wholesome recreation

 Tonight Hannah got to go play paintball for the first time.  She said it was really fun, although it hurt :)

One of the fun things about living in a little town is the small town charm.  Lu's piano teacher lives downtown, which is so fun.  Sometimes while she is having her lesson I will walk across the street to the Brewing Grounds and get a hot chocolate, sometimes we walk around the corner and look at the pets in the "Corner Pet Store", my favorite thing is to go to the used book store.  It's tiny and packed with shelves and shelves of books stacked every which way.  It's full of fun quotes and the owner is a quirky, kind man who somehow knows where everything is.  

Today I bought two books "Five Quarters of the Orange" and "Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness".  I have been looking at the 2nd book for awhile, in fact a couple of weeks ago Ethan and I hid it behind some other books so I could come back and get it when I had $ in my wallet.  So today I did.  When I went to the counter the owner said " I wondered who would buy this book, I knew it was going to be someone special.  Why did you pick it? "  and we had a lovely chat about Africa, where I want to go, and he's been but only to Egypt and we both agreed that doesn't really count.  

Did some visiting teaching today.  On the way home I was talking to J on the phone who was at Dani's house and she asked if I wanted to talk to Tate, which I did.  T asked me what I was doing and I told her and she said "like my daddy".  Yep like Greg who is a faithful home teacher.  What a great example.

Also had a very nice lunch with Johnna today.  It was a pretty good day.

memorial day

 We have officially welcomed summer! It is hot.  We had one more day to spend with Nana and Abba and after some debate we finally settled on a trip to the National Harbor.  When Jenna and I went a couple of weeks ago it was so much fun so I thought everyone would enjoy it as well.  They did...sort of.

 There are lots of fun things to see.  The kids enjoyed the little beach and climbing on the man raising from the sand.

 We had some frozen yogurt that was yummy and cool.  We stopped at the Peeps store and bought 2 lbs of hot tamales.  Did you know they come in three heats?  The hottest is hot hot hot!

 Of course we made a stop at Charming Charlies.

 After eating lunch, which turned into a bit of an ordeal, we headed home and hit the pool.  We will be spending a lot of time there this summer.  It's so fun to meet up with friends and hang out in the cool water!

John and Ethan

Maggie, Dad and Lu

In the evening we fed the children and got them jammied up and ready for bed then the adults went to the movies to see Men In Black 3, which I liked.

It is always so fun to have a visit with N&A.  I really appreciated the efforts they make to see us often.

memorial day weekend

Nana and Abba came to visit us this weekend!  Uncle Brian was supposed to come but he was sick :(  We've been having a lot of fun. We went to a DC United game.  Ethan and some of his team mates got to make a tunnel and high five the players.  United won 3-2.  It was exciting.  We got home super late and were tired. 

 Our pool opened this weekend.  The water is chilly so I haven't been in it but getting some sun and hanging out pool side is fun. 

 Abba agreed with me that it was too cold, however he wasn't able to resist the pull of cute little grandchildren :)

 Tonight we built a fire and made smores.  The smoke got in Lu's eyes and so she ran inside and got her swim goggles on.  She looked funny but it worked well :)

art exhibit

 The end of the school year always brings with it tons of festivities.  Tonight we had the art exhibit at the middle school.  It's always fun to go, some of these kids are really talented and have some amazing pieces.

Hannah had four things on display.  They were wonderful.  We looked at all the work then went out to Salsas to celebrate her great success.  We had a fun time.  The kids were chatty about things they wanted to do when they grew up.  Hannah thinks she might like to be a PA that works in an emergency room.  Ethan said he'd like to do something in environmental science.  Little Lu didn't have much to say on the topic but she did enjoy her kids cheeseburger and fries and her root beer :)

my life is a zoo...today literally :)

 Today was the first grade field trip to the zoo.  We met early this morning and got on buses then enjoyed a drive down to the National Zoo.  I don't know if it's because I grew up in the desert but MD is so beautiful to me and Rock Creek Park in the middle of DC is so beautiful.  Everything is so green and lush and alive.  It is a constant joy to see.  I actually had a peaceful drive enjoying the scenery and thinking. 

