Twenty?!!!

It seems like it was just yesterday that our little boy was REALLY little. 

That lil' boy grew...

...and grew.

 

And he grew some more.

(However, he is NOT gruesome.)

Twenty years? REALLY?!!!! It is hard to believe. The time has gone by oh, so quickly. We have certainly enjoyed seeing what our boy has become over the past two decades, and we know that there is much more "fun" in store.

Although M is our firstborn, he is always the last to celebrate during the month of September. It's a good thing he has an easy-going temperament. He patiently waits as his sisters each have their turn in the limelight -- or candlelight. Quite honestly, I am sufficiently burned out on sweets by the time the 22nd rolls around. Thankfully, my boy has good taste when it comes to dessert, so I can usually stomach one more sweet thing, knowing it'll be yummy!

This year, M's request for birthday cake was an unusual one. It wasn't that it was a weird flavor or anything; the birthday celebrant wanted to bake his own cake. He doesn't need me any more. I have always baked the kids' cakes, or ordered something special from a bakery or Baskin-Robbins, but never have I ever let the Smithlings make their own cake.

I happily turned the kitchen over to my lil' boy.

The cake our son wanted to "build" was to be fashioned after a cake in the game Portal.  In this virtual world, a cake is used as a promised reward to keep the player motivated to persevere. But the reward doesn't really exist. Or does it?

"The cake is a lie."

The real cake looks virtually the same as the computer generated one -- only tastier. There were four layers of chocolately goodness with four sticks of butter in the frosting. No lie!

The cake was rich, moist, dense, and it weighed a ton. Well... maybe it didn't quite weigh 2,000 pounds, but it did had a lot of heft to it. I have no idea what the caloric count was per serving. Maybe the number 2,000 comes into play here. :-P  I think it would be safe to say that a sliver totaled a whole big bunch of calories. I've heard it said that calories only exist if you count them. Hmmm... Calories don't count on special occasions, any way. Besides, there was too much fun to be had to be worried about calories, carbs, fat grams and such.

Jemima certainly was not worried about the cake's nutrition statistics. She had other things to fret over. Our kitty girl had to wear the party dress one more time. (Millie insisted!) She looks ridiculous -- and quite unhappy about the birthday party dress code.

One of M's gifts was a fleecy throw from Costco. He had told me last year that he wanted one of these, but they were sold out before I had a chance to purchase one. Apparently he forgot about this request over the past year. I remembered! I was soooo happy that I found this blanket at Costco back in late July; never mind that it was a 105° day. I am just glad that I remembered where I had hidden it.

When my son saw the lamb on the front, he thought it was a costume of some sort and couldn't imagine why on earth I would give him such a silly gift. Perhaps the whole cat in a costume episode had taken his thinking to this point. He was confused! Thankfully, there was no confusion as he unwrapped a pair of Oakley sunglasses. I had picked the right ones.

Ahhh! The birthdaze are over... All three Smithlings are smiling, so I guess it was a good birthmonth for all.

Fourteen

Freshly harvested bagels were on the menu for the birthday girl's breakfast. Yes, we know that bagels do not grow on trees, but on September 18th of every year, at the Smith Haus, they do.

This is was what the birthday girl looked like nine years ago today, when she turned five. I believe that this was the second year that the bagel tree was in production. If I remember correctly, Millie Girl planted the bagel tree when she was three; the first "fruit" appeared on her fourth birthday, and now, ten years later, we are still picking bagels. Never mind that we are no longer in the same state that the original tree is rooted in...Details, details!

 

 Fast forward to now:

 The early bird gets the bagel.

 It was a bumper crop!

As silly as the bagel tree tradition is, we are planning on keeping it going for as long as Millie lives with us or near us. 

Sadly, it was not a national holiday, so everyone had to go to work or school. 

I packed a school lunch with goodies included for all of the lunch table friends who sit with my girlie. Of course, I had to do "Sharpie" art on the napkin.

 Where did our California girl want to go to eat dinner on her special day?

In-N-Out, of course!

