Field Trip & Cast

Friday was a full day. I went on a field trip with Libby to the zoo, but Ellie also had an appointment with the orthopedic surgeon. Brian had planned to stay home with the girls while I was on the field trip, but now he got doctor duty! The appointment went really well though and she got her pink cast. Brian said the casting was really easy and fast. Ellie has done really well with her cast except she doesn't like people to look at it. She tries to hide it behind her back or with her sleeve.

My field trip with Libby was a lot of fun. The weather was PERFECT! Couldn't have been better. In my group I just had Libby and one little boy from her class. He was cute little kid. Walking around the zoo was fun and seeing their reaction to things made me laugh. Libby takes after me and didn't pet the sting rays. And at the petting zoo, she stayed in between the two gates and never actually went in!

She did feed the giraffes though, being careful not to actually touch their long tongues.



When we got back to the school, I took Eliza and Libby out of school early. Brian had to see a client up in Cottonwood so we went along for the ride. After his appointment we went to Bing's Burger Station for dinner. It was a cute little Burger shop. The food was yum! We had burger and fries and finished off the night with shakes.

Before we left for Cottonwood, Hattie had her birthday sleepover with my parents. Her b-day is this Saturday, but this weekend worked out better to have her sleepover. She had been so excited about it and has talked about it forever. Whenever we would be out and about, she would say, "I want that for my birthday." That afternoon they went shopping and she picked out dress up clothes--a dream for her! She got a new Cinderella dress, shoes, crown and a Cinderella Barbie. She has worn the outfit more than she hasn't since she got it. Basically she only changes to eat or go on an errand. She even has slept in it. And she wore the shoes to church (I forgot to have her change) and to the store. When night time came, she wanted to be home, so my parents brought her home to sleep. She was so excited, it seemed, to show off her treasures with her sisters!

Poor Ellie

Today we had our first experience with a broken anything...This morning started innocently enough with a run with some friends. I got the girls off to school and my friend brought her little boy over to play while she ran some errands. The kids were playing out back on the swingset. I heard Ellie start crying, which is not unheard of. I went out there and she was still on the ground and was holding her arm. I brought her in, put ice on it and "monitored" it for a little bit. I tried to busy myself with something but watched her out of the corner of my eye to see if she would forget and use it. I figured that would tell me if it was just hurt or if it was something more. She kept it close to her side and wouldn't move it. If I touched it, she would wince and say it hurt. After a quick call to my dr., we went to the urgent care. She has a buckle fracture on her radius and ulna. They put a partial cast on and they'll do a regular cast in about 3-5 days. She was a trooper though and did great with the x-rays and all. Poor girl!!

Randoms

Thank goodness for a tax return. We are finally doing a bunch of things that we've just always put off and off and off. Like getting the carpets cleaned. We had them done today and they look so good. Tomorrow the water people come to service the reverse osmosis thing and water softener.

Gymnastics is going well for Libby. She is loving it and learning new things each time. She loves to practice at home, too. Last night she did a "bridge up, kick over" for the first time. She was pretty excited.

Track is going well for Eliza. She got a ribbon at practice today from her first meet a couple of weeks ago...she got 6th overall in the 200m.

Monday was a day off from school. Brian left early to go up to the snow with the youth in the ward. We hung out at home. Eliza and Libby had a play date. When Brian got home, I went for a run. I want to be ready for the "fun run" to get ready for the trek. I was able to go 4 miles and I did it in just under 40 minutes. I thought it was good considering there was a big hill on the way back. Speaking of the trek... We had a trek fireside a week or so ago. I haven't been too excited, but as I get my clothes together, I am getting more and more excited. I just wish my girls could come with me.

I think that is all floating around in my head that I wanted to write down.

Already?

This morning I gave Hattie her sippy cup of milk and a couple minutes later she said, "But it'll mess up my lipstick." (she had put some lip gloss on this morning).

That Bad?

Eliza has a field trip coming up, so I asked if she wanted someone to go with her. Here is how our conversation went:

Me: Eliza, who do you want to go with you on your field trip?
Eliza: Grandpa
Me: I don't think that will work because he hasn't been to one of the volunteer trainings.
Eliza: Oh.
Me: Do you want Dad or me to go?
E: I want Dad.
Me: Ok. (matter of fact-ly) He went with you last time you went to the Botanical Garden.
E: That's right. Well, I want you to come. (PAUSE). But I am picking out what you wear.


