater or two!

Amy made a beautiful picture display board with different pictures from Grandma's life.  I cut out a ton of different circles then stitched them together and the kids hung them up around the gym for decorations.  We also had little flowers as centerpieces and the girls painted the pots.  It was simple, but I think it turned out really nice and it was so wonderful to have such great grandkids being so helpful and so involved in the process.

It was so nice to have Cousin Bruce and his new wife Lisa come from Chicago to help celebrate.  I loved watching Grandma tell stories she remembered from growing up.

It was such a lovely evening to honor such a lovely person. Grandma has always been a wonderful example of faith, service, sacrifice, and love to her whole family. We are so blessed and grateful to have her.

The happiest 5K on the planet?

That happens to be what the Color Run is billed as...and these types of 5K's seem to be all the rage these days.  So when a Groupon for this event presented itself (they are quite pricey!), we thought we'd give it a try.

It was kind of crazy getting there.  We left super early that morning but of course since it was on the east side it seemed to take forever.  And we were not prepared for the sea of humanity that greeted us.  People.  Dressed in white.  For miles.  It was insane.

We heard a countdown for the starting line, but there were so many people that there ended up being several countdowns.  We finally got across and got moving.  It was actually a pretty hard, hilly course.  Emma and Leah of course zoomed on ahead, Melissa and I stuck together in the middle, and Brooke and Jill kept pace with each other behind us.

As we ran, there were four different "color stations" where people with those little ketchup-type squirt bottles threw colored powder at you.  You could kind of choose how much or how little color got on you.  I was kind of nervous at the first station, but for the rest I thought...what am I here for but to get all colored up?  Now, I didn't get down on the ground and roll around in it like some people were doing, but Melissa and I got into it.

The cool thing is that the Color Run people are out on the course taking pictures of everybody.  After the race is over you can look yourself up by your bib number to see if there are any pictures of you.  So it was fun to find these pics of us out running.

That's Melissa and me, right there in the center...

Once everyone had crossed the finish line we were all supposed to gather and toss the little packets of powder they had given us up in the air all at once.  There were so many people that we didn't go into the madness up by the stage, but we had our own little color toss.

But our friend got an awesome picture of the main one...

I would definitely say it was the FUNNEST 5K I've ever done.  Can a 5K ever truly be happy though?  All I know is that once we got in the car to drive home and the color all over us was out of the context of the race, I was really ready to get in the shower.  I could not get home fast enough.

BUT--I am happy we did it.  I'm happy that it was a fun girls' activity that we did together.  I'm happy Glenn came and took pictures for us.  I'm happy that Brooke and our preggo Jill hung in there.  I'm happy we saw some friends (even in that huge crowd).  I'm happy we got a good workout.  I'm happy that Andrew was barely out of bed when we got home and didn't have to worry about being by himself for long.

Hmm.  Maybe there's something to that "happiest" thing after all...

Spring fling.

There's never a long stretch of down time around here.  Winter fades into spring and we find ourselves as busy as ever with all the kids' activities.  The most exciting part of spring for us was our Spring Break trip to New York City.  We had an unforgettable time in the Big Apple and got to see all the sights...from the Statue of Liberty to two Broadway shows to Central Park to the Brooklyn Bridge...we packed it all in.  It was the trip of a lifetime.  So much, in fact, that it was worthy of its own, separate, special photo book.  I have already subjected those who care (and probably many of those who don't) to poring over its pages, so we'll just let that one be.  Let's move on to the more gloriously trivial parts of our life...

In March, Andrew was asked to compete in a math competition.  He has proven to be quite advanced in the subject, and participated in Math Club and another advanced math group.  They did pretty well, but I think the biggest excitement was naming their team "The Undercover Water Buffaloes."  It  was a good experience for him, and fast-forwarding to his current 6th grade year, he is now in an advanced math class where he is pretty much skipping 6th grade math altogether. 

