SUMMER FUN

I've really enjoyed reading everyone's summer recaps on their blogs. It's so easy to catch up that way and feel connected even though we're all busy going in different directions this summer. I've attached pictures with desciptions to fill you in on what our family's been up to.

Adam at our neighbor's birthday party. They had it at a Fire Station. What a great place for a bunch of 3-year-old boys!

Our friends, the Murphys, were in town from Nevada. They use to be in our ward, but moved about 3 years ago. Here's a picture of Jodi, Valynn, me, and Crysti having a BBQ at the park. We now have 16 kids between our 4 families!

Andrew had a business trip in Park City. I joined him for a couple days and left the kids with a young couple from our ward. This is the first time I've done that. It worked out great! I highly recommend it!

While going for a walk in Park City we looked up and saw shoes in the trees. Must be a Utah thing! ;-)

Here's where we stayed.

Alpine Slide - bring back any memories Utah girls???

Andrew taking a little rest on the 6-person chair lift. I've been skiing a long time and I've never seen such a large lift!



Here's a picture of "The Best Thing I Did This Summer" (i.e., joined a club with an outdoor swimming pool - worth every penny!)



My new favorite treat - Apple Pie Caramel Apple. They'll even cut it for you so it's not so messy to eat.

4th of July - watching fireworks from Grandma and Grandpa's backyard and wearing $5 Old Navy shirts!

The Missing Crab by Ally

On June 9, 2007, me and my friend Holland played with my hermit crabs. After we were done, we put them back in their cage. Later that night my sister took one of the crabs out, Anna (MY hermit crab) and left her on the carpet unsupervised. She crawled away.

Later, I asked my mom, "Where's Anna?" She said, "I don't know." My mom looked EVERYWHERE. She looked for a whole week!

On June 15, 2007, my dad came home late at night. He didn't know Anna was missing. The next day, he asked me, "Where is Anna?" I told him she had been lost for more than a week.

On June 17, 2007 which was Father's Day, my dad tore up the whole upstairs looking for Anna. I asked my dad, "What are you doing?" He said, "Looking for Anna."

After chruch that day, me, my dad, Nicholas, and Natalie walked home. Sometimes we like to walk home and talk. My dad asked us, "Have you said a family prayer for Anna?" I said, "No, but I said a personal prayer for her." We decided when we got home we would say a family prayer to find her.

My dad gathered everyone together for a prayer. 10 second later, my mom went to put her church shoes back in her closet and THERE WAS ANNA!!! I was so happy to see her alive.

We then said another prayer, thanking Heavenly Father for answering our prayer so quickly. I then went in my bedroom and said a personal thank you prayer. Do you know what my primary lesson was about that day? Gratidue and telling Heavenly Father thank you.

I had a lot of emotional feelings.

I felt like I witnessed a miracle.

New Title

I had one of those "ah ha" moments today and decided to open my blog to all my family members to post instead of just me. This mainly stemmed from Ally asking me today to have her own blog, "like yours mom" she pleaded. Then it dawned on me that she, or the others, could just post on mine when they wanted to share thoughts, feelings, or stories. Accordingly, I changed the name of my blog to "The Acanna Collective." Can any of you guess what Acanna stands for??? :-)


Ally is working on her first post (she's handwriting it out first - how cute is that?) Keep posted for more to come . . . .

ALL "THOUGHT" AND NO ACTION

Andrew is in New Jersey this week. I had BIG plans to accomplish soooo much while he was gone. In my mind, I pictured me posting on my blog each night, finishing the book of the month for my book group, rearranging my bedroom furniture (when Andrew's out of town I love to pick one project to do around the house and then wait to see how long it takes him to notice - it's a little game we play), and maybe, just maybe scrapbooking a page in each of my children's books. Now, let's compare this list with what I actually accomplished. Let's see . . . oh yeah I did NOTHING!

Well, I shouldn't say nothing, I did take care of all the day to day tasks that moms need to do (cooking, cleaning, chauffeuring, etc.) I also got to do some service, which I've been praying for lately. Nothing really grand and amazing but small things like babysitting, bringing a meal, substituting a church calling, etc. I also got to enjoy the last week of school with my older children. There has been such excitement in the air all week. It's been fun planning end-of-the-year gifts for their teachers and enjoying a week without homework. With Andrew gone, I even got to get out my dusty softball mitt to play catch with Nicholas. He's convinced he needs to practice EVERY DAY so "the Boston Red Sox will pick him." I love the way an 8-year-old thinks! I also got to go to the park today with some of my friends and their children and celebrate the last day of school. This was probably one of the highlights of my week. I really love my friends, new and old!

So, Andrew returns home in a few hours. I didn't accomplish all I hoped, but I'll keep my list in mind and hopefully accomplish SOMETHING the next time he has a business trip.

Nicholas' Special Day

On May 18th (Mt. St. Helen's Day), Nicholas turned 8. I know that I have some friends who read my blog who don't go to the same church as I do, so I'll first explain that in our church, 8 is the "age of accountability" and is the time when our children are baptized. The first Saturday of each month is when all the children who turned 8 the month before get baptized.

We used the 2 weeks between Nicholas' birthday and his baptism to turn his focus from his party and his presents to the more eternal principle of baptism. We had such "grown up" discussions during this time about Christ and what it means to follow in His footsteps. I should also mention how thankful I am for my husband's relationship with Christ and the time he took to spiritually prepare for the big day. While I make many mistakes as a mom, I feel one thing I did right was giving my children a righteous father.

The baptism went great. Although I've come to the conclusion there's a reason moms are not bishops - there's NO WAY we would be able to keep our kids off the stand every Sunday!!! I sat on the stand with the other members of the Stake Primary Presidency during the baptism, and by the end I had 2 of my 4 children up there with me.

