Happy Mother's Day

These are the mother's day cards I received
from Jared and Kamryn.
They made them in nursery at church.
When we got home Paul had them give the cards to me.

The card above is the one from Kamryn.
Look at those "cute little hands."

The card above is the one from Jared.
Anyone who knows him has heard him say "NOT" a million times.
It really made me laugh when I opened this card.

Bye Bye Binkys

On Monday it was bye-bye to the binkys. Here's the story:

So for the last couple of weeks I've been talking to Jared and Kamryn about not having binkys anymore (they only have them to go to sleep at night). At first we talked about them turning 3 and not having them but I decided they wouldn't like their birthday very much and wouldn't want to turn 3 so I had to figure out something else.
We've told them frequently that binkys are for babies and they are big now. So one time I told them we need to give them to little babies that are crying and need a binky and don't have one. I came up with the idea to take them to a hospital and see the babies in the nursery and give their binkys to a nurse for the babies.
Monday was the day - I'd prepared myself mentally for over a week for this. I think it was going to be harder on me than them.

After lunch we went to the Women's Center at the big IHC Hospital. Jared and Kamryn were happy to be going to see the babies. They each had a little ziploc baggie with their binkys.

This is where my plan got a little fouled up. I checked in with the receptionist and she told me that you can't just go look at babies in the nursery anymore. You have to be visiting someone specific.

Yikes! Now what? I enlisted the receptionist's help (she was a young mom and could tell what I was doing). I told the kids the babies were sleeping and we couldn't go see them but that the nice lady would take the binkys to the babies. Kamryn gaves her little baggy right up but not Jared. He was not about to give his precious binkys away to that lady. I talked to him for several minutes and he wasn't going to give in. I was about to give up and go to another hospital when a young mother walked in the lobby with her very tiny newborn baby sleeping in his carseat. Jared saw the baby and said he'd give his binkys to that baby. I enlisted that mother's help and Jared put his little bag of binkys on top of the baby's blankets and then got Kamryn's binkys and gave them to the baby too. Then the mom walked away on got on the elevator.

Good thing she got away quick. Jared held it together until we walked outside and then started crying for his binkys. He cried the whole way home about wanting his binkys back. It was so sad.

Kamryn was happy as could be and was singing as usual and noticing the pretty flowers.

When we got home Kamryn had a popsicle and Jared continued to be sad and we had to get all of his blankies and pillow and have sad time on my bed. After being home about a half hour all of a sudden Kamryn started crying. I went to check on her and she was in the kitchen. I asked her why she was crying and she said she wanted her binkys back. What a delayed reaction! She's a bit ditzy.

That night was when it was really sad for her. Jared went to bed okay and told his dad that he went to the hospital and gave his binkys to a baby and he was okay with it by then.

Not Kamryn! She wanted her "pink" back! She cried for almost 2 hours. It was way after midnight before she finally went to sleep.

Luckily they both woke up happy the next morning. She's cried about it both nights since then but is okay after a little bit. I wonder how long it's going to take.

An uplifting read

I just finished reading Amy Grant's book, Mosiac: Pieces of My Life So Far. It was a very easy read - most chapters were 2 pages. In between the chapters were words to her songs and also some poems she's written. It was fun to look at the pictures she's included in the book. It was nice to read a book that was spiritual in nature and some good things to think about. I particularly liked the following parts:
"Don't Go" a chapter about her friend dying from cancer
"First Thing" a chapter about how Amy starts her day and her interpretation of the Lord's Prayer
I recommend this to anyone who needs a quick pick me up.

Trip back in time

On Wednesday evening our mutual group went to tour the LDS Church's Humanitarian Center. It was fascinating and I highly recommend it for any youth group and all adults should take a trip there. The frustrating thing is to volunteer there as a youth group you have to schedule it a year in advance.
The trip back in time occurred during the movie they showed us at the end of the tour. They were showing all of these humanitarian missionaries all over the world and the projects they are involved in. All of a sudden, there on the screen, was Joel Sperry, my 9th grade math teacher. Seeing him brought back so many memories - the #1 being that Mr Sperry always pointed at the board with his middle finger!

May Day

Happy May Day!

My poor cousin is having a wedding celebration today at Gardner Village. What bad timing for a snow storm.

My poor flowers.

Some Random Thoughts

I've been thinking I should post more often just about random, everyday happenings.
**On Sunday our YW lesson was about traditions. The lesson suggests to use the opening from Fiddler on the Roof where Tevya (sp?) is talking about tradition. The MiaMaid counselor actually showed that part of the movie and Brooke said she had never seen the movie. So we borrowed it from my friend and watched it Sunday afternoon. We had no idea it was so long - at the intermission we thought it was over - good thing we kept the DVD playing so we could continue watching. After 2 1/2 hours Brooke said "This is a freakishly long movie." When I asked Taylor if he liked it, he said "No, there was too much singing!" Guess I should have told him it was a musical.
**I haven't said much about Brooke's volleyball this year. I don't take pictures because with my camera they don't turn out too well. She's played great this year and has really been a very consistent player on her team.
**What do you think of your 9th grade son getting a "C-" inn gym? I just found Justin's report card today - he never gave it to me. I'm not too happy with that kind of grade in an easy A class. I'm trying to decide what to do about that.
**The other day I walked in the kitchen and Jared and Kamryn were all set up with the haircut station (just like when I cut the boys hair - the folding chair in the very spot I use in the kitchen). Thank goodness it was just a giant care bear in the chair that was the victim for the haircut.
**When I asked Taylor about his soccer game last week (which I missed because I was at Brooke's volleyball tournament) he told me his team won 4-2. I told him that was great and his reply "They would have lost if it weren't for me." I asked him if he played goalie and he said no - defense the whole time because his coach said he's the best defender and his team can't handle the defense without him.

Shopping with Twins

Today I went shopping with Jared and Kamryn - I must have been out of my mind :)
Actually they were very good. We went to Ross and DSW (right next to each other) to return some things. That went okay - if you call Jared and Kamryn making it to the back of DSW while I am returning my shoes and I've just told them that they had to stay by me.
They were much better in Ross and stayed with me even after I returned my items and decided to look at some bedding.
Then we headed off to SuperWalmart. I never take them there. I usually only go there with a big helper to do a huge shopping or by myself.
They both wanted to get in the cart which was a huge blessing. Unfortunately there were no limo-length carts to be found so we had to use a regular cart. I bought some cheap basketballs and Jared sat on one of them the whole time. I think that really helped for some reason. I only had 3 things written down on my list but had a whole mental list that I figured I'd keep shopping for if they were good. We ended up filling the cart and they stayed happy - yeah! And the total only came to $200.00.

Proud Parent

I received this note in the mail the other day. What a great feeling to know that my daughter makes a teacher happy.

It's hard to read the note so for those that are interested this is what is says:
"I just wanted you to know that it is such a pleasure to have Brooke in my class. She is an excellent student who always gives her best. :) Mrs Bleak"

This is Brooke's art teacher.

(I really have no idea how to do this scanning thing. I need lessons.)

