New Years Eve

Happy New Year!  We had our 10th annual New Year's Eve party and it was a success.  We are a well-oiled machine as we prepared for this party, even down to the annual argument/discussion where Randy thinks I haven't made enough food to which I respond that we always have too much food.  We had more guests this year than ever before because we invited friends from other wards.  We were a little nervous but it ended up being a lot of fun and everyone found people to talk to.  The house was so loud that one girl had to leave because it was triggering a migraine and possible seizure.  Oops.  We didn't even play any games this year because everyone was just chatting and eating so we only did the wrapping paper ball.  I don't think any kids cried this year over it and they all got more loot than necessary.  The fireworks and floating lanterns were a hit and three months later I still have pieces of confetti stuck like glue to my driveway.  Thankfully our house didn't burn down when not one, but two floating lanterns got caught in the tree above the house.  Ethan acted fast and hooked up the hose in no time.  People were definitely concerned but it was just another day at the Ball house for me.

So many shoes!  It took a long time for everyone to find their shoes and get outside for the countdown

Landon's friends filled up on drinks before leaving for the annual NYE dance.  It was Parker's first dance too.  So the house was full of people but not teenagers.  

We even set up s'mores at the fire pit to give people options besides the loud house.  Only one kid went out :)

so.much.food.

The Mastermind behind the magic

Ethan and Halli

No big deal.  Just a couple fires in a tree.

We couldn't convince everyone to join us for the Polar Bear Plunge but it wasn't that bad.  There were several other groups there jumping in too so I guess we've started a trend. Forcing myself to jump in takes all the courage/crazy I can muster.  But it feels refreshing after the shock wears off.

2026 is going great so far!

Three Weeks with Marcus

We had three short weeks with Marcus home from his mission before he left for BYU.  We played so hard!  We ended up spending the first couple days he was home with the Walker family.  Their son Jacob returned from Brazil the day before Marcus.  As soon as Marcus was released from being a missionary, we went to lunch at his favorite place, Q-Doba, then took him to see Jacob.  They were basically inseparable after that.  I think they both loved having someone else to help them navigate all the weird feelings of being home.  They worked out together, saw friends, got caught up on movies, and played hard.  They both spoke in sacrament meeting together (Marcus gave a great talk about how his mission was the best decision he'd ever made and how God is in the details of our lives) and we held a joint homecoming party at the Walker's house.  So many people showed up and there was a ton of good food and of course swimming on the lake.

Q-Doba and his first meal at "home"

We were on Lake Sammamish with the Walkers within few hours of Marcus' return.

The next day we were on Lake Washington watching the Blue Angels.  It's the best day of the year in Seattle.  Randy also managed to get pulled over not once but twice by the Coast Guard police.  Luckily we weren't given a ticket.  I think the cops were sure that a boat with 17 people in it must have some serious partying going on.  

The first of two police after they pulled us over

Dad and Kathy came for Marcus' homecoming talk

We squeezed in a temple trip after boating and before dinner and the homecoming party. 

The only picture of the homecoming party

Elder Snell, Marcus's bestie from Utah was serving here and got permission to hear Marcus speak

Marcus's first nap after the mission.  He was out cold for a few hours.

This is the bear rug that greeted him when he came home.  The boys love to accessorize him.

And this is the disaster area of my bedroom as Marcus unpacked and re-packed for college

These boys are besties and hung out whenever we weren't with Marcus

We played so hard that the only person willing to go to the Mariners game with Randy was Landon.  They had fun and the rest of us had fun not being there.  

4th of July

I'm back!!  I won't be able to sleep another night if I don't get back to this blog.  The guilt is gnawing at me!  But in my defense, I have been insanely busy.  No one told me having a graduating senior would take up so much of time.  Throw in a lacrosse tournament in Bend, Oregon and a trip to Utah and Idaho, along with missionary preparations and a remodel and basically I'm lucky I remember who I am anymore.  There's a lot to catch up on so I'm getting back into the most recent events since that's the easiest for my frazzled brain to remember.

We had a magical 4th of July.  Seriously it felt magical.  The sun was finally shining!  After record breaking amounts of rain in June, the sunshine felt like a miracle.  It's been raining ever since, but not for the 4th of July.  We started off our morning with our ward breakfast at a beautiful park at Beaver Lake.  The food was delicious and it was fun visiting with old and new friends.  I also need to insert here that another big event keeping me busy has been our ward boundaries getting reorganized a couple months ago.  We got about thirty new families that joined our ward and that caused complete chaos and is still the bane of my existence as Relief Society President.  Anyway...the breakfast was fun, even if it felt a little like work.

