Happy Birthday Michael!

Michael had his 9th birthday and it was a really fun one. He was supposed to have his first soccer game of the season, but the weather was not interested in cooperating with that idea. So, instead we headed over to the YMCA for a safety party. There were stations by the first dept, police, martial arts, Hy-vee (free healthy food; well, semi-healthy) and much more. We got to watch a martial arts demonstration including boys breaking boards with their hands and feet. The boys loved that part! They also had some bouncy houses which are every boys dream come true. I forgot the camera, so you get pictures from my i-pod only but they are better than nothing. The boys had a blast as I'm sure you can see.

After lunch the boys were able to have their friends come over and as a little birthday treat I taught them all how to play Ticket to Ride. I have learned that the boys are no longer satisfied with children's games. :( But it was a blast and they all did really well.

We finally made it to birthday dinner which consisted of pizza and black beans. Michael was kind enough to let us have a salad with it. I just have to let you know that Michael had black beans with every meal on his birthday. I had no idea he liked them so much. After dinner he got to open presents which is always their favorite part, well, maybe cake is their favorite? We finally got Michael a fishing pole which he was very excited to get. Now we need to get a couple more, so we can go fishing together!

And here is the great snow leopard cake. I looked great and tasted great! After cake the boys got to watch 'The Lightning Thief" which they seem to really enjoy. It is fun to hear them compare the movie to the book. It sounds like they changed quite a bit. I sure wish they would quit doing that! Ugh! It was a great day and now I have a 9 year old who wears the same size shoes I do. I know people warned me that kids grow quickly but Michael has taken that a bit far I think. But we love him and are happy to have him as a part of our family. Happy Birthday Michael!

Our Latelys

Lately, we've been busy.

Lately, we've had cold weather and huge, nearly-tornadic thunderstorms.

Lately, we've avoided any actual tornadoes in our area.

Lately, we are grateful.

Lately, our children have become restless with this stagnation of Spring's arrival.

Lately, they've been beating each other a little more earnestly than usual.

Lately, James has been putting up with crap at work while trying to keep this year's program from collapsing.

Lately, James has been desperately trying to plan next year to avoid any major pitfalls in his program.

Lately, Liz has tolerated James as he's digested those stresses.

Lately, Liz has grown weary of tolerating James as he continues to digest those stresses.

Lately, we've been watching our little seedlings emerge and grow on their little lit shelf in the dining room.

Lately, we've been cursing our poblanos for their obvious lack of motivation and clear inability to keep up with everything around them.

Lately, we took delivery of the cedar for our garden boxes that will house our seedlings as they grow into fine and mature citizens of their new home.

Lately, we are ecstatic about this year's garden and the promise of vegetable abundance.

Lately, we are ready for summer weather, summer vacation, and summer joys.

Lately, we are missing family; too many good visits in so few short months spoiled us and we grew accustomed. We should have known this would happen.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

We are always told that our children will do what we do over what we say and every day this is reaffirmed in my mind. Today I had a very yummy salad for lunch, I know you are all jealous, but apparently my children were. They all wanted my salad and begged that they get to have a salad for lunch tomorrow. So, we will be having salad for lunch from here on out. Who would have guessed! But really they would never want salad for lunch if I wasn't having it. It makes me wonder what else I could be doing that they would imitate just because I am doing it. Hmmm. . .

Notable Accomplishments

In family council today, we gave out some awards to our boys, each of whom did something spectacular today and deserved to be acknowledged.

One guess what Joshua told the truth about . . .

A Much Delayed Update

As most have noticed the boys and I have been out and about having some little adventures while James stayed home and worked. It is amazing how much more time one has when they don't have their children to take care of. But he did get our indoor garden started and kept the house clean. My hero! And the indoor garden is flourishing which is always exciting!

So, what have we been up to? Well, we went to Utah, of course. Now to be honest, I have never made the drive to Utah alone before but wasn't worried. So, we stayed for the boys basketball game and headed out right after. Amazingly we only had to go home for two quick items after the game, then drive over to the college to say good bye to James who was hosting a piano competition and head out. We made it to our hotel in Cheyenne around 10 PM MDT and crashed pretty quickly after I did a quick e-mail check. The boys were really tired and a little crabby, but I came up with a brilliant idea. I told Joshua to count how many times Michael touched him, breathed on him, or whatever it was that was bothering him so much. So, instead of whining and squirming and complaining he counted, and that was the last I heard of him. Score! The next day we arrived and spent time with my family and then headed to Justin and Jodi's where we were staying. Of course, I-15 was closed that evening for construction (has anyone ever seen I-15 not under construction), so that was a pain but we made it!

