One Fun(ny) Week

Funny Features

Gabe snuggled up with me on Sunday morning to warm up his frozen toes. 

I said, "You only love me for my warmth," 

and the charmer replied, "No, I love you for your beauty."

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Gabe was assigned to be the lesson helper for Family Home Evening and 

he announced to Matt and I that he had a great idea...

Us: "What's your idea, buddy?"

Gabe: "Let's have a fire drill for when Jesus come again!"

Us: (trying NOT to laugh) "It won't work quite like that, buddy."

*Now, before you think we're preaching fire and brimstone at our house, you should know that the day before this conversation, Matt had caught Gabe and Max jumping out of their bedroom window and into the yard. He informed them that this activity was only acceptable during a fire drill, so Gabe was trying to come up with a way to jump out his window again!

He must have thought we couldn't say "no" if there was a good spiritual reason to go with it.

I told this story to our stake president and his wife, who are friends of ours, and Pres. H laughed and said, "You need to teach him that we want to be the ones whose houses DON'T burn!"

AMEN. ;D

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I've been wanting to show the movie Forever Strong to my family for quite a while,
and we found some time to do it last night. There are several heart-wrenching & heart-warming moments in there and my tenderhearted lambs were teary-eyed.
Gabe said to me afterward, "Mom, I had three waterfalls!"
Zach said it's one of his new favorite movies.
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I was in the checkout line of the grocery store, loading bags of groceries into the cart, when Jared picks up my wallet, pulls out my debit card and leans over to hand it to the cashier.

    

     Me: (Laughing) "What does that mean when your two-year-old 

knows which card in your wallet to use?"

     Cashier: "It means you spend too much money."

    

Ouch!
*I think it means he's one VERY clever toddler who doesn't miss a thing!!!

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Theater Camp

Last year, Lauren participated in a summer theater camp called "Up With Kids!" and in a week's time, these kids auditioned for the play (condensed version of Beauty & the Beast,) were assigned parts, learned their lines, choreography and songs and put on a performance of the play on Friday night.
It was a GREAT experience for her, and has really sparked her interest in theater.

This year, "Up With Kids!" was preparing the play... The Little Mermaid

Lauren, Gabe & Max all wanted to take part so they've spent M-F 9am to 3pm at theater camp 

(with the last hour of each day being a swimming party.) 

They've been making friends, learning songs, lines and dances, and having a GREAT time - so fun!

Lauren's Part: Queen Triton 
(they transferred King Triton's role to a girl. Lauren is THRILLED.)

Gabe's Parts: Grimsby (Prince Eric's Advisor,) Gnarly (merman surfer dude,) 

and one of Ursula's Sea Creatures

Max's Parts: Jetsam (Ursula's eel,) Radical (merman surfer dude,) and a Sailor.

This has been such a great learning experience for the kids. Performing really takes a lot of COURAGE. And the kids have learned a lot about creating distinct characters and having a dramatic 'range.' The boys play villains one minute, silly surfers the next and Gabe also plays stuffy, proper Grimsby as well. Gabe was really nervous about some of his lines (especially the silly surfer-dude ones.) But by Wednesday, he announced that he LOVED all of his parts. I've loved watching them make new friends, and grow throughout this week. The play is tonight and I hope to post some video highlights tomorrow.

Break a leg, guys!
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Zach

Zach wasn't interested in theater camp, but this week has been a great experience with my boys who were still at home. Zach and I have been working in the yard for a couple of hours each morning, which is a cruel irony in our family, because he and I suffer from seasonal allergies to weeds and grass seed, etc. But the great part was how much we talked. Zach is growing up SO much. I just loved listening to his thoughts, jokes, stories of books he's read and more. He's been helping me plan meals and learning to make a shopping list. He's learned to make popcorn on the stove. He's been looking at house listings with me and learning about how to shop within a budget and look for things we need in a home. After the yard work misery, Zach, Jared & I would head to the pool for an hour or two to cool off and just play. This has been a great week!

The Rumors Are True...

The word is out, and I need to just post something about it!
I think I'll just repost a recent email exchange to clear the air...

