Saturday o fun

We had a fun day today!  We woke up to another "egging"!  There were eggs and candy scattered all over the yard.  And the Easter Bunny obviously knows Jack's favorite candy - "white chocolate" (cookies and cream hershey's bar) because he left 6 of them by the front door.  Then we went to Jackson's baptism.  We went over to their house after for some lunch and play time.  Then we went to Katya's horse lesson.  What a beautiful day to be outside!  We then headed home for a few minutes before going back over to the Adams' to watch their kids so they could go to a movie with their family who was all here from out of town.  Then I came home to clean the house and fold laundry...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!  Happy Easter everyone!

Happy Friday

We've had a great media-free week.  I don't know if I'm ever going to want this to end.  On Wednesday morning, Jack woke me up, and instead of asking, "Mommy, can I play... or Mommy, can I watch...?",  he said, "Mommy, today we are going to Rosie's house."  I explained that wasn't until Sunday, but that we would be going to see Ms. Heather and to play with friends at church.  He said he liked playing with friends at church.  Then he said he loved me.  Then he told me he did not have a dream about Sonic.  The night before he told me he was going to sleep to dream about Sonic and him fighting bad guys:)  I felt like I was having a normal conversation with any old 7 year old boy.  I really feel like I can talk on a much higher level with him this week, and expect more out of him.  I can explain things and he understands.  He is much more attentive at school and is not having near as many negative outbursts.  Even when he does, he's much easier to calm down.  The kids have had a great time playing outside this week.  We have played lots of games and read lots of books.  Some pictures of some of their Easter artwork.  More to come.

wow!

Our first media-free school day was awesome today!  I changed some things up about how we do school.  The kids had a blast!  Jack even said he had a good day, and he always tells me how much he hates school!  The kids made Easter crafts (I'll have to post a pic tomorrow because I forgot to take one, and I'm in bed and don't feel like getting up right now!), we played games, read stories, and just generally had a good time with school thrown in there, too!  Scott had to work last night so he slept most of the day.  When he got up he couldn't believe how happy everyone was, including me not being stressed out at 2 in the afternoon!  Everyone was very well behaved as well.  Jack even did his handwriting (which he always complains about) above with only the initial prompt and did not get distracted at all.  He worked for 15 minutes straight diligently on this and was so proud to show us when he was done!  This is a miracle because he usually can't concentrate on anything without repeated and constant prompting.  The kids had such fun with Daddy when he woke up playing wrestling and pillow fights.  We had snow flurries all day, but Jack went outside anyway for about 30 minutes with his coat and gloves.  I know the Utah people think we are lame!

We've been egged!

Tonight while I was finishing Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator with the kids, Dexter started barking.  I went to go check it out and noticed a car driving down the driveway.  When I opened the front door, this is what I found attached to the door...

and 12 eggs scattered all over the front porch (it was raining)!  The kids thought it was great, and it was a great reiteration of what we talked about at church today.  What a cute idea!  I'm so thankful for the Easter Bunny!!

We met a new couple tonight at the Hilchie's - Matt and Elizabeth.  They are here for a few weeks fixing trails for the forest service.  Pretty cool job, and pretty cool couple as well.  We had a great time visiting with them.  Katya even said on the way home, oh mom, I thought they had moved here!  They are just so fun!  Just like Laurie and Nick!

 Our kids are officially on a media fast.  They have gone and entire day with no media!  Yea!!!  It was awesome.  The only complaining I heard was from Jack during sacrament meeting because so many around us had their i phones or i pads out and he wanted to look at them too.  And Katya did say, I don't think I can go a whole month with no TV!  HA HA HA HA!  We are so pathetic these days!  It has just become such a crutch and used waaaaayyyy too much in our house, that I had to shut it down.  Surprise, surprise, no one was bored today, and they played so well together all day.  They played with figurines, had a picnic in the living room, colored, made a fort, swung from a rope swing, and played with the dog outside.  They also read books for over an hour, played dress up and had conversations with grown ups!  Amazing!!!  We might just try this FOREVER:)

New ideas

Today I attended a very interesting conference on helping kids learn, especially those with learning disabilities.  Check out the presenter's website senc.us.  My mom and dad were amazing to watch the kids all day at their house.  The kids had lots of fun.  They all said so on the way home!

