One on One Time

Last weekend I took Maria to see Venom. She and I had such a wonderful time together. She is the funniest little girl, yet she isn't so little any more!
She was creeped out by a man who waved to me from his car, and in honesty, so was I.
We enjoyed popcorn and a trip to Yogurt Beach. We discussed life and new teachers and boys and friends. She is such an amazing conversationalist. She is beyond fun, always up for adventure, and a total pre-teen. She is witty and clever and quick.

Nina and I went to dinner at a Thai restaurant downtown and a party for one of Jody's frat brothers. Again, great conversation. But also super weird to have men hit on her in front of me. A homeless man said how beautiful she was and it was just creepy. I wanted to punch him, yet she was so calm and cool and pure. She just said thank you.
      The music at the Thai place was whack, but the food was yummy. We'd definitely go back. The party was also really big and loud. I said hi to the host, we ate some good food and watched a magic act. I saw Mr. Hardaway who was friends with my mom and his wife. I don't know why but it made me really sad. My mom really loved him and his wife. I also saw other friends of Joe who I couldn't remember their names, but they were super nice and their smiles could light up a room. Just good people. We snuck out and Nina went to her first Stake Dance.
      She had a great time and danced almost every slow dance. One boy was so nervous he was holding her hand way too tight and digging his fingers in her back. She danced with a cute boy from Trek. And had a wonderfully awkward ride home with a cute boy and his dad from our ward.

Eli and I went on a hike on Sunday. Ella was feeling much better and the girls watched her while we rocked 7 miles in 2.5 hours on the Hunter Creek Waterfall trail. I can definitely tell Eli is getting bigger and more in shape. We actually did some trail running and were passing people left and right. He hates dogs and I need to remember to give him allergy medicine before we hike so he doesn't have to worry about hives. I loved how he would jump and say, "He strikes the landing!" We did the logs with no problem and he only fell once at the very end. Poor little guy. He enjoyed picking out his M'n'M's out of the trail mix and did great about pace setting for us. He also is such a boy. Wanting to kill lizards. Sheesh. Be peaceful man. But yet, he also found a tall tree, "River Tree", that he took the time to talk to and pretend it was the tallest tree in the world.

Love my kids. Love time with them. They are everything. They are my eternity and my proof that there is a God.