Fun at the Park

 Sometimes a picture tells the whole story better than words.  We are SO excited for summertime and sunshine and picnics at the park!

 

 

 

 

Women's Conference

My cousins and I went to Women's Conference at BYU. It was a very long, but enriching day.  I had to get up about the same time I go work out (6am) and start getting ready.  While I was getting ready the boys were also up and getting ready.  They asked me where I was going.  When I told them I was going to BYU for classes on being a better wife and mom they had two responses:
"I thought you already graduated." and ""But you are a perfect mom, we like you just the way you are."

 

With those thoughts in mind I went to 5 different classes on parenting, spouse relations, being a disciple of Christ, Being of Good cheer and becoming a better person.  We ate lunch in between classes or during.  We walked all over BYU campus, which was so fun to remember my college experience years ago and to see all that has changed since I left.  At the end of the day we went out to dinner at La Jolla Groves.  It was delicious and I look forward to going back.  Especially since I was too stuffed for dessert and I heard that they have fabulous choices.  I hope that I will be able to go to Women'd Conference again next year.

Baseball Season Has Begun!

 Bring on the baseball caps and sunscreen.  The next few months around here are going to be spent watching Nathan and Ryan play baseball.  Nathan started first and he is on the Blue Jays.  He is in "real"baseball this year and has had some really long practices.  Each time he comes home pumped and excited to play.  Greg was able to go to a lot of the practices with Nathan and help out.  The first games was last night and while nothing too exciting happened, it was fun to watch and I am excited for the upcoming season.  I am not excited for the 8pm games, however, and am not sure if I will make it to many of them.  The other kids did okay, but it would be nice to watch the game, without watching them.

 

 

 

 Two things happened to note.  I saw this HUGE jug of soda.  100 oz!  Who needs this much soda?  I hardly ever drink soda and I am sure that aids to my slender figure.  I honestly was floored when I saw this jug.  The other thing I couldn't take a picture.  A little boy, about five feet from me, pulled down his pants and peed.  He looked directly at me and I shook my head and mouthed, "No!" but that didn't deter him.  He didn't seem to need to go badly, no jumping around or doing the "potty dance."  He just pulled them down and peed in the grass.  Gross!  Ahh Baseball season has begun!

More Owies!

I am cursed.  One of these days my neighbor, or doctor, or school nurse is going to call the cops about my children and their black eyes. 

On Sunday we were at my cousins home when Callie discovered the swings.  They were low enough that she could swing on them without much help.  Greg or I were with her at all times, until of course, we weren't.  My cousin was pushing both Callie and her son and somehow they collided.  Luckily it isn't a full on black eye like Annabelle, but poor little Callie.  Always wanting to be like her big sister. :)
That same night Nathan was playing on the monkey bars when we fell through and hit his neck.  He was screaming SO loud and at first I thought he got stung by a bee.  His right neck swelled up and it hurt a lot.  We put ice on it and the swelling has gone down.  It still hurts a little and you can tell that he is babying his neck, which may or may not be good for it.  As we drove home Greg announced that 2 of 4 kids got hurt at the cousins house.  Then both Annie and Ryan told of some minor scraps and bruises they got while playing outside.  Hooray, all the kids got hurt! I don't know if we will make it through the summer at the rate we are going!  But we are loving the outside time!

A Day at the Farm

 When I got asked to go on Annabelle's field trip the week of, I said I could do it, if I didn't have to ride the bus again.  Luckily that was going to work so Callie and I met Annie at the farm for her first ever school field trip, complete with riding on a school bus.  There were 8 kindergarten classes (morning and afternoon) so it was REALLY chaotic, but the kids all had a lot of fun. 

 We got to be in the petting zoo area first.  It was stinky and smelly, but the girls loved it.  Callie chased after the animals and Annabelle surprised me with petting all the animals she could.  She has a new friend at school, Megan, and talks about her all the time.  I am glad I got a picture of them, and some other friends.

 We went on a hayride, learned about seeds and cows and farming.  Time was running out and with 8 full classes of kindergartners, and one awesomely fun slide, there were a lot of kids who didn't get to go down.  Annie barely made it on.  Her face seemed a little scared, but she loved it.  I am so glad that I was able to go with her on the field trip.  It was a lot of fun for all of us, and I got to answer all the questions I got about her eye. 

