Yes, we did have Christmas!

In reading everyone's blogs about Christmas I realized that you might be wondering if we actually celebrated anything this year. (Because I blog so frequently and all.) Well, we had a wonderful very low key Christmas. I have realized that there is no such thing as the perfect Christmas. The perfect Christmas consists of having my family surrounding me and I could give or take the gifts. Despite all of this, I have kids that still love the magic of Christmas. Christmas lights, Christmas stories, family traditions and, of course, Santa and his reindeer. We even put reindeer food out this year, it worked, Santa made it.

Well, here are some pictures of our Christmas. We went ice skating, the kids loved it.

We got to watch the zamboni clean up the ice.

Hope didn't want this night to end. She outlasted us all.

After we went and got frosty's and fries at Wendy's!

All she wants for Christmas is her one front tooth. Perfect timing!

We also made gingerbread houses, Kate's was the fanciest.

Holy cow, handsome boy! He was dying to have a vest for Christmas,
then he spent some his Christmas money to buy a bowtie.

Just waiting, is it my turn yet.

Sophia asked Santa to bring make-up. That's all. But when I ran over her bike about two weeks before Christmas we let Santa know right away and he pulled through.

Kate got a camera and somewhat of a crazy hairdo!

Nick got a couple of video games. He played them all day!


Kimball got a John Wall jersey and is still waiting for his other jersey! Santa got a late start and the mailman must have been too busy! (Jan. 3rd, it still isn't here.)

Hope's Perspective

Apparently we go through a lot of batteries. Everything takes batteries right! Well today Hope informed me that the batteries in the toilet needed to be replaced. (It must have not flushed right!) Just thought it was funny.

Another tender moment with Hope was her Christmas list. The most important things on her list were a Christmas tree and Christmas lights. She informed me of this many times until we finally put our Christmas tree and turned on the lights. She was so excited. She ran to the door and looked out into the darkness and was sure that it was snowing. Then she came and sat in front of the tree and said, "Oh, this is just like heaven." Oh, through the eyes of a child, it brought tears to my eyes. Who knows maybe heaven is like having the snow fall and the Christmas lights shining.

Soda Pop turned 6!

So this post is just a few days late! This year has been an exciting one for Sophia. She is finally in kindergarten and she is loving it. She is having her first friend birthday party this weekend and can hardly stand the wait. Sophia is such a fun girl to have around. She is so grown up and is going to be a fabulous mom someday. She likes to write and is learning how to sound out words. Sophia has lots of friends and is always orchestrating some type of game. She is a great big sister and really takes care of Hope. Our family would definitely have a hole without this little ball of energy. We love you Sophia and wish you a happy birthday.

Kate Bug ...they say its your birthday!

Where do I start! Lets just say I can't imagine life without our Kate Bug! She is so pretty, happy, loving, kind, caring, and considerate. She is definitely the middle child. She is a peacemaker in our home. It's really hard to believe that she turns 9 years old today. Kate loves to be with family and friends. She has been a singer since she could talk. Kate loves to read and excels in school. She loves to accessorize...yep, fancy hairdos, lots of hair flowers, headbands, etc. She loves to wear scarves and owns way to many pairs of shoes. She loves to listen to music. I feel so blessed to have such a fun daughter. We love you sooooo much. Happy Birthday to you!

Moments with my Mom

I can never let this day pass without being reminded that my mom is no longer here to celebrate with. However, a birthday is about happy thoughts, so happy thoughts it will be. Here are a couple of my favorite memories of my mom.

My mom made the most fabulous chicken noodle soup, homemade noodles and all. Whenever I make it I think of her. She always made it after Thanksgiving. I always remember thinking that she always was making to much, but rarely was there a time when there was leftovers.

As a teenager, when I would come home late at night she would stay up and we would have a midnight snack of chips and salsa followed up with a side order of chocolate chips. Yum...brings back so many memories!

When I was in high school me and one of my friends used to go walking at the college track at 5:30 every morning. Then my mom and her friend joined us. I loved walking with her. She used to help us study for tests and visit with us in those early morning hours as we walked. I really miss doing that.

I loved to feel her faith, if that makes sense. She was a believer in every sense of the word. She spoke of Christ, testified of Christ and had faith in Christ. She showed it by her words and deeds everyday of her life.

I am grateful everyday to be her daughter. Thank heavens we are an eternal family. I get all excited thinking about the day we will be together again. It will be amazing!

Twonce

I know what in the heck does "twonce" mean? Let me explain.

We were asking the kids to give us a report on President Monson's morning session conference talk. Hope got all excited and said "He talked about me". Actually, he did talk a bit about having "hope". Then one of the kids said, "How many times did he talk about you?" She replied, "Twonce". Is that once or almost twice? We have teased her about it a lot and tried to throw her off, but she insists that President Monson talked about her "twonce".

Creating my Bucket List

We had a great enrichment night in our ward last week. It was all about family history....kind of. We had different people come and talk about creative ways they are doing family history. One of my favorites is a sister in our ward who over the years has created her "Bucket List"...all of the things she wants to do before she kicks the bucket. Anyway, she has set goals and has them numbered in a special journal and as she completes them she writes about it in her journal and what she has learned from it. She also buys a little charm to add to her charm bracelet to represent each goal. Then when her kids see her wearing it they ask her what she had to do to earn that charm.

