Summer Here We Come

Well, we are officially on Summer Break - the girls had Monday off, and then went to school on Tuesday and Wednesday (really - why would you do a teacher in-service with only 2 days left in the school year....) and then they were done.  On Wednesday, after school, a bunch of kids from the girls classes and their parents got together at a near by park to play and have a little end of school party.  They had a blast - but Eileen and Anna's favorite part was this tree - it was a huge and very climb-able tree - Anna went nearly to the very top of it - but did just fine both on the way up and on her way back down.  All the kids had a great time - It was really warm - Aaron just ran around playing, Evie befriended all the parents (mostly because they were near the food) and I chased after James for an hour and a half.  He was funny to watch - at first he just stood by me quietly observing.  Once he got going though, he was unstoppable.  He climbed up a grassy hill, then scooted down on his bum saying "weeee-oh-weee-oh-weeee"  

Mostly he wanted to run around looking at people and things.  

The girls have been wanting to get their hair cut for summer, so we took them to the mall to get a hair cut - Eileen and Anna both have cute little bob cuts now (you can kinda see in the picture below)  While we were there, I took Evie to get her ears pierced - she has wanted it for awhile now and she did pretty good - she cried a little, but was fine once she got her suckers.  The only problem, she lost one and she didn't like sleeping with them on - and so before she had them pierced for 24 hours, they were out.  I'm rather sad and annoyed by it...... but what can you do.  

Dan got into town early Thursday, he sent me out of the house to meet Becky for lunch and a pedi - it was really nice to get out for a bit and nice to de-stress.  Then we went to piano lessons and then home.  On Friday, Dan took the girls up for a Daddy-Daughter camp out.  They had a blast - but Daddy came home totally exhausted on Saturday.  Saturday night, we got a baby sitter and went out with Newell and Becky to see the new Star Trek movie.  

Aaron and Evie got a hold of some combs and water and had fun doing my hair for awhile - it's funny to listen to them - and I like getting my hair brushed - even by two little kids.  :)

Church was really nice today - James was rather talkative, but at least he was happy.  One lady who gave a talk quoted the psalmist who said "Children are an heritage of the Lord" then reminded us that they are a gift!!  And I started thinking that often, I think and act more like I am God's gift to them - when really it's the other way around - so my goal for this upcoming week is to look for ways that my kids are a gift to me, and also look for ways to show my gratitude for that gift.

Happy Birthday Dan!!

It's been a busy week around here - my cousin Frankie was with us until Friday - he was very helpful to have around - he mostly kept to himself and spent his time getting homework done and playing games - but being able to let James sleep while I went to get the girls from school was a BIG advantage.  

Tuesday was a bit crazy,  Marie and the kids came over to play with us around lunch time - we filled up the little water table and the kids had fun making mud and soaking each other. In the evening, the missionaries and Dwayne and Nicole came over for another discussion about the Plan of Happiness - it's so neat to share these truths that I love and that I KNOW have made me a better person with people that I care about!  I had to leave a bit early though for a meeting at a school - we are still trying to figure out what to do with Aaron for this upcoming school year.....  followed by a presidency meeting at my house.  

Wednesday we went to the library.  The kids had fun at a "superhero" themed story time, and then we had fun in the kids are until James got cranky.  The kids always enjoy the library - and the kids area there is nice and closed off, which is really helpful.  

Eileen and Anna had a fun week at school - the school had 2 days of "immersion classes" where the kids got to pick a subject that they wanted to study and then spent 2 days with a teacher learning and doing cool things.  Anna chose a cooking class - she got to have lots of fun learning about kitchen and dining etiquette and rules and cooking yummy food.  Eileen chose an outdoor animal class where they got to spend time talking about animals, dissecting an owl pellet and then going to a local wild life refuge.  

Great Grandpa Francone got Eileen a bird feeder and a bird house for Christmas and now that the weather is warming up - we are finally getting visitors to the feeder - Eileen has been having a blast watching for birds and then identifying them.  

