Update on My Kiddos

We had a fun time in Palm Springs with Ryan, Molly and the girls a couple of weeks ago and this week we went to the beach and the movies together.  It is always an adventure with the three little girls.  They love each other so much, but they also love to fight over everything!  And it seems that whatever snacks I bring, Leighton and Brianne want those.  They don't want the ones their mom brought, but of course Lavender does!  Leighton always wants two of everything.  When I hand her a cookie she says, "Two! Two!" When we went to see Monsters University,  Brianne started going through my purse and I asked her what she was looking for.  She said she wanted a book. I told her I didn't have any books in my purse, but she insisted. "Don't worry Grandma.  I can find the books."  Those girls crack me up!

Elder Aaron is still in Toronto speaking Korean.  He has learned greetings and common phrases in several different languages and he really enjoys meeting people from so many different cultures.  In the past few months, he and his companion have been invited over for dinner several times by various people.  He has had Persian food and Chinese food and he loves both!  The big news is that we have a release date for Elder Aaron.  He will be home on September 25th.  I can't wait to see him!

Just received this picture today via email. Not sure who sent it, but I appreciate it!

Marianne spent the week at Girls Camp as a Youth Camp Leader. Her group was called the Fearless Fairies and they had all kids of cute fairy accessories for the girls, including wings!  I don't think I ever posted about her experience as a Shakespeare Mentor.  Since last September, Marianne has been helping to teach the Shakespeare class at our Commonwealth school.  She has done everything the adult mentors have done:  presenting lectures, leading discussions, teaching acting skills, grading papers etc. During April and May she went to rehearsal 3 times a week and helped the students prepare for their big performance at the end of May.  They presented As You Like It set at Hogwarts! It was a really fun combination of themes. Finally, Marianne knows the secret to getting FREE cupcakes from Sprinkles Bakery.

Evan finished his online driver's education training today. That means he can get his learner's permit as soon as he turns 15 1/2.  His Eagle Scout project is also in the works and he plans to finish it this summer.  Evan even went to Girls' Camp, but only for the day.  He was invited to come and teach the girls how to slackline.  He came home with very tired legs after all day on the slackline, but he had a fun time and was happy to see that almost every girl was willing to try it.  Now all the girls in the stake know my son.  Should I be worried? That is probably a teenage boy's dream come true. The young men in our stake made a video for the girls.  You can check it out HERE.  Evan is wearing a dark gray TAC shirt.  Here he is during our final biology lab for the semester.

Lavender is such a busy girl! She was such a sweet, peaceful baby that her intensity as a toddler caught me by surprise.  She started running soon after she took her first steps and she is always on the go.  She has also figured out that she can let everyone know what she wants, even if it means screaming! I know that her persistence really is a good quality and it is fun to watch her practice a new skill over and over until she masters it. When she was learning to get on her rocking horse, I watched her get on and off more than 20 times in a row one morning.  She does everything with enthusiasm! Here are a few of the cute things she's doing now:

• She gets our car keys, waves goodbye to everyone and heads to the front door like she's leaving.
• She loves to bring Evan his shoes and bike helmet and insist that he put them on.  Then she begs him to get on his unicycle.  She loves to watch him ride!
• She loves to sing and knows the hand motions to "Popcorn Popping."
• Sometimes when she's tired, instead of saying, "Hi" or "Bye" she says, "Die" and it makes us all laugh as she enthusiastically tells us to "Die."
• She has the best silly/cheesy smile, especially when Marianne encourages her.
  

Flower Girl

It's an old-fashioned flower name,
I sometimes explain.
Like Rose or Lily
Even Hyacinth, Daisy or Violet.

Springtime brings change.
Our lawn turns green, dotted with yellow.
Our baby turns toddler,
Walking, then running.

Crouching to pluck handfuls of gold.
Each little fist holds
Fifteen buttery flower
That some call weeds.

She stops fussing and pays attention
Whenever she sees a blossom
And giggles with delight
When she can pick some.

Do the flowers know her name?
They seem to call,
Beckoning her closer
To smell and touch, even taste.

She steadfastly refuses
To wear shoes unless
They are adorned
With flowers.

Maybe that's why
Her name needed to be
Lavender.
She's a flower girl.

March 2013

My Dad - An Original Hipster

Father's Day seems like a good time to share a few stories and memories of my Dad.

As the oldest child in the family, I was blessed to have lots of one-on-one time with my Dad.  When I was three we lived across the street from Drake University, in Des Moines, Iowa, where he was a professor.  Sometimes he would take me to his office on campus.  I remember walking past the dry cleaners with the giant, rotating hanger. Crisp autumn leaves were everywhere and I loved crunching them as we walked hand in hand towards the brick buildings.  He showed me some of the audio visual equipment he used in his classes and I got to meet some of the people he worked with.  At that moment I knew I wanted to go to college some day!