For example, she always wondered what it would be like to be a fanatic about something, like those crazy people that dress up like Star Wars people and go to the movie all decked out. Well, when Twilight came along she decided this was her chance to become a fanatic. She is very reserved and this is way out of her character, but she went to the late night premier of the book releases and movies. She knows everything about Twilight. What she did realize was that she had never read the Book of Mormon with that same zeal. She now reads the Book of Mormon in a different way.

So I am on my way to creating my "Bucket List". However, I am a woman with little imagination. Share with me what you would put on your "Bucket List".

Seriously 14!

I can't believe it, Kimball turns 14 today. I look back and can't believe how fast the time has gone. He has always been such a cute kid. He is growing into a fine young man. He is a great big brother, and babysits for me a lot. He is fun to be around and has become quite the joker. His response to everything is "Sure, I guess" or "I'd say so". Sometimes these little comments get me a little crazy, but they just fit his personality. Kimball loves basketball, watching the Jazz, buying new shoes, running, and spending time with friends. He is working towards his eagle scout award and only has the project left. We love Kimball and he is a great example to his brothers and sisters.



Always a mischievous smile on his face!




This picture of the boys together makes me happy! Kimball really isn't being serious, its all part of the act.

Happy Birthday Hopey!

Happy 3rd Birthday Hope! I can't believe that three years ago today our little princess was born. She has kept us hopping ever since. She has become a very busy girl. She has taken voice lessons from her sister, she can sing like no one else. In fact, she frequently puts on concerts when requested. She loves friends, dress-ups, babies, and polly pockets especially the princess ones. She loves string cheese, popsicles, and chewing on ice cubes. She loves being with family and friends. If you ask her about who is in her family she says, "Mom, Dad, Nick, Kate, Sophia, and Brother". Kimball is affectionately known as Brother, he really is her favorite. I can't imagine our lives without our little princess. Happy Birthday Hopey!

Cousin Camp 2010

Remember a few months ago when I posted "Visions of Cousin Camp Danced in My Head". Well, last week visions of cousin camp danced right in my living room with the help of my sister Heidi and Grandma Gerri. We really had so much fun. Who wouldn't with 15 kids between the ages of 7 and 11, wink wink. They were so well behaved. I am just hoping they had as much fun as I did. Here are a few pictures to show you some of the things we did. They are kind of in random order, but here are some of my favorites!


Feeding 15 hungry kids turned out to be no small chore! In this picture they are making fruit kabobs.


Tyler and the other boys had fun hanging out on the bikes and ripsticks.


One tired grandma and must I add, a very good sport!


We did sand art, they made bracelets, little castles and necklaces.


We also made candy lei's. I am not sure any of them got home, but it sure was yummy!


These kids have the best parents EVER, they are reading letters that their parents left for them.



The girls tied water balloons on their flip flops and had manicures and pedicures, yes, they loved it!


It is amazing that these four girls survived those eleven boys!


All dressed up after the relay races because it was so fun!


The water slide was the best attraction!


Josh on the climbing wall at the park. We visited a couple of parks and even ate breakfast at this park. We did a scavenger hunt here, played soccer, and frisbee.


All the kids at the Air Force Museum, we even got to go into one of the helicopters!


Roasting marshmallows for smores was a huge hit. It was a momentous occasion, that is the day Levi invented the "Rake Roaster". We cleaned off a rake and roasted 7 at one time. It was brilliant!


We went to see "Diary of a Wimpy Kid".


For the talent show, Nick rode his unicycle.



Kate did gymnastics for her talent. We had some other interesting talents such as creations, artwork, musical solos, paper airplane demos, and a personal favorite ... whip cracking!!! Yes, not everyone can do this you know!


We decorated pillowcases and they did a great job.


At the Castle Park there was a stream down below and of course the boys wanted to go check things out!

These are just a few of the memories we made last week. One of the other favorite moments that I don't have a picture for is our visit to Grandma Sandalls. The kids asked her how she survived as a little girl without game systems and tv's, somehow she managed! Thanks to all the great parents of these kids, I couldn't have cousin camp without them!

My Bountiful Baskets....

Someone in my ward told me about Bountiful Baskets. It is a produce co-op. You purchase online and choose a location to pick up at. There are locations all over Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, and Washington. This is what was in my basket today. There were 6 ears of corn, 2 large tomatoes, 1 bunch of bananas, 1 romaine lettuce, 10 little heads bok choy (I have no idea what to do with them), 1 small carton blackberries, 1 honeydew, 8 gala apples, 1 bag grapes, 6 potatoes, 4 red peppers and 8 small peaches. An amazing value for just $15.00 plus a $1.50 handling fee. It is so simple and delicious.

*When you get something you don't know what to do with get on Bountiful Baskets and people post recipes for unusual things.

Passions....

When I think of each of my kids sometimes I have a certain image in my mind. I was going through some pictures the other day and I thought I would share some of my favs!