Integri "tea"

Just wanted to share what we did for Young Womens last night.
At the beginning of this year we adopted 8 grandma's in our ward. Each grandma has 2 grand-daughters (young women). The girls have heart attacked the grandma's and met with them to interview them about their lives.
Last night we had a tea party. We had discussion questions (slips of paper rolled up in a vase as the centerpiece) at each table about integrity. We had appetizers, muffins and white party punch for our "tea". To conclude we had a group discussion about our definition of integrity and some of the grandma's shared experiences where they showed integrity. To close, we played the Integrity song out of the I walk by Faith song book.
It was a successful activity and was very nice but didn't take a lot of work. Luckily we borrowed the decorations and some of the ideas from the RS Education day we just had last Saturday. The colors were yellow and purple and it looked very springy. My daughter even said it was the best activity we'd had in a long time. My only regret was I forgot to take pictures.

Tagged ... Again

I was tagged by Janice.
"Here are the rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book (at least 123 pages) 2. Turn to page 123. 3. Find the 5th sentence 4. Post the 5th sentence on your blog 5. Tag 5 people
The book I am currently reading Empire Falls by Richard Russo (a Michelle recommendation). "I could use some company."

Here is my response:
I am reading A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly. (book club selection for this month)
"I bet he got sick," I said, clutching Weaver's arm.

I tag Ashley, Cynthia, Susan, Amy, Michelle.

If You Give A Mom a Muffin

Check out this post on Susannah's blog. Whoever wrote that should publish it - it's so TRUE!!

Jury Duty

I received that infamous summons in the mail a couple of weeks ago.
It was for one of the worst weeks possible, of course.
I called last Friday after five to see if I had to go in - and I did, of course.
So, Monday morning I got up extra early to get in my exercise before getting ready and then took Trax downtown to the SL City Court. I felt like a real grown up for a day - commuting and going to work. It was fine for a day but I'm sure grateful I don't have to do that every day.
Justin stayed home from school to watch Jared and Kamryn (he volunteered and I figured he knows if he can afford to miss school or not).
I was called along with 43 other people to fill 8 jury spots - 4 jurors each for 2 trials. Pretty good odds of not getting picked. They split us up into two groups and my group went into the courtroom (after waiting almost two hours) to begin the jury selection process with the judge and attorney. The defendant was representing himself. He was charged with trespassing on a dwelling and public intoxication.
The judge asked the group several questions and if you answered yes then he further questioned you on that specific question. The only one that I answered yes to was "Do you for whatever reason, NOT drink alchohol?" I figure that was my go free card because I wasn't picked to be on the jury. I was relieved to not have to spend the rest of the day there but it also would have been interesting to hear the case. I'm so curious to know how it turned out. I was paid my $18.50 for going in and am now safe from jury duty for 2 years (except in a federal court).

What happens when you're on the phone!

This is what happens when you've been chatting on the phone.

I was talking to my mom and she asked where Jared was. I said I didn't know. She didn't ask about Kamryn because she could hear her singing right by me.

We continued talking and as we were finishing our conversation I said I better go check on the kids. The funny thing was she'd asked about Jared and I didn't know where he was so you would figure he would be the one getting in trouble - oh no!

I found Kamryn, still singing, under the kitchen table. I get down to see what she's doing under there and find her with blue hands!

She did not enjoy the washing it took to get the blue off and then she did it again later in the day with a red marker ( I guess she was giving "the rivalry" equal coverage, or maybe Justin gave her the red marker).

Another Tag!

I was personally tagged for this one so I guess I'll comply:

1.What is your most embarrassing moment?
I've told this one many times but probably never here on my blog. It was when I was waitressing at Marie Callender's 20 years ago (hard to believe it's been that long). I had a big tray of drinks to serve to a table full of business men in suits. I was walking up to the table and stopped behind one of the men who had his back to me and didn't realize I was there. I took off the first drink and it unbalanced the whole tray and it slipped and spilled all down the back of that guy. I felt so bad. I don't remember anything after that minute.

2.What is something that you think about and laugh at every time?
This blog entry on my sister's blog:
"This might seem like a weird thing to put in my blog but if I don't, I will forget it. I was sitting on the couch when Jaxon came home from school today. He came over and sat next to me and hugged me. Then he said "Mom, I love your boobs, they are so cozy." I got a good laugh out of that one. Later on when I told Dale about it, he said "Like father, like son". Sorry if this offends anyone!"
I laughed about it the whole day after reading it and still chuckle when I think about it.

3. What is you favorite season and why?
SUMMER!!! I love to be outside and be active and be tan.

4.Who is your hero?
My mom - she never complains and is always willing to help out with anyone, she never gossips or finds faults with others, she's easy going and kind. The list is much longer but I'll leave it at this for now.

5.What have you learned throughout your life that you would share as advice for others?
To have fun!

6.What is your favorite goofy thing that your spouse does which makes you fall in love all over again?
His laugh! I especially love watching him watch Kramer on Seinfeld.

7.What is your favorite book(s) of all time?
I don't think I could pick a favorite - I've read too many (and can't remember details).

8.What is one of your pet peeves?
Drivers who don't signal!

9. Where has been your favorite place to travel and why?
A tie between the Disney Trip where we go to Disney World and then on the Disney Cruise
and
Playa del Carmen in Mexico (south of Cancun)

10. Add a question of your own! -- "What is one item on your "bucket list?"
To run a marathon.

**I tag - Cynthia, Stephanie Ward, Susan, Amy and any others who would like to play**

"Big Beds"

On Monday I decided to make some big changes in Jared and Kamryn's room.
Since Kamryn was sleeping in "panties" I felt like she needed to be able to go to the bathroom without trying to climb out of her crib.
So I took apart both cribs and set up 2 toddler beds. We already had one and then borrowed one from my brother and sister-in-law. Luckily they are almost exactly alike - that is an important thing for almost 3 year olds.
Jared and Kamryn were very excited about their new "big beds." The hardest thing for Kamryn was she thought since she was in her bed (playing) she could have her binky (yes, they still have those, yikes!)


They went to bed great on Monday night - no getting out of bed and right to sleep - that's how it is when they are really tired and don't take naps anymore.
Kamryn is a very restless sleeper - I found out that night. She fell out of bed more than once and was in Jared's bed at one point.
The 2nd night went a little better and she only fell out once. They are still in their beds when I go in there in the morning. I know that won't last too long but I'll enjoy while it lasts.

Potty Training

Kamryn is smiling because she is officially potty trained!!! (well mostly)

We started on Tuesday with wearing big girl panties. She changed her panties every time she went potty that day - I think she couldn't decide which princess she liked best.

She had a couple of accidents on Tuesday and Wednesday. She didn't really seem to get it and I was doing the thing I swore to never do - me be the one potty trained and always asking her if she needed to go potty. Thursday I was ready to give it up because she didn't really seem ready. We went back to diapers that day but on Friday she was insistent on wearing panties again and went the whole day with only one accident. And then on Saturday, while Justin was tending, she overcame the big obstacle of pooping in the potty. We were so proud of her and she got to get her present today - a DVD of Piglet's Big Movie.

