The day was a good one.
I am thankful for:
*Clean, dry, folded, put away laundry
*Good friends for my children
*Some of whom are their own siblings
*Crock pots and yummy dinners they provide
*Naps - I took one today and it was heaven sent
*Getting things done. Funny how the nap actually helped with that one.
*A warm and cozy home that I love living in
*My dear and wonderful family
*Stanton's care for his patients. He spent 2 hours after regular office hours to help a child in pain.
*My wonderful life. "The secret to having it all is believing you already do." I believe it and I live it.
09 November 2011
Already Thankful....
I know it's only 6:38 in the morning, but my heart is already full.
Last night I ate really good chocolate and really cheap licorice together. It made me sick. It was a turning point for me. I haven't been exercising at all lately -- like for the last couple of months. I thought I could just sort of watch what I ate and be okay and fit exercise in again at some point. I always missed it, but just couldn't find a place for it. Well, not exercising (for me) becomes like the "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" books. One thing leads to another and pretty soon you've eaten an entire large bar of dark chocolate, 10 pieces of licorice, and way too many cookies throughout the day.
I went to bed last night and prayed for help to wake up with a desire to exercise -- I was certainly going to bed with one. I've got to get back on track.
The boys bounced into the room at 5:30 this morning (a regular occurrence since Daylight Savings ended) and I knew it was "the" morning. I got up, got in my workout clothes, and put on Yoga Meltdown -- an awesome workout for easing back into things -- it's still very challenging, but it's Yoga, so it feels easier. I did it and afterward I felt SO good.
I walked to the kitchen and made our smoothie for the morning and realized how blessed we are to have such a beautiful, warm home with conveniences like a refrigerator, a dishwasher, and a blender big and strong enough to give my entire family their fruits and vegetables for the day in one jar. And I realized how grateful I am that my children understand why we drink them and do it without much complaint....in fact, they usually ask for them.
I thought about the shower I was looking forward to - and how thankful I am for access to clean, warm water.
And then Chloe came upstairs. Dressed. With her bed made. And her pajamas put away. And a smile of satisfaction on her face.
I am thankful.
Last night I ate really good chocolate and really cheap licorice together. It made me sick. It was a turning point for me. I haven't been exercising at all lately -- like for the last couple of months. I thought I could just sort of watch what I ate and be okay and fit exercise in again at some point. I always missed it, but just couldn't find a place for it. Well, not exercising (for me) becomes like the "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" books. One thing leads to another and pretty soon you've eaten an entire large bar of dark chocolate, 10 pieces of licorice, and way too many cookies throughout the day.
I went to bed last night and prayed for help to wake up with a desire to exercise -- I was certainly going to bed with one. I've got to get back on track.
The boys bounced into the room at 5:30 this morning (a regular occurrence since Daylight Savings ended) and I knew it was "the" morning. I got up, got in my workout clothes, and put on Yoga Meltdown -- an awesome workout for easing back into things -- it's still very challenging, but it's Yoga, so it feels easier. I did it and afterward I felt SO good.
I walked to the kitchen and made our smoothie for the morning and realized how blessed we are to have such a beautiful, warm home with conveniences like a refrigerator, a dishwasher, and a blender big and strong enough to give my entire family their fruits and vegetables for the day in one jar. And I realized how grateful I am that my children understand why we drink them and do it without much complaint....in fact, they usually ask for them.
I thought about the shower I was looking forward to - and how thankful I am for access to clean, warm water.
And then Chloe came upstairs. Dressed. With her bed made. And her pajamas put away. And a smile of satisfaction on her face.
I am thankful.
08 November 2011
Thankful For....
Today I'm thankful for:
*Pinterest. Seriously.
*The ability to NOT yell at Chloe today.
*Brigham learning a lesson.
*Stanton's awesome dentistry.
*Really good chocolate.
*My scripture journal. It's a place where the Spirit speaks to me. I learned something of the condescension of God today - it was profound for me.
*Quick dinners I keep up my sleeve. Especially ones that can be built from the pantry and are still healthful.
*Good books.
*Bing Crosby.
*A warm home, clean clothes, coats, all the little things that make winter wonderful.
*A comfy chair.
*Beautiful, sweet, strong-willed, lesson-teaching children.
