How the Haskins Girls Celebrate Veteran's Day

Veteran's Day pancakes honoring our favorite veteran.  JACK!

We love you Grandpa.  Thank you for you service in World War II. 

p.s.  I came down the stairs this morning to this.  The only thing I did was take the picture.

How the Reagan Library Can Increase Its Patronage

They could give out $72 gift certificates to the gift shop on your birthday, just like Disneyland does.  After all, isn't it every nine-year-old who wants to go to the Reagan Library for her birthday?

Yeah, probably not.   September 2008 we took the kids to the Library to see the Emancipation Proclamation and Lauren told us she wanted to have her ninth birthday at the Reagan Library.  She anticipated the big day with the help of her Ronald Reagan calendar.

We gathered up the grandparents and some aunts and uncles and a good friend and trooped off to Simi Valley on Halloween morning.  Lauren received a special jar of jelly beans, and bought herself a Nancy Reagan pen.  Liffy bought a copy of the Declaration of Independence so she could read it, and Caroline bought a US presidents ruler.  They like to look at it and sing the Animaniacs song.

I think we're raising a bunch of nerds, and I couldn't be happier about it.

 Caroline Margaret is named after Margaret Thatcher, and Liffy finds bloated federal spending amusing, but adores Ronald Wilson Reagan.  Look at that face!

A Pioneer, A Race Car Driver, and Two Penguins

Sometimes after I download the pictures from a special event and I find that I didn't even come close to getting all the shots I wanted. Take this Halloween for instance: three obvious photo ops are conspicuously missing: 1) a good full-body shot of Caroline's costume, 2) the two penguins in a special shot of their own, and 3) Lauren with her doll Sarah, after which we patterned the entire costume. I had two opportunities to get these taken, and I failed both times. Notwithstanding my photographic amnesia, I still have several photos to show you.

The School Parade

Liffy as a macaroni penguin. We saw them at Sea World this summer. She loved the funny feathers on their heads. We think they're great. She even flapped her wings as they paraded around the blacktop. It's always fun when Liffy lets her silly side come out.

Lauren dressed up like her pioneer doll, Sarah. Sarah went everywhere with us on our vacation in San Diego. Do you think she like the macaroni penguins, too?

This little guy was the hit of the year. He was so cute as a tiny little penguin. When he runs it makes the tail flap. He ran A LOT when we were trick-or-treating.

Caroline was Daisy from Mario Kart. Her dress was a devil to make, and I can't believe I didn't get a full shot of it. The tiers turned out beautiful, I'm glad I got that far--the sleeves and zipper almost made me swear. Fortunately, it's just a costume, and it turned out pretty lovely after all that. This picture is pretty sweet, though, don't you think?

James was happy to hold hands with anyone who could lead him to candy. He really liked Grandpa Don and Uncle Joel, though. Thanks for coming down, Joel!

Caroline with her haul. She made a lovely little Daisy.

I made all the costumes this year; thanks Mom, for coming to stay the whole week so I could get these done. I'm pretty sure I won't be doing it again, but it was really fun to do this year. I have never made an animal costume or a princess dress, so I really stretched my skills. Lauren's costume was the easiest, but my new sewing machine did allow me to add a small surprise: at the bottom of the apron I monogrammed the name SARAH! Lauren loved that little detail.

Thanks kids, for making Halloween fun for this ol' mamma of yours (and for sharing the candy).

My New Hobby

PUPPY COLLAGES!!

Can you blame me?

I Must Have Good Stuff

They're already putting dibs in on what they want when I die.

See Puppy Walk

I'm trying to figure out who he looks like walking like that. It's so funny (and adorable)!

Puppy Unloads the Dishwasher

I love this kid!

Puppy Falls Down (or Rock On Puppy)

James broke his leg at the park on Wednesday, September 23.  The girls' response to hearing their brother had a broken leg--Can we sign the cast?!!!  Don't worry though, sisterly love abounds.  For proof I submit as evidence the following exhibits:

Exhibit A:
Liffy drew a comic of what happened:

Note the cookie in his hand in frame 1.

Exhibit B:

Caroline mugs for photo with invalid

Exhibit C:

The girls worked hard on a get well sign.  They also put together a large box of fun toys to help stave off boredom.

Oh, how we love our little Puppy!  But don't worry, Puppy will be just fine:

Exhibit D:

 

 

 

Sometime during the Summer...

We went to the Huntington Library to visit the art galleries. Caroline was at Grandma Pickle's house for a visit. The rest of us packed up our gear (Lauren actually did all the packing) and headed out for a day of masterworks. You judge the results:

Liffy had a birthday tucked into all that too:

Liffy had a Max and Ruby themed birthday party. Every one had a role to play. Liffy was Ruby, Lauren was Bunny Scout Leader, Caroline was Louise, James was Max, I was Mrs. Huffington and Steve, of course, was Mr. Huffington. Being Mr. Huffington came with the very special privilege of participating in the "Mr. Huffington" game. What is the Mr. Huffington game you ask? Well, I did, too. Lauren told me that at the school carnival Mr. Huffington wore his swimming suit and they would throw a ball and Mr. Huffington would splash into the water. A Dunk Tank! I told Lauren that if she could figure out how to make it work then they could certainly play. If you look at the bottom row second picture from the left you can see what they rigged up. The bucket went on the top of the ladder, we had to throw a beach ball at a knot on the swing rope (harder than it seems, by the way) and then the person at the top of the ladder would dump the bucket on the person standing below.