Ha ha ha! I know what she thinks of my style (or lack thereof)!!

Valentine's Day

For Valentine's day this year, we celebrated the day before--Saturday. Brian and I went to a fireside they had for couples, then we went out to dinner. The fireside was interesting. I didn't quite get the speaker, but the song that was sung at the beginning was really good. A lady in my ward sang, "He Thought He Knew What Love Was." After it was over, Brian spoiled me and took me to The Melting Pot. There is a new one open in Glendale, so it's nice we didn't have to drive so far. It was a special Valentine's dinner--we had four courses...a cheese dip appetizer, salads, meat entree and dessert. It is all very tasty and was a nice dinner with Brian. When we left we got a little gift bag with a frame (they took our picture), a bottle of one of their seasonings, mints, and a chocolate fondue bar. It was a nice Valentine's day with my Valentine.

On Sunday, we gave the girls their own little box of conversation hearts and they had fun reading them and eating them before breakfast and church. I got Brian some dress shirts, ties and a belt. Romantic! It was stuff he needed, so he was excited. At church we had our ward conference. It was good timing as our stake theme this year--and the theme of our conference--was Love one Another. I went to young women's during the last hour for our last ward conference of the year. Ellie had the talk in primary and did a great job. I was a little worried she would get scared or something and not do it, but she did great. She even spoke loudly. She was cute. After church we went to my parents' house for dinner. Brian ended up staying home with Libby. Man it's hard to have to follow through with consequences. But hopefully it'll make a difference. We had haystacks over there with ice cream sundaes for dessert. My mom had made the kids a Valentine gift--the cutest pink print pillow cases. Ruby got the same fabric but as a blanket. The boys got a baseball print. It was fun.

By Popular Demand

First here is a link to that download for the Hershey Nugget bars. To make it more difficult for myself, I saved it as a .jpeg and then brought it up in my Photoshop, they put "from: Eliza" and "from: Libby" on them. I fiddled with it a bit, but it still printed a little off on my labels. It ended up being okay though because it just looked like there was a stripe down one side of the label. It looked cute actually. I hand wrote who it was to. If you wanted, you could type each name on a label. But I thought it was fast and cute and easy.

And secondly, all four people who read my blog wanted to see a picture of my hair. So here you go. Ellie was my photographer.... A big change!

Hair Change

Today was a bit busy. I got up and Terri and I did a Biggest Loser video at her house, then I hurried home and got ready. I had both Eliza and Libby's parent teacher conference. They both are doing really well. Libby did get an S- on "avoids unnecessary talking." We just laugh and are actually grateful that she is talking! LOL. Her teacher also said she'll be tested soon for Project Ideal, which is their gifted program, so that will be fun for her since she hears Eliza talk about it. Eliza's teacher loves her and her conference went really fast.

Brian brought all the girls and we switched cars so I could go home and Brian could go on to work. I had a presidency meeting this morning. Terri was an angel--taking Ellie and Hattie for that and while I got my hair done. I wanted to keep the length, but I wanted to do something fun with the color. I went way dark!! It's actually pretty close to my natural/root color. But it's a deep chocolate brown. I like it, but it is taking some getting used to. I just caught Brian staring at me. When I looked over at him he said, "I like it. You look cute." It's a huge change!

Tonight I went to our ward's New Beginnings. They did an Olympic theme and it was very well done! It was just a fun night and a very thorough overview of the YW program.

As a side note/idea, for my girls' Valentines for school, I found a cute download that your print on address labels, then you just wrap it around a Hershey's Nugget chocolate. It was so easy and cute.

Eliza's Baptism

We had a great day on Saturday. It was Eliza's baptism day. It was a busy day but wonderful in every way.

The day started early for me, hiking with Terri. I got home and I cleaned up a little more and was going to start making the hot fudge for the dessert after the baptism. Then I had this thought, "You didn't do a slide show for after Eliza's baptism!!!!" It was my plan all along to do a little video to show at our house of pictures of Eliza. I thought about it a month ago and for some reason it didn't cross my brain again until Saturday morning!!! I felt horrible! So, being the crazy person that I am, I hurried and put something together. It came together pretty quickly and I put it to the song "What Heaven Sees in You." It turned out really cute. The saddest part is that we actually forgot to show it later at our house. We remember while my parents were still there, so at least they got to enjoy it!