Last spring also brought a lot of concerts.  There was of course the annual Music a la Mode. This year was unique.  I had four kids in seven different performing groups.  Andrew's 5th grade choir would be performing first.  On the opposite end of the spectrum were Emma and Leah, who would not be performing until later in the evening.  I will be forever grateful to the kind soul who decided that this year the band would be performing BEFORE the choir, rather than being the absolute last group as has been the case in years past.  So I ended up only needing to be at the high school from 11:00am until 6:00pm, rather than until 8:00pm.

This year for high school band the kids had to audition to see if they would be placed in symphonic band, or whether they would merely be grunts in concert band.  Leah surprised herself by making it into symphonic band, beating out four other bell players and landing a second chair spot behind a senior.  She was very excited about this.  Poor Emma, one of 25 flutes, found herself banished to concert band.  She was not very excited about that, as she reported that most of the people in concert band do not take anything seriously, cannot play the simplest pieces of music, and are continually acting up.

Somehow, both the symphonic band and the concert band were playing piece from "Pirates of the Carribbean."  Over and over I would hear from Emma how horrible the concert band sounded and how much better the symphonic band would be when they both performed at Music a la Mode.  She made me promise to record both numbers so that we could compare side-by-side and truly come to know what a monstrosity this performing group is.  To hear her talk of it, I was prepared for the most inharmonious, nails-on-a-chalkboard producing ensemble to ever play.

So what do you think happened?  Did the symphonic band put the concert band to shame with their clearly superior talent and skills?  Umm...I couldn't tell the slightest difference in the quality.  Both groups sounded as good as the original soundtrack to me.  The symphonic band might have had a slight leg up as they were also performing with the orchestra, so there was a much fuller sound with all the strings, but really, the quality of both groups continues to astound me.

Watch both performances and decide for yourself.

Here is Emma in the concert band...

And here is Leah in symphonic band with the full orchestra...

See?  They are both perfect!

Spring also brought track.  Not my favorite.  Every time there would be a day with perfect, warm, sunshine-y weather...well, that would NOT be the day of the track meet.  Just once...there was a nice day.  So I ran up to the high school, snapped a couple pictures, cheered for my girls, and quickly went home.  Because in reality, it wasn't all THAT warm.

This spring also marked my 15th year of becoming a mother.  Yes, my little twinkies celebrated their 15th birthday.  Hard to believe.

May brought another Great Strides for Cystic Fibrosis walk, and another great fundraising year for Porter's Supporters.  This year Leah helped with the fundraiser as a value project for Personal Progress.  She helped with the flyers, designed the t-shirt with Porter, collected the money, and distributed the shirts.  It was a very successful year for the team...and Porter's Supporters ended up being one of the top 25 fundraisers in Northeast Ohio!  We are so grateful for family and friends who support our favorite little guy and the fight to find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis.

To finish our spring up, we have the Westlake Memorial Day Parade.  It really did mark the beginning of our summer, as our school year ended quite early this year on May 30th.  Marching in the parade were Emma and Leah, making it so much more exciting for me, the Demon Marching Band groupie.  They got to march in their band t-shirts instead of having to suit up in full uniform, as all the uniforms were already packed away for the end of the school year.  Or something like that.  I don't think the kids minded at all...

Well, friends, that about sums it all up.  All of the kids had a great school year, and once again the growth I see in them is astounding.  This year flew by, and we won't talk about how in just three short years the amount of children living in this house will decrease by half.

Oh, the places you'll go...

Of course Brooke was in Drama Club at Burneson.  Of course she was.

And of course, for their one and only production, they were doing "Seussical, Jr."

After a summer saturated with the soundtrack, and a production that was out of this world, Brooke had kind of had her fill.

She was cast as a Wickersham Brother, and had fun with her friends, but she kept complaining about the poor quality of the singing, that there wasn't any scenery to speak of, and that generally, none of us should even plan to see it.

A week before the performance Brooke came home and said she might have to step in as Horton.  She wasn't quite sure what was going on with the girl who was originally cast, but the director had kind of given her a heads up that something might be happening.  I didn't make too big a deal of it, because chances were it wasn't going to happen.