 

 Annabelle also got to plant a giant sunflower seed.  I then got to add it to my small windowsill of plants.  We have a jade plant from my aunt.  It is a descendant from my grandmother's plant and while it isn't thriving, I can't bring myself to toss it.  Next we have 3 little plants from Ryan's cub scout meeting: spinach, tomatoes and flowers.  Then Annabelle's sunflower.  The red cups are tomato plants from cub scout pack meeting.  The 2 flowered pots are my attempts to plant herbs again.  I have parsley and thyme from last year and I am hoping to get basil and rosemary this year.  Finally there is the biggest tulip from my front yard that my cute neighbor "didn't" cut.  My window sill is full.  Hopefully I will get some of these plants outside before long.

The Capitol, The Piano Guys and The Planned Accident

I had a great little vacation, but I came home to a crazy a busy week.  First I got the house put back together.  Greg did a great job, but like any weekend, the house was a wreck on Monday.  Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling great this week.  I hope it wasn't the yummy new food I tried at a cafe, because I want to go there again, but it was something.  My stomach was not happy and I took an afternoon off and slept.  That is until I heard Callie and realized I should pull myself downstairs and make something for dinner--ramen noodles were enjoyed by all. 
I had missed Nathan's field trip at the beginning of the year due to Callie being sick, so as Thursday got closer and I was still not feeling okay, Nathan was nervous.  Luckily I had a family full of prayers going to heaven and I was able to pull myself together and go.  Riding a school bus isn't my favorite thing, but I took a few Tylenol and we were off.  Nathan and I chatted and played scrabble while we drove the 30+ minutes.  We first went to a Utah Pioneer museum.  I really enjoyed it.  The kids had a scavenger hunt, which is nice but I think it made them only look for certain things and so they missed a lot of neat things.  Next was lunch.  It wasn't that wonderful, but it was food.  I got to try the famous strawberry cups that Nathan always raves about.  They weren't too bad.  Next up was the capitol.  I learned a lot of interesting facts.  Did you know Yoda lives in the Utah Capitol? 

 And that there is a room worth $3 million dollars!!  Nathan was really fun to watch.  He stayed up by the tour guide and asked a few questions.  It was a long trip, but I am glad I was able to go with Nate and his class.

I picked Callie and Annabelle up from where they were being tended (I am so lucky to have so many helpers) and we headed home for the brief respite between school and cub scouts.  Scouts was soccer so I was outside and around more crazy kids.  I decided that I didn't have time to make dinner before my date with Greg and ordered some pizza (something I hardly ever do because I like to make pizza, but love it when I do).  At some point in the afternoon Annie also went to gymnastics--Thursday's are pretty crazy.  My baby-sitter, Sharie, showed up and Greg wasn't even home yet.  I called and he hadn't left work!  I met him at the park and ride and away we went to see "The Piano Guys" with some of his family. 

If you have never heard of "The Piano Guys" you are missing out.  It is John Schmidt, a pianist for years, and a guy named Steve on the cello.  They have a lot of videos on you tube: http://www.youtube.com/user/ThePianoGuys, and Greg and I have enjoyed watching them.  The concert was a lot of fun and it was neat to see them in person.  Afterwards we went out for treats with some of Greg's siblings and mom. 

 

While we were gone we got a text from Sharie saying that Annabelle got hurt, but was okay.  We got the whole story the next day. Nathan has this rock painted like a bee.  He wanted to scare his sister by pretending a big bee was flying towards her.  He wanted the "bee" to land next to her.  He didn't want the rock to hit her.  But it did.  It not only hit her, it gave her a beautiful black eye.  Remember a few years ago?  Yeah, this wasn't as bad, but my poor baby!  We had a really hard time talking to Nathan about this "accident."  My dad used a phrase when we were little referred to as a "planned accident."  Being a parent I now understand it and use it myself.  We explained to Nathan that while it may have been an accident, it was planned because he knew that throwing a rock could potentially hurt someone or something.  He knew it was wrong and yet he still choose to throw it.  We have been having Nate do lots of nice things for his sister, but I still don't feel like it has been enough.  It amazes me how a child thinks.  How could a ten yer old boy ever think it is okay to throw a rock towards another person?!