 Here is Lucy with her friends Emily and Ashley.  We walked around with them most of the day.  The girls were very silly and had a great time.

 Here is me and Lu in front of the otters.  They were soooooooo cute! They were playing and swimming and scampering around about 20 of them in their habitat and we stayed there a long time watching.  They were my favorite exhibit of the day.

Lu's fav was the elephants :)  Lots of the animals were active because the weather was magnificent.

Around 2 pm we stopped for a snack, Gatorade and ice cream sandwich then headed toward the bus for a very noisy drive home and Miss Jumping Bean next to me was in rare form.

Lu had "the best time ever", which I am very happy about.  I had a good time but not best ever.  She was not on her best behavior so that was a bit challenging and Jen is trying to buy a car and there were some stressful phone calls across the country to try and advise, and cheer on and keep out of debt, more than a bit challenging.  And I didn't get any ice cream to help me through the day :(

Yesterday Sierra worked at Ledo's.  I cleaned and got stuff done.  After dinner we got the kids ready for bed then R, S and I went to the movies. 

Today we were both home.  We went to the dump, went to Target, went to Bath & Body and went to Giant.  We also did some chatting.  Then Lu had piano lessons and Sierra went to work.

This evening we had the missionaries over for dinner.  It was a lot of fun.  Elder Barns and Elder Pon are funny and dinner was good.  We had FHE with them after, Tuesdays work better for us because of soccer.

they don't look like they like each other do they?



soccer and more soccer

 Saturday is soccer day for us.  This Saturday was no different.  We had Lu's game in the morning.  She did a great job.  The other team got more goals (otherwise known as won) but we don't keep score.

 In the afternoon we had Ethan's game.  He played goalie the first half.  Then center forward the second.  He got a goal, so did Jack, Justin, Zach and Nick.  The other team had 0.  Pretty happy game for the boys. 

longest night

Clayton sent me this pic of him and Jenna.  So cute!

Yesterday I worked in pre K.  Then in the evening I had a YCL meeting.  Rob took the kids to see Avengers and then to Subway.  They had a great time, Lu slept 3/4 of the way through the movie, which was just as well since we considered not taking her.  The meeting went well and we had a lot of fun.  It was at Kelly's house.  We met with the girls a little, then they had lots and lots of projects to do to get ready for camp and Kitty, Becky and I had lots and lots to talk about and plan.  We all just worked on what we needed and they had a huge candy buffet, smores, Bro Gillingwater's famous soup and Kelly's famous cheddar peppers and lots of junk to eat.  (I didn't eat any...I know, I'm proud too ;) )  At 11pm I left, as did some of the other leaders.  The rest stayed and the girls slept over. I suspect they may still be working on things...or collapsed on Kelly's couch in a sleep deprived/sugar coma :)

So I got home at 11 30 ish.  Then talked with Hannah, then R, then tried to sleep but was restless.  Then E came in to say he didn't feel well.  I comforted him and put him back to bed.  1/2 an hour later we heard E throwing up and both hopped up.  It was a huge mess as he completely missed the toilet.  So then we cleaned him, did laundry, mopped the bathroom.  Now it was 3ish and I really hadn't slept.  Still I had trouble falling asleep.  urgh.

Hopeing for a pleasant day and an early night.

Kids at Subway

"ruckus"

So today was a long day.  This morning Bub and I both had appointments at the eye doctor.  He went first and he needs glasses, news that was met with tears.  He is very unhappy.  We spent a lot of time looking at frames and he finally found one he liked...but it was a girls frame, I couldn't change his mind so we left without buying any for him. 
I went next, I need reading glasses.  Which I suspected as my arm has been getting shorter and shorter lately.
Saturday is Hannah's turn.  I will bring Ethan back to pick out frames again, and R with us to help me persuade him.