Anna has been having fun making playdough - we got a recipe from her teacher as part of a math assignment and she made 3 full batches of playdough - big batches - and the kids have been having fun playing with them.  The recipe involved  15 minutes of kneading the dough - which she did amazingly well at - not only did she do almost all of the kneading, but she did it really well.  

Friday was a fun, but totally exhausting day - since Dan would be leaving on a trip on Saturday morning, we had a birthday party for Dan on Friday night - which means that I spent almost all day Friday cooking and cleaning.  We had lots of family and friends come over to celebrate with us and enjoyed lots of yummy food and had fun playing together - Evie told me the next day "mommy, I really liked having all our friends over here - I wish they could all come over again"

Saturday was dismal.... lol - not only was I still recovering from Friday but Dan left - I love my kids - but my world is SO much better with Dan in it - Eileen and Anna have recently started bickering a LOT - and both have been so self obsessed and unfeeling towards each other, and by Sunday,  I was heartily sick of it - so before they could eat a yummy dinner, I made them sit down at the table and Eileen and Anna each had to say 1 nice thing about the other person,  2 nice things that the other person has done for them, and 3 nice things that they could do for the other person.  After hearing their half hearted attempts (and not allowing comments like "she's nice to me SOMETIMES")  we had a WONDERFUL dinner, full of polite conversation and kindness!  I told the girls that any time they start fighting or arguing, they are going to have to sit down and do this again.  :)  This little idea was a flash of inspiration from the Spirit that I am SO grateful for - as I try and teach these children, I am so grateful for help and guidance from the wonderful examples around me and especially from the Holy Ghost and the prompting that he gives me in ways to help my kids understand and be a bit better.

Evie was so sweet this morning - as I was getting ready for church, she came in and saw me and said "I really like this skirt mommy!  You look FABULOUS!  I wish I could have a skirt like that!"  Little sweetie made my day!

Spring, Spring, Spring!

It's been a busy but fun week around here - we had our usual busy-ness.  James has been working on learning to feed himself with a spoon - he is actually getting pretty good - he gets more in his mouth than on the bib anyway.... (which is a definite step up!) He also hates to have anyone else feed him anymore - he wants to do it all himself - at least until he gets frustrated with his low skill level.

Eileen has been complaining about not being able to see small print that is far away, so we set up an appointment with the eye doctor for her and Anna and got their eyes checked.  Anna has perfect vision, but Eileen needs glasses - her vision isn't too bad, but she will need glasses for in her classroom at school and at church.  She loved picking out her glasses, but was very picky about the ones she wanted!  

Our neighbors wanted to clear out a weed-filled area and put in some rock, so Dan (and the kids) helped them to clear it out and level it out and shovel the rocks - James loved having a shovel to dig in the dirt!  We also cleared out one of our flower beds and filled it with plants this week.  The kids had fun digging and planting - now we just gotta hope that they live....

We got a lot of rain this week - I'm so happy that it was warm enough to rain and not snow (though there was a bit of hail) and this weekend it warmed up and the sun came out and it's been beautiful!  The grass in the back yard is needing to be mowed and it's really starting to feel like spring... just in time for summer break....

Friday, we had Dwayne and Nicole and family over for dinner - we did a little pizza party and the kids watched a movie - we also had the missionaries over and had a neat discussion about the plan of happiness.  

Saturday was busy with cleaning the house, working outside, filling the freezer, and Dan spent the afternoon and evening driving up to the cabin to help grandpa move some stuff out of his house and into the cabin.  He also brought Frankie back with him to stay with us for a week while his parents are out of town.  

Sunday was a gorgeous Mother's Day.  After church, we all enjoyed sitting and playing outside and enjoying the beautiful day.  The kids had fun playing hide and seek and playing on the play set.  

