Things to Remember Week of 3-25-18

SUNDAY MORNING MINUS NATE
We did it!!  We got ready for church- I even prepared my sharing time- and left our house at 12:35!!  Pretty remarkable really.  I did realize, when we pulled into the church parking lot, that I had forgotten my sharing time stuff- duh- so I ran home and got it, but we did it!!  I was so proud of us!  All without Nate here.  Made me more grateful for him and that he does so much and lets me go to choir Sunday morning (I did miss choir), but I was still pretty proud :).  3-25-18

ELDER RUSSEL M. NELSON
I LOVED my lesson this week!  It was going to be so awesome teaching Sr. primary about our new Prophet.  Unfortunately, things were a little rough with so much talking and calling out from the kids.  It was super chaotic really.  I personally didn't care that much about the noise, but I know it stresses out some of the other adults.  So that was a bummer.  Hopefully some of it sank in.  3-25-18

CHARITY'S FIRST JOB!
Charity found out this week that she was hired at Seagull Book!  She will start working next week during spring break.  We're all pretty excited for her.  She was relieved when she realized she wasn't going to have to work during conference and even more relieved that she wasn't going to have to miss Ashlyn's shower :).  I really can't express what a great job I think this will be for her!  I hope it really is and that it's not too good to be true.  I'm so proud of her though- she's growing up so much!  3-26-18

FHE
Erika taught the lesson and she did her Easter egg/Atonement lesson that she made at Activity days.  She did a great job- this is always such a great reminder of all that happened.  We played basketball for the activity and then went to McD's for ice cream cones for the treat- Jack's choice :).  3-26-18

ISRAEL HOPE HATCH
Wednesday, March 28th, Brent and Sarah's beautiful baby girl was born!  She was a chunk, but so cute!  Dark hair.  Looks just like a darker version of Savannah to me.  Hatch-like :).  I wish we could meet her, but it was fun to receive texts with her pictures.  Congratulations, Hatch Family!  3-28-18

KELLY AP FIELD TRIP
Kelly got to go on her last AP field trip.  She went to Salt Lake and drove around, then to Tucanos.  I think she had a good time.  She doesn't like chicken heart though.  3-28-18

VARSITY KELLY
Kelly was chosen to be a sub for the varsity game on Wednesday!  This was pretty thrilling, we were both pretty excited for her :).  Charity and I got to go watch her and even Grandpa and Dawn stopped by to possibly catch her playing.  She didn't actually get to play, but we had fun watching in the cold weather.  We had to hurry, but stopped at Baskin Robbins for some ice cream to celebrate and basically it was just an excuse to get ice cream.  Then we ran off at the end to get the girls home for YW and some pizza to Nate and the deacons.  Lots of crazy fun.  So proud of Kelly and all the hard work she puts into her team- she's doing great!  3-28-18

STUDENT GOVERNMENT- GO BRAD!
Brad decided to go to the Student Government meeting and wants to run for office!  I'm excited for him to try this out.  I hope it ends up being a good thing for him, whether he wins or not, I'm proud of him for trying.  Where my kids get their courage is beyond me!  I love it though!  3-29-18

AMY WATSON
My good ol' friend from Eagle Mountain came by on Friday morning, on their way down to Orem from Ogden, and visited for a bit.  It was SO good to see her.  She's one of those friends who when we get together, it just feels like we've never been apart.  She is so positive, and such a great example of putting your children first and being supportive of your husband.  I just really admire her for her strength in hard times and for her enduring faith.  She makes me feel like I can do this.  This life thing.  It's so uplifting and motivating to spend time with her.  We got to talk quite a bit, her cute kids played in the creek with Nate :).  Too bad our spring breaks didn't match up, because my kids were still at school.  But I think they had some fun.  I got to see her cute little miracle Reed.  He is so precious!  After she left, Nate and I got talking about how much she meant to me in Eagle Mountain.  I remember several times, praying for strength or comfort while Nate was in Oklahoma, kind of wishing one of my family members would be there for me, but then having her show up on my doorstep to talk.  She was always so sweet to not judge me for being in pajamas at noon.  She knew what I was going through because her husband was always gone!  She was such a strength.  Her example.  She was a blessing to me during that trial.  The answer to my prayers.  I really can't thank her enough.  I'm so glad that we've stayed in touch and stayed friends over the years.  It's crazy to think it's been a decade since we met.  And you'd think that with several hundred miles between us it would be awkward to hand out, but she's just like family to me.  I just love her.  This is my little tribute to Amy.  Hopefully we can do something together this summer. 3-30-18

