So I taught Mia Maids for the first time this Sunday. It went okay I think. I wish I felt more comfortable, but hopefully that will come with time. I already beat myself up about it all on Sunday... and a little on Monday too, so I think I'll just let it go on here. Teaching is not my forte.
Luke did something really cool that day- he bore his testimony for the first time!!! This was a big deal for him, he's not too keen on getting up in front of people like some of his sibs, but what a sweet and special moment when he sacrificed his own comfort to show Heavenly Father his testimony. I need to follow his example and tough it out one of these days. I'll admit I felt prompted to get up recently, but I was weak. Luke motivates me to be better. Well all of my kids for that matter. They were all up on the stand at one point in the meeting. All but Erika and Jack. Waiting their turn. I love my kids.
Sunday afternoon and evening was so relaxing this week!! It's been a while since I felt like Sunday was actually a day of rest and it actually was! I loved it. The girls and I worked on Personal Progress and Faith in God award. Kelly found out that she only has like two more goals to finish and she will have earned her Faith in God award! I'm so impressed! 3-30-14
MONDAY OF SPRING BREAK
We had a lot of fun at Wheeler Farm with our friends (pictures to come), and then we killed some time in Draper at Ikea (thankfully they have complimentary diapers because Jack had an emergency and we of course didn't have any with us!) and then driving around my old neighborhood that I grew up in. What a trip that was! I can't believe how much the place has changed at yet how much I remember about it! I love showing my kids where I went to Elementary school and the big sledding hill my dad used to spin me down. It was pretty fun. Then we met up with Heidi at Downeast Outfitters to get her dresser. After we unloaded it at her house, we talked for a minute and realized that Heidi and John needed to come see the kitties, so they followed us, picked up some pizzas along the way and spent the rest of the evening showing off the kittens to Aunt Heidi. It was a lot of fun. I'm still in awe that Heidi got a $700 dresser for only $120. How she does it... 3-31-14
APRIL FOOL'S
We had an awesome April Fool's this year. I LOVE that everyone is finally getting it :). It's taken years for all of us to get on the same page with the pranks. I've learned not to do the mean, "We're moving!" or "We're going to Disneyland!" ones and my kids have learned how fun it is to have a day where you can just pull pranks on each other :). It was a lot of fun this year. I'll admit I was a little bummed I didn't get to do the big one I'd planned, but I'll try again next year, so I'm not going to spoil it by putting it on here (not that any of my family read this :) HA!). So the real fun one I did this year was putting Nate's keys in a cup of water and freezing it- that was fun. He even laughed :). It wasn't COMPLETELY frozen, so it was only a little bit of a pain to get them out- as he was trying to hurry off to work. I put cut up strips of confetti on the ceiling fan in the girls' room so that they would fly all over the place when they turned their light on :), that was fun. Charity put garlic in homemade popsicles, then Kelly ate one and we decided she need to get her back. So Kelly made brownies and put Ketchup in Charity's. I can't believe they fell for each others' pranks all day since they're a little blatant about it, but hey- people are pranking and falling for them- I'm happy :). I don't know why I love that day so much, it's really one of my favorite "holidays". Just easy, simple fun, I guess. One of the times Noah was tricking Charity he said, "Charity, Buddy pooped!" and she didn't buy it, so I said, "Noah, I think Buddy pooped on your pillow!" right after, and he looks at me all worried and says, "Which one?!" Then he didn't want to look like he'd bought it, but didn't want there to be poop on his pillow, so he asked Erika to go check for him :). Then before she could get up to his room, he had lost all patience and ran up to check himself :). I loved it! We all got a good laugh. Here are some of the other pranks:
Charity:
Tabasco sauce on my toothbrush
Garlic in the popsicles
Toilet paper rolls, wet to look like poop on Luke's and Noah's beds
Toilet papered My room and the boys' room with Kelly
Kelly:
Put Ketchup in Charity's brownie
Toilet papered the boys' and my room
Food coloring on Charity's toothbrush
Hot sauce on Charity's toothbrush
Pranked the neighbors! I couldn't believe she thought of this one! She "sent" them a card telling them they'd won a million dollars or something. She did it to a few of our neighbors. The Maughan's "fell for it" and called to redeem their cash :). SO fun. We have the coolest friends ever. (and no, I'm not trying to butter you up, Emily, just because I know you might actually read this :) )
Bradley:
Soap on Charity's toothbrush
Toilet papered the girls' room
Luke:
Toilet papered the girls' room
Noah:
He focused mainly on the lying pranks. Something about being able to lie to everyone and then say "April Fools" has always been a treat to my kids :).