That morning, the Sunday School general president was speaking, so Brian had to go to that. Ellie went to my two nephews' birthday party, so it was little crazy morning. Happily, we got everything ready and got to the church on time. Eliza couldn't stop smiling at her baptism. She was so excited before and during and after. When we got there, we got her dressed in her white outfit. It was pretty special because she wore the same outfit that I was baptized in. My mom made it years ago (we couldn't believe it was almost 24 years ago!!). Many of my cousins have worn it since then, but Eliza got to wear it, too. My mom made a cute new belt to go with it. She looked darling.

The first part of the baptism was in the chapel. There were SO many kids being baptized that day. SEVEN just from our ward. At first, when I found out there were so many being baptized I was a little bummed and wondered how we could make the day special for her her. But it all turned out wonderful. My dad mentioned how it's neat there were so many being baptized with her because she'll always have a strong group of friends to strengthen each other and remember the special time together. That will be neat for Eliza to look back on and find strength in that. After the talk on baptism, they dismissed by wards for the actual baptism. We had to do the boys from our ward first, then the girls because all the family members wouldn't fit in the Relief Society room at the same time. Brian baptized Eliza, then I met her when she came out to help her get dressed. She was all smiles and so excited. She got her new dress on. I forgot a ponytail, so she just wore her hair down, but she wore a little headband that I had made. It was a piece of trim that I stitched a rhinestone button on and I turned it into a headband by stitching an elastic on each end. My mom came in the bathroom to tie the bow on her dress and she also gave Eliza a charm bracelet to wear. It had a crown charm on it to remind her she is a daughter of a King. After getting ready, our ward met back in the chapel for the talk on the Holy Ghost and the confirmations. Eliza was first and Brian did a great job. What I remember most is that she was blessed to make good choices and to be an example to those around her. People look to her, so it's important that she is a good example.

After the baptism, Terri took more pictures and then we headed back to our house. We had family and friends over for dinner. We decided on pizza for ease and it was perfect. Terri brought veggies and dip, Chrystalyn brought a cheese ball and crackers, and we had pizza. For dessert we had ice cream with homemade hot fudge and Brian's mom also made spicy bars. It was a fun time eating and visiting. Eliza also received some very thoughtful gifts for her baptism. We got her scriptures and my parents gave her a scripture case that she wanted along with a scripture journal. She also got a pretty Willow Tree statue, a picture, journal, necklace, bookmark, mini hymn book and Children's Songbook, etc. She has been so cute--reading her scriptures every chance she gets. We enjoyed spending this special day with so many dear family members and friends. Her school teacher from last year even came, which was very thoughtful and sweet. As a little "favor," I made little Article of Faith cards that had her picture on one side and the Articles of Faith on the other.

Eliza has had a really good week and has been such a joy. I can't believe my first child was baptized. She is growing up so fast.

Checking In

This week I'll update about Eliza's baptism. It was a wonderful day!! It was SO great all around and one day I hope Eliza won't ever forget.

Feels Like it Should be Friday!

This week has been go, go, go it seems. On Monday Ruby had her four month appointment. She is 13 lbs., 4 oz (45th percentile) and 26.5" (100th percentile). She is looking great and received 2 shots. She did well, but at night she totally had a fever. I was able to control it pretty well with Tylenol, but she was hot! She is doing better. She's had a little stuffy nose lately, so we've been doing steam in the bathroom, humidifier and saline drops in her nose. She is handling it well though! At four months, Ruby is such a doll. She is a great sleeper--loves to be cuddled when she is tired. The past month I've really worked with her to go in her bed tired but awake so she can put herself to sleep. She is getting better and better at it which is great. She is starting to "talk." Tonight I put her on the floor while I made dinner and I could just hear her in the other room just chatting away to herself. She really wants to be heard! She loves her sisters! She smiles at them and loves when they are around. She has rolled over once but isn't doing it regularly. She likes to laugh when I tickle her or when Brian kisses under her neck. It's cute.

