Classic Finn

I have some stories that are so classically Finn that I had to write about them. Finn is 10 and about 6 months ago he started to hit his stride as a "tweener"- with attitude , eye rolling and full blown sarcasm. This has kind of taken me by surprise because he was such an easy baby, toddler and kid. He has always been obedient and sweet- rarely giving me any trouble. Don't get me wrong, he still is a sweet, good boy- but he has gotten more vocal and opinionated about our family, his role in it and the way I run it. I know this is all normal for his age and it will probably get worse before it gets better. But it is also fun to watch his personality develop as he becomes his own person. So on to the stories.

Last week we went to the Oquirrih Mountain Temple Open house. I was taking my 4 kids alone and didn't want to chance swearing in the temple so I had arranged a babysitter for Suzie. My brother and his wife live just minutes from the new temple, so I called and asked my sister-in-law, Amber to watch Suzie. They have a little girl, Emma, who Annie and Katie love to play with. So when my kids asked who was watching Suzie and I told them she was going to Emma's house, Annie said, "I want to go to Emma's house." I said, "No, Annie you are going to the temple." To which she complained, "But I don't want to go to the temple." Finn, overhearing this, piped in (and I'm pretty sure with an eye-roll thrown in for good measure) ,"None of us do, Annie."

After going through the temple, we were walking out and surprise, surprise my girls had to go to the bathroom. There were some port-a-potties outside that we used. As we were coming out there was a boy about 8 years old crying on the sidewalk. I went up to him and asked him what was wrong. He replied that he couldn't find his mom. So I told him I would help find her. We were walking back to find someone official to help us and I asked him, "What does your mom look like?" He paused for a second then desperately said, "I don't know. I can see her in my mind but I can't tell you." We found a security officer who helped him find his mom. As we were driving home I was smiling about how that little boy knew what his mom looked like but couldn't describe her. So I asked my kids, "If someone asked you what your mom looked like, what would you say?" I got answers like, "She's tall." "She has brown short, hair." and "She has blue eyes." Then I, fishing for compliments, said, "Would you say she's pretty?" Finn looked at me slyly and said, "Maybe." Then egging him on said, "Would you say she's skinny?" Then Finn looking at me sideways said again, "Maybe." Then laying it on even thicker I asked, "Would you say she has a smile that lights up a room?" Then Finn, without missing a beat and with a gleam in his eye said, "Maybe if she brushed her teeth every once in awhile." Ahh that's my boy!