Speaking of bishops, ours had a great message at the baptism. He placed his cell phone in Nicholas' shirt pocket and then called it once while it was on vibrate and once while it was set to ring. He explained this was like the Holy Ghost - sometimes we feel him and sometimes we hear him. I loved this object lesson.

After the baptism we headed straight to IHOP (Nicholas' choice - I would have picked brunch at Luna or even the Davenport!) But, funny face pancakes it was. We all had a great time and then headed home for some time in the pool (the 1-foot, blow-up that is!)

Below are some pics of Nicholas' party and his baptism:

Volcano cake from Nicholas' Mt. St. Helen's B-Day Party

My little man

Future missionary???

Father/Son Camp Out . . . Mother/Daughter Hang Out

We found out just a few days ago that our church scheduled its annual "Father/Son Camp Out" during Memorial Weekend this year - usually it's held mid-May. We had already made plans to go to the Tri-Cities for the weekend. But, we knew our 8-year old son would be crushed to miss the camp out, so we made a quick change of plans.

We decided Andrew would take the boys (including Adam) to the camp out and I would take the girls for just an overnight trip to the Tri-Cities.

The boys had a great time doing what boys do . . . and us girls had a great time doing what girls do. We started with a trip to the mall, of course. While there, we shamelessly copied what my friends in another ward did during their ward's Father/Son Camp Out - went to Build-a-Bear Workshop. Natalie and Ally had so much fun picking their bears and outfits (thank you Kari Ann for blogging about this so I could "borrow" the idea! :-) We have never done this before and I was surprised it wasn't that expensive.

While at the mall I got an e-mail to my cell phone from Andrew. It was pictures of the boys camping. I e-mailed back pictures of the girls at the mall. Isn't modern technology amazing?!?

After a trip to Bath and Body Works, where we all came out smelling "fruity," we headed back to Grandma and Grandpa's house for some "hang out time." The next morning we made a trip to the cemetery (I love my grandparents who gently reminded me of the reason for Memorial Weekend). The cemetery was packed! I'm not sure if it was due to Memorial Weekend or the wedding taking place there (the nearby church must've been booked!)

On a more serious note, My children have lost 3 out of their 4 grandparents, so it was touching to put flowers on all the graves and talk about what it means to be a forever family.

Next pedicures and finally, the highlight of the trip, an afternoon by the pool. It was a great trip, but I'm glad to have our family back together again.

The girls filling out their bears' "birth certificates"

The girls and their bears

30 painted toes!

All smiles

What's down there, Natalie?

I can't believe I'm posting a picture of me in a swimsuit (yuck!) but wanted to show that I'm wearing my new Shade swimsuit.

The girls ready to jump in.

Money Question

There's a funny little joke about lawyers that the reason they go into law is because they can't stand the sight of blood or they're lousy in math. Let's just say, that's not a joke in my case. I'm very fortunate my kids don't get too many injuries and thank goodness for calculators! With this in mind, imagine my surprise (and terror!) when I was voted treasurer of the condo association we belong to (we own a condo that we use as a rental). I've been doing the books for about 2 years now and have managed to not mess things up too much. My only experience for this is that I pay the bills in our family. A matter of fact, I don't think my husband has a clue what we pay for electricity, water, etc. Hmmm, now that I think about it, I'm not sure he even knows how much he makes because his checks are automatically deposited. The one thing he does know for sure is if he puts his bank card in a machine it will kindly dispense cash. How nice of that machine . . . .

Anyway, all this is leading up to my question . . . who does the "books" in your family? I'm curious if more women or more men handle the finances.

P. Problem

I have big plans someday to print and bind all my posts into a journal for my posterity to read. I guess it would work just as well to have an electronic journal, yet (you can call me old-fashion) there's just something about having actual books to pass down. I realize some family stories will be a little embarrassing for some individuals, but I just feel the need to share this little dilemma I'm having with Adam.

Adam has discovered the joy of peeing on various outside "targets." I often let him and Natalie play in the backyard alone. Numerous times this week she's come running into the house to report the latest unsuspecting target. Adam urinates on ants, in buckets, through the netting around our trampoline, off the top of our tree house, etc. I've had the whole "we don't show our private parts in public" talk, which completely goes over his head. I guess I could watch him every second he's outside, but what's the point of having a fenced back yard - if not to give mom a few precious moments alone??? I'm terrified what he'll do in public with his new "toy." Can you imagine taking him to McDonalds and having some little kid come out of the tunnels, crying and WET!

I can't wait for Andrew to get back in town, maybe he can have a little Father/Son talk with him about this. These are the times I wish I had brothers to know if such behavior is normal or a red flag for future problems. Oh, the joys of parenting!

p.s. Sorry Adam in advance for the embarrassment this post will cause you in the future. Remember Mom loves you! :-)

The Date

On Friday night Andrew and I went on one of our funny little dates. Our code for each other that one of us needs this date is to say to the other, "we need a sitter for exactly 3 hours this weekend." The other person always knows what the other is thinking.

Here's the details of our "3-hour date" . . . we have a little Mexican restaurant in Davenport we LOVE. It's called Camino Real. It takes exactly 1 hour to get to Davenport, 1 hour to eat, and 1 hour to drive home. We love this date so much because of the 2 hours of "car time" where we get to really talk. Sometimes when life gets so consumed with kids, jobs, callings, etc. the thing that's so easy to let slip is our attention to each other. This time alone always rejuvenates our marriage.