While I was with Ruby at the doctor, Ellie and Hattie were at a friend's playing. It was what I "won" at the service activity we had as part of our December Relief Society night. So after the doctor, I did some grocery shopping and even had time to come home and get dinner in the crockpot. That afternoon Libby had gymnastics. She enjoys going a lot. While she was there, we went and did the chickens at my in-laws. The chickens were crazy that day, so it took longer than normal. We came back to the gym and still got to watch a lot of Libby's class. She has been wanting a new leotard and that day, they had some used ones out for sale--kind of like a "yard sale" at the gym. Libby found a darling silver and black one with silver and black leopard print shorts to go over the top. She looks so cute in it! I am a little surprised she would wear something so flashy--coming from the girl who wears the same thing Sunday after Sunday!! Maybe she'll break out of her shell and wear the darling--yet plain--skirt I bought for her at Target a couple of weeks ago. I keep praying that she'll wear it.

That night for FHE, we talked about the scripture of the month--Moses 7:18: And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of bone heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them. Then we talked about how we can have that same unity in our family. We did the little web activity where someone starts with a wad of string and says something nice about a person. Then they get the string and you keep creating a web between the people. After the web was formed, we put a big pillow on it and talked about how if we work together and are unified, we can do hard things. But if we talk unkindly or aren't kind to each other (I let go of the string in my hand) it just falls. I think they enjoyed the activity and hopefully will remember it.

On Tuesday, I took my girls to school because Brian needed to get in early. Later that morning I took my girls to Brian's office so I could go to a dentist appointment. I went to an orthodontist actually because my bite has been bugging me forever, so I finally decided to see what could be done about it. The short story is full braces for about a year. Now we just have to decide if we want to do that! Ack! Me in braces, again!??!

The afternoon was packed with Eliza's track practice. It's nice though because my other girls can just play while Eliza practices. When we got home we still had to do dinner and bed. Brian was on visits, so it was a busy night for me!

Today kind of turned into a crazy day, too. The girls and I ran some errands this morning and it took a while. I got home just in time for one more ortho appointment. I wanted to get a second opinion and a second quote on the price. It was pretty close to what I found out yesterday, but I did like this office today better. So if I go through with it, it'll be through them.

Tonight I made some more-labor-intensive-than-I-expected enchiladas for dinner, so that took from the time we got home from the school pick up to about 6 PM. Ugh. Brian had just enough time to eat before heading to mutual. I am exhausted. I've gotten up to hike or run every day last week and this week, so that and trying to get ready for Eliza's baptism and all the regular things that I do to keep a house going has made me worn out!!!

Track Star

Saturday was Eliza's first track meet. It was out in Mesa at Westwood HS, so we left around 8:20 to get there on time. It was so cold!! The wind was blowing which made us freeze. And the bleachers were in the shade for the first little part. Once the sun came out, we weren't too bad. Eliza ran the 60m and the 200m. She got first in her heat in the 60 and third in the 200. She had a lot of fun. I think she was surprised that she was getting first in the 60. She looked over to try to find the person who was next. I think she'll do even better as she practices more. She had only done starts for two days and just has regular tennis shoes. It was fun to watch her though and fun to be at track meets again. It reminded me of going to watch Brian at his.

That afternoon we went to a ward activity. It was kind of like a missionary training center. We are encouraged as a family to do missionary work and tell our neighbors about the gospel.

Saturday night we sold our big area rug. I just posted it the night before and it sold yesterday! Sweet.

Today was church. The morning went smoothly. We made it to church on time and the house wasn't a tornado when we left, so that made it nicer to come home to. Brian taught the fifth Sunday lesson about prayer. I asked if they didn't think anyone listed to the talk I gave on prayer last month! He did a good job. At the end he showed a video on prayer from the LDS channel on You Tube. Brian didn't have to do too much after church, so after he got home, we headed over to my parents for dinner. We had French dip sandwiches, which turned out really good. We got the recipe from one of our favorite cooking blogs--Our Best Bites.

Well, here's to a new week. Eliza's baptism is on Saturday, so we'll be looking forward to that! I can't believe it's finally here.

Selling

I've been selling lately. Brian is a little worried that he is next. Ha ha. Yesterday I sold my diaper bag. I know. I just got it right before I had Ruby. It just didn't work for me. After having it, I decided I am just a purse/tote type person. The one I had (and sold) had a flap on it that you have to open to access the main pocket. I thought I could get used to it, but I never did. I loved everything else about it, but it was enough for me to want to sell it. I sold it for $5 less than I bought it for, so I was happy about that. I am using one that I bought when I was pregnant with Ellie and it's working fine. I am not sure I'll get a new one unless I come across a fun purse.