*Jesus Christ - God the Son, the Creator, the Father of my salvation, the Author and the Finisher of my faith.
*Cannon, my little buddy and total mama's boy. He makes my heart sing.
*Pinterest. Seriously.
*The ability to NOT yell at Chloe today.
*Brigham learning a lesson.
*Stanton's awesome dentistry.
*Really good chocolate.
*My scripture journal. It's a place where the Spirit speaks to me. I learned something of the condescension of God today - it was profound for me.
*Quick dinners I keep up my sleeve. Especially ones that can be built from the pantry and are still healthful.
*Good books.
*Bing Crosby.
*A warm home, clean clothes, coats, all the little things that make winter wonderful.
*A comfy chair.
*Beautiful, sweet, strong-willed, lesson-teaching children.
*Jesus Christ - God the Son, the Creator, the Father of my salvation, the Author and the Finisher of my faith.
*Cannon, my little buddy and total mama's boy. He makes my heart sing.
07 November 2011
Thankful For....
Today I am thankful for:
*Curling Irons
*Charlie boy
*Delicious recipes and the internet where I can find them
*My talents
*Our wonderful piano teacher, Shirlene. She is so fantastic.
*Christmas music by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
*Scarfs
*Sunshine
*Reliable transportation
*A warm home
*Vegetables
*Curling Irons
*Charlie boy
*Delicious recipes and the internet where I can find them
*My talents
*Our wonderful piano teacher, Shirlene. She is so fantastic.
*Christmas music by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
*Scarfs
*Sunshine
*Reliable transportation
*A warm home
*Vegetables
06 November 2011
Thankful For....
On this Sabbath Day I'm thankful for:
*My Grandma Rose's french bread recipe. It never fails and is so delicious.
*Church
*Daylight Savings (that extra hour this morning was heavenly!)
*Beautiful Christmas music. The Mormon Tabernacle Christmas concerts are so amazing. I listened to Sissel's and Brian Stokes Mitchell's this morning and my spirit was nourished. Beautiful.
*Choir. We made SO much progress on our song for next week. It was wonderful today.
*Our good bishop and other church leaders.
*The Book of Mormon. I'm learning so much from it right now- I'm so thankful Heavenly Father has given this book in this day and time to His children.
*And that I finally remembered to draw a winner for the Favorite Things giveaway...it only took me a month!
I plugged the numbers into Random.org and it gave me the number 4 -- that means the winner is:
SEWSARA!!!! Aw, fun Sara, my great friend from High School! Love you, Sar! Look for a package in the mail one of these weeks. :)
And just for fun, I'm going to draw two more:
#3 - JILL!!
and
#16 - COURTNEY!!!
How fun is that?! All three winners are great old high school buddies. Awesome.
Jill and Sar, I know I have your addresses, but Courtney, I'm not sure if I have yours. Will you send it to me? Love you!
*My Grandma Rose's french bread recipe. It never fails and is so delicious.
*Church
*Daylight Savings (that extra hour this morning was heavenly!)
*Beautiful Christmas music. The Mormon Tabernacle Christmas concerts are so amazing. I listened to Sissel's and Brian Stokes Mitchell's this morning and my spirit was nourished. Beautiful.
*Choir. We made SO much progress on our song for next week. It was wonderful today.
*Our good bishop and other church leaders.
*The Book of Mormon. I'm learning so much from it right now- I'm so thankful Heavenly Father has given this book in this day and time to His children.
*And that I finally remembered to draw a winner for the Favorite Things giveaway...it only took me a month!
I plugged the numbers into Random.org and it gave me the number 4 -- that means the winner is:
SEWSARA!!!! Aw, fun Sara, my great friend from High School! Love you, Sar! Look for a package in the mail one of these weeks. :)
And just for fun, I'm going to draw two more:
#3 - JILL!!
and
#16 - COURTNEY!!!
How fun is that?! All three winners are great old high school buddies. Awesome.
Jill and Sar, I know I have your addresses, but Courtney, I'm not sure if I have yours. Will you send it to me? Love you!
Perfect Saturday? I Say - Almost!
