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.

Mi casa es su casa. Apparently.

I walked past the kitchen window the other day and saw these three deer (a mom and her two babies) hanging out in our backyard. While it doesn't completely make sense why they pick our house since we are pretty much fenced in, we've seen deer before. But this time they decided to make themselves comfortable behind the lilac trees. And they were not about to be moved. I yelled out the window to them, and even stepped out onto the back patio and banged on the side of the house, thinking surely all the commotion would startle them into high-tailing it out of there. But nope. They were pretty content to stay right where they were.

It finally took some Andrew-sized noise to get their lazy bums to leave.

Thanks Andrew for taking care of business.

Run for it.

Emma and Leah had their first cross country meet today at Lorain Community College. They had to be to the school at 6:45 this morning. Don't you love it? Yeah, the girls did too.  The rest of us met them out there at a much more reasonable time to cheer them on.

Emma chasing down the competition.

Leah crossing the finish line.

Emma came in 87th out of 154, and Leah came in 91st.  Their times were 17:20 and 17:39.  Wish I could run that fast!

Great job with the first meet!

If you really want to know what I do with myself all day while the kids are at school, well here you go--

Out of the house at 8:30.
Stop at school board office to pick up some papers.
Arrive at visiting teaching appointment.
Wonder why my companion isn't there.
Call her to make sure she's ok.
Realize that due to lack of communication, she went to my house instead, and now is at her house.
Think about how faithful my companion is as she packs up her baby and associated gear yet another time.
Have a quite nice albeit slightly late-starting visiting teaching appointment.
Realize that I am late for my presidency meeting.
Rush out to the car and head off.
Realize I have to go the the bathroom.
Really bad.
Get into one-track-mind mode.  Need. Tacie's. Bathroom.
Apparently drive 54 in a 35 zone.
Get pulled over by a cop.
Get a speeding ticket.
Still. Need. Tacie's. Bathroom.
See this number right here:

Have a heart attack because I think it's the cost of the ticket.
Use Tacie's bathroom.
Feel very grateful (and a little sheepish) when Tacie's police officer husband points out that it's only the ordinance number, not the cost.
Proceed to have the usual 2-hour long presidency meeting.
Realize I am late for a commitment to help a friend who is moving clean her house.
Make the 20 minute drive (much more slowly this time) back home to pick up supplies and grab some lunch.
Clean a couple bathrooms at my friend's house.
Realize that Brooke is going to be home any minute.
Ask my friend's son to retrieve Andrew from the park behind her house where he has been playing.
Feel grateful that the bus drivers are still not familiar with their routes and are running late.
Listen to voice messages, return phone calls, discuss visiting teaching changes with the visiting teaching leader, get snacks for the kids, and start making pizza.  Pretty much all at the same time.

You know, the usual.

The First Day Of...

...only one Franklin child in elementary school.

...Brooke and Andrew riding buses by themselves.

...four kids in three different schools.

...JUNIOR HIGH!!!

...people making comments like "You're not going to know what to do with yourself with everyone gone all day!" and me thinking to myself "If only you knew..."

...me running errands without either (a) four kids walking really close to me, asking me to buy things, or getting really silly and giggly in the store or (b) me feeling guilty that I've left them at home alone and that I have got to hurry back.

...a kitchen that stays clean for more than five minutes.

...a very quiet house. 

That is, until 3:00.

Let the games begin!

Brace yourself.

BEFORE.

AFTER.

This is the retainer-type appliance that he will wear at night.  Can't wait to turn that key...