I just hope we continue to do well. One down, one to go (that won't be anytime soon).

Taylor's science fair

Taylor with his science project for the 4th grade science fair. He wasn't sure he was going to participate in the fair or just write a science report. On Monday of the same week as the fair he decided he wanted to do an experiment. We really simplified the scientific method and did more of a project. His question was "Who runs faster - 4th grade boys or girls?" He figured the boys would run faster. He was right.

Visitors

These ladies came to visit me and meet my family last week. The woman in the middle is Ginger Meyette and she was my 5th grade teacher. The woman next to her is Linda, Ginger's partner. Ginger - Mrs. Avery to me - was the one of the greatest teachers ever. We've been in contact ever since I was in 5th grade. I tended her two little kids when I was a young teenager and then we've kept in contact by sharing Christmas letters.
They live in Denver and were in Utah visiting friends. I wondered if it would be weird to visit with someone I hadn't seen or talked to in over 25 years but it wasn't. It was really fun to visit with them and get to know them better. Jared and Kamryn took right to them and showered them with attention and toys.

Easter Pictures

Here are some Easter pictures from the Easter egg hunt on Saturday. Doesn't Jared make Justin look even taller than he really is?

All dressed in spring colors for the Easter party.

Justin and Jared dying eggs at my sister's house.

Brooke helping Kamryn hunt for eggs.

Spring Break

Spring break is over and we're all sad about that. It's never long enough. I think I would really like being on the year round schedule and having breaks throughout the year. I enjoy my kids being out and 3 days wasn't long enough.
We didn't go anywhere this year and just enjoyed being home and taking it easy.
We spent Thursday taking 4 kids to the dentist. Justin refused to go because he wanted to hang out with his friends. He missed out on going to Mountain Mike's pizza with us - it was pizza buffet and was delicious. I highly recommend the place, especially their dessert pizza. We met my sister and her family there and then we hung out at their house after.
Thursday night was book club, which is always a great night out.
Friday I took Brooke shopping for some new spring clothes. She's lucky she's so thin and can find such cute clothes.
At night, Paul and I went out to dinner at Iggy's with friends in our ward and then played Catch Phrase after.
Saturday we did an easter egg hunt at my sister's house with all the cousins. Justin drove us up to Kaysville and did a great job on the freeway. I was definitely a little more relaxed on the drive home than on the way there. Now he's only got 36 hours to go.
On Sunday I taught all of our Young Women an Easter lesson. The lesson went very well, better than I expected it would and all the credit goes to the girls! They shared such beautiful thoughts about the Savior.
After church we did our usual scripture treasure hunt for baskets and then had a delicious dinner.
On Monday, Brooke and I went with our friends and took their "adopted" grandma out to lunch. For FHE, we had fun playing outside in the beautiful weather and then had a lesson on money and finance.
Now it's back to school and the real world.

A must read!

If you need a good laugh, one that will make you cry, pop over to this blog for one of the funniest things I have ever read.

An unusual FHE

Last night we had a rather unusual Family Home Evening. We've always been a little laid back on our Monday night gatherings. Lately it's been more of a challenge because Brooke has volleyball practice and doesn't get home until at least 7:30 or later. By the time we finished with dinner it was 8:00 and we only had about a half hour to do something. We didn't have anything planned and were just winging it. Paul made the suggestion that everyone take a turn choosing a song off an iPod (we have 7 in our house, embarrassing to admit) and then we'd talk about music and how it affects us. The kids were all over this idea. The hard part was choosing just one song.
Justin went first and chose Waiting for the Sun by this band.
Then I went and chose Sweet Escape by this chic.
Brooke picked How Far We've Come by Matchbox Twenty.
Paul picked The Load-Out by Jackson Browne.
Then Taylor chose Walk the Line by Live. (We heard Daughtry do it on American Idol).
And we even helped Jared and Kamryn pick a couple of songs - Dancing Queen by ABBA and Under Pressure by Queen.
It turned out to be a fun evening and we enjoyed hanging out together. We could have gone hours choosing songs. Sometimes just being together is the most important thing that happens during FHE.

I don't really recommend this

Last week I mentioned to Justin that Jared and Kamryn wanted to go find him at school and he asked me why I didn't let them.
So the next day when they asked again I said we could go and find them.
We loaded up in the car and went to Rite Aid and bought the felt tip pens that Brooke needed for art and then went to the school. We got there just before the kids lunch hour. It was a little scary for Jared and Kamryn when the masses of teenagers came out of their classrooms heading to lunch.
When Brooke and Justin saw us they turned red and wanted to hide. They wondered why we were there. When I handed Brooke her art pens she asked me what she was supposed to do with them since she was going to lunch and I told her to hang onto them and be grateful that I brought them.
Then we told Justin that the kids came to find him and wanted to sit by him at lunch and he asked why. I reminded him of our conversation the day before and he said he'd just been kidding.
So I decided to continue the torture and walked to the lunchroom with the little kids and sat down with some of the Young Women in our ward. At least they were happy to see me and talked to me. Of course, I wasn't their mother so it was cool to talk to me.

The latest 2 year old argument

This was the latest conversation between Jared and Kamryn, heard yesterday two different times:
Jared: I'm two
Kamryn: I'm two
Jared: NO, I'm 2!
Kamryn: I'm two
Jared: NO! I'M TWO!!
Kamryn: I'm two
Jared: NO!!!! I'M TWO!!!!
Finally I stepped in and said "you're both two" to which Jared said
"NO, I"M 2!"

When this conversation began again in front of their dad and Justin it also included this:
Kamryn: It's my birthday
Jared: NO, it's my birthday.

Do you think he has issues?

"Look at me Mom!"

This is what I heard Kamryn calling from her room and this is how I found her.

Both she and her brother know how to climb in their cribs but haven't figured out how to climb out. She just sits on the side railing and waits for me to come get her. I figure I don't have too long until she does figure it out and then I'll really be in trouble.

Tagged Again

This tag comes from my friend Ashley.

A- Attached or Single? Attached
B- Best Friend? Paul
C- Cake or Pie? Pie . Double Cream Lemon at Marie Calender's - on sale this month
D- Day of Choice? sunday
E- Essential Item? My new laptop
F- Favorite Color? Green
G- Gummy Bears or Worms? Gummy bears
H- Hometown? SLC, UT
I- Favorite Indulgence? Pedicure.
J- January or July? July, for SURE!! Can't stand winter
K- Kids? Justin Paul - 15, Brooke Lindsey - 13, Taylor Benjamin - 10, Jared Truman & Kamryn Lindy - 2 1/2
L- Life isn't complete without? My family and the gospel.
M- Marriage date? August 31, 1991
N- Number of brothers and sisters? 2 sisters 2 brothers
O- Oranges or Apples? Like them both - but very picky about them - apple has to be very crisp and orange has to be very sweet and juicy
P- Phobias and Fears? I have very serious issues when it comes to mice and I am afraid of the dark.
Q- Quote? It is listed at the bottom of my blog - first heard it in the movie Akaela and The Bee
R- Reason to smile? My husband, my kids, my family, my friends.
S- Season of choice? SUMMER and Fall in Utah
T- Tag three people? Hmmm....whoever feels like doing this lovely thing.
U- Unknown fact about me? I used to take guitar lessons and had to sing and play in front of people at a recital.
V- Vegetable? Broccoli and spinach, though I love almost all veggies!
W- Worst Habit? Too much time on the computer
X-ray or Ultrasound? Ultrasound. I had plenty of these when I was pregnant with the twins.
Y- Your favorite food? Oh man, can I just say FOOD! If I had to pick though, it would be Mexican.
Z- Zodiac Sign? Born on the cusp of Libra and Scorpio

Shannon Hale

Over the last 4 days I have read 2 Shannon Hale books, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed.
First, I read Book of a Thousand Days and then this morning I finished Austenland. Both were very good. It's so great to have a local author doing well and writing good books that I can recommend to my daughter (she actually read both books before I did but I knew it was safe to have her read them). It's just one of my big faults that I am a compulsive reader and when I start a book all I want to do is read and do nothing else.

