Life, interrupted.

My month--by five FULL days at school as book fair co-coordinator.  No wonder Andrew is crazy town after school.

My twenty minutes on the couch before having to rush off again to pick up kids--by the Wii, the piano, and a phone call.

My plans for a date with my husband--by a last-minute cross country dinner that takes my babysitters away.

My blog post--by

...to a rainbow of runners.

So, despite all our troubles on Friday (and one slight one the next morning in which the inability to find the cell phone anywhere in the car after we'd already checked out of the hotel sent us back in to double-check the room where we did not find the phone but a shirt Glenn had left behind only to discover that the phone was indeed in a suitcase that {supposedly} had already been searched through), Saturday dawned bright and clear.  We headed to the high school for the big meet.   Hundreds of kids everywhere, stretching, doing warm-ups, all jazzed for the race.  The course was a killer.  Lots of hills, with one huge one right at the end, and  a random short and steep downhill right after that.  Despite the challenging course, the girls plugged along and had a great race.  Emma finished in the top 60 and got a ribbon! It was so much fun cheering our girls on to a second place overall victory.

~Emma~

~Leah~

***Small disclaimer: It is REALLY hard to take pictures at a cross country meet. It is a sea of runners, half of which I swear share our school colors, and it is nearly impossible to pick out Emma or Leah until it's too late. I'm working on it, and for now will keep myself entertained with the fun effects found at Photoworks.

From the storm cloud of misfortunes...

The idea:

Head down to the temple with Glenn at 3:00.  Attend an endowment session at 6:00.  Have a delicious dinner at PF Changs.  Stay in a hotel near Lodi, just five minutes down the road from where the cross country meet was to take place the next morning.  Get home in time to get to Andrew's football game.

The reality:

Get a phone call from the school around 12:40 letting you know that Andrew has hurt his finger during recess and can't bend it.  Go to the school and realize he will need an x-ray.  Run home to change out of scummy clothes and shove some food in mouth.  Arrive at ER around 1:00, knowing full well there is no way you're getting out of there by 3.  Hope that your doctor friend is on duty, maybe he can help expedite things (after all, he would understand about getting to the temple).  Look out the window to see your doctor friend leaving the hospital.  Wait.  Get an x-ray.  Wait.  Play silly games and sing "Everything Comes Down to Poo" with Andrew. 

Wait.  Call Grandma to let her know what is going on, and ask if she can come relieve you in the ER so that you can get ready to leave for Columbus.  Wait.  See the doctor (or should I say med student) finally come in the room.  Realize she has not yet looked at the x-ray results that have been ready for about 2 hours now.  (Can you just tell me if the darn finger is broken or not???)  Welcome Grandma to the party.  Wait. Get the diagnosis from the doctor (or should I say med student) that yes, indeed, the finger is broken.  Think things might really start happening now that we have the results, but realize that another doctor (a real one this time) has to come in and do the whole thing over again.  Tell Grandma to ask lots of questions, to not let the ER give him a $25 dose of Tylenol, and high-tail it out of there.

Finally get on the road to Columbus, 45 minutes later than planned.  Realize you need gas in the car, yet another delay.  Enjoy a nice drive, trying to not feel like you've totally abandoned your injured son, while your husband does the stressing out for a change.  Feel pretty confident that you are going to make it on time.  Two exits away from your exit, come to a complete standstill due to a huge accident on the freeway.  Miss your scheduled session, but squeeze into a sealing session.  Have an incredibly embarrassing coughing fit in which you have to leave the room.

Head to PF Changs, gift card in tow, in anticipation of a yummy meal.  Order the sweet and sour chicken, a seemingly sure thing.  Watch your husband get giddy over his favorite dish.  Start eating yours.  Realize it tastes like, well, you know.  Try not to be too disappointed (especially since this is going to be the Big Meal of the week) and inform your husband that there will be an ice cream stop at some point that night.

Drive the hour or so to the hotel and realize that there is no ice cream.  The Dairy Queen next door is closed at 10:30 on a Friday for some freakish reason.  A shake from Hardee's must suffice.  (But it doesn't, really.)  Settle down in a pretty decent bed in a non-smoking hotel room that mysteriously smells like smoke.

Realize that the best thing about this day is that it's over.

Capture the flag...

...is what Andrew is doing right here.

Yes, football season has started again.

Andrew is ready...

 

...and waiting...

 

...to defend...

...and take down...

...anyone who gets in his way.

Let's go, Vikings!

Insert photo here.

Due to other responsibilities, and the fact that their meets are located all over creation, I have not been able to go to the past two cross country meets.  And it is killing me.  Especially when both girls have lowered their times every week!  And when I hear that Emma has shaved nearly TWO MINUTES off her first time!  She started at 17:19 and is now down to 15:37.  Leah keeps improving as well, starting at 17:50 and finishing last week at 17:08. 

I hate that I hear about this over the phone! 
I hate that I have no pictures of the races! 
I hate that I haven't been able to be there to cheer them on!

SO--Glenn and I have done some fanagling and we will both be able to see their race this Saturday.

On your marks...

There's no use denying it.

Brooke is now ten years old.

75% of my children are now in double digits, with the last quarter is close on their heels.

And just because I don't blog about it doesn't stop it from happening.

So I might as well tell you how it all went down.

First, a note about Brooke.  She is high on life.  She loves what she loves with an excited passion.  So when you combine starting a new school (lockers! Mrs. D! orchestra! riding bikes! choir!) with turning ten years old and having a friend birthday party, well, you can imagine the hullabaloo around the house.  Which lasted quite a while.

In fact, she bugged Grandma Franklin so much about what her birthday present would be, Grandma finally said, "A watermelon!" in a futile attempt to get Brooke to simmer down about it.  No such luck...and guess what Brooke pulled out of the gift bag during her family party---

Now let's add to the excitement, shall we?  Remember how I said Brooke loves what she loves with a passion?  Well, one of those loves happens to be Demi Lovato.  Demi Lovato happens to be the star of the Camp Rock movies.  Camp Rock: The Final Jam happened to be premiering on September 3, just two days after Brooke's birthday, and so that was to be the theme of her friend party.  She and her friends would watch the world premier of Camp Rock.  And jump on the trampoline.  And eat jumbo cupcakes.  And popcorn and Starburst.

Can you say utter pandemonium?

THIS. Is Brooke.

I can't even tell you how hard it was to get this picture.

Adding some sugar to the mix.

This did not last long.

Neither did this.

I think in the end her party was everything Brooke wanted it to be. Except for absolutely silent during the movie so that she could hang on Demi's every word. But that's what we have DVR's for--so that we can watch things again and again. And again. And then memorize the entire script. And then quote it verbatim.

If nothing else, Brooke reminds us that there is always joy to be found in life. It's something she's been teaching us for the past decade.

Happy Birthday Brooke!

What I've been doing lately.

Me. Sneezing.

I ♥ allergies.