Birthday Month and Houghton Humor

So this month has been plenty busy.  Olympics, school-stress, Discovery Kingdom (again), more school-stress, Luke left (for BYU this morning), school-stress (when will it end?), water polo, and lots and lots of birthdays.  I have come to know about 11 birthdays in the last week.  Only two of which are in my immediate family.  Those two also happen to be only 10 days apart.  I bet you can't guess which members of our family those birthdays to belong to.  Darn.  Now I'll feel bad if I don't tell you whose it is, although their names were probably one of the first things you noticed due to their bright coloration.  Happy Birthday(s?) Mom and Dad!!  Within the next week and a half, they will both turn...34!  Not really.  Sadly, I can't tell you their real age (cough, cough 50).  Sorry, it got a bit dusty in here... ;).  We're going to have a big party on Mom's birthday when she isn't here to celebrate.  Then, for Dad's birthday (ten days after Mom's), we are having another big party with the two wards in our area.  I'm so excited!!

Now, you're probably wondering where our dear mother is/will be.  I mentioned that Luke left for school this morning, and she and Levi went with him.  Can you believe it?  She left me here with Marta, Eliza, and Dad for company! Mostly its just Marta though, because Eliza and Dad are at work all day.  That's...well, let's just say that she has already put me to work doing her summer homework, sweeping the driveway, etc.  Not really.  But we have gotten some good things done today.  Knowing Luke, he would be very upset if I didn't mention how lost I am without his wisdom.  However, we haven't had any technological difficulties yet, so it hasn't been too bad, but we have been missing his humor.  For example, we were at the dinner table the other night, planning the week (so we don't all get stuck somewhere), and the following conversation occurred:

Luke:   "After Mom, Levi, and I leave it will just be Dad and the 'Goyles' at home..."
Eliza:    "Luke, I don't appreciate you referring to us as 'the Goyles'."
Marta:  "Well fine, you're not a Goyle, only Tess and I are Goyles."
Luke:   "Eliza's not a Goyle because she's so 'Crabbey'!!!"

These are the faces of the names to which we were all referring.

As you can see, Luke is very silly and will be much missed at home, but will have lots of fun at college, so I hope you will join me in saying "May the odds be ever in your favor!" to him.

Other than that, the following things were mentioned in passing:

• Marta, Mom, Levi and I went back to Discovery Kingdom with Siena and had a marvelous time!
• School-stress is a feeling of anxiety that I get about going back to school.  I'm working on the time machine, but it still makes some funny noises and emits green gases at random.
• The Olympics are over.  );  .  Personal favorite athletes are Missie Franklin, Nathan Adrian, and Elizabeth Beisel.  And Katie Ledecky, because she was born in the same year as I was and she won gold in the 800 freestyle which is the closest event to mine (500 freestyle) that they have at the Olympics.
• Fall water polo started yesterday for Marta and I.  Nothing to say about it yet.
• Eliza is waiting for her mission call.  It should be here any day now!  Minnesota and Texas are the two major family bets.  We'll see.

Other than that, I have nothing to tell you about.

Your school-stressed Houghton,

Tess