I remember my dad reading me Puss and Boots and editing another of my books that mentioned "bad tasting medicine."  Apparently he didn't want me refusing to take medicine.  Dad taught me to read before I went to kindergarten using homemade flashcards.  He started with rhyming words like cat, mat, sat and bat.  In first grade, I was bored with the work in my class.  My dad encouraged me to talk to my teacher and ask her for extra assignments.  Years later I learned that my teacher was one of my dad's students at the university, and not one of his better students.  He was concerned about my education and considered having me moved to another class, but instead he helped me learn to work with my teacher and seek challenges beyond the "Dick and Jane" readers we used in class.

Dad was never a handy-man, but he lovingly built and painted an A-frame clubhouse in the backyard for my brother Scott and I. Dad got a large garden plot on some land a few miles from our house.  He planted a garden and taught us to weed and water it. He took us with him and mom when they had assignments to de-tassel corn at the church welfare farm.  We just played, but we saw how hard they worked.

Dad's home teaching route covered many miles and sometimes he took me along to visit the widows.  I loved that special time with him.  Often on the way home from church my dad would ask a trick question.  "Would you like to stop for an ice cream cone?" or "Should we go to the drive in movie tonight?"  Of course, the right answer was, "No, Daddy.  It's Sunday and we keep the Sabbath day holy."  He often gave me little quizzes. "How much tithing would you owe if you earned $4.00?"  Math wasn't my favorite subject, but I figured it out and gave Dad the answer.  Dad was the bishop of our ward when I turned eight and I thought it was wonderful that he gave me my baptismal interview.

When I was almost eleven years old, Dad took a sabbatical from the university and our family moved to California.  He bought a temporary employment agency.  The next summer when I turned twelve, I started working for him.  At first I just stuffed envelopes, but soon he had me practicing on an adding machine and filing papers.  Later I learned to type invoices and do other paperwork.  Eventually I became the receptionist, answering the phones in a professional voice that my sister still calls my "fake voice." Beginning in high school I worked every day after school and full time in the summer.  As a young adult I interviewed potential employees, filled orders for clients and trained employees in word processing and data entry.  Dad told me to call him "Bob" while we were in the office. He taught me to work hard, be diplomatic and interact with all different kinds of people.

When I went off to college, my dad wanted to make sure I was prepared in every way!  I was one of the few people in my dorm to have a computer.  Dad also gathered a little tool kit for me.  I was the only girl in my dorm with a screwdriver, pliers and a hammer.  They came in very handy when we discovered that our window had a "safety feature" and would only open a couple of inches.  Safety was no match for my tool kit and I promptly broke fixed the window so that it opened all the way.  Soon my tools and I were in demand and I  was helping girls all over our floor fix their windows.  How else were we supposed to have long conversations with boys (who were forbidden in the dorms except on certain Sundays during visiting hours) who passed by?

Even better than the tool kit, were the letters my dad wrote to me when I was away at BYU.  He gave me advice about school, life and marriage.  My dad worked hard to teach and guide me.  He provided me with countless opportunities to learn and grow.  Sometimes I resisted his efforts, like the time I stubbornly refused to learn the state capitols during a road trip, or the time I refused to ride an ATV on the sand dunes during a family vacation. But most of the time I listened and learned.  I am grateful to my dad for his loving guidance.  I have never doubted his love and concern for me.

Happy Father's Day Dad!  I love you!

Doubly Belated

I was late to begin with.  I didn't make any resolutions at the first of the year, but before the end of January I made a"to do" list for 2013.  Now,  over four months later I am finally posting my list of:

Thirteen for 2013
(in no particular order)

Since it is already May June, I am happy to say that I have already accomplished 4  5 1/2 of these.

1. Get a photo of my whole family - We got to Skype with Elder Aaron on Mother's Day and Molly offered to take a family picture.  This won't really count until Aaron comes home and we get professional pictures taken of everyone, but  it was a good start.  I'm counting it as 1/2!
2. Take photos for Lavender's 1st birthday - I hired a great photographer, Judy Cook, to take Lavender's one year pictures.  Judy got some wonderful photos and spent hours editing to make them even better and I made a photo book, so I think I should get bonus points for this one. 
   
   
   
   
3. Make a Forston Family photo book
4. Make a "Lavender's First Year" photo book
5. Go to David & Annie's wedding in the Sacramento Temple - We made it to David & Annie's wedding and celebrated with them!
6. Visit Yosemite - After the wedding we visited San Francisco and enjoyed the majestic beauty of Yosemite. 
   
   
   
   
7. Take Lavender to her first day of nursery (When I first wrote this it made me sad.  Now I am counting the Sundays.  Only 11 left!)  
8. Lose 40 lbs - making progress a bit at a time on this one!
9. Hug Elder Aaron
10. Hold baby Cole
11. Send Marianne off driving by herself -  On February 5th, Marianne got her driver's license and I have happily sent her off driving many times!
12. Practice driving with Evan
13. Celebrate my 26th anniversary with time alone with my sweetie! - We had a great afternoon together at the temple.  Then we went to one of our favorite seafood restaurants in the Gaslamp, Blue Point.  I had a caprese salad and crab-stuffed trout. Yum!  For dessert we tried someplace new and had German chocolate ice cream and flourless chocolate cake at Extraordinary Desserts in Hillcrest.