As you can imagine Steve was no longer willing to be Mr. Huffington. He does not like to have water dumped on his head. Not to be deterred, Lauren graciously agreed to be Mr. Huffington. BUT, he had to be Bunny Scout Leader, and he had to wear a skirt. As you can see from the photo on the top left, Steve would rather wear a skirt than have water dumped on his head. The game was a huge success--lots of laughter and fun. I love handing the party planning over to Lauren. She has a great imagination! I'm in charge of the cake baking, though, so we had cupcakes with pink frosting and yellow buttercream roses.

All in all between birthdays, outings, cousin camp, a San Diego vacation, and just hanging out at home we had a terrific summer.

Hey, You Remember Cousin Camp?

We had such a great time with our cousins and second cousins and aunts and uncles. You could probably just call it a family reunion, but everybody has one of those. And we can't be like everyone else, now can we? I loved having all that family around, with time to talk and play. I felt a real understanding of why family is the key to happiness in our mortal journey. And the kids had a great time.

Lauren Also Made a Comic

She actually made this the same day, but my scanner was giving me fits and I couldn't get it on my computer. I love the third frame. She captured James exactly!

This Is How Last Night Went

Click on the image to read it better.

Summer

Here are a few pictures to let you know how summer is going at our house.

Here is the dollhouse version of Liffy's Birthday Party.
Should I get an over-sized picture of the First Presidency for my living room?

The birthday feast.

I bought James a wading pool.

A wading pool is not just a wading pool at our house. The pool only survived one afternoon.

Oh my goodness that child can get crazy.

But oh so sweet. This is her cousin camp list.
And a close-up.

Cinderella

This little boy thought the Tiny Fairy was a wonderful dancer! So did the rest of us. Liffy danced her heart out for Village Dance Art's production of Cinderella. Doing a formal production is a brilliant way to conduct a dance recital. The performers knew that they were part of something bigger than just their class, and it gave them more to work for. I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than to watch a show for which so many young people (and their teachers and parents!) have given such a tremendous effort. They were all fantastic. I can't wait 'til next year. Will I have more dancers in the show?

simply beautiful

Little Village, Little Town of Mine

This post has been a long time coming. This year mom invited the girls to participate in the Tollberry Theatre production of Fiddler on the Roof. She could do that 'cause she was the DIRECTOR. It seemed a perfect opportunity for my girls to participate in a theater production without quite as much time commitment (although it seemed like plenty!) I don't know if I can ever thank Mom enough for getting my girls involved.


The show itself was awe-inspiring. I saw three performances, and wished I could have seen the rest. It is so fun to see people you have known for twenty-odd years going on a stage and using all their talents to put on a beautiful and entertaining show. Especially when these are people who usually don't search out center stage. (Tom excepted, but he was MAGNIFICENT. Really, he ought to have been discovered by now, but let's keep him our little secret, shall we?) I loved seeing my dad and Brother Howard, the youth are so cute, and Marty Page?! Well, let's just say he's The Russian to us now. I don't know the woman who played Fruma Sara, but she was terrific. And I loved hearing Alyson play. The Russian dancers were amazing! I couldn't believe they could jump over each other like that!

The girls just loved participating with all of those kind people. The young girls took my daughters under their wing and made them feel very comfortable. Lauren really got into it, and by the last performance was accompanying Grandpa Innkeeper in every village scene possible. Elizabeth looked so beautiful in her headscarf and sang every word. Caroline's usual flighty nature was left outside the theater. She was a serious performer. If she was supposed to pretend to sweep, then her broom never held still. If she was supposed to freeze, then not a muscle moved. She wept at the Anatevka scene every single time. All three girls were very focussed even when not performing. They were never silly or giggly. They loved coming out and watching the scenes they weren't in, especially the dream scene and the bar scene.

For me, Sabbath Prayer is an especially moving scene. I think of my daughters and pray for them to be good mothers and wives, with husbands who will care for them. What a beautiful ritual to hear your parents praying for your future happiness.
The performances were amazing, but the Fiddler love didn't end there. When we got in the car on Sunday to go home, all the girls were still wearing their costumes. That was fun when we stopped for a bathroom break and we looked too much like a fundamentalist family for my comfort. After we returned home, the girls went off to school, where Lauren made a book about the entire play. She worked so hard on it. It will be in the cedar chest until I die, I love it so much. Caroline had the cd on permanent repeat while the girls were at school. That's seven hours, by the way! Sometimes she would even watch the movie the entire time they were gone. (She always skips the train station scene and the Anatevka scene. Act 2 is just too much for her sweet little soul to bear.) Liffy would change back into her costume almost immediately after getting home and the cd would start over from the beginning. We would all wake up singing a different song every day.

