one sweet cookie

Our little Benny Boo Boo turned 1 today! We celebrated this evening with a Milk and Cookies party. As always, I didn't manage to get everything done for the party that I wanted, but it was still a nice celebration. We had a mixture of homemade (Chocolate Chip, Lemon Crinkle, Chocolate Ginger) and store-bought cookies. For the milk, we had flavored milk (Orange, Vanilla, Rootbeer, Strawberry, and Chocolate) and homemade ice cream (Peach, Strawberry Buttermilk, and Mint Chocolate Chip).

Ben had no trouble digging right into his cake. Cousin Lauren wanted some too.
the following pictures were taken by Dana
 

Party guests included the Vances, the Linders and all the Daniels. It was a house full of lots of people who love Ben. One sweet evening.

summertime summertime sum sum summertime

Summer has come to the valley. We are attempting to actually enjoy it. I tweaked our daily routine for the summer to make sure we got our work done but still have plenty of fun. In the morning the kids have four requirements:

PRACTICE-on violin (Emma and Sawyer) or piano (Slade and Nathan)

WORK-daily chore

BRAIN-math, reading and journal

BODY-something active for 15-20 minutes

If they get those four things completed before noon they earn screen and friend time. If they don't finish before noon, they owe me an extra job. Taking a cue from this great essay, I also assigned each day a theme:

Make It Monday

Take a Trip Tuesday

Wet Wednesday

Thinking Thursday

Friend Friday

Finally I started a weekly rotation for their house zones and dinner jobs.

ZONE 1- Kitchen and clear

ZONE 2- Basement and rinse

ZONE 3- Family Room and load

ZONE 4- Living Room and pans

Because it was 75% the same as what we had been doing before, the tweaks have been fairly easy to implement. Despite some complaining here and there, everybody seems to like the changes. We haven't been perfect about doing a fun activity everyday but we have done several.

 We made Gak on our first Make It Monday. After trying two different recipes, we decided this recipe was the best.

Mix thoroughly:

• 1 1/2 cups very warm water
• 2 cups white glue 
• food coloring (Could stain clothing and skin. Beware of blue, especially.)

In a separate bowl, mix thoroughly:

• 1 1/3 cups very warm water
• 2 level teaspoons Borax

Mix the contents of the two bowls together kneading until it is fully combined. Discard any remaining liquid.

They have subsequently spent hours playing with the stuff. Unfortunately, Anne took some into her room and left it on the carpet. I haven't figured out how to get it out yet.

For Take a Trip Tuesday, we took a drive out to Saratoga Springs to check out a new-to-us park. 

 Dave has taken the kids out to Seven Peaks a couple of times for Wet Wednesday. It didn't matter that Wet Wednesday actually happened on Monday. Sawyer is participating in a boys' summer group on Thursdays. When it was our turn we made our own bouncy balls (which was a failure), played with dry ice, painted the driveway with water, and ate cookies.

One month of the summer is almost over and I am still feeling optimistic about surviving the next two. There are plenty of big trips/camps still to enjoy, and with our plan even the every day stuff is filled with good memories.

i belong to the church of jesus christ

Saturday, June 2, Nathan was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Emma spoke about baptism and Slade spoke about the Holy Ghost. Slade did not want to give the talk. He hates being the center of attention. After much sweet talking and offering of bribes, he agreed to do it. He said we didn't have to give him anything because he was doing it for love. Here are their talks:

BAPTISM

Nathan, do you know that you are just about to participate in an incredible, super, wonderful, amazing and stupendous ordinance of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Do you know what it is?

Of course its baptism! Now do you know why it is an incredible, super, wonderful, amazing and stupendous ordinance? Well, let me tell you!

1. Remission of sins. Remission is a big word that means your sins are washed away. Remember that time when you turned on the hose at the Holmes’ house and then left it on when they were on vacation? Yeah that kind of sin. Baptism washes them all away and you will now be clean.

2. You are following the example of Jesus Christ. Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the River Jordan to show us what we should do. We don’t have John the Baptist or the River Jordan here today. But we have Dad who holds the same priesthood and a font so you can be baptized by immersion just like Jesus.

3. You are a making a covenant with Heavenly Father. You are promising Heavenly Father that you will keep His commandments and help other people. For example, you can be a good example to Sawyer, Anne and Ben and help them make good choices. And sometimes me and Slade could use a little help too.

4. You get to be an official member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Isn’t getting baptized so incredible, super, wonderful, amazing and stupendous? I am so glad that you made this choice.

HOLY GHOST

In Primary we sing about the Holy Ghost. Here are the words to one of the songs.

I feel the Holy Spirit as he teaches truth and right

Today when you are confirmed you will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost to help you know what is true and right.

He comforts me in times of need, he testifies of Christ.

Having the gift of the Holy Ghost can comfort you even more than being wrapped up in your favorite blanket.

He speaks to me in quiet ways that fill my soul with peace.

Usually the Holy Ghost doesn’t shout. It whispers in a very still, small voice and we have to listen carefully.

  
And when I listen with my heart, I hear the Savior's voice

The Holy Ghost gives us a peaceful feeling. 

I'm thankful for the Holy Ghost.

The cousins sang I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus with Emma playing a violin descant.Then, Nathan was baptized by his dad with Grandpa Daniel and Uncle Tim acting as witnesses. He was confirmed by his dad with Grandpa Daniel, Uncles Michael, Brett, Mark, Tim and cousin Lane in the circle.