Kimball is has found a passion in running. He ran cross country last year and did track long distance this year. He has already ran two 5K's this spring and has a couple more he is looking forward to. He is a great long distance runner!



Nick, the candy man! Everyone in our family knows about his love for candy, treats, cookies, well lets just say anything with sugar in it! (I secretly share his love and its hard to say no when he begs to bake something even if I know I will probably eat the whole batch all by myself.)



Kate, loves people and more specifically family. This picture just reminds me how intently she loves to talk and listen to what people have to say. She is a very genuine person.



Sophia recently learned how to ride her bike without training wheels, she rides it wrecklessly whenever there is a chance. I must say this is her passion right now!



Hope has become our little singer. She loves to sing Little Mermaid, Princess and the Frog, and other somewhat inappropriate songs for a two year old that she hears on the radio. In this pic she has adapted the meraca as her microphone!



What can I say, I love these kids!!!

Mother's Day...

Well, I must admit that this is not my favorite holiday. I do love that my kids like to make a big deal out of it though. Kate made 3 cards for me throughout the day. She told me she just can't stop thinking about what a good mom I am! What more can I ask for. I love that Kimball secretly sent me a note and reassured me that he does think that I do the things I do because I DO love him. This really made me smile. Of course Hopes telling me "Happy Mother's Day" is just cute as can be. Sophia gave lots of hugs and I had to chase down Nick to give him lots of mommy loves! Mark's yummy dinner, flowers, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and Granny B cookies, what more could I ask for. I have the best husband EVER!

Life is interesting, since my mom has passed away I find myself still trying to do things that I know would make her proud. I try to support my kids in all their activities and have the other kids support them as well. This was very important to my mom when we were kids. We went to everything of each others, dance recitals, piano recitals, soccer games, baseball games, everything. I have since realized what a priority it must have been to my mom because I find myself not wanted to drag everyone along when they really could stay home.

My mom was really big on visiting teaching and I have to recommit myself each month because it is not something that I love to do. I love to visit with the ladies, but the coordinating of schedules sometimes makes me a little crazy. But when I think of my mom I know she would be disappointed to know that I am not as faithful in this as I should be.

My mom was all about family! I know that she loved me and that she always will. I hope that I am being that daughter that she hoped I would become. I love you Mom!

46:10

Oh yeah baby, that is my time for the 5K I ran or should I say ran, then walked, and then hobbled, and then ran to the finish line. Even though I am not a runner, (in fact, I really hate to run) this is something I have wanted to do for a long time. I praise all my friends who valiantly run races and kick butt! This all started because Kimball ran the Knights 5K for his school last year and he wanted us to join him this year. Well, this year he talked us in to signing up. Kimball ran it in 21:16, Nick came in at 27:46, and I came in at 46:10. I had told Kimball that if the clock passed 45:00 and I wasn't there yet to come looking for me. Just as I was rounding the last corner I saw him coming! He encouraged me to run to the finish line and he even ran with me. I must say I felt an ounce of achievement (seriously the time doesn't mean anything does it)!

One Year Ago....

*One year ago, we left our home of 9 years and began a new adventure.
*One year ago, we left some of the best people we have ever known and have had to make new friends (who are also great people).
*One year later, we still look for reasons to go back and visit those old friends of ours.
*One year ago, we were sitting in our basement after it was empty talking about our best times in that house, and there were many!
*One year later, we still are grateful for all the times we spent sitting on the green box visiting with neighbors and all those passers by.
*One year ago, we didn't have a basement finished and now we do Yeah!
*One year ago, we were up to our eyeballs in boxes.
*One year later, many of those same boxes that have not been unpacked! (Perhaps we can get rid of some of it!)
*One year ago, we discovered the Krispy Kreme donut place not to far from us!
*One year later, we are trying to get rid of those unwanted Krispy Kreme pounds! (Ironically, Mark came home with Krispy Kreme donuts to celebrate our 1 year anniversary in this house!)
*One year ago, Mark was released from his calling of bishop.
*One year later, I am amazed that we made it through close to 6 years of a very busy life!
*One year ago, I was relieved to be released from being the Cubmaster. (I don't like being in front of people.)
*One year later, I am the second counselor in Relief Society. (Maybe after all being in front of a bunch of kids was better than adults.)

How grateful I am for the changes in life. Thank heavens that Heavenly Father knows best because it was hard to leave. One year ago we were sad, today we are grateful for everything we left behind and everything that now lies ahead.

Happy 11th Birthday

I think we are one of the luckiest families EVER!! We have a Nick, everyone should have a Nick. Nick is a fun, loving, happy, excitable, friendly, and a helpful boy. He is very tender at times, this is a very endearing quality. This is one of my favorite pictures of Nick, even though it is a couple of years old, this is how I think I will always remember Nick. Those big brown eyes have melted our hearts many times. Thanks Nick for being a great son, one that we love with all our hearts!!!

Girlfriend Survey

1. What time did you wake up this morning? 6:30 am

2. Diamonds or Pearls? Diamonds

3. What was the last film you saw at the Cinema? Can't remember I guess it has been to long! Or I have a short memory!

4. What is your favorite TV Show? Criminal Minds (I am addicted)

5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