How Embarassing

So, this morning was going like most --- I went to exercise from 6:15 - 7:15. When I got home my kids were up getting ready for school (that part is not normal). Taylor, my 4th grader who I usually have to wake up, was up and eating breakfast. I got involved with looking at class descriptions for Brighton High School (another blog altogether) and said goodbye to the teenagers. I was still going over course descriptions and then heard the little ones talking so I decided I better get in the shower before I got them up. I took a long hot shower and then was fixing some stuff in my room. I came in the kitchen and made a phone call to my good friend, Melinda, and was talking to her about book club and high school registration when I noticed Taylor still here reading. I was so shocked to see him and was puzzled why he wasn't at school. And then suddenly I realize that I had forgotten him! I felt so bad!! I totally forgot to take him to school. Now in my defense, Taylor admitted that he'd gone back to bed after breakfast because he was cold and wanted to get warm and he thinks maybe he fell asleep. So out of sight, out of mind is how it goes for me.

What an ORDEAL!!

Did you read this article in the paper?
We were part of that nightmare on I-15. Brooke always has volleyball practice on Wednesdays at Open Court by Thanksgiving Point.
Her coach called just as we were getting ready to leave for practice and told us the practice would be optional due to the storm and that she would be there because she was coming from Provo and the storm hadn't hit down there yet. So I told her we would come with the 3 girls from our area. A little storm doesn't bother me and I'd watched the weather at noon and the weatherman had said the storm would dump a few inches and then move out so I figured it couldn't be too bad. This ended up being a very bad decision!
The freeway was totally backed up going down there and it took us 1 1/2 hours to get there, which was 30 minutes late for practice. We finally made it to Open Court and got a phone call from the coach that she'd been stuck on the freeway trying to go north from Provo for an hour and didn't know if she'd ever get there. One other mom braved the storm and was there with 2 girls so we ran the practice ourselves and then let the girls play cards while we waited for the traffic to clear up from the frontage road.
One of the hardest things of that night is that I had Jared and Kamryn with me which is unusual. We kept watching for the traffic to clear up and it never did so at 7:30 we decided to just deal with the traffic jam. It took us 45 minutes just to go one mile down to the freeeway entrance. By the time we got there the Highway Patrol wasn't letting cars go north on the freeway so we were forced to go south on I-15 towards Provo instead of going to SLC. We spent a total of 4 hours in the car trying to get home. Most of that was on the freeway either just sitting or going about 5 mph.
Luckily we had a full tank of gas and sandwiches I had made because the girls go straight from practice to YW. We stopped in Lehi when we got off the freeway to turn around to to go north and got drinks. For part of the time we had my laptop running off a battery so the little kids could watch a movie and then the girls started watching one of the pirates movie until the battery died.
At one point Kamryn and Jared had a crying spell but fortunately it didn't last too long and they went to sleep. The girls had a great attitude about being stuck in the car for so long and even started making up stories about the other travelers around us. One story they made up actually was true.
We finally made it home at 11:30 at night. The worst part was that we missed out on our Young Women's activity. Luckily, due to the storm, school started two hours late the next morning so the girls could sleep in.

Valentine's Day

Here is what my sweet valentine brought me on Valentine's Day.
We had a nice evening as a family - everyone helped clean up the house and shovel the driveway. Then we went out to dinner as a family to Iggy's.
When we came home we put Jared & Kamryn to bed and then we played Hearts - very appropriate game for the day.

I'm so sad

This is really such a trivial thing but it has made me so sad.
Kamryn had her FIRST haircut and it was done by her BROTHER!!
She's had a hard time getting her hair to grow and it's finally looking really cute and has lots of curls.
This morning Paul's parents were staying here while I helped at school. When I got back Carolyn asked me about a little curl of hair that Kamryn brought her. I'd seen it earlier but didn't think much of it. It started making sense. There was a lot of hair on the back of Kamryn's jacket and we found more little ringlets in the living room.
I asked Jared if he cut Kamryn's hair and he said YES and he seemed proud of the job he did.
Luckily he only cut off her hair in the back and it isn't really noticeable. I think this happened yesterday afternoon sometime (I'd given Taylor a haircut after school and I think that gave these two the idea). Thank goodness hair grows back but in Kamryn's case it sure grows awfully slow.

So much SNOW!!

On Tuesday and Wednesday I stayed up at our family cabin with Jared and Kamryn and my sister Susan and her kids. She went up the day before me and told me I would not believe how much snow was up there.

As you can see, there is a TON of SNOW!!! I can't remember the last time we saw that much snow up there.

We had a good time staying INSIDE the cabin. The kids all had fun playing with each other and we enjoyed playing games and watching movies. It's always a great get away up there.

Volleyball Rollercoaster

We rode the volleyball rollercoaster all weekend.
We were scheduled to go to Boise on Friday for a tournament that Brooke would be playing in on Sat. We were really excited about this trip because we had so much fun last year.
Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate with this trip. We waited all Friday morning for IVA to decide whether or not to go on with the tournament scheduled in Boise (the biggest problem was that the roads were closed from the Utah/Idaho border most of the morning). Finally, aboaut 1:00 pm we found out that we officially were not going to play the tournament in Boise but instead at Open Court in Lehi. We were all bummed to not be going on our fun little weekend away but relieved at the same time to not have to travel in bad weather.
We went ahead and did a team bonding night on Friday night and went to Training Table for dinner and then went bowling. The girls and moms had a great time.
Saturday was a down day, unfortunately, because the girls really struggled in the tournament and lost all 8 games that they played. By changing the tournament around our team got moved up a division and thus played higher ranked teams. Their first two games were really tough but they improved from there and almost won several of their remaining games. It was definitely more frustrating for the parents and the coach than the girls. They tried hard and never gave up. We decided to still go out to eat after the tournament and have a good time together. Hopefully the next tournament (in 2 weeks) will go better.

