Scrapping

This week was a bit nuts for us - we've been keeping busy with friends, and school and piano and such.  The kids had their first "track meet" - they had all the elementary age track participants choose 2 events to participate in and then they all had fun running and jumping - Eileen chose all jumping events and Anna chose the 2 longest running events.  They both did really well and had a lot of fun.  And we all had fun watching them and cheering them on.

Unfortunately, after them meet was the end of their session of Track and Field and we were too slow signing them up for the next session - we all miss track and field.....  The kids come home so much more restless - there were so many benefits - they were healthier, more willing to sit down for piano lessons and homework after school and I didn't have to wake James up from his naps every day to pick them up....  Gonna have to do better next time... :)

This weekend, I flew out to Utah for the Scrapbook Expo in Sandy.  It was utterly exhausting, but a blast!  All day Friday and all day Saturday, the 4 of us hung out at our booth, scrapped, and met people.  And by all day, I mean we were up at 6:30 and didn't get back home until after midnight!  But we had a lot of fun and it was fun to meet people that I have known online for 4-5 years now, but haven't met in person until now.  Nicole was nice enough to put me up for the weekend since Paul and Candace were in the middle of a move (and it was probably easier this way since I didn't have my own car) but I do wish I had had some spare time to go see their new house.  

After the expo ended on Saturday, Nicole took me to her Roller Derby match - it was a blast to watch and cheer her on!  Plus her team won - which is always exciting :)

I flew back to CO on Sunday morning - just in time for church.  It was a lot of fun - but i was very grateful for my Sunday afternoon nap :)

Where did September Go?

I can't believe we are in the final part of September, this month has just flown!  We have been keeping ourselves plenty busy with track and field, soccer, and play dates.  After checking out my cameras, I apparently only took pictures of my boys this week.  The weather has been gorgeous, so we took a walk over to the park with my friend Nicole and her 3 kids (who are close in age to my youngest 3) James just LOVED the swing.

Dan was out of town for a few days - thankfully his travel this month has been really light and we have loved having him around!  Nicole and Dwayne watched the kids for me so I could go to choir.  Apparently the kids totally tried to manipulate them the whole time "Yes we can do this - just one more movie - we can stay up a bit longer - we won't be cranky!"

Becky came over on Thursday I really enjoy having her over - we may do nothing more than chat and craft and eat lunch - but it's such a relief to have wonderful female friends around to hang out with especially when Dan is out of town and I am TOTALLY starved for adult conversation (ya know - anything other than "mommy - this dinosaur is gonna come eat you - does that tickle?"  and "mommy I'm hungry - what's for lunch" - that one about 10 minutes after breakfast)

James is getting totally mobile - he even figured out how to climb into the lego table - thankfully he doesn't much like eating them - they are too pokey - but I've been trying to do better about putting a blanket over it while he is around it.

Soccer is going well - I really like that all the coaches are more interested in having fun and getting the kids equal play time than winning. Aaron is starting to like it more and more - he really got in there and played some tough (for a 4 year old) defense - and even remembered which way they were supposed to be going.

It was also team picture day - this is the girls team - they have been enjoying it too - but vary between playing and trying hard and kinda standing there watching it all happen (when they are supposed to be in and playing) 

So during primary today - Eileen had a lesson about lying and telling the truth and the teacher did an object lesson using a piece of rope that he wound around Eileen's wrists to show that when you wrap it around once, it may be easy to get out of - but the more you wrap it around, the harder it is to get out of.  She really thought this was fun, because when she got home - she found a piece of rope in the back yard and the girls all began tying each other up.  

Birthday Girls

This is a week of birthdays for us!  And those birthdays were surrounded by a week of insanity!!!!  Why does it feel like I say that every week.....