And today I sold our furniture set that has been in our front room. A few weeks ago we found two chairs that I loved, but I couldn't justify buying them without having sold what we have first. So today I sold those, but I don't think the store has the chairs anymore! I'll have to keep looking. Next I'll work on the rug and set of decorative pillows. I love Craigslist.

My First Time

Tonight I used Red Box for the first time! It was SO easy. Brian had what they called a "slacker" camp out (they met at one of the houses and the boys played video games and watched a movie until late), so I thought I'd have a movie night with Eliza and Libby after the little ones went to bed. I rented Imagine That. We had fun watching that and having popcorn and ice cream. I think I will totally use Red Box again. Now if only I could actually stay awake to watch a movie.

Boring

Ellie loved her first little class. They did some bells for music and made two cute little crafts for art. She had a blast and can't wait to go back.

The rest of that day was really busy, too. I went visiting teaching. Eliza had a friend come over. Libby was going to have gymnastics, but the class was canceled due to lack of sign ups. She'll now go a different day of the week. I also went to Enrichment that evening. A lady in our ward teaches self defense and assault defense. I learned a lot. I would like to take one of her full 4 hour classes.

Friday night was date night. We first got our taxes done. I don't mind it too much. Then we went to dinner at Chilis since we had a gift card. We saw at least three couples we knew.

Saturday I hiked with Leslie and Terri. Libby went to her make-up gymnastics class. I went to the grocery store and Brian went to an ASU basketball game with one of the wholesalers from work and a few other brokers.

Sunday was another busy one with two ward conferences for me. We survived and thanks to people being willing to help out with our girls. We had dinner at my in-laws, then Brian had a fireside to go to. It sure felt good to get into bed that night. To bad I can't sleep in longer!

It's been really cold hiking and running this week. Brrr! Good thing we warm up quickly. On Monday my mom and I made bread. It has been a while. It's nice to be stocked up for the week again. We went to Target while the bread was cooling. That is always fun--my girls have missed doing that! That evening Libby went to gymnastics. Terri was so nice and watched all my girls but Ruby so they didn't have to hang out during the class. That night Eliza did our FHE lesson. She was so cute and had prepared the night before--finding quotes and pictures and a scripture to go with her topic.

Tuesday evening Eliza had her first track practice. She's been wanting to do track for a while, but you have to be eight. She had a fun time at practice and is looking forward to her meet on Saturday.

The rest of this week has been filled with Ellie playing wiht her little friend a couple of days, me going to another ward's New Beginnings, a bridal shower to attend, etc.

Tonight we had the missionaries over for dinner. I never sign up because I'm worried about it being a circus. It went well though. Ellie and Hattie kept them entertained.

This is so boring just posting a travel log of sorts. Hopefully I can keep up so I can add some emotion in!

Week Behind (Again)

This is turning into a weekly journal at this rate. Things I wanted to note from this past week...

On Friday, Libby had her student of the month breakfast/assembly. She was excited for it until it was actually Friday morning. That morning she cried that she didn't want to go, etc. Brian and I just tried to remain upbeat and that not going wasn't an option. Once we were in the car she stopped crying and I think realized we were going anyway. The "breakfast" was juice and Nutri-grain bars and I think only Ellie and Hattie ate one. Brian and I were just nervous about how the whole assembly would go. One by one, they read a little blurb their teacher wrote about them, then they go to the front to get their certificate and awards. When it was Libby's turn she just stayed in her seat. It was okay though and I think she still felt special. The principal actually came and brought her award and gift card to her and Libby walked a few steps in front of our chairs and meet her. We were just thrilled she was at the assembly and hopefully she realizes things like that aren't too bad!

That night Eliza and Libby had a girl cousin sleepover with Brian's mom and with all their American Girl dolls. Libby just brought her doll she got for Christmas. But they just had a fun time watching movies, eating and playing with their dolls. Brian and I had a babysitter come for the little three girls and we went out. We did some errands. I finally got a new pair of jeans. We also went to dinner with his secretary and her husband. We owed them dinner from a friendly March Madness contest from last year. We went to Red Robin.