After school E had John over, for about 5 minutes.  They were blowing bubbles on the porch with Lu, soon Lu spilt the bubbles on Bub, apparently "on purpose", then E punched Lu and she came screaming in the house.  I sent John home, assigned some extra chores to E and comforted Lu.   

Lu practiced the piano while E cried about the injustice.  I am not too sure exactly what happened because she practiced very nicely and quickly with no complaint while I talked to him and he cried (kind of a sign that she wasn't 100% innocent either).  Hitting isn't allowed so he had to complete his punishment, and of course lost a play date but I don't really know exactly what happened.

Then I made chocolate chip cookies and ate one. 

After dinner we played a couple of games of ruckus.  It was a lot of fun.  After about an hour of playing we had our scripture time.  We are in Mosiah.  I love King Benjamin.  We were discussing his counsel to his people.  He gives such clear, easy to follow and easy to understand advice.  After we read we made a list of what he told the people to do.
One of the verses we discussed was:
14 And ye will not suffer your ^achildren that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye ^bsuffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and ^cquarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin, or who is the ^devil spirit which hath been spoken of by our fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness.

15 But ye will ^ateach them to ^bwalk in the ways of truth and ^csoberness; ye will teach them to ^dlove one another, and to serve one another.

In discussing what it meant we talked about who do we serve if we quarrel with our  brothers and sisters?  and what should we do? (serve one another)  We came up with the example of when I ask someone to put away something that does not belong to them i.e. "Lu please put away Ethan's cleats", she should not say "but they are not mine".  Which I hear a lot, from many of the children not just Lu.  Instead they should just do it because a) it is obedient b) it serves their brother/sister c) we are family and families help each other not just because but also because the Lord commands it.

We talked about several other verses as well. Then had prayers.

After our prayers I asked Lu to pick up something on our way upstairs and she said "but it's not mine", to which her brother said "Grace Grace Grace, we just talked about that like 2 minutes ago" and she said "I don't care".

Nice.

What a great day.

In other more pleasant news Jenna got a job!  Yeah!  She's going to be packing boxes with security systems for Vivint from 8-5 mon- friday for $9 an hour (thanks Ange!!).  I'm so glad.

checking the growth

Shopping

they look like rainbow sherbert

Hannah was feeling sick this morning, and she caught me when I was half awake so I let her stay home.  She felt better after a few hours of sleep, although truthfully later in the evening she didn't feel well again so it's probably was a good thing that she stayed home. 

We did some laundry and Han made the kitchen sparkle then we decided to go shopping.  Sierra doesn't have a lot of nice church dresses so I wanted to get her one.  The girls had a super fun time trying dresses on.  Everything looked so cute.  We ended up buying a pretty dress that has a sleeve so she wouldn't have to worry about wearing a little sweater or something to make it modest. 

cub scout magic tricks

Tonight we had two soccer practices, cub scouts and YW. 

Now Sierra and I are going to watch "The Notebook", which I have never seen.



this and that

My Jenna has gone back to Utah.  As usual she is an awful packer.  For a long time she's know she was going back...when did she pack.  At midnight, the night before she left.  And she left her room a disaster.  This only causes me a little tiny sigh because she is awesome and I had so much fun with her that I don't really care that much but I feel like I should have taught her better.  I did ask her numerous times when she was going to pack.  Some might call that nagging, and frankly I can live with that.