Let's start with what made it not quite perfect, okay? Stanton was gone. We miss him when he's gone! It was for a good cause -- he went to SLC with his parents and brother to help his cousin do some remodeling work on the home she purchased for her mother (Stanton's aunt). I was so glad he was able to go, but we missed him! And to top it off, they were in a car accident on the way down. There was black ice on a bridge and the Suburban Stanton's dad was driving just lost control. Thank goodness they were all wearing seatbelts and the airbags didn't deploy. They hit the concrete barrier (that kept them from falling off the 40 ft. bridge) going nearly 25 miles per hour, so it was a real blessing that none of them were injured.
Stanton's dad turned around and headed home to call his insurance agent (har har -- he's his insurance agent) and Stanton, James, and Judy all hitched a ride with DA (Judy's brother, S&J's uncle) to help with the work. I'm so grateful he's okay!!
They were able to get a ton of work done at the house -- a huge help to his cousin and aunt.
He's okay, I promise -- and so is everyone else -- so let's move on to the perfect part of the day, shall we?
We woke up to that most glorious of November sights: SNOW!!!! I am in love with the first snow of the season...and what a treat that it didn't come till November -- we could not have asked for a more lovely summer and fall. I'm not even remotely sad to see some winter days come our way.
Of course the children were thrilled to see the snow and just had to get out and play in it! I fished out the winter clothes box from the storage room and we rifled through to see what fit from last year. Everyone had snow pants -- just not necessarily the color they were hoping for....
Brigham was a great sport about those pink snow pants. He was appeased by the reappearance of his Spiderman snow hat and the discovery of new superhero snowboots I purchased on clearance last year. The girls had most everything they needed, although we're going to have to purchase new coats for them. Cannon didn't have boots that fit, but he was happy in his hefty Lightning McQueen sneakers -- we'll have to buy boots sooner or later, though.
I told them they all had to play outside for a LONG time. I got in the shower and got cleaned up and ready for the day (and no, they didn't just gleefully play outside for hours on end....they came knocking at the door a LOT).
The girls got busy building a snowman, which wasn't entirely successful considering the small amount of snow that actually fell.
Charlie boy, well, he was a BALL to watch in the snow! He'd never seen it before - never in his life! He was a little nervous when he first went out to the bathroom in the morning, but once he got his first taste of the fun, he was ringing his bell to go outside all day long. He was jumping around like the puppy he is, burying his face in the snow, loving every single second.
Our afternoon was spent at a cafe called our kitchen where I served as waitress to a couple of 50s Girls, a Clone Trooper, and Iron Man.
They were a raucous bunch, but some delicious chicken noodle soup (thank goodness for leftovers in the freezer!), rolls, and hot chocolate seemed to settle them.
Throughout the day, I kept thinking how this day was so reminiscent of the old days where all four kids were home all day. They stayed in dress ups all day, we didn't have anywhere to go. It was wonderful....but this is much more wonderful because they can entertain themselves, get themselves dressed, and help one another. Oh how I love this phase of life we're in --- it is nothing short of magical.
They stayed in the dress ups from the moment they got in from playing to the moment they went to bed -- I think they were in heaven.
Courtney H., one of the kids' favorite babysitters came over to tend for the 45 minutes between my leaving and Stanton's arrival home. Stanton gave them some love and got them to bed while I went to dinner and the USU women's volleyball game with some girlfriends. They all hit the 9:40 showing of The Help, too, but I wanted to get home to see Stanton (and 9:40 is a SUPER late movie for this old girl). It was nice to spend some time with friends.
Shaynna, Emily, Cami, Chalisa, Abbey, & Kari at the USU game.
Going out with the girls was fun, but let me tell you, it was NO comparison to the day with my kiddos. I just adore these 4.
Stanton's dad turned around and headed home to call his insurance agent (har har -- he's his insurance agent) and Stanton, James, and Judy all hitched a ride with DA (Judy's brother, S&J's uncle) to help with the work. I'm so grateful he's okay!!
They were able to get a ton of work done at the house -- a huge help to his cousin and aunt.
He's okay, I promise -- and so is everyone else -- so let's move on to the perfect part of the day, shall we?
We woke up to that most glorious of November sights: SNOW!!!! I am in love with the first snow of the season...and what a treat that it didn't come till November -- we could not have asked for a more lovely summer and fall. I'm not even remotely sad to see some winter days come our way.
