And More Music

Well the week started off mostly normal - Laundry and grocery shopping.  Kids at school and homework, piano practice and such at home.  Becca came over in the morning to crochet with me and we had a fun time together!  Then we invited her and Jeremiah to come back for dinner.  We had another fun dinner of French Toast and fruit and had a great time together.  

Tuesday, Evie woke up early having thrown up, so she stayed home from school.  The other kids went to school, and Evie rested.  We cancelled preschool so the other kids wouldn't get sick and Evie and James and I just took it easy.  She was feeling better by the next day though.  

Wednesday was late start and then after dropping the kids off, James and I had a mostly easy day until they got back.  In the evening, Dan and Eileen had mutual, I had a quick interview to finish getting my reccomend renewed and Aaron had cub scouts.  Choir is out until the end of January.  

Thursday we had a Preschool Christmas party, we did lots of fun Christmas crafts and ate fun yummy snacks and had a good time.  After picking the kids up from their last day of school until after the holidays, we had a fun afternoon playing together.  Dan came home early from work while preschool was going on and went and slept most of the afternoon - he wasn't feeling so good, but was feeling better after.  In the evening, some of Dan's friends from work came over to play games with us.  We played a couple new games that they brought and let Eileen play too - one was very space/nerd themed and she loved it - and it was a fun game to play too :)  Then we sent her to bed and played a game of Dominion.  

Friday the kids were off school and we mostly just spent the day playing around the house and having fun together.  We were supposed to have a game night, but the DM was sick, so it got cancelled, so I spent the evening getting the necessary groceries for the cookie making weekend.  Then shortly after I got back home, the snow hit.  We got 4-5 inches and most of what we had going on for Saturday got cancelled.  

Saturday mostly ended up being a chill day.  Dan heard that Murdoch's had live Reindeer that you could go see, and we needed more chicken feed, so we headed down to let the kids see live reindeer.  They all thought it was pretty cool - though Aaron didn't wan't his picture taken.  

We also took the kids to the dollar store to do their shopping for each other.  They all had a great time this year picking out gifts for each other.  Even James got into it this year!  Then in the evening, we decorated cookies.  The kids had a blast as usual, we missed having Newell and Becky and their family, but we still had fun together.  

Sunday was great - Dan didn't have meetings so he got to stay and hang out with us before church.  Eileen gave her first Sacrament meeting talk today - she was REALLY nervous and didn't enjoy the experience at all - but she did a really good job anyway!  After some awesome lessons, we had ward choir practice - which was all of 4 people, including me and Eileen.  Then we headed home for a late lunch before Dan and Eileen headed out to go caroling with the youth.  They got back just in time for us all to pack up and head out.  Dan had to go to his company Christmas Party and the kids and I headed to Grandpa's for the Carol Sing and Scripture Reading.  It went well - Frankie also did a solo this year and his voice is really maturing and he is really becoming a great singer.  I got to sing "O Holy Night" again - I love singing that song!  Then after, the family gathered for a late dinner and fun and chatter before finally heading home for bed time!  Only one week until Christmas!

Christmas Music

So Monday was a survival day where I tried to get laundry done and tried to get some grocery shopping done and tried to do a little family home evening with the kids.  Dan being out of town is always a bit rough.  Anna had a doctors appointment after school, Eileen watched the other kids while I took her.  Then we had a fun time for Family Home Evening, the light the world idea for the day was to help the sick, so we made get well cards...  well what that really means with my kids is that they stamped a lot of random things on paper and punched decorative holes in that same paper and maybe wrote "get well" somewhere on it.  But it was cute and sweet and they had fun.  

Tuesday James had preschool in the morning, then in the afternoon, Anna had her all-state choir practice.  In the evening was the Relief Society Cookie Exchange.  Eileen wanted to make and bring her very own cookies - and she had a blast making them Monday night and bringing them on Tuesday.  The activity was a lot of fun and we had a good time together.  After, I dropped her and the other kids off at home and had her babysit so I could go to Institute.  Class was wonderful!  

Wednesday, the kids were so excited knowing that Dan would get home that day.  After school, Anna had a dentist appointment and then we got home in time to get dinner ready and eaten before Sister Cotrell came to babysit the little kids while everyone else was at all the events.  Me at choir, Dan got home just in time for Young Men, Eileen at Young Women, Anna at activity days, Aaron at cub scouts.  Choir practice ran late even on top of the extra half hour of time added for a tech rehearsal.  But it was wonderful!  

Thursday James had his preschool trip in the morning.  One of his little friends wasn't going to be able to make it because of a not happy baby sister, so I offered to pick her up and take her with us.  We all went to Hammond's Candy Factory and were lucky enough to get there on a day when they had some extra crafts and stuff for the kids to do because of the holidays.  The kids had a great time!  After school, Eileen had her teens for oceans meeting.  Plus Dan was home all day so we got to hang out with daddy.  Dan spent some of his day off building a back drop for a sister in our ward - he is such a good man!!!  I love how willing he is to help and serve others!  

Thursday night was our first concert of the season.  It went pretty well and it was a lot of fun.  Eileen came along with me - it's fun to have her want to come with me to these things!

Friday was a typical school day.  James and I had to run some errands in the morning, then after school, Anna had robotics and the rest of the kids had their piano and homework and such.  Then Dan picked Anna up a little early from Robotics to come home and have a quick dinner before I took her and Eileen to my concert.  They both enjoyed it, and Grandpa came too - so after we went with him back to his place to have hot cocoa and chat for a bit.  Then on the way home we made a little stop at Chili's for a dessert.  Yes it kept them out late - but it was a very fun night.

Saturday started out with the usual Flute lessons, then piano lessons followed by getting some cleaning done around the house.  We played a bit of maple story together, then in the evening, Dan took the kids to the ward Christmas party which was wonderful.  Eileen ditched her family early on to spend most of her time with a new girl in the ward.  I left about the same time to head to my final concert of the season.  The concert went well and was probably the best sung performance of the season.  It's always a little sad and a bit of a relief when the last concert is over.