My list

Here's my list for our FHE activity:

Paul - dependable, great laugh, non-judgmental, hard worker, honors his priesthood
Justin - easy going, good sense of humor, good student, artistic
Brooke - easy going/flexible, plays the piano, good student, good friend
Taylor - good friend, good student, great laugh
Jared - great smile, leader (bossy), likes to play with Kamryn
Kamryn - enthusiastic, happy, likes to play with Jared

Taylor's list

Here is Taylor's list (he struggled the most the night we were doing this, thinking of things):

Dad - He tickles me, gives me advice, and helps me with math
Mom- she tucks me in, makes me lunch and helps me with homework
Justin - smart, fun and good at basketball
Brooke - gives a good example, smart and tickles me
Jared - happy, funny, cute
Kamryn - happy, funny, fashionable (the picture below is how Kamryn was dressed during this activity hence the fashionable statement from more than one person)

Brooke's list

Here's what Brooke wrote during our FHE activity:

Kamryn - bubbly, cute, sweet
Jared - hilarious facial expressions (makes me laugh), adorable smile, sweet
Taylor - friendly, smart, photogenic
Justin - funny, smart, good at any sport
Mom - fun to be with, makes friends easily, creative
Dad - his laugh makes you want to laugh, genius, really calm ALL the time

Paul's list

Paul's list which is titled "Thoughts on family members - things I like/admire"

Mom - loyal to family, party girl - loves to have fun with people she loves, smile, dedication to church and calling, pretty
Taylor - smile, good at making friends, handsome, smart, not afraid to try new things, good at being in the middle, sticks up for me
Justin - smart, handsome, good athlete, likes a lot of the same things I do - sports & music, no anger or rebellion, funny
Brooke - talented piano player, volleyball player - she's well rounded, smart, pretty, smile, good friend - gets along with everyone, disciplined, no anger
Kamryn - loving, happy, excited, friendly, no fear, strong, monkey, forgiving, friend to Jared
Jared - thinker, friend to Kamryn, forgiving

Justin's list

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we had a great FHE activity on Sunday. This is Justin's list of what qualities he likes in the members of his family:

Dad - hard working, self sacrificing, and smart
Mom- helps us with school, friendly, patient ( I couldn't believe he said that )
Brooke - reads a lot, good at piano, and smart
Taylor - friendly, smiles a lot, good with Jared & Kamryn
Jared - tells the truth (says "she did it"), good talker, likes to read
Kamryn - gives hugs and kisses a lot, photogenic, fashionable

Check back for another list tomorrow.

Family Night

We had FHE last night (Brooke has volleyball on Monday nights) and it turned out really great. Paul and I are attending the Marriage and Family Relations class during Sunday school and yesterday the teacher had us write down 3 characteristics about ourself and our spouse. Then she had everyone read out loud what they had written down. It was a great activity and i mentioned to Paul that we should do it for FHE. So we did. We gave everyone plenty of time to think about what they wanted to write. Our instructions for our family doing the activity was for everyone to write at least 3 positive things they liked about each member of our family. Then we all shared what we wrote. I am going to share one persons list each day this week.

Sad News

Tonight Paul was on the phone with a member in our ward and was told that President Hinckley had died. We couldn't believe it. Someone on the news said it perfectly when she said "It shouldn't really come as a shock to hear about President Hinckley's passing since he was 97 but he was so vibrant until the end and seemed invincible."
We watched the news for hours and enjoyed the special that KSL aired about his life. What a great man who lived a very self-less life. We love him and will miss him. I'm really not too sad about it though because I think about him being back with his wife and meeting with other great prophets - Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and others.

Sleepy boy

When we finally came in from our snow play today, Jared freaked out because I wouldn't let him bring in the snowball maker he'd been playing with. He cried for a long time and then I thought that Justin had gotten him to settle down. NO. Brooke came and got me and said to come see. This is how we found Jared:


It was 5:30 on Saturday afternoon and I couldn't let him have a little nap because I needed up to go to bed early because we have early church. So I woke him up and he was not happy about that. Luckily Justin worked his magic and got Jared to be happy and have dinner with us.

It's SNOW fun

Kamryn excited to go out sledding.

I just liked this picture with Kamryn in her cute pink hat and gloves.

We've had fun playing in the snow the last two days.

Yesterday, Susan and her kids came over to go sledding. It was a bit challenging for me - the only adult out there with Jared and Kamryn. But we managed. I held their hands to help them walk up the big hill and then all 3 of us went down on the sled together. They loved going down and we went down about 3 times. Then we went over on a little hill and made a whole pile of snow balls to throw at Justin when he was walking home from school.

When Jared and Kamryn were done sledding they played in their playhouse and on the swingset. The cold never bothers them and they love it outside. I should definitely get out there with them more often.

Taylor had a blast with his cousin, Jadon and friend, Michael. They were out there for about 3 hours straight. It's so great that we have this awesome sledding hill right behind our house.

Today we went out sledding again in the afternoon. It was so pretty and sunny that we couldn't pass up the chance to be outside. It was a lot easier this time because Paul was out there with me. We went down about 3 times again with Jared and Kamryn. This time when they were done sledding they found their lawn mowers and turned them into "snow blowers" After helping their dad clear some snow they decided to take off on a walk with the lawn mowers. I just followed them and kept asking them where they were going. Jared kept saying "I don't know" and was following Kamryn. They of course ended up at their Grandma and Grand-dad's house for a short little visit. It was great to be outside with them and I can hardly wait for spring and summer.

Can we say "scary"?!!

Oh my word ... I just watched one of the scariest movies EVER!!
I watched it with Justin and Brooke and I was definitely the MOST scared! I watched most of the second half of the movie peeking out through my fingers. It was a good thing we were at home - there is no way I could have watched that in the theaters.
(The first half is also great - funny, funny - would watch that part again but never the second half).

8 things . . .

"I'm the king of eight and i'm here to state that everything here has to total eight."

8 things I'm passionate about:

1. my husband
2. my kids
3. reading
4. chocolate - all kinds
5. Good teachers for my kids
6. being warm
7. eating out
8. watching my kids play their sports

8 things I want to do before I die:
1. Visit the Mediterranean
2. Cruise the Hawaiin islands
3. Run in some kind of race again
4. Finish all of my sewing projects
5. Go sky-diving
6. Go on a mission with my husband
7. Get caught up with scrapbooking
8. Become a regular journal writer - again.

8 books I have read recently:
1. A Thousand Splendid Suns
2. A Memoir: Three Weeks with My Brother
3. Eclipse
4. New Moon
5. Twilight
6. Forever Blue (4th sisterhood book)
7. It's All About HIM (Alan Jackson's wife, Denise's biography)
8. Sidetracked Home Executives (S.H.E.)

8 things I often say:
1. cool
2. do you want a spanking?
3. I'm going to count to three (and then Kamryn continues counting on from 3)
4. I'm freezing!
5. I'm done with winter
6. Can you tend? (said almost daily with our current busy schedule)
7. You are a big boy, not a big girl (trying to convince Jared he is not the big girl).
8. Have a good day - as my husband and kids go out the door.

