First Day of First Grade

Collin's teacher seems great and the school is new and nice. He loves eating school lunch, playing at recess and earning stickers for his sticker book. He is also excited because his teacher lets the kids teach the class some times. (They have show and teach instead of show and tell.) At back to school night, his teacher said Collin has excellent handwriting and is a pleasure to have in her class. So far, so good.

Then yesterday Collin came home and said he was getting quite the reputation at school...for eating ants! Apparently, Collin told some kid he had eaten them before (which was news to me) and the kid didn't believe him. So Collin decided he would prove it by eating some more. Problem is, now the word is out and kids are asking him to eat all sorts of things from worms to grasshoppers.

That was yesterday. Tonight I came back from taking Owen for a stroller ride to find Collin and Luke trying to start a fire in the living room. (Merritt was in the backyard building a sand box.) They had loaded up our living room stove with sticks, plugged in a battery charger to an outlet, wrapped a piece of toilet paper around one of the sticks, and stuck it in the battery charger. I guess they figured it was getting hot, and might just get hot enough to start the toilet paper on fire.

Heaven help me.

Yet (call me crazy) I miss Collin when he's gone all day. My little buddy is at school from 8:30 - 4:00! I confess it has seemed a bit lonely to me. The days seem to drag. Luke asks me throughout the day when Collin is going to be home. Owen carries around a miniature toy school bus and looks out the window a lot. When I told Collin that his brothers miss him, he got a big smile on his face. It feels good to be loved.

Permanent Address

I'm 34 and I finally have a permanent address. I can't tell you how good it feels. I love it here. And my family does too. I can tell good things are going to happen here.

A couple of nights after we moved in there was a brief, desert rainstorm followed by this beautiful rainbow. It arched directly above our heads and we could see the colors fade into the mountainside. It felt like a good omen.

Anyways, I took pictures of the rainbow and they show our cute house, with the large cottonwood tree in the front yard. (We can't wait to watch it change colors in the fall and jump in the leaves!)

The pictures also show the view of the mountains from our backyard. I never tire of watching the mountains turn pink as the sun sets. It's my favorite thing about the house. I think the kids' favorite thing is the sand box. They play out there until it's dark. (See Collin's sandman.)

We're so excited to have a house, and grateful to God for leading us here to this beautiful and friendly place. Since I couldn't live in Florence, this definitely feels like the next best thing.

We really like our ward here too. Our kids have great Primary teachers and people are very friendly. We had four neighbors bring us goodies and introduce themselves to us. The kids have made a few friends and have played at neighbor's houses.

And I already have a calling. I was invited to serve as a counselor in the Primary presidency. Of course, I was very excited to get to serve in Primary again. I've been teaching youth Sunday school (ages 12-14) and I loved that too. But you can't beat getting to teach classes with your own children in them.

When the bishopric asked me, I immediately got so excited to be able to again share my testimony of the Savior every week with the children. But I was quickly reminded my first Sunday in Primary that it's really the children who teach me.

A three year old Sunbeam was giving a talk on Jesus' miracles. She gave some examples of things the Savior had done when He was here on the earth. Then she began to testify that Jesus still heals the sick. Jesus still loves the children. Jesus still has power over the earth. Jesus is the Son of God, and He is a God of miracles. I felt the Holy Spirit whisper to me and remind me that this was true. What a blessing for me. These children will bless my life.

This picture is of me and my kids after church on Sunday. (Owen was asleep.) Anyways, thanks to all who helped us get to this point, especially my sister and her husband who let us live in their basement for the last year. And thanks to those who helped us move. Love to all.

Zion with Amber

I was so happy to see my friend Amber. She came to visit us because she was traveling across the country en route to Florida where her husband's family lives. We spent a couple of days in Salt Lake City, then traveled together down to Zion National Park in Southern Utah. We camped and hiked and swam in the river. It was such a good time. It made it tough to part our separate ways again. I wish we could all still live by each other. Miss you Amber.

Sandcastle Birthday Cake

Collin has been waiting to turn six pretty much since he started kindergarten last fall. So today was a big day. We had a pool party with six of his friends to celebrate. (One of them being his little brother; I often need to remind Collin that he is his best friend.) After finger painting with sunscreen, we ate this delicious sandcastle birthday cake. Next, we jumped in the pool for some games and fun in the sun.

We had family over in the evening for Collin's favorite dinner, Hawaiian haystacks. Dad gave Collin a compass, head lamp and camel pack for hiking in the mountains this summer. I gave him a tennis racket and tennis balls. He also got lots of great pool toys and a snow cone maker from the grandparents.

Thanks to all who helped make this a fun day for Collin. Happy birthday Collin! Love you buddy.

Our California Adventure

Grandma took us all to California this past week. It was quite the adventure. The trip started and ended with a 10 hour drive. (Thank goodness for Scripture Scouts. It kept the kids entertained the whole way.) We spent three days in Disneyland, an afternoon at the beach, and also made a day trip to San Diego to visit Sea World.

Collin was the perfect age for Disneyland: old enough to go on most of the rides, and brave enough to try anything once--even the Tower of Terror--but still totally thrilled by the kiddie rides and meeting the Disney characters. It was fun to experience everything through his eyes.

Luke's favorite ride was the Disneyland Railroad...go figure. But the Carousel and Buzz Lightyear were close seconds. Owen seemed to really like It's a Small World, though he couldn't say as much. I'm partial to roller coasters, and have never much been into princesses. But I did meet Mary Poppins. That was a highlight for me.

Collin lost his first tooth at Disneyland. It was likely the same tooth he cut five years earlier at Sea World as a baby. He was so excited.

Luke puked at Sea World. We were pulling into the parking lot after an hour and a half drive from Anaheim to San Diego and out came his breakfast. All over himself and all over the car. When Merritt tried to enter the park with a three-year-old wearing no shirt, his little brother's shorts, and a Mickey Mouse baseball cap they turned him away. No shirt, no service. But all Merritt had to do was show them the plastic bag full of throw up clothes and they waved him in. It's a good thing Sea World sells t-shirts.

My favorite day was Sunday because after church we went to Huntington Beach. My kids were SO excited to be back at the ocean. As usual, Collin headed straight for the water to splash in the waves. And Luke passed the time building sand castles, making friends with everyone on the beach. The smell of salt, the wind in your hair, the sand beneath your feet...it reminded me of home. I called my friend Amber from the beach to tell her I missed her.

That night we rented the movie Blind Side. It was appropriate for Mother's Day I thought. It's supposed to be about football, but it's really more about mothers. How everyone needs one and what can happen if you don't have one...and the difference a good mother can make in a child's life.

That night I told my kids the story of the 2,000 young warriors whose lives had been miraculously preserved because their mothers had taught them to have faith in God and obey His commandments with exactness. It's one of the best stories in the Book of Mormon. I told my boys the most important thing a mother teaches her children is that God is real and that He loves His children. His commandments provide protection, much like armor and a shield and a sword provided protection for the young warriors. A good mother arms her children with faith and knowledge and preparation as she teaches them the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I am thankful for a mother who taught me these things and taught me to cherish my children and find joy in motherhood.

Easter Baskets

Owen's First Birthday

A year ago today I held my baby boy in my arms for the very first time. What a feeling. It's amazing how much you love your children, isn't it?

Our family has enjoyed visiting Wheeler Farm to see the animals. We decided we would do this again for Owen's birthday and plan a farm animal birthday party. We gathered chicken eggs, sang Old MacDonald, played animal charades and read The Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown.

The barnyard cake was a lot of fun to make, especially since my Mom and sister Amy were there to help me. Mom as always thought of the perfect gift for Owen, a tee-ball set.

Owen reminds me of Bam Bam from the Flinstones cartoon because he walks around all day carrying a bat. He likes to hit balls with it, but he also hits other things to discover the sounds they make. (If only I could teach him to not hit people!)

He hit the tee-ball again and again, and he could do it all by himself. It was fun for me to watch him be so content and so focused on his sport.

Owen was not shy about trying the cake at all. I couldn't keep his hands off long enough to sing Happy Birthday. He just grabbed a pig cupcake and went for it. Blowing out the candle was almost superfluous.

Happy Birthday BoBo. Love you little man.