From my friend Marie:

"Brent told me today that Zach said you guys are moving....tell me he is wrong!!!"

From Me to Marie (and now everyone):

Oh Marie, I hate to say it, but Brent is right. Brace yourself...   You're about to get an ear-full.

We are seriously trying to find a home near the kids' school.  Because all of our kids are now at the charter school, I've been commuting for an hour and a half each day to make the three round trips to the school. Though next year would only mean one hour of planned commuting, there are other problems.

I've had to tell the kids all year that they couldn't participate in the school band, choir or after-school art classes, etc. because of the extra 30 minute round trip. Lauren couldn't audition for the school musical because she wasn't in the choir, and she ended up being a stage manager just so she could be involved. (Still more driving for me.)

The kids would make a new friend at school and be invited to play, and I'd groan inside because I either had to tell them "no" or spend another HOUR driving. Then you throw in the time I've spent traveling to the school to do volunteer work or go to PTO board meetings, plus shuttling kids to piano lessons and three boys to three different soccer teams, school programs, and I realized that I've spent as much time traveling this year as Matt - who flies across the country nearly every week! 

I hit my breaking point in mid-May when I realized that the fall soccer season would start the same week I had the baby, and school starts the week after the baby is born. I'm not even supposed to be driving for weeks after the c-section, let alone running a full-time shuttle. I thought, "Something has got to give!"

A new baby is really exciting for our family, but I had to face facts that they take up a lot of TIME. So I started looking for ways to make our life and this new child more compatible. I told the boys that they'd have to give up soccer for a year. I told Matt that I think we need to move closer to the school, so I could regain much of that driving time and devote it to the care of this new baby. Living near the school will also let the kids develop better friendships, and let them take advantage of great after-school programs.

The other catch is this... Matt REALLY wants to keep our current home as a rental property. We've debated this at length. If we keep the house, we can't get any of our equity out of it to buy a new house, and I can't keep living this way for years while we save up another down payment. So I proposed that we find a place to rent. We can see what it's like to be landlords and still save up the money for a new home. Matt was okay with that, so I've been searching for a place to rent that's near the school. 

The options are limited to say the least. We're so specific about the location, the number of bedrooms, and the price range we need to make this work, that it narrows the field quickly. There are two reasonable places that are in the cue right now. They will both be ready near July 1st, but one owner has been VERY slow to schedule an appointment to view the property, and the other home is being renovated (we'll see it on June 20th.)

We've involved the kids in the decision and the house hunt, and they recognize the advantages of moving so they're excited and telling everyone about it. Sorry to write a novel in answer to your question - this has been the ongoing family drama for 4 weeks - but the short answers is, "Yes, if there is any way we can move closer to the kids school this summer, then we'll do it."  Oh how I wish that staying here would work! Moving certainly isn't my idea of fun, but I've given everything my best shot this year, and I just don't know what else to do to make our life work in the coming school year.

If you're wondering about scouts, I'm committed to working with the boys through the summer in hopes that it will keep the Webelos on track and the ward will have time to find a good replacement.

Again, I'm sorry to talk your ear off,

Candace

I Surrender!

Okay, I need to face reality. I don't see how I can blog every day during the summer. It's just NOT happening.

The kids are home! They are my number one priority, so I think I need to let go of the guilt of not blogging and just embrace the joy of summer with my lambs.

My new goal is the Family Friday recap and the occasional post when I make a great "idea" find. Hopefully, I can return to the full blogging schedule in the fall when the kids return to school, but then again... I'm having a baby in August.  C'est la vie! ;D

Gabe's Baptism

centerpieces

Last Saturday was Gabe's Baptism and it was a sweet, beautiful day. We really appreciated all those who were able to join us.

Gabe was involved in all of the planning for his special day. He chose the food,
colors for decorations, the speakers, etc. He did a beautiful job, and it was fun to have him so involved in the process.

Here are a few pictures of the day, along with the video I put together for the interlude after the baptism while Gabe and Matt were changing clothes.

 

May Madness Remembered

For our family, April & May are the two busiest months of the year. 