BASKETS
I finally got the fabric and made Jack and Molly's Easter baskets!!  It's amazing how long I put this off for how simple it really ended up being.  Took me about an hour to make them.  We struggle deciding which fabric to get for Jack's.  I mean, let's be honest, Walmart doesn't have the best selection, but none of the super hero ones seemed right for an Easter basket, so we went with the next best thing- airplanes :).  And I know he loves red, so we made sure to get red.  Cute little Molly was with us, and just like Luke and Noah back in the day, was so stubborn about which one she wanted.  Once she knew she was in charge of the decision, she knew she wanted the "honies"(ponies) and wasn't going to budge!  I tried shamelessly to at least talk her into the generic butterflies, but nope.  This way I can blame the weird choice on her later :).  Kind of like Noah's trucks and Luke's flames.  It wasn't til I had the thing completely sewn up and finished that Erika pointed out that the ponies were actually pony mermaids???  And yep, sure enough, there are fish, bubbles, other sea stuff, and the ponies have tail fins rather than two hind legs!!!!  AHHH!  So weird.  I guess I don't really care, but ugh.  Molly, this one's on you :).  Funny stuff.  It is purple though, which is her favorite color right now, she can turn it inside out if she needs to :).  They're done though!  That's the good thing.  And if I ever need to make another one, I cut a 16" square, then cut off 5"x5" squares out of the corners.  Sewed them together, stuffed them, did a 4" wide strip about 14" long, sewed it into a tube, stuffed it then sewed two seams down the middle.  I was pretty proud of my ability to recreate these without a pattern, they look pretty close if not exactly the same as the old ones.  Not as loose and soft, but I'm guessing that will come with time :).  But anyway.  It felt like a very productive afternoon.  3-30-18

LACROSSE AT BOXELDER
Nate had to work some unusual, weird hours on Friday, working an evening shift, so the kids and I went to Kelly's game up in Brigham City all by ourselves.  It was a long drive.  I had packed us a little lunch to eat at the game, but we ended up eating it all in the car while we waited for Kelly's team to warm up.  That hour before the game is the hardest part of these games.  Gets Molly all out of whack for the game.  This game was different because I had to keep stats.  I was super nervous, but I kept telling myself that there would be someone that knew what they were doing at the table and I would be okay.  Well, of course the person who was supposed to keep stats couldn't come and got his brother and niece to take his place.  They announced that they had never watched a lacrosse game in their lives, as they got to the table.  HUGE EYEROLL.  Yeah, I was so annoyed.  But it ended up being almost fun, just because none of us really knew what we were doing, for the most part.  I figured out while I was struggling with seeing the girls' numbers on their jerseys that not only do I need glasses, but that keeping stats for the JV team was more for teaching us how to do stats so that we can do it when they are varsity than anything else.  Also, in Kelly's words as she got in the car, "I don't think we use the stats at all?"  Which is... kind of annoying, but really took the pressure off.  We did pretty good anyway- we missed a lot of the turnovers, but everything else... Anyway.  Kelly played AWESOME!  I was so proud to call her my daughter when my stats team asked who was mine.  Molly ended up back at the car and didn't seem to have too many problems after the initial abandonment when I sent Brad back with her.  That was a relief. I could see Noah, Luke and Erika (for part of the game) across the field cheering and enjoying things under their blankets.  Minus the stickers/thorns, this was a pretty fun game.  I wish there had been a playground though.  So, my first time of stats went down without too much of a hitch, the kids were great, the game was awesome- did I mention WE WON 6-4.  The drive home was great, nice and pleasant.  Luke took a chance and asked if we could stop at Dollar Tree and get treats for Jazz game watching when we got home, and of course I couldn't resist.  They had done so good at the game with the strange circumstances.  The Jazz won too, by about 11 points, to which Luke said, "It would have been more fun if they had been closer!"  So the evening was a success.  Time to get some sleep for Conference.  3-30-18