The week was full of family events and, of course, my sister's wedding. The wedding was one of the highlights of the week. It was just beautiful, though, I must admit it is still hard for me to think of my baby sister as a grown up. :) I guess I'll have to work on that. It was fun to see siblings and let the boys play with cousins. They even got to stop in and see their great grandparents which is always neat. This time Jacob didn't even head butt (for lack of a better term) his great grandpa. Though, he did jump on his back. We'll work on that.

It was interesting to see my siblings and their new families that they have formed. And fun to see cousins play. I do feel bad for Michael that he only has one cousin as old as him, but she lives in Florida, but he found games to play with and other things to do to entertain himself. We decided to stay an extra day to see Michelle and her family, who had to go to Colorado for the rest of the time we were there. But to make up for that extra day I decided to try and drive home in one day. I realized that if I left early and stopped around 10 (my usual stopping time) that I would be 3 hours from home. Hmmm. . . so driving til 1 would let me sleep in my own bed. So, we got up and were out by 4:30 AM, yes, I know I am crazy. We got out of Salt Lake before rush hour started-thank goodness! But then we found some lovely snow in the Wyoming mountains. They even lowered the speed limit for me, very kind of them-argh. Other than that we just drove, ate, went to the bathroom and drove some more. It was a long drive, but we made it! So, now at least I know it can be done, but I must admit that I will not be volunteering to do it again anytime soon.

After returning home it took a few days to settle back in but we are now back in the groove and loving this amazing weather! The boys have been playing outside and have even started soccer, which they LOVE!

Between our trip and other things I have had a few observations that I thought I would share.

1. Michael is very difficult to punish. He does something wrong, so I take something away and he says, ok, I'll just wait until tomorrow. Hmmm. . . We'll have to work on that.

2. Jacob hates going off the diving board. The first time he did it he went under and wouldn't go again. But what I really learned was that he is a worrier. He didn't want to go to swimming lessons because he was so worried about it. Fortunately, I listened today and told his teacher that he doesn't want to go off the diving board. The moment I told her Jacob perked up and had the best lesson he has had yet. He was happier, more active and had more fun jumping off the side. Now I know that if there is something bugging him we need to deal with it, so it doesn't affect everything else in his life.

3. Joshua just needs a hug. Joshua has been getting more extreme in his emotions and starting hitting things, so I talked to him about just giving me a hug when he gets upset. It is amazing what difference a hug can make to him. He just calms back down and then we can talk about it.

4. Good friends are great! While in Utah we were able to visit with some of my high school/college friends and it was really neat that after so many years we were able to get together and talk for hours while our kids play. I've learned that good friends become family and I love that!

5. I am not very good at taking photos while traveling. So, here are a few that I took on my ipod. The quality isn't great but they were taken at my friend Bryce's house and at Cabella's (I love free fun places).

A little Spring

A colleague of mine brought these over yesterday and I thought I would share them. Ah, Forsythia!


-- Post From My iPhone

Conference Memories

As I'm enjoying conference (yes, I'm multitasking) I feel inclined to share on here why I love conference so much. It's a pain to set aside an entire weekend, and boy, I tell you, I had some great plans for this gorgeous 70˚+ spring weekend, but I've never regretted it, not once in my entire life. As I've listened, enjoyed, and pondered the messages of the prophets this weekend, I remembered the moment that converted me from a conference attender to a conference partaker.

While serving in Toronto, I enjoyed the November 1999 conference from the Toronto Stake Center. At the time I was serving in the mission office, making the transition from mission secretary to some other responsibilities in there. It was a nontraditional mission assignment, and we spent a great deal of time attending to little mission "fires" that erupted all too frequently with cars, apartments, and companionships. That cool Saturday afternoon, however, I must have been ready to be taught, because I have never forgotten that conference session, even more than a decade later.

The last two talks of that session were by the then junior members of the Quorum of the 12, Elders Eyring and Holland. It was during these power house moments that I was taught the truths of the plan of salvation, and received the witness of the Holy Ghost of their verity. Elder Eyring talked about repentance, its cleansing power, and its inability to wipe away consequences, and Elder Holland followed immediately with the promise of eternity that is given to the righteous followers of Christ. It was a near all-encompassing encounter with the Great Plan of Happiness. I often reflect on those talks and the experiences I treasure in relation to them.

After conference yesterday, the following message came on as our stream continued after the conclusion of the session. It is an autobiographical story from Elder Holland's talk from that day so many years ago, and it is one that continues to inspire and impress me. The last few years have been pivotal in our family in so many ways, and as I reflect on my life and the message of His Apostle, I know the promises of a loving Saviour are real and can and should shape every moment of my life.

Indeed, "Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven. But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come."