A Geologist in Training

London turned seven, but she's going on seventeen. She has this pretty princess make-up she wears all the time, and it always matches her outfit. I'll catch her and ask, "London, are you wearing makeup?" And she'll respond, "Yeah, but just a little bit. It looks good, right?"

Huh.
I can't argue with that one...

She likes to hang out with my teenage sister. There is nothing she wouldn't do to hang out in Maeci's bedroom. She'll ask, "Um, Maeci, do you want me to help you clean your room? I'm really good at cleaning."

She is a performer, and the most elegant seven-year-old dancer I ever did see.

She is tender-hearted. When the younger kids are acting up, she tells them to settle down. She sets the example for each of them to follow. If I'm stressed or sleep-deprived or exhausted, she rubs my back or puts her arm around me and says, "Mom, I'm sorry you're having a hard day. It will be okay. I'll help you." And then she does.

London is sensitive to the spirit. She hears a beautiful song or an uplifting message, and immediately recognizes that she is feeling the love of God. It often brings a tear to her pretty little eyes.

When she grows up, she wants to be a geologist. Which brings me to her seventh birthday party...

Everything online about a geology party explained mixing sand and plaster of paris in those little tin containers, with a rock or crystal for each kid to personally chisel out. But to me, that didn't seem quite real enough. So I asked Kyle to build me a box, like a sandbox, fill it with cured plaster and sand, and have all the kids chisel together!

The night before the party, we put the kids to bed, and by the light of our cell phones, Kyle mixed and mixed the muddy ingredients on his hands and knees, so they would be dry and set for the following morning. We laughed the whole time, because only I would ask my husband to create a life-size rock-dig for a child's seventh birthday party. And only Kyle, the best husband a girl could ask for, would agree to build it for me! I think he loves me.

When the guests arrived, I told them that there were crystals and geodes just waiting to be uncovered, in a box we had flown in straight from Morocco. There was a station for cleaning and polishing, and a chart to account for each crystal or gem they found. Each crystal, thanks a super kind grandpa we call Popi, was beautiful and genuine. The kids got to work.

The process was much harder than I anticipated, but the kids loved it, and so did the moms and dads who stayed and chiseled away with us. Every stone was found!

We ate cups of dirt, rock-candy cupcakes, fruit salad (with mangoes because they're her favorite), and banana nutella sandwiches.

The kids built a play dough volcano, and I made it erupt with an explosion of red lava.

The party ended with the opening of two Moroccan geodes, and the kids each took home a crystal from the rock-dig.
We all had so much fun!














And for my geologist in training, it was everything she dreamed it could be.










I just realized, I predicted London would become an archaeologist when she was just 1 year old! Remember this?!
Our Little Archaeologist

Oh, I can't wait to see what she becomes!