Here's a tidbit about my husband that most people don't know . . . he speaks pretty good Spanish. I didn't really know how well Andrew spoke Spanish until we went to Cabo San Lucas for my 30th birthday and he started speaking Spanish to all the locals. I saw my husband with new eyes . . . . Anyway, Andrew likes this little restaurant because he can speak Spanish with the staff.

I'm thankful for our "3-hour dates."

Large portions

This is the place

The Crazy Month of April

I mentioned in my last post that April was a crazy month for me (hence the lack of a post for over two weeks). I feel I'm finally getting things "checked off" my list so I can start to function in "normal" mode again instead of "super speed."


My first task was hosting Bunko. My Bunko group consists of several moms with children that go to the same school as my children. I really enjoy these ladies but most are not in my close circle of friends, so I was really nervous about making them feel welcome and comfortable in my home. It turned out to be a really fun night (for me anyway!) and no one made unusual excuses to leave early, so I think everyone had a good time.


My next task was the Family Dance at my kids' school. I took on this project 2 years ago because I wanted to change the image from a "school dance" to a "family dance." Why would children need a dance anyway???? However, an opportunity for a dad to escort his daughter on the dance floor for a dance and then treat her to a soda afterward is priceless. Slowly, I think the image is changing, we'll see if my successor keeps it up. The dance went great, mainly due to all of our fabulous volunteers (thanks Rebecca!)

The day after the dance was the America's Kids Run. This is a huge event in our house, especially for my son Nicholas. It's his "super bowl" of running. He's my little runner who has endurance and speed (I lack both!) He can run for 4 miles straight without stopping; yet, he ran the fastest 1/2 mile in all of 2nd grade (according to his health and fitness teacher). I realize I'm doing a lot of "offspring bragging" here, sorry . . . Anyway, he was true to form on Saturday and ran a 7- minute mile, IN THE RAIN. I would have whimped out as the first rain drops starting hitting my face. Way to go Nicky!


I should also mention here that after the America's Kids Run we stopped at the grocery store before our 1st soccer game of the day and as I was shutting the door after buckling in Adam, I shut the door on my finger. So gross and scary for my children. Funny thing is when I told my grandma about my finger, the first thing out of her mouth was "Where were you rushing off to?" She knows me so well.


My final task is tomorrow night. We have a Stake Primary Leadership Meeting. I love these meetings because I love being edified, but now that I will be the "edifier," I'm terrified. I've been working on my presentation this evening and am feeling the weight of the responsibility to "feed His sheep." I'm not so nervous about delivering the words I've prepared; rather, I'm nervous about bringing the spirit. I'm thankful I'll be in the company of great primary leaders that night.

Ally and her friends at the dance (did I mention the theme was Hawaiian?)

Speedy Gonzalez

Props for my stake leadership presentation (I'm talking about Faith in God)

More props

Easter

Like most of you we have several Easter traditions that keep us "hopping" during this fun time of year (Easter egg hunts, coloring eggs, new outfits, candy-filled baskets, etc.) but I want to post about the other aspect of Easter. The aspect that is more personal to me.

Our favorite saying around the house the last few days has been: "There would be no Christmas without Easter." This is from one of the conference talks a couple weeks ago. Without the atoning sacrifice of our savior, He would be just another man and there would be no celebration of His birth. But of course, He's not just "another man" but the savior of the world and on a more personal level, my savior. Because of Him, I can repent of my sins. Because of Him, I could change the path my life was going in "back in the day" and come unto Christ. I have to wonder if there was no atonement if the above picture would even exist. My only gift I can return to Him is to TRY to emulate Him (I often fall short) and hope that on our reunion He will call me by name, followed by "thou good and faithful servant."

The Much-Needed Break

I love the term "spring break" because it perfectly describes this week. I have literally taken a "break" from everything that distracts me from spending time with my children and given them 100% of myself. After feeling so inspired from general conference, spending time with my children was like icing on the cake.

Traditionally, we go with Andrew to whatever city he needs to be in for work for spring break, but this year, he had to be in Spokane, so we broke tradition and I took Ally, Nicholas, Natalie, and Adam to the Tri-cities. The kids were a little sad to not be staying in a hotel, but grandpa and grandma's house was a good runner up (now if they'd only put in an indoor pool, we'd be set!)

My VERY nice friend Andrea let me borrow her camera (remember what Adam did to mine????) and can you believe I forgot it in Spokane. So I don't have any pictures to share. But here are some highlights:

• Chuck E. Cheese (always a treat!)
• Shopping and pedicures for the girls
• Our favorite Mexican restaurant, Inca (because of the large Hispanic population in the Tri-cities they've got some great Mexican restaurants there. This is one thing we really miss living in Spokane)
• Playdate at the Playground of Dreams in Columbia Park with our friends the Hollands. (I have a couple friends in my ward who are both from the Tri-cities AND our spouses are from the Tri-cities but none of us knew each other growing up - we try and hook up when we're down there at the same time)
• Trying out the new Children's Museum (Spokane's is much better!)
• "Meet the Robinsons" - LOVE this movie
• Lots of basketball and tennis (conveniently located in the back yard)
• "The Kite Runner" - what a page turner with lots of tears - can't wait for book group.

I feel so rejuvenated and ready to get back in action, which is good because April is a very busy month . . . more on that later.

The New Calling

Have you ever knew about a calling but couldn't say anything until you were sustained and it took a LONG time before you were sustained??? Well, that's what I've been going through. I feel like I've been living with this secret and now I want to shout it from the rooftops - I get to serve as 2nd Counselor in the Stake Primary Presidency. I'm so excited, I could burst. I love Primary and am so thrilled to be serving there again. I'm even more excited about who I get to serve with. My friend Andrea is the president, who I admire and respect so much. Like that U2 song, "It's a Beautiful Day."