Erika:
She did a little of the "look there's a bug over there!" ones. Funny girl.
It was a very fun day :). Although, I will say, I think Nate NOT doing any pranks that day did make me a little paranoid for the WHOLE day... got me.
4-1-14
PRODUCTIVE
I was so productive on Thursday. I'm not really sure what got into me (yep, that's right, something has to get into me for me to be productive), but I was totally motivated to clean the house! It just so happened that Jack wanted to sleep in til 10:00, so I had a good hour and a bit to just clean to my little heart's content. I was so proud of myself! I cleaned a little more- with Jack's help- for the next 45 minutes and then we hurried on down to Grandma's house so that she could tend while I went out to lunch with my Dad. My birthday lunch only 3 1/4 months late :) not bad. We went to Applebee's which was funny since I just was there last weekend. But whatever. It was nice. We talked a lot about my dad starting a new app business. I think he should. After lunch, I mailed Rachel's dress- hope that makes it to ID by Monday! Then the kids and I picked up Kambree and came home. I cleaned for another 2 ish hours! I was so happy to get so much done! I'm embarrassed to say it still wasn't spotless, not how I'd really like it, but it was much cleaner!! I thought for sure everyone would be surprised when they walked in the house, but actually nobody said a thing. It was slightly depressing, but I guess I should know better. I teased them all about it before heading up to bed, just make myself feel better :). They may have said something between the hours of 5:00 and 6:00, but I was totally OUT! I konked out after my meds finally kicked in. (Maybe that sounds bad- at about 3:00 I was hit with the most intense, throbbing, stabbing cramps I've ever felt in my entire life! I seriously thought I was going to die. It was HORRIBLE!!! So I took a whole bunch of ibuprofen and tylenol and it finally felt like it was working- though now that I think about it, maybe the cramps just went away- by 4:00. I was exhausted from the pain- and probably from all the work I'd done... kind of a rare day for me I guess...) So anyway- I missed an hour of the evening. Jack had been feverish most of the afternoon/evening, so I cuddled with him for the next two hours, on the couch- way nice- and Nate ordered pizza for dinner- so I guess all my hard work was evened out with a bunch of laziness... my kind of day :).
BASEBALL
Luke's Baseball season has started up. He's just doing practices right now, but I'm really excited for his games to start. I think he's going to do great! 4-3-14
MISSION REUNION!!