Sunday was church.  I wore my cloak, so the kids spent most of Sacrament meeting snuggling up to me and stealing my cloak to use as a blanket.  But the meeting was wonderful!  The speakers were wonderful and there was a gorgeous musical number by a newer member of our ward on the violin.  After was class and relief society - another wonderful lesson!  After church, we had ward choir practice and then we headed home for our usual early dinner and family time.  Then in the evening, Eileen and I picked her friend up and headed to the Stake Christmas music fireside.  The fireside was wonderful with lots of good music and lots of good friends.

Here Comes Christmas!

I can't believe it's already December.  The kids went back to school on Monday and had a great time.  James and I took it easy together, reading books and cuddling.  We had the missionaries and Evie's primary teacher Sister Cotrell over for dinner.  We did yummy home-made pizzas - which Eileen of course didn't like, but I think everyone else liked it.  :)  

Tuesday was school for the big kids, preschool for James and I went home and napped until pick up time.  After school, there was no all state choir for Anna, so we all headed home and did the usual after school routine.  

Wednesday was late start school day, then James and I had fun at the house.  After school there was piano and homework and such, then in the evening, YM/YW, and Choir.  

Thursday was rather insane.  After taking James to preschool, I did some Christmas shopping for the kids, Then we got the kids from school and we kicked off the "Light The World" event with some service - we went and raked up our sweet neighbors yard.  The kids had fun working and playing and serving!  Then Dan came home early so we could go get a Christmas tree together before he left town.  

We headed to Home Depot as usual for our tree - picked out by Eileen - and grabbed it and took it home.  Dan got it set up while I got dinner ready, then after dinner, we decorated 

Bright and early on Friday, Dan headed to the airport to head to Florida while we stayed here to prepare for a cold front and snow coming in next week....  We mostly took Friday afternoon pretty easy and had a quick dinner out of the freezer.  Eileen and Anna and I had fun playing Maple Story together after the younger kids went to bed.  The Light the World suggestion for today was reading a story about an ancestor, so I went onto a blog my Grandpa created to record some of his and Aunt Joan's memories and I read some to them.  

Saturday started busy as usual - flute lessons for Eileen (and all the other kids were mad that they had to come too) Then piano lessons - Eileen is talking about maybe switching out piano for organ lessons.  Thankfully after that, stuff slowed down some.  We had lunch and the kids had fun running around outside and got some cleaning done around the house, and had a quick leftover dinner followed by bedtime for the younger kids and lesson prep for me.  For Light the World, the suggestion was to point out a virtue in someone else that they might now see, so we spent a few minutes before bedtime pointing out each others virtues.  I got a call in the evening from Uncle Frank saying that Tina had a heart attack but was doing better and would be coming home soon - it was scary - but it has been so sweet watching the kids pray for her ever morning and night during family prayers.  

Today was wonderful - mostly - Anna isn't feeling well :(  Church was wonderful though - my friend was able to make it for Sacrament Meeting.  The testimonies shared were wonderful.  The Relief Society lesson was wonderful and after church, we had a wonderful dinner together and had fun together.  We all got to sit down and watch the Christmas Devotional together - it was incredible!!  After we chatted with Dan for a little bit.  Today's Light the World suggestion was to resolve to pray every day in December - the kids pointed out to me that we already say prayers every day - so I challenged them to be a little better at remembering to say our personal prayers.  

Well now I just need to survive a couple more days before Dan gets home.... 

Happy Thanksgiving

This week was full of family fun and cooking and eating yummy food!  Monday and Tuesday the kids still had school, so it was a normal busy school day.  Piano practicing and reading and such, but no homework.  James didn't have preschool on Tuesday, so I took him with me to my doctor's appointment.  All is well - and James charmed the whole staff as usual.  I had blood drawn so I was a bit tired the rest of the day.

On Wednesday, Dan went to work in the morning, then came home in the afternoon and I took Eileen to a dentist appointment and then he took Eileen to the temple.  We spent some time getting the house cleaned up and nice looking.  Anna was a super kitchen helper - she helped with the spinach dip, she helped make the pumpkin chiffon pies and she helped make the rolls.

Thursday was the last of the cooking and taking it easy during the day.  Dan went and played in the ward Turkey Bowl in the morning, while the rest of us slept in, then in the evening we headed over to Stuart and Rebecca's for Thanksgiving.  Dinner was wonderful, company was wonderful.  You hear about other people dreading time with all the extended family during the holidays - but I love it - I love my immediate family and all our extended family on both sides and I love getting together with them!

Friday was spent cleaning up our Thursday messes, playing together and then in the evening, we had Jeremiah and Becca, Newell and Becky and their kids and Natasha and her boyfriend Eldon over for a leftover dessert night.  We all snacked and ate and helped finish off some of the desserts.  Then we played some games for a bit before people had to go home.

Saturday the weather was lovely and Dan was ambitious.  He started early on working outside to build a little covering for the bikes on the side of the house.  Then I did some grocery shopping while he took the kids to the park, then we did an early dinner of hot dogs around the campfire with s'mores for dessert and then we played a bit of Dungeons and Dragons with the kids.  Then the littles went to bed and the older kids watched a show and Dan and I ate a non-hot dog dinner.  Then we played a little Maple Story.  I am happy because I managed to get back on my old account and got my original characters back!

Today was wonderful.  Sacrament meeting was great - the talks were wonderful and the choir got to sing.  Sunday School was great - I love teaching my Sunday School class and I hope that they learn and feel the spirit.  Relief Society was also great - there was a great lesson on faith and testimony and then after the younger kids went home with Dan and Eileen and I went to choir.  After choir we had dinner, then played games together.  Eileen and Anna and Dan and I got to have our weekly scripture discussion - it is so neat getting to talk about the scriptures and the gospel with the girls!

Crazy Busy

This week was rather crazy - Mondays are always crazy - between laundry, grocery shopping, James and kids after school stuff - we run and run and run and then we collapse exhausted.  :)  We had a fun little FHE lesson from Evie this week - she loved getting to do the lesson.  :)

Tuesday James had preschool in the morning then after we had a fun afternoon reading together and snuggling.  Then after school, Anna had her first All-State practice - she will have them most Tuesdays until the performance.

Wednesdays are always a bit crazy.  Eileen had a doctor's appointment early on Wednesday morning for her regular well-child check up.  She is doing well and is growing healthy and strong!  Then the kids had school, James and I hung out together and then in the evening, we had our usual Choir/Young Men/Young Women/Cub Scouts filled evening.