6 Unusual Things

Well, since I don't have any pictures to share (Adam threw my camera off the top of our stairs and shattered it) I thought this would be a perfect time to take Kristin's challenge and share 6 unusual things about me. Some of these things I can't believe I'm sharing, so promise you won't all want to commit me after reading them.

1. I secretly love to play the piano, but can't play that well. Usually on Sundays I play to my heart's content. Yesterday my friend Jodi called (a fabulous pianist), Andrew answered the phone and had her listen to me without me knowing. I was so embarrassed.

2. Sometimes when I clean my house, I pretend someone really important is coming over (i.e., my boss, the prophet, etc.) to motivate me to do a good job. So weird, I know.

3. I like the PBS cartoon Arthur - even more than my kids!

4. Once during an interview I was asked, "If you could be a kitchen appliance, what would it be?" Stupidly, I responded, "A refrigerator so I could be different temperatures." That doesn't even make any sense!

5. I have a tiny tattoo on my left ankle, which I hate more than anything (occurred my freshmen year at WSU). Funny, it cost $20 to put on and would cost $2,000 to have removed, which would almost be worth it except they can't "completely" remove it - whatever that means.

6. Once during my junior year in high school I was having a fight with my boyfriend outside one of the classrooms. I embarrassingly asked, "don't you think I'm pretty anymore?" Ugh! How pathetic! Why couldn't I have asked, "don't you think I'm smart anymore"??? Even worse, right at that moment my biology teacher came out of the classroom and started lecturing me about self worth. To this day, I cringe when I think of this.

Well, there it is. I hope I still have friends after sharing all this unusualness (my family members are stuck with me!)

My Gift

From February 14th to March 5th it is "Party Time" at our House as we celebrate Valentine's Day and 3 birthdays. Our 19-day celebration ends today with Adam's birthday.

On his special day, I'd like to share Adam's Story. It starts back while I was pregnant with our 3rd child, Natalie. During my 3rd trimester, I developed Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy (ICP), a liver disorder that basically causes bile to build up in the mother's blood, which causes severe itching all over the body and jaundice. Let's just say I was miserable! The discomfort was so bad, I called Andrew, who drove home from Boise in the middle of the night - this is 1 of only 2 times I've called him while he's been out of town and asked him to come home. My doctor wanted to induce (I was at 36 weeks), but since ICP doesn't affect the baby (so they say), I wanted to hold out a couple more weeks.

I was induced at 38 weeks and almost immediately the itching stopped. After this experience, Andrew and I thought maybe we should stop at 3 children. However, when Natalie was about a year old, we both started to feel like our family wasn't complete. We thought a lot about the end of my previous pregnancy and began looking into adoption. We talked to Brother Cabbage at LDS Family Services (he's a family friend from the Tri-cities) who discussed with us our options, which were private adoption or international adoption because we already had 3 kids.

We prayed and prayed and prayed for an answer, but the solution eluded us.

About this time, I had planned a trip to Nauvoo with my grandparents (they love to travel and occasionally invite me to join them as a little "break.") I won't go into all the spiritual details, but will share that the Nauvoo Temple is where I first met Adam.

After sharing my experience with Andrew, we immediately started trying to get pregnant. It worked on the first try - so to speak :-) and from that moment until March 5, 2004 I had the most spiritual experiences I've ever had in my life. A few months ago I read a book, "Expecting Adam" (thank you Kristin) and while I didn't share this with my book group, my pregnancy with Adam was similar to the author's pregnancy with her Adam. Even the naming of our babies was something beyond us.

While Adam is an active little boy, who keeps me on my toes, I nevertheless marvel at the spirit inside, feeling inadequate and unworthy to be raising him in these latter days. I don't know if he has an important purpose on this earth or if I needed the "spiritual boost" while I was pregnant with him, but I'm thankful for this gift from my Heavenly Father.

Happy 3rd Birthday Adam!

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Natalie's Birthday and the $19 Party

My little cutie!

Natalie turns 5 today, which in her mind means she goes to kindergarten today. I've had to be the kill joy and explain she has to wait until the fall to "ride the bus." To make matters worse, I made a big deal yesterday about registering her for kindergarten, so between the two events she's ready to walk though those Moran Prairie front doors today and take her seat.

Natalie decided she needed to write a letter to Mrs. Smith about all this (sadly, Ally and Nicholas have convinced her that this will be her teacher, even though I've made clear there's no guarantees). In her letter she included a list of her ABCs and a picture of an object that starts with each letter (I think she wanted to convince Mrs. Smith she was qualified for kindergarten . . . by the way, she spells Mrs. Smith "meses smef"). WARNING THE NEXT FEW SENTENCES WILL PROBABLY ONLY BE HUMOROUS TO BOSTON RED SOX FANS: When Natalie got to "M" she drew a picture of a baseball player. I gently reminded her "baseball player" does not start with "M," she then told me the picture was "Manny. The Big Hitter," referring to Manny Ramirez, the Red Sox's star outfielder. . . yes, daddy has taught his little girl well.

Now, about that $19 party. I've been totally inspired by my Dave Ramsey friends (isn't there something about courage in numbers???) So, I decided to spend as little money as possible on Natalie's party. We made the invitations, had a really inexpensive craft (party vests out of paper bags - really lame, I know), and I made the cake (which can be a little scary). All this resulted in about $100 less than I usually spend on parties and I don't think Natalie noticed the difference (I hope her friends didn't either!) But, then again, Natalie is pretty easy to please - a trait I cherish about her.

I'm so thankful for the opportunity to celebrate Natalie's birthday. My life is so blessed with her in it. I can't imagine having a day go by without seeing her smile with that cute dimple on her left cheek. She is truly a gift from Heavenly Father.