GENERAL CONFERENCE- AKA: TREAT DAY
People ask me how I get my kids to enjoy conference, and I really don't know what to say to them.  I mean, we've always tried to make it a positive experience.  We've done the BINGO, the treats attached to a word, the points with tickets for telling us what they've learned and then using the tickets to buy treats for the next session, etc.  It's been fun to come up with ways to keep their attention, and I know that these things help, but I also know that my kids just actually love to hear the words of our prophets.  I wish I could take credit for that- maybe they've caught my obsession with the Church leaders' bug, or recognized how much they mean to me, but I really think that it comes down to consistency and sacrifice.  We have sat in our family room, at our TV for almost every single session of conference, their entire lives (there were a few in Grandma and Grandpa Ruthie and Russ's house, and a few in Bear Lake- very memorable with Jared jabbering the whole time! HA!).  We cancel all events to show that this is a priority.  I thought it was cool that Charity was SO DEVASTATED that she was going to have to miss conference for her new job- even with how excited she is about the new job- she was DEVASTATED at the thought.  She loves conference.  And so do her siblings.  Jack was counting down the days.  It's just a cool thing though.  I am so glad and I feel so blessed to have kids who will sit here, treats in hand, and take notes, listen, get excited about how many points they're getting on their Fantasy Conference bracket, pointing out awesome quotes, jumping up and down emotionally at the Spirit of the Solemn Assembly (Charity really couldn't contain her excitement- she wears hers on the outside), recognizing parts from my Sharing Time lesson last week (Thank you Noah!).  And even sweet little Erika, this time, pausing her attendance to barf in a bowl, but continuing to sit here with all of us even though her stomach hurts and is not done rejecting whatever it is that it keeps forcing up.  Such a blessing.  These guys are amazing.  I hope they can pass their love of conference onto their kids and their kids' kids.  This is something I want them to have forever.
This first session has been awesome!  We got to experience the Solemn Assembly.  None of these guys remember the last one and I think they recognized the coolness of it and felt the Spirit.  Even though Molly had no idea what was going on, she raced downstairs to be able to stand with all of us and raise her hand when it was time for the general membership of the Church.  Such a sweet little moment.  Really, I don't think I could feel more sure about the truthfulness of the Gospel than I do in that moment when I stood with the Relief Society sisters of the Church and raised my right hand to the square and sustained our new Prophet, First Presidency and Apostles.  What a powerful feeling that came over me then!  So cool.  I wish I could express it in words.  I loved the talks too.  I loved the ones that taught us more about our new Prophet.  It really is so evident that he has been prepared and polished for this new position.  His whole life!  It's so cool.  I love learning about him and learning more ways I could emulate him and therefore become closer to my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ.  I hope he is our Prophet for a while.  Here's to three more sessions of conference!  3-31-18

POOR ERIKA
Erika came in my room at about 5:30 (or at least that was when I woke up to her standing there breathing heavily, next to my bed- so creepy) needing some comfort from her stomach ache.  It took me a while to wake up and be more helpful, but we eventually got her a bowl and blanket and laid her on the floor next to me.  I don't know why this is the thing we choose to do- the floor is horribly uncomfortable, but I guess even I can testify that the floor next to mom and dad's bed is better than even the most comfortable of places when you're sick.  She laid there for a while, but couldn't sleep (go figure) so we came downstairs and turned on a movie for her.  Not a lot of sleep and a vomit session later, she finally was able to get some rest.  The poor thing has had to watch conference without treats and with several pukes into the bowl.  I think she's almost done.  Hopefully.  Not the funnest way to spend your Conference weekend.  3-31-18

PRIESTHOOD SESSION
So unfortunately, Erika was not doing a whole lot better when it came time to head on up to Nate's mom's house.  It was not only the traditional banana sundaes for Priesthood Session, but we were also supposed to go to Ashlyn's Bridal Shower.  We were bummed, but I was happy I came up with the perfect solution.  Nate took (well, actually Charity took them) Charity, Kelly (for the shower), and Bradley and Luke for the Priesthood Session with his brothers.  I stayed home with everyone else.  I was glad we had a little bit of representation at the shower, but were still able to keep Erika down.  While she kept her food down... haha... see what I did there :).  jk.  It was a pretty boring night since we didn't really have the option of going anywhere or eating anything with/in front of Erika, but we did watch a few movies.  I got some work done on my blog book (Still doing 2015 if you can believe that).  We made our way to bed pretty early because Noah was anxious for the Easter bunny to come :).  3-31-18

