55 and Still Alive :)

I guess when you have extended family on both sides that live close by (which is awesome) you are celebrating birthdays nonstop. 

That's a happy circumstance, right? 

Tonight it was Ray's turn.

 He turned the ripe old age of 55.

(It's a dirty job but somebody's gotta do it).

Besides eating this delicious chocolate cake (that we have become oh so familiar with at Backus birthday parties), we....

 ...played with cousins,

 ate mountains of rice,

 listened to Zack's mad guitar skills,

and befriended the horsies across the street.

(Forget a dog, we might just need a horse!)

When we arrived back at home, we were greeted by a new house guest:

 Right on the front porch.

Hope he doesn't stay too long.

Hope your Sabbath was wonderful.

Shabbat Shalom.

Seasonal Confusion.

As an extreme lover of all things autumn --I have been anxiously awaiting the change of colors on the mountain in front of my home. Last week it happened.

However, I am a little bit anxious about the view from my front door today....

                                               there was a little bit of Fall...

and a little bit of Winter.

 Fall and Winter.

Definitely not okay.

Bummer.

Moosebutter.

The Labit kids' childhood practically revolved around this CD.

Tonight we played it from beginning to end and the magic was still there.

We especially loved Squirrels In My Nose.

 And Uncle Earl's Hairpiece.

 And Radio Active Monster Penguins.

No wonder we've developed such a picky palate for music.

Good times, I tell you, good times.

 

The Spring Creek Spectacular.

Once upon a time, my kids lived for things like school carnivals.
And once, I even put one on when I was PTA president.
But apparently, that season is over.
Last night was the Spring Creek Spectacular and none of my family was interested- except Will.
He's my only elementary schooler left and he lives every second of his last year with the greatest enthusiasm.

And so, with only his mom watching- he ran the Fun Run with all of the other elementary enthusiasts.

 

 

And so, I have resigned myself to the year of "lasts."

Last elementary school carnival.
Last year of PTA.

Etc.

Good golly- am I ready for this???

Dear Labit Kids:

Who is drinking soda in the shower?

And maybe more importantly-why?

Anxiously awaiting your reply,

                                          Mom

 

Officially An Elder.

Today,Cody was ordained an Elder 

in the Melchizedek priesthood. 

In exactly one month he will head to the MTC in Mexico.  

How I know that Cody is grown up enough to go on a mission is that he will now pose for pictures with a smile on his face :)

 

(Couldn't resist basking in the glory of another win...)

Seriously, the Backus family is top notch.

Following the ordination, we celebrated Cody's 18th and 

Christine's 12th birthdays. Pretty landmark ages for both. 

Hard to believe that Christine will be a Beehive!

We really are blessed to have so many cousins so close by.

You wouldn't believe what it took to get this picture....

This took nothing at all, #fakesmile.

It was a beautiful Sunday. 

So lucky to have so many great missionary cousins who are just amazing.

Grandparenting 101.

Don't shop for a birthday card after your temple shift, if you are feeling "foggy."

Accidents happen :)

(It's kind of comforting when things like this happen to other people!)

And Again, A Birthday Celebration.

This time for Alissa. 

She was born 12 years ago on the same day that the twin towers came down. 

We are certainly glad for a happy memory on that day. 

We celebrated with a chocolate chip cookie cheesecake.

(I wonder who thought that one up????)

 

And Alissa wanted make-your-own pizzas.

They seriously were delish.

Happy birthday to the sweetest 12 year old girl I know!

We love you.

A Snapshot of the 5...

Michaela-
Has opted to postpone school to spend a semester in Russia teaching English. She works and works and works, which is good because most of her friends are on missions or back at college. She did find time to attend the first annual Salt Lake City Comic Con. Apparently you dress up like one of your favorite characters from just about anything and go meet other people dressed up like characters. Kind of like Halloween without the candy pay off. Anyone who knows Michaela understands that Comic Con is basically her love language :)

This is her with the famous Nicholas Brendon whom I can't remember what he is from but he is a really big deal to fan girls everywhere!

Michaela leaves for Russia in January.


