Thanksgiving 2008

We had a great Thanksgiving this year in Kentucky with two of Steven's sisters and their families! The kids had the best time with their cousins. It was so great to see everyone and spend this special time together.

Thank you for having us Kathryn and James.

Weekend Whereabouts

It was a busy but fun weekend. Steven and I attended a residency gathering on Thursday evening. While the three eldest kids had fun with a sitter,Haley accompanied us downtown to a nice dinner.

I had a great time with girls from our church on Friday. Like most other girls around the United States, we too, went out to dinner and then hurried, with excitement, to the movie theatre. Like most other girls around the United States, we too, were SO very excited to finally be able to see the nation wide release of......... "Bolt"! J.K. Of course. We went to see Twilight and had a wonderful evening doing so. Thanks ladies.

Saturday was fun and relaxing. That evening the kids played at a friends house while we stopped by a home filled with BYU alumni who were eagerly anticipating the upcoming game. Steven loves watching his "Cougs", but if they are falling behind he also loves turning the game off and focusing his energies on something else. Therefore, we happily left at half time, picked up the kiddos, and returned home for a night of board games and treats.

Sunday was wonderful as usual. This past Sunday I endured something never tried before. Steven got called out to the hospital and I survived church all by myself with four children. I had been nervous for this experience but as I think back now realize how silly that was. The kids did a great job.

Monday morning Steven got exciting news that all surgeries and appointments were being held off until the following day. Something about a gas leak. While a gas leak of course is not exciting news, it happened to be the morning of Ryley's Thanksgiving play at school. With all the planets now properly aligned Steven was able to attend with me.

We hope you all have a fantastic holiday. What a wonderful opportunity to come together as family and friends in celebration of those who came before us and all of the wonderful blessings our Heavenly Father has bestowed upon us.

Happy Thanksgiving!






What appears to be a random picture is actually "Trevor Turkey". He has become quite a tradition in our home.

Tagged

I'm sorry to say until now I had never responded to "tags" before. I must admit though, I have a great time reading the answers to other "tags", so I'll do my best at joining the fun when called upon to do so. One of my cute roommates from Rick's tagged me for this one so here goes!

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. Preparing to graduate and leave Ricks.
2. Began my one (and only) semester at Utah State.
3. Had a great summer doing EFY.
4. Searching for my adorable husband. (Wish I had known then that he was still 2 years in my future. Wouldn't have stressed so much!)
5. Decided to major in Psychology/Sociology.

5 Things On My To-Do list today:
1. Fold clothes. (my least favorite chore by the way)
2. Play with kiddos.
3. Work out.
4. Pack (we decided last minute to go visit family for Thanksgiving - VERY excited)
5. Run to store. (I'm going to try making a Chocolate Pecan pie this year - I'll let you know how it goes.)

5 Snacks I Enjoy:
1. Hot Chocolate.
2. Sun-Dried Tomato Wheat Thins.
3. E.L. Fudge Cookies.
4. Pretzels and Pickles. (my old roommates will get a kick out of that one - I still love it.)
5. Chocolate Cake Donuts. (these are NOT allowed in the house while I'm getting baby weight off!)

5 Places I've lived:
1. Albuquerque, NM (born and raised)
2. Augusta, Georgia
3. Germantown, Maryland
4. Colorado Springs, Colorado
5. Utah/Idaho (college years).

5 Jobs I've had:
1. Mom (best ever)
2. Secretary/Receptionist
3. Dairy Queen (Believe it or not I had my degree when I held this job - long story)
4. Golden Swirl (a "thanks" to my sister for giving me hours whenever I wanted them)
5. Professional Dancer (O.K. So I dressed up in a large hamster costume and danced around a stage for children. It was still pretty fun)

5 People I Tag:
1. Melissa
2. Joy
3. Breeana
4. Rachelle
5. Jana

Dreams Discovered

A friend called the other day, and while I'm well known for letting our machine pick up - but needing to speak with her, I answered while in the middle of a game with the kids. She could hear the kids laughing in the background and asked what we were doing. I told her we were in the middle of playing dodge ball and she started to laugh. She thought that was the funniest thing ever and I realized then how frequently I "live through my kids". I find myself often playing anything and everything with them that either I enjoyed playing as a child, or, those games that no one wanted to play with me as a child. I had great brothers and sisters but being "the baby" of the family definitely offered one big drawback. By the time I was old enough to create fun games in my head, they were "too old" to play them. My sister who is just 12 months older than I was great as well, but as we grew she preferred doing her nails while I preferred digging with them in the dirt.

Fortunately, now I am a mother of little ones and have the great pleasure of making them play with me. Not really. Hopefully they enjoy the games I teach them, and while they discover exciting games for the first time I have the chance to live out childhood dreams that never came to fruition.