Everyone spoiled me rotten for Mothers Day.  I got this awesome cloak from Dan (too bad it was much to warm to wear to church today...)  I got a beautiful bouquet of purple roses, a sweet wonderful card and some bath salts from Eileen, Anna made me a beautiful heart shape, Evie rubbed my feet and put lotion on them  :)  Aaron rubbed my back, Eileen and Daddy made me breakfast in bed.  Also Eileen built me a lego "holder" with hidden compartments to hold stuff - Evie made me lego "baby birdies" and Anna made me a lego heart.  :)  All in all, it was a wonderful day with lots of love and hugs from my kids and husband!  We all chatted with my mom for a bit - the kids had fun talking to her and telling her everything they could think of.  I am so blessed to have these children and the wonderful examples of motherhood and womanhood around me!

May Day! May Day!

Well it's a good thing that this week was less stressful than last week since last week nearly put me out of commission for two days after.  Or maybe that was depression over the newest 4 inches of snow that got dumped on us.....  Thankfully it's mostly melted now.  And thankfully, between the snow, it's been beautiful and sunny - so we have still been able to spend a lot of time playing outside.

Wednesday - the first day of May we had a bunch of snow dumped on us - but thankfully the roads never got bad - the kids and I went to the library that morning - the only bad part was walking in it since the wind was driving it into our faces.  But the library is becoming a weekly trip again - Aaron and Evie are each allowed 1 book and I grab 1 book - so it's easy to keep track of them :)  and when we go each week, we don't have any over due books and if Eileen doesn't leave her lunch in the car and requires us to drive back and drop it off, we can even make story time.

Anna left out a half eaten apple - she had put it down, meaning to come back and finish it after some time on the swings, but James got to it first - and really enjoyed chewing on it - he didn't get much, but he really seemed to like it.

Friday, Eileen had a slumber party that she went to - she had a blast and exhausted herself good - and while she partied, the kids back home got to have their own little pizza party.

On Saturday, Eileen, Anna and I went to a Dolly and Me Tea Party at my Great Aunt Joan's Church.  She was one of the main organizers and many of the dolls on display were hers.  The girls loved coming with their dolls and getting their dolls dressed up and doing a special event with mommy.  They enjoyed making new friends with the other little girls there and they loved putting their dolls up on the display tables and then bringing every sweet little old lady who would give them her attention over to the table to see their dolls.  The girls also had a great time stuffing themselves with cookies and treats.

We have also been slowly getting some yard work done and trying to make our yards look more like we would like them to.  Getting some flower beds ready to plant and getting old and kinda ugly stuff taken out and dead stuff taken out.  The kids have had fun working with us and are looking forward to picking their plants to put in the flower bed.

We've Got Spirit!!

It was spirit week at the girls school this week - which meant that they got to dress up in certain ways through out the week - for funny hat/hair day on Monday, Dan made balloon hats for the girls to wear (which of course meant that Evie and Aaron had to have balloon stuff too.  Tuesday was class colors day, Wednesday was Dress Up day and Thursday was twin day - Eileen and Anna wanted to be twins, so I told them that if they got their room clean, we could go get twin outfits for them.  They had fun picking out matching outfits together.  

James has developed an obsession with the broom recently - he finds it and drags it all over the house - he has even managed to figure out how to drag it downstairs by himself.  I caught this cute picture of him the other day - trying to sweep up a little piece of paper on the floor - it was so funny to watch.  

James had his 15 month well child check up this week - he is growing well - and the doctor was very impressed by his gross motor skills - after watching him sweep the floor - so was I! 

 

Friday night, Dan and I got a babysitter and went to the temple, then out for dinner - the temple was wonderful and so was dinner :)  It was such a nice evening!  

Saturday was totally crazy - we started out the morning by getting some cleaning up done outside and inside - followed by a walk/ride to the park for a bit (during which Aaron got a blister from wearing the snow boots that we told him not to wear and Anna fell and scrapped her knee)  James new favorite word is "WHEEE-Oh-WHEEEE"  He uses it when I play with him and make him slide down my legs - and he really used it in the park - he sat on the swing for 20 minutes just swinging and saying "wheee-oh-wheee-oh"  

 

Anna has decided that she wants to be an artist when she grows up since she draws so well - and because art is her favorite subject in school.  