We drove the beautiful drive home looking for animals and talking about all the road signs we were seeing out the window.  It was fun!  After we got home, we all snuggled in bed.  Jack and I read one of his school books together and then I read Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator outloud to the kids for an hour!  It was great!  Towards the end, Jack and Margot's attention was drifting, but they still just played quietly with their toys on the floor.  Now they are all playing with figurines together before bed.  How wonderful! What a great day!

Thursday, Mar 21

Farewell, lovely beach! 
We have enjoyed our stay.
We don't want to leave, but we must!
We will see you again some day...
SOON!

The kids were much better in the car on the ride home.  I'm sure it helped that it took 2 hours less, and we only stopped once for about 10 minutes. 

I took Katya over to spend the night with Grammy and Papa after we got home.  She has a CRCT prep class she is attending Friday that Grammy is going to take her to.  Also, they are going to start working on her science fair project!  How fun!  Katya is certainly lucky to have a science teacher working side by side with her on her project. 

Wednesday, March 20

What a fun day!  We started out with some crazy wind at the beach.  Scott and Katya braved the ocean with their boogie boards and Jack and Margot and I played with kites.  Here are some funny videos of Jack getting attacked by the kite.  He thought it was the best.  He played with the kite for an hour straight!

Then we went to eat lunch at our favorite health food store/sandwich place.  I know...we are such hippies.  Then we went into town to the huge playground where the kids had a blast playing with each other.  

On the way home, we went bowling.  We all love bowling, although we are not very good.  Thank goodness for bumpers!  In fact the lady next to us got a strike after her ball bounced off the bumper!

Tuesday, March 19

Margot:  Mommy, I am relaxing.  Are you relaxing?

Mommy:  Uh huh

Margot:  When I relax, I don't close my eyes. Are you closing your eyes?

Mommy:  Uh huh

Margot:  Why?!  That's like sleeping!

Having a great time here in the beautiful weather at the beautiful beach!

Monday, Mar 18

We had a blast today and enjoyed sunny weather in the 70s and 80s.  Here are some pics of our lovely day! 

 We went into town tonight for birthday pizza and ice cream!  Yummy!

 We also took a walk around Castillo de San Marcos.  Jack tried to break in!

Tonight we took a walk on the beach with the dogs.  They loved it.  Didn't get any good pics because it was too dark.

9 hours later...

and we're here!  Finally!  Usually we make it to St. Augustine in 7, but the kids kept having to stop for bathroom breaks and we sat in traffic for about an hour because a semi truck caught on fire.  Jack was like a broken record, "mommy, you are making me so sad! I want to see the beach!"

The kids were troopers.  Even though it was chilly, windy, and drizzling, they were so excited to go the beach, we did not hear one ounce of complaining.  They got in the freezing water and had a blast!

Poor Scott...Not a very exciting birthday.  He worked the night before and cat napped in the car.  Then he had to make his own dinner and didn't even get a cake!

Saturday, Mar 16

We went to a fun birthday party at Ink, a children's museum in Gainesville.  Check out the pics:

Poor Katya!  She was definitely the oldest there, but she still had a great time and didn't want to leave.

We also went to Katya's horse lesson where she had her first jumping lesson!  Check these out.

bieber anyone?

Here's a cute movie our wonderful babysitter, Stephanie, did at the start of the year before she went back to school.  Now she's leaving us to go to Germany for 2 years!  But we couldn't be happier for her.  Funny fact, I had no idea this was Justin Bieber when I heard it.  Sad, I know...

swimsuits in March? oh yeah!

Man, oh man!  Today was beautiful!  The kids are soooooo excited to go to the beach.  In fact, Jack argued with me constantly today about how many days were left until we leave.  They tried on their swimsuits to see what still fits and put them in their suitcase.  But not before they wore them all afternoon while they played outside!  Hopefully they won't be too disappointed that they won't be in the water too much while we're there.  I think the highest it will be is 80 degrees.

They all watched a movie together tonight while I paid bills.  ugh!  Here's a clip of them dancing to the closing credits.   