Party Pics

Party vests

Invitations made from supplies around the house

Homemade cake with candy from around the house

Happy Birthday Mr. Z

The Birthday Boy!

Today is Andrew’s 39th Birthday. I can’t believe he’s nearing the big “40.” But it brings me joy to think we’re doing just what we wanted to do . . . growing old together!

So in celebration, I’ve compiled a Top Ten list of what I love about Andrew

1. His eyes. Those big, brown, puppy-dog eyes can pretty much talk me into anything.

2. His funny idiosyncrasies. Andrew can’t stand pennies - something about the copper. He swears your hands smell after holding them. He’ll often ask me to get the change when we’re at a store/restaurant and he knows a penny is coming. He’s also a grammar fanatic. I swear he never does this with friends, but when we’re in public and he hears bad grammar I can literally feel him tense next to me.

3. He’s smart. Really, really smart (to set the record straight our kids get their brains from him).

4. His ability to small talk. He always talks to the stranger in the elevator, the person behind him in line at the grocery store, the taxi driver, etc.

5. His desire to make new families in our ward feel welcome. He’s usually the first to greet a new family – which is no easy task in our ward!

6. His humility. He doesn’t even share his successes with me! I remember several years ago when he was EQ President and President Elmer shared with me that he was proud of Andrew because the EQ home teaching numbers were the highest he’d ever seen them. While Andrew knew about this, he never once told me about it. He’s finding out right now that I even knew about it!

7. His desire to serve. When we wake up to fresh snow in the morning, our driveway is rarely the first to be shoveled.

8. His love for his children.

9. His love for me.

10. His love of the Gospel.

Happy Birthday Andrew! I only wish I could be half as good of a person as you are.

"Gray Skies Are Going to Clear Up"

Enjoying the sunshine!

I think our family needed sunshine. After weeks (months?) of cold, wet weather, we were treated this weekend to some much needed blue skies. We were actually in the Tri-cities, which is about 2 hours south of Spokane. The funny thing about the Tri-cities is it's only 130 miles away but it's desert. We were even greeted as we rolled into town with tumbleweeds blowing across the highway. By the way, wind is no stranger to the Tri-cities. I can't tell you the trauma this caused me in high school after spending hours on my hair (getting those bangs to stick up, of course!) and then to have it all messed up.

When we left Spokane Thursday it was raining and 49 degrees. When we left the Tri-cities to come back home on Saturday it was sunny and 70 degrees. Nicholas took advantage of the warm weather and spent endless hours outside shooting baskets. He's obsessed with basketball lately and was so happy to be playing outside instead of at the YMCA. (Andrew even surprise him with tickets to the Gonzaga/Portland game, which really sent him over the edge!)

We also had a picnic in the park, spending lots of time swinging, sliding, and climbing. The kids just couldn't get enough (nor could they stop smiling - can you believe I forgot to bring my camera to the park????) At night, the kids slept SO well. I'm always a little nervous when we're away from home that the kids won't sleep, but that good ol' sunshine appeared to wipe them out by the end of the day.

So now the "spring bug" has bitten. I want to wear capris, I want to put my turtlenecks away, I want to go for bike rides with my kids, I want to plant flowers . . . . But, I know from experience there's probably a little more winter in store for Spokane. We'll see.

p.s. Kristin - I just saw your "tag." There's so many weird things about me, I'm going to have to put some thought into which 6 I can actually share! :-)

Hip Hip Hooray . . . a Green Light Day

Every once in awhile I have one of those days where everything just seems to go right. I call these green light days because, I'm not kidding here, even the traffic lights seem to be in my favor. Today was a green light day.

It actually started the night before. All 4 of our children stayed in their own beds through the night. YEA!!! No one trying to climb in our bed, no one needing a drink, no one wanting to tell me they have to go to the bathroom (rather than just going!), etc. This is something we really struggle with. I'm thinking this may be the biggest factor in my green light day but not totally sure. I do know I'm definitely a happier person with at least 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

The morning went smoothly. I didn't have to ask twice for my kids to come to breakfast, get dressed, brush their teeth, etc. Family prayer in the morning even felt more spiritual rather than us just "going through the motions."

I won't bore you with all the other details of the day, but some of the highlights were being able to chat with a couple friends, getting lots of work done because Natalie played at a neighbor's while Adam was napping, being able to figure out a child care plan for a couple days in February when Andrew needed to be on campus and I needed to be in the office (thanks Rebecca!), and a meaningful family home evening (which can totally be a bust on some Monday nights!)

I'm not sure why some days are green light and some days aren't. I pondered today a testimony bore in my ward yesterday. The sister talked about running and that when you run uphill you gain strength and when you run downhill you're just coasting. I guess a green light day is like coasting, but I'll take it when I can get it!

43 - 100

I've been racking my brain the last few days for a topic to blog about. I finally decided, at the urging of a couple friends, to finish my 100 list. So here's 43 - 100:

43. I have a degree in political science.

44. While in college, I was a member of the Young Republicans. For one of our meetings I was in charge of arranging the guest speaker. I had Bill Hyslop come (then US Attorney for eastern Washington). Who knew someday I'd have a son and this man's wife would be my son's 1st grade teacher! Nick loves Mrs. Hyslop!

45. I like when my husband brings me flowers.

46. I like my husband! :-)

47. I like to dance.

48. My favorite musical is "Phantom of the Opera."

49. My least favorite is "Cats." (I just don't get it . . . what's wrong with me?)

50. My favorite book is "To Kill a Mockingbird." I always wanted a little girl named Scout.

51. The first initial of all my children's names spell ANNA - the name given to every pet we get. We've had a fish, frog, and hermit crab with that name.