In the b-day girl's opinion, it's not a P-A-R-T-Y if there aren't streamers. Just before midnight, on Birthday Eve, I enlisted the decorating help of the older two Smithlings.  Mr. S. and Millie were both sound asleep, so we three night owls decorated very quietly. In an attempt to come up with something new, we added bows made out of crepe paper to the traditional twisted streamers. A scattering of rhinestones on the counter served as confetti and added just the right amount of bling. 
(We "done" good!) :-P

After dinner, but before dessert, there was work to be done. There were fourteen clues that the birthday girl had to solve. 

 After the fourth or fifth clue, Millie got a clue and realized that there just might be a gift waiting for her at each clue location. She was right. However, she didn't know how many wrapped presents there would be. Some packages had her favorite candy bar or something small, but there were fourteen different gifts. She ended up receiving clothing, books, glitter makeup, a new lunch bag, a tote, and lots of other goodies. It's QUANTITY, not quality? :-)

The big brother in the household had a pair of Scandalous Designs sandals made for his sister. I think he chose the perfect design -- COLORFUL, just like the birthday girlie's personality. :-) Best of all, they fit me!

Millie's sister knows her well. Liesey gave her sis a magazine all about One Direction, as well as an iTunes preorder for the Fab Five's upcoming album.


From bagels to ice cream cake, and all the good stuff in between, it was a delicious day.

  Happy Birthday, Millie Girl! 

Legally (Dark) Blonde?

She's legal! 

Our #2 Smithling turned EIGHTEEN today!

What's the first thing Liesey wanted to do now that she's of legal age? Why, purchase spray paint at The Home Depot, of course. It looks like our girl is going to paint the town red...

The next stop after church was at Quick Trip so our daughter could purchase her first (last, and only!) lottery ticket. It was NOT a winning ticket -- what a surprise. The thought of our girlie earning $1,000/week for the next twenty years did have a certain appeal, but I don't think she'll/we'll be scratching again any time soon.

Our youngest Smithling really wanted to go all out on decorations for her big sister's big celebration, but crepe paper and helium are not things that mean much to the b-day girl. In lieu of party streamers and other b-day decor, I allowed Millie to select a party dress for Jemima. Our kitty girl was not amused, but we were! And it cost much less than a dozen balloons. :-P

Seriously?

Just look at 'Mima's face. Bewilderment.

We think that she knew this dress was really intended for a d-o-g.

We took the b-day girl...er, uh, young woman...and her friends, Kaytlynn and Isabel, to downtown Ft. W. for an afternoon of shopping. First stop? The TX Rangers store! Our girlie was wanting a #18 Mitch Moreland jersey; however, they didn't have any in stock. They could, however, make us one for an additional $70 fee to the already ridiculously high price of a jersey. We opted to search for a cheaper option on-line. Oh! If only Liesey would have won the lottery... Sigh! After we visited a few more stores in Sundance Square, it was time to have dinner.

Our rooftop meal at the Reata was YUMMY!

We returned home to Keller for dessert and presents. 

This was such a big birthday celebration, it required TWO cakes. Well, they were small ones. The birthday celebrant and I had made a trip to EatZi's on Saturday to select her dessert. We love the name of this place, and the food they serve up there is all the more reason to love it. Oh, my! It was hard to decide which was tastier -- the chocolate oblivion cake or carrot cake. Repeated tastings were required. No clear winner emerged. 

Happy Birthday, Dear Favorite Oldest Daughter! We love you!

It's About Time...

...for a

We might be crazy, but our family actually thinks it's fun to spend time together in the car going places. There is as much joy in the journey as there is in reaching the final destination. And it's a good thing we all get along, because over the Labor Day weekend, we loaded up the rental car, bid a fond farewell to Bartholomew and Jemima, and hit the road. Destination: Grandpa's house!

Hooray for duct tape!

Mr. Smith and the two older Smithlings had a four-day weekend. Our youngest only had a three-day weekend. No problem! We pulled Millie out of school for day #5 of the new school year, so she, too, could make the trek to see Grandpa. We were not about to leave a thirteen-year-old home alone for a l-o-n-g weekend.  Although, I must say that there have been times I would have considered doing so...
Not really.
No, REALLY...
No, I'm just joking. I think.