I was thinking tonight that our kids sometimes act like royalty and I am their servant.  Tonight they were watching the movie and kept spilling out constant requests like can I have popcorn, can I have juice, can you cover me up with blankets, here's my trash, etc, etc!

reflective

 

I was a little depressed today as I drove to school.  As I listened to NPR, I heard stories about child pornography around the US border with Mexico and sexual abuse against children in South Africa.  Heart-rending stories that I have been contemplating a lot lately.  Crimes against women and children have been on my heart his year for some reason, and I feel very deeply that I must be involved in doing something about it.  Not sure what yet, but I'm sure Our Heavenly Father will reveal it to me. 

On a happier note, the kids enjoyed a beautiful day outside today, playing an hour together after lunch, and then another 3 hours together after school.  I am so happy that they live in a safe, beautiful place where they can play outside and that they enjoy being with each other.  It also warms my heart so much that they are so excited when I get home after being gone only a few hours.  Scott helped Jack with school after lunch today, and he commented that he realized how excited Jack was that he got to do school with Daddy, and that made it totally worthwhile.  You have to understand that teaching Jack is a constant trial on your patience, over and over, minute after minute, because of his distractibility and difficulty with comprehension.

happy windsday, piglet!

My favorite things about today were the kids playing together.  They have been loving playing outside lately.  Today was so windy, I thought they might blow away.  Jack has a dirt pile he loves to play with.  Then he came in and asked if anyone would go out and play with him.  I suggested to Margot that she go.  She went out and played with paper puppets and umbrellas.  The puppets were getting married in their "umbrella church".  Jack jumped on the trampoline after he took his shirt off and unzipped his coat!  Very silly!

Then Jack came inside and went to Katya's room where she was watching a movie.  I had built a fort with blankets around Margot's lower bunk.  They cuddled in there and finished watching the movie together!  So cute!  Jack was very mad at 8:00 that it was bedtime because it wasn't dark outside yet.  Welcome to Daylight Saving Time, Jack!

Margot just woke up in the middle of night and is such a good cuddler!  She just came up in my lap and put her head on my chest - so sweet!  We all watched old movies of the kids today that Scott had posted on youtube.  The kids get such a kick out of watching themselves when they were little.

I almost left Katya at home by herself today for 30 minutes.  We talked about what she would do in an emergency, and her primary concern was the dogs.  I remember feeling that way when I was growing up.  I assured her that her life was much more important to me than the dogs', although I do love them. I just can't believe she is already old enough to be left alone!  Especially after watching the videos of her earlier from when she was 2...

track fun

We spent a beautiful windy afternoon outside at a track meet starring Tyler Hilchie.  He ran a 5:55 mile.  Even though, I'm sure there are lots of young bucks out there who could beat that, I am astounded that someone could run the mile that quickly - and he came in 4th!  I can't even run it in 8 minutes!

The kids were so cute.  They loved playing outside the entire time.  Scott took them over to watch the pole vaulters and high jumpers.  After that, they ran and jumped on the big practice mats for the rest of the time.  Scott said they were copying the jumpers and their form was actually really good.  I can't wait to start Jack in gymnastics.  I think he will love it! Check this out:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZEImOtlLwU

For a while, Jack was watching the baseball practice going on behind us.  He was acting like the typical fan from the opposite side constantly either jibing at them or acting like a sportscaster.  It was hilarious.  I guess he's been watching someone play Wii baseball or something, because he was totally following their game.  At one point, he told he batter, "You're supposed to HIT the ball!"  He would announce every strike, and then at one point, he said, "and that's the game, fellas! oops, I mean, no it's not!"  He was cracking us up!  He watched them for a very long time in between practicing his tumbling and high jumping!

Katya had a blast playing with her friend, Abbie.  They were both practicing their moves as well.  Katya looked so grown up with her hair pulled back in a pony tail.  She is so beautiful, and I am constantly amazed at how fast she is growing up!  She loves to still give me hugs spontaneously, and that makes me so happy.  She wanted me to read to her tonight before bed, so we started Charlie and the Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl.  She loves to read, and that makes me VERY happy. 

Margot is so pretty sometimes when she looks at me.  She makes the funniest little faces and is very animated and imaginative.  Tonight she wanted to read a book with me, and was trying to get my attention about it by mouthing to me while Scott was trying to read scriptures.  She kept mouthing to me even after I responded, over and over.  I finally had to stop Scott, because I guess my head nodding wasn't enough to please her.  She was so satisfied when I said, "Yes, I'll look at the book with you!"  We did that in her bed, and she always has to have a song while I scratch her back.  I am singing her the song of the month from primary so she will learn them.  So far, it is working.  She knows her primary songs very well.