President and Sister Ritchie finally sponsored another Mission Reunion! I was really excited! I know that's dorky of me, but I love seeing Nate with his old mission companions and talking about the mission... it's just fun. Plus how cool is it to go back to the exact spot where we first met! Makes me smile just thinking about it. So we went! Took everyone except Bradley- he had a birthday party to go to and we trusted him home alone for the 20 minutes before the party started and then another 20 or so after. There were so many familiar faces!! Nate had a blast! I loved watching him walk around and find people he knew and all the hugs and laughter and reminiscing... it's just fun. I got to see Sister Ritchie- love that woman! I don't know how she does it, but she makes me feel like I'm the queen of the world and that she adores me :). It's wonderful. She is so sincere and just so wonderful. Always asks about the kids and gets interested in our lives. It's so cool. They had a little "program" in the middle of the visiting time, where the Ritchies took turn speaking. I LOVED Sister Ritchie's talk. She talked mostly about being good parents and teaching our kids the Gospel. It was such a great reminder. Plus coming from her... she's just not afraid to tell it how it is. She also talked about how when they were set apart, Elder Eyring counseled them that they would not just be in charge of these missionaries for the three years they were out there, they would be in charge of them til they die! What a HUGE responsibility! Three year's worth of missionaries! They really are amazing though, and they really do take such a huge interest in everyone and make an effort to care for each one. They've always made us feel special, and I know they love my brother and his family. It's just neat to have them in our lives. I feel very blessed. Pres. Ritchie gave a cool talk too. He talked about where our Faith is. What our testimony is founded on. The testimonies that waver are the ones that are not founded on correct principles and the foundation of the Gospel. He advised us all to have our children memorize Helaman 5:12. We challenged the kids to do it on the way home :) We'll see if anyone gets the prize :). I enjoyed talking with a few of Brent's old companions while Nate was gabbing. It's fun to hear how much everyone admired him and loved who he was. He really was an awesome missionary. There's no doubt about that even just considering a few opinions from people tonight. Kinda cool. I've always been proud of my big brother. It was always cool to say, "I am Brent's sister". Makes me happy to be around the Swedish missionaries, singing the swedish hymns, eating the swedish food... what a cool night! (side note: we loved the new nursery option... the kids enjoyed Cars 2 and Frozen from a safe distance... Nate and I were able to sit and enjoy the evening together without too many hiccups :). Special thanks to our helpers... Charity and Kelly always make things run more smoothly... such angels) They need to not wait 10 more years til the next one! 4-4-14
GENERAL CONFERENCE
Even though Nate worked the mid Friday night, he still made it home in time to whip up his famous (and now a firm tradition) Creamed Eggs on Toast. The kids LOVE this tradition, so I'm glad he's willing to carry it out. I cooked the eggs and got them all cut up and made the toast, but Nate did the important part even on very little sleep. I wish I'd thought to just do it on Sunday this year... I feel bad the idea didn't occur to me... October I guess. We got done just in time, so the kids were able to eat their breakfast during the first session (kind of a late one for us, but everyone had slept in pretty good).
I LOVED General Conference this year!! Everything about it was wonderful. I was so happy with how well the kids did on the Saturday sessions. Especially since the plan I had to copy the Maughan's popcorn idea had failed. Charity and Kelly were taking notes in their journals which I think is just awesome. I hope they are blessed for how diligent they were. Bradley gave up his Bingo packet to Luke because he couldn't find his. That was awesome. Then they all just sat and listened. to both sessions. It was incredible! Even Jack was very little distraction and stood up by the TV screen and kind of watched all of us for a good portion of it :). Also slept a little. It was heavenly. I always say I'm going to take a picture of us watching conference because I know it's one of the things I'll miss when they're all gone, and always such a happy sight to me, but I keep forgetting. Maybe next time.