I have been able to enjoy all of the classic pleasures such as paints, play dough, tag, hide n' seek, paper airplanes, fort making, and of course, board games in general. Additionally, I have been able to teach them fun games like dodge ball - this is a great one if you have any pent up energies from the day. Make sure you remove anything breakable from off the shelves first. Capture the flag. Zoo Keeper (this is a great game too! I can't believe no one wanted to play this when I was little. The kids love it. They are the "animals" and while they run around the house I get to be the "zoo keeper" and catch them. Once locked in their "cages" I get to throw food at them and teach them tricks. How cool is that.) Recently we added "Find the Treasure" and "Spy Mission". With Find the Treasure I draw a map of the house and map out a path way they must follow in order to, what else, find the "treasure". Along the route I hide numbers (1-6) and show those on the map as well so they have hints along their way.
Spy mission is even better. You first cut out foot prints of an animal and then lay them in a path around the house - leaving the animal to be captured at the end of the path. Next you turn out the lights and give everyone a flashlight. As they make their way around they will find your "footprint clues" and eventually discover which animal is hiding. Oh, that was a fun one. I have to give the girls credit though for coming up with that game.

I leave these in detail hoping that some of you may find them fun and useful, and, for all my friends out there who are shaking their heads while reading this, please, let me assure you that I also enjoy playing the game of "put a movie in and pass out on the couch for a good nap."

Lunchroom Treasures

Ryley ran in the door from school today very excited. She had a "surprise" to show me. She reached into her pants pocket and began unfolding a piece of napkin. She held the item in the air and looked at me with excitement. "What's that"? I asked. It's a bone! Where did you get it? I found it in my chicken sandwich at lunch time!

P.S. I think I'll be packing her lunch from now on.

Seriously?

I preface the following experience with this. The girls have a Care Bears video entitled "Journey To Joke Alot". At one point in the film a Care Bear visits the land of Joke Alot where the word "Serious" is considered taboo. Bottom line, if you are a resident of Joke Alot you know very well not to use the "S" word.


Ryley: Mom, Kadyn said the "S" word!

Mom: (laughing inside and assuming they are teasing me in reference to the Care Bears Movie I decide to play along)
Oh really! Uh-oh. Kadyn, you really shouldn't say the word "serious"!

Ryley: Oh no Mother. She said the other "S" word.

Mom: (Alright, at this point I'm half confused and half freaking out. Mainly I'm freaking out. In my pathetic attempt to grasp what is happening, but not wanting to hear what may be happening I stutter out) What? What do you mean? I don't understand?

Ryley: "You know Mom. She said,.....(in a whisper) stupid".


WOW. Didn't see that coming. At that moment two things happened. I took a deep breath, and, my heart filled with joy.
I have thought about this dialogue again and again over the past few days and now have three thoughts on the matter.


First, indeed, the word "stupid" is not a very nice word.

Second, I must clarify for Kadyn's sake that her word choice was in reference to feelings regarding nap time.

Third, and most importantly, at that moment my heart was filled with deep gratitude. How grateful I am for these innocent and tender children who enrich our lives and remind us daily to strive in, "becoming as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, and willing to submit to all things..".

Surely Not Seven?

Ryley turned seven yesterday. Steven and I keep shaking our heads in disbelief that we can actually have a seven year old child. For some reason it seems so much older than six. Combined that with the fact that next birthday she'll be baptized and you practically have a teenager on your hands. O.K., not really - but it still seems old. Too old. She's not allowed to grow up, right? She's our little Ryley!

Nevertheless, time moves on regardless. Ryley is growing up into a fantastic young lady and we thank Heavenly Father each day for her sweet smile and spirit.

For her birthday this year she chose to celebrate by doing activities we could enjoy as a family. We started the weekend with ordering her favorite take out on Friday evening. On Saturday we had a great day at the zoo. We took along a picnic from Subway and Ryley got to pick something from the gift shop. (Ten dollars says that Kadyn chooses this same activity for her birthday - it was really fun). That night Steven took Ryley and Kadyn to see Kung Fu Panda. This was a gift to both Ryley and I seeing as the youngest two were blissfully sleeping, thus giving Mom an evening to relax. Monday Steven came home from the hospital in early afternoon, and let's face it - during residency THAT is a gift in and of itself! I put the girls in the car and together we headed for the skating rink where they enjoyed their first experience on roller skates. I was very impressed with their endurance levels. We all fell quite frequently, and I thought with time it would damper their enthusiasm, but with every fall they got right back up and kept on going. It was a fun experience. Tuesday we took it easy and after playing all morning here they spent the afternoon playing with the neighbors while I made her cake of choice. Ryley LOVES animals, especially horses. I wasn't quite sure I could pull it off but she was very happy with it and that's all that mattered. It was a great weekend of celebration for a great little seven year old. Happy Birthday Ryley. We LOVE you!