Rosy is 3

 Rosy is officially 3 years old.  People have been throwing  the word threenager around a lot lately and I am afraid that it  is a little too fitting in our situation.  She is a lovely little girl and also a nightmare, depending  on her mood.  She is extremely clever and loves to make everyone laugh.  She is a great dancer and always has something  interesting  to say.  In fact, if you never had to  tell her no or ask her to do something she didn't want to do she would be an absolute delight.

 I tried all day long to take pictures of her and she didn't want them. 

 I usually try to let the kids pick what they want to do and what they want to eat on their birthdays.  When I asked her what she wanted to eat she just said  "food." When I pushed her for a more specific answer she said, "Treats." When I told her that treats were not for dinner she disagreed.

Finally after  a couple of  days she said that she wanted to eat at Taco Time. (I think she was coached by Rocky.)   The only thing she really wanted as a gift was Goldfish.

It was particularly strange that the  most opinionated member of our family suddenly had no opinions.  That is  kind of her way though, to be as difficult as possible.

We spent the morning  selling cookies that Daisy made  at a yard sale.  We were trying to raise money to send to Syrian Refugees.  Rosy would stop every person that walked  by on  their way to the Duck game  and in the cutest voice you have ever heard ask, "You want a cookie?"
They made a lot of money.
It  is impossible to say no to that kind of cuteness.

 The only other  thing that she wanted was an orange.   So we wrapped a bunch of them up and gave them to her.  She was pleased.

 This Taco Time photo really makes me laugh because she is totally making a fake happy face.  Her eyes are clearly not into it.

 She did not want to blow out candles on her half-eaten brownie cake...she was scared of the flames.  

A  word on the cake.  I had planned on selling the brownies at the yard sale and making the cupcakes that the birthday girl had requested but when I tried to get them  out of the pan they just fell apart.  So instead we just threw a few candles on top and called it good. 
And Rosy was just a doll the entire day.  She didn't even get to do anything that she actually wanted to do but she was just thrilled  with everything.    When she turns on the charm  she is irresistible.   She has  that curly blonde hair and  giant eyes and a huge vocabulary and as big of a stinker  as she sometimes is you just can't help but find her wonderful.  She has a giant soul crammed into her little body and I don't know what we would do without her in our family.

Her favorite color is orange, obviously.
Her favorite toy is 'just books.'
Her favorite thing in the whole world is her baby Ike.  She truly does adore him. She also loves  her  big sisters and loves getting into their stuff when they are at school.  She gives great hugs when she is in the mood, don't touch her otherwise.  She is hilarious, she will compliment strangers on  their skirts and sweaters.  She loves to wear her "I Love My Ducks" shirt and her "Awesome Like Mom"  jammies.  She also really likes p'dots.  She wants to wear a dress every single day and if the dresses are all dirty a skirt can sometimes be a replacement.  She is very literal and will correct you if she thinks you don't  understand  if something is pretend.  She can scream really, really loudly but after  she is done she will get all snuggly and sweet so usually it is best to just let  her  scream.  She loves her grandparents and pretends to talk to them all the time on her toy phone.   She tells people to call her Rosita,  Georgie, or Sugar  depending on her mood.  She is definitely one of a kind and I love her so much.

Ike

 I just cannot get enough of this kid.  He is so lovable. 

He hardly ever cries.  He sleeps all night and he has the most adorable smile ever.  I don't ever get anything done because all I want to do is squeeze him.   

One Giant Leap

 Sis. Richey let all the kids come swim  at her house because they learned the songs for the Primary Program.  There were tons of kids in the pool and it was all a little hectic.   I was busy chatting with my friends and not paying attention to my kids like I always do in social settings when I looked up and saw that Daisy had  climbed the wall and was about to take the plunge.  She has just gotten so brave lately. 

When I was a kid I was always a little bit of a chicken.  Scratch  that.  I am still a chicken.  I never want to do anything fun but then Jill will always do it and then I have to.   I  really am so glad that I  had a  little sister that wasn't afraid of anything because there are a lot  of cool things I would have missed out on otherwise.  After Daisy went up there  Rocky, just like her mama, did it too.  I was proud of both of them.

 We went to the Friday Night Art Walk and they got to play with clay.    I wish I had taken more photos because in the background there were a bunch of people Salsa dancing in Kesey Square.  Eugene is such a great place to live.

 We have officially outgrown the bathtub.  I suggested that they take turns but everyone wants to be with Ike.  

 I thought after they got used to having a baby around  that they would give him a little space.  On the contrary, the bigger he gets the  more he smiles and the more they all want to pay attention to him.  I   can't blame them.  He is the most charming little soul.  None of them realized how risky the situation was until he started shooting pee all over the place.  I guess he has to defend himself with his only weapon.

 If you ever wondered why you should not give Rosy an ice cream  sandwich here is your answer.

 And then  it was time to  go back to school.

Rocky and Daisy are both going to Buena Vista so they get Spanish all day.

Kindergartener

Second Grader

Sorry Rosy...2 more years for you.  By the way, nice jammies.

So Long Sweet Summer

 We had a little photo shoot and got some cute shots of some cute folks.

 Just because we got all of the Howard grandkids in one shot doesn't mean that we got all of them looking half decent.

 We went to the Weber State alumni  game which was extra special  this year because Damien Lillard was there.  The whole place was giddy as soon as he stepped onto the floor.  He is a good sport because even now that he is a big shot playing for the Blazers he still makes time to return to
O-Town.  He hasn't forgotten that Weber is a place he loves.

 We had a great time except Rosy had a phobia of Waldo the Wildcat.  She was afraid that he was going to come and get her.  She told me that she still loves the Oregon Duck but she thinks that Waldo has scary eyes.
She is wrong.  He is adorable.

Ike and Gray had a good time chillin' together.  These two cousins are going to be good buddies.

And that concludes our epic Utah trip 2015.   Rest in  Peace Summer.  You were the bomb!

Ladies Lunch

The Ladies Lunch took place at  the Greenery at Rainbow Gardens.  It was the perfect afternoon.

We had one last hurrah before we left town.  We went to Fat Cats and had way more fun than I thought we would.

The girls won a ton of tickets playing Deal or No Deal and then Jill went ahead and won the jackpot on that spinney game.  In the end they had more tickets than they could use.  Their little hands were so full of prizes that they could hardly walk out of there.

They also played a game with one of those little grabbers and they all won candy.  Daisy got something that totally blew my mind.  It was an individually wrapped Jelly Belly.  You heard me correctly, a single jelly bean.   Who ever heard of anything more ridiculous?  I really want to give them out for Halloween.

Best Picture Ever!

We topped it off with the grand finale at El Nuevo Amanecer and ate to our heart's content.  It was pretty perfect.

And if the girls hadn't already had the morning of their lives we finished it off with movie night and a cousin slumber party.

It was kind of a last minute plan, helped along by a crazy neighbor lady that stole all the guys for a marathon moving experience that Brandon will probably not want to remember.

Tomatoes

It has been a lot of years since I was around for the tomato harvest and the salsa making.   My parents have it down to an art and they each have their specific jobs.  They were nice enough to let me join in although I actually think I slowed them down if anything.

We did giant batches of green beans, salsa,  and tomatoes.   Even though canning heats the house up and is exhausting it is one of my favorite things to do.   It is probably just because I love  hanging out with my mom.

Brandon kept the girls busy by letting them use the tea set that he made with his grandma.  At first I thought that it was just too precious for them to use and then I realized that it was really just too precious for them not to use.