Thursday James had preschool again - after dropping him off, I ran to Costco for some things we needed, then had just enough time to run home and grab Eileen's lunch (which she had forgotten again) and run it to the school before picking up James and heading home for lunch.  After school Eileen had her Teens for Oceans meeting - then in the evening, she had her first band concert!  She was awesome and even had a little solo!

Friday James and I took it easy - he cut up paper, played with play-doh and read (looked at) books.  Then after school, Anna had Robotics and the other kids had their usual homework and piano practicing.  After we got Anna and had dinner, Dan and I headed over to a friends house to play Pathfinder again.  We had a fun game night, but it's always fun when Dan and Jeremiah get together.

Saturday was just nuts.  Dan got up early to take Anna to a robotic competition - when they got there, there were no coaches there for her team, so Dan ended up staying and acting as coach and helping out until the actual coach got there.  Anna enjoyed it - but wasn't feeling very well, so she ended up coming home before the final results were announced.  While Dan was doing that with Anna, I was trying to get everything else done that we had expected to have two adults and two drivers for.  Thankfully Eileen's flute lessons were cancelled because that was the only impossible overlap.  The kids had a primary pancake breakfast in the morning.  The had tons of fun eating and decorating pancakes.  Then we got to watch a cute primary talent show.  After, I had Eileen watch the rest of the kids while I took Evie to pick out a birthday present for a birthday party later along with picking up my prescription refill.  We got home just as Sister Hendrickson was getting there for piano lessons.  Eileen went first and then got ready to go to a concert with Grandpa for her birthday.  She got to go see a band concert and found that her music teacher at school was one of the clarinetists with the band.  Then they went out for an early dinner before he brought her home - she really seemed to have a great time.  While she was doing that, and Anna was still at Robotics, and after piano lessons, Evie had a birthday party for her best friend at school, so I drove down to drop her off for a fun swim party, then drove back to pick her up 2 hours later.  We got back from picking her up a little after Dan and Anna got home and before Eileen got back.  We had a quick left over dinner.  Eileen got home during dinner and brought her leftovers home with her - she had had mussels and got most of the kids to try them and like them - she is such a cute girl! After a rather long and exhausting day, Dan made a quick grocery store run to get stuff for Sunday and then we tried to play a game of Lord of the Rings - but the game kicked our collective bottoms.  It's a cooperative game - but it didn't cooperate with us....

Sunday started out with church.  The Sacrament Meeting talks were wonderful.  My lesson was fun - I got to have the other class in with me and we had a good time talking about how to become spiritually self reliant and talking about scriptural examples of people who had questions and got answers.  Finally, during 3rd hour, we got to have a combined meeting with all the adults and YM/YW and then broke out into different family history classes.  After church, Eileen and I went to choir, then we got home and got to have dinner and fun with Dwayne and Nicole and kids.  Then we headed back to the church for Tithing settlement.  Then Dan ran out to do a bit of home teaching and came home in time to do our family scriptures and prayers before going with Eileen to the Youth fireside at the Bishop's house.  He dropped Eileen off to go run and help give a blessing before coming home and collapsing - and now it's my turn to go join him!

Life is good!

This past week has been wonderful in so many ways!  Monday was a pretty typical Monday, the kids had school, James and I took care of some errands, we did laundry and grocery shopping, the kids did homework and piano practicing.  

Tuesday, James had preschool and I had a doctors appointment, then after the appointment, I got to hang out with Becca.  After school was the usual kids stuff and family stuff, plus Anna had an orthodontist appointment which was a rough afternoon for her.  She had a hard time getting the new one in and totally broke down in the office.  Dan and I watched the election stuff happening most of the evening.  

Wednesday was late start for the school kids, and James and I took it easy at home.  After school was the usual plus a dentist appointment for Evie.  Then Young Mens/Young Womens, choir, cub scouts and activity days.  

Thursday was the big day!!  James had preschool in the morning, and then after school, we picked up the kids and Julie, then Julie watched the younger kids and Eileen, Dan and I went to the temple to do baptisms for the dead.  It has been a long time since we have done baptisms, and getting to do them with Eileen was such a special experience.  She was so excited and happy to be there that she wanted to write her feelings down and she wanted to go back again as soon as possible!  It was so neat to be there with her - to share the peace that can be found there and to spend time serving the Lord and our ancestors.  After this wonderful experience, Dan and I started talking about a way to get her to the temple every month.  The plan is to pick a day each month where one of us will drive her (and whatever of the beehives also want to come) to the temple after school for them to do baptisms.  Thursday was truly one of the most wonderful days of my life.  Especially with all the stress and anger and ugliness going on after the election - being able to escape to a true refuge from the storm and to be there with some of the people I love most was a wonderful thing!  

Friday James and I hung out while the older kids were at school, then after school, I dropped Eileen off with all the kids but Anna to take her to a doctor's appointment.  She has been really tired lately and we want to try to figure out why.  The poor girl had lots of blood drawn and came home exhausted.  We took it easy that night and she went to bed early.

Saturday was the usual busy - flute lessons, piano lessons, grocery shopping, cleaning the  house to get ready for Sunday, preparing lessons and all sorts of good things.

Sunday was fast Sunday, and it was wonderful - getting to listen to testimonies and wonderful lessons was awesome!  In the evening, we had a great time chatting with Grandma and Grandpa Jones and Grandpa Cox.  In the evening, Dan pulled out some boxes with old memorabilia looking for something and ended up looking through the stuff with Eileen and I looking on and laughing with him

Halloween and Birthday Fun

The kids had a fun time dressing up at school for Halloween - they got to wear their costumes and walk around in a parade too.  Then in the evening, we came home, had dinner and then got ready to head out and trick or treat for a bit.  It's always fun going around to our neighbors - we live in a great neighborhood!

Tuesday I got to watch baby Laura while her mom went to Jury Duty then Becca came back having been sent home and we hung out and crocheted awhile before James got  done with preschool.  Then James got to go get his flu shot - he was very excited.  (that's not sarcasm - he really was - the nurse thought it was so funny!)  After school was the usual piano and homework and such, and then in the evening was Institute.  Class was wonderful as always.  I love getting to study the Savior's life and then it's so neat to see how it applies to my life and to my Sunday School class that I teach.

