Another Beautiful Day

On Saturday, June 2nd, Beatrice made the decision to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ by being baptized! She looked beautiful and felt excited and happy for her big day. She had been looking forward to it for a while.

Normally in our church, all the kids that turned 8 the month prior all get baptized on the same day, assuming they have made that decision. This time, Bea was the only one getting baptized, so it was a nice, intimate gathering and she was surrounded by her dearest family and friends. She was disappointed that none of her school friends or teachers came, but her favorite Primary teachers did, so that soothed her troubled heart a little. (Well, that and the cards and gifts her school teachers sent, too.)

The program was lovely, with talks by Grandma Betsy and myself (though I don't know how lovely I was), and a song sung by Natalie. Bea was baptized by Jay, of course, with grandparents, siblings, friends, and extended family looking on. It was a very sweet experience, and hopefully one she will remember forever.

Squinty Smiles! The sun was right in our faces, but we did our best

Congratulations, Beatrice! We are so proud of you for the sweet, wonderful girl you are, and your decision to be baptized. We love you! 

Classic Movies that Scare My Children, Plus A Birthday!

Last week, Beatrice turned 8 years old.

She choose to have a "movie night" with a few of her friends. They watched Annie, ate cupcakes, popcorn, and full-size candy bars, and sang "hard knock life" at the top of their lungs. It was quite cute.

Now before you ask, no, it was not the original Annie with Carol Burnett, it was the 1999 made for TV version with Kathy Bates. I know, I know, I am a horrible mother. But in my defense, we actually own the original Annie and my girls don't like it. They are scared by the helicopter scene, and they may have been emotionally scarred by Carol Burnett, only time will tell. Jay, on the other hand, loves the original, and has been known to quote it from time to time.

"Punjab, get me a drink!"

My children also don't like the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory as much as they like the Johnny Depp version. I realize that admitting these things is akin to confessing my failure as a parent, but it is what it is. Gene Wilder frightens them (which is sort of the point, I suppose). Natalie also hates the blueberry part, no matter what version we're watching.

They do like The Sound of Music, though, as long as we skip "Climb Every Mountain," so I guess I am doing some things right.

Ok, back to Beatrice. She had a lovely party, and then the next day - her actual birthday - the celebration continued. It was our last day of baseball (insert slightly guilt-ridden whoop of joy here), and then we had a very mellow family party in the evening. Bea's Primary teacher came to her last game and held up a birthday banner while simultaneously attacking her with purple silly string. It was fantastic (though I don't think the parent in the background approved of the whole situation).

The silly string is flying! 

Bea with her fantastic Primary teacher and her teacher's sweet husband

At home, we were supposed to have Bea's favorite meal of tacos, but I was frankly too tired and hot to cook, so we had leftovers instead. Thankfully, Bea does not hold that kind of thing against me. We did have a "baseball cake" and Giants-themed decorations, so all was not lost. Plus, Grandma was there, and she gave Bea a much-longed-for present: walkie talkies.

Note the towel on Grandma's shoulder. This is a Pierson / Fear habit that has made its way into my life. In fact, I'm sitting here at the computer with a dish towel on my shoulder as I type. It's like second nature. One day I'll have to make a picture book with only pictures of family members sporting the shoulder towel.

Because Bea turned 8 and will be getting baptized in a few short weeks, our present to her was her own set of scriptures, complete with a sparkly pink scripture bag. She was very pleased with them and is happy to have her own set. It has made her much more excited for family scripture study!

So there you have it. Life is moving pretty fast but I'm trying to enjoy it and be more "present" every day. It's a struggle for me, I admit it, but I'm making strides. I'm so proud of my sweet children. They are good kids... even if they are scared of Gene Wilder.

Perks of Being a Mom

Several times a day, during good weather, grubby little hands reach out to me and say...

"Mom, I picked this for you."

And at the end of the day, as I look at the little pile of dried flowers and weeds (mostly weeds) that have accumulated on my counter, I am reminded how lucky I am to be a mom. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go break up a lightsaber fight gone wrong. 