I realized that I missed most of my Family Friday posts in May so here's the Reader's Digest version...

• The kids had two rounds of strep throat and Max had an ear infection after his cold, so they spent most of the month on antibiotics in addition to everything else. 
• Zach, Gabe and Max finished their last soccer games and received their medals - Way to go, guys! 
• I was busy with Webelos this month too. We packed in the requirements for the Communicator pin, including a tour of new BYU Broadcasting Building - which was AMAZING - we had so much fun! The boys also finished their Geologist and Outdoorsman Awards.



Greek Olympics

• May was also filled with all those end-of-the-school-year events where I was volunteering, including hosting the Elementary Birthday Club, Zach's Mountain Man Rendezvous & Gabe's Greek Olympics.

Mountain Man Rendezvous

Zach & Gabe's Piano Recital 

This was Gabe's first recital and we need to thank Grandma Hunny & Grandpa for the film footage, because Matt and I were in Hawaii during this event.

Hope of America Pageant. 

Zach & Gabe performed at the Marriott Center for the Hope of America pageant, which is broadcast to all the armed forces. BYU Broadcasting recorded it too and will hopefully air it during the 4th of July on one of their channels. Zach was in the Scottish Group (he's third from the left,) and though he was VERY stressed at the prospect of wearing a kilt, he performed with flying colors and he doesn't think he's been scarred for life. Gabe was VERY excited to perform in the Orient Group. He was even practicing his part at home.  He's behind the girls in yellow and blue. Great job boys!

Mother's Day

 Matt and kids treated me to a relaxing Mother's Day. Zach broke out the foot spa and generally tried to find acts of service all day, Lauren wrote a mother's day song to the tune of "I love to see the temple" and sang it to me (So sweet!) Gabe made a card & gift for me at school, and Max made my bed. I just loved that each child found something thoughtful to do on their own. That really means a lot to me.

Birthdays...
Yes, I had one too, but I'm not telling you how old I am ;D
We normally make a cake for each child, but this year, we all wanted the same thing 
- A died-and-gone-to-chocolate-heaven-cake from Costco. YUM! -

My Mom took me shopping for some desperately needed maternity clothes. They're REALLY cute, and I picked up a few things for myself, so I finally have enough clothes to get me through the next 2 months of pregnancy. Whew! My sister, Kim, treated me to lunch. Her timing was perfect too, because I'd spent the morning fasting and having having two blood draws for the gestational diabetes test.  I really hate that test! But I kept telling myself, "I going out for lunch today... I get to have lunch with Kim." Thanks Kimmer, it was great! (And the test results came back - no diabetes here - yah!)

Lauren turned 12 Years Old!

Lauren chose to celebrate her birthday with a family dinner at Kyoto. We invited my parents to join us and celebrate all of the week's birthdays while we were together. Lauren said goodbye to the Activity Day's girls and HELLO to Young Women's! She's been counting down the days. They've had lots of activities to prepare for Girl's Camp this summer, but we just learned their camp site is still under 5 feet of snow - Yikes! Church leaders are scrambling to put together a Plan B, but Lauren is still SO excited to go to camp no matter where it is.

Matt and I gave her a "beauty kit" for her birthday with her own hair dryer, hair straightener / curler, and an introduction to make-up. (A very small intro - just mascara and chapstick) She's pretty excited about it all.

Lauren had her last time with the ward Activity Days Girls.

They have been such a great group.

Lauren's bunny sculpture.
Poor rabbit lost his ear :-(

Gabe turned 8 Years Old!

We celebrated Gabe's birthday at Chuck E. Cheese - just Matt & I and the kids running amuck. It was lots of fun, and the birthday boy had a great time.

Max lost his first TWO teeth!
These teeth were LOOOONG overdue for coming out, in fact his permanent teeth were growing in behind them. Finally, he was so fed up with the discomfort of these wobbly teeth that he consented to let us yank them out. I pulled one, Matt pulled the either, and Max got double bucks from the Tooth Fairy (which he promptly spent on Pokemon cards... yes, the obsession continues)

Max was SO excited to celebrate his birthday
during the last week of school!
Because he has a summer birthday, he was worried & feeling
cheated until he had a special day to bring treats to his class.
Thank Heaven!

