Holland's 10th Birthday

 

Holland turned 10! We're so lucky to have Holland in our family. She is bright, funny, and kind. She is the best big sister every to Darcy. She is super smart and excels in the CAS program at school. She works really hard in learning music. She learns choir at MCO, piano from her daddy, and violin from Ms. Heather. She loves to play in the pool with us especially the "colors" game. She is a total Daddy's girl, and they have the most special bond. (she loves her mom a lot too though ) Holland has really matured this year. She still doesn't like chores, but she wants to learn how to work and stay focused on things. She suggested getting a locking bookshelf for her room so she wouldn't be tempted to read before her work is done. I thought that was so mature of her to think through what might help her be successful. I was so proud of her for joining the school orchestra even though she was a year younger than most of the kids. She is a talented musician and has made some real progress. Even though she is likely the youngest orchestra student, she's probably the most advanced. 

I love how thoughtful Holland is. She feels things deeply and considers carefully. She is working on her own testimony and has had some really special experiences. I am always so impressed with her gospel knowledge. She is also thoughtful with our family. Recently John and I went on a weekend away, and Holland thought the idea of instead of focusing on what the girls could tattle on each other, they could made a "tittle" list. This "tittle" list was a list of things that the girls did that was exceptionally nice or helpful for each other. Wow! What 10 year old is thinking of these things?? 

Holland is such a good friend. I love how she and Sophie are still best friends after all this time. Her best little friends this year at school are Riley and Olive. They are all so good for each other. There has been a little issue between her and Riley recently, but she talked about it with her calmly, and I think they worked it out successfully. That's remarkable to problem solve friendships at age 10. 

Holland still loves, LOVES to read. Lately she has gotten into the Keeper of the Lost Cities books. They have totally enchanted her like they did her older sisters. She told me that she didn't want to read them too fast because she wants to enjoy them thoroughly. We gave her the Alcatraz series for her birthday, and it was such a hit. Holland and I joined the Girls Read program at our library, and it has been such a delight to read a book with her every month. We attend a meeting with other girls her age where there is a book discussion and a pretty cool craft. They even have a treat for everyone. Such a cool program. I love hearing Holland's comments on the book. She is so insightful. 

Here a few questions to get to know Holland at age 10: 

What do you want to be when you grow up? 

I want to be a good person with lots of money and a nice husband and obedient, kind, and fun-loving kids. 

What is your favorite place in the world?

Maybe Hawaii, or home.

What makes you happy?

Books, my family, games, friends, fun things, and trips.

If you opened a store, what would you sell?

Plants and instruction manuals  on how to take the best care of every plant there is. 

If you could be any animal, what kind would you be?

Dolphin, because they are playful and kind and everyone loves them. Also they're one of my favorite animals.

What would you do if you made the rules at home?

Make it so I could do and have whatever I want. Also micromanage my sisters.

What is the ickiest thing you’ve ever eaten?

Morning mouth water, gunk from my throat, or some types of medicine.

If you could have any superpower, what would you have?

The superpower to control all the plants.

What is your favorite thing to do?

Go on trips.

What is your favorite food?

maybe 7layer dip(with chips), pasta salad, or soup.

How would you describe a perfect day for yourself?

On my birthday doing/getting whatever I want.

What do you think you are good at? 

Reading fun books, watching fun movies, doing fun things, also piano and violin.

If you had to live with a cartoon character, who would you pick?

Silveny, the alicorn who can teleport, from Keeper of the Lost Cities.

How would you describe your family?

Nice, makes good food, fun/trip loving.

What is something you’d like to learn how to do?

Teleport, fly.

What would you do with $1,000?

Buy me a phone with apps, cereal, books, and a two day trip to Lake Powell.

Which holiday do you like the most and why?

Christmas, if my birthday doesn't count.

What is something that makes you laugh?

Jokes, and tickles.

Why is the sky blue?

Air particles mixed with sunlight.

What made you smile today?

Thinking about my upcoming class party and field trip.

Who is your favorite superhero?

I am not very familiar with superheroes honestly.

What’s your favorite line from a movie?

"I am your wiiiife! I am the greatest gooooood you're ever going to get!"

What’s the most unusual thing in your school bag right now?

I used to have two plums in there, but they got squished.

Is your personality similar or different to someone else in your family? If so, how are you the same or different?

All mixed together is similar to mine.

What’s the bravest thing you’ve ever done?

Telling my parents something that made me uncomfortable.

What was your favorite book?

Right now my favorite series is Keeper of the Lost Cities, but I also love the Alcatraz series and How to Train Your Dragon.

What’s the first thing you do in the morning?

Go to the bathroom

What’s one thing that made you laugh recently?

Darcy calling MLK Jr day is "Luther's Birthday"

If you could ask your favorite celebrity one thing, what would you ask?