8 things that attract me to friends:
1. Good company
2. Love of eating out
3. sense of humor
4. loyalty
5. good listener
6. likes to just hang out
7. good listener
8. Likes to have fun

8 songs and albums I could listen to over and over:
1. Let Them Be Little -- Billy Dean
2. I'll Go On Loving You -- Alan Jackson
3. For Good - Wicked Soundtrack
4. Almost any Keith Urban song
5. King of Sorrow and
6. Pearls - both by Sade, the live versions on her DVD concert
7. Love Song - Sara Bareilles
8. I'll Be Around - the Spinners

8 things I learned this year:
1. I can survive driving with my 15 year old.
2. Competitive volleyball is HUGE.
3. Two 2-year-olds can undo anything you do in half the time.
4. Teenagers are great!
5. I continue to exercise daily but it doesn't seem to make much difference - until you stop for the holidays.
6. Reading others blogs can make you feel connected to others going through similar things
7. Having 2 two-year-olds is a lot of work but I wouldn't trade it for anything.
8. I'm not very good at helping my kids with school projects.

8 things you Might not Know about me
1. I don't like to be up in front of people but I'll do it when I have to.
2. I love living in Arizona but not enough to stay there and be away from family and friends here.
3. I am scared of the dark.
4. I have serious dental phobias
5. I would rather read all day, than do pretty much anything else.
6. I HATE confrontation, but if I have to do it, I am willing to fight for myself, my husband and kids.
7. I have serious mice issues.
8. I went on a mission to San Diego - I can't believe it about myself.

If you are reading this, you are tagged.

A surprise HOLD

I went to the library the other day to pick up Austenland which I had on hold. I noticed there was another book with my name on the slip. It was this book

I did not request it but it's fun to look for ideas and I told my husband it is a sign that it's time to start the planning stages of remodeling our kitchen/dining room. I'm sure it will be a VERY LONG project, considering it took over a year to finish the bathroom in our basement.

New blog

I'm pretty slow at times and unobservant. I just picked up Austenland by Shannon Hale from the library. I was reading the inside front jacket about the book and then read the back one about the author. She lives here, in SALT LAKE CITY! Of course, that was not news to my daughter, she just looked at me like, DUH, MOM!
So I went to her website and read her bio and noticed she has a blog. Great, another one to add to my list of blogs to spy on.

Volleyball

We're back into the volleyball world.
Brooke had her first tournament over the weekend. She is playing with Club Utah this year and is one of the older girls on her team. She played a lot during the tournament and did very well. Her team has only had 3 practices so they were just figuring out how to play together. Several girls on the team have never played club volleyball before so this was a new experience for the girls and the parents. I got nominated to be the Team Mom, which will be fun. It was a good excuse to get to meet the parents. We all had a good team watching our girls.

Owen Bytheway

We went to a stake youth fireside tonight and the speaker was Jon Bytheway. We went 1 1/2 hours early to get seats from and center. Our ward sat all together in the first 4 middle rows - we were well represented.
Bro Bytheway started out talking about his name and how you have to be really careful naming your children when you last name is a prepositional phrase. He has a new 10 day old baby at home and shared the naming of some of their children and all the "clever" comments he has received from people about his last name.
When he was at the airport the security guard checking his ID and boarding pass asked him if he was going to name a son "owen" (say both names out loud together).
He talked about how if you have his last name and you give your child a verb for a middle name then their name would be a sentence.
When his wife was expecting their 5th child (they have 6 total, 3 of each - just like the Brady Bunch) she said how about Isabelle for a girl? He said no way, not only would her name be a sentence but it would be a question!
this was how he began the fireside but then moved on to his topic which was on how to grow your testimony and he related it to growing a garden. Very good fireside!!

Spiritual Experience

Have you ever felt the spirit while talking on the phone with a friend?
I did this morning and it was so overwhelming.
I was talking with my friend and she was sharing with me her experience at a temple recommend interview with our brand new stake president. As she was telling me about her interview I felt the spirit so strongly and was frequently in tears and just overcome with the spirit. It was amazing and I am so grateful to her for sharing.

New blog on my list

I've added a new blog to my list. It's my friend, Cynthia. She's in my ward and we've been friends for years. We exercise together - almost every morning. If it weren't for here, I'd be very fat and emotionally unstable.
Her son and daughter-in-law "gave" her the blog for Christmas. They got it all set up for her. Nice and thoughtful gift. Now she just needs to learn how to post on it.
Check it out and give her an encouraging comment (of course I'll have to show her how to check the comments).

More Christmas pics

Everyone checking out what Brooke got in her stocking.

Justin opening Madden 08

Brooke modeling her new volleyball shoes.

Photos

Just wanted to share some photos from Christmas morning. I'll have to do this in a couple of posts - it's the only way I can do it without the post crashing.

Kamryn with her new twin dollies and stroller, cradle and twin high chairs!

Jared with his favorite new toy - the big dinosaur! (it's really cool because it's really light and not hard for him to carry around.)

Enchanted

Brooke and I went to see Enchanted the day after Christmas. What a cute movie! And that Amy Adams, she's a doll. A great mother-daughter outing. I'm looking forward to going again and we will for sure buy it.

My favorite present

My favorite present was the lap top Paul gave me for Christmas. Now don't start thinking he really spoiled me. The cool thing is he won it at his company Christmas party. Every year they have this really nice dinner and entertainment and then a big rafle drawing for really great prizes - big screen tv, trips, PS3, etc. We had never won before and I told Paul this was our year. We checked out the prizes before the dinner and I had decided it would be most cool to win the big TV (the kids would freak) or the trip to San Diego (so we could go to the Utah bowl game). When it came time for the drawing we didn't get the tv or the trip but when they brought out the lap top bundle package (which I hadn't even seen) I thought "now, that would be cool" and then they called Paul's name. I jumped up and screamed and really embarassed Paul. It was so exciting to finally win something. We decided to not tell anyone about our big win and save it for my Christmas present. Paul was so relieved to have something cool for me and he had a lot of fun getting it all set up for me. And I've had fun playing on it and figuring it out. In fact, I'm using it right now to add this post. I'm at Brooke's 2nd volleyball practice for club and we are at Open Court and they have free wi-fi, way cool!!

New Years

We were lucky enough to spend New years eve and day at the cabin. We had 28 people sleeping there and then Parry and his kids came for the day so it was quite a crowd.
Everyone brought lots of good food and we played some fun games. The big attraction was the snow, of course. Almost all of the kids and adults went out sledding more than once.
Poor Kamryn woke up from her nap on Monday with a fever and was sick the rest of the time that we were there. She was a sad little girl but very cuddly. We were all up late and brought the new year in with a lot of noise.