Wednesday was crazy - it was late start and since it was Eileen's birthday, we did a little bit of a special breakfast.  We had Kolaches and then sent the kids off to school.  James and I went and got my allergy shot and then got things ready for Eileen's birthday.  Dan came home early to finish decorating her cake and surprised her with this awesome masterpiece when she got home from school.  She loved it.  It's got dry ice in the middle to make the volcano look like it was erupting!

We did her birthday dinner (chicken roll ups) and presents and cake early so she could go to young women's today and I could go to choir and Dan to young men's.  She got some very cute clothes from Great Grandma Penny, a chemistry set from grandma and grandpa Cox, a bird house from grandma and grandpa Jones and a set of new grown up scriptures, scripture case, and CTR ring from mom and dad.

Thursday Becca came over again during James' preschool so we could crochet and have fun chatting together.  In the evening, we had parent/teacher conferences.  Kids are mostly doing well - we just need to convince Evelyn that it is more important to do her school work and listen to her teacher in class and to save the talking and playing with friends until recess...

Friday James and I took it easy at home and then in the evening, Eileen babysat for us while we went to a game night.  We had fun together, and the company was great - but as long as I'm with Dan, any night out is sure to be fun!  I'm officially becoming more of a nerd - since we were playing a table top role-playing game.  :)

Saturdays are always busy.  This week was no exception.  Eileen had flute lessons, the kids had piano lessons.  We spent some time cleaning up - told the kids that they could play games in the afternoon if they got it all done in the morning.  Then after lunch, Dan and I left Eileen in charge again, and headed to a teacher council training meeting at the church.  It was a really neat format!  They had general officers of the church there and Elder Holland and a group of teachers as a "studio audience" and they walked through principals of Teaching how Christ taught, and then demonstrated them.  They also had it set up that people all over the world could submit comments and questions online that could then be used in the meeting!  The whole thing was WONDERFUL!  In the evening, we had dinner, put the younger kids to bed, then Eileen and Anna and I played Killer Bunnies while Dan went to the grocery store.  The only problem was that with out Dan playing, no one was mean enough to kill off bunnies....  :)

Sunday was Stake Conference.  Eileen headed over early for Stake Choir - but we were too early because we had forgotten daylight savings time....  so we went back home for a bit and headed back and hour later...  The Stake Conference was wonderful.  It was all about Temple work and teaching in the Savior's way.  It was the perfect way to really get Eileen excited about going to the temple next week!  After conference, She and Dan stayed so Eileen could get her recommend, then met the rest of us at home for lunch.  She was so excited to have her own recommend and got excited looking at ours too!  After dinner and putting the littles to bed, Eileen and Anna joined us for writing in our journals, then Anna headed to bed and we played Scotland Yard with Eileen - she was Mr. X - she almost had us - but I got lucky!  After, she asked us to help her with marking her scriptures.  So Dan and I each pulled out our scriptures and she pulled out hers and we showed her some things we do when we mark our scriptures and some of the reasons we mark them.  Then we showed her some of our favorite scriptures.  Dan had the brilliant idea to ask her to find a scripture that she likes in her reading this week and share it with us next week.  So we decided that next week we will all bring a scripture that we read and liked this coming week to share next Sunday night.   I am in awe of this amazing young woman!!  I don't know how I got so blessed to have her as my oldest daughter - but I am so grateful for her and her sweet spirit!

Fall Fun

Since Dan was still out of town, this week started off with a busy Monday of doing laundry, going grocery shopping and running errands.  Dan was originally supposed to get back Monday night, but he ended up needing to stay an extra day.  We put off Family Home Evening until we could do it with Daddy.  

Tuesday James had preschool, my mom went out to run some errands, and Becca came over so we could work on our dolls.  It's been so fun having her over and getting to have fun making stuff.  Dan got back in the evening, just in time to have dinner before it was all cleaned up and then to have a little joint birthday party.  My mom wanted to have a little birthday party for Eileen, Evie and I while she was here.  Eileen and I got some cool metal building things that we can do together.  Evie got a doll and I got a game expansion.  Then we all got cake and ice cream.  :)  

Wednesday - one week until my daughter becomes a young woman...  James and I mostly took it easy and spent some time hanging out with Daddy.  In the evening, Eileen and Anna had activity days, Aaron had cub scouts, and I had choir.  It was a wonderful day as usual.  

Thursday, James had preschool again - the kids had fun dressing up for Halloween - such a cute little preschool class!  After preschool James and I ran down to get Eileen's birthday presents.  After school, Anna had auditions for the all state choir.  Then I took the kids to get their flu shots.  

We had our family home evening that night - I grabbed pumpkins while James was at preschool and we carved them and cooked the pumpkin seeds.  The kids had a great time and are so excited about Halloween!  

Friday, Dwayne and Nicole's kids came over to play while their mom and dad went to court to have their name change made official - they are now officially Dwayne and Nicole Bayer.  We all headed over to Niki's house for her Halloween party.  The kids all had a great time (except poor Tayanna who wasn't feeling the greatest - but she was feeling better by the end of the party. Anayia told me that I was a really good cook (that girl is awesome!)  It was a lot of fun though - I also got to see Tammy and had fun chatting together.

After school, Anna had robotics and Eileen had an eye appointment.  Dan came home to help out, and I took Eileen to her appointment.  She got checked out - got new glasses and while we waited for them glasses to be ready, we walked around the shops and got her some new pants - she is officially into Juniors - she needs more length with out getting wider around the waist.  Then we headed home for dinner.

Saturday we started out early by heading to the church to clean the building.  Then I took Eileen to flute lessons.  And then the kids had piano lessons.  Then, we began the cleaning!  We got the house straightened up and the kids rooms cleaned up and got our house nice and ready for a happier more peaceful Sabbath.  In the evening, we dressed up and headed to the church for the trunk or treat.  The kids had a lot of fun seeing friends and collecting candy.  I had fun seeing friends and sneaking some candy.  :)

Today was the primary program.  James' first and Eileen's last.  For the only time, I had all of my kids in one primary program.  The program was WONDERFUL.  The kids all did such a good job.  James wanted me up there with him, so I sat with him and snuggled and sang along.  They all did an awesome job with their parts.  Aaron and each of his class members had a little solo singing a verse of Book of Mormon Stories.  He did such an amazing job!  He was a little nervous - but he sang beautifully and was amazing.  Eileen was last and bore a beautiful testimony - despite being scared out of her mind to be speaking in front of that many people.  This was her last week as a primary girl - next Sunday, she will be in Young Women's.  The rest of church was great too - then after church, I had ward choir and Dan had a meeting and Eileen met with the Bishop, Anna was amazing and watched the kids in the nursery room until Dan could take them home.  Then we played together a bit before Eileen and I headed to Stake Choir.  We had a great time singing beautiful music.  Then we headed home to have dinner with some new friends in the ward.  And after played a game together.  We had a fun evening before putting the kids to bed.