But sure enough, we got an email Saturday night--"I would like you to assume the role of Horton for our performances from this point forward."  Well, "this point" was was a mere six days before opening night.  Brooke took it all in stride and went up to her room with the FPFATA Seussical DVD to immerse herself in all things Horton.

That week, I didn't say too much to Brooke about it.  I didn't bother her with questions about how rehearsals were going, or bug her about how she felt she was doing.  She quietly went to rehearsal and and came quietly home.  So we went to Friday night's performance not knowing what to expect.

Holy. Cow.  Brooke totally rocked it!  It is such a big part, lines and solos all over the place.  And she did it beautifully.  I pretty much was crying from her very first note.  Jill looked over at me when it was over (after I had finished wiping my tears) and asked, "Did you know she could sing like that?"  No, no I did not.  Around the house she's always singing so over-the-top dramatically that you can't hear her true voice.  Well, that night, on that stage, you certainly could.  She did a fantastic job.

Afterwards I talked to the director to thank her for taking a chance on Brooke.  She had nothing but wonderful things to say about her.  She said that all throughout Brooke had been a positive influence for the group and once she took over as Horton, the energy completely changed for the better.  She was very happy with the way Brooke stepped in with confidence and the fabulous job she did on stage.

Brooke is still on "Seussical" overload.  We can't talk about it, listen to it, or sing even one measure of one of its songs without sending her into a dramatic rage.  Grandpa Franklin had to bribe her with a trip to Menchies to get her to let us watch the DVD of her performance.  Maybe someday she'll get it out of her system.  But for now I just relive the moment in my mind (and maybe watch the video I took on my camera and maybe listen to the soundtrack when she's not around).  Can't wait to hear more from this girl.

Arrow of Light

Amid much pomp, circumstance, and face paint, Andrew received his Arrow of Light award.  He is now an official Boy Scout and we are going to try to get his Eagle as fast as we possibly can.

We're playing bas-ket-ball...

Once the Christmas and New Year's holidays die down, what are you left with?  Not much, except around here there's always basketball.

Grandma Franklin's Christmas present for Andrew, Tyler, Daryl, herself, Glenn, and me was tickets to "Jimmer at the Q"  night hosted by the BYU alumni association.  Jimmer Freddette and the Sacramento Kings were in town to play the Cavs, and we were all so excited to see our favorite BYU alum on the court.  The kids got to go down to the court to be part of the Hi-5 tunnel for the visiting team, which meant that they all got to give Jimmer himself a high five.  It was exciting to be down so low to watch warm ups and show our BYU pride.

And, of course, since this actually took place nine months ago, I can't remember who won or any other details of the game.  But really let's be honest here.  Even if the game took place last week I wouldn't have been able to remember any details of the game.  But I do remember that we had a great time watching Jimmer in action.

Andrew played some ball of his own.  He did a good job for his team.  Again, the details are sketchy, but we love watching Andrew play.

He also participated in Dribbling Demons again this year.  They performed a couple of times at halftime of the varsity basketball game, and this year they performed at halftime of a Cavs game!  Porter also came to watch, and found himself being chosen to be one of the Cavs Courtside kids so he was down on the court at the same time Andrew was there with the Dribbling Demons for the Hi-5 tunnel.  What an exciting night for our boys!  Andrew and the rest of the Dribbling Demons did a fantastic job performing and halftime and were all so well behaved and respectful as well.  They were a great representation of Westlake Schools.

How can you miss me if I don't go away?

Well, you all must miss me like crazy because I've been away for so long.

I know that, as far as communication goes, blogs have pretty much gone the way of MySpace, actually speaking to a person on the phone, and hand-written letters.  I know that for a quick, easy update and record of the minutiae of everyday life, Facebook is where it's at.

But I also know that there are stories behind the one-liners and statuses and filter-laden snapshots.  I know that my children have referred to an old post from the blog and periodically browse through and laugh at how goofy they think they looked three years ago.  We've used the old girl as a point of reference for when things have happened in our family, as all the days and years tend to run together in a blur.  And I realized that, as time-intensive as blogging may be compared to the instant gratification of the most current social media, I've got to keep up with it.  Our family has stories to tell.  They are insignificant to most, but they are a record of our life together, and they deserve more than a notification in somebody's newsfeed.