The Priesthood Session was different this year. Nate was too tired to drive up to Day Break, so we didn't spend it with his family. I have to admit I was slightly relieved. Nothing against our family, but I just wasn't feeling it that day. We tried to stay outside or keep busy since we'd been sitting down all day, but it was not met with great cooperation on my kids' part. They were not happy campers that day. I was telling them (as seems to be the case with every Saturday of General Conference) that we are a target for Satan. We have a good family, we're trying our best to do what Heavenly Father wants, so satan is going to work extra hard on our family. It's evident on those days when it's not easy to do what is right. We talked a lot about our "team" and that we don't have to compete against each other because we are all on the same team. There is something pleasant in the thought that when one of us scores a point, it is a point for the whole team. We can all be happy and cheer for our teammate. So we had a little talk about all of this on Saturday night after the fighting and whining had reached it's max. I couldn't believe how much there was. It was not good. I hate that we can't just sit around and bask in the Spirit that we felt all day, with sunshine and rainbows all around. I know that's not realistic, so I try to compromise a little, but it was really bad this time. We have a lot of work to do in the area of sportsmanship, and teamwork. We'll get there. Anyway- Nate came home with icecream and hot fudge so that we could carry on the usual tradition on our own :). I'll admit, the store bought hot fudge just isn't the same as Nate's family's homemade stuff, but it worked :). We all went to bed happy :). 4-5-14
Sunday afternoon and evening was so relaxing this week!! It's been a while since I felt like Sunday was actually a day of rest and it actually was! I loved it. The girls and I worked on Personal Progress and Faith in God award. Kelly found out that she only has like two more goals to finish and she will have earned her Faith in God award! I'm so impressed! 3-30-14
MONDAY OF SPRING BREAK
We had a lot of fun at Wheeler Farm with our friends (pictures to come), and then we killed some time in Draper at Ikea (thankfully they have complimentary diapers because Jack had an emergency and we of course didn't have any with us!) and then driving around my old neighborhood that I grew up in. What a trip that was! I can't believe how much the place has changed at yet how much I remember about it! I love showing my kids where I went to Elementary school and the big sledding hill my dad used to spin me down. It was pretty fun. Then we met up with Heidi at Downeast Outfitters to get her dresser. After we unloaded it at her house, we talked for a minute and realized that Heidi and John needed to come see the kitties, so they followed us, picked up some pizzas along the way and spent the rest of the evening showing off the kittens to Aunt Heidi. It was a lot of fun. I'm still in awe that Heidi got a $700 dresser for only $120. How she does it... 3-31-14
APRIL FOOL'S
We had an awesome April Fool's this year. I LOVE that everyone is finally getting it :). It's taken years for all of us to get on the same page with the pranks. I've learned not to do the mean, "We're moving!" or "We're going to Disneyland!" ones and my kids have learned how fun it is to have a day where you can just pull pranks on each other :). It was a lot of fun this year. I'll admit I was a little bummed I didn't get to do the big one I'd planned, but I'll try again next year, so I'm not going to spoil it by putting it on here (not that any of my family read this :) HA!). So the real fun one I did this year was putting Nate's keys in a cup of water and freezing it- that was fun. He even laughed :). It wasn't COMPLETELY frozen, so it was only a little bit of a pain to get them out- as he was trying to hurry off to work. I put cut up strips of confetti on the ceiling fan in the girls' room so that they would fly all over the place when they turned their light on :), that was fun. Charity put garlic in homemade popsicles, then Kelly ate one and we decided she need to get her back. So Kelly made brownies and put Ketchup in Charity's. I can't believe they fell for each others' pranks all day since they're a little blatant about it, but hey- people are pranking and falling for them- I'm happy :). I don't know why I love that day so much, it's really one of my favorite "holidays". Just easy, simple fun, I guess. One of the times Noah was tricking Charity he said, "Charity, Buddy pooped!" and she didn't buy it, so I said, "Noah, I think Buddy pooped on your pillow!" right after, and he looks at me all worried and says, "Which one?!" Then he didn't want to look like he'd bought it, but didn't want there to be poop on his pillow, so he asked Erika to go check for him :). Then before she could get up to his room, he had lost all patience and ran up to check himself :). I loved it! We all got a good laugh. Here are some of the other pranks:
Charity:
Tabasco sauce on my toothbrush
Garlic in the popsicles
Toilet paper rolls, wet to look like poop on Luke's and Noah's beds
Toilet papered My room and the boys' room with Kelly
Kelly:
Put Ketchup in Charity's brownie
Toilet papered the boys' and my room
Food coloring on Charity's toothbrush
Hot sauce on Charity's toothbrush
Pranked the neighbors! I couldn't believe she thought of this one! She "sent" them a card telling them they'd won a million dollars or something. She did it to a few of our neighbors. The Maughan's "fell for it" and called to redeem their cash :). SO fun. We have the coolest friends ever. (and no, I'm not trying to butter you up, Emily, just because I know you might actually read this :) )
Bradley:
Soap on Charity's toothbrush
Toilet papered the girls' room
Luke:
Toilet papered the girls' room
Noah:
He focused mainly on the lying pranks. Something about being able to lie to everyone and then say "April Fools" has always been a treat to my kids :).