YEY Grandma!!

This week has been rather insane.  Monday morning, I had a dentist appointment.  James was so mad that I got to have a dentist appointment, and he didn't, so we made sure to set up his 6 month check up so he can have a dentist appointment too.  :)  He's asked me almost every day since when his appointment is.  After, we made a trip to Costco, then I headed over to Jen's house to give her a ride to go pick up her van and help her get some much needed groceries.  After, James and I ran by Hobby Lobby to pick up some yarn for a scarf for Ann, then James and I went to pick the kids up from school.  Dan and I had a new friend from church over for dinner, she was from Africa and had never had enchilada's before!  Then we had a great family home evening lesson by Anna with her.

Tuesday morning, James had preschool and after dropping him off - I headed over to my allergist for my yearly check up.  Got finished just in time to head back and pick up James.  Then we had lunch and played games together until we had to get the kids from school.  After school, the kids had their usual getting stuff done and having fun.  In the evening, I had Institute which was wonderful as always!

Wednesday the kids had late start and Dan was mostly working from home to try and get stuff done before his trip this weekend.  I let James have some fun playing learning games on my tablet so I could get some work done on my computer, then we played games together in the afternoon.  In the evening, Aaron had cub scouts, and I had choir.  This was our last run through before the Temple Workers Devotional.

Thursday my mom started on her trip out here and the kids were so excited!  James had preschool again, and Becca came over to crochet and chat and to let me hold the baby while James was there.  Then I went and picked up James and we all had lunch together before Becca had to leave for a doctor's appointment.  It was so fun!  And I'm looking forward to trying to make this a regular thing!  In the evening, Dan had a temple trip with the youth.  My mom got in just in time to watch us eat dinner and have just a little with us.  Then it was time to get the kids to bed and wait for Dan to get home.

Friday morning, we got the kids to school, then my mom watched James while I went to another check up.  (All the check up's this week were routine basic stuff - they just all happened to fall in the same week.)  After, Dan and I went and grabbed an early lunch together, then my friend Tammy came over for some help with a sewing project which we worked on and got it mostly done before my mom got back from picking the kids up from school.  After she left, I took the kids (except Anna who was at robotics club) to the Used Book Sale.  The kids had fun as usual picking out books - and as usual I had to restrain them from going too crazy.  Then I found a couple for me and Eileen and I found some music books which looked like fun!  We got home just in time to empty the books out of the car and to be there for Becca and Jeremiah to drop off Laura so they could go on a date.  But she slept the whole time...  But it was still fun cuz when they got back - Laura was just waking up, so they stayed a bit and chatted while she ate and Becca and I got to talk Doll stuff and doll ideas for a bit before they had to go home.  Then I went and played Maple Story with the girls for a little bit before bed time.

Saturday morning, I got up and took Eileen to flute lessons, then got home and while the kids had piano lessons, I got the chili ready for the chili cook off that night, then I headed out to run an errand and then headed to Christina's baby shower.  It was a ton of fun and her baby is so adorable!!  After, I headed home - finshed up getting the chili ready and getting a pineapple upside down cake ready to bring too.  Then we packed up and headed to the church for the annual ward chili cook-off.  We all went and enjoyed yummy food and good friends.  We got home with just enough time to get the kids showered and ready for bed.  The girls wanted to play Clue, so we did and I got lucky and won, so I let them play a little bit of Maple Story before bed.

I got this fun picture of my mom with all 3 dogs on her lap clamoring for attention.

And I got this neat picture of Eileen's little friend.  She found it in the back yard and since she seems to have a way with bugs and animals of all kinds, she walked around with it for a while.  I thought it was pretty cook and snapped a quick picture.

Today was wonderful, but exhausting!!!  We walked to church since the weather was so nice, then we got to listen to a couple amazing talks and a beautiful musical number.  We have 2 more sisters leaving on missions from our ward and one is going to San Jose and the other to Japan.  After I taught a lesson on Parables and then we had a great Relief Society lesson on trusting in God to make it all work out in his time and his way.  Then I stayed for as much of choir practice as I could before heading home and playing games with the kids the whole way.  I got home, the kids got dinner started (they love cooking Sunday dinners) and it got done just in time for me to have to leave with only a couple bites.  I headed over to the Temple Workers Devotional.  The talks were wonderful including some great reminders about how important it is to make time to serve other, and to make the Lord and his work a priority in our lives.  And the singing mostly went well!  After I headed home - finally ate a meal and now despite the awful and messy condition of my house, I need to sleep....

Fall Break

So the kids were on fall break this week - so to keep them busy and me sane - we loaded up the week with fun things to do.   We started off on Monday with a trip to the park.  The kids all rode their bikes (kinda - James took the balance bike and did a good job - but he's still not really riding a regular bike.  We met some friends there and played at the park for a couple hours before heading home for lunch and to try and get the house cleaned up for the rest of the week.  It mostly got done.  We had a fun family home evening lesson before putting the younger kids to bed.  Then Dan and I and the 2 older girls played Maple Story together for awhile for their hour up.  Then Dan I got to the business of grocery shopping and laundry... 

Tuesday we headed to the zoo.   There was a really cool exhibit.  All around the zoo were statues of marine life made out of marine recycled garbage.  The kids had a lot of fun watching the Elephant show and checking out as many animals as they could.  I apparently did a much better job at taking pictures of the animals for Eileen than I did taking pictures of the kids for me....  On the way home - Julia called and we had fun chatting for awhile!  It is so fun having an awesome cousin that I can talk to and hang out with!  

