let the games begin

Watching the Olympics every few years is one of my favorite things. I fully intend to have the TV showing the Olympics nearly all day for the next two week. Last night, we hosted another family for an Opening Ceremonies Viewing Party. I know it is absolutely unnecessary but creating special treats and decorations just makes me happy. I hope it makes things that much more memorable too.

bald

Nathan was at his cousin's house when he called to ask if he could buzz his hair. I replied that while I would rather he didn't but that he could if he really wanted to do it. Of course, I was thinking he would actually have a little hair left. When he got home, I was shocked to see a totally shaved head. Apparently, he got started on his own and cut his hair down so far that his aunt had to resort to a full-on shave.

Dave and I do groan a little about what he looks like with the shaved head and white tank tops he like to wear. Not exactly the persona we want for him. Oh well. At least its not permanent.

a year in photos

I put up these pictures of Ben all over the cabinets for his birthday. It was fun to see how he has grown. When I first sat down to choose photos, I was worried that I wouldn't have enough because of how sparse the picture-taking has been in the last year. Happily, I found plenty.

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.