Of course the children were thrilled to see the snow and just had to get out and play in it! I fished out the winter clothes box from the storage room and we rifled through to see what fit from last year. Everyone had snow pants -- just not necessarily the color they were hoping for....
I told them they all had to play outside for a LONG time. I got in the shower and got cleaned up and ready for the day (and no, they didn't just gleefully play outside for hours on end....they came knocking at the door a LOT).
The girls got busy building a snowman, which wasn't entirely successful considering the small amount of snow that actually fell.
Charlie boy, well, he was a BALL to watch in the snow! He'd never seen it before - never in his life! He was a little nervous when he first went out to the bathroom in the morning, but once he got his first taste of the fun, he was ringing his bell to go outside all day long. He was jumping around like the puppy he is, burying his face in the snow, loving every single second.
Our afternoon was spent at a cafe called our kitchen where I served as waitress to a couple of 50s Girls, a Clone Trooper, and Iron Man.
They were a raucous bunch, but some delicious chicken noodle soup (thank goodness for leftovers in the freezer!), rolls, and hot chocolate seemed to settle them.
Throughout the day, I kept thinking how this day was so reminiscent of the old days where all four kids were home all day. They stayed in dress ups all day, we didn't have anywhere to go. It was wonderful....but this is much more wonderful because they can entertain themselves, get themselves dressed, and help one another. Oh how I love this phase of life we're in --- it is nothing short of magical.
They stayed in the dress ups from the moment they got in from playing to the moment they went to bed -- I think they were in heaven.
Courtney H., one of the kids' favorite babysitters came over to tend for the 45 minutes between my leaving and Stanton's arrival home. Stanton gave them some love and got them to bed while I went to dinner and the USU women's volleyball game with some girlfriends. They all hit the 9:40 showing of The Help, too, but I wanted to get home to see Stanton (and 9:40 is a SUPER late movie for this old girl). It was nice to spend some time with friends.
Going out with the girls was fun, but let me tell you, it was NO comparison to the day with my kiddos. I just adore these 4.
Thankful For...
November 5th
Today I'm thankful for:
•Snow
•Children who will wear whatever is in the winter box just for the chance to play in the first snow of the season.
•Hot chocolate
•Leftovers
•A good husband who is willing to help and serve when needed
•Good friends
•That each member of our family is safe
•That my Grandma Rose is doing so much better and receiving exactly the care she needs right now.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Today I'm thankful for:
•Snow
•Children who will wear whatever is in the winter box just for the chance to play in the first snow of the season.
•Hot chocolate
•Leftovers
•A good husband who is willing to help and serve when needed
•Good friends
•That each member of our family is safe
•That my Grandma Rose is doing so much better and receiving exactly the care she needs right now.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
05 November 2011
Thankful For...
November 4:
•my wonderful sisters and fantastic phone conversations with them. They keep me sane sometimes and I'm pretty sure I do the same for them. How lucky to have sisters and how lucky to honestly, truly, NEVER fight with them.
•field trips for my children
•my children's good friends
•date night with my sweetheart
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
•my wonderful sisters and fantastic phone conversations with them. They keep me sane sometimes and I'm pretty sure I do the same for them. How lucky to have sisters and how lucky to honestly, truly, NEVER fight with them.
•field trips for my children
•my children's good friends
•date night with my sweetheart
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
03 November 2011
Thankful For....
Today is November 3rd. I'm thankful for so many things.
I'm thankful for the scriptures.
I'm thankful for hot chocolate out of my grandmother's mugs.
I'm thankful for happy children.
I'm thankful for my sister, Cindy. It's her birthday today. She is someone I admire so much. I love her and am really, truly grateful for her. Happy Birthday, Cinny Cinny Bum Bum!
I'm thankful for healthy foods and opportunities to teach my children about them.
I'm thankful for my blog and the record I'm able to keep because of it.
I'm thankful for the scriptures.
I'm thankful for hot chocolate out of my grandmother's mugs.
I'm thankful for happy children.
I'm thankful for my sister, Cindy. It's her birthday today. She is someone I admire so much. I love her and am really, truly grateful for her. Happy Birthday, Cinny Cinny Bum Bum!
I'm thankful for healthy foods and opportunities to teach my children about them.