Saturday afternoon, we went over to Dwayne and Nicole's for Anayia's birthday party - we all had a lot of fun!  Then i had to run out for all the stuff for the fireside on Sunday followed by a baptism in the evening.  Sunday was just as crazy - Ward Council in the morning - church - followed by friends coming over for dinner and the Stake Easter Music fireside.  Eileen came and sang with me in the choir - it was so fun to sing with her and Anna came to listen and did such a good job of being reverent and listening!  Now I am exhausted and ready for bed - but first I'm going to enjoy this massaging chair for a bit longer....

Gone Daddy Gone...

This week has been a bit crazy - Monday, I went down to my Grandpa's so to help him downsize and to divide up family things that he needed to give to other family members.   We had thought about going down as a family, but my mom thought that with all the scattered boxes and mess - it wouldn't be a good place for kids - she was right - and I ended up being very glad that Dan had stayed home with the kids for more reasons than that - mostly the fact that I had ended up being there until almost 10 pm.  It was really neat to see some of the family heirlooms that he had.  My Grandpa had his father's old WWI uniform and a map of parts of France from WWI.  They were some really neat pieces of history - and not just history but my own family history.  Also some things that my Grandfather had gotten from his military time over in the Philippines.  

Dan left for Philadelphia Tuesday morning.  :(  Having my mom around really helps - 5 young kids - even really good, and independent for their age kids is a lot for one person.  We got tons of snow on Monday - and so Tuesday there was still a LOT on the ground - well Tuesday, we went for Piano lessons as usual - but the apartment complex where the piano teacher lives doesn't allow any one but residents to park in their parking lot and the street that it is on usually gets plowed just enough to make huge piles of snow on the side of the road where you would usually park - so I aimed for a spot where someone had been parked recently so there was a gap in the snow and hoped for the best.  After lessons, I went out and started trying to get my car to go forward - it wouldn't - the next thought was to get it to go back - while it would go back a bit - there was much more snow behind, so while i could  go back - it just made things worse.  Oh and by the way - this is on an incline.....  So here I am - I can't go forward, I can't go backwards - I'm stuck - I had managed to help someone else in my predicament - she pushed the gas while I pushed the car - that worked for her - but my van was a lot bigger than her car - finally, a young man shoveling snow noticed my problem and came over with his shovel and offered help - between his shoveling - then me pushing with one leg out the driver seat, him and his brother behind the car and two sister missionaries who stopped to help, I finally managed to get free and get heading home.  I was rather sore the next day though - my shoulder muscles had gotten quite a work out and somehow I had managed to strain a muscle on my inner thigh..... just glad it's over and VERY glad for the thoughtfulness and kindness of a young man who was willing to serve.  

Wednesday was less exciting only in that we got more snow and so couldn't do much - including my choir practice getting cancelled :(  

Thursday, we met Grandpa and Aunt Joan for lunch - a cute little place over near Aunt Joan's house - the menu looked really yummy - but the food itself was only ok - but it was still good company and fun!  James was really happy and content almost the whole time!  Anna had been complaining the night before about leg pains and she frequently seems to have growing pains - but this time it seemed to be lasting a lot longer than usual and hurting her more than normal, so we took her in to the pediatrician to check her out.  He said it looks like growing pains and just keep trying painkillers and warm baths or heating pads.  

Friday was my mom's last day.  It was mostly uneventful - for me, the big thing was getting to the grocery store for anything we needed to get through the weekend - I REALLY didn't want to try and go grocery shopping with 5 kids in tow.... Also Friday Night, we had a little movie and pizza party with the kids downstairs - we put out a blanket and the kids watched Heidi with Shirly Temple and ate pizza.  

Saturday was busy - thankfully James slept in - so I could sleep in a bit too.  Saturday evening, was our Stake Women's Conference.  I was doing a musical number for the conference, so I had to get a baby sitter for the kids.  Then I met my pianist to go over the musical number and had a great evening visiting with friends and listening to uplifting messages and eating good food.  Plus, as I was practicing the song at home - Anna wanted to sing along with me and Eileen started asking about what the song was about, so we were able to have a nice gospel conversation because of it!  The musical number went well - I was once again amazed at how the Lord uses me as a means of conveying the spirit - not because I am such a great singer - but because he makes me better than I am, and when I am using my talents to serve Him - he makes me more than I am on my own.  