I'd ask Taylor Swift how she comes up with songs.

If you were invisible for a day, what would you do?

Try to turn myself back visible.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

French Polynesia

If you could invite four famous people to dinner, who would you invite and why?

Shannon Messenger (because she is one of my favorite authors), Taylor Swift (So she could sign things and play us a song), President Oaks (because he is the prophet), The person who invented ice cream.

If you could visit any planet, where would you go and why?

I would rather stay on earth.

What do you think makes a good friend?

Honest, trustworthy, kind, funny, empathetic

Some Would You Rather questions for my girl who likes to ask them:

Would you rather be part of the Incredibles family or the Weasley family?

The Incredibles family

Would you rather live in a world of legos or a world of cartoons?

Cartoons, because it looks more real.

Would you rather have a pet dinosaur or a pet dragon?

Dragon! They are way cooler. Also some of them have healing powers and other powers.

Would you rather live in a house made of cheese or a house made of cookie dough?

Cookie dough, I guess. I'd much rather have a normal house though, so it wouldn't smell bad and so it would be actually stable.

Would you rather be a mouse or an elephant?

Elephant, because it seems more safe.

Would you rather be invisible or be able to fly?

Fly, definitely! I would hate being invisible most of the time.

Would you rather live at Disney World or Sea World?

Disney World, maybe.

Imagine you discover a beautiful island where you decide to build a new society. What is the first rule you put in place?

Be safe and don't tell anyone about the island.

If it was raining meatballs, would you eat them?

No

If you could pick 3 animals to put together and create a new animal, which animals would you pick? What would it be called?

Parrot, Pony, Dolphin. It would be called a Papodol. 

If you had to create a nickname for yourself, what would it be?

Holly

If you had a robot to help you with school, but it could only do one task, what would it do?

If I could have it when I grow up I would have it do all my math.

Holland's birthday was a success! We had parfaits for breakfast. She still had to go to school, but I took cupcakes to her class. She passed them out, and everyone seemed to like them. She ate nachos for school lunch and seven layer dip for dinner. For dessert she asked for creme brulee at the last minute, which was a little stressful but we pulled it off. We gave her the Alcatraz books, dresses, a balloon animal kit, a locket, a maid coupon (from Miriam), and picasso tiles. She also got legos from Uncle Daniel. She seemed to love it all.

We loved refurbishing and hanging up the balloon arch for her birthday.

That face tells it all about how she feels about legos.

A golden birthday dress, locket, and birthday treat for my sunshine girl. 

Later in June we hosted Holland's birthday party! She was so overdue to have a birthday party. We try to do a big friend party when our kids turn 5, 10, and 15. Holland's fifth birthday party was impossible because of covid. So it felt extra great to make the tenth happen! I loved that she wanted to do a big pool party with our new pool. 

We invited a ton of friends from church, school, and neighbor friends. I love that Sophie could also come and join in on the fun. Almost everyone that we invited came! I think there were 12 kids in the pool. We didn't really have anything else for the kids to do (food, treats, pool fun, music). But I think everyone had a good time. Her party favors were a squirter and a squishy. We paid our older girls to just sit and watch the pool to make sure everyone stayed safe. One friend's mom was so concerned that her daughter wasn't going to be safe. It was sweet and a little funny. I told her the pool is shallow enough to touch, her daughter could bring a life jacket, and our daughters would be watching the pool, but she still was just so concerned. Thankfully she still allowed her daughter to come. I think seeing in person made her feel better. 

We learned pretty fast this summer that being in the pool during the day is too hot without some kind shade available. I ended up buying a fairly cheap cantilever shade. It certainly doesn't shade the whole pool, but just having a place to rest in the shade is gold. This was especially true for the older sister lifeguards for the pool.  

Holland wanted little smokies, watermelon, pretzels, and capri suns to munch on and drink, and then ice cream sundaes for treat. (Darcy picked these exact same things for her party later that summer because it was such a hit. :) ) 

We created a new balloon arch that was darling (actually for John's mom's bday party), and we hung it up outside, but it didn't like the sun. So many balloons popped out there. It made a mess but was still fun. I want to figure out how to do it differently sometime. It looked pretty ragged by the end of the party. 

Her friends all gave her sweet presents. I think she particularly cherished Sophie's card (and her present was great too). Super cute stuffed animals, crafts, and girly stuff. It was so fun. 

Happy birthday darling Holland! We love you so much!! 

April 2025

April started out with a little getaway to Vernal and exploring Dinosaur National Monument. It was on our bucket list this year to this kind of weekend trip to a park or monument in Utah, and this fit the bill perfectly. 

