Eight is Great!

Our sweet Rosie turned 8 last weekend, and we were in Utah to celebrate her birthday and baptism with our family. We had about 35 people from 5 states attend! She was so excited and ready to take upon the covenant of baptism. Aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors, friends, and grandparents were in attendance. She looked so beautiful in white and said she felt “super clean” afterwards.

We had a birthday party for her at Grant and Hollie’s house. We are so thankful for all the time and effort they put in to make the baptism and party come together. We are so lucky to have an amazing circle of friends and family. Rosie was swarmed with Hannah Montana stuff (just like she wanted), some gift cards, and clothes.

Sunday morning we went to Temple Square for the Music and the Spoken Word broadcast with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (since we couldn’t get on that lousy overbooked flight!) We listened to the choir, toured around the visitors centers and the temple, toured the Lion House, and took lots of cute pictures of Rosie in her beautiful white dress. It was a lovely morning.

A few pics from the baptism

Rosie’s wish list

1. Hannah Montana clothes (L)
2. Dollar Tree gift card
3. Polka-dot scripture case
4. Vacation to Hawaii
5. Dinner at Chili’s

First day of school

Rosie started 2nd grade yesterday. I had to leave for work 45 minutes before Rosie had to get up and ready for school, so Taylor took a few pics to document the morning. Rosie chose a sparkly silver shirt, black cords, and her new Hannah Montana flats. Rosie likes to remind everyone that she will be a tween next week. Just over a week till she turns 8!

(You can tell the summer is over by how brown the lawn is.)

A Jumble of Thoughts

– We decided to have Rosie’s baptism in Utah. I had been convinced about California, then realized that a 2-day car rental at LAX would be $108 with tax. I can borrow my dad’s car in SLC, and my aunt offered her home for a potluck afterwards. Taylor will have to fly in the morning of, so it will be late afternoon. If you’re in SLC and want to come, let me know.

-I’m without my husband again on a Sunday. It’s been 3 months since we’ve gone to our ward together. Thank goodness he has Sundays off for September. He actually has a good schedule for September, 15 days off.

-I cut off another 4 inches of hair yesterday, totaling 7 total inches chopped this month. The first cut wasn’t quite drastic enough. Unfortunately, I haven’t ever had medium-length hair in a humid climate, and my natural curl is overpowering my flat-ironed effort.

-I’ve been craving all sorts of things I can’t get in Michigan: Honolulu Harry’s sweet potato stack, La Tolteca’s cheesy beans, El Pollo Loco, fountain horchata, Cafe Rio pork barbacoa, Leatherby’s, In-n-Out animal fries, Federico’s marzipan, Arctic Circle Pop Rocks Sundae, The Pie pizza, etc…

-I went to the Plymouth library yesterday. It’s one of the neatest community libraries I’ve been to. Downtown Plymouth is a fun place- it reminds me of Star’s Hollow.

-My sister Mary is leaving for BYU-Idaho in 10 days. Thinking about her has made me a little nostalgic for my year in Rexburg. I really liked my time there, but it’s hard to think of anything past December without thinking of my courtship with my ex-husband. I only had one set of roommates when I was at Ricks, one of them was Stacey. In July I spent a weekend with Stacey and her family in Kentucky. It was fun to reminisce of our time together, the way we’ve changed since, and swap mommy stories. Her daughter is so much like Rosie, I’m planning on another trip so they can bond over Hannah Montana, HSM, Webkinz, and all the other stuff they love.

Destination baptisms?

Rosie turns 8 one month from today. She is adamant about getting baptized ON her birthday. We can’t make solid plans until Taylor gets his September schedule on August 21. We’ve been thinking about who would come, and realized that no family would be there. We’d have some people from our ward and a few friends if we had it in Michigan. And maybe Aunt Liz would fly out. We started talking about our own baptisms, and how great it was to be surrounded by extended family, and thought about the possibility of having the baptism in Utah or California. If we traveled, we’d have a aunts, uncles, grandparents, and close friends. However, if we choose one location over another, we’d have the other side of the family feeling left out. I could probably take the day off before, but it would be another stand-by quick trip.

I know that it’s the act and ordinance of baptism that’s the important part. It only requires consent of the bishop and two witnesses. But is it a better option to be with family?

Success!

Rosie caught 10 fireflies!
(They’re really hard to photograph while they light up)

Weekend in New England

This weekend, Rosie and I took a celebratory trip to New England in response to my job offer. I wanted to catch a few Elipsus shows, see the Atlantic Ocean, and enjoy Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. We flew into Providence Friday, scurried around Mass and CT Saturday, and flew back to Detroit on Sunday morning.

In Chestnut Hill, MA, we found this lovely Irish cemetery. I hope to come back and explore it with Cola next week.

This is the cemetery chapel. It’s up on a hill overlooking the sacred grounds.

Driving down Commonwealth en route to Boston Common

After a crazy city drive, 20 minutes of walking, and a temperamental parking meter, we arrived at Boston Common. Rosie wanted to get a picture next to the sign.

Walking up the hill to the war monument. Rosie got tired!

View of the Massachusetts State House

Going up to enjoy the bandstand

Impromtptu performances by mother…

and daughter!

Below this defaced peace monument, we found a few dirty hyperdermics

and decapitated heads on the relief sculptures.

And then the rain started like crazy. This church was for sale in Wellesley. Got an extra $4m?

We drove down to New Haven to Fox’s concert at the Borders in Milford.

Taking Rosie to all these concerts makes her more like me each day

We pulled faces at Fox all through the concert to distract him

Post-show, right before he drove to his show in Stamford and Rosie and I drove back to Providence. It was a great 36 hour getaway!

Rosie’s Star Student of the Week!

One of the fun things about being a parent is having your child be Star Student of the Week! We had to write a letter to send to school about what we think is special about Rosie. Here it is…

Our Daughter Rosie,
We have always been happy to have Rosie be our daughter. She has always been a joyful child, with a smile on her face and willing to be a friend. She is so diverse, taking after her mother. She loves art, music, and foreign food. How many children say they love sushi, Thai, Indian, Mexican, and Mediterranean food? She even eats all her fruits and vegetables!

Rosie is resilient. She has had an exceptionally hard life to deal with the past two months; packing up and leaving all her friends, family, and classmates; driving cross-country 2,200 miles to Michigan; and having her Grandpa in Utah be in a serious car accident a week after we arrived in Canton. She made sure that Grandpa had plenty of cards and pictures to take to the hospital and rehab center. She has become a world-class traveler. She knows all the things she needs to pack, and what she has to take out for security. She loves having her daddy be a pilot!

I am a lucky mom to have Rosie be my child. Not only is she a wonderful daughther, she is my good friend too.

Love ,
Mom

Rosie’s Snowy Photo Shoot

Here are some pictures that my good friend Zach took of Rosie at Murray Park yesterday. He’s one of the best photographers that I know…if you’re in the market for a photographer (baby, wedding, family, etc…) Zach is your man!