Erika:
She did a little of the "look there's a bug over there!" ones. Funny girl.
It was a very fun day :). Although, I will say, I think Nate NOT doing any pranks that day did make me a little paranoid for the WHOLE day... got me.
4-1-14
PRODUCTIVE
I was so productive on Thursday. I'm not really sure what got into me (yep, that's right, something has to get into me for me to be productive), but I was totally motivated to clean the house! It just so happened that Jack wanted to sleep in til 10:00, so I had a good hour and a bit to just clean to my little heart's content. I was so proud of myself! I cleaned a little more- with Jack's help- for the next 45 minutes and then we hurried on down to Grandma's house so that she could tend while I went out to lunch with my Dad. My birthday lunch only 3 1/4 months late :) not bad. We went to Applebee's which was funny since I just was there last weekend. But whatever. It was nice. We talked a lot about my dad starting a new app business. I think he should. After lunch, I mailed Rachel's dress- hope that makes it to ID by Monday! Then the kids and I picked up Kambree and came home. I cleaned for another 2 ish hours! I was so happy to get so much done! I'm embarrassed to say it still wasn't spotless, not how I'd really like it, but it was much cleaner!! I thought for sure everyone would be surprised when they walked in the house, but actually nobody said a thing. It was slightly depressing, but I guess I should know better. I teased them all about it before heading up to bed, just make myself feel better :). They may have said something between the hours of 5:00 and 6:00, but I was totally OUT! I konked out after my meds finally kicked in. (Maybe that sounds bad- at about 3:00 I was hit with the most intense, throbbing, stabbing cramps I've ever felt in my entire life! I seriously thought I was going to die. It was HORRIBLE!!! So I took a whole bunch of ibuprofen and tylenol and it finally felt like it was working- though now that I think about it, maybe the cramps just went away- by 4:00. I was exhausted from the pain- and probably from all the work I'd done... kind of a rare day for me I guess...) So anyway- I missed an hour of the evening. Jack had been feverish most of the afternoon/evening, so I cuddled with him for the next two hours, on the couch- way nice- and Nate ordered pizza for dinner- so I guess all my hard work was evened out with a bunch of laziness... my kind of day :).
BASEBALL
Luke's Baseball season has started up. He's just doing practices right now, but I'm really excited for his games to start. I think he's going to do great! 4-3-14
MISSION REUNION!!
President and Sister Ritchie finally sponsored another Mission Reunion! I was really excited! I know that's dorky of me, but I love seeing Nate with his old mission companions and talking about the mission... it's just fun. Plus how cool is it to go back to the exact spot where we first met! Makes me smile just thinking about it. So we went! Took everyone except Bradley- he had a birthday party to go to and we trusted him home alone for the 20 minutes before the party started and then another 20 or so after. There were so many familiar faces!! Nate had a blast! I loved watching him walk around and find people he knew and all the hugs and laughter and reminiscing... it's just fun. I got to see Sister Ritchie- love that woman! I don't know how she does it, but she makes me feel like I'm the queen of the world and that she adores me :). It's wonderful. She is so sincere and just so wonderful. Always asks about the kids and gets interested in our lives. It's so cool. They had a little "program" in the middle of the visiting time, where the Ritchies took turn speaking. I LOVED Sister Ritchie's talk. She talked mostly about being good parents and teaching our kids the Gospel. It was such a great reminder. Plus coming from her... she's just not afraid to tell it how it is. She also talked about how when they were set apart, Elder Eyring counseled them that they would not just be in charge of these missionaries for the three years they were out there, they would be in charge of them til they die! What a HUGE responsibility! Three year's worth of missionaries! They really are amazing though, and they really do take such a huge interest in everyone and make an effort to care for each one. They've always made us feel special, and I know they love my brother and his family. It's just neat to have them in our lives. I feel very blessed. Pres. Ritchie gave a cool talk too. He talked about where our Faith is. What our