Wednesday we went to the museum of Nature and Science.  The kids enjoyed their temp exhibit Extreme Mammals.  And of course they had a great time checking out their old favorites.  We also managed to catch a tour that they were doing called "Secrets of the Dioramas"  We've seen the dioramas many times before, but it was really neat hearing a lot of the stories behind them from someone who had worked at the museum for a long time.  We also ran into a few friends who were also enjoying fall break!  In the evening was choir and youth activities and such - busy as usual!

Thursday, we went to the Children's Museum.  We hadn't ever really explored the outdoor area of the museum and this time, we spent at least half our time checking it all out.  We found a fun little zip line that the kids (especially James) just LOVED.  We went inside for a fun music time and ran around the nature's backyard area for a bit - then back outside for a snack and more play time.  Anna also got to pick up her clay piece that she made last time.  

On our way out we stopped at the play ground for a bit and played on the swings before heading home to dinner with the Elders.  Thankfully I had planned a crock pot meal and it was all ready for yummy eating by the time the Elders arrived.  We had the new pair of Elders over and had a fun time getting to know them a bit.  They gave a great lesson before we had to kick them out and send them home!  

Friday we headed to the Butterfly Pavilion.  The kids had a blast - they spent most of their time (as usual) in the invertebrates area and had a ton of fun.  Eileen found out about volunteering opportunities which she can start doing when she is 13 - and now she can't wait to be 13 because then she can volunteer at the Butterfly Pavilion or at the Zoo.

As always - they all loved getting to hold Rosie the Tarantula.  We ended heading home a bit early so the Bishop's could drop off their boys while they headed to the hospital so their new baby could be born!  We had a blast with their boys over - they stayed the night and the boys had a great time.  All the kids had a blast playing together and ran each other good and exhausted.  Then woke up early the next morning and did it all over again.

 Saturday was rather crazy.  Anna had a doctor's check up early in the morning.  Eileen had her Flute lessons - both required us taking a few extra kids along.  Then piano lessons for the kids while I drove my friend to the store.  Bro Bishop picked up the boys and took them to the hospital to go visit their new baby brother.  After lunch, we headed back to the Butterfly Pavilion for their Halloween Bug-a-Boo party.  The kids excitedly picked out costumes and had a lot of fun running around collecting and eating (too much) candy.  They painted pumpkins and had a great time.

In the evening, we had a great time watching the Cultural Celebration Broadcast for the new Ft. Collins temple.  The kids had a lot of fun looking for their cousins who were performing in the celebration.  The kids headed to bed - the older two got a little bit of play time with me while Dan ran some errands to get us through Sunday and Monday.

Sunday was a special day!  The dedication of the temple was broadcast at our building in 3 sessions.  We watched the Ker's youngest so they could go to the first session, and they watched Evie and James so Eileen, Anna, Aaron, Dan and I could go to the second.  It was such a wonderful experience.  The spirit was so strong!  The talks were all wonderful - such amazing reminders of what we should be doing and how important the temple should be in our lives.   Plus - we walked there and back and it was wonderful to get to talk together about what we had learned and what we had felt.  After, we had a late lunch, then Becca came over so we could watch her darling baby girl while she went to the final session.  After, we convinced her to stay and have dinner with us.  We had a lot of fun talking crafts while Dan and some of the kids worked on dinner, then after, we put the kids to bed and played a game before she needed to head home.  I'm hoping to convince her to come crochet with me this coming week!

Hello Grandpa!

Monday morning, bright and early, I dropped the kids off at school, then James and I went to go pick up Grandpa from the airport.  We brought him back to get settled and to make a menu and grocery list for the week then headed to the grocery store.  After we got things put away, then I went to pick the kids up from school.  The kids got their homework and piano and instuments done and the kids (and grandpa) went to bed while I finished laundry and folding.  

Tuesday morning James had another preschool field trip.  The teacher for this week had her baby early so we were looking for things to do so we didn't have to cancel - so we had the field trip on Tuesday and a sub on Thursday.  We went to the Garden Center Fall Festival.  James had a great time watching the talking pumpkin and climbing on everything and playing with his friends.  

After we headed home for lunch and then getting the kids from school.  In the evening, I took Eileen with me to the Relief Society Activity - we were doing crochet and embroidery and knitting, so Eileen came to help out and have fun with us.  I taught some embroidery - and we had a great time!  Then I dropped Eileen off at home and headed back for Institute.  Class was wonderful!  (As always)

Wednesday was late start for the kids - I took Anna to an early orthodontist appointment then got back just in time to have prayers with the kids and take them to school.  We had a relaxed morning at home.  After picking the kids up from school, they did all their homework and piano and such.  Evie had a book report due this week and presented on Wednesday and did a GREAT job!!   Grandpa made smoothies in the afternoon and got the kids a bit filled up so they had a late dinner.  I headed to choir and Grandpa watched the kids.  He left Eileen in charge and walked Aaron to the church building, but then realizing he had forgotten his phone, he tried to walk back to the house to get it.... and got lost.  He finally got Aaron home near 9 and finally got him to bed (after a really late dinner and such) around 9:30.  Eileen had been rather worried since he was late and all in all - it was a bit of a stressful night.

Thursday was preschool again for James - he had a great time (he always does) and then we had an easy afternoon.  I went and got my allergy shot while he was at preschool and then headed home for a little bit.  After school, the kids got their stuff done, Grandpa made more smoothies and we got dinner ready so we could eat and head over to Skate City for a fun night of Roller Skating.  The kids all had a great time - at least until the end when Eileen had a blister and Anna bonked her head.  I had a fun time with the kids too and Grandpa had a fun time watching.

Friday the kids had no school, we had talked about maybe going somewhere, but Eileen's feet hurt and the kids were tired, so instead we just relaxed at home.  Anna and Grandpa walked to the grocery store for some more fruit for more smoothies.  Then we had those smoothies in the afternoon before taking Grandpa to the airport.  We had a bit of an emergency because Grandpa forgot his Laptop and I had to get it and run it back to him at the airport, but we made it and he made his flight and got home just fine.

Saturday morning, Eileen had flute lessons, then the kids had piano lessons, then Daddy got home ( YEY!!!)  and then Anna and I ran to Walmart for a birthday present to take to a party she was going to.  Then I dropped her off at the party, dropped off a Lasagne for some friends and headed back to Walmart to pick up my perscription (pharmacy had been closed before for lunch...) then home.  I went to take a little nap and got up 3 hours later.