I'm thankful for my blog and the record I'm able to keep because of it.
02 November 2011
Halloween!!!!
Yeah! I get to blog about Halloween -- one of my favorite holidays of the year.
The kids were all so different this year and that made it a lot of fun.
Annakin Skywalker, a Wizard Kid (NOT a Harry Potter wizard kid, she'll have you know), a 50s girl, and Spiderman.
There is seriously not one thing cuter than children dressed up for Halloween. Not one thing. I love it. And in addition to that one decent picture, here are the outtakes --
Camera out of focus....uncooperative kids....etc. etc. etc....
Oh my heck, those kids are so cute I want to die. I love them to the very depth of my soul.
Cannon was slinging some serious webs.
Brigham was Annakin as a Padowan -- before he turned to the dark side. I think his hair and braid turned out so cool!
Lily was so excited to get to wear makeup to school. And I love her decade-identifying hands there.
Awesome Chloe whose genuine smiles light up a room. Love those bright eyes and dimples.
Stanton and I won't ever be left out of the fun! Stanton took a second to pose with the kids in his awesome chicken suit before leaving for work. And I, like, totally got this radical picture with my bodacious boys before we took Brigham to the doctor and found out he had a totally bummer double ear infection. It was, like, totally sad, but he's on an antibiotic now and feels like he can hear again. And he totally didn't let it stop him from having a wicked awesome Halloween. Thatta boy, Brig!
I'm pretty sure I say this every Halloween, but Stanton has the best. job. ever. I mean, who else gets to dress like a chicken and see cute little princesses like this one for their JOB?! He loves it.
The kids were greeted after school with a snack of witch's fingers, apple jaws, black cats, and ghost milk.
After snack and some down time, we headed over to the care center to visit the grandmas. It was fun to brighten their day and the days of the other residents. The kids sure do a lot of good there.
After visiting the grandmas, we came home and had a Halloween dinner. Dave & Judy and Jimmy, Rachel, Shelby, & Mary joined us for a feast of mummy dogs, salty bones, skeleton veggies, ghostly pizza, and jackentines. Rachel brought a delicious rice, chicken, & green bean soup and we had Frankenjuice with Oreos. It was a really fun dinner, inspired by Pinterest & Family Fun Magazine. This is the first time I've ever done anything "festive" with food for Halloween. I have to say, it was worth the work. It was so fun to have all the different foods out and enjoy the party together.
After dinner, we headed out trick-or-treating. The boys ended fairly early and the girls were done by 7:45. Not a bad night out! The kids quickly sorted through their candy, picked their five favorites, and happily handed the rest over to me (safely stored away for gingerbread houses at Christmas-time, thank you sister Cindy!) in exchange for a watch (for Chloe & Lily) and a headlamp (Brigham & Cannon). I haven't heard a word of complaint since. They all got their jammies on and went straight to bed. Oh, and they totally went to school dirty the next day -- no showers after all that. What kind of a mother am I???!!! Please don't answer that.
What a great Halloween!!! And now, on to the wonderful Holiday season!!
Not before one last treat, though:
Or was that a TRICK???
Happy Halloween from our family to yours!
The kids were all so different this year and that made it a lot of fun.
There is seriously not one thing cuter than children dressed up for Halloween. Not one thing. I love it. And in addition to that one decent picture, here are the outtakes --
After snack and some down time, we headed over to the care center to visit the grandmas. It was fun to brighten their day and the days of the other residents. The kids sure do a lot of good there.
After dinner, we headed out trick-or-treating. The boys ended fairly early and the girls were done by 7:45. Not a bad night out! The kids quickly sorted through their candy, picked their five favorites, and happily handed the rest over to me (safely stored away for gingerbread houses at Christmas-time, thank you sister Cindy!) in exchange for a watch (for Chloe & Lily) and a headlamp (Brigham & Cannon). I haven't heard a word of complaint since. They all got their jammies on and went straight to bed. Oh, and they totally went to school dirty the next day -- no showers after all that. What kind of a mother am I???!!! Please don't answer that.
What a great Halloween!!! And now, on to the wonderful Holiday season!!
Not before one last treat, though:
Happy Halloween from our family to yours!
Park City Getaway - this time with Stanton (and our best buddies!)
