thursday thoughts

Sometimes I think that Thursday is the best day of the week. It means the weekend is coming. For us, it is the last day of school for the week. Not a lot of commitments. Today, Thursday was all about...

-waking up to snow (boo!)

-a lazy morning

-swimming lessons


-playing with friends


-soccer practice in the freezing cold

-laundry, lots and lots of laundry

-getting ready for Slade's baptism on Saturday

-dealing with a baby that is constantly climbing the table and eating all the leftovers


-reading To Kill a Mockingbird for a discussion group tonight

-going to the discussion and being happy to associate with great women

-going to the grocery store and getting chocolate chips for 98 cents a bag

-coming home and finding out that Mom and Dad are on their way to my house, a day early (hurray!)

so handsome

It certainly didn't start out as a good day for Slade and me. All day long it was a battle. I must apologize to all my neighbors who were unfortunate to hear me completely lose my temper later in the afternoon. I really am embarrassed that I yelled at him like I did but I was just so exhausted by his defiance. I sentenced him to a night in his room and then I left to pick up Emma. When I came home, we were both sufficiently calm enough to talk. I asked for forgiveness and offered an early release from his bedroom if he would let me take pictures. And he did. We were able to end the day on the positive side. He was actually really cooperative for him. I was able to get some great shots. Doesn't he look so handsome?

down on the farm

Yesterday was a gorgeous spring day here in Happy Valley. Emma requested that we go to the farm at Thanksgiving Point. So we did.


Yet again I was thankful for our annual pass. Our visit was short and sweet and we finished with ice cream cones. Total cost for the day's excursion: $1.66.

eight is great

Slade celebrated his eighth birthday last weekend. On Friday night, he got to go to Grandma and Grandpa's for a sleepover. They took him out to dinner, to see How to Train Your Dragon, and to the store to choose a present.

Saturday was his birthday. Unfortunately for him, Saturdays mean soccer. Even when its your birthday. He had to sit through two games. He was not happy but inexplicably agreed to let me take this picture.


After soccer, we took all the kids plus two of Slade's friends to Kangaroo Zoo (a warehouse full of inflatables).
They were finished playing after only an hour so we took them at Slade's request to McDonald's for dinner. He asked for three cheeseburgers!

Finally, we made it home for more presents and an evening spent playing his new video game.

The celebrations continued on Sunday morning with Lemon Poppyseed muffins and pancakes.

And still continued on Monday when Grandma Slade's present arrived. She sent a circuitry set. Dave was probably more excited than Slade but all the boys enjoyed putting together their first circuit with plans for many more to come.

He got to go to his first Cub Scout meeting on Tuesday. He loved it and told me that he thinks Tuesday will be his favorite day from now on.

I asked Slade these questions two years ago. Here are this year's answers:

What is your favorite food? Indian fry bread
Who is your best friend? Why? Michael, because he plays with me a lot and we have so much fun
What makes you laugh? jokes
What is your favorite movie? Harry Potter
What are you most afraid of? dead people
What embarrasses you the most? being in front of a lot of people
What is your favorite music? The Fox by Nickel Creek
What makes you really angry? I do lose my temper a lot when people hurt me for no reason. It really pushes my buttons.
What is your favorite activity? watching movies
If you were parent for a day, which rule would you get rid of? I would get rid of the "no breakfast if you don't wake up in time" because you need to give people another chance
What do you want to be when you grow up? an astronaut
Do you think it would be hard to be a mom or a dad? Why? yes, because I would have to teach my kids
If you could have a magical power, what would you choose? mind control
What three things do you think you are good at? games, science, being responsible
What is the best thing about being eight? that you get baptized
What is the best thing about being YOU? that nobody else is like me

12 on 12 | april

[click to enlarge]

1. I do laundry almost every day. I don't do it on Sunday which always leaves me with a massive build-up on Monday. How does that happen? Four loads today.
2. Years ago, Grandma Daniel gave Emma this purple lingerie robe. It has been one of the most used items in our dress up box. It is full of holes but apparently it stills makes a great cape.
3. Anne has learned how to climb. She loves climbing up on the dishwasher while we are loading or unloading. She has even been able to figure out how to get up on the kitchen table. Help me now.
4. Emma started voice lessons today. She came home full of smiles and sang almost non-stop the rest of the day.
5. Mean mom that I am, I made the kids read for an hour before they could have screen time. It kills me that I do not have one lover of books among my children. They see reading as a most difficult chore. Sadness. It was blissfully quiet during that hour though.
6. All loaded up in the van to go pick up Emma.
7. We came home and put the That Thing You Do CD on to play. I loved watching my boys dance and sing all around the kitchen.
8. What to make for dinner. Ugh. I hate food. I love food. Such is the dilemma of my life.
9. We walked down the street in the rain to have Family Home Evening with another family in our ward.
10. Pre-bedtime kisses and snuggles with Miss Anne.
11. In contrast to my children, I am a huge lover of books. Especially non-fiction. A few titles currently sitting by my bed: The Family You've Always Wanted, The Woman Triathlete, Teaching with Love and Logic, Morning by Morning, Homeschooling at the Speed of Life. There are lots more sitting in the book basket in the living room.
12. Dave went back to our friends' house to watch Firefly tonight after all the kids were in bed.

easter conference and chocolate

Easter, General Conference and lots of chocolate makes for a great weekend.

Saturday was busy with house cleaning, grocery shopping (at four different stores no less), food prep for Sunday, and solar panel building (for Dave). Nothing very fun but in the middle of it all Conference was on. I admit that I am not very good at just sitting and listening. I tend to tune out the speakers too easily but just having it on makes for a good spirit in the house. The kids and I dyed eggs on Saturday night while Dave was at Priesthood. I bought six dozen eggs which is totally over the top but everyone was happy to have their own dozen.


Dave and I were both up WAY too late on Saturday night (as in 2 and 3 in the morning) so we were a little tired. Dave resorted to pacing the family room so he could stay awake. I resorted to eating chocolate. I will have to post a separate post about the things that inspired me in a few days when the talks are on-line. Let me just say, I really enjoyed it.

We had awoken to a snow covered ground this morning but by noon the snow had melted. We were able to have our annual egg hunt in the backyard. Dave hid four dozen eggs and the kids made quick work of finding them.

All was good and happy until someone took an egg that Slade had claimed as his. Then there was much weeping and wailing. He went to sit under the swing set at the picnic table and something stung/bit him. He then took the crying up to a whole new level. Sigh.


We hosted the Daniel clan for dinner. Everything was completely delicious and it was a really enjoyable evening. My tummy feels totally sick now and I think I am ready to jump back on my diet tomorrow. If I could only bring myself to throw away the rest of the candy...