52. Note from #51, we've never had a "real" pet (i.e., dog, cat, bunny)

53. My favorite part of the day is morning.

54. We use our stairs for time out (no wonder the carpet is showing wear on that first step!)

55. I've resorted to making a list every morning of the things I need to do that day (they say the memory is the first to go . . . )

56. My favorite Primary song is, "Love is Spoken Here."

57. I'm scared of failure (but I've learned to concede at times).

58. I like cheese pizza without sauce.

59. I was a vegetarian in college (use to order hamburgers at McDonalds and have them "hold the meat.")

60. It was never a moral thing (more of a healthy thing).

61. I played basketball and ran track in high school (not all the way through my senior year though)

62. I love spending time with friends.

63. I love to hear gossip but feel bad when I spread gossip (inner-struggle I'm working on.)

64. I love people who share their talents. I miss my friend Angela who would walk in my house and say, "oh, Carolyn you've got to paint this room taupe."

65. I'm not easily offended.

66. I try to always put myself in other people's shoes. (note the word "try.")

67. I adore my grandparents! They have thoroughly spoiled me (with attention, not material things). I force myself to NOT think about them dying because it makes me too sad.

68. I call or e-mail my grandma everyday.

69. I like serving in YW.

70. I use to laugh while working at home with a tiny baby, thinking how could this person sitting in her PJs, with slippers on and breast-feeding a baby be working on this multi-million dollar lawsuit.

71. I love the smell of lilacs.

72. I like to play basketball with my kids at the YMCA

73. I'm a total wimp when it comes to weightlifting. I have to set the weights at the lowest amount.

74. I spent entirely too much time in the sun as a teenager.

75. I was in a beauty pageant and lost (my talent was piano, how funny is that?)

76. I signed with a modelling agency in high school (the world renowned, Tri-City Models!) That career never went anywhere - a combination of not that pretty and not that tall may have had something to do with it???

78. I highlight my hair but darken my eyebrows.

79. I've had 2 children naturally and 2 with an epidural.

80. I love my in-laws.

81. I admire my mother-in-law who raised 9 boys to be the nicest men I know. There's truly not a jealous, petty, unkind bone in their bodies.

82. I like the smell of the ocean.

83. I like boating.

84. I want to learn to water ski.

85. I LOVE the lake. Sitting on a dock with my family, watching the sun go down is the best.

86. I don't mind driving in the snow.

87. I hope my sons go on missions.

88. I hope my daughters do too.

89. I truly did not know I lacked patience until I had children.

90. I'm thankful for the opportunity to work on my patience.

91. I'm part of the "Big Gulp" generation. I spent a lot of time at 7-11 while I was a teenager.

92. The 7-11 was across the street from my high school.

93. Most the time I was suppose to be in seminary.

94. Didn't graduate from seminary (see #91-93)

95. I don't keep pop in our home (unless I'm entertaining). The result: 3 out of my 4 children don't like pop.

96. Sometimes, when I feel wild, I'll stop and buy one though (I like that Hi-C Orange from McDonalds, pretty sure that's sugar-free! ha)

97. I'm scared to be PTG President next year (that whole fear of failure thing!)

98. I admire people who easily share their feelings.

99. I'm thankful for the Internet.

100. I'm thankful for my family.

I DID IT!

The End of an Era

After serving the last 5 years in primary (3 as 1st counselor and 2 as president), I was released today and called to serve as an advisor in YW. While I knew it was coming, when I stood up in sacrament meeting and Brother Hainsworth actually released me I started crying. And not the cute, "tissue dabbing the eyes" kind, but the full out shaking kind. I think I scared my husband! Then I was asked to bear my testimony which I was totally unprepared for (I thought they only did that for out-going bishops or relief society presidents). The only thing I could think of to relate was that I felt like I passed the torch today and now my arms were just empty.

Actually, the emotions started the night before when I told my children I was being released. Lots of tears. Their biggest concern was how they were going to find me at the end of church. The primary room has been our established meeting place for a long time.

I think I'll give myself a couple more days to "grieve" and then channel all my energy into YW. Fortunately, all the girls in my class are my former primary children, so it will be nice to see lots of familiar faces. I hope I don't let them down (or start weaving music into my lessons!)

My Baby's in a Big Boy Bed

I've posted before about having a hard time with my baby (aka Adam) growing up too fast. Well, this weekend was another milestone. We promised him when he was potty trained he could have a big boy bed like his brother (whom he refers to as "Nicky"). Well, he did it! So, we had to follow through. Andrew put the bunk beds up in the boys room and I turned the changing table (which went through 4 children!) into a toy shelf. It's exciting to think we're done with diapers and toddler beds, but a little sad to be ending that phase of our life.

Adam has asked me over and over today if I've seen his big boy bed. And, over and over again I've replied, "Yes." At which point he tells me "it's awesome." Needless to say, he's thrilled and feels like a big boy, like his Nicky.

The Bunk Beds

Where I changed over 10,000 diapers!

100 Things About Me

I'm taking Lucy's challenge and trying to come up with 100 things about me.

1. My favorite color is green. I was in heaven in the 90s when it was so popular.


2. I was 23 when I got married.


3. I was married at the Moore Mansion in the Tri-Cities. Our wedding was outside and the reception inside.


4. We were sealed in the Portland Temple.


5. I love kids


6. If I wasn't an attorney I'd be a kindergarten teacher.


7. I became an attorney because of an inspiring government teacher in high school.


8. While pregnant with Ally, I sat in the back of my classes eating crackers and praying I wouldn't throw up.


9. I had a really good friend in law school who I did everything with for 3 years. She moved to Colorado after graduation and we haven't talked since (one of my biggest regrets!)