After fifteen hours on the road, we rolled into rural Shelburn in time for a late dinner. (Thank you, Daddy! The steaks were grilled to perfection.) We drove in rain throughout most of Missouri and Illinois, compliments of the remains of Hurricane Isaac. Normally the drive from TX to IN takes fourteen hours, but this time the weather definitely slowed us down a bit. 

It was DEFINITELY worth all the hours of driving in the rain to get a Grandpa hug!

Here are more photos of time well spent:

Seeing double

Time for reflection

Shakamak State Park is a mere 15 minutes from my Dad's house. Oh, there are so many memories that were made here; happy times from my childhood of family picnics, beautiful fall foliage, hikes, church camp, etc.

 Easily amused...

Hoosier Beauty

Sadly, it was not yet time for fall colors. Oh, how I'd love to come back in a few weeks to see the change in scenery and enjoy the sights and smells of fall.  If you use your imagination, there seems to be a slight tinge of orange on the tree in the right side of the photo. Wishful thinking?

Time for new shades?

We took time out to stop for a chocolate dipped crunch cone (340 calories of deliciousness) and a walk down memory lane...We treat you right! 

Anytime we are in the Hoosier state, there is always time to play euchre. The kids have realized that whoever teams up with Grandpa will be on the winning team. No cheating is allowed! Or at least we think there is no cheating. A good time was had by all; even the losers had fun.


All good things must come to an end. Moments before we hit the road, I snapped a couple of "timely" pictures to help tell my tale.

This is one of the clocks at my dad's house. It was originally my grandfather's grandfather clock, and now it is Dad's. Normally when we visit, we have to silence the chimes so everyone sleeps without being awakened by the striking of each hour, quarter-hour, and half-hour; however, this visit, we let 'em ring. And I slept! There was only one night when I awoke to hear the clock strike four bells. It was a familiar, comforting sound. Oh, the bells, bells, bells! The ringing was comforting until I started trying to remember "The Bells" by Edgar Allen Poe. The mind thinks about crazy things in a half-awake state. I couldn't recall much of what I had committed to memory as a high school student, so I soon gave up my futile exercise.

Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells
From the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells -
From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.

Before I drifted back to sleep, my thoughts shifted from bells to Grandpa Thompson and his clock. He was always so proud of his timepiece, and he took good care of it. Grandpa would wear soft cloth gloves as he lifted the weights to wind the clock, as he didn't want the oils from his skin to cause the brass to tarnish. I guess he literally had time on his hands each time he wound his clock! 

My grandfather bought the grandfather clock sometime when I was in elementary school -- I do not remember exactly what year it was. I do know that he had owned the clock for many years before I told him something he didn't know about his clock.

The Latin phrase "Tempus Fugit" is inscribed at the top of the clock. During my Freshman year of high school, as I was taking first-year Latin, I learned what the phrase meant. I shared with my granddad that his clock said, "Time flees" if translated literally. I told him that he could just say that it meant "Time flies." Sadly, that phrase and a few others are all I remember from two years of Latin class. My grandpa thought that I was the most clever fourteen-year-old. And he was proud of learning Latin at his advanced age. Grandpa made a point of telling his visitors that I had taught him what his clock said, and then he would give the translation. 

Time flees, flies, and once it's flown, you cannot do anything to get it back. Tempus fugit!

So, why is it that time flies even faster when you're havin' fun? It just works that way, I suppose. Our weekend flew, so that should tell you that we had fun.

Beary Best Friends

My friend Claire says that we are "besties." She could be right. I don't know... I've never really been a person who qualifies my friends as "good, better, or best."  I DO know that this particular friend is a very special person, and I am soooo thankful to have her in my life. And best of all, she conveniently lives right behind my house. 

The two of us always find interesting things to discuss. And we laugh -- a lot!

I've discovered notes, cookies, flowers, earrings, and other offerings at our back door. This isn't a daily occurrence, but I find something with my name on it a few times each month.

I smiled as I read, "We are pretty much BFFs, aren't we?" on a recent note.

It would be more convenient for the two of us to visit if there were a gate between the two backyards; however, the absence of a gate doesn't slow my friend down one bit. Claire has no trouble climbing/hopping/scrambling over the privacy fence.

Since I'm not much of a hopper, I leave notes for Claire under a rock on the top of the fence. I've also put homemade cookies and other surprises for my friend (and the rest of her family) out on top the fence. I just have to make sure foodstuff is in a container that the wildlife cannot get into before Claire discovers it.