In my testimony, I spoke about the opportunity I had that day to see the joy and blessings of living the Gospel. In the morning, I went to the temple with Lane and his family as he received his endowment in preparation for his mission. Then I got to sit through a beautiful baptismal service that had such a sweet Spirit. I watched Nathan confirmed a member of the church as he was surrounded by awesome men who are worthy priesthood holders. The Gospel really is awesome!

We came home to eat treats. I tried to make many of Nathan's favorites. We had Ham and Cheese Sliders, veggies, Bagel Bites, Rice Krispy treats, Lemon Cream Cheese and Oreo cupcakes and lots of candy. It was a feast. I had everything prepped on Friday night while Dave and the boys were at Father's and Sons. If I had remembered to program my oven to cook everything while we were at the church it would have been perfect. Next time!

After enjoying time visiting with family at our house, Dave and I went with my mom and the Vances to see Million Dollar Quartet in Salt Lake. We loved the show and thoroughly enjoyed eating half-priced appetizers at Applebees afterwards. It was a seriously awesome day.

baptism word art

I had these printed up and displayed at Nathan's baptism. I thought they added a nice touch.

 

 I got the CTR printable from here and just recolored the black to blue.

I recreated this one that I saw on-line. Here is a link to the etsy shop where you can buy it.

Nathan's baptism pictures

peter pan

I think we might just live in one of the best neighborhoods around. We enjoy wide streets, parks and walking trails, a summer family festival, AND the elementary school play. The elementary school has a theater program which is truly amazing.

Emma was in Young King Arthur last year as a narrator. Despite having a wonderful experience last year, we basically had to force her to participate in the production of Peter Pan this year. She was cast as Wendy. Slade decided to be in it also and was a pirate. With my neighbor and good friend as one of the directors, I was also recruited to choreograph one of the dances and take lots and lots of pictures. Not to mention making 4 Wendy costumes. There was a lot of time involved for me and the kids but it was definitely well worth it.

Our beautiful Wendy Darling

I wish there was a way to fully convey how wonderfully done the play is. You'd likely dismiss an elementary school play as being merely passable in quality and entertainment. Peter Pan was not that. It boasted a cast of 130 children in grades 4-6, a cleverly written script, two dances, a cool pirate ship set, great sound and video effects and even lights. Here is a video with some small clips:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150629314833517

I took a LOT of pictures. 1759 to be exact. Here is a smidgen:

banished from the nursery

"Can I give you a kiss?"

Let's fly!

Pirates. ARGH!

"While we're gone, I want you to tidy up the hideout, get dinner prepared and make sure to be all ready for bed by the time we get back."

 

4 darling Wendys in the 4 costumes I sewed

You can see a few more pictures HERE. If you really want to see even more, you can go HERE.

Emma says, "The best part was the flying scene. It felt magical. I am glad that my mom made me do the play because I had a great experience. I was sad when it was over. And by the way, Peter 2 is really cute."

Slade says, "I was a little nervous but I just wanted to try it. I will remember being up there with my friends. I had a great time."

Perhaps the best indicator of the play's awesomeness is that Slade, who generally hates doing anything in front of people, wants to be in the play again next year. Hurray for that!

evening at the park

Nathan chose to go to the park tonight for our Family Home Evening activity. The weather was lovely today so everyone was happy with that idea. I took pictures while...

Nathan and Slade skateboarded.

Dave, Emma and Sawyer played soccer.

Anne climbed at the playground and did some twirling in the grass.

Ben smiled and crawled.

Slade actually (almost unbelievably) decided to join in the soccer game.

Dave worked hard to earn Best Dad in the World status by playing soccer and then tag. My favorite quote of the evening came when Dave was chasing down Slade in the game of tag. Slade took off across the field with Dave following behind. Dave settled into a jogging pace and said to Slade, "How long do you think you can last? I ran 11 miles on Saturday so I can go for quite awhile."

My picture taking came to an end when Ben decided he was done crawling and wanted to walk instead. Unfortunately walking requites assistance (which he demands all day long!).

Darkness fell upon us so we returned home for another round of Easter candy. It was a great night which left me looking forward to more evenings in the park.

digital overload

Today I read this list in the Ensign:

10 Signs of Digital Overload

1. Slipping away from activities with people to check e-mail or social networking sites.
   
2. Checking the same sites repeatedly within a short period of time.
3. Spending little time outside.
4. Finding it hard to complete a task such as writing a report without frequently breaking away to check e-mail or unrelated websites.
5. Spending little time in face-to-face interactions with friends.
6. Going online or using a digital device when you feel stressed or want to avoid an unpleasant task.
7. Family members spending most of their time at home in separate rooms interacting with screens.
8. Frequently using digital devices to entertain a child instead of talking, singing, playing, or reading with him or her.
9. Checking the computer first thing in the morning, or getting up during the night to use digital devices.
10. Spending long stretches of time surfing for content, often viewing content that is inappropriate or borderline.

I see far too many of those signs in my own life. Not that you would know it from my blog, right? I haven't been posting on here but I definitely haven't been away from technology. I've been reading lots of blogs, checking email far too often, looking at Facebook, pinning on Pinterest, playing games on my iPad, and watching TV (Downton Abbey, anyone?). Well, I consider myself called to repentance by the Ensign. I need to rethink screen time for both myself and my children. I could never give up screen time altogether. Technology is far too awesome for that. Still I think we could all use stricter limits.