Sunday was exhausting, as always - but James was surprisingly good and so Sunday was only slightly more exhausting as usual - not nearly as bad as I was expecting.  Dan got in late and set up the massaging recliner that he got for me - and so I am sitting here, getting wiggled by my massaging chair and typing this :)  I could stay here all night......  

Hehee - funny pic of the week - I found Anna in the bathroom doing Evie's hair and having already done James'.  I thought he looked pretty cute and Anna was quite proud of herself - but Eileen didn't like his hair and kept trying to flatten it - however, Anna did such a good job that even the next day, it kept trying to stick up.  

Snow Day

 We had a busy week this week.  Monday night, Dan and I got a notification from the kids schools that school was cancelled on Tuesday because of the weather forecast.  While the weather forecast was 8-12 inches of snow and blizzard condition - we were a bit surprised since when the notification was sent - there was nothing on the ground yet - and while it snowed all the next day - only about 2 inches even fell on the benches and the roads never got bad - so we aren't sure why the snow day was called.... So the kids got to spend Tuesday home with me - a snow day with all 5 kids was a bit insane - though they didn't let it keep them inside all day - all the kids went out and spent some time on the swing set during the day.

Wednesday, we went with Frankie and Tina to the Mammoths and Mastadon's exhibit at the Denver Museum of Natural History - the kids all had a fun time checking stuff out - though Evie had a bit of a problem with wandering off - I've never had this problem with her or any of the other kids before - so it was a new experience to have to keep eyes on her at all times.

James has discovered our book shelves - and decided that pulling books off of them is fun - that is frustrating - but sometimes, he just takes one of the books, lays or sits down and starts reading it to himself - he holds the book up, flips through pages and babbles to himself.  It's so cute!!  

Wednesday night, after choir, I was stretching out before bed and part way into a hamstring stretch, I felt sharp pains in my back.  I stopped what I was doing and went to bed hoping that a day of taking it easy would solve the problem - however, by Thursday night - I was still in a lot of pain, so I called the doctor and set up an appointment for the next morning.  The doctor things I strained my lumbar muscle and gave me some pain meds, muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatory meds, and instructions to heat and then ice it.  After two days of that - I think i'm starting to feel better - but then again - the pain meds are making me a bit loopy and mask the pain - and just when i think maybe it's really getting better, the pain meds wear off and I'm in pain again - hopefully this will get better quickly, since Dan leaves town next week for a few days.  Thankfully my mom is in town to help while Dan is gone, and to help my Grandpa pack up and move.  She drove in safely last night and is staying with Grandpa for now.  

If You Build It....

They will play.....and play... and play!! This year we used our tax rebate check to get a play area in the back yard for the kids. The weather and our health finally allowed us to get it built this week. Our ward missionaries were looking for some service hours, so on Thursday afternoon, Dan came home early, we fed them lunch and they got stage one of the building finished - then jokingly informed us that the kids couldn't play in this - they would be moving into it. :) The kids disagreed.

Wednesday, after taking the girls to school, Aaron, Evie, James and I all went to the library - we had fun in the kid area, then we found that we were just in time for a story time!  We went and the kids all really seemed to enjoy it - then after, we each picked out a book and went home for lunch and naps and reading more books!  After, I asked Evie if she had enjoyed Story Time.

Evie:  We didn't go to story time.
Me: Of course we did - don't you remember the train book he read?
Evie: Yes
Me: ...and the train song we sang?
Evie:  Yes
Me:  And coloring the trains after
Evie:  Yes, but that wasn't story time!

Thursday night - we got to go see Disney on Ice - our ward had gotten a bunch of free tickets, so we bundled into the car and gave a ride to some friends and went and watched the show - it was a lot of fun - the kids all really seemed to enjoy it - even James enjoyed himself - but they were all EXHAUSTED by the end - and it didn't help that traffic getting out of there was worse than ANY event traffic I have ever seen before.