Bethany-
Just had her wisdom teeth removed yesterday and we feel quite cheated. No silly post-surgery behavior, no drama, and quite frankly no swelling so far. We will see what tomorrow brings...
Bethany does have a severe case of Senioritis. We are hoping she can find a cure soon :)

Bethany, 12 hours after surgery...

Elijah-

Is embarking on his toughest schedule yet. Since 5th grade he has been in advanced schools and now in 10th grade, he is paying the piper.  He is taking AP Calculus, AP World History, Honors English etc. He is also playing fall Lacrosse and so, for a boy who loves his free time, he certainly doesn't have much of it.

 But mostly, he spends his time fighting off the girls :)

Hannah-

 Is enjoying the superiority of being an Eighth grader in middle school. It's so hard for her to believe that just a few short months ago she was a lowly 7th grader (wink,wink). She has traded in her clarinet for, well, nothing. It seems she and musical instruments have decided to part ways indefinitely. She gave it a go though. She is a great student and we are proud of her academic achievements. I can't believe that  in just a few short weeks she will turn 14 and can officially wear that makeup that she thinks I don't see on her already :) She will also move on to the Mia Maid class- something she is kind of excited for!

Hannah and her much more photogenic cousin Mallory :)

Will-

Has started 6th grade off full throttle. He has more energy and enthusiasm for life than all the rest of the Labits put together. He has a revolving door of visitors that keep him quite entertained. When not playing with friends, you can almost always find him with a book in hand. Whether it's eating breakfast, brushing his teeth, or getting dressed, all of these activities must be accompanied by a book. He is anxiously awaiting the third Michael Vey book, coming out next week.  Will has also met a few challenges lately, including the loss of his two birds.  I am so proud of how far he has come...

First day of 6th grade.

And there you have it. 

The kids are all moving forward. Some fast and furiously, 

and some not so much.

But nonetheless forward and we are happy about that.

Mom and Dad?  

We are overworked, underpaid, and always tired.

But we wouldn't trade these kids for anything.

(Except for maybe a swimming pool. I am always willing to bargain for a swimming pool)

12 Years Later.

The One World Trade Center is still incomplete.     

 Is that shameful to anyone else?    

The Empire State Building was completed 

in less than a year and a half.

In the 1930's.

As I'm pondering on this day of commemoration,
 I can't help but feel that the greatest honor we could pay
 to those who lost their lives on that fateful day, 
and the greatest demonstration of
 American courage and and resilience we could show,
 is to have this building up and running without anymore excuses or delays.

God Bless America.

We need it now more than ever.

3 Things.

Last night, my friend Trilby and I attended the last rooftop concert of the summer.  (Learn more about the rooftop concerts here)

In the midst of all the excitement I had several enlightening moments:

Number One:
Provo is seriously cool. Hipsters, wannabe's, college students and middle aged women :) all packed in on top of a parking garage, listening to up and coming new artists. Does it get any edgier than that in Happy Valley?

Number Two:
 Provo nightlife has changed dramatically since I was in college. No longer are weekends dedicated to The Star Palace or Plastique. Does dancing even happen anymore? The Provo music scene seems to dominate weekend plans...

And Number Three:
 Trilby and I definitely need to get together more often. 4 hours of nonstop talking/catching up! (oh, there was a concert going on?)

And there you have it. A rousing endorsement from the perennial college student who swore she would never come back to Provo. So serious was she, that she married a Hawaii boy just to keep an ocean between her and that city.

Provo, I apologize.

A Girl And Her Scooter...

...not always the best of friends. 

Sunday Dinner-No Birthdays.

Ah yes. 
We had a Sunday dinner which involved no celebrations.
It's been awhile. 
Celebrations are good but once in awhile you just want to chill.
And that is exactly what we did.

 Kyle, dental patient extraordinaire, 

shows his amazing "open wide" skills.

 This is about all I get from Christine lately--

but usually she's quite pleasant to look at !

Meghan came home from 

Snow College for the weekend :)

Jake and Will took left over rolls to feed the ducks....

 Elijah...

...and Jordan

took the "chillin" part a little too literally.

It was a good day to be with great families.

Shabbat Shalom-

Enjoy the looooong weekend.