Mini Vacation for Mom

 I have one amazing husband!  When I got my cousin's "Save the Date" 6 or so months ago, I knew that I really wanted to go to his wedding.  We had time so we didn't talk about it right away.  But as the date got closer and we had to mail in our RSVP, I brought up the two options of making it to the wedding. 
1) Since it was Spring break we could all head out to California, Greg could work from my parents house, and then both Greg and I could go to the wedding.  
2) I could fly out and spend 3-4 days with my parents and sister's family and go to the wedding alone.  While Greg watches the kids.
Now some of you may wonder why Greg picked option 2, but he HATES driving and LOVES me and so away I zoomed on Thursday of last week.  It was weird being at the airport with not only no kids, but no Greg.  I got A LOT of reading done.  I meant to take a lot of pictures, but didn't manage to pull my camera out of my bag until the wedding.  But I had a fabulous time and I want to remember so here is the run down:
Thursday: I arrived at about 1.  The plane had to get de-iced so even though we boarded early, we were a little behind schedule.  I took my dad out for his 57th birthday to Chili's.  I hadn't been there for a long time, and it was yummy!  Dad and I went home and relaxed while we waited for mom to get out of school.  My sister, Wendy and her kids came with  my mom and I got lots of, "Aunt Emily!" and hugs all around.  Wendy took her kids home and I again just relaxed (notice the theme of my vacation).  Around 6:30 we headed over to pick up my Grandma Bonnie and Wendy for a girls night.  We went to Visconti's, a yummy Italian restaurant.  Then shopping so Wendy could find something to wear to the wedding. 
Friday: My mom didn't want me to do any work while I was home so at 5:45am she was up and putting dishes away.  Our walls are paper thin and I had a hard time going back to sleep.  No worries, I had to get up soon anyway since my dad and I were going to the Sacramento temple.  It was dedicated in 2006 but I had still not been able to go inside.  Every time I was in town it was either closed or we had too many things planned.  I wasn't going to let that happen again.  We made it to the 8:30 session and I had a wonderful experience.  It is the smallest temple I have been in, and I was even able to see a couple of my friends' parents inside working.  The decor is breathtaking and I am so glad I was able to make it there this time around. 
Afterwards Dad and I went home and ate my yummy leftovers.  Then I headed over to mom's school for her lunch break.  We chatted for awhile and then the students (36- 6th graders) came in.  She had me sit in the front of the room and pretend I was just a returning student with some good advice.  The kids all seemed surprised to find out I was her daughter, until we smiled. 
Next on the agenda was making a cake for Wendy's recipe swap.  A lady in her ward does a 40-50 person recipe swap every year.  I had to make 1 recipe and then print out a page with 5 different ones.  I got over 200 recipes and stuffed myself with all the ones I got to try.  The not so funny story of the night is that I had to go to the store to buy a couple ingredients.  I then failed at making the cake by switching the water and oil amounts.  I had to go BACK to the store and get the same ingredients, plus eggs.  I felt pretty silly, especially since I was supposed to be more smart not having my kids around me.  Oh well, it was a fun and yummy night.
Saturday: I got to "sleep in" until 7:30 and then my mom made us french toast.  Dad headed off to a class while mom and I relaxed.  I finished the book I had started on the airplane while mom got some quiet time.  We finally showered, ate lunch and got ready for the wedding.  It had been raining and hailing all week.  The wedding was supposed to be outdoors, but with the bad weather it was tentatively planned indoors.  Luckily the sun came out and dried up the grass and so my cousin Jason and his beautiful bride, Jenny, were able to have the wedding they wanted. 
I hadn't seen my cousin in maybe 6 years.  He always had some excuse when I was in town and was never at any family get-togethers.  I was a little nervous about coming, but when he saw me, he put my nerves to rest.  He gave me a BIG hug and said, "Emily! I am so glad you are here!  It means so much to me!  Thank you for your sacrifice!" I had to hold back the tears and tell him how it wasn't a sacrifice, that Greg was sacrificing and how I was so happy to be there and to meet his new wife.  His words meant a lot to me.  It was very obvious how happy he was, he is. 