Thursday I made cookies - while I was making them Evie asked "Are you making FROSTING?!?!?"  I told her I was making cookies.  "Are you making FROSTING for the cookies????"  She asked me this at LEAST 5 more times before I could finally convince her that what she saw was not frosting, but cookie dough and that there was NO frosting involved in any way.  

Saturday, Dwayne and Nicole and family came over to help finish building the play area and watch the second session of General Conference with us. The kids had a blast outside playing and helping - Anna also had a friend from school over for a play date in between sessions. Dan had to put up the swing set after the second session - but by the time he left for priesthood meeting, the whole thing was finished.

We have had a hard time getting them back in for any thing - even meals for the last 2 days - summer break might be ok after all :)  The weather has been perfect for being outside the last few days and we are finally really enjoying spring (hopefully!)

Saturday, I finally took a look at the shoes that Eileen keeps claiming she needs new ones of - and realized that they actually had lots of holes on the tops, so we went out and got her some new tennis shoes.....  While out, I got a pair of little sandals for James - he LOVES being outside - and I feel better about him being out there with shoes on his feet - and he's already learned that bringing me his shoes helps him get to go outside - he LOVES being outside - mostly he just walks around and picks up little sticks and tries to sneak rocks in to the house.  After getting shoes, I couldn't resist a quick stop at Barnes and Noble - and grabbed a book there that I LOVED as a kid to read with Anna to encourage reading with her and encourage her to read out loud - it struck me as the type of book she would enjoy - "Sideways Stories from Wayside School" so far we have really been enjoying reading it together!  

Otherwise, our week has been normal - we are looking forward to my mom coming at the end of next week and not looking forward to Dan leaving early the week after for a business trip.  

    

Eileen thinks that hanging upside down with no feet is very exciting and impressive.  

Evie loves playing on this thing - but is still learning about not walking in front of swings and trying to keep up with her bigger siblings

James had a blast swinging with daddy and wasn't happy when it was Evie's turn...

Aaron has been loving the play house - but we think he might be suffering from allergies - the poor kid seems like his eyes are always red and puffy - and he told me the other day that the tickle bugs keep tickling his eyes and that is why he is always rubbing them - of course, he blames a LOT of other things on tickle bugs too.....

Apparently this move is called the "Airplane" and not long after, Evie (with some help) climbed on her back and swung with her - it didn't last too long though.  

General Conference was wonderful - so much great, uplifting and inspiring council from our apostles!  Evie saw the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing today and saw the women in their pink dresses and said loudly "GEEZE - they're all PINK!"  She has such a funny way of getting to the point.  :)  

So now we just need to decide what we want to "DO" next on our house.  :)

Spring!!!!

Spring Break and beautiful spring weather!!  With all 5 kids home all week, this week has been a bit nuts!!  We've kept ourselves busy with piano lessons, playing with friends, choir, meetings, missionary discussions, a sick daddy and of course, Easter!  We had all sorts of spring break plans - library, museum, play dates, visiting teaching... etc - but most of it didn't happen.  The kids have mostly just had fun playing - especially as the weather got warmer, playing outside.  They also had fun changing sleeping arrangements and having sleepovers with each other.  James' favorite toy is my phone - he thinks it's the funniest thing when he pushes the button and Siri talks to him.  

The kids all had fun coloring, building things and reading/being read to.  I didn't get hardly anything useful done - but we had fun anyway :)

Any time I pull out the camera, the kids all want to have their picture taken - Evie just wants me to take her picture so that she can see the picture.  Aaron just kinda stands there grinning at me, Eileen and Anna both want to build stuff to take a picture of first (or grab a stuffed animal to take a picture with) and James is figuring out that when Mommy grabs a camera and points it at him that he needs to raise his arms in the air and say "CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE"  Course, he does it so quickly, that I rarely have the camera ready in time :)

Friday afternoon, Dan came home from work not feeling good - he slept all after noon and roused himself long enough to have the second discussion with Dwayne and Nicole and get a blessing from the elders, and eat two bits of the soup I made for him and then he went back to bed. 