Yes, this is Park City weekend number 3 if you're keeping track. It's a hard life, I tell ya. :)
Awesome Stephanie from Stanton's office came over on Thursday afternoon to tend the kiddos for us. We headed down to Salt Lake to grab Stanton's costume for Halloween. Can I just tell you how horrible the Spirit Halloween store was? HORRIBLE. I hated it. I get really preachy and angry with adults who ruin Halloween by spreading guts and gore and evil all over the place and wearing the sluttiest costumes known to man. Grrrrr....
As you might guess, we left that store and headed over to Halloween City, which was a much nicer environment. Still too many "hooker" nurse, police officer, board game character, Disney princess costumes, but a HUGE improvement. I got back into the Halloween spirit after that excursion, thank goodness.
Annnnnyyyyyway, we got Stanton's costume and then headed off to Park City with a brief stop at Farr's Fresh Ice Cream for a Dole Whip. I have to take them whenever I can get them!
We arrived in Park City at about 9:30 or so and watched Cowboys and Aliens in our room. Cool show. Predictable and silly, but cool.
The next morning we got a bagel and the stinking hottest hot chocolate of my life before meeting Kyle & Angie for a day at the outlets. It took Stanton a while to get in the shopping groove, but once I got him trying things on, he was a good sport and found some good new clothes that fit his newly skinny self.
After shopping we went to El Chubasco (that's definitely a restaurant we'll be frequenting on Park City trips from here on out) for dinner.
Here are Angie's totally flattering pictures of Stanton and I --
You can tell we are enjoying that food so much it HURTS. I'm totally laughing out loud whilst looking at these pictures. Honestly, what a couple of doofusses (or is that doofi?)!
Here's a nicer picture of Ang and I outside the restaurant -
After dinner (did I mention the 2 1/2 baskets of chips and salsa I devoured along with my two fish tacos plus rice and beans? I didn't, oh, nevermind....), we walked around some shops (found a cute toy shop with some fun art things for the kids), got some Coldstone ice cream (yeah, that happened), and then went to Moneyball at the theatre. What a FANTASTIC show. So stinking good. Loved it. Oh, and Angie shared her popcorn with me. As you might guess, I was feeling uber sick by the time the movie was over. This stomach can't handle that kind of consumption anymore! But oh, it was good while it lasted!
Okay, so after the movie, we had a great night's sleep and got ready for some sight seeing in the morning. Sweet Angie has been having some major stomach troubles and was really sick on Saturday morning. We had to say our goodbyes early so she could go home and get feeling better for a family baptism that evening.
You might guess that Stanton and I went sight seeing on our own, but you might guess incorrectly. No, we hit the outlets again. Stanton was in the mood for some shopping and we really found some great things for his closet. Okay, mine too. So, that was fun to spend time shopping together.
After we finished up at the outlets, we grabbed a sandwich at Great Harvest and then headed to Salt Lake to the motorhome store to pick up some parts we ordered a few months ago. We went to the Apple store on a whim after that to see what they could do for my phone. I dropped it without a case on several weeks ago and since then the volume control has been out of commission. Basically the phone is on silent all the time, although the speakers still work fine. Anyway, we took it in and what a miracle! I had 6 days left on my warranty and they replaced the phone! Brand spanking new iPhone. I was really impressed. The downside, of course, was that I lost the voice recordings and a couple of really adorable pictures that Stephanie texted me while we were gone. They were of the kids at the corn maze -- riding ponies! Ugh. Well, they were very cute and I'm bummed they're gone, but that's life, folks! You win a few, you lose a few. And I won a new phone after being an irresponsible clutz with my old one, so I am not going to complain for another second.
We headed home after the Apple store and got to see 4 very darling and excited children plus one very tidy house. Steph was awesome!
We spent a couple of hours with the kids, followed by Kiki coming over to tend again while we went to the adult session of Stake Conference and dinner afterward. It was probably the best adult session we've been to (which is saying something -- they're always wonderful). The music was so well planned and beautiful. The speakers were full of the spirit. It was a great night. The next day was just as awesome. We had a region-wide broadcast where Elder Neil L. Anderson and President Thomas S. Monson both spoke...along with Marlin K. Jensen and the Primary General President. The talks were fabulous and our kids were, too! YEAH! We're clearing another small hurdle in young parenthood --- the dreaded Stake Conference hurdle. Thank the heavens above.