  

During the vows, when Jason and Jenny both said, "Until death parts us," I really got shaken up.  I know that I will be married for time and all eternity to my Gregory.  I know that.  That was what was said during my vows and I know that it is true with all my heart.  To hear how in love Jason and Jenny are and how special their relationship is, and then to hear that it was to end at death, it was just SO sad.  There is so much more that so many people don't know about or understand.  I am so blessed to belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints that promises eternal life and eternal families.  I am so grateful that I will be married for time and all eternity to my bestest friend.

 On my Mom's side there are 10 cousins in all.  6 of them are my family.  There were only 5 of us that made it to Jason's wedding.  Wendy, Jenny, Jason, Derek, and me.  The bride, Jenny, is our newest cousin and she was wonderful.  I really enjoyed getting to know her and know that she will bring lots of fun and laughter to our family.

 While I wasn't able to dance much, not having Greg, it was great to watch my parents.  I took a video and look forward to showing it to them as the years go by.  My dad has had Multiple Sclerosis for more than 10 years now.  Greg is the only in-law that saw my dad walking and golfing.  He may be in a wheel chair, but he keeps himself busy with lots of volunteering, basketball, biking in the summer and I recently taught him how to index. 
Sunday: We got up and got ready for church.  I sent Greg a text about 8am that said, "Happy Sunday! Good Luck!"  43 minutes later he sent me a text that I will have to add to this post that said, "We did it!"  The picture was precious and made my day!  I love going to my parents ward.  I love seeing the parents of so many wonderful friends, friends that are still around, and leaders and teachers I had growing up.  I tried to make sure I said hello to everyone I could.  I am sure I missed someone, but I tried.  After church we headed to my Aunt and Uncle's for a BBQ.  I love their house.  It holds so many wonderful memories of my childhood.  After a weekend of wedding craziness I was surprised they wanted another party, but I am glad that they did.  It was great to see everyone one last time before I left. 
I got to the airport about an hour before my plane was to depart.  We boarded a half hour early and took off.  We arrived more than 20 minutes early!  Good thing Greg was on time.  The kids were silly and shy when I got in the car, but I got hugs as the night went on.  It was great to be home and with my family again.  It was a quick trip, but a wonderful trip and I am so grateful to Greg for letting me go. 

More Spring Break Fun

 

 Nathan REALLY wanted to take Daddy to Neptune park.  We made it up there around 7 and I was surprised that it was still very crowded.  BUT, it was a lot cooler and shadier.  Greg had fun climbing to the top of the pyramid and making the boys dizzy on the merry-go-round.  The girls enjoyed things again as well.  We brought some scooters this time and the kids had fun with those.  Both times I went to the park, I ran in to old college friends.  Who would have though?! 

 

Oh, yeah, I chopped my hair.  I love it.  I love having less to wash, comb and dry again.

 

 Today I took the kids to a duck pond up by Greg's office.  It was REALLY windy, but the kids had fun throwing bread to the ducks and geese.  Next we headed over to Greg's office for a tour and then to a nearby park for lunch.  I think we all enjoyed seeing Daddy in the middle of the day.  And I know he enjoyed being out in the sun in the middle of the day. 

A New Park

 We have been hearing about this new park for a couple weeks and finally found it.  We brought Nathan's friend, Anson, and my friend Tomie and her girls.  The park is HUGE!  There is a ton of grass, a stage, a basketball court with shorter hoops, and then a ton of climbing and swinging toys.  Next time we go we will bring scooters and a Frisbee.  I was so proud of Nathan and Anson making it all the way to the top of the pyramid.  Ryan and Annabelle made it about halfway.  At one point I notice a little three year old climbing up.  I watched him for awhile and then went back to playing with my kids.  A while later I noticed him up there again and he was halfway and crying.  He was trying to come down and looking around I didn't see anyone with him.  I even asked a few people.  So I sent Nathan up to help him.  It was a proud mommy moment as I watched him hold the little boy and help him get down.  I went a helped a little, I didn't want either to fall.  His mom ran over and thanked Nathan and apologized for not watching him. 

 

Hattie was holding very still as three little lady bugs crawled on her.  

 

I don't know how Ryan went on that merry-go-round so many times.  Just watching him go around and around made me dizzy.

 

 We spent over 2 hours there and I loved all the sun I got.  We were all exhausted when we got home and so here we are, relaxing and watching a movie before we go out again.  I am so glad we have some sunny days ahead of us.  Maybe I will get some color before the wedding I am going to on Saturday.