Saturday, Dan was still feeling pretty sick and so he slept most of the day - so the kids and I decorated eggs (or tried to.....) and then when Dan got up for a bit, he went out and hid Easter eggs so they could hunt for them - the kids had a blast and Eileen declared that she LOVES Easter - They had fun anyway - and we had a nice time talking about what Easter is REALLY about the next day 

The kids with their cheap $5.00 Easter baskets - which they adored since they came with bubbles, crayons, paints and chalk - amazing how little things can make a big difference and a big impression when you make the effort to spend time together.  We also all enjoyed eating spring colored egg salad sandwiches and deviled eggs today :)

We went up to Newell and Becky's house to have an Easter dinner with them and Deb and Marion. The kids all had fun running amok - James ate half the food there and we all had a fun time together.

And there it goes again....

Well - the weather got beautiful and sunny and we were loving being outside and playing in the sun and it was really starting to feel like spring..... then starting Friday night, and going through most of Saturday, we lost out back yard again under 6-7 inches of snow.  We do need the moisture and the snow is beautiful.... but I am ready for spring!!!!  Especially since Spring Break starts tomorrow.  Dan and I got our Tax Rebate check and used it to get a play set for the back yard - we planned to have friends over to help get it built on Saturday so that the kids could spend all of spring break outside playing on it - instead it's sitting in boxes in our garage.....  Eileen braved the snow (which is already turning slushy under warmer weather) and made herself an ice castle - it's a mini ice castle.....  but she is very proud of it :)

Our week has been busy with piano lessons, choir concerts and family fun.  On Monday for Family Home Evening, we had the missionaries over for dinner and Dwayne and Nicole's family over for dinner also - we talked about the gospel with them and sent them home with a Book of Mormon!  It was a fun and wonderful evening!

Friday was my final Easter concert with the Chorale - the concerts this season went so well and were so much fun - we had a brass quartet play with us and it added so much to the performance - it felt like one of our most solid concerts (at least that I've been in!)

Saturday, we spent the whole day cooking and cleaning - however our house is now clean (even after 2 days it's still mostly clean)  It's so nice to have it looking good again!  I had a bit of a talk with Anna, who was throwing a tantrum about hating to clean, about how cleaning is just part of life and how she had better get used to it since she will be doing it for the rest of hers - and she certainly spent all day Saturday doing it.  I know I was no better as a kid - but I keep hoping that this time when I tell them to put their dirty clothes in the clothes hamper, that maybe, just maybe, they will do it.

Today was exhausting, as usual, I got a new calling - I think it's my 4th since we have been in this ward (which is just about a year and a half) but I will probably be in this one for a while.  The bishopbric offered the calling to me over a month ago - but between Stake Conference, a Snow Day with no church at the building, and the necessary time needed for calling counselors, I was just sustained and set apart today as the primary president.  This should be an adventure - but one I'm nervously looking forward to.  I've come to love these kids so much in the past few months as their chorister and I'm excited to get to stay with them!

I had a good time visiting teaching this week - I was finally able to get over to see Jill, and the kids had a blast playing over there with her kids and we had a nice chat.  She and I get along so well and have fun when we get together, but it always takes a few tries before it works out!  I also was finally able to really visit a sister that has been on my route for awhile now, but due to phone number issues, i was never able to get a hold of her - I am SO glad that I was able to spend some time chatting with her and getting to know her better!!  I am already looking forward to next months visit!

Here Comes the Sun

And yes - as I type that title, I can't help sing the Beatles song....  We have had some beautiful weather for the last few days!!!  We got a bit more snow this week, but soon it all melted  (including our big old snow man - prompting many renditions of "Once there was a Snowman") and we have been enjoying days with highs in the 60's and lows in the 50's - we have been having a blast playing in the back yard, working in the back yard - running around and riding bikes!

Friday was the Colorado Mormon Chorale's first Easter concert - it went really well!  I really enjoy singing with the group - often I have people who hear that I sing with the group and wonder how I manage - but really it's my escape - it provides me with a place to go be an adult and do what i love for a couple hours a week and to do it in a way that spreads the gospel message to all who hear it and brings me home almost as refreshed and ready for the next day as Church does.

