random January happenings according to my phone

Emma and her friends came home from school and played Uno one afternoon. This was a happy day with friends. Unfortunately this month, she also had some bad ones. Some not so nice things were said about her by two different boys in our ward whom she had considered friends. It was hurtful. It was totally uncalled for. It made me very grateful for all the really good friends she does have.

I made five batches of playdough. They get used every day by all the kids and the neighbors too. The favorite activity recently has been cutting out heart cookies for Valentine's Day.

Slade's new iPod nano that he got for Christmas went completely kaput on him. We took it to the Apple Store and they traded it for a new one. Yeah, Apple! I took the five kids with me and they were actually all so good! We went to Target afterwards and bought Slade new pants. He is growing like a weed. At his priesthood preview at church, he was several inches taller than the other incoming deacons. I really wish I had a picture of the 50ish Young Men in our ward lined up to shake their hands. It was really cool.

Dave's parents invited us over for dinner one Sunday. It was really nice to spend time with them without all the chaos of the entire family. We had stir fry and then Jello and cookies for dessert. After dinner, we played games. Nathan and Sawyer wanted to learn how to play checkers so Grandma and Grandpa helped them play. Anne and Ben fell asleep in the van on the way home. I thought their stuffed dogs tucked in with them looked rather cute. If you look closely, you can see Emma and Slade holding their hands up above their hands in the back. They were all fighting and making us crazy so Dave told them they had to hold their hands above their hands the rest of the way home. Of course, they turned it into a competition but it sure made the drive quieter.

A student from the BYU Bean Museum came and did an animal show at Anne's preschool. Her teacher was gracious enough to let the boys come and watch as well.

We received sad news mid-month that one of the directors of the BYU folk dance team had passed away from flu complications. Delynne was a really awesome teacher, mentor and friend and it was hard to believe that such an active, vivacious woman had died at only 62. In honor of her, the folk dancers invited alumni to attend a Rec Night. We aren't so young and skinny anymore, but we still danced. I wish more of our friends had been able to be there but we had a great time. We were able to see more of our folk dance friends at her funeral. It was a sad occasion but folk dance reunions are always a joyful thing. I think Delynne would have appreciated all the hugs and laughter between the many, many lives she touched.

We also went to see BYU Vocal Point in concert. This is such a terrible picture but the concert was lots of fun. And of course, I always like being on a date with Dave.

our little winter ballerina

Anne had her winter dance recital this month. She loves going to ballet class but she especially loves recital time. Recitals mean MAKEUP which is very exciting to a four year old. Her class did a snowflake dance this year. As usual, Anne was a lovely dancer and totally hilarious to watch. She always puts her own spin on things.

Anne is the first one on stage and on the far right in the line.

Emma really wanted to give Anne flowers at the end of her recital so she convinced Dave to take her to the store. Anne was so totally thrilled and thanked Emma repeatedly. Good call, Emma.

Another thing I want to remember is how cute Ben was during the performances. He watched the dancers just mesmerized. At the end of each number, he clapped and said, "Again, Mom." It was so cute. Until he got bored. Then he was a typical two year old, climbing all over, looking for snacks, and being a pain.

our first basketball player

We've been a soccer family so far with just a couple of forays into t-ball on the side. Nathan is our first child to be interested in playing basketball. He started this month. Just like in soccer, he seems to have gotten stuck on a team with very little skill so they are losing a lot. He is still having fun though which is all that matters.

happy new year

So far 2014 has been filled with sickness and not a whole lot of fun. After Christmas, Ben got sick with a bad cold which lasted through the new year celebrations. While Dave took the kids to play laser tag and hang out at Grandma and Grandpa's, I stayed home with Ben. For days, I've been a prisoner on my own bed.