Well, we actually started out the month playing friends and family. It snowed on April 1st and Maelle came to play. Ellie had her first job interview, which was kind of weird. It included an Easter egg hunt. I ended picking up Anna and giving her a little TED talk about the superiority of Kdramas. She didn't believe me, which is unfortunate for her. They stayed up late that night and slept in the next morning. I think I folded 7 loads of laundry before anyone else woke up that morning. I took them all to the Paleontology Museum at BYU and the MOA. Afterwards Holland and Darcy played with friends, and then we drove to Vernal. 

We took the new Sequoia. It was so nice to have a big car with 4 wheel drive to go over the mountain pass. We even let Eliza drive to get some hours in which was terrifying, especially on the drive home when it was dark and a lot of traffic. 

We stayed the night in a hotel room (not an Airbnb for once). We all loved being together in one big room at least for just the one night. The next morning we headed to the Monument. We hit the visitor center first and then up to the big quarry exhibit. We did a couple of short hikes including the Fossil Discovery Trail and Hogs Canyon. We also hiked to some petroglyphs and enjoyed the view. We learned about Josie Bassett Morris, who homesteaded by herself at the end of the Cub Creek Road for over 50 years. She was fascinating. We saw some turkeys in the grass that might have been remnants from her flocks. 

Who first studied dinosaur fossils here? Earl Douglass found eight tall bones of an immense sauropod dinosaur sticking out of the ground in 1909. He was a paleontologist from the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

How many animals are here? Paleontologists have collected fossils from almost 400 different dinosaurs. there are 1,500 fossil bones remaining. They are from 100 individuals. 

Are there more fossils behind the wall? We know from excavation records that what you see here is the main bone layer. This rock layer continues outside and beneath the building, and there are many more bones in it. 

Darcy practicing her writing with a word of her choice. :) 

More dino bones coming this week!

I love the old photos of people coming to see the bones. 

This section is so cool with the large bones, spine, and skull. 

Such a cool skull, and the dinosaur skull is cool too. :) The sign said that this Allosaurus skull is one of the best preserved skulls ever. It was discovered in the quarry in 1924. 

It was so cool to be walking around and see fossils in the rock!

A big spine up there

Makes me appreciate how much effort it must be to get the bone removed in tact from the rock

I think this part is just pretty

Visitor center bathroom break

Next on the agenda was walking to see the petroglyphs

The lizard was so cool

We made it to the top!

Hog's canyon

This canyon is where the homesteader kept her hogs. She used the three walls to help contain them. 

Ellie found a rock and did some awesome poses on it!

We saw turkeys likely descendants from the homesteaders flock. 

We almost had a kiddo in an MCO video. It is crazy to me that our kids have never really been in those despite all the years and recordings they have been to. 

We were all upset about the tariff wars, and Holland picked up on it.

starting the repair work on our yard

President Nelson's last general conference address

My mom's beautiful amaryllis

We made real French Onion soup. It was delicious but not as amazing as the soup we ate in France.

Dandelion crown

This is the most amazing amaryllis

Our own little tulip festival! 

The peach blossoms are gorgeous even if they aren't as nice smelling as orange blossoms.

I hope these come back next spring

Thanksgiving Point with Jenessa and her boys. I love hanging out with her.

Samuel is almost exactly one year younger than Darcy, but they are about the same size. They look like should be the same age. 

Eliza and I had such a fun date to Uptown Cheapskate. Thrifting with her is the best. Definitely a new addiction. 

I loved conference weekend. A main highlight is that repentance is needed. We had love from God. We also need to have compassion and less judgement. We listened to it a lot while working on our pool surround. It was so tiring. On Sunday we also loved conference. There were so many messages of love, hope, and peace. I felt the Holy Spirit testify of God's patience and eagerness to forgive. 

Our next door neighbors fenced their backyard, and I have never felt so low key validated as when I saw the installers pull our a jack hammer to dig the holes. The rock layer in our soil is no joke. At the same time I am so proud of what we have created. The spring flowers are so lovely--tulips, trees, hyacinths. We reseeded the south grass and worked on the grading around the pool. I am so proud of the progress we were making. 

I love laying in our new clover. One day Ellie and I relaxed there while looking at a flower catalog. That same day I hosted bookclub. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the spinach artichoke dip. A lot of people came and seemed to have a good time. 

I taught a lesson about goals and habits to the middle YW class. They didn't really seem to be able to take it in, but I still learned a lot. Atomic Habits was such a great read. 

We put a lot of thought into trying to figure out a pickleball schedule. John and I snapped at each other about it. I am grateful for a person who is willing to say sorry and work through issues with me. We had several hard conversations during this time. Every couple needs to have reset conversations. I am lucky to have him. I still think that even though at the end of April he told me something that made me pretty devastated. It was a rough time. Lots of emotions and late night conversations. We took some concrete steps to help the situation. I am grateful that we both want to fight for our marriage. I remember having a dream during that time during which someone was trying to convince me not to marry John. I was so mad that someone would try to mess it up. When I woke up it made me want to fight for my marriage even more. I talked to Erica a lot during this time. She was seriously an answer to prayer. She was so encouraging, understanding, and helpful. So grateful for her. 