On Saturday Brian went mountain biking with some friends. Eliza had a birthday party. So after shuttling everyone around and picking everyone up and doing our chicken duty, we came back home and cleaned out the garage. It was just getting cluttery, so that was nice to get done.

Last night was our stake priest/laurel activity, so our presidency has been busy getting ready for that. We served dinner--veggies and dip, French dip sandwiches, chips and root beer floats--and they had some fun little games/contests they did among themselves. They seemed to have a really fun time.

This week I have really enjoyed the rain. Ellie started a little preschool music/art class that meets once a week for a couple of hours. She was really excited to go--today was her first day.

Staying Caught Up

I am trying not to get behind here! So far this week has been pretty good. Libby has had a good week actually--it was her last day of gymnastics and they said she can move up to the next class. So we need to decide if we are going to sign up again for another session. She also found out she is student of the month in her class. And, finally, she won her class's Polar Express reading challenge. She read the most books in a month's time. She got a gift card to Harkins, a plastic popcorn holder with a thing of microwave popcorn and a package of Red Vines. She was excited in her quiet way. We are so proud of her. Friday is her assembly for student of the month and we are hoping she'll go! Crossing our fingers. All signs indicate that she is going to go. Today she said they came and took her picture for being student of the month.

Last night, Brian had his bishopric stuff, followed by basketball, but happily bedtime went really well. Yay! And tonight was mutual and basketball and I had four in bed and sleeping by 8:30! Eliza was last and she went soon after. I can finally say--knock on wood--that I am feeling more confident about having five kids and especially having them alone while Brian is gone at night. Who couldn't have fun with these cute girls?!?

Eliza's Birthday

I told Eliza that she really got to stretch this birthday out! She had her party Saturday, her real b-day on Sunday and she still gets to celebrate at her baptism in a few weeks. On Sunday morning, she got toaster strudels for breakfast. She was so excited since she hasn't had them in a while! Then we let her open her gifts before Brian had to head off to his meetings. She mentioned a little while back that she wanted a hair dryer. So she got a pink one, her own shampoo and conditioner (she is always stealing mine and I have to go get it before I wash my hair!), her own brush and a little purse to put her hair stuff in. She was excited.

Yesterday was really hectic for me. We got ready for church and I dropped my girls off at our building. I had Abbie sit with my girls and my friend Jenny took Ruby and I had to head over to the stake center to visit a ward for their ward conference. Then I came back and finished up at our ward. After church I took my girls to my parents, then headed back to the stake center for a second ward conference. Then we met over at my brother's house for dinner. We had soups, salad and bread. For dessert we had ice cream and brownies.

Today started early with a hike. I was SO tired all day. I couldn't shake it. But I tried to keep going otherwise I would have zonked out, I'm sure!

Tonight my mother-in-law came over and gave Eliza her birthday present--an American Girl. For the granddaughters' 8th birthday, they get an American girl and some clothes. Eliza got the Nellie doll, which I think looks a lot like her. She was excited and is having fun with her.

Family Get Together

Saturday was a busy day. Brian had a planning meeting with the youth in our ward, then he came home a little early to pick up Libby, Hattie and Ruby. Libby had a friend's birthday party to go to, so she decided to go to that instead of staying for Eliza's. I am glad she went to it. They met at the mall theater and saw Alvin & the Chipmunks. Then they walked over to Johnny Rockets for ice cream. I thought that was such a great, easy idea for a birthday party! Ellie stayed with me during the party, but Brian took the others so I could be a better hostess.

After the party we had to zoom over to Gilbert for a family get together for my mom's side of the family. Only one of my mom's sisters and her family and my grandpa were able to make it. But we still had a really great time. I wish we would have had more time to stay and visit. Next time we'll have to allow more time. We picked up our late lunch/early dinner and then just met at a park right by my aunt Deb's house. We ate our food and visited. My grandpa's 84th b-day was on the 8th, so we sang to him and had cake. Aunt Dovetta found a recipe book of my grandma's and she made three of the family favorite recipes to bring. I thought that was very thoughtful of her. She made a favorite cake that my grandma used to make--lemon poke cake. She also made Boston cream that we haven't had in forever and she made green jello salad. We played a couple of games--one called "Whack-a-Knee." Everyone sits in a circle and there is a container in the middle with a rolled up magazine. Someone is it and he or she goes around and whacks someone on the knee. That person who was whacked has to try to tag the person with the magazine before he puts it back in the center container. It was fun. We decided those sitting in the camp chairs had a disadvantage because it was hard to get up quickly! That was a fun game and my kids loved it--Ellie especially! We also did a game where you divide up into groups and then you have to line up based on different things....like line up by shoe size. Line up by the last number of your address, etc. The first team to line up and clap gets a point. So fun! A funny thing that happened was that we were at a park and there was a neighborhood boy there. He came over and let one of the little girls play with his soccer ball. My cousin Jared asked him if he wanted to play with us. So this random boy--he was probably about 12--played all the games with us. He was so nice and seemed to have fun. We just thought it was funny that he would want to play these silly games with us!