Well - this week - Dan had a show in town, which meant that he got to sleep at home, but we didn't see much of him - one night he wasn't home until after I was asleep and was gone again before I woke up the next day.  Which means, that he almost might as well be out of town.  The week began with the usual hustle and bustle - track and field, piano lessons, laundry, grocery shopping, choir and trying to keep up with everything.

James is growing and learning - this week he learned that cake crumbs are really yummy.  Dan was making a birthday cake for me and didn't realize that he had dropped a crumb on the ground, James found it and ate it and LOVED it - Dan had to fight him off of the crumbs after that.

On Friday, Dan and I got a babysitter and went out for dinner at California Pizza Kitchen.  We had a lot of fun together - but we always do.  Then we came back to the house to watch a movie together.  He got me some fun new books for my birthday - which may not sound fun to some - but I'm kinda addicted to books and reading, and I'm really looking forward to these!

Saturday was a bit crazy - in addition to getting ready for Evie's birthday and family coming over on Sunday, we had soccer in the morning, the primary program rehearsal and Anna had a birthday party.  Followed by some shopping and creating and of course cleaning.  

I just loved the action shots I managed to get of Aaron - it's so funny to watch him play - he alternates between getting in there and doing his best, and standing on the side whining about being tired and picking his nose.  The girls are a bit better - and it's fun to watch them learning and getting better.  

Anna really enjoyed helping me make a present for Evie - She did almost all of the tying for this little blanket and she loved it!  The rest of the kids had gone to Costco with Dan and she and I worked on this together.  She had such a hard time not telling Evie about it and when Evie opened her presents - she had to open that one first!!!!

James likes to crawl and climb everywhere - the other day, I found him stuck like this - of course I grabbed my camera for pictures before helping him.... he really wasn't upset though - he just kept working on it until he got himself free - I'm still not sure why he felt that was the best way to go in the first place though.  :)  

Eileen borrowed a book from school about bugs and has been kinda obsessed with them for a couple days now.  She has spent so much time reading this book and wants to make everything in there that it shows how to make so that she can catch and watch bugs.  So strange for a girl - but i LOVE to see her learning and how smart she it!!!

And of course, our little birthday girl!  Dan made her a birthday princess crown - she loved it!  We asked her what she wanted for her birthday - her only answer? "Pink CAKE! with Pink Frosting!!!!!"  Eileen kept trying to get her to ask for fancy cupcakes - but all she wanted was pink cake! 

Granda Francone, Frank, Tina and Frankie, and Stuart and Rebecca and family all came over to have cake and ice cream with us and celebrate.  I'm glad they did - we have way too much cake around here - it's good to have help eating it - plus I just love being with family!  I'm so glad that my kids have the chance to get to know them - especially their great grandpa!  

Wish I Were Super Mom

LOL - If I were Super Mom, then maybe I would have endless stores of energy and patience :)  Unfortunately I have neither.  Thankfully I have sweet children who (along with the normal dose of tantrums and whining) give me sweet kisses, snuggles and smiles that make it all worth it in the end.  Thankfully I have a wonderful husband who, after a long day at work, comes home and helps out and cares for me like I'm a queen.  Thankfully I have wonderful friends and ward members who help out when my hubby is gone and I have 4 wiggly kids and a very tired baby at church and need to get up and do music time with the primary kids and need help entertaining James.

This week we had choir start back up for me - it was wonderful to be singing again and to see friends again. Also I found out that Sandi will be singing with Evening Song - I am so excited for her!

We also started preschool stuff for Aaron again (and some for Evie too) we talked about our body parts and had fun tracing the kids - after, Aaron spent a good solid 2 hours coloring his in - at the same time James and Evie both took naps and I had a wonderful 2 hours to get some stuff done and relax a bit!  I even got to eat lunch with out two kids hanging over me and begging for food!  LOL - I'd call it a minor miracle - but to me it's not so minor.

We asked Evie what she wanted for her birthday, and she told me she wanted "A pink frosting cake!!!"  So cute and so easy to please!

