Potter Fever

My boys have caught Harry Potter fever! Shawn started reading the series to them a couple years ago, but they were getting nightmares, so he quit. Just recently, they decided to read the books themselves. Jefferson is on book 6 and Grant is on book 4…. so, basically they are experts now on anything and everything to do with wizardry.
I never read the series myself. But I can tell just by watching my boys that Harry Potter is no match for their skills!

They spent a good portion of the afternoon yesterday practicing their skills. They were hollering gibberish words at each other and almost dislocating their shoulders with all the wand pointing.
I’m sure the neighbors were confused. Of course, to the untrained eye this looks ridiculous. But to someone schooled at Hogwarts (which my boys consider themselves), this is battling. 

Jefferson, in a prepared battle-stance.
 

Grant, retaliating with some sort of spell (aka gibberish)


Let the battle begin…


I was puzzled, so I asked them if they would teach me exactly what they were doing…..

And this, my friends, is how most every battle ended. Highly entertaining!

Well, they had me laughing, although I don’t know what they’re saying, or what they’re doing.
They keep suggesting that I read the books myself.
Nah!
Why read them when I clearly have 2 experts who can teach me everything I need to learn?

Battle of the Books

Jefferson LOVES to read! He is half book worm – half human. He has read his way through the library and I’m scared there will come a day when there will be no books left for him to read…..Luckily authors keep writing. But what amazes me more than his love of reading is his ability to retain EVERYTHING!
Almost daily, and when doing the most mundane things, Jefferson chimes in and give us some interesting information.
I gave Shawn a thumbs up one day (hear the chimes?), “Mom, did you know that thumbs up started during the Roman Gladiator times?” No, I had no idea. He proceeded to tell me all about the fighting and if the king gave a thumbs up that would mean ‘kill’, and a fist with the thumb to the side would mean ‘spare his life’. “Jefferson” I asked, “where did you learn that?”
”I read about it”

I was wringing out the kitchen sponge (chime) “Hey, did you know that sponge is dirtier than the toilet? So is the kitchen sink and the computer keyboard.” No, I had no idea, “where did you learn that?”
”I read about it”

Shawn and I were talking about some pictures I saw taken of Earth from space (chime), “Do you guys think you can see the Great Wall of China from outer space? Well, you can’t. It was just a rumor that you could see the Wall, but astronauts have actually proven that you cannot see it.” Wow, I had no idea, “Where did you learn that?”
”I read about it”

I feel like I live with a walking encyclopedia. Jefferson is an expert on history, animals, weird facts, and more… plus he has an incredible imagination. He was outside last week MARCHING in the backyard with his bb gun. He said he was a revolutionary soldier and he was preparing for war. We’re talking almost 2 hours of marching and “shooting at Redcoats and Hessians” he said. Who are Hessians? I had to google it… really. I feel so uneducated around my 9 year old.

Thank you books!

So, when he found out there was a Battle of the Books team at his school he jumped on chance to join. He tried out and made it on the team with 12 other students.
The requirement…. read and become an expert on these books
(I had Jefferson order these from his most favorite to least):

Yes, 18! Jefferson had to become an expert on these books. And by expert I mean read, and RE-READ them (some he even read 3-4 times) until he knew every detail of them cover-to-cover. His team met 3 days a week to practice and study the books.
And why?
To compete in the Battle of the Books Competition against each school in the district. March 10th was the big day….. the day he worked almost 12 months for!
There were  43 other competing schools. They grouped schools together into ‘clusters’ of 8 or 9 and the top 2 would go on to the Finals.
He was so excited that morning…. I was a nervous wreck! I read most of these books with Jefferson, so I felt like I was on stage too (yes, I live vicariously through my kids)
Have you ever seen him more excited? or cute?
(Don’t mind my double chin… I’m nervous, remember)

The teammates filled this large auditorium at the State University. Jefferson is way down at the end.  

Oh, there he is

We were given a very lengthy introduction and instructions. This only heightened my nerves…. it was so formal, so serious. There was no video taping, to phones, and no taking pictures. What?
So, I did what any proud mom would do, I hid my camera and took quick pictures without anyone noticing. No harm done, right?
We were all seated viewing 2 large tables at the front. 2 schools would compete at a time. You can see Jefferson’s team on the right (in the green shirts).
Those other adults in the front are all judges, yes, ALL judges… this was a serious competition, remember?    

Here’s another stealth picture I took. His team is on the left now.