Noah's Fourth Grade Performance and County Fair

We got to go watch Noah perform with the 4th graders on Thursday!  This is one of my favorite programs.  It was especially fun to watch Noah.  He really gets into these things and takes them very seriously :).  He had all the moves down and performed with a smile.  I loved it!  

Unfortunately, my camera card was full in the middle of the program, so I had to capture everything else on my phone.  He got to be one of the square dancers.  He was partners with Lexi from our ward which was a lot of fun.  He did a great job!  He said he twisted his ankle in the middle of the show, but went on as if nothing had happened!  Pretty cool kid.  UTAH! getting BIGGER and better....

After the program we went to his classroom to check out all the floats of the different counties in Utah.  Noah had Rich county and did an AWESOME float of Bear Lake, including the Bear Lake Monster and the beach, some raspberry bushes, the home of Wilford Woodruff.  He was pretty proud of his county.  I'm glad he got into this project and carried most of it out on his own.  I helped him with some of the ideas and the glitter :), but other than that- he did it on his own.  3-28-18 

Funnies

FUNNIES
Molly says, "What do??" in the sweetest, cutest voice ever, when she wants to know what you're doing :).  Reminds me of Kelly's world famous, "Doing here huh?"

Jack: I have a "kweeto" bite on my bumb! (mosquito)

Molly hopped around Supercuts like a bunny while the girls got their hair cuts- so adorable!  "I a hunny!"

The Maughans brought over some donuts leftover from their family thing and Molly insisted (after Bradley had already opened the door and been handed the box) that SHE open the door.  He totally gave in and let her redo the whole event!!  Crazy little Princess.

Molly always calls out, "Don't forgot 'bout me!" When you walk faster than her.

And our new favorite Molly-ism, when Molly is ready to get out of bed:  "DADDY!!! I WAKE!!!"

Molly threw a ball up in the air, it hit the mantle and bounced right back, hitting her in the face!  The boys were hysterical!

Kelly:  So we were playing the dinosaur game that Jack made up where every dinosaur attacks each other and I had the tiny little red one and so I was attacking Erika who had the bigger dinosaur and I was going, "KILL KILL KILL!" and then um wait where am I? Are you typing that?  So then Molly has to come over to defend Erika because she doesn't like me very much and then uh she goes, "NO!!!!!! Dat my bruvuh!" (brother) and takes Erika's dinosaur out of her hands and protects it from me.  And that's it.

Jami was telling me how Jack and Liam spend a lot of time talking about Nayvie and Cosette from school while they are playing together at Liam's house.  I was feeling a little left out so I decided to ask him about it a little on the way home from picking him up.
Me: So... Jack... how was Nayvie today?
Jack: good.
Me: Is she still pretty cute?
Jack: Yeah :).
Me: So do you ever just think about her and wonder what she's doing?
Jack: ALL THE TIME!!  (all huffy and throwing his head back like it's the biggest frustration he deals with)
HA!!!! :) so cute!

On our field trip while we're waiting for the movie to start-
Me: I'm so tired, I could totally fall asleep right here.
Luke: Put your glasses (3D) on so that nobody can see.
Me: Nah.
Luke: Please don't embarrass me, mom.

Gailey Park Almost Warm Enough

This was on our day off from school, March 19th.  We needed to get out of the house for a minute and Gailey Park was calling our name.  As well as my camera!  Feels like it's been a while since I just sat and took pictures of my kids playing.  This just happened to be THE BEST lighting for pictures.  It was super cloudy.  Nothing too spectacular, we were only there for like a half hour before taking Charity to her interview, but as I'm looking at these pictures I'm thinking, "Where are these kids' moms??  They're all a bunch of hoodlums!"  Climbing all over the playground, going up the slides, you name it.  She must have been a little distracted??