When is Thanksgiving not Turkey-Day?

When it's BBQ chicken day!


We decided to forgo the traditional turkey on account of me not being motivated to come up with a traditional menu, and Brian traveling so often to South Carolina and reawakening his BBQ-tooth (sort of like a sweet tooth, but involving more meat.) He brought back some sauce, and we fired up the grill. We still had a ton of food--scalloped potatoes, beans, salad, mac and cheese, and broccoli--and we still invited friends to share the feast. I still made pumpkin pie, and Tritan carried on his tradition of eating (almost) the whole thing. I made oatmeal cake, too, in honor of Apollo's birthday weekend, and we are still grateful for all of our friends and family.

What I missed

This weekend was an eventful, active weekend. I went to Richmond, VA on the train (fun way to travel--it was like a step back in time--no security, open seating, conductors with actual conductor caps, comfortable seating, and a cafe car) to visit my sister and run in the Richmond Half-Marathon. Brian took care of making sure the kids made it soccer and ballet. Paris had his soccer tournament. One game came down to penalty kicks--which they won--very exciting. He had two more games that day. Apollo had his last game and they had their trophy ceremony.

Big brother

I love this picture. My dad took it when he was visiting us in Alabama. This is the day after Tritan got baptized. He is in his new white shirt, holding his new scriptures, the first one out the door, ready to go to church. The other two boys are right behind him, watching to see what Tritan will do, and ready to follow.

I love this picture because without a word, it shows Tritan's quiet strength, his resolve to do what is right, and to be an example even when he is all alone. Yet as he looks back, he sees his siblings right behind him, following and supporting him.

This weekend Tritan's homework was to create a cereal box that was all about astronauts. They had to come up with a cereal and then make bullet points on the back summarizing facts about the astronaut, and educational games to play while eating your cereal. Like I said, this school district is very creative. Tritan worked on it diligently all weekend long. At the end of the weekend, Tritan's masterpiece was complete, but I also noticed two other "cereal boxes" on the table.

Athena and Apollo thought Tritan's homework looked like so much fun, they decided to make their own cereal boxes. Why would they do their own version of someone else's homework? OK the idea itself is pretty neat, but it's also because Tritan just does his homework, without whining or a whole lot of nagging. He tries his best, and he always puts his own little spin on it--so it looks more like fun than homework.

This weekend was also the Primary program, where the kids sing and have speaking parts. I remember how excited I was when Tritan was finally old enough to participate. It seemed like it took forever for him to go from birth to Sunbeams. Now, he's 12, and too old to participate. It seems like time flew from Sunbeams to YM. But he gave his first sacrament talk a couple of weeks ago and he passes the sacrament every Sunday. I see him up there at the sacrament table, still a little nervous even after all these weeks, still a little unsure. I see him squirm in his seat during testimony meeting, wanting to go up, but not wanting to, too--and how the "wanting to" part of him almost always wins out. And then I see the rest of the kids singing and saying their parts for the Primary program. Athena wrote out her one minute talk, and said parts for kids that were absent. Paris sings expressively and Apollo stretches up tall so we can see him and tries so hard to follow along. Each of them is different. Each of them puts their own spin on their big brother's example. But there is no doubt in my mind that they are watching his quiet example, watching to see what he will do, and ready to follow.

Thankful

Well, it is November, the month of thanks, after all. So here are just a couple of things I'm thankful for:

Teachers With 4 kids in school since the age of 4, and one of them in 6th grade now, we've had our fair share of teachers. Some of them were fine, some didn't quite mesh with our kids, and one was just not great. But more than a few were really amazingly terrific. We lucked out this year--we have some really superb teachers. They come up with innovative ways to teach and let the kids show what they learn (Tritan doesn't even have books for science and social studies--his tests can be written tests, presentations, or projects; Apollo learns letters by writing, shaping clay, painting with shaving cream); they modify things so that my kids can preform their best (like letting Paris stand in the back when he gets to fidgety at his desk); they put their arms (literally) around my kids when they are having a hard time and talk to them about what's wrong and how to handle it. I have a hard time not losing it at parent teacher conferences as I realize that these teachers care about my kids almost as much as I do, and are helping them be all they can be.

The kids take after their father. I was driving Athena home from dance the other day and asked her how it went. She proceeded to tell me all of the times the teacher told her she was preforming a step especially well and that their class as a whole did one step better than the more advanced girls. I couldn't help smiling as I realized Athena almost always reports all of the compliments she receives, and very rarely any of the criticisms (which I know she gets as well). Brian is like that. He will come home from work and tell me of all the pats on the back he gets, all of the recognition--though I also know he gets plenty of scolding and blame as well. They both just focus on the good, and build on it. I was a dancer growing up and I took every criticism to heart, internalized it and nursed it, til I was sure I'd never get anything right. I know I did things well--I vaguely recall being complimented on my petite-allegro work--but I always dismissed that. What good was petite-allegro when my turns weren't sharp, and my butt stuck out? To this day I have nightmares of my dance teacher telling me I wasn't good enough. You could demonize my teacher for making me feel that way, but I think it was me that turned her into a monster, spouting out my own internal insecurities. How grateful I am that for the most part the kids take after Brian's way of thinking. Because they are all amazing kids. (BTW--I think I'm pretty amazing most of the time now, too.)

Athena's political career begins

World domination begins! O.K. maybe just Mrs. Stepp's 5th grade class. Athena was voted class president today. They had primaries, speeches, and debates. Her platform includes having crazy hair day, having a volleyball tournament against the teachers, and having a board game day. She worked really hard, and we are all so proud of her!

Candy, anyone?

25 pounds! That's how much candy the kiddies collected yesterday. 25 pounds! We know this because Brian suggested they all weigh their loot to see who collected the most (that would be Paris at 8.5 pounds). Don't ask me what we are going to do with all of it. The sight of it makes my teeth hurt. Last year, I ended up throwing it out after a month or so. But that seems ungrateful. Still, no matter where I put it, in food storage, in the freezer, you know I'm going to root it out on those frustrating days.