11 years old

Let the countdown begin....until she's 12.  Yes, according to Lorin, when you turn 12 you are all of a sudden allowed to do whatever you want and she can't wait for the day!  Some of the things on the list are sitting in the front seat of a car, babysitting, and hmmm, I was sure I could think of more since her list seems to go on and on when she get's on a roll...

Brownies are the "cake" of choice every year!

See all these unsuspecting gifts?  It wasn't because the list wasn't as long as her arm however :)

 

But surprises are so much more fun!!  How about Brian Reagan tickets with Mom and Dad??  Woohooo!

 

 

   Or...a neeeew bike!!!

 The other thing she got was the long anticipated for I-pod...we helped her with the last few bucks, but she had been saving for a long time and payed for it herself!  We were proud of her self control--money usually burns a hole :)

Lorin is a one-of-a-kind.  We have been so blessed to watch her grow into such a beautiful girl inside and out.  Don't get me wrong, the beauty is accompanied by more spunk than imaginable.  But this year she has had to prove that she can weather the storms of a pre-teen moving to a new school that was 3 times as demanding as her last and having to make friends in a 5th grade world--the year everyone seems to get mean and weird.

I recently wrote in my journal about the times my prayers have been answered on Lorin's behalf this year.  From talking to her Advanced Math (See Sierpinsky Pyramid above) teacher to reduce the amount of homework from 4 hours to 40 minutes a night, to giving Aunt Wendy a random call--the perfect person to give me some perspective on some of the things Lorin was facing, to finding an amazing friend just down the road--Valerie (pictured above).  She reads her scriptures faithfully every morning, prays night and day, works so hard at being a peacemaker, gets good grades in school, is one of her siblings' favorite babysitters, practices her violin every morning and basketball after school, helps without complaining, is adored by her teachers, and the list goes on.  We love this girl!

She's a Baller!!

(sigh) Basketball--my first love!!  I can't tell you how completely happy I was to find Lorin and basketball to be a match made in heaven.  This girl and all her energy has found a place where it's perfectly fine to run in circles around everyone, to bug someone til they give up, and to be the center of attention as much as possible.  Offense or defense, she knows where that ball is and has an oppressive hunger to have it in her hands.  When she's not in season, she's practicing in the driveway.  I have to admit I get a little into her games--especially the side-line coaching aspect and maybe, sometimes, the side-line reffing aspect :(.  I can't wait for next season!!...I mean she can't :)

Her best game this season (only her second season) she scored 15 points.  Had I been her Grandma Kofoed, I would be able to give you the stats on how many steels, rebounds, and assists she had as well.  I'll get better ;)

The routine was to take her out for the 2nd quarter as the play-time must be fair to all the players.  The coach happened to mention that the 2nd quarter was usually a tough one for our team's momentum.  Now the bragging, I also got from Grandma Kofoed :)

Here is Lorin all dolled up for her first school dance and posing with her handsome daddy.

Teenager here we come....

...but not without an exuberant mix of crazy fun...as usual!

We are really trying to make Lorin slow down--she seems to be trying to win the Gold in how fast she can become a teenager. We love to try and keep her young though. Her favorite things right now are playing with Graf, getting Izzy and Ryan to play the Hallway Game, riding the 4-wheeler, and math math math (jk).


When we went to NYC Lorin decided Time Square was her favorite place to be. Here she is anticipating a wild street performer to flip over her.Dad--always been her hero.
Mom--forcing the girls to do apple sauce with me--they ended up loving it! Lorin stuck with me for the full 4 hours!

74 bags of leaves and Lorin took pride in sticking with Cor and I the whole 9 yards (is that just something my mom says or does everyone know that phrase? :)