Easter

Like last year, we did a countdown until Easter.  Not with Easter eggs and candy, but with stories about Jesus and His week leading up to the Atonement and Resurrection.  Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures, but we had a lot of fun learning about what Jesus did nearly 2000 years ago.  We used pictures, scriptures, and personal stories.

• Sunday- We talked about Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  We made our own palm leaves and talked about their symbolism.  We put up a "Love One Another" board and encouraged the kids to write notes to each other on it all week.  We also watched General Conference and tried to really listen to some of the things the Prophet told us.  We decided to focus on his words at Family Home Evening the rest of this year. We also got to have dinner with Grandma Pam and some Aunts and Uncles.  Callie was amazing and played downstairs for a LONG time.  I was able to chat and play some games with the adults, without her on my lap (until everyone came up for dessert).
• Monday- We talked about how Jesus cleansed the temple.  We related that to our own home and family and asked what Jesus would "cleanse" if he came to our home.  We also talked about service and how we need to pray for ways to serve other people, even our family.  
• Tuesday- We talked about how Jesus taught using parables.  We read a couple from the scriptures, and related them to our life.  We also talked about a modern day parable (The parable of the Bicycle) and again related it to our lives.  Having older kids is great and leads to great discussions some times.  I took the kids to the dollar store and told them a secret family member they could buy a gift for.  They had a lot of fun searching for something, though it was hard to check out.  Especially since Callie's arms were full of stuff she saw and wanted.  
• Wednesday- Records show that Jesus rested this day and so we continued to talk about parables.  We focused on the parable of the 10 virgins and thanks to my Grandma Bonnie I even had a little oil lamp from when she went to Jerusalem a year ago.
• Thursday- Tonight we did a passover dinner.  We ate the kinds of food that Jesus might have eaten at a passover dinner.  We had fish, naan, figs, dates, goat cheese, cucumbers, pistachios, grapes, and sparkling cider to represent the wine at the first sacrament.  The kids were a little hesitant to try everything, but they were good sports.  We also talked about how Jesus washed the apostles' feet.  
• Friday- WE talked about Jesus' atonement, trial and crucifixion. We showed some pictures and talked about how we would have felt had we been there.  I love how the kids started asking, during the afternoon, what we would learn about Jesus later on.  It just showed me how much I need to make sure we do have spiritual discussions every day.  
• Saturday- Today we talked about where Jesus went after he died. How he was being a missionary to those in heaven. We decorated eggs and played outside a ton!
• 

•  Sunday- I had made these little rolls the night before.  The recipe was a little strange and I was worried (even though my sis assured me they were good), but I was pleasantly surprised with how they turned out.  You wrap a marshmallow in dough and when you cook it the roll is hollow, like the tomb when Mary went to anoint the Savior.  We talked about resurrection and how lucky we are that Heavenly Father and Jesus love us so much.  We went to church and learned more about the resurrection and how it available to all men and women, all children of God.

The rest of Sunday I spent in the kitchen.  I made some rye bread, a lamb roast, and an apple pie.  Oh, and some carrots and mashed potatoes.  I had thought more people were coming, but it ended up just being us and Jeff and Bri.  No complaints, I have a lot of leftover lamb, and I LOVE lamb.  We spent time inside and outside.  Playing games and soaking in the sun.  The kids looked fabulous for church and then off with the nice clothes for all the fun the rest of the day.  My children LOVE Easter eggs.  They love to hide the plastic eggs over and over.  When Jeff and Bri came they were very excited to hide some eggs for them. 

 

 

One thing of importance happened this week.  I think it was Friday at dinner when the kids were talking about the logistics of the Easter Bunny and when he was going to deliver the baskets and hide the eggs.  They turned to me and asked when and my brain froze for a second.  The next thing out of my mouth was, "There is no Easter Bunny." I had a couple of confused and surprised looks on my face.  And then nods of agreement.  I told them it was just dad and I that hid everything and we talked about how silly the Easter bunny idea was.  They all took it really well.  Then Annabelle said, "But Santa is real, right?" To which I had to respond, "Yes."  I wish we didn't have to lie, but I couldn't take away another fairytale right then.  Oh well.  Someday.