10. My best missionary moment was with my husband. He asked me on our 2nd date, "What's the deal with Mormons and Pepsi?" He got the first 5 discussions that night!


11. I always fill in all the birthdays and anniversaries for the year on a new calendar on New Year's Day.


12. I usually only make a couple New Year's resolutions, to insure I keep them. This year's are to give more service and use our YMCA membership.


13. My first job was a sales clerk at JC Penneys.


14. My 2nd job was a clerk at the swimsuit shop at Wet-n-Wild Waterpark in the Tri-Cities. One of my duties (I can't believe I'm going to share this) was to walk around the park with one of the shop's swimsuits on. I would then tell people if they were interested in the suit to visit the gift shop. Needless to say, I subjected myself to this humiliation because I had a crush on one of the lifeguards and walking around the park gave me an opportunity to flirt.


15. I hate laundry.


16. I love organizing, but get frustrated things don't stay organized with 4 children.


17. My hardest calling was Gospel Doctrine teacher.


18. My easiest calling was typing the program each week for Sacrament Meeting.


19. I love getting letters in the mail


20. I always snack at night after the kids go to bed. And, I always go in phases. I'll eat ice cream every night for a month, and then it's cereal. Right now I'm in a Triscuit phase.


21. Because I write technically for a living, I have a hard time writing creatively. Blogging has really helped me work on this.


22. We have a fake Christmas tree.


23. My biggest "want" right now is a cabin near Priest Lake. We've been looking for about a year now but can't find the right one (i.e., one in our price range!)


24. I love people who politely look away when your child is having a temper tantrum in public.


25. I volunteer in my children's classrooms. I enjoy working one on one with the children and tolerate making copies, doing die-cuts, redoing bulletin boards, etc.


26. I wish I could sew better.


27. I've never made a quilt.


28. I cannot sing.


29. I hate the "terrible twos" and how unpredictable a two-year old can be. See #24


30. I'm a listener more than a talker.


31. I have a hard time opening up to people.


32. I'm an only child.


33. My favorite donut is an eclair...love the custard filling!


34. My favorite song right now is Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars."


35. My favorite radio stations are 103.1 and 92.9.


36. I feel guilty listening to my favorite radio stations when my kids are in the car and instead listen to kagu (Gonzaga's classical station) which almost puts me to sleep when I drive!


37. I've never been on a cruise.


38. I like dark chocolate.


39. I want to go to Washington DC someday.


40. I wish I had a sister to talk to about anything, everything, nothing . . . (poor Andrew has to file this void for me.)


41. I moved to Seattle with 2 of my friends after college graduation. Andrew came over 2 weeks later and proposed (nice strategy on my part, huh???)


42. I like to wait at doctor/dentist offices because I get to read gossipy, celebrity magazines.

Okay, I failed. Maybe it's just too late at night (I should have tried this earlier in the day). Good thing getting to 100 wasn't one of my New Year's Resolutions! :-)

Adventures in Skiing

This week has been so much better than last week . . . thanks for the supportive comments from my last post. :-)

One of the things I did this week was take Ally and Nicholas skiing. But before I talk about that let me give you a little history about me and skiing. I LOVE skiing! Great ski memories came back to me the other day . I was notarizing some papers for a friend and she mentioned her husband likes to ski at this little place by Dayton, Washington . . . I responded "Bluewood?" She said yes and couldn't believe I had heard of it. Bluewood is this little 2-lift place, an hour from the Tri-cities. In high school, my best friend and I went up almost every Saturday during the winter. Good times.

Okay, now fast forward to college. I start dating my husband in the winter and immediately suggest we go skiing. We went a few times while we were dating and a few times after we were married, but then he started having all these excuses why he couldn't go (they mainly involved a basketball and/or football game). Finally, he told me he just can't stand paying to be cold. Needless to say, skiing is not a passion of my sports-enthusiast husband.

Now fast forward a few more years and I have children. I'm so excited for all my future ski bunnies. My first few lessons with Ally and Nicholas, however, were pretty rough. They mainly just wanted to ski in between my skis (I would kind of holding them up and ski them down the mountain). I would wake up the next day with arms so soar I could barely lift them. But there is light at the end of the tunnel . . . this last ski trip my kids finally grasped the pizza concept (tips together) and I was even able to move on to turning lessons. It was our best outing yet. Here's some pictures of the future Olympians:

Nicholas

Ally

Grandpa and Grandma on the Gondola

Feeling guilty like only a mother can . . .

You know those reports school teachers always ask their kids to do after some kind of "break," the ones where the kids tell what they did over break. Well, I'm fairly certain my kids will report that they watched entirely too much TV and ate entirely too many sweets while their mom sat at a computer all day. Our vacation last week put me a week behind at work. I've never understood the concept of using vacation time when you just have to work twice as hard when you get back to make up for it. Anyway, I'm feeling so guilty that other kids are busy making fun memories and mine are making, well, messes.

Luckily my friend Andrea posted the easiest Christmas treat on her blog, which I shamelessly copied! Ally pretty much did the whole pretzel, hug, M&M thing herself (I just put the tray in and out of the oven). So this year all our VT and HT families got treats thanks to her.

Andrew has also been crazy busy. He's been interviewing with publishing companies and probably going to return to the industry. He has interviews in Salt Lake (for Spokane positions, not Salt Lake positions) next week. I already told him he has to be home the second week of every month. I can't give up my book group!

If I can just get though this week, I'll try and be supermom next week. Until then, thank goodness for Dora!

Pics from vacation

Natalie freezing on the beach with Nick's shirt and mom's vest.

Kids and Lego Santa

San Diego Temple . . . so beautiful!