I am loving having Scott home a little more these last few days.  He has helped me out so much by going to the farm for our meat, going to the grocery store, taking the trash to the dump, and cooking dinner.  It is so nice to enjoy each others' company.  He is fun to be around, and I know the kids are really enjoying seeing a little more of him, too.

Its a beautiful day in the neighborhood

Today was perfect weather.  After church the kids came home and played outside with the Hilchie's.  We had ward conference today at church.  Our choir sang 3 pieces.  They sounded so great.  I was really proud to be their director.  Scott's mom came up to bail me out since our pianist told be at the last minute that she couldn't make it.  She did a great job, and I am so grateful for her.  Not just for that!  The spirit was so strong at the meeting.  We sang "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need", a beautiful arrangement by Mack Wilberg, which was requested by our bishop.  Pres Wood also spoke.  He is such an inspirational speaker, and always has us on the edge of our seat, and of course makes us cry!  Every time... 

Jack gave a talk in primary today about the Resurrection.  He did a great job, even though he gets so distracted by the microphone!  He is such a good reader.  He was cute tonight telling the girls that he was going to be with them.  (They wanted to watch a movie by themselves:))

Margot said the prayer and scripture for the first time in primary today!  I was so proud of her.  She wasn't scared at all.  Of course, it helps that she loves Sister Hilchie, who was helping her.  Margot loves playing "Wreck it Ralph", which just means acting out the movie.  She always wants me to play it with her.  She is so cute!  She loves pretending.  I think her favorite toys still are the play dishes and food she got last year. 

Katya looked so grown up today in her skirt and shirt.  She looked like a young woman.  She is very sweet with her friends.  I love being in primary with all of them.  I was able to give Katya a big hug and talk for a minute before primary started.  I'm so happy she still loves giving me hugs in public.

We enjoyed having the Hilchie's over for dinner and conversation tonight.  Man, I love Sundays!

Whew!

Well, it's obviously been a long time since I wrote anything!  Over a year...but I am inspired to try again to get some of my thoughts down and hopefully add some pictures, too.  After all, that's why anyone really reads this, right?  Today I attended stake relief society conference, which was a great reenergizing boost for me.  The highlight for me was Ramona Zabriskie's presentation on Wife For Life.  check her out at ramonazabriskie.com.   Anyway, I was also inspired to write about what I love about my kids each day.

Today, I came home to my kids all tired out from playing outside all day with the babysitter.  Gotta love those 1st days of spring!  Margot was asleep on her bedroom floor, wrapped in her towel, too tired to even get dressed after her bath!  She was so cute when she woke up, wanting me to watch Backyardigans with her.  She also helped me make chocolate chip cookies, one of our favorite family traditions. 

Jack seems much more grown up today than usual.  He is now taking a second bath because he loves them so much, especially the bubbles!  He watched Herbie Fully Loaded and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles tonight.  He is a special boy and makes me feel so loved when he gives me kisses.  He is so cute to always ask if he can have snacks from the kitchen.  It really shows his self control when he says, "Mommy, can I please have another cookie?  Just one more?"  He is giving a talk tomorrow in primary on The Resurrection.

Katya is addicted to Dinosaur Train and loves quizzing me on dinosaur facts.  She also is interested in facts about all animals and still wants to be a marine vet.  She is so good to always take care of the dogs and never complain.  She has such nice friends, I think because she is such a nice person herself.  She is turning into such a beautiful young woman!  I just wish she didn't get so annoyed by her sister!

I am so grateful for Scott for being such a great dad.  I can always count on him to take such good care of the kids, and I realize not every woman has that luxury.  He has a great time with them.  Also, I am amazed that he goes to work every Friday and Saturday night and makes it to church every Sunday morning!  I know I was never that strong when I worked nights!  He also thinks I'm still very beautiful even though I constantly have gray hair that needs to be colored and could stand to lose the 25# I've gained in the last 3 years.  It is wonderful to have a husband who constantly boosts my self-esteem and always tells me how great I am.  I think he is pretty great, too!  Can't wait to celebrate his birthday next week in St. Augustine at Beth's beach house!