Sunday was wonderful.  We headed to church and had a great fast and testimony meeting followed by my lesson in Sunday School and then a great lesson in Relief Society.  After church, we headed home and had a yummy early dinner followed by lots of fun and games, well Evie and James wanted to play Denver-opoly - like Monopoly - so more games than fun on that side, but otherwise, lots of fun and games. The best part about the Denver-opoly is seeing all our fun favorite places to go on there and trying to buy them - but otherwise - it's just like Monopoly....  Then we got the littles to bed and played one more game with Eileen and Anna.

Next week is fall break so the kids are looking forward to lots of fun!

Adventures

This week has been fun and busy.   Monday we did our usual grocery shopping, laundry and such. Then we had the sister missionaries over for dinner.

Tuesday morning, we picked up Adeline and headed to James' preschool field trip.  We hiked around a nature preserve area nearby and looked at the wildlife and had fun together exploring.  James didn't want me to take his picture (for like the first time EVER) We found a cute fuzzy caterpillar and had a fun time exploring.  The weather was perfect for it - sunny and nice but not hot.  This was one of the better pictures I got of him....

We had the Hansen's over for dinner.  It's sad that they are moving - it's been a lot of fun getting to know them this past year.  We had Chicken Tiki Masala and had a fun time chatting.  After, I went to institute.  I love studying the scriptures and I've especially been enjoying reading about the Savior's life and ministry.

Wednesday bright and early, Evie and Anna had doctor's appointments before late start day at school.  All went well - they are healthy.  James and I mostly hung out and took it easy.  In the evening, I had a chorale concert so I had to leave a little earlier than usual.  The kids had cub scouts and activity days.  The chorale was singing at a religious freedom symposium.  It was really neat - but kinda scary.

Thursday James had preschool again.  Adeline was over again.  We mostly just played and had fun until we picked the kids up from school.  In the evening, we had the kids talent show at school.  Not only were Eileen and Anna in it, but also a bunch of my swimmers and some friends from church.  Eileen and Anna were both very nervous - but did well anyway.  The only downside was that Eileen was near the end and it was rather long.... :)

Friday morning, we took the kids to school then Aunt Tina came to take James for the day so Dan and I could celebrate my birthday together.  We headed out and got breakfast, then reached Royal Gorge in time for our skydiving appointment!  We got strapped up met our tandem jump instructors and then climbed in a small plane.  We went up and jumped out.  My instructor kept asking me if I was scared and believe it or not, I wasn't - excited yet - amazed at the view - yes - scared - only for a second as I climbed out of the plane and thought - wow  I'm actually doing this :)  It was totally incredible!!!!!  I don't really have a "bucket list" but this is something I've always wanted to do - and now I can say that I've done it!

After, Dan and I stopped for some chicken feed - made a quick Costco run and then headed to Kneader's for lunch.  Then we headed home and chatted with Tina for a bit.  Then I went and got Anna from Robotics club before getting the kids dinner and sending them to bed.  Eileen got to stay up as the youth came over to watch the Princess Bride on the big screen outside.  It was a fun night - then Dan and I collapsed for a bit exhausted after a long exciting day before heading to bed

Saturday was the beginning of General Conference.  Dan got to watch the first session with us before heading off on a business trip.  Between sessions, we headed to the swim team end of season party.  We all had a fun time eating and playing and such, then we handed out awards and cute little trophies before heading back home for the next session of Conference.  After a dinner of leftovers, the younger kids went to bed while Eileen and Anna and I played Clue - Eileen won.  She was so excited - and sent daddy a lot of texts about it.  Then I let each of the girls have a little turn on my computer playing Maple Story. 

Sunday was more General Conference - these weekends are some of my favorite times of the whole year.  I always finish the weekend spiritually renewed and refreshed and ready for life again.

Just Keep Swimming

This week has been crazy busy.  Monday was the usual laundry and grocery shopping day.  We had swim practice in the afternoon and I spent the little bit of extra time I had preparing for the preschool lesson on Tuesday.

Tuesday morning James had his preschool class here.  We did a yellow party.  We colored yellow pictures, made a yellow sun, made yellow jello, listened to the "Little Yellow Jello Fellow" story and sang along to "Yellow Submarine" which is now James' new favorite song.  He spent the rest of the week asking Alexa to "play yellow submarine"  We had so much fun singing along together that I introduced him to some other Beetles songs - he really liked both "Hello Goodbye" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" He was so funny!  In the afternoon we had swim practice again and Aaron had an orthodontist appointment.  Then in the evening, I had Institute.  Class was wonderful!!!   We had a great lesson on the Beatitudes and the spirit was so strong.  I really love learning about the wonderful simplicity of the gospel and what it can do in our lives!

Wednesday was late start day for the kids.  I hit Costco to get stuff for the final carb load spaghetti dinner before championships on Friday.  James and I spent more time singing Beetles and then in the afternoon, Aaron had a dentist appointment and the rest of us went to swim practice.  It was our last hard practice of the year before championships!  Then after we headed home tried to work in piano practices and then I headed out to choir and Dan went to young men's and Aaron to cub scouts.

Thursday I spent some time in the morning cleaning, then we had James' preschool group - we had a lot of fun with numbers including a number scavenger hunt and number books and number coloring.  Adeline came over to play with us.  She and James had fun.  After school was our easy taper practice - we had some fun playing games.  Then I ran home to get stuff ready for the party at our house.  We had a lot of the girls come and even some parents.  I think they all had fun and after we ended up with a TON of extra food - so I quickly ran it over to Jen's house before heading to bed!

Friday was crazy.  Adeline came over again.  We played together and had fun, then after school, I headed in to Mrs. Moore's room to use her computer for a couple of minutes.  Then I headed home to get ready for championships!!  We headed to the school and get set up and ready.  The girls mostly did really well - we had a couple unfortunate DQ's but it just gives me more stuff to work on for next year!  We got a lot of our girls into the finals - we even had a lot of our first year swimmers make it to the finals!  Eileen headed home with Dan and then I got home late after staying to get the final results for day 1.