Yeah, this was a great weekend. One for the books.
Awesome Stephanie from Stanton's office came over on Thursday afternoon to tend the kiddos for us. We headed down to Salt Lake to grab Stanton's costume for Halloween. Can I just tell you how horrible the Spirit Halloween store was? HORRIBLE. I hated it. I get really preachy and angry with adults who ruin Halloween by spreading guts and gore and evil all over the place and wearing the sluttiest costumes known to man. Grrrrr....
As you might guess, we left that store and headed over to Halloween City, which was a much nicer environment. Still too many "hooker" nurse, police officer, board game character, Disney princess costumes, but a HUGE improvement. I got back into the Halloween spirit after that excursion, thank goodness.
Annnnnyyyyyway, we got Stanton's costume and then headed off to Park City with a brief stop at Farr's Fresh Ice Cream for a Dole Whip. I have to take them whenever I can get them!
We arrived in Park City at about 9:30 or so and watched Cowboys and Aliens in our room. Cool show. Predictable and silly, but cool.
The next morning we got a bagel and the stinking hottest hot chocolate of my life before meeting Kyle & Angie for a day at the outlets. It took Stanton a while to get in the shopping groove, but once I got him trying things on, he was a good sport and found some good new clothes that fit his newly skinny self.
After shopping we went to El Chubasco (that's definitely a restaurant we'll be frequenting on Park City trips from here on out) for dinner.
Here are Angie's totally flattering pictures of Stanton and I --
You can tell we are enjoying that food so much it HURTS. I'm totally laughing out loud whilst looking at these pictures. Honestly, what a couple of doofusses (or is that doofi?)!
Here's a nicer picture of Ang and I outside the restaurant -
After dinner (did I mention the 2 1/2 baskets of chips and salsa I devoured along with my two fish tacos plus rice and beans? I didn't, oh, nevermind....), we walked around some shops (found a cute toy shop with some fun art things for the kids), got some Coldstone ice cream (yeah, that happened), and then went to Moneyball at the theatre. What a FANTASTIC show. So stinking good. Loved it. Oh, and Angie shared her popcorn with me. As you might guess, I was feeling uber sick by the time the movie was over. This stomach can't handle that kind of consumption anymore! But oh, it was good while it lasted!
Okay, so after the movie, we had a great night's sleep and got ready for some sight seeing in the morning. Sweet Angie has been having some major stomach troubles and was really sick on Saturday morning. We had to say our goodbyes early so she could go home and get feeling better for a family baptism that evening.
You might guess that Stanton and I went sight seeing on our own, but you might guess incorrectly. No, we hit the outlets again. Stanton was in the mood for some shopping and we really found some great things for his closet. Okay, mine too. So, that was fun to spend time shopping together.
After we finished up at the outlets, we grabbed a sandwich at Great Harvest and then headed to Salt Lake to the motorhome store to pick up some parts we ordered a few months ago. We went to the Apple store on a whim after that to see what they could do for my phone. I dropped it without a case on several weeks ago and since then the volume control has been out of commission. Basically the phone is on silent all the time, although the speakers still work fine. Anyway, we took it in and what a miracle! I had 6 days left on my warranty and they replaced the phone! Brand spanking new iPhone. I was really impressed. The downside, of course, was that I lost the voice recordings and a couple of really adorable pictures that Stephanie texted me while we were gone. They were of the kids at the corn maze -- riding ponies! Ugh. Well, they were very cute and I'm bummed they're gone, but that's life, folks! You win a few, you lose a few. And I won a new phone after being an irresponsible clutz with my old one, so I am not going to complain for another second.
We headed home after the Apple store and got to see 4 very darling and excited children plus one very tidy house. Steph was awesome!
We spent a couple of hours with the kids, followed by Kiki coming over to tend again while we went to the adult session of Stake Conference and dinner afterward. It was probably the best adult session we've been to (which is saying something -- they're always wonderful). The music was so well planned and beautiful. The speakers were full of the spirit. It was a great night. The next day was just as awesome. We had a region-wide broadcast where Elder Neil L. Anderson and President Thomas S. Monson both spoke...along with Marlin K. Jensen and the Primary General President. The talks were fabulous and our kids were, too! YEAH! We're clearing another small hurdle in young parenthood --- the dreaded Stake Conference hurdle. Thank the heavens above.