Some of the kids wanted the balloons for their piece of cake, so my brother cut circle pieces. We thought it was funny.

Teeny Tiny 8th Birthday Party

Since my girls don't get a birthday party every year, Eliza has been thinking about this party for a long time. We decided to do a "Teeny Tiny Party" and everything was in miniature. The invitations were tiny and we put them in tiny envelopes. For decorations, I made a tiny pennant banner and we hung mini streamers (curling ribbon). Out front in chalk on the sidewalk I wrote little words and phrases about "tiny". As the girls arrived, we had a little contest to see who could write their name the smallest. Then we made beaded rings. Luckily my mom came and helped me out. I really needed her hands the whole party! After the rings, we decorated mini composition books. After the crafts, we had lunch--mini bagel pizzas, small hot dogs in BBQ sauce, tiny carrots and dip and soda poured in tiny cups. I had gotten some chips but forgot to serve them. On the tables, I also had put out tiny bowls of mini goldfish, mini Hershey kisses, mini jawbreakers and mini Oreos. After lunch and refilling their drink cups over and over and over again, we went out side for some tiny relays. We did a pom-pom on a spoon relay and they had to pass a tiny balloon to the end of their line using only their necks. It was funny. We came inside the girls had a treasure hunt to find their favor bags that we had filled with tiny things. It took them around to different parts of the house and at each one, they had to do something. At the piano, for example, they had to go around and tell what their favorite little song was. At the DVD player they had to tell their favorite little movie. At the mirror, they had to tell a little something nice about the person next to them. That was fun and it made it last longer. Next, Eliza opened her presents. She was really spoiled by her friends. Then we had tiny cupcakes and tiny scoops of ice cream. One of my former YW works at Baskin Robbins, so I got enough sample spoons from her so they could eat with those. We had a little time left after cake, so we had a contest with gum to see who could blow the tiniest bubble, then we made tiny cootie catcher/fortune teller things. It was fun party and I think Eliza and her friends had fun, too!

Sick Hattie

This week has flown by--probably because it's been a busy one. On Tuesday morning I had a presidency meeting. After those I always feel very overwhelmed with all I have to do and all that we have coming up. That afternoon I met Terri at the park. The kids played while we visited. That night Brian had bishopric stuff and I'm happy to report that I had all the kids in bed and sleeping by the time he got home. I did bribe them with candy bars, but that was a small price to pay!

On Wednesday after hiking, it was a usual day. I spent a lot of the day getting ready for Eliza's birthday party and getting ready for a mutual activity that night. It was a stake mutual activity to kick of the 2010 mutual theme: Be Strong and of a Good Courage. We watched part of the DVD and then the kids were in groups and created "Mormon Ads" based on the theme. We served ice cream sundaes for refreshments. It was a busy night but it went well. It is hard to keep that many youth engaged in an activity--especially the viewing of the video. We saw more kids than not who were talking, texting, looking through the magazines, etc. It kind of bugged, but hopefully they got something out of it. As we were cleaning up I got a text from Brian saying to come home and that Hattie had just thrown up. Ugh. Not what I wanted to hear! She was pretty sick that night, so that was a bummer. She was sluggish the next day and even a little bit on Friday morning. After I got a little Coke in her, she was much better. It sure settled her stomach. In between trying to take care of her, I worked on getting ready for Eliza's birthday party which was on Saturday. Now I know why I don't do birthday parties every year--they are a TON of work!