Each teammate is posed a question about one of the books. The questions sound like this:

“In which book does a girl get her belly button pierced?”
In which book does a character decide to write about ugly vegetables for her book project?
In which book is a character’s fear lessened by the sight of the first star?
In which book is a quilt made out of old pieces of family clothing, aprons, dish towels, and sheets?
In which book does a daughter successfully impersonate her mother on the phone?
In which book is a character wrapped in a napkin and carried back to the light?
In which book has a character not renewed their driver’s license after it expired 8 years ago?
In which book does a character get a swollen eye from a bee sting? 
In which book does a character jam a chair under the doorknob of his room when he goes to bed just to be on the safe side?
In which book is it so cold that the characters have to pull the scarves up over their noses to breathe? 
In which book is a character sad by their own country's name?
In which book do animals play with bones like children play with leather ropes?
In which book does a news article report that a character has been swallowed by a tortoise?
In which book is a character locked inside a dog crate in the kitchen?
In which book do characters apply manure to shoe bottoms and under beds?
In which book does a character think the term "white lies" comes from the fact that white people require lies from her people?
In which book is a character worried his parents may have been attacked at their home?
In which book is a bus driver hit with a paper airplane?

Those were real questions, and I typed one for each book. (I know, a little excessive, I just want to see how many Jefferson can identify a year from now).
  
As I was saying… the teammate is called by name and is asked the question. They have 20 seconds to correctly identify the title of the book, and authors name. The team can talk and help each other during those 20 seconds. Here’s Jefferson, waiting for the questions. I would listen to the question then hold my breath waiting for them to answer… it was agony. But he seemed to love it. 

If they get it right, they earn 3 points. If they miss it, the other team has 10 seconds to get it correct for 2 points.
Here’s Jefferson, listening to the other team being asked a question.

This repeats itself all day long until each team has competed against each other.
I was lucky to have a friend willing to watch Kennedy all day, and Shawn was able to get the day off of work too.
Us during a lunch break
 

Everyone at lunch


Jefferson with his coaches, Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Schefield
 

There was only 1 more round after lunch. His team finished in 2nd place (only 1 point) behind the 1st place winners. Luckily 1st AND 2nd get to move on to finals.

Jefferson could NOT stop talking for several days afterwards about how excited he was to be going on. It truly was exciting, but it meant more reading. He re-read several of the books AGAIN before competing on March 24th.

I didn’t take any pictures of that competition. It was too risky. If you thought the first day was serious, the second day was intimidating…. I was scared to sneeze.
His team put up a good fight. But of the 10 schools competing that day, Long Hill tied…. for last. It was a difficult pill for Jefferson to swallow, and hard on his emotions to go from the top to bottom so quickly. I’m still having to remind him that he finished in the top 10 of 43 schools… but he still sees himself coming in last place.
Poor guy. 
Luckily, he still claims it was the most fun things he’s ever done!  

And he can’t wait to do it next year.
The book list for the 2014-15 school year is out already and he’s already bought several of the books and is ready to start reading.
So it ends… and so it begins again

Baptism Day

Grant turned 8 on February 17th. He was baptized and confirmed on March 9th.
What a special day it was for this little boy, and very spiritual also.

I had hopes that he would share his baptism story with you and that I would just type… but he declined, “you can write it for me” he said. 
He’s a private boy and anyone who has spoken to Grant on the phone knows just how little he says.

So, here I am, his Mommy, sharing one of the most important days of Grant’s life!
We were so proud of his choice to be baptized. There’s no question about it, he knows this church is true and couldn’t wait to become a member.

Here is Grant with Shawn before the baptism. Grant was blessed to be able to have his Dad baptize him, (and since he’s just as sentimental as I am), I know he’ll cherish this picture forever!
I was searching for a place to snap a picture when Grant pointed to this wall, “I want my picture taken right here by Jesus being baptized,” he insisted. I can’t think of a more appropriate place, Grant!   
 

The baptism was held at 3pm. Our ward was lucky to have 4 baptisms that day, wow! 3 youth, and 1 convert baptism. There were so many people attending that we had to go into the chapel for the talks. When it was time for the baptisms, we walked back towards the font and watched while each person was baptized.
I always love watching all of the children huddled around the font, watching. Kennedy sat on Jefferson’s lap, right in front of the glass, pointing with excitement at her “Dada” and “Bubba” as they entered the water (she calls all of her siblings Bubba). I just kept thinking about all those little admiring eyes who will one day be baptized themselves. And wondering how many other unseen eyes there may have been in that room, Grandparents and others, all standing at the glass watching Grant take this step. I couldn’t stay seated, so I joined all those other little ones at the font.  

Afterwards we returned to the chapel and I gave a talk on the Holy Ghost. I was inspired by James E. Faust’s talk in 1989 called “The Gift of the Holy Ghost – A Sure Compass”. I took everyone on an adventure through life and gave them all a compass to guide them. I used the talk to find so many similarities between a compass and the Holy Ghost. I think the kids liked it. I know Grant did… so I did my job well.