As of this morning - James now has 2 teeth on the bottom - he is growing so fast and has such a wonderful little smile!!

Today was a bit insane - we are getting the primary kids ready for their primary program in 2 weeks and since we have stake conference next week, we spent the full 2 hours doing a run through - sigh....kids attention spans are NOT that long - and James was not a happy camper, having been in need of a nap for over an hour when it started.  After church we spent the afternoon playing games and doing crafts until dinner time.  Now I am totally ready for bed.....zzzzzzzzzzz

Labor Day Fun

Well we have had a fun, wonderful weekend!  But I'm getting ahead of myself!

We started out our week like normal - kids with school, piano lessons, track and field and lots of fun.  Dan and I have some friends moving to the area and the husband drove in with their things on Thursday and the wife and kids flew in this weekend - we wanted to make sure they didn't starve and had Dwayne over for lunch and dinner and sent him home with food.

Anna had her 6 year old well child visit on Thursday and we found out that she is a healthy, happy well adjusted, smart girl - but we knew that all ready :)

James is ALL OVER the place - he is very mobile and pulling up on everything and starting to walk around the edges of things. He is also a very happy and easy going baby (at least as long as he is fed and not tired)  And he officially has a tooth!!!

On Friday, we took off to Utah to spend the weekend with Paul and Candace and their family.  It was wonderful - Eileen and Anna spent all their time hanging out with Annmarie who is about Anna's age.  Aaron spent all his time playing with Cannon and Christian and leaning how to be a boy with Nerf guns and dinosaur costumes.  Evie spent all her time with Genevieve who is about her age and James spent all his time with their pre-teen daughter Bianca who is an awesome baby sitter!  It was so fun to watch them play together and get along so well.  When we had to leave to come home, Eileen kept saying "I wish we could come here more than just once a year!)  We were all sad to leave!  It's fun to watch Dan with his brother - they are very alike in their sense of humor and their interests.  I love Candace and the example she sets for me - she is a wonderful mother - creative, loving, patient, talented - but then again - I married into a wonderful family of women!

We stopped at Little America on our way home - turned out to be the perfect lunch stop - decent food - cheap ice cream and a play ground for the kids to get wiggles out, and even clean bathrooms!

Busy, Busy, Busy

This week has been just totally insane - it started out quiet enough - just some family time and the normal cleaning and working and piano lessons - including a puppet show by the girls for Family Home Evening, and picking up our boxes of peaches for canning.

Then on Wednesday, the insanity broke loose.  Wednesday, Dan's brother John and his wife Melissa and their 6 kids stopped in for a night on their way back home from Virginia.  The kids all had a blast together - it's always fun to see the kids playing together and their kids are similar in ages to ours.  We had a fun time talking and playing Killer Bunnies, then sadly sent them on their way the next morning.  It was so good to see them again - I love spending time with Dan's family - it's easy to see where Dan gets his awesomeness when I'm around them  :)

Thursday, was Skate City Night for the girls.  I took them to the roller skating rink for skating, pizza, and fun.  we had a fun time together, and thankfully the girls still aren't old enough to feel the need to totally abandon and ignore me.  Eileen even had a friend who wanted to hang out with us - so we all had a fun time together

Friday was the school carnival - I picked up the girls after school, then they did piano practicing and Dan came home early and we all went back to the school for the carnival - the kids enjoyed it - free face painting, some candy and lots of games made for a fun couple hours before we headed home for dinner and bed.  

Aaron was so fun to watch on this bouncy house thing - he was very fast and LOVED it!  He could even get through faster than some of the older kids.  

Saturday started off with Anna and Aaron going to Soccer - they have one hour of practice and one game each week (except next week for labor day)  Eileen will also be playing, on the same team as Anna, but she had a birthday party that we had already RSVP-ed for before we found out when their first practice and game would be.  Then after Soccer and parties, we went back home and Dan and I (with some help from the kids) got the peaches canned - at that point, Dan and I were both about ready to go to bed - fortunately, we had nothing else planned for that day, unfortunately it was only 3pm.....  