8

On Saturday morning we went to a baptism for a couple who have been taking the missionary discussions. It was such a great baptism. After the husband came out of the water, he was so overcome with emotion, he just sobbed. It was really touching. After the baptism, we did stuff at home, then I took Eliza's baptism pictures. I can't believe she will be 8 on Sunday. We had a lot of fun doing the pictures. She had some fun ideas of what she wanted me to do. She is so creative. Here are a few I liked...



(one of Eliza's creative ideas!)




That night we had a sitter and Brian and I went to a wedding reception. Then we did a couple errands. I got to spend my gift card Brian got me for Christmas. It's nice to get a couple new pieces of clothing.

Sunday went well. I am not a fan of later church, but it wasn't horrible. I'd just prefer to get up, get ready and go instead of having time that we have to try to fill. I'm sure we'll get used to it. After church Eliza had her baptism interview, then we went to my parents' for dinner.

Today was back to the regular routine. I went hiking with Terri. It was windy. Ick! Then I got home and started getting everyone going. Eliza and Libby did well getting ready and off to school. I think they were a bit excited to get back and see their teachers and friends. It almost felt like the first day of school for me back home, worrying about my girls and wondering how their day was going.

This evening Libby had gymnastics, so I took her to that. When we got home we had dinner and Family Home Evening. Ellie gave a cute prayer. I had told them before (as we are trying to work on reverence during FHE) that we were ready to start but we weren't going to until everyone was sitting down and quiet. And if someone got up to get a drink or whatnot, we would stop or if someone was talking, we would stop. And if we weren't done at 7:30, we wouldn't get to have our treat. Ellie gave the opening prayer and she said, "Please bless that no one will scream and that no one will get up to get a drink and that we'll be done by 7:30." So specific! I told her it was a great, specific prayer. In my talk last Sunday, that was one idea I gave--to be more specific in our prayers. That was a great example! I gave a mini lesson about our new stake theme this year: "Love One Another." Then Eliza and Libby had prepared a scavenger hunt where we had to find hearts around the house and do what it said on it, such as "give someone a hug" or "give the person closest to you a kiss." It was cute. We finished in time and had ice cream sundaes for dessert.

Happy 2010!

Yesterday morning started with an early, cold hike with Terri and Susan. Then I came home and got ready. I had to go help set up for the the youth New Year's Eve Dance. It went pretty quickly--I was worried it would take a while as they had to blow up 1500 balloons for the balloon drop. While I was there, Brian went to Costco with the girls and to his parents to do our chicken duty. After that we met up and headed up north to his parents' cabin in Munds Park. Brrrrr. It was cold. Brian's dad came with us, but just hung out at the cabin. When we first got there, we dropped our stuff off and his dad, then we continued on up to Flagstaff. We ate dinner at Garcias, then we went and saw Princess and the Frog. It was our first time ever taking everyone to the movie. And I think it actually (sadly?) was Ellie's first time ever to go to a movie! They all did pretty well. We got there a half hour early, so that wasn't the best idea, but the movie was cute and we all enjoyed it.





After the movie, we drove around a bit to kill some time before our next activity. We went to the "Pine Cone Drop" in downtown Flagstaff. They do one drop at 10 and one at midnight. We opted for the 10 o-clock one. It was FREEZING--just a nippy 15 degrees--but we bundled up and braved the cold. We saw the pine cone drop followed by some fireworks. Jenny and Mike went, too, and we saw them for a minute afterward. It was a fun time. We went back to the cabin after and the temp. dropped to 8 degrees! We finally got everyone into bed. Hattie thought it would be funny to wake up at 5:45 and not go back to bed. I got up with her and Ruby woke up, too, so Brian got up with her. I think she was cold, but he fed her and she went back to bed thankfully. I let Brian sleep until 9, then I switched and slept till about 10. Today the kids played a little in the snow, then we drove around Flag for a bit before heading home. It was a good time until Brian hit a cow on the way home. Dumb cow. We were about 10 minutes from home and it was dark...there was a pack of cows that crossed the road. He saw them in time and stopped. As he was getting going again, one lone, dark colored cow was crossing. He barely saw him, slammed on the brakes and swerved, but he hit it. We think he just hit the very back, but it shattered the front light cover. GRRRRR! Luckily, I guess, that was it--it could have been worse for sure, so if we had to hit it, I'm glad it was just the back end and the damage was minimal. It'll probably still be about $70 to fix, but again, it could have been worse. We are all safe, so that is good.

Happy 2010!