Saturday morning, we woke up and got the house cleaned up.  Eileen had flute lessons and Eileen, Aaron and Evie had piano lessons.  Then we set about cleaning bed rooms - even Dan and I gave our room a much needed straightening up and dusting up and giving stuff away.  Then Eileen and I headed back to the pool for the final day of swim championships.  Our team did well - they all had good times and did a great job!!  Eileen made it to the finals in her breast stroke, but she was in the consolation heat so she couldn't get a ribbon - but she had the 5th fastest time overall - which means that she beat girls in the finals heat.  She did such a great job and next year she will do even better!  She was so excited about her time - she cut time off both both days - she cut off nearly 5 seconds over the course of the weekend.  Plus our team got 3rd over all - which was really the best we had hoped for!  After, she and I headed home for a quick shower for her and a quick dinner for both of use before Eileen, Anna and I headed to the Women's General session of conference.  We were a little late - but it was WONDERFUL!  The talks were uplifting and inspiring, the music was beautiful and the company after was great too.  Becca was there with little Laura and we got to see and talk to a bunch of friends - which was fun since Eileen and I were still so excited about the swim finals.  Then we headed home for a little fun together before bed.

Today we got up and got ready for church and had a beautiful walk over to the church building.  Sacrament Meeting was wonderful - the kids were mostly good - James was having a bit of a hard time early on.  Sunday school went well - we had a great lesson about how keeping the commandments clears away the things that prevent us from receiving and seeing the Lord's blessings in our lives.  Relief Society was also amazing - we had a great lesson from our Stake Relief Society president.  This afternoon we had a great time talking to Dan's parents and playing games.  We had the Hansen's over one last time before they move to play games and have dessert.

I can hardly believe swim season is already over.  Gabbi and I are already beginning to make plans for next season.  I'm a little relieved - it's been a tiring month and a half - but I'm also going to miss it and I also kinda wish I had more time with the girls now to work with them on stuff.  Well now I just need to start making plans about how to work things more efficiently and get the more seasoned swimmers the workouts they need while getting the new swimmers the instruction and attention that they need.

Either way, I'm proud of the girls and the hard work they put in and how well they all did and I'm looking forward to doing even better next year!

Birthday Week

It's been another rather crazy busy week around here.  Monday night we had the Elders over for dinner.  We enjoyed having them and had a great lesson from them for FHE.  We also had Adeline over to watch for the day.  Plus Eileen's swim practice (which was pretty much just picture day), laundry and grocery shopping.  

Tuesday, Dan dropped the kids off at school, then headed to the airport to go to a show in D.C.  I got my lesson stuff prepped and ready for preschool.  The preschool kids are at our house this week and next, so we had a fun crazy morning with the kids learning and playing and having fun together.   Adeline was also here for most of preschool, so we had an extra kid.  After school, we had swim practice again, then we got home in time to have dinner and go to bed.  The kids had a blast making this train track and wanted a picture of it. :)  

Wednesday was late start.  Then James and I went to run some errands and get mommy a birthday donut for breakfast.  We got back home and James threw a tantrum at me and got to sit on time out for awhile.  After lunch, we ran a quick errand, then went to pick the kids up from school.  There was no practice because of a meet for other schools.  So we went home and caught up on piano practicing.  Dan had stowed a birthday card for me and sent me to open it.  He got me a skydiving trip!!!  I have always wanted to go and now I'm going to get to!  In the evening, Natasha came to watch the kids so I could go to choir.  She made birthday cards for me with the kids and cleaned up the front room.  It was so nice!!!

Thursday was preschool again in the morning, swim practice in the afternoon and then we headed home so Eileen could get dressed and we could grab a quick dinner before heading to the school carnival.  The kids had a lot of fun and it was mostly low stress and after a fun and tiring evening, we headed home for bed!

Friday the kids had school off.  So after getting the swim team met entries put in for Saturday and Eileen and Anna getting lunches ready, we picked up Adeline and went with a newly arrived home daddy to the Children's Museum.  The kids all had a blast.  We told the kids we were going to pause the play for lunch and James started heading to the car for lunch - but with out anyone else.  We freaked out a bit - but with the help of the museum staff he was found and returned.  After lunch a very stressed out Dan headed home for a conference call he needed to be on.  A bit later, the rest of us headed home so Eileen and I could get to swim practice.  We got there and the doors were locked.  There had been some cross communication and so after waiting for 15 minutes and being told that there was no one around who could unlock it, we sent the girls home.  Just after the last one left - they sent someone to open the door.  So Eileen and I and one other girl who had gotten there late got in the pool and worked on a bunch of stuff together.  After, Eileen and I headed home - then I went out and grabbed Evie's birthday present before heading over to the church for a friend's baptism.  I was playing the piano and giving a talk on baptism.  The baptism was wonderful!!

 After, we headed home to have a little birthday party for Evie.  Jeremiah and Becca came over to play a game and eat dinner and let me hold the baby for a couple hours!  Evie loved her pink hello kitty shaped cake and loved her presents - espeically a chapstick set with a cute little box from Grandma and Grandpa Jones and a handmade "Toothless" toy from "How To Train Your Dragon"  made by Becca!

Saturday morning started off bright and early with Eileen's last swim meet before championships.  She did well and the team did well!  After, we headed home for a bit before heading over to the church for a missionary homecoming party.  We all had a great time with friends and loved ones.  Then I ran home really quickly to change so I could go play piano for another baptism.  It was a really neat baptism.  It was for two converts - one of them sang an amazing musical number with the sisters.  After the baptism, I walked home, then we had one of the young women come watch the younger three while Dan and I took Eileen and Anna to the nickle arcade.  We had a fun evening together.  Dan and I pitched in with the girls so they could get a fun stuffed animal together.  We all had a great time together.  We got home a little after 8 and the kids were still awake, so we finished getting them to bed and Dan and I played together for a bit before bed.  

Church today was wonderful.  The day started off not so great - I've been exhausted all week and haven't had a slow day to recover yet.  So I was tired and didn't handle it well when everything started going wrong.  So the kids and I had a talk on the way to church in the car about how we need to make better choices so our family can be a happy family.  The talks, and musical numbers and lessons were wonderful and just what I needed to lift my spirits and help motivate me to make better choices with my kids.  After church, we did some eating and some napping and some playing games.  Followed by some cooking making and home teaching and bedtime.  Then some more games and more bed time :)  I'm feeling ready to face what is already turning out to be a very busy week.  Here goes nothing!