The kids had fun putting the peaches in the jars and were very helpful.  

Re-adjustment

Well we are settling back into school life - I am getting used to schedules and some quiet time again, I have also been enjoying having time to sit and read with Evie and Aaron.  We are going to get back into some pre-school stuff with them now - and Evie has been having fun 'writing her letters' which kinda means coloring in the preschool books I made awhile ago, but she is actually doing pretty good at tracing lines and such.


The girls school offered a intermural track and field program to the younger grades this year - they have set it up so that the younger grades can stay after school and do simplified track practices with the track team - the girls wanted to do it, and since it was free, Dan and I were willing to let them spend 2 more hours at school and get some exercise, we still aren't sure what our favorite part about this is - seeing how much they enjoy it, having an extra 2 hours to let James nap and to play with Aaron and Evie, or the fact that they are getting some activity and coming home tired!  :)  They are much more willing to come home and do reading and homework and piano lessons when they have spent the last 2 hours running around.  :)

It's been nice having Dan around - and knowing that we will have him around for awhile - travel is slow for him right now and we LOVE having him here - life is always better with him here.

My dad was visiting this last week - he was in town for a few days for work and since his birthday was on Wednesday, we made him a cake and got to celebrate with him - of course, by the time I got the cake finished - i had made so many mistakes (including messing up the eggs and needing to go get more, and almost burning the cake) that it was a good thing my dad had the forgiving mind set of  "it's the thought that counts."   The cake was edible though - if only just.

James is crawling all over the place now - they are so cute and little when they are crawling and I love to watch it - which is good since he is getting good at getting into things.  :)  everything goes into his mouth!  (Unless we want it there....)

Apparently after nearly 33 years of not having any allergy problems, my body decided that it needed a change.... and as a result, I have been suffering for the last 2 weeks (or so) with allergy problems - and I think they are getting worse!  Either way - they are fast getting unbearable - I finally broke down and got some clariten - hoping to get some relief - but it's been little to no help - now I think i am going to set up a doctors appointment to see if I can get some relief from the sneezing, runny nose, congestion, itchy eyes and throat and stuffy feeling in my head....

On Tuesday we met Dan and a bunch of other people from Dan's work over in Lakewood for dinner.  We went over right after piano lessons (since it was about half a mile away) and had a very yummy meal with really awesome people.  I really like the people that Dan works with, and their spouses.  I even got to meet Dwayne who is new and will be moving out to the area - Dan and I met him and his wife playing Maple Story a few years ago, and while Dan has been working with him on shows and such for awhile now, I was excited to get to meet him in person for the first time, and I'm really looking forward to meeting Nicole and their kids in person when they move out here this year!  It's funny how seemingly little things in life can make such a big difference down the road.

The girls had a lot of fun on Saturday with cutting out paper and making puppets - then they put on a puppet show for Dan and I - it was pretty cute and funny to watch and they were SO proud of their puppets!

Back to School

We've managed to keep ourselves busy while Dan was out of town.  Monday morning, we went to the girls piano lessons, then left from there to go up to the cabin with Grandpa Francone.  We nearly ran out of gas on the way up - I hadn't noticed that we were low and we got to an area with out much around it - thankfully we managed to get safely to a gas station and filled up and then got safely to the cabin.  Monday afternoon, the kids had a good time walking around and remembering and making sure everything was as it should be.

That evening I got to look at a bunch of pictures of my mom when she was younger.  It was fun to look at them and listen to my grandpa tell stories and talk about her and my grandma - he even had some love notes my grandma had written to them when they were young and some journal pages that my grandma had written about their early dates!