Saturday, our ward had a luau - we all got dressed up with our sarongs and flowers and went for food and fun.  The primary kids did some Hawaiian dances and were so cute!!!  Evie was so funny to watch, since she really didn't know what was going on, so she stood there for the first half and just stared, then she realized that she was supposed to be dancing and she started dancing (but always a step behind of course)  So here we are - all us girls in our Hawaiian get-up.

Here are the boys lined up for their dance - they did an awesome job!  Aaron's favorite part was at the end where they all jumped off the stage.

And Dan and James - James found a ball early on and spent the whole night chasing it.   You can't tell from the picture, but Dan is wearing the sarong that he got from his parent's when they came back from Malaysia - he got lots of comments about wearing a skirt - but we all had fun getting dressed up and hanging out with friends!

.....And Snow Again

 Most of the week has actually been sunny and mostly warm - we even managed to get rid of our ice slab in front of our house (just in time for the snow to create a new one....) The kids had fun playing out in the back yard and most of the snow back there had melted.  With Dan still out of town, it was kind of a crazy week.

Tuesday we went out for piano lessons, then stopped at Pizza Hut for a quick dinner before heading to a little surprise birthday for Grandpa Francone.  We couldn't stay for too long - but we wanted to do something for him for his birthday!  Then Tuesday night, after the kids were in bed, Susan dropped off my quilts!  She really did a gorgeous job with them!  This quilt was started by my great great grandmother or my great great great aunt (we're not sure which)  I found the blocks in varying states of done-ness after my grandma passes away about 7 or so years ago.  I finished piecing the top about 5 years ago, and now it's finally quilted - all I have to do is bind it and it's finished!!!  I'm so excited to have this piece of family history done!

Wednesday was my choir practice, Tina came over to watch the kids and I enjoyed a couple hours of singing!  I think i must have been starved for adult conversation by that point, because I talked off the ears of my car pool and of poor Tina when she was trying to leave :)

Thursday morning, we had some friends come over to play and have lunch with us - Brigg and Emery came and played with us while their mom went to go run an errand - the kids really get along well together - and the only negative consequence was in the mess that the play room became before long.

Thursday night we started having problems - James had had a high fever when i left him with Tina on Wednesday night - but it seemed to be gone by the next morning, however, that night, James wouldn't sleep - he was up fussing for half the night and I only managed about 4 hours of interrupted sleep.  That always makes the next day rough!

Friday was long and exhausting - I had a doctors appointment in the morning - It was my follow up with the allergist who ended up giving me a new prescription (which i still haven't managed to pick up....) So hopefully this works out - the kids were really good during the appointment, but James was really tired and in need of a nap, so he was a bit cranky.  That evening we had a vacuum salesman show up and entertained the kids for a good solid hour with his demonstration and we ended up with a new vacuum at a really good price.  The kids all thing it's the best thing since home made jelly.  Even James who kept trying to chase it around and check out the light on the front while Dan was vacuuming on Saturday.

Friday night/Saturday morning, the snow started - thankfully it stayed off long enough for Dan to get in safely - but we had blizzard warnings and we got 4-5 inches of snow - it is already starting to melt off though - the kids had fun building a snowman with Dan today and he's already "melting small, small small."   But they had fun!  We had stake conference today and there were some really great talks!  One recently returned missionary told a really neat story about 4 men who each grabbed hold of a different part of an elephant - one grabbed the tail and decided that elephants were like ropes, one grabbed the foot and decided that elephants were round and rough, one grabbed the trunk and decided that elephants were like large snakes and one grabbed the tusk and decided elephants were like spears - each man had a small portion of the truth - but not the whole picture - so often we get bogged down in little details that we miss the bigger picture - this last week, I got bogged down in my little fatigues and sometimes forgot the bigger picture of the wonderful family and home and friends I have.

Here are some fun pictures of our snow adventures - the girls had a fun snow fight with Daddy and Aaron stood by and watched because he couldn't find gloves - but he obligingly smiled and the camera for me :)