Mother's Day the girls organized a three-man performance on the deck. They had costumes, props, a canopy! They would change costumes for every scene, even switching around roles throughout. Lauren played Tevya. Her "Rich Man" was spot on. They even carried Caroline around on a chair during the wedding scene. Caroline played all the leaping Russians. Lauren was the Russian who tipped over a chair to start the dancing. They loved clanking mugs for "L'Chaim". Once again the girls were having a ball, but were totally serious. They had every detail worked out. Liffy was Grandma Zeitl and Fruma Sara and Golde for the dream scene. She was so cute! Matchmaker is probably their favorite, and Liffy did a great Zeitl with scarf over her head.

Memorial Day weekend found us at camp again; this time to see Uncle Joel return home from his mission. When we arrived at 11:00 pm, out came the canopy and the bag of costumes. Sunday afternoon the whole family was treated to a grand performance. Once again, they were all seriousness, and they did a bang-up job. This time they even had the original bed from the dream scene. How fun! They even let James get in on some of the tavern dancing. Poor Ronan got a little beat up, though, when James tried to bang mugs with him. Everyone was so impressed.

What an experience for my children. I hope that we will have more opportunities like it. I am so grateful to Mom and Dad for always providing lifelong memories for my children. Our lives would be completely different without you.

What We're Doing This Weekend

Steve is in beautiful Washington DC. He has been working very hard for several months on a case that will be heard by the Supreme Court on Monday. He will enter this building as a member of the Supreme Court Bar. Now that seems like something to write home about. Way to go Steve!!!

I, on the other hand, have decided to have this hung around my neck on a lanyard because three of the kids are running fevers. The baby isn't, but he has a runny nose again, and his cough still hasn't gone away. It looks like church is out of the question, AGAIN!

Happy Birthday, My Little Boy

You made it to the top! We love you so very much, little James. Your smile makes everyone's day a whole lot brighter!

Look-Alikes

Lauren wearing James

Love and trust

And a great big smooch!

Glad Someone Is Paying Attention

As Lauren was walking into school today, she turned around and yelled, "Mom! The fourth is Ronald Reagan's anniversary!" Sorry, Mom. You tried.

GIVEAWAY!!!!!!

Announcing our very first ever giveaway! Leave a comment (if you can figure out how) and if you answer to MOM and your birthday is today, then this fabulous metalwork bird-adorned tealight holder can be yours!

Happy Birthday, Mom! We love you so much! See you soon!

Love,
From all of us!

When the Moon Hits Your Eye...

Some of it will splatter on your chest, some of it will smear across you sweet chubby cheeks, and SOME of it will land on your head!



Then your mom and your big sister, who are charter members of the James Admiration Society, will laugh their heads off and run for the camera, because, of course, you are the only baby ever to make a mess while eating pizza, and prove once and for all, that THAT'S AMORE!

God Knows Everything

Sweet cat, sweet kid, right? So why have I wanted to send Ned back to the frozen north (a.k.a. Camp Bullfrog)? Let me put it this way: Two weeks ago I found myself poring over the different rake options at Lowe's. I finally decided that the garden variety rake with strong, solid tines was my best option for raking cat POOP out of the decomposed granite path and the GRASS. I have garden beds, I have sand piles, I have paths, I have another sand pile, I have grow boxes--so why was the cat POOPING on the lawn?!!!

Every day found me outside scouring our vast lawn for POOP. Have you seen the baby? I have enough POOP to deal with, thank you very much. Remember when I was buying Immodium last year for the other cat? No thanks. I was feeling very done with excrement. Nobody had any ideas for me (that means Mom and Steve) and I was ready to pitch a real fit. Here we were with weeks, endless weeks, of 82 degree weather, and I couldn't send the kids outside to play unless I went first and raked up the POOP. (Did I mention one of the cats sometimes needs Immodium? Fun.)

Then I remembered: "Cry unto him when ye are in your [backyard], yea, over all your [pets]." Alma 34:20. I prayed mightily to God. I told him that I knew he could inspire the cats to poop (yes, I used that word) in far more appropriate places as per the list above. I told him that I love the darn animals, and so do the kids, so please, please, please I didn't want to have to give them away.

Today, three days later, I went outside. He truly is a God of miracles.

Playing Library-January 12

by Liffy


Me and my tow sisters Like to play Library in our Library/dining room. I like to be the libraryin. Whene we play Library in Library/dining room we make the rules like asaktly like a reel Library. We keep all kins of books in the Library/dining room. Like moms and dads books also history books to like Abraham Linkin and Ronold Ragin book of history and Lots of other kind of books in the Library/dining room. Like in a real Library in our prutend.