Our friendship is most definitely a give and take kind of thing; neighborly, even.

Before you try to conjure up the image of an adult woman hurdling over a wooden privacy fence, let me explain that my friend Claire is nine-years-old.  She's a nimble, cat-quick, usually barefooted, beautiful tomboy, yet very much a girlie-girl all bundled into one adorable package. She effortlessly pops over the six-foot-tall fence just to say, "Hello!" or to give me a hug. Claire eagerly hands out hugs to the rest of the family, too -- including the living, breathing (and usually purring) cats and our not-so-real stuffed bears. (Bear hugs?)

Frequently, I get to see her latest dress-up get-up. She is a princess in the photo above -- complete with ruby red lipstick! Princess Claire is holding her pet skink. Sadly, I cannot remember what she named this critter. (This girl is a miniature Ellie Mae Clampett!) The skink peed down Claire's arm after I snapped the photo. The princess and the pee? I suppose the paparazzi proved to be too much for this lil' guy.

Sometimes we just chat across the fence. No hopping over is required. And other times my friend brings her friends or her cousins over the fence to visit the Smith Haus. The welcome mat is always out for this neighbor girlie, yet there is no actual mat at the back door. :-P

I think Claire has actually ridden her bike the L-O-N-G way around the block twice, but that takes too much time. The shortest distance between two points IS a straight line, you know! The sidewalk route from our house to hers measures .25 miles door-to-door. The over-the-fence route is roughly .02 miles. Rain, shine, hot or chilly weather makes no difference to my fence climbing neighbor.

I wanted to do something nice for my friend, so we decided that getting her a ginormous bear would be a fun thing to do. Claire LOVES our trio of oversized stuffed Costco bears. She even remembers their names: Harwood, Norwood, and Derwood. 

On a recent shopping trek, we adopted a bear for Claire. I wasn't sure when or how I'd present it to her, but I wanted to have it on hand. I thought about keeping it and giving it to her for a birthday present in October, but decided she "needed" the bear as a back to school surprise.

The gigantic stuffed animal was positioned on the fence early one morning with a note attached for Claire. She was giddy with excitement when she saw the bear, or at least that is the story I got from her parents. 

She named her bear Elwood. Love it!!

Harwood, Norwood, and Derwood watched the rescue operation from the upstairs windows. Yes, "Goldilocks" noticed that she was being watched by the three bears. 

The three Smith bears and Claire's bear are definitely beary best friends... I guess that would mean they are BBFs instead of BFFs. Hmmm... 

Oh, it's soooo good to have a (good, better, or best?) friend, but I think it feels BEST to be a friend. 

Books and SBUX

"We" have almost one week of school under our collective belts, and so far, we're off to a great start!

Last week, we took our neighbor girlie, Katie, to her school to pick up her class schedule and meet her teachers, as her mom and dad were both traveling out of town on that day. 

I laughed as I followed Millie Girl down the school corridor. I just HAD to snap a picture, even if her braided coiffure is starting to unravel. ;-)

 I can almost hear Grandma Betty saying, "Oh, she's an ANGEL!"

Yep.

The Smith girls and Katie agreed to pose for a picture outside the junior high building. "Go, Titans!"

"First Day" Photos:

 UTA classes are underway as of August 23rd.

I am not envious of my son's commute to campus. Road construction and workday commuters makes for a challenging drive. :-(

TCC classes began on August 27th.

(I just might get in trouble for posting this pic., as it was taken at 6:30 AM.)

Yawn!

Keller Middle began school on Monday morning, too.

My lil' KMS "Comanche" is ready to roll, and so am I!

As soon as the middle school drop was made, it was off to S-bucks for a cup o' joe with my friend Barb. We both "needed" a drink, and sadly, Peet's is toooo far away. The coffee was good, but uninterrupted conversation was the frosting on the cake -- or the foam on the latte?

Cheers! 

We toasted our roasted brews (decaffeinated, of course) to a great year. 

There are only 179 more mornings to get my middle-schooler to school on time... 

I'm thinkin' we're probably going to need another coffee break thrown in here and there to make it through the school year. :-)