Mission Time

It's been a long time since I was in 4th grade, but all the memories came flooding back when it was time for Natalie's mission project!

She chose Mission San Jose de Guadalupe, in memory of her former hometown (which she has kept on a pedestal since we moved). Turned out pretty cute, if you ask me!

America's Favorite Pastime

I have loved living here almost since the instant we moved in, and that love has only increased as time has passed. Part of the reason for the love is the small-town feel of the community. Between church, school, our neighborhood, and now baseball, we really feel like we belong here. I guess that's why we've lived here the longest of all our residences.

Speaking of baseball (kind of) ... here are a few pictures from Opening Day and recent games. There are not many things cuter than a kid in uniform!

Getting ready for opening day

Opening Day parade

Dexter's first hit. It didn't go far, as you can tell, but in t-ball that's all it takes sometimes!

Natalie behind the plate

Bea ready to run home

Our evenings and weekends are pretty full for the next few months, but we are having a great time and the kids are really enjoying it, so I guess that means it's worth it ... even when it's my turn to be "bench mom." Now I know what the phrase "herding cats" means!

Before It Gets Too Cold ...

The kids have been spending some much-needed outdoor time on the trampoline, trying to breathe in as much fresh air as possible before it starts getting too cold. Not that it ever really gets *too cold* here in California, but we are sort of wimpy that way.

Thanks, Dad, for the trampoline - two years later, it's still the gift that keeps on giving!

Avengers in the House!

There is no safer place than the Fear household, now that the Avengers have arrived!

Natalie battled the forces of evil as Iron Man:

Bea wielded Thor's mighty hammer:

And Dexter and Calvin both wanted to save the world as Captain America:

It was a great Halloween, with a trunk-or-treat party at church on Friday, and then Halloween in Disneyland on Monday! Disneyland pictures will follow ... (don't get too excited!) Hope everyone had a great holiday and didn't stuff themselves too full of candy corn. :)

Trendsetters

Sometimes it's hard to resist my natural impluse to force my children to dress a certain way. But I have to remember that if I did impose my fashion will on them, I would be missing all this awesomeness:

And... Instagram!

Thanks for the Snoopy Halloween socks, Grandma. No, really, thanks a lot. ;)

I Was Worried He Would Choose Pink

The first Fear child to break a bone is ...

(drum roll, please....)

Dexter!

Congratulations, Dexter! You win a cool black cast and a new Transformer. Way to go!

Broken wrist courtsey of a game of "farmers and turkeys" on the trampoline. Dexter was playing the part of a turkey, naturally. He only has to have it on for four weeks, and he is being a trooper (for the most part). :)

Goodbye, Summer!

Well, the first day of school is crossed off the calendar, and Day 2 is in process. So far, so good. The only unhappy person is Dexter, who did not enjoy watching his sisters get school clothes and supplies, while he was told that he had to wait until next year. Well, he did get a Linus shirt on clearance, but it wasn't the same. Poor thing.

He doesn't look too sad here, though:

Bea is starting 2nd grade ...

...and Natalie is in 4th. Upper classman!

As for me, it's been nice these two days to have more time alone with the boys. I think we might even attempt the zoo tomorrow now that the summer crowds are gone. I sense that Fall is not too far away and I am very happy about that! Bring on the sweaters, the pumpkins, and the cool air! I can't wait!

Ahh, Summer!

So much has been happening this summer!

The kids had swim lessons at our local rec center, and are now all nice and tan. Well, everyone except Bea. I'm afraid she got my pale French-Canadian genes.

We went camping at Whiskeytown, and it only rained for 1 1/2 days straight!

(We managed to have a good time anyway.)

Natalie turned 9 at the end of June. Jay made a solar system of cakes to celebrate. (Including Pluto ... who cares what the scientists say?! Besides, we needed one cake for each year.)

Natalie choose to eat earth all by herself

And then, Jay and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary with a romantic picnic, followed by canoeing on the lake. The 10 years have truly flown by. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I simply wouldn't want to be on this adventure with anyone else. Jay is perfect for me. (Notice I didn't say he was perfect....) :)

Then:

Now:

Happy Anniversary, Schmoopy.