Some of my favorite memories made this last visit were when we went to the National Harbor.  That was a really fun day.  We got to talk a lot and walk by the water and shop a little . One afternoon R called me to look out the window and there were all 5 of the kids playing.  Sierra and Jenna had gone out to lay in the grass with blankets and enjoy the sun and when the 3 little ones realized where they were they quickly jumped into their swimsuits and ran out to play.  They played soccer and blew bubbles and I heard a lot of laughter and screeches when the water balloons came out.  We stood at the window, arm in arm (like the grandparents we are) and felt happy.  Jenna was asked to speak in RS about her trip and I loved hearing her, and knowing she has a great testimony.  Sitting in church.  Watching movies.  One afternoon S and J and I went and got pedicures.  Such a treat.  And after the youth activity, which they so kindly helped me with, we stopped at Chilis (my fav) for desserts.  H, J, S and I.  I had molton chocolate cake (my fav) and we laughed (my fav)  Hugs.  It was great!  Now I get to enjoy Sierra for a few more week and Jenna gets to start a new adventure.  She made it on her flights and I heard Clayton sounding very happy in the background and Jenna sounding very happy on the phone when she called to tell me she was alive.

R and I are on a diet.  What's new right?  We need to be healthier.   I need to have lots of energy to keep up with my little brood and grands on the way and Lands End has the cutest dresses out this season and I want to buy one and feel cute in it so we'll see.  Strangely I've been thinking about oatmeal a lot. Which is odd.  I miss it and it will be first on my list when the carbs come back :)  He's been grouchy, he's not a good dieter.  I'm not either but I don't think I get grouchy, I just quit. 

Last night his back was hurting a lot.  I rubbed it for him and he took some meds and eventually fell asleep but it was no fun.  Getting old is so fun.

Daisy scouts last night was fun.  The girls had to research scouting in different countries and I didn't realize how global it is.  There is even a troop in Kuwait.  Patches are a lot of fun for the girls and Lu and I enjoyed looking at different patches from around the world.  Her little vest is getting quite full with her patches.

It's been raining and raining most every day.  It makes MD so beautiful and green.

Youth Conference is occupying a lot of my time.  I need to learn how to use excel better.  Maybe I need to take a class.  Jared had to help me and R had to help me.  Embarrassing. 

Last night was the season finale of NCIS and oh what a cliff hanger it was! Who is dead??  Is it Ducky, who we love??? 

Laundry laundry laundry.  Yesterday Hannah ironed 30 shirts and pants for her dad, now he will be all pressed and handsome at work.  What a sweet girl she is. 

I need to paint something.  This feels like a long week, I can't believe it's only Wednesday. 

birthday fun

Yesterday was my big boy's birthday!  He turned 42.  I didn't get to spend much time with him but I think he had a good day.  In the morning we got up and went to Lu's soccer game.  She did a good job and it was so nice outside.  Then we took him to breakfast at our fav little breakfast cafe.  It was yummy.  We took turns telling him things we loved and appreciated about him and he got a couple presents.  When we got home we all had chores to do then the 3 girls and I headed out to the stake youth activity and Lu, E and R went to E's soccer game and finally met up with Pete.  They went out on the boat and went swimming.  The water was freezing but the kids didn't care. They spent the evening at the Zawadas eating pizza and watching movies. 

The stake youth activity was a lot of fun.  We had an Olympic theme with lots of great games and then a wonderful talk by Pres. Volk.  We had four rotations.  One was a build and launch a rocket station, one was a scooter/skateboard relay/ one was an indoor relay with donuts, marshmallows and many other fun things, the last one was pool noodle games.  We made a noodle javelin course, a noodle pin ball, noodle soup game and noodle racing game.  Sierra and Jenna helped me man the noodle games, I was very grateful for the help and it was really fun having them there.  I think the youth had a lot of fun. 

It was an exhausting day.  But good.

Sierra's home!