Tuesday was a bit crazy!  We started out with some short nature walks picking wild flowers and playing around - then in the afternoon, Grandpa took us in his truck up one of the mountain paths.  It was a beautiful ride and we enjoyed the scenery and the ride - but it got really warm and the kids got a bit tired at the end - James actually fell asleep on my shoulder and Anna and Evie were laying down and dozing off.  

After we got back, they were energized by the idea of going to see the horses and going on a carriage ride.  Some of Grandpa's neighbors hooked up their horses for us and took us for a ride.  The older kids (and Mommy) just loved it - Evie was feeling kinda shy and kinda snuggled up to me the whole time and James was rather tired from this point by not having had much of a nap.  That night we all went to bed just EXHAUSTED!  Which was just as well since the next morning we began packing up and cleaning up to get ready to head back. The girls had assessment meeting with their teachers that afternoon and we made it back just in time to get to the meetings.  

The next day was the first day of school - they were so excited!!  They look so big and mature!  They came home loving their teachers and totally stoked about school!  

Dan got in late on Thursday after the kids were in bed and had Friday off - so we spent it having fun together and relaxing a bit.  That evening we went up to Newell and Becky's to have dinner with them (and their extended family)  Aunt Linda and her family were mostly in town for a reunion and we got to join in on some of the festivities.  We had a blast hanging out with family and eating and playing! 

Saturday the girls ended up having to spend most of the day cleaning their room.... sigh - part of me wonders  how they can do so much damage so quickly - and the rest of me remembers being a kid and having a horribly messy room too... And HATING to clean it up.  In the evening, we went to dinner at the house of one of Dan's co-workers.  All the families at his work were invited and we had a great time talking and eating.  The older women all enjoyed holding James so I even got a bit of a hands free evening :)  Dan brought his balloons and made balloon animals - which is ALWAYS a big hit. Then after dinner and dessert, they let free a bunch of ladybugs and gave the kids little bug catching containers and let them have fun trying to catch as many lady bugs as they wanted.  The kids LOVED it - Evie was a bit sad when she lost a bunch of hers - but it was pretty easy to get her more.  The kids weren't happy when we made them set them free in the back yard - but they understood that the ladybugs needed to eat and so they let them go - hoping to find them again the next day (and Eileen actually did find one....) 

We have had some sweet neighbors and friends drop off some fresh veggies recently - so we have been enjoying fresh squash, cucumber and zucchini - today, with a little help from Dan, Eileen used some of the zucchini to make zucchini bread - we enjoyed one loaf with dinner and then took the other to the same kind neighbor.  It's nice to be getting settled into a neighborhood and getting to know some of our neighbors a bit.

10 Happy Years

Can I just say that I am the luckiest woman in the world!!!  I have had 10 wonderful years with a man who still treats me like a queen, still makes me laugh and still makes every day better because he is in it.  Dan and I had our 10th anniversary this week - the plan was to keep it fairly simple since we are really celebrating with a cruise later this year - but Dan couldn't help himself.  He got up early and made me breakfast and with breakfast, I got a new set of mixing bowls (I have been intensely irritated with ours for most of our married lives, but never really done anything about it) They are wonderful and we have been enjoying using them ever since.  They make very good brownies :)  He then came home for lunch with some Panda Express for me and some flowers.  Finally, we got a sitter and he took me out to dinner (along with a very romantic and sweet card) and a movie.

Aside from our wonderful anniversary, this week has been mostly a normal uneventful week - James is now officially crawling and getting around rather better than I'm ready for - he is quickly finding everything little that his siblings leave on the floor.

The kids have mostly spent this last full week before school starts again playing with dolls, dressing up and having picnic lunches in the back yard.  (Haha - i even managed to make it look like our grass is all green in that pictures - really that's about the only green spot....) The girls had me do their dolls hairs and then do their hairs to match, which they all got a kick out of - then they, of course, wanted pictures.  