testimony is founded on. The testimonies that waver are the ones that are not founded on correct principles and the foundation of the Gospel. He advised us all to have our children memorize Helaman 5:12. We challenged the kids to do it on the way home :) We'll see if anyone gets the prize :). I enjoyed talking with a few of Brent's old companions while Nate was gabbing. It's fun to hear how much everyone admired him and loved who he was. He really was an awesome missionary. There's no doubt about that even just considering a few opinions from people tonight. Kinda cool. I've always been proud of my big brother. It was always cool to say, "I am Brent's sister". Makes me happy to be around the Swedish missionaries, singing the swedish hymns, eating the swedish food... what a cool night! (side note: we loved the new nursery option... the kids enjoyed Cars 2 and Frozen from a safe distance... Nate and I were able to sit and enjoy the evening together without too many hiccups :). Special thanks to our helpers... Charity and Kelly always make things run more smoothly... such angels) They need to not wait 10 more years til the next one! 4-4-14
GENERAL CONFERENCE
Even though Nate worked the mid Friday night, he still made it home in time to whip up his famous (and now a firm tradition) Creamed Eggs on Toast. The kids LOVE this tradition, so I'm glad he's willing to carry it out. I cooked the eggs and got them all cut up and made the toast, but Nate did the important part even on very little sleep. I wish I'd thought to just do it on Sunday this year... I feel bad the idea didn't occur to me... October I guess. We got done just in time, so the kids were able to eat their breakfast during the first session (kind of a late one for us, but everyone had slept in pretty good).
I LOVED General Conference this year!! Everything about it was wonderful. I was so happy with how well the kids did on the Saturday sessions. Especially since the plan I had to copy the Maughan's popcorn idea had failed. Charity and Kelly were taking notes in their journals which I think is just awesome. I hope they are blessed for how diligent they were. Bradley gave up his Bingo packet to Luke because he couldn't find his. That was awesome. Then they all just sat and listened. to both sessions. It was incredible! Even Jack was very little distraction and stood up by the TV screen and kind of watched all of us for a good portion of it :). Also slept a little. It was heavenly. I always say I'm going to take a picture of us watching conference because I know it's one of the things I'll miss when they're all gone, and always such a happy sight to me, but I keep forgetting. Maybe next time.
The Priesthood Session was different this year. Nate was too tired to drive up to Day Break, so we didn't spend it with his family. I have to admit I was slightly relieved. Nothing against our family, but I just wasn't feeling it that day. We tried to stay outside or keep busy since we'd been sitting down all day, but it was not met with great cooperation on my kids' part. They were not happy campers that day. I was telling them (as seems to be the case with every Saturday of General Conference) that we are a target for Satan. We have a good family, we're trying our best to do what Heavenly Father wants, so satan is going to work extra hard on our family. It's evident on those days when it's not easy to do what is right. We talked a lot about our "team" and that we don't have to compete against each other because we are all on the same team. There is something pleasant in the thought that when one of us scores a point, it is a point for the whole team. We can all be happy and cheer for our teammate. So we had a little talk about all of this on Saturday night after the fighting and whining had reached it's max. I couldn't believe how much there was. It was not good. I hate that we can't just sit around and bask in the Spirit that we felt all day, with sunshine and rainbows all around. I know that's not realistic, so I try to compromise a little, but it was really bad this time. We have a lot of work to do in the area of sportsmanship, and teamwork. We'll get there. Anyway- Nate came home with icecream and hot fudge so that we could carry on the usual tradition on our own :). I'll admit, the store bought hot fudge just isn't the same as Nate's family's homemade stuff, but it worked :). We all went to bed happy :). 4-5-14
1 comment:
You can butter me up all you want. Even if you don't I'll still read your blog. Super cute!
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