Then, Shawn confirmed Grant and gave him a blessing. Afterwards,  he had to take Kennedy out because she was being wild, so I joined Grant in the front row. As I looked over at him and couldn’t believe we were already at this point in his life. The closing song was “I Need Thee Every Hour”. He held the hymnbook up for himself and sang loud, and proudly. I didn’t sing… I couldn’t sing. I was just amazed by this voice coming out of my little boy. I closed my eyes and listened, I couldn’t hear anyone else but him, and I couldn’t help but cry. He was singing with all his heart. In that brief moment, he bore his testimony to me. I don’t ever want to forget how his sweet, pure voice made me feel.

Our family.
( I promise, Shawn has not put on any weight… the tie to the side is deceiving).

Afterwards we went out to eat at Red Robin (Grant’s choice). He opened some very special gifts there. He got his own set of scriptures, a CTR ring from Nana, and a personalized hymnal from Grandma and Grandpa.

Reagan even had something for him also. I had no idea, but she wrote him this adorable note and stuck it in his gift bag. It surprised us all.
It has a picture of Grant being baptized and says: “I hope you have a great day today. I hope you feel the Holy Ghost every day even today. I love you! XOXO”
 

Grant is determined to read his scriptures, cover to cover
 

Congratulations Grant on being baptized! I hope you always remember this day.

I did in fact get ‘Mr. Quiet’ to talk about his day… by assigning him to give a talk that Sunday. Here is what he wrote:

“I was baptized yesterday by my dad. So now I am responsible for my own choices. I also have the Holy Ghost to guide me, to help me on my way to eternal Life. I felt happy to be baptized and get the Holy Ghost. I hope that everyone wants to be baptized because it is a good feeling.”

8 is Great!

I cannot and will not believe that my Grant is actually 8.

Let’s just all agree he is still 4 or 5 and call it a day!

Look at that adorable boy… and that cheesy smile.
If I could go back in time, this would be the day. I would pick up that itty bitty boy and hug him until he was short of breath.
 

Okay, I admit I have mentally glazed over how difficult he was at that age. But I don’t see anything wrong with that. Isn’t that how we survive parenting? By glazing over difficult times and only remembering the best? 
And Grant certainly gave me some of the best times… still does

This boy is the funny bone of our family! I cannot go a day without laughing at, or with him.
I laugh at his clumsiness, the way he will trip and fall for no reason at all.
I laugh at him when he spends a ton of time looking for objects that are literally RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM.
I laugh with him when he makes a witty comment under his breath that his siblings don’t understand.
And when Jefferson is struggling with his homework and Grant answers the question for him… I can’t help but laugh.

Not much has changed with this boy for the past several years….
He still LOVES to play chess
He likes to read, right now he’s reading the Harry Potter series
He enjoys ANYTHING sports related and always has some sort of ball in his hands, or bouncing off the wall.
And he adores his older brother. He would follow Jefferson off a cliff! The boys sit in the back of the van and Grant insists on sitting in the middle seat to be closer to Jefferson. Whenever Jefferson begins something new, Grant follows, whether it’s reading a new book series, or doing a different activity. Sometimes Shawn and I worry about him following his brother too closely, but that seems to be where he wants to be. Despite our trying to get him involved in independent activities, he would rather be with Jefferson.
He is sensitive and is easily brought to tears.

His birthday was quick and distracted.
Shawn had taken the day off of work and we were going to keep Grant home from school to spend the day with him, alone. We had plans, but they ended up changing. 
Shawn and I ended up being in the hospital all morning.
Luckily my mom was here and was able to make him a healthy breakfast and then join him for lunch at school. He felt pretty proud to have his Nana there with him. And I felt so thankful to have my mom there to take my place on his special day. He didn’t complain about missing his date day with Mom and Dad. It was unfair for a little boy to accept, but he did with a smile.

When Shawn and I came home he opened his presents…. 
 

I asked him for weeks what he wanted for his birthday. He couldn’t think of anything. Then, at the last minute (we’re talking 2 days before his birthday), he said he wanted a Nerf Gun.

We also got him Solitaire Chess. Something he can play when we’re all tired of playing against him.


Reagan wrote him a nice card and picture. Just look at her in all of these pictures. She just loves Grant! They fight like a cat and dog, but then minutes later they are the best of friends. This was one of those moments… she couldn’t stop showing her love!
 

We all sang Happy Birthday and had cake.
And yes, he still has his “no smile smile,” that he uses when he’s happy, but too embarrassed to show it.

Happy Birthday, Grant!
You are truly an amazing boy. Amazing because every day you surprise us with your knowledge, your kindness, your wit, and your quirky personality. You are wildly talented and have the potential to take on the World. I have no doubt in your ability to do anything… (except perhaps tightrope walking, because you are a tad clumsy). But otherwise, the world is your oyster. I feel so proud to be your mother. You are truly the light of my life. And I know you’ll always be near.

Because just like I said earlier, you’re still my little 4 year old… you used to cry at the mention of going on a mission or college because you wanted to live with your mom forever… not much has changed.