The weather has been just gorgeous, though rather hot - it has also often cooled off in the evening and drizzled in the evening - making for a nice relief.  Though the kids can only take so long being out in the heat. Last Sunday, the girls decided that they wanted bangs, so they now have bangs again and I think they look so CUTE!  Though admittedly, I am not the best hair cutter - well maybe the best in the house - but that's about all I can claim.  :)  

Dan finally let the kids pull in the trunk of dress up clothes from the garage a few weeks back and they spend at least part of every day in dress-up clothes.  

I'm very thankful for small miracles this week.  Dan had another trip that he left for this morning - which meant that I had to get all 5 kids ready for church this morning and all the craziness that entails at church - fussy baby, little kids needing to use the restroom and of course my calling.  Trying to lead music with a wiggly and cranky 6 month old can be a bit insane - and today I was so off kilter that I think it would have been impossible if not for the help of a very dear friend.  A friend from Texas was in the area visiting today and came to church with me - she and her 9 year old son were SO helpful during Sacrament meeting and she came with me and helped me out during primary.  I believe the only reason I survived with my sanity in tact, was her helpfulness!  So thanks again Shari and Garret and you are welcome to visit ANYTIME!

To Sleep or Not To Sleep

That was the question this week.... Eileen's friend Morgan slept over on Wednesday and stayed and played until Thursday afternoon - the girls all had a fun time together - but I don't think they got much sleep.  They were up until at least midnight!!

Dan got home on Monday and was able to take a couple days off this week.  I went in to see the doctor about my back (which is still bugging me some since the fall) - she sent me for x-rays which showed nothing.... I have been told to ice it and see if that helps.... I also got Anna's 6 year old pictures taken and James' 6 month old pictures taken.  We had a very hard time getting a normal looking smile out of Anna - she kept giving us these forced smiles that looked rather funny.... James loved it - and he just grinned and showed off his dimples for all he was worth - picking one picture was VERY hard!

Friday evening Becky and Newell and family came down for dinner and then left Zoe here to sleep over - the girls didn't stay up quite as late (thank goodness!) but they still had a really good time.

On Saturday, we had some fun watching the Olympics and playing together.

Then I took James to get his pictures done and when we got home I found this in the front room!!!  LOL - Dan had helped the kids build a HUGE fort - they were very excited about it.  :) 

Church was fun today - I think my favorite part about being a primary chorister is doing singing time with the nursery - partly because it is so amazing to watch the power of music.  It's amazing to watch 13 rowdy toddlers run around and get excited and sing "Popcorn Popping" with me and then to watch them all calm down and sit reverently as we sing "I am a Child of God"  What sweet little spirits they are!!

Life, Or Something Like It

Dan took off for another trip on Monday morning, and my dad flew in later that day, he had meetings in Colorado Springs all week and spent his spare time with us.  The kids love having him around and I had to have them wait their turns to have time doing what they wanted with Grandpa.

James has been a bit sick this week - and just like Dan, he seems to want to do nothing but sleep when he is sick.  As a result - he has slept the better part of the last week - he is seeming better now - but still not back to 100% - though for all the time he has spent sleeping - you would think he would be.  Because of his sleeping, we haven't left the house much this week.  On Monday - I made the mistake of trying to do the grocery shopping with all 5 kids, who were hungry, tired, and a baby who couldn't quite sit in the cart on his own yet - or at least really didn't want to.... I never want to do that again.... thankfully a sweet lady behind us in checkout was very kind and being in a wheel chair (well you know - one of those fancy electric chair/shopping cart things Walmart has) , provided an opportunity for us to do a bit of service.  The kids forgot their grumpiness and whining while being helpful to this sweet lady.

We also had Morgan's mom text to say they were going to be at the park near our house, so we grabbed some popsicles and headed to the park for a bit.  I surprised the kids - not telling them who was going to be there until we got there - and we set up a sleep over for the girls for next week.