  

Max made this painting while Matt & I were on
our trip. This is his vision of Kauai - complete
with palm trees, sharks and sea turtles.
Pretty smart boy!

May also had the Hawaii Trip that I already posted about. I have no idea how we packed all of this in!

The kids have been out of school for a 2 weeks now and they've had a ton of friends come to the house. We've been playing at the Fitness Center and Seven Peaks a lot, along with dejunking rooms and other projects.

Mom time is going well so far. Lauren has a plan for her Young Women's projects this summer and the kids and I went through each child's copy of "The Plan" to set some goals for the summer. Good stuff - now we just need to follow through.

Happy Birthdays

May is birthday month at our house. We have three birthdays in two days, and when you add Mother's Day to the mix, we've been singing the ""Birthday Song" a lot

I was cleaning the kitchen when I heard this sweet boy singing the birthday song behind me. I turned to find him VERY CLEVERLY making his own birthday celebration with a candle he took from the living room and these corn holders he found in a drawer.  He's ADORABLE!!!

I had to share...

The next goal was to get Jared's singing on video, and of course, 

Max couldn't resist sharing the spotlight... 

He's obviously gearing up for the Father's Day singing, and if you didn't catch it, 

his brother's taught him to throw in the BYU cheer at the end of the song.

Piano Practice

Gabe is now having piano lessons, but he's been struggling to keep track of his practicing.
He's looking at his hands more than the notes and then losing his place on the page.  He hasn't been turning to the teachers instructions about which songs to practice either.

I wanted to come up with a way for the boys to keep track of their assigned songs and the days they've completed their practicing, so I bet you can guess what I did... I made a chart. (Yes, I'm so predictable!)

I bought a simple plastic frame that sits on top of the piano. I created a page for the boys to keep track of their piano assignments for each day of the week. One side is for Zach and one side is for Gabe. I put a dry erase marker next to the chart so the boys can check off their songs as they go.  It also offers me a quick way to see who's been practicing and who hasn't.

Some weeks I'll reprint the chart and replace it in the frame, and other weeks, I just use the marker to update their assignments.

I'm hoping to have more time in the summer to sit and work with Gabe during his practice sessions. We had a good practice session together this morning - I also think a little encouragement goes a long way. ;D

This is the next budding musician.
After Gabe and I finished practicing,
Jared sat at the piano and played while singing,
"C... E... F... E...   C... E... G... E"
So CUTE!

Articles of Faith

I wasn't planning to write this weekend, but I was so touched by the topic in Sacrament meeting today, that I wanted to make a few notes. 


The graduating seniors were asked to speak about their favorite Articles of Faith, half of them felt they couldn't choose just one, so they addressed the importance of the Articles as a whole. The other two speakers focused on Articles 3 and 7. I was really impressed by two true stories of children who not only memorized the Articles of Faith but were capable of talking about the doctrine. Their study of and faith in the Articles prepared them to share the gospel with adults that they met. These adults and their families began looking into the gospel and then joined the church.  The understanding and faith of these children was remarkable.


The whole sacrament meeting was very thought provoking and inspiring, and I just wanted to take a minute to write the Articles of Faith on the blog, for anyone who hasn't read them in a while:

 1We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

 2We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.

 3We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

 4We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

 5We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.

 6We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.

 7We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.

 8We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.

 9We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.

 10We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.

 11We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.

 12We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.

 13We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

-Joseph Smith

My kids have been learning Articles of Faith Songs at church to help them memorize these, but I felt impressed today that we should be talking about them at home too. I found this wonderful reference page online that lists scriptures and quotes that support the Articles of Faith along with clipart and other helpful tools for memorizing the articles. Just go to this link "Articles of Faith Index" and then click on an Article in the list to see the teaching aids. 


We're getting very close to finishing our family study of the Book of Mormon, and when we finish, I want to take the time to really STUDY the Articles of Faith and these scriptural references during our family scripture study. 


Hope you had a wonderful Sabbath day too.