Yeah, this was a great weekend. One for the books.
Grandma Allen's 95th Birthday Party
We got together at the care center to celebrate Grandma Allen's 95th birthday. She is such a sweetheart.
I absolutely LOVE the way Grandma is looking at Emily in that top right picture. That little spirit is still aglow in there somewhere.
The care center provided a really nice lunch for all of us. Stanton was at work and all four of our kids were in school at the time, so I felt pretty darn lonely without at least one or two of my crew along! It did make it so that I could enjoy everyone else's children more, though. There are some real cuties in this family, I tell ya! Sure love them!
Wonderful David & Judy whose mission has been the care of these two sweet grandmas. They've sacrificed so much for them and are such wonderful examples of love and charity. Both sets of parents are. I have really been in awe of what my parents and Stanton's parents both have done for their parents in recent years. It's very inspiring.
These are Grandma's two children, Dave on the left and his older sister Sharron on the right. She couldn't ask for two better children. They both have so much love for her.
It was a lovely day spent celebrating the life of a very neat woman. Love you, Grandma!
It was a lovely day spent celebrating the life of a very neat woman. Love you, Grandma!
Various Items
The fancy pants camera's battery was dead for the Red Ribbon Run, so we used the point and shoot. It was left out, which meant a smorgasbord of random kid-taken photos when I uploaded to the computer. I deleted a ton of them, but here are a few keepers (no, I don't think I'll regret deleting that picture of the rug 20 years down the road...).
I've bragged about our amazing babysitters on here before. This is one of our very favorites -- Miss Madie. She is about as sweet as they come. The kids all love her.
Who ever decided it would be a good idea to put Angry Birds on the computer??? It is dang fun to see them all enjoy it together, though.
Here's a capture of each of the six of us on a typical school morning.
Stanton just texted me this picture. This is me after spending an entire day at the elementary school helping with vision screenings + volunteering in Brigham's classroom followed by the after school chaos followed by dinner and a blowout fight with Chloe followed by tears and apologies and making up and scripture study and prayer followed by getting the kids to bed by myself (Stanton has had meetings with the other docs he's buying land with for a new building - he wasn't there for the fight, either, thank goodness -- it was a very ugly parenting moment, one that I'm still regretting) followed by a blogging binge. I think you can see it in the lines on my face and bags under my eyes and mondo zit on my forehead (and the two on my neck you can't see....). It was an exhausting day. But it's done now (almost officially -- it's 11:30!). Off to bed so tomorrow can be better.
Red Ribbon 5K
Back in early October the girls accomplished a HARD THING. I am so proud of them.
We signed up for the Bear River Health Department's Red Ribbon 5K and WE DID IT... 7 year old Chloe and 6 year old Lily both ran a 5K!!
It was long, it was tiring, it was a challenge, they whined, it was HARD...but they learned that
I couldn't be more pleased with the job they did.
This was right before we headed over for the run -- Chloe has her green smoothie in hand (so does Cannon) to give her that extra boost of energy for the long run ahead.
Stanton and the boys met us at different points along the way, which gave the girls the boost they needed to keep going. They were so proud of themselves at the end, especially when they realized that most of their friends had done the 1 mile walk -- they were pretty amazed that they had done 3.2 miles (running and plenty of walking). Our time was about 45 minutes, which was pretty awesome, I thought. What a cool day.
We signed up for the Bear River Health Department's Red Ribbon 5K and WE DID IT... 7 year old Chloe and 6 year old Lily both ran a 5K!!
It was long, it was tiring, it was a challenge, they whined, it was HARD...but they learned that
WE CAN DO HARD THINGS.
I couldn't be more pleased with the job they did.
Conversations -- I'm In Mourning Edition
I lost 2 months' worth of conversations from my phone. I feel some degree of consolation in the fact that it happened because the good folks at Apple replaced my iPhone after I dropped it (I had SIX days left on my warranty and was totally honest about what happened and they still gave me a brand spanking new one...awesome)....BUT still, my heart is really sad to have lost those conversations. :/
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