Friday we had Becky and her kids over to play in the morning - as usual we all had a blast - and if I can't get out of the house - this is the next best thing!  The kids had fun running amok and Zoe only left a few toys behind :)

As you can see in this picture, James is getting very close to crawling - he is up on all fours and rocking and he has figured out how to get up on all fours, and then launch himself forward to get to things - it won't be long now.....

Saturday morning - I met my friend Marie early at her house - dropped off the 4 older kids with her husband and we took our babies and hit the Stapleton  Yard Sale - a huge town-wide garage sale - we parked and walked around for a couple hours and had fun - then I dropped her off - picked up the kids - packed up our swim gear and we all (including my dad) headed down to my Grandpa's house to go swimming.  The kids loved it as usual and we got to play with Frankie as well - the kids love playing with him!  After, we had a late lunch/early dinner with Grandpa and then headed back to drop my dad at the airport.

 Today after church, Eileen wanted to help with dinner (actually she woke me up this morning wanting to make these for breakfast, but I convinced her to let me sleep a bit longer and to make them for dinner instead)  she found this recipe for jelly filled muffins and wanted to make them.  So she mixed them up and I thought this picture of her and Anna filling the muffin tins was awfully cute!!  Plus after dinner, Anna was my super duper helper - while I did dishes, she wiped down the table and swept the floor (and did a very good job I might add.)   I am blessed with such good kids - and it is always wonderful to see them come home from church wanting to be good and helpful and nice.  :)

Evie told me this afternoon "My back hurts - I need to go lie down!"  Sigh - apparently I have been a lazy mommy recently....

I kinda use this blog as a journal to record our family history as it's happening - in addition to being a way to keep our far flung family posted on our lives.  We had a wonderful talk in church today about leaving a legacy.  She spoke about how just like our ancestors left a legacy for us, we need to think about the kind of legacy that we want to leave for our posterity and shape our actions accordingly - She also mentioned the need to record these things for posterity - not just our deeds and events in our lives, but out thoughts, feelings and testimonies.  I don't think I am very good at sharing those things - I am just not any good at putting them into words - writing is NOT my strong suit - music and the words of others have always provided my emotional outlet.  There are things that happen from time to time that just leave people staggering and wondering - how did this happen?  9/11, Columbine, Kennedy Assassination, Moon Landing - and many others.  This Friday, I was woken by a phone call from Dan - who had seen on the news that a man had gone into a theater near our house and opened fire killing 12 and injuring 58 people.  There are events in my life that I remember with clarity - despite the passage of time - and this is becoming one of them.  Some people from our old ward were in the theater and were injured.  This is something that shakes the world - but there is something very strange about watching a news report about something like this and seeing streets that you drive all the time in the back ground.  It is strange to drive around your town and pass news vans lined up outside evacuated buildings as the police deactivate a booby-trapped apartment.  It is strange to go to church and listen to our Stake President stand and offer comfort, advice and counseling to any who want it.  And mostly it is strange to figure out what to tell my children.  My heart aches for those who lost loved ones - and yet along with the story of fear and anger and violence - there are stories of bravery, courage, love and miraculous healing.  I know that even in the midst of tragedy, that the Lord is watching over us and caring for the broken hearts - that he has a plan and that he will not leave us alone and comfortless.  Now you see why I'm not any good at writing these things out - I'm sure that what I wrote above was mostly a senseless rambling - but it was my thoughts and feelings as they came.

In a daze...