After the breakfast, the younger boys spent the day playing with their neighborhood friends so I didn't feel bad about doing laundry while Randy worked in the yard.  Everyone was happy.  We typically host a big BBQ but since we still don't have a kitchen, I decided to throw a "Fireworks and Floats" party in the backyard.  I invited a ton of people and about sixty of them showed up. 

There was always a long line for the rope swing so people roasted s'mores while they waited

We lit over 300 sparklers!  The whole backyard was filled with smoke and the only person who got burned was Henry :)

It's been three years since we've had a firework show in Sammamish and everyone was excited to do normal things.  I invited a lot of new people to the party and it was fun to see their reaction when they walked into our backyard for the first time.  The lights, music, treehouse, and games made the whole thing seem even better than usual.  I served up so many root beer floats I literally got frost bite on one of my fingers.  Typing is actually quite painful.  Please bless I don't lose a finger! :)

The fireworks go off right at the end of our trail that leads off our property so a bunch of party guests watched the show from ground zero and said it was incredible.  The rest of us sat in our driveway and the teenagers sat up on the roof.  It felt like our very own private firework show.  You know the party was a success when everyone kept coming up to me and hugging me as they thanked me for inviting them.  The magic was real!

Look closely and you'll see all the teenagers lined up on the roof

Best seats in Sammamish!

FrAmily

The Frank's came to town!  I'm still excited about it and they left almost three weeks ago.  Aaron and Crista (our friends from Okinawa who are now stationed in Texas) are actually better than family because we aren't related so we get together because we want to, not out of obligation :) Our kids are all the same ages and get along great so we loved having them for a week after Christmas.  It forced us to go out and do fun touristy things but we also had a good time just laying low and relaxing.  It was pretty awesome.

We took a stroll to Snoqualmie Falls because the sun came out.  Turns out everyone else had the same idea so the place was packed!  Luckily Randy and I are locals who know about the lower parking lot or this would've been a failed adventure.  Also, I'm totally laughing that I don't have any pictures of the actual falls.....duh!  Oh well.  I guess I've seen them plenty of times and if you've been following my blog then you've seen them too.

Crista is one of my favorite people.  She is so kind and so smart and super organized and quiet and basically everything I'm not.  I guess opposites attract!

The kids spent a lot of time on the rope swing and no one got hurt.  And yes, those rocks are green.  Everything is green in WA

We played a lot of games and of course one of them was Telestrations.  It always gets lots of laughs.  Also, it must be mentioned that Crista and I beat Randy and Aaron at Code Names several times.  

We spent the day in Seattle and saw all the Christmas things that I had just done with Landon and Parker a few weeks before.

 There was no one at the photo booth outside the gingerbread house display so we decided to help the employees out by giving them something to do.

 We found a cool toy store, Barney's I think, where we played with lots of expensive toys and they didn't get mad at our kids for having fun.

 Henry was oblivious to all the cars down below as he played with magnet tiles

 Darby is the youngest Frank child and so easy to love.  Parker and Landon both loved having boys their size and age

 We went to the fancy schmancy Fairmont Hotel to see the giant gingerbread house, snapped a quick picture, then left before they could kick us out.  I should point out that Marcus said, "I love having the Frank's here!  They make me feel so tall!  It's like being with Dad's family in Utah."  It's not every day a 5'9 teenager gets to feel tall so we let him enjoy it.

 We ate lunch at this little Okinawa Terriyaki Restaurant near Pike Place.  I loved the food because it's been a long time since I've eaten in Japan but the Frank's weren't as impressed.  After six years in Okinawa they have developed better appreciation for the good stuff.  But it was still good and the place was packed so we actually ate lunch outside Ivar's so everyone could eat some Seattle seafood as well.

The boys had just finished feeding their French fries to the birds

The Frank's haven't seen snow in ten years and Darby had never seen it so of course we had to drive up the pass to play in it, while the rain poured down on us.  Also, it was like the miracle of the loaves and fishes as I tried to find snow gear for two families.  Ethan's toes may never be the same after cramming his feet into the only boots available and the girls didn't complain about their mismatched snow gear that didn't fit quite right.  It was a win!

This is the only picture I got of the New Year's Eve party/newspaper ball.  It was definitely a relaxing New Year's not hosting a huge party this year.  Oh, and the teenagers went to the Stake dance so Ethan and Aubrey had their first dance together.  And the best part: I have pictures of them dancing because my friend was a chaperone.  But I won't post it on the internet because I'm a nice mom and Ethan would kill me.

 After watching The Sound of Music (the Frank kids had never seen it) we needed to get some wiggles out so Aaron taught my boys some wrestling moves.  The boys LOVED it!

Marcus took on everyone at the same time.  

Seattle will never be the same!  Thanks for the good times, Frank's!