I am still alive

I've been meaning to post ever since Christmas and have many excuses for why I haven't but none of them are really very good.
We had a great Christmas - after being up way too late on Christmas Eve we did manage to get about 4 hours of sleep, I think. Jared and Kamryn got up too early for how late they went to bed but they did get a nap that day, thank goodness and so did I.
Christmas morning was a lot of fun, especially with jared and Kamryn. they were thrilled with their presents, of which they got too many.
My favorite reaction was when Brooke opened a present from us that I had wrapped first in a box with Christmas wrap and then inside that box was another box wrapped in birthday paper. The birthday present we had given was junk and we had returned it and never gotten her anything else. So for a combined present we gave her a nano iPod. She was genuinely surprised to get it, very excited about it and very grateful.
The most shocking gift we gave was to Taylor - a BB rifle gun (like in the movie Christmas Story). He seemed to think it was cool - the only bad part is he hasn't been able to use it yet.
We had Paul's family over to our house for brunch and presents and just hanging out during the day. At night we went over to my parent's house for the Shingleton family get together. Lots of noise, good food and the usual cousin and adult sibling present exchange.
The day after Christmas is my favorite - a day to just be casual and hangout. I did get up at 8:00 to go shopping and actually did most of my returns without standing in any lines.

Merry Christmas

What's the latest you've ever had to stay up on Christmas Eve?
I can't believe it but this year, this very night is the latest for me.
It's 3:45 am and I'm almost ready to get to bed. Just working on one last gift. I had no idea I would be up this late this year.
We had a great Christmas Eve as a family - I'll post more on that later.
Luckily Jared and Kamryn were up until 11:00 and hopefully they will sleep in and I've given the other kids strict orders to sleep in or at least not wake up the little ones.

Very Long Day

After a very full, stressful, frustating and long day, it's so great to sit down and read my friends' blogs. It cheered me right up and brought a smile to my tired face. Thanks, friends.

Christmas Concert

I just got back from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert at the Conference Center. It was FABULOUS!! I enjoyed it so much. I am so grateful to my friend for taking me as her date (since her husband was out of town and couldn't go with her).
My favorite choir number was The First Noel. It was absolutely beautiful.
I also loved the 12 Days of Christmas number. It was so fun.
And Kudos to my friend Paige (see her blog for her famous handshake after the concert). She is in the bell choir and they did a beautiful job and were a great addition to the concert.

"Pne-MOAN-ia" and other sicknesses

It's not been the best week at our house.
Taylor has Pneumonia brought on by his asthma which first presented as croup. Some of the medicine he is taking is making him "crazy." I've never seen him so agitated and out of his mind. Thank goodness this morning he seemed to be back to normal and finally starting to do better.
Everyone but me has had some degree of the stomach flu that is going around. Brooke had the worst case and has missed 2 days of school and still isn't feeling great.
Justin missed school on Tuesday and has started feeling sick again tonight.
Paul is sick with so many things I can't list them and yet he still goes to work. I'm sure his co-workers are thrilled.
And knock on wood, I've managed to stay well through all of this. I hope that can continue at least until Christmas.

"I'm Not Made for Winter"

This quote was heard in the Charlie Brown Christmas show that was on TV tonight. It was said by Sally who was trying to get dressed in coat, boots, & gloves to go outside to go shopping.
I whole-heartedly agree with her! I'm not made for winter. Sure it's pretty right now but it's so cold and I've already had enough. And it's not even officially winter for another 11 days.
But on a happier note, I have to say how much I enjoyed the Charlie Brown show. It was new to me and with a new character who I love - Rerun. What a cute kid! I laughed out loud several times and enjoyed watching it with my whole family. Christmas time is great!

Happy Birthday Paul

Yesterday was Paul's birthday. We went to his work party for his birthday - it was a perfect way to celebrate - free dinner, entertainment and no focus on Paul. I really wanted to let the MC know that it was Paul's birthday but he said he would be very unhappy if I did something like that. And I certainly didn't want him to be unhappy on his birthday. To pay tribute to Paul for his birthday I am copying an idea from another blog.

41 Great Things about Paul on his 41st Birthday
1. He is tall - that was a big plus for me when we started dated.
2. He has a great laugh! I love watching "Seinfeld" with him just to hear him laugh. It's very contagious too.
3. He is a hard worker.
4. He learned to play "Behind the Waterfall" by David Lanz on our new piano so that he could play our new toy. This is significant because he does not know how to read notes or play the piano other than this one song, which he learned by memorizing it measure by measure listening to me play it.
5. He is happy most of the time and it shows.
6. He loves to wrestle with his kids.
7. He just wants me to be happy.
8. It is fun to watch football games with him.
9. He enjoys life.
10. He is considerate of others.
11. He is VERY HANDY around the house.
12. He is happy to eat cereal for dinner.
13. He will eat anything I fix and is happy about it.
14. He keeps me warm.
15. He loves our kids.
16. He is happy to help out when I volunteer him to my friends and family.
17. He can draw cool pictures, this is especially handy to entertain our little ones during church.
18. He loves music - all kinds, well almost all kinds.
19. He loves to go camping at Washington Lake.
20. He indulges me when I want to use free airplane tickets so they won't go to waste.
21. He puts up with my PMS.
22. He is honest.
23. He honors his priesthood.
24. He fulfills his church calling.
25. He likes playing basketball with our boys.
26. He likes playing volleyball with our kids.
27. He likes playing football with our kids.
28. He likes playing soccer with our boys.
29. He likes to play.
30. He likes to play "golf" and "hearts."
31. He is tolerant of me.
32. He expects a lot of me.
33. He loves and honors his parents.
34. He has a testimony.
35. He loves Thanksgiving.
36. He isn't lazy.
37. He is handsome!
38. He enjoys all four seasons.
39. He provides very well for our family.
40. He is generous with his time and money.
41. Most important, he loves me.

Sickness update

Well, we made it through the day. No more throw up. Jared had a fever in the afternoon but seems back to normal today.
They both fell asleep sometime during Barney this morning (about 11:00). I put them both in bed and then went to bed myself. I didn't really get good sleep but I rested.
Kamryn woke up about 3:00 pm and was pretty ornery. Jared woke up at the point with a fever and didn't want to get out of bed. He went back to sleep until Justin got him out of bed at 6:00 - much happier. They ate a little and watched some movies and played and then went to bed at 9:30. I couldn't believe they went to bed that early after sleeping so much during the day. Now if I can just sleep.

The Trouble with Twins

One of the downsides of having twins is when they are sick.
I was up all night with both of them throwing up!!
That is the worst thing for me to deal with as a mother.
Kamryn was a lot sicker than Jared. She's still not doing very well.
Jared was actually quite funny at 4:00 am. He got the yucky stuff out of his tummy and then it was like he was on speed. Talking a mile a minute and being really quite cute.
Hopefully we'll make it through the day.

Forgotten Carols

I've been a fan of The Forgotten Carols for many years. Some years we read it as a family, some years with friends and some years we go to see the play. Brooke and I went to see it while we were living in Phoenix. I was pregnant with the twins at the time and it was a VERY emotional and spiritual experience for me. I LOVED IT!!! And I've been wanting to go again. So this was the year. I bought tickets the very minute they went on sale (and was disappointed to find that the best seats were already gone in a presale for members, since I bought tickets this year now I'm a member and will get those awesome seats next year).
I decided for our gifts to my parents, Paul's parents and my sibling to give to this year that we would take all of them to the play.
We went tonight to the opening night at Cottonwood High School. It was Awesome! I loved it again!! I highly recommend it and wish I could take everyone I know. I just checked Deseret Book website to see if there are tickets still available and there are - mostly singles but some together in the balcony. If you need something to really get you into the true spirit of the season, go see The Forgotten Carols.