Kids at the temple

Girls with Cinderella

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Rollercoaster of a Vacation

We just returned from Disneyland. As we were flying home last night, I reflected on the trip and truly think the best word to describe it is, "rollercoaster" (pun intended!)

The highs were so high I'd get those little "happy tears" and the lows were so low I'd get, well you know, those same tears. I'll start with the highs . . . Legoland in San Diego. The rides aren't as spectacular as Disneyland's and it's not as big, but on the day we went, there was no one there! We almost had the whole theme park to ourselves. No one in our family was cranky, everyone just rode lots of rides and had lots of fun. Another high, Southwest Airlines (seriously!) First, everything was pretty much on time. Second, they let us preboard and since there's no assigned seating, that means we got to sit up front each time . . . right by the bathrooms, the beverages, and the nice flight attendants who spoiled our kids. Overall the flying part went pretty smoothly. Another high, the San Diego Temple. The kids don't get to see the larger temples very often and this one really amazed them. I marveled at how the kids acted so differently while on the temple grounds than they did at other places on our vacation. They were quieter, less active, more reverent. The temple brought the "happy tears."

Now for the lows . . . first, the unbelievable amount of people at Disneyland. We thought we were so smart going there before Winter Break because we thought there wouldn't be as many people. Boy were we wrong! It was the most packed I've ever seen it (but I've only been 3 times so I don't have a lot to compare). Each ride had about a 30 minute wait (oh the joy of waiting in line with a 2 year old!) Another low, our rental van's electrical system went out. We were at the beach and came back to the car with 4 cold, hungry children and the car wouldn't start. Because this happened right during rush hour, it took over 2 hours for a tow truck to arrive. The longest 2 hours of my life!

With the highs and lows, the whole vacation was like a rollercoaster. By the end of the trip I was truly ready to get off. Funny though, Adam woke up this morning and asked me if he could go to Disneyland today . . . maybe he didn't mind those long lines after all.

Tree Time

We have a tradition that the first Monday after Thanksgiving we always decorate our Christmas tree. The pictures below are of the tree after the kids decorated it and how it looked after they went to sleep. Can any of you relate????

Before

After

Turkey Trot

We got back last night after spending 4 whirlwind days in the Tri-Cities. It's great having both sides of our family in one place, but it can be crazy! We did the 2 meal thing on Thanksgiving -- I honestly think I gained 10 pounds in one day! Then got up at 5:00am the next morning for some shopping with grandma. Grandma LOVES to shop and appears to be a pro at it given half the stores we went to the sales staff knew her by name! The funniest is Costco. My grandparents do all their grocery shopping there even though it's just the 2 of them! They just can't pass up a deal, even if most of the 10-gallon jar of mayo has to go in the garbage because they can't eat it all by the expiration date!

We also did the "Turkey Trot" while we were down there. This is a 5K run or 1 mile walk in Columbia Park (big park along the Columbia River, kind of like Riverfront Park). My best friend from high school was also in town, so we did it together with our families. This worked out perfectly because it gave us a chance to catch up and gave our kids a chance to get their wiggles out. They even had a big pile of leaves for the kids to run through on the course. Here's some pics:

Ally and Nicholas along the Columbia River

Ally and Alyssa (my friend's daughter)

#5 in the books!

Today was the Children's Sacrament Meeting Presentation at church (my 5th -- I'm trying to catch up with Lucy!) The kids were, as always, so amazing. I wish I could take a picture in the chapel so you could all see how cute they were. But let me back up a little and tell you how my morning started. My grandparents came up last night to watch the program (and because Andrew was being ordained a High Priest today). So this morning I was up getting ready and heard water running - I just assumed it was my grandma or grandpa in the shower, but NO . . . it was my dear sweet Adam who got out of bed, quietly went to the kitchen, turned on the kitchen faucet (the kind that pulls out) and shot water ALL OVER THE KITCHEN! The floor, the oven, the toaster, everything was soaked. I was so thankful my grandma was there because as I stood there in disbelief, she quickly grabbed a mop and got to work. Thank goodness we got up extra early this morning because it took us at least 45 minutes to clean everything up. Adam just sat on the counter repeating over and over again, "Wow! Look at that!" It was hard to be angry when he was so proud of himself!

Anyway, we all got to church on time and another primary program is in the books. I wonder if next year I'll be on the stand again of if I'll finally get a chance to watch a program from the pews???

The Wild Man Himself!

Laura's Lesson

Last weekend I lost a friend who I worked with on the PTG board at my kids' school. Laura was a shy, but intelligent woman, dedicated to her family. At her funeral, several friends spoke about her life. One passed on some advice Laura gave her several years ago; to take 5 minutes each night to write about the good that happened that day (Laura was a journalist). I've pondered this and realized there is something therapeutic about writing your thoughts. That's why I think blogging is so great!

So, in following Laura's advice I'd like to list some good things that happened today. First, 70 primary children made it through a 2 hour primary program rehearsal and no one cried or ran off the stand. Second, I saw a dear friend come to church today who I hadn't seen in awhile. Third, I had no meetings today and spent the afternoon hanging out with my family. And, fourth, I didn't receive ANY political campaign calls. It was a wonderful day!

4 lil' trick-or-treaters

I sat down to post a blog last night after a full day of Halloween activities and was seriously so exhausted, I couldn't type. After 5 Halloween parties, trunk-or-treat, and then having friends over for some "group" trick-or-treating, I was all "celebrated" out. The funny thing is . . . I can't figure out what we're celebrating. :-) However, as I tucked my son in last night, he whispered, "Mom, this has been the best day ever." Okay, maybe its all about having a day to be goofy, eat candy and be with family and friends. . . .

Our kids with their friends, the Hollands