Up to no good

Our first fun week at grandma's house has involved:

10 water guns. (Thank you, Uncle Jack!)

52 pieces of sidewalk chalk in 24 colors. (Thank you, Uncle Jack!)

sweet, sweet potatoes. (Thank you, Mommy!)

automotive repair. (Thank you, soon-to-be-Uncle Luke!)

quesadillas. (Thank you, Uncle William and Aunt Rebecca!)

Family portrait

Ellen created this masterpiece during church today. As she passed it to Jack Jack and I, she told Jack Jack that he is drawn in yellow. As for the rest of us, her attention to detail is astonishing and hilarious. It's been a week since I left with the kids to visit family and let Jack study and prepare for the bar in peace. We had a video call with Daddy last night. Can you tell which one he is?

In honor of Jack, who begins to take the bar exam in less than 48 hours, I present our family portrait. We really miss you, and we'll be thinking about you. Good luck!


Starks Family in living color

Book group

These are the lovely ladies that came to our most recent book group. It was at my house, and so much fun. By miracle only, all three of my kids were asleep by the time we started. Jack was gone studying for the bar exam.

Thank you for all your book suggestions. I'm going to read them all. Of the two choices I gave the group, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho won the vote. This is one of my most favorite books of all time.

Happy reading!

Thanks, Nana!

Here's a little stoicism from Jack Jack. Thanks for taking this one for the team, and for posterity. Someday you'll be glad we badgered you.

Love hammer

So did you recognize the tune that Jack Jack was singing "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mom" to during Rose's 5 month portrait session?

Apparently we have developed a pretty fluid sense of music around here. Some songs we sing in Spanish. Some songs we sing in English. Some songs we sing in Spanish and English. We make up a lot of songs. Daddy doesn't sing much, except for Family Home Evening, one of the few times we are allowed to have everyone singing together without Ellen or Jack protesting and assigning themselves or someone else a solo. Then Daddy is required to sing. Ellen once stopped us in the middle of our opening song because, "Daddy!! You're not singing! Sing!"

Jack Jack is pretty true to the tunes he knows, but he likes to throw in his own repetitive lyrics, such as "agua," "Mommy," "Daddy," "angel," and (dare I say it) "devil." He heard someone talking on the phone say "devil," and the next thing I know he's walking around repeating it over and over. He hasn't done it since, though. Can you guess what words he immediately picked out of the following video clip to wear out vocally and giggle hysterically about?



But I digress. After I caught Jack Jack's rendition of "Mommy Mommy," otherwise known as "Book of Mormon Stories," Ellen wanted to sing a "song." I recognized a couple of tunes about building families and stars shining brightly (see those twinkling hands?) from some Primary songs we have learned this year, but those were definitely not the words we learned. What are those words? I have no idea where she gets this stuff. "Ghostie?" My favorite is "love hammer." It reminds me of "crocodiles happen."

Oh yeah, and that music in the back ground is my phone ringing. Every time I play this clip, I think my phone is ringing, until I realize it's just the video. Every time. Nothing like "Jingle Bells" in July. I think I have only myself to thank for my kids' crazy music manifestations.

Proud to be an American. . .

. . . even though my kids don't know what that means yet.




It's on days like this that we go do something out of the ordinary, like go to a parade, and Ellen asks me, "Mom, why did we do that?" that I think maybe I need to teach my kids stuff, or at least talk to them more.









Last night during "pillow talk" with Ellen we had a conversation that went something like this:

Ellen: "I'm just talking about the parade. What did you like, Mom?"

Mom: "You mean what was my favorite part?" Thinking, "This conversation brought to you by Dora the Explorer."

Ellen: "Yes."

Mom: "I really liked seeing the men in their uniforms saluting the flag and listening to the national anthem. That was my favorite part. What was your favorite part?"

Ellen: "I liked all the horses, and the little dog. That was silly." (It was a daschund. Weinerschnitzel was advertising.)

Then she asked me what that "new song" was that we sang in Primary last week. It was The Star-Spangled Banner, and she wanted me to sing it for her. So I did. "Sing it again." So I did. "Sing it again." So I did, about three more times. I love the national anthem. I'm glad to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave, and to be able to teach my kids about what that means.

Five on the fourth

Rose's 5 month photo shoot started out pretty dull.


Hey cutie girl . . .


I'm taking your picture!


The little hair spikes are from sunscreen in her hair. I have very, very white babies. We went swimming and I wanted to protect her almost bald head.


She has a little crooked smile that reminds me of the Phillips side of my family.


This is one of my favorites!

Meanwhile, this is what was going on around us:

36 days of Nana

Nana arrived on May 24th and stayed until June 28th. We are still going through withdrawals. Sadly, all the pictures of fun things we did with Nana for 36 days are on her camera. I forgot to copy them before she left, so she'll just have to come back.

Here are just a few of the things Ellen, Jack Jack, and I want to remember about Nana's visit:
1. Ellen running to hug Nana and yelling "Nana" as she arrives, ignoring Daddy completely
2. Picking out new beds
3. Picking out new Dora and Cars sheets
4. Taking videos at the Science Spectrum
5. Discovering vending machines and eating goldfish crackers at the Science Spectrum
6. Dollar store trips
7. Lunch at the castle park
8. Slushes at Sonic
9. Bedtime stories about Daddy
10. Eating gummy worms
11. Eating Twizzlers
12. "I bit the head off!"
13. Pulling Nana's toes
14. Painting Jack Jack's big toe red
15. Coloring books and posters worth $300
16. Swimming at our apartment pool, swimming at Daddy's school pool
17. Nana jumping into the pool with her clothes on to "save" Ellen
18. Bedtime stories about Aunt Jenny
19. Bedtime stories about William, Richard, and Savannah
20. Dinners at Maxey Park
21. Discovering that the music truck is really an ice cream truck
22. Discovering the ice cream truck at the library
23. Story time at the library
24. Sticker books
25. Princess pajamas
26. Reading the Book of Mormon
27. Family prayer and making a little circle
28. Family Home Evening Bingo
29. Watching Cars on the way to Grandma and Grandpa Starks' house
30. Watching Cars before 7:00 a.m.
31. Looking at pictures on Nana's camera
32. Stickers and phone calls from Pa
33. "You wake her up, Jack." "No, you wake her up, Ellen." "No, you wake her up!" "No, you!"
34. New shorts and shirts for Jack Jack.
35. Bathtub magic tricks
36. Date with Nana and Pa to get ice cream

We miss you!
Love,
Rose, Jack Jack, Ellen, and Lorraine