On Palm Sunday we started to learn a new song. We also had a family discussion and a reenactment. We even trimmed off palm leaves from Miriam's palm to do it. (They were the ones that looked sad anyway.) We went to Millie's house for a Pearson family dinner and had a nice time chatting with everyone. Matt brought a girlfriend, but unfortunately that relationship ended soon after. It was the first time he had ever done that. 

I listened to the book "The Moment of Lift" for bookclub. It was heartbreaking but really incredible to learn about. I am so lucky to live where I do and have the rights that I have. It truly isn't fair. After that heavy book I particularly enjoyed "The Murder of Mr. Wickham." I read that whole series in 2025. 

Darcy is doing so well as preschool. It is her favorite thing to do number sentences (adding and subtracting). 

Miriam and her friends won battle of the books for the district for the third year in a row. She had them over to celebrate. Holland went to district for her school too. So proud of them. Eliza and Miriam each had two babysitting jobs that weekend. So proud of them. They work so hard. We work hard too. We worked hard putting our path around the pool. I love to see the mess that we made in the yard get fixed. 

John and I recreated our first date. We dressed up, played pool, got massive a Handal's milkshake. We reminisced and listened to Rascal Flatts to prep for Stadium of Fire in July when we would hear them live! We loved listening to the early 2000's country. 

Easter Sunday was lovely. He is risen! Darcy singing all of the words to Gethsemane in church. We did a crepe brunch and testimony sharing. We hosted Dad and a bunch of Pearsons. I really missed my mom. 

I love playing games with Holland in the morning. She told me that she wants to get a locking bookshelf to help her focus on her work. John got an email from Darlene Cardon from our Phoenix ward asking for discrete help with an Amazon purchase. It was such a funny hack email. 

One day at school Miriam called me after she was done with testing and said she wanted to hang out with me and Darcy since they were just playing at school. I loved being with her! She helped with preschool and then we played a game. 

We spent a whole Saturday learning how to put together the pool equipment. It felt glacially slow but is an important step, and hopefully we learned it right. We did a double date with the Davises that night. It was so fun! Such long, easy conversation. The kids were happy here too. 

The next day at choir practice Holland was the only soprano. She sang out with such confidence--it was lovely and adorable. That night we had a family dinner at Kayla's house. Darcy sang "My Own Sacred Grove" for my dad. It was beyond precious, and he had tears streaming down his face. He told me the story of his stroke and how he felt my mom and the love from Jesus. 

So much work to rebuild our yard. 

Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt

Palm Sunday reenactment--those MCO costumes getting another use 

These longtime friends won district AGAIN in battle of the books!

Holland went to District too--they were the champs of their school

Crop circles started forming in our clover. No idea why. Aliens? Overwatering? Fungus? Who knows...hopefully it stops soon. At least the grass inside the circles seemed happy.

The tulip festival with Jenessa. So pretty! I love hearing Darcy exclaim about the flowers and plants.

We had to come back with the whole fam!

Love the big blow up slide

Still a little cold that day

Trying to protect our fruit blossoms from a late freeze

Egg coloring

Date night! John killed me at pool. Handals is always the best--chocolate and coconut shake

Easter morning!

Easter Sunday

Our own hunt!

We had some family join us for Easter Dinner

We named this philodendron "Hope." She lives at John's work. 

Making some progress on the pool area!

Preschool bubbles

Another day at the Tulip Festival. We love gardens and flowers!

Afternoon nap with my girl

A recipe I printed. It was so absurd. 

I love my herbal tea collection!

School dance for Miriam!

She went with one of her best friends, Aeris.

Multicultural night for Holland's school. They made leis, and we listened to a few songs with horchata and cotton candy. They are so cute!

Rainy day with Darcy

Fun quotes from Darcy (and others) in April: 

"Fish are for nothing. Animals aren't supposed to be alive." 

D: Mommy are you available for shooting?

K: Shooting people isn't nice.

D: I am just shooting with my fingers.

"I want a mad room in our house that we can go in and be mad. Oh my single heaven."

"I can tell it's a weed because of its supple root." 

"Remember don't buy food from your enemies! Chapter 1!" 

J: No dress spoilers! Those are the worst kind!

"I am a talker and not a listener." 

"Your real name is Kylee but I call you Mommy because it makes more sense." 

While I was getting ready for the day, I heard Darcy singing/blowing into the recorder. She stopped and started cheering for herself, but then added an enthusiastic, "That sounded amazing!" 

"Daddy will you grow sideburns for me?"

E: (about a kid she babysat) To be fair he is cuter if you are not looking down at his face.

"Are you sure you know the letters to spell Pearson?"