I don't actually have Ethan in a head lock in the photo :)

So happy, my house is filling up with all my little chickies.  Being a mother to grown daughters is such a joy.  Who knew?  They are a delight to me, so much fun and I am so proud of them.  Being a mother to my little ones is such a joy.  They keep me busy and are cute and smart.  I miss being a mom to a baby and toddler but have happy memories to look back on and now have the great joy of being a grandma....although funny Tate thinks I'm her auntie.  She and Dani were chatting about her grandmas the other day and she said she had 2 grandmas.  Dani said no you have Mimi.  Tate said I was her auntie like Sierra and Jenna.  I'm choosing to think it's because I am so young and fun :)

perfect day

Today Lu had her LEAN exercise class after school so I knew I didn't have to pick her up until 4:45 and I was able to swap driving directions with Debbie and H has a key so I decided today was the perfect day for an mother/daughter outing to the National Harbor.  We wouldn't have to rush and I wouldn't have to worry.  I have never been there, but have wanted to and it was the perfect day.  It was very nice out, sunny but cool.  Hardly anyone was there, we found parking right away and it was a lot of fun.  We looked at all the shops including the very cute peeps store, the silly pet apparel and accessories store and the stylish charming charlies. 

J bought a hat and I bought some new sun glasses.

We loved this cool dude coming up out of the sand and wanted to run out there and climb on him, sadly the beach was fenced off.  We did sit on the dock, climb on some drift wood :) and walk through the Gaylord.

Then we had lunch and it was YUMMY.  We both chose the mahi mahi on a potato crab mash with a sweet corn whatever on the bottom.  It was to die for!  We ate outside by the water, which was of course delightful

After that we stopped at cake love for a little dessert then headed home.  It was a perfect day.  I always laugh so much when I am with Jenna, she cracks me up.  On the way home I feared for our safety and had to tell her to quietly look out the window so we could stay on the road :)  she was making me laugh so hard.

dinner tonight

burgers on the grill, and corn on the cob, also cooked on the grill, watermelon and for dessert an apple pie that Grace made from scratch.  We had pink lemonade and ate on the deck.  It was lovely.

We had a nice day, full of church meetings, hugs from friends, a few card games and a lovely dinner al fresco.  What could be better?

pink cheeks

Happy Day! The warm weather is here!  Love it!  We had a busy Saturday.  First thing in the morning I went to the grocery store with the girls.  Then we came home and got ready for Lu's soccer game. 

The game went well, it was hot out and she got pink cheeked and needed a cool down treat after :)  Thank goodness the ice cream truck chooses to park in the parking lot and overpriced frozen confections were available to us.

After her game we came home and had just enough time to get Han to her DI end of season party and head over to Ethan's game.  It was a very exciting close match.  Lu played on the playground with Summer while he played which made her day.

In the evening we went to Brian Davies'  Eagle Scout court of honor. 

We ended our evening with a stroll at the wharf.  Han got to spend the night at Alyssas.  Jen hung out with H2 and Alexis.

Finally when everyone was home and little children were tucked into bed J and I put on a DVD of "Modern Family" season 1, which neither of us had seen and everyone raves about and we watched 4 or 5 episodes.  It was funny.

24 more school days left and then we can look forward to lots of pink cheeked, sweet treats, relaxing days!

rain rain go away

 We're still having chilly weather and some rain, mostly in the mornings. The afternoons are pleasant and beginning to smell like summer.  I am ready.  Well, I am always ready for summer.  We have important work to do...like finding a beach destination to visit. 

 Last week Dani and Sierra went to their cousins wedding, also mom and dad got to go.  I heard it was a lot of fun and wish I could have gone.  I sure to miss all the in laws I used to have.  So anyway, here's Tate and Papa dancing.  She had a blast.  I suspect he did too, he loves to dance and all his girls (from mom all the way down to the great grand daughter(s) now) love to dance with him.  It's fun :)  I love this picture. 

Here is Bryce (who looks just like his dad), Brittan and Sierra.  Cute cousins!  In my head Bryce is still like 9 years old, actually he's all grown up with 5 kids of his own.  Crazy.  When Dani and Brittan were babies people thought they were twins.  I used to keep him while Valerie worked and we'd go everywhere and they were the same size and both little blondies so it was natural. 

Subbed today.  Special ed.  Subbing tomorrow on May the 4th be with you day.  Bub wants to celebrate so I need to think of something.