Now...how to get caught up after almost an entire school year has gone by?  Well, we will do our best to finish up 2012.

Let's start with our little Munchkins!  Westlake High School put on "The Wizard of Oz" for their fall production.  They opened up the roles of the Munchkins to the elementary through middle school-aged kids.  Brooke (of course) was going to try out, no question.  Andrew tagged along, and while we were in line waiting for Brooke's turn to audition, Andrew's old swim teacher (who just happened to be Glinda) saw him there and started bugging him to try out as well.  He acted like he was super annoyed but you could also tell he was loving the attention.  And as the line inched closer, he had decided to give it a shot.

And what do you know--both Brooke and Andrew were cast!  And to top it all off, Macey was too!  There were two casts of Munchkins, and the cousins all made it into the same cast.  The kids had a great time, and I'm so glad that the director made the decision to open it up to the littles in the community.  I'm also glad she listened to our issue with the Sunday performance.  She allowed our kids to perform with the other cast so as to still have our three performances but avoid Sunday.  I thought that was nice of her.

 

The next big thing was Thanksgiving.  We had beautiful weather, delicious food, and lots and lots of family.  Grandma Brooks had the little kids make cute table decorations.  It was one of those perfect days, as Thanksgiving usually is.

 

So, um, Facebook also tells me that we went to a Cavs game in November.  So, uh, yeah, I guess we did that.

One thing I do remember for sure is seeing Sydney dance in "The Nutcracker" with the Joffrey Ballet.  She was cast as a party girl and had a lot of great stage time.  She is such a brilliant dancer and we are so proud of her hard work.  It was a perfect way to kick off the holiday season.

We decided we needed a new family picture for the Christmas card.  So my self-timer and I got to work and got us a good one.

Andrew turned 11 and wanted to have a real basketball game for his birthday.  He invited his friends to the church, where we used the scoreboard and Tyler served as referee.  The boys had a great time.

 

For the family party, Andrew decided to have a nacho bar, as nachos are his all-time favorite food.  Many others (i.e. Jake) were also happy with this choice.

Then it was time for Christmas!  It was great to have Stephen here for the holiday.

This year we gave the kids a trip to New York City.  They got to open a City Pass and maps and travel books.

We also made gingerbread houses and visited the Kirtland nativity display.  We also went caroling at a nursing home and it was so fun to see how the residents loved our singing.

 

We took a little break from all the festivities and made some snowflakes for Sandy Hook Elementary School.  There was a horrible, tragic school shooting there right before Christmas.  The school district knew that a lot of people would want to show support somehow, so they asked that people send snowflakes for them to decorate the new school building with once it reopened after the new year.  It was a simple project, but we had fun doing something small to show we care.

 

Real snowflakes were falling as well, so when Stephen was here we took the kids sledding,  We started at a little hill in Bradley Woods, but that just didn't cut it, so we tackled the big Rec Center hill.  It was crowded and crazy, but the kids had a great time.

 

We had big New Year's Eve bash with the whole family at our house. 

The kids had a great time with our little photo booth and props that we set up in the family room.  We also had yummy appetizers (as per tradition) and the chocolate fountain.  Everyone made it to midnight to see the ball drop.

Thus concludes the year 2012.  It was busy and challenging and filled with changes for our kids.  But we saw them adjust and grow and become even stronger.  Their talents grew as they met challenges head on.  My family is together in a way I never would have thought possible.  Due to my blogging lapse, many of the details have been forgotten, but we see the results of living the Gospel, making good choices, and putting family first.

Let's try this again...

Oh, well, hello there. It's been quite a while, hasn't it. Just about a year has passed since the events I last posted about took place. But since today is the first day of a new school year, and since I never posted the kids' first-day-of-school pictures from last year, I thought that would be a good place to start.

First Day of School, 2012

 

First Day of School, 2013

So for any of you who are still anxiously checking my blog for new updates (which I highly doubt, since Google Reader doesn't even exist anymore!)...buckle up, because there's the better part of a year comin' at ya.