It's official

It's official - it's Christmas time.
For some reason, I've had quite the "scrooge" attitude about Christmas this year. Usually I start listening to Christmas music right after Halloween but not this year. I was so annoyed by the the radio stations with the super early starts that we boycotted them until after Thanksgiving.
I think the great long fall weather had something to do with it. It just didn't seem like Christmas. So the snow has helped it to seem more like Christmas.
Today was the day to decorate. But I also had to do laundry, errands, make a lunch stop at McDonald's for my nephew's birthday, make dinner, make slush for a baby shower tomorrow. But if we didn't decorate today I had no idea when we would do it.
Paul and Justin brought the tree up and then Paul went to bed. He's sick again and had a bad headache.
The kids were great to help and they took all the Christmas storage boxes upstairs. After we got all the boxes upstairs I plugged in the lights for the tree and the whole top of the tree is not lit and half of the bottom. Lights make me so crazy. We ended up not decorating the tree but did get the rest of the house decorated. I started out in a pretty bad mood and was getting after my kids for goofing off during the process. Luckily they don't take me too seriously and by the end of the whole process I was finally having fun and getting into the spirit.
Now if I can just live through tomorrow:
10:00 Festival of Trees to see my niece dance
11:00 Taylor's 1st basketball game this year
1:00 Friend's baby shower I'm helping to give
6:00 Ward Christmas party that I need to bring an appetizer to - have no idea what.
And now that's it almost 1:00 am, I'm going to bed.

Crafting

My sister and I spent the whole day working on a craft for neighbor gifts. I'm not really a crafty person but this was a fun little easy project that turned out so cute. It was fun to work together and it was so great that our kids got along and played together nicely for most of the day. I will try to take a picture and share soon.

Traffic School

Okay, I admit it, I have a tendency to speed. And of course, my luck is that I get caught.
I went to traffic school for the 2nd time this year. Technically, that is not allowed, but what one city doesn't report is not up to another city to check on.
So, of course, I dreaded going to traffic school yet another time tonight.
When you dread something, it usually turns out better than expected. And tonight was no exception. The officer doing the class was funny but informative. He had a great powerpoint presentation with interesting and sometimes funny videos mixed in. He shared some very interesting statistics and I learned a lot tonight.
Here's a few of the things I learned:
**Roughly 4% of the drivers out there are male, between 15-20 and they cause 47% of all fatal crashes. My son is in that age category and I am doing everything to make sure that he is a good driver.
**Children 5 and under have to be in child restraint at all times. This is state law. (I was glad to find out for sure what the law is here because I didn't know for sure).
**Drivers under the age of 19 have to have a seatbelt on and can be pulled over for not having a seatbelt on - as a 1st offense. Anyone over 19 can only be given a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt if they are pulled over for something else first.
**You cannot give the officer pulling you over for speeding the excuse "But I was going with the flow of traffic."
**In West Jordan, they have very specific areas they target for speeding and he listed all of them. I plan to avoid all of those streets if at all possible.

I'm Thankful

I know it's a few days late but wanted to post what I'm thankful for -
1. Paul - He's a great husband, father and provider.
2. My kids - I should list each one separately and say why but I'll save that for me written journal. Let me just say that I am really enjoying being a mother that day and that is because I have great kids.
3. Extended family - It's great that my kids live near their grandparents and cousins and we see them frequently.
4. My friends - Friends have always been an important part of life to me and they continue to be.
5. Books
6. Movies
7. Food - although it sure would be easier if we could just take a pill for the nourishment we need and then eat for enjoyment occasionally
8. Our family cabin
9. My home
10. Our ward
11. My van
12. The nice long fall weather we've had
13. Young women in our ward
14. Sports - the ones my kids play and the ones we watch
15. Clothes
16. Music
17. The internet
18. Christmas lights
19. Exercise buddy
20. And last but most important (and the list is much longer just keeping it short here)
--THE GOSPEL.

Tattle-tale

With 2 year old twins, we have just moved into the phase of tattle-telling.
Jared came to me the other night and said,
"Kamryn's in trouble. She has daddy's phone." Just like that. Very clear.
So I went in our bedroom and sure enough, there she was with his cell phone and iPod.
So far, Jared is doing all the telling and Kamryn is the one always getting into trouble. I'm sure one day she may get her turn to tell on him.

Region Volleyball

So last year the new thing with volleyball was having Brooke play "club."
The new thing this year is having our YW team go to region! It's exciting and oh so stressful at the same time.
Our team did pretty well in stake play but didn't win every game so we were a little surprised when they told us we'd be going to region as the 1st place team from our stake. We were told it wasn't just determined by wins - they factored in that our team never forfeited, never had leaders play (as some wards did) and we were on time & ready to play.
This last Saturday was the first day of region play. It was a "pool play" tournament where there were 4 teams in our pool and we played each team. We were at our own building for the tournament which was nice. We played from 9 am to about noon - 3 matches and our girls won all 6 games that they played. It was so exciting for them and us (parents & leaders).
Last night was the start of the double elimination tournament. We lost our first game and then came from behind and won the 2nd and 3rd games in our first match. 1 1/2 hrs later we played our second match of the night and lost in 2 games. The girls played great and had a great attitude. We are still playing because the tournament is double elimination. So we play again tonight.
And while all of this is going on it's time for Club Team tryouts!

Fun Night Out

For his birthday, Justin wanted to go see The Bee Movie. So all of us except Paul (who had a big deadline at work and couldn't get away in time) went to the last matinee showing yesterday. It was Jared and Kamryn's first real time to go to the theater for a movie. (They've been before but not that they remember). They were very good and really got into the show. We all enjoyed it. Very clever movie. After dinner we went to Bajio's for dinner. Yum Yum!!

He Passed!

I took Justin down to get his learner's permit yesterday - along with the rest of the 15 year olds in Jordan District. When we walked in at 11:00 am the place was packed!! I almost turned around and left but knew that it would probably never get any better unless I had him miss school.
After waiting for an hour they announced that they would start a second testing room for all the "children" that were there. It struck me to think of "children" taking a written test for driving a car.
Justin was the first one done with the test in about 15 minutes - it is a 50 question test and he passed with 90%!
We then waited another 45 minutes for our number to be called to finish the paperwork and waited some more for his name to be called to get his picture taken. We finally walked out of there 2 hours later with his learners permit.
Now he has 1 year to get in his 40 hours of driving. We figured out if he drives 10 minutes every day over the next year he'll get it in. The nice thing we learned is that he can drive with family members in the car as long as Paul or I am in the front seat with Justin. So I guess I will have a chauffeur for the next year.

Happy Birthday Justin

Justin turned 15 today!!
Isn't he handsome!!
He is a great son and I love him very much. I am very proud of him for the great choices he has made in life so far. He is an excellent student, a great athlete, a good friend, and a wonderful older brother. I am grateful for all the he does to help out in our family. He is funny and can be quite a tease.
Hope he has a great birthday weekend (mostly tomorrow when there's no school and we can really celebrate).