Well Dan and I aren't really sure where the week went...  the whole week kinda disappeared in a daze.  We have been enjoying being together as a family and gotten a lot done, and been closing our eyes to the disappointment of Dan leaving town again next week.  We really didn't do anything "special" or anything - just played, enjoyed the sun and enjoyed summer break.  Yesterday was our most exciting day.  Dan and I each had a list of things we wanted to get done before he left town - I figured that I might be able to accomplish 1 or 2 things on the list if I was lucky.  Miracle of miracles, the kids were wonderful - helpful, and easy going - James napped well and I managed to get almost everything done that I wanted to.  We built  bookshelves (LOL - yes more bookshelves) and a small writing table for upstairs.  We emptied a bunch more boxes.  The kids got some extra chores done - they have been saving up their money to get some Skylanders (it's part of a game they have been playing)  So after lunch, Dan took all the kids to Walmart to let them spend some of their saved money.  Dan's cousin Deb and her family have moved into the area and are in our stake (but live a ways out in the country) Their two oldest daughters came to the stake center (which is 4 blocks from our house) for a youth conference yesterday, and instead of going all the way back home between the morning part and the fireside/dance in the evening, they hung out with us.  The kids just loved them and they had fun playing Wii Fit together.  We also had friend who was having a birthday party last night, so we went to that for awhile and the kids had fun playing with friends - go figure but that evening we all slept well... well everyone but me - I slept well until James woke up at 4am.... after that i had weird dreams.... But either way - I'm going to bed early tonight - LOL - go figure, but I'm a bit tired.... So tired in fact (or lazy) that I am to lazy to go look upstairs and see if I took any pictures with my phone.... I think I took a couple, but oh well... I'll take more this next week... maybe.  :)

So Evie is in a very cute stage right now where she mis-pronounces words in very cute ways - Dan and I's favorites -  "Dindosours" (dinosaurs) and "Lippy Lops" (Flip Flops)  - and when she sings twinkle twinkle little star - "Up oh- bup oh world so high"

Dan made banana bread with Evie and Aaron yesterday and they had done everything but the final stirring - he let them stir and went to go do something else for a minute - I walked into the kitchen a bit later to find them (not sticking their fingers in the batter like you might expect) stirring in a way that the spoon would touch their fingers so that they would conveniently have to lick their fingers to clean them off!!   Sneaky Kids!!  You gotta admire their tenacity though!

Unpacked!

We spent the first few days of this week settling back in and cleaning out our garage.  We are borrowing Dan's parents car while they are on their mission.  So we finally finished cleaning out our garage to make room for it, and we are now more unpacked than we have have been for a long time - now all that is left in boxes is Christmas decorations, kids clothing, and some books that we need to get another book shelf for.  :)  The kids are having fun playing outside - the weather has been changing between sunny and hot and rainy.  The rain has been good, especially with the fires - and our very dry and dead lawn.  

James has discovered his toes - he puts anything in his mouth that he can find.  He is getting so big and wiggly - he doesn't want to sit still for long and he loves to eat.  

Evie has been struggling a bit with all the changes, but when she is happy, she is adorable - but she is testing limits and finding out what she can't do, and she doesn't like finding out that she can't do something that she wants to do.

I got a new calling at church - I have been called as a Primary Chorister - I am looking forward to this calling - as are my kids, but today after I went in to do singing time with the Nursery, Evie didn't want to let me go back to primary - I said "I need to go Evie" and she replied "But I don't want you to"  :(

For the 4th of July, we went up to play with Newell and Becky and family.  The kids had a blast soaking each other with water balloons, a hose and some water guns.  We didn't watch any fireworks, which really bummed Eileen out - but it was probably a good thing for Evie's sake - she hates loud noises!!  Someday we will go watch some together, but for now, Dan and I are content to put the kids to bed at the normal time and spend our night together relaxing.

I'm finding it increasingly difficult to get a picture of Aaron - I have to catch him unawares - or he hides behind his hand or whatever he is holding in his hand.  So most of the pics I have of him look like this...

But he had a birthday party that he was invited to on Saturday and had a great time splashing around in the back yard and eating cup cakes.  He looks so skinny with his rib cage showing, but he eats like crazy and he's healthy an happy - so i promise mom, I'm not starving him... :P  Now we are counting down the days until the next trip... just one more week, but at least he will only be gone for one week - not a month, and my back, while not totally back to normal, is feeling much better.