The X-Man Works, Too

We saw this car outside of Taco Bell and just had to take a picture, since we have our very own D-Man. I'm pretty sure Dexter thinks this will be his actual car when he grows up.

Happy Friday, every one! I hope you have a fantastic weekend.

To start your weekend off right, check out this sweet (and short) video. I'll admit it, I cried.

Happy Day

Last week, our sweet Beatrice turned 7.

She was so excited for her birthday that she could hardly sleep the night before. She loved everything about her day ... from bringing the famous Fear Family peanut butter rice krispy treats to school, to receiving cards from family and friends, and of course, having cake and opening presents. She was smiling all day long. (Which is not out of character for our goofy little girl.)

Bea is currently obsessed with the Disney movie, Tangled, so Jay made her a cake complete with "floating" lanterns.

The Tangled obsession has not trumped the gum obsession, though.

And nothing probably ever will. :)

We love you, Beatrice!

Dexter Time!

Earlier this month, Dexter turned the big 4.

This is the expression he had on his face almost the entire day:

He was so happy to receive cards in the mail and phone calls from relatives, not to mention opening a few presents and having the dining room decorated just for him. But by far the highlight of his birthday was his cake, made by Jay. I don't think I've ever seen Dexter happier, which is saying something.He could barely even speak. (Which is also saying something!)



Seeing the expression on his face almost wiped away my irritation at his Mario Kart obsession!

Happy Birthday, Dexter! We think you're awesome.

Brothers

I just love this picture of the boys walking next to the American River (and the local fish hatchery). They held hands for a little while, and then...

..."wait, 'Ex-der!"

Our Ar-tee-st

Two of Natalie's art pieces from school were recently selected to be in a district-wide kid's art show at the local community center. There were only about 25 pieces in the show (per grade), so to have two selected was pretty exciting!

Here she is with her vase of flowers:

And here's a closeup of her snowglobe picture:



Way to go, Natters! Watch out, or I might commission you to paint a mural for our hallway... (free of charge, of course).

It's Official ...

Calvin is 2!

He is currently obsessed with elephants...

...so these presents were well-received.

And for Mommy's sake ... a Lightening McQueen rolling backpack! With two young boys in the house, only having one backpack was causing quite a bit of trouble. (And people say girls are the dramatic ones!) One problem solved, thousands to go ... :)

Happy Birthday to our strong and silent, not-so-little 2 year old boy. We love you!

That's One Way to Declare Your Love

Another Halloween has come and gone, and if the amount of candy sitting in my cupboard is any indicator, it was a success.

Some highlights ...

The girls' school holds an annual Halloween parade, which is a lot of fun. This year, one of Bea's classmates took the opportunity to express his feelings for her via his costume:

Isn't it adorable? If you can't tell, he was a road (love the creative costume!) and his hat was a street sign named "Beatrice Court." It just kills me. His mom and I had a good chuckle over his crush (which, I have to say, is mutual).

The kiddos

Beatrice wanted to go as lightening, which was fitting because the weather kept threatening to rain, although thankfully it never did.

Natalie wanted to go as a tornado, which was a bit of a challenge, but as usual Jay pulled it off. You can't see it, but there is even a little witch flying in the twister. *I'll get you my pretty!*

Dex was Buzz Lightyear, obviously, and Cal is was a monkey. Of course, he only wore his costume for about half an hour before Grandma graciously took him home for bed.

Jay had the most creative of all our costumes, and although I have to claim credit for the seed of the idea, the details and the execution were all his:

Humpty Dumpty! We won "Best Car Decoration" at trunk-or-treat. Pretty good considering Jay whipped up the castle about 2 hours prior using paneling we had previously ripped out of our living room.

As we were preparing for trunk-or-treat, I started to feel a little left out because I was the only one who never got around to planning a costume. So, I threw one together at the last minute (swiping an idea from a former coworker): The tooth fairy.

Ain't I pretty? :)

I'd say we better start planning for next year, but like with most things, we do Halloween better under pressure. I hope you all had a fabulous holiday and that your kids shared a Reese's Peanut Butter cup with you!