On New Year's Day, Emma babysat for us while we went to a movie and dinner with all the Daniel adults. We went to see The Hobbit and had dinner at Chili's afterwards. Sadly, this is the last time we'll be together for a while since Brett and Heather moved to Texas the next day. They have been living about two minutes away from us so I am so very sad.

the wizard of oz

After a wonderful experience with last year's school play, Slade auditioned for the Wizard of Oz this year. In this play, he was one of the Munchkins. I also helped with choreography and photography again.

We still feel so lucky that our children get to participate in such a fantastic production. Slade's only regret was choosing a role that wasn't on stage as much as he would have liked. Next year, he says he will even audition for a speaking part, which for him is pretty huge deal.

More pictures here.
Even more pictures here.

spring break in st. george

We joined the masses that fled south to St. George for Spring Break. We stayed in a 3 bedroom condo which gave us plenty of room to sleep, a kitchen to prepare meals, 2 TVs, and a beautiful view from a large balcony. We drove down on Wednesday. I think 4 hour drives are just about perfect!

On Thursday we went to Zion National Park to meet up with Heather, Katie and Grandma and Grandpa at their campsite. We did the Riverwalk at the Temple of Sinawava which was a good "hike" for our large group of varying ages. Sitting at their campground afterwards, watching the kids dig in the dirt, just solidified my feeling that I am not a camper! I was quite happy to go back to my condo with running water and technology.

We did a lot of screen-watching--TV, movies, computer games, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest. I read a few books. And then we (well, everybody but me) did a whole lot of swimming.

We saw lots of familiar faces from home including our neighbors across the street. We met up with them at the pools a few times, traded kids for movie watching, and had a BBQ with them and another family who lives up the street from us. They were even generous enough to let us take out their ATV for a ride. Dave feared for his life but Emma loved driving.

We left for home on Sunday morning. We listened to General Conference on the radio on the way. In between sessions, we stopped at Cove Fort to appease me, the history-lover.

Annie dancing with her reflection

It was a really nice week and I was definitely not ready for the break to be over.

Happy Easter

Our Easter celebrations and sugar overload began with a egg hunt at Aunt Katie's house on Saturday afternoon. Dave took the kids while I was at a solar cooking class. Saturday night, Emma and I went to the Young Women's Broadcast at the Conference Center in Salt Lake. We got stuck in some traffic on the way up which left us in a hurry to get there. Consequently, I left my camera in the car. What a disappointment. As I watched so many others around me taking pictures with their phones, I decided that I really need to upgrade. It was a beautiful evening with my beautiful daughter and I didn't get a single picture to capture it.

Sunday morning, we were ready for church early enough to get some photos. I love 11:00 church!

We feasted with most of the Daniel clan over at Katie's on Sunday evening. I was in charge of making delicious desserts. I brought Cheesecake for a Crowd, Key Lime Mousse Cake, and chocolate cupcakes with candy carrots.

When we came home, we watched the Bible video about Easter on lds.org and also The Lamb of God.

I was tempted not to go get candy this morning like I usually do but its tradition! I told myself I would only get a little. $30 and three bags later...

Candy for breakfast! This week is Spring Break so we enjoyed Dave being home. We worked hard to get the basement cleaned. Nathan and Sawyer's room was truly awful. Dave directed their cleaning efforts while I worked on the playroom. Nearly all the toys had been taken out of the playroom closet when the kitchen leak was being dried. It took a solid two hours for me to put it back together.

Once the play time could begin, the kids played with friends. I worked on tagging and deleting photos on my computer. Dave played a computer game for a while too. While Ben was napping, we dyed eggs. It is obvious that Emma is a teenager now. She was reluctant to give up her electronics to dye eggs. Later, she was off with a friend instead of home for the egg hunt.

We had our egg hunt in the drizzling rain this evening but the kids didn't mind one bit.

I love Easter. The candy and the eggs are fun but what is most wonderful of all is celebrating the Atonement and Resurrection of the Savior. How grateful I am for the enabling power of the Atonement. I wish I chose to use it more often.

He lives! All glory to his name!

He lives, my Savior, still the same.

Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives:

"I know that my Redeemer lives!"