March 21, 2010

March 21, 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

Monday was a great day. I woke up and got things going. The day was relatively normal; I went and exercised when M got home. After we made dinner and then had FHE. We talked about the Holy Ghost.

Tuesday was a blur. We didn’t have much going on that day.

Wednesday and Thursday were both slow days. M was working a lot and we played outside for most of our free time. B-man has loved the extra daylight and the warmer weather.

Friday was a fun and busy day. After B-man came home from school we had lots of friends over. First we had some kids of a friend of mine. They are moving soon and so we let them play at our house so that my friend could work uninterrupted. B-man and her son play so well together. While they were at our house we also had a neighborhood friend over to play. All the boys played really well together, and the time went very quickly. That afternoon we took off B-man’s training wheels and he immediately was able to ride around without any problems. It was such a fun thing to watch him get excited about no training wheels. That night we had a ward party. It was designed to get the families to know each other a little better. M and I ran a game for the senior Primary aged children. That night Loren A. drove into town from Pennsylvania. He was gone on business and wanted a place to stay (besides the hotel) for the weekend. As soon as he arrived he and M went to Man’s Club together to watch some basketball games.

Saturday was a beautiful day. We started it off by going to my basketball game. It may have been our last for the season. It was a fun game, and we won easily. After the game we came back, had lunch and had a pretty leisurely afternoon. B-man was so excited to have Loren around. He taught him to play Stratego with him, and made him play with him outside too. Later B-man went to a birthday party. The party was right next door to where we first lived in town. When I went to pick him up a few minutes early so that he could get to soccer, I kept knocking and knocking, but no one was answering. Finally someone opened the door, and just as the door swung open, I realized that I had been knocking on the wrong door! I was knocking on the door where we used to live, instead of next door. I just got in automatic mode apparently. I was a little embarrassed. Eventually I did get him and was able to get him to soccer class. After soccer we came home to an empty house. The men had gone to the Stake Priesthood training meeting. I worked on dinner while they were gone. When they got home, we had a fun dinner, and then I quickly changed, fed J and then headed off to the adult session. The meeting was great, all focused on the family and how to teach the gospel in the home. After the meeting I went to a surprise party for a friend that was turning 40. It was organized by her thirteen year old daughter. I made it home with enough time to watch the very end of the BYU basketball game, and then we stayed up too late chatting.

Today has been a great day. M made waffles for breakfast and then we hurried and got ready for church. We then went to Stake Conference it was a regional broadcast. They had some technical trouble for the first fifteen minutes, but eventually they got it worked out. The talks were all excellent. The last speaker was President Packer. He gave a great talk. B-man sat next to Loren during the meeting. Poor Loren can’t get away from kids! But B-man sure loved having a new person to follow around. After the meeting we put the chairs away, and set up for seminary before heading home. We had a very relaxing afternoon. Lots of good conversation, and before we knew it Loren had to go. It was a fun quick trip! We then left an hour later for dinner with M’ cousins Jess and Ashley. They have a little boy exactly one month older than J, and it was so fun to see them together. J kept scaring the poor boy by making his shrieking noises. He sounds a little like the Ringwraiths. The dinner was so much fun and it was worth the drive. When we got home we hurried to get the boys in bed.

We love you all!

R, M, B-man, and J

Training Wheels

B-man recently had one of his training wheels fall off his bicycle. His bike is pretty rusty, so it's not really a surprise. He has been riding the bike a lot since the weather has warmed up a bit. Except for the past few days because of the missing wheel. Today he wanted to ride his bike, and M happened to be home, so we quickly used it as an excuse to take off the training wheels.

B-man didn't even blink an eye. He hopped on the bike and then started off. No pushing/holding onto the back of the bike from us. He headed down the hill in front of our house. I turned to M and said "Should we be worried?" but he handled the corner with ease and around the loop we head the following...

"Woohoo!"

And then as he rounded the corner we heard him yell at the top of his lungs...

"This is AWESOME!!!"

He rode his bike for about an hour. He never crashed, and never needed any help from us. Apparently he was ready to have them come off!

Swim Class

I just finished an ADULT swim class. The technical name was the Advanced Beginner Class. I at first thought it would be too easy for me. Sadly I was mistaken, and the class was right at my level. That might not be a bad thing. Here are a few things that I learned from swim class.

1. I am not as coordinated as I thought. Trying to time arms, legs, and breathing is much harder than I originally planned.

2. I prefer to see a very hairy man with a normal body and normal swimsuit to a hairless younger man with a good body wearing a speedo. Seriously I take the hair any time.

3. Having someone in the class that can not swim at all is at times great for the self-esteem and at other times too painful to watch.

4. I love flippers, and would like to have some permanently attached to my feet for use while swimming.

5. I need to give my sister much more credit for how hard she worked on the swim team. No wonder she took hour long showers when she got home.

6. If you swallow too much air or water you will feel like you need to throw-up.

7. A flip turn is not as intuitive an action as you might think.

8. I prefer swimming laps in the shallow end.

9. I tend to breathe through my mouth.

10. I have a long way to go if I think I can swim 500 meters without stopping.

March 14, 2010

March 14, 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

This has been a nice quiet week. It has been wonderful. I have tried to avoid extra things after the hurry of last week. Monday was a normal day.

That night we went to a family’s house in our ward for dinner and FHE. They had invited several other families over so that we could help fellowship a newer member of the church and introduce him to members of his new official ward. The dinner went really well. All of the families had rambunctious boys, so it was a bit crazy at times, but I think it was still a good use of time.

Tuesday I got brave. I was anxious to do a field trip and so I packed a picnic and headed to the Natural History museum downtown with the boys. We checked out the butterfly exhibit and the insects again. We were excited to be able to see a tarantula feeding, and B-man got to hold a large caterpillar of some sort. We also went and checked out the jewels and geology exhibit. B-man loved the information on earthquakes and volcanoes. The day went really well. J only had a breakdown while I was trying to find parking, but he slept in his stroller which was very helpful. The day was successful enough for me to want to venture out again soon. M came home a little later, and then after dinner I went to swimming lessons. The lessons are so helpful. They get me swimming for one thing, and they also really help me to improve my swimming.

Wednesday was a pretty normal day. We have been really enjoying the lovely weather. It has been so nice to be able to play outside and enjoy being outdoors. That night we enjoyed having nothing to do.

Thursday was another beautiful day. B-man ended up going to our neighbor’s house to play for a while after school. I made bread, and then we ended up going to another friend’s house while I baked the bread. It was a great way to make the day go faster. That night after dinner was my last swim class. I passed the class which was the good news, but I am sad that I will have to force myself for the rest of the weeks.

Friday was a great day. M got to have a slightly more leisurely morning. The day went quickly and after M got home we went to Costco to get some things. That night we assembled some sack lunches to take to a cold weather shelter. The Elder’s Quorum was in charge of the assignment. We made the lunches relatively quickly and then B-man and M delivered them while J and I worked on dinner. After dinner we watched part of “Star Wars” for our family party.

Saturday was another great day. After sleeping in a little we all got going and went to my basketball game. The other team forfeited, but there were enough people to get a scrimmage together. It was great exercise since there were no substitutes. After the game we came home and had lunch while J napped. After J woke up we went to run a bunch of errands. One of the errands was to Cost Plus World Market, where we got a picnic bench for our kitchen table. We actually bought two because we weren’t sure which one would be a better match for our table. When we got them home we pulled the first out and found it wasn’t a good match, the second one we pulled out was M’s first choice and it works almost perfectly! It was a very easy assembly job, and we got it together very quickly while the boys were playing around us. I got the boys to bed while M was finalized the little details of the bench. We are so excited to have one, and to get rid of some of the chairs that were breaking. That night M helped me to get the lasagna ready for dinner on Sunday. We wanted to have as much done on Saturday to make the work easier on Sunday.

Sunday was a good day. M didn’t have any meetings, because there were so many empty callings that needed to be filled. Instead he made delicious pancakes for breakfast, and then worked hard to help the house and dinner be ready for guests after church. Church went really well. People are still adjusting to the new families. It was fun to teach again. We have a new President, but she has no counselors yet. My lesson went reasonably well, and then immediately after church I left with J so that I could get going on dinner while M and B-man helped clean-up and set up for seminary. After church we had two families over for dinner. One family we knew very well, and one family was new to the ward. It was a good group, and worked perfectly. After dinner we cleaned up together, and then got the boys to bed.

We love you all!

R, M, B-man, and J

March 7, 2010

March 7, 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

I was a little nervous about the week at the beginning, because M was going to be out of town all week. Monday was a good day. We did a little shopping and then for FHE that night we memorized the Second Article of Faith by learning the song. B-man thought it was fun.

Tuesday we did a little more shopping. We have tried to stay really busy in the afternoons. If we have something to do when M is normally home then we won’t be as sad that he’s not with us. That night after a lot of frantic searching I had a babysitter come over so that I could go to New Beginnings for mutual. It was the last hurrah with our old ward, and I was slightly pressured into going. I had a very hard time finding a babysitter though. I ended up using the younger sister of a woman in our ward. She lives in a neighboring ward and was old enough to drive. It worked out perfectly. New Beginnings went well, and I think the girls all had a happy last party together.

Wednesday was a boring day, I can’t remember much about it. I did go in and help in Benjamin’s class. They were having a 100th day of school party. I always love working in his class. Thursday was another slow day. We were all excited that M was almost home. That night I had the same babysitter come back so that I could go to my swim class. She did a great job with the boys, and I was so happy to not have to drive her home at the end of the night. Being a single mom and having to always worry about that stuff would be a nightmare. My swim class went really well, but it can be very daunting. I am still not a good enough swimmer to do more than one length of the pool at a time. But I have noticed that I am getting better, it is just going to be a longer process than I originally thought.

My other project this week has been to get J sleeping twelve hours at night. I guess to be more correct it would be to go twelve hours between feedings at night. At the beginning of the week it was painful, but suddenly towards the end of the week he made major progress. We have had three days in a row (at least) of twelve hours between feedings. Hopefully soon he will stop waking up at 5:30 thinking it is time to eat. J has also gotten much better at crawling. He has a very effective army crawl that is taking him all sorts of places. It is making him very happy, and so far he isn’t into too many things. Although I can already tell that the pantry is going to be a favorite spot of his.

Friday afternoon M got home from his training. It was so great to have him home. That night we stuck close to home. For our family party we had a dance party in the basement. That was B-man’s suggestion and he was very specific about the music that he wanted to listen to.

Saturday was an interesting day. The morning was pretty relaxed. M and B-man went to the Home Depot clinic. They built a funny little rain gauge. That afternoon we ran a few errands but mostly stayed close to home. We got some sad news in the afternoon. As B-man and I left for his soccer class M left to go to the temple. It was the Stake Temple night, and they have a special meeting in the temple. Before the meeting he did some Sealings and then after he came home. I went over to a friend’s house for dinner so that I wouldn’t have to be alone again. They have four month old twins, and yet it was me that got the help during the meal. J is quite a screamer when I don’t feed him fast enough. How do you fix that? He kept screaming, and then scaring their girls. M got home much earlier than I thought, and actually beat me home. Once home we hurried to get the boys in bed, and then spent the evening together.

Today was exciting; it was the first day with our new ward. M met in the morning with the EQP from the other ward to get helpful information on the new families. Church went really well. We had a great testimony meeting, and then after there was a chance for the families to mingle and get to know each other. It started out a little forced, but pretty soon everyone relaxed and was able to warm up to each other. It was a great way to start off the ward. After church we hurried to get dinner ready for us and some friends. Somehow everything came together despite being home an hour later than we thought we would be. We were grateful to fast today. We are so grateful for our families.

Love,

R, M, B-man, and J

Darth Vader

Here are more shots of B-man. Since he was Darth Vader for Halloween we have done a lot of talking, watching, and singing of Star Wars. B-man loves the music in the movie, and those who know him best, know that he is usually making some sort of noise. Whether it is talking, singing, or some sound effects. We'll try to get the singing of Star Wars on camera. He knows the Darth Vader theme, Luke Skywalker theme, and the main theme to the movie.

First Date

I think the place where M and I had our first date closed. It is such sad, sad news! Especially since the food was delicious. Our first date was nine years ago at Ottavio's on Center Street in Provo. Did it really close? Why? What if we want to eat there someday and relive that first date? I hope I am wrong.

February 28, 2010

February 28, 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

This has been another busy week. The topic of conversation for the week has been the upcoming ward boundary changes that will be announced next week. M felt like he figured them out pretty soon in the week. M and I feel like we have done a lot of "passing" in the night. We have done a lot of celebrating my birthday this week too. Monday I ran some errands, and then that night we celebrated and had Family Home Evening by going out to dinner. We used my birthday coupon for a free burger at Red Robin. The dinner was great, but we have discovered that J has entered that lovely stage that makes eating at a restaurant painful for the other patrons. He has a shriek on him, and it is not pleasant. We didn't bring enough food for him, but we just ate quickly and then left.

Tuesday was a slower day. I ran a few more errands, and then that evening I had my swimming class. I am taking the class with a friend of mine. We usually stay after for a few minutes and swim more to get some exercise. I am not sure what I did wrong, but I suddenly started feeling very nauseated and dizzy. I think I was swallowing too much water or air. For the next two hours I felt really sick. Thankfully it started to pass later that night, and I was able to sleep it off.

Wednesday was another busy day. I worked on several organizing projects this week. It has felt good to get some things crossed off my list, and to clear out some space in the house. That night I went to a baby shower for a woman in the ward. I meant to only stay for a few minutes, but I ended up staying longer than anticipated. It was a fun party though.

Thursday was another busy day. The days have all sped by very quickly. I made some sugar cookies and frosted them for some of our families that we visit teach or home teach. I also went and visited with one of my friends in her home before delivering the cookies to our families. Later that night I went to swim class. I was very happy that I didn't end the class feeling sick. Instead of staying after to swim extra we left and rinsed off before heading to book club. We discussed The Help. The book is fantastic, and I highly recommend it to anyone that hasn't read it yet. After a lively book club discussion we headed home. The wind that evening and through the night was very fast. If it has been snowing we would have had a blizzard. I was happy that we didn't get any snow, but just wind with the storm.

Friday was another busy day. M was home later than normal in the morning. It was great to have him home. Most of the day was pretty slow. Then in the afternoon M came home and took the boys so that I could go get my haircut. My sisters had all chipped in so that I could get a haircut from someone that knows about curls. I LOVE getting my haircut. Getting my hair washed is my favorite part. It was a really nice salon, and the women working on me were very nice. I really needed a haircut and was so happy to get it done. After the hair cut I checked out a store nearby before heading back home. That night we had pizza for our family dinner, and then I made a cranberry upside down cake so that the boys could make me wishes... It was a great night. B-man wished that I would have a hundred more babies. I don't know about a hundred, but one would be nice! (He's so funny, I've never even mentioned to him about our baby "issues.") That night M went to a guy’s night out. There are a few guys that he and his friends are really trying to get to come to church, so they are hoping that these nights will help.

Saturday was busy too, but we did get to see each other a little. M and B-man left first to help one of our friends move. Seriously all of our friends have moved in the last six months. It is kind of crazy. I went to help do the book at our stake basketball game, but they had enough people so I went home. I then met M to get B-man. He then went shooting with a family friend at a nearby gun range. While he was gone I took the boys to a baptism for a boy in our ward. Baptisms are so wonderful; they have such a sweet spirit there. It was wonderful! Eventually we were all home together that afternoon. It was wonderful to have some time together. While we were together a friend brought over a cake that she had made for my birthday. We had been talking about what moms do for their birthdays with the cake. It was a beautiful delicious cake. We put candles in it and had some more fun with it. That night (there was something every night this week!) I went to the Stake Relief Society meeting. It was a wonderful meeting. I got really inspired to use my time better, and to remember the influence that just one woman can have. Sometimes I forget. We have a general authority living in our stake boundaries, and he shared the story of his grandmother. She was raised as a member in rural Minnesota. There was no organized church there, but maybe a few times a year the missionaries would come and give them the sacrament. His grandmother married a man and then had six children. Her husband was not a member, but using only a hymnal and a copy of the Book of Mormon; she raised her children and taught them the Gospel. Eventually five of the six children were married in the temple, and now one of her children is a general authority. What an inspiring woman. What would become of my children if they didn't have Primary? It was a good reminder that I (M too) am the one in charge of gospel instruction, but in a good inspiring way. Not in an overwhelming way. I'm going to try and do more. After the meeting I went to the home of a woman in our ward for hot chocolate with other women from the ward. We are all mourning the loss of our ward. It has been a great ward. Hopefully our one great ward will turn into three wonderful wards.

Today was the big meeting. We went to the chapel early so that M could help direct traffic. Even trying to be there early we didn't get the "comfy" seats. The meeting went really well, we had the Sacrament and then the changes were announced via video up-link from the Stake. It went really well, and for our family there were no surprises. Nothing much is going to change for us. We are in the same ward, same bishop, and the same callings. There's a chance mine could change, but M will keep his for sure. We stayed after and helped clean up the chairs while visiting with others. After church we had lunch and enjoyed being at home. For dinner we were invited to our friends' house. They were also feeding the missionaries. It was a great dinner, and we were excited to be able to watch the Olympic hockey gold medal game. It was a very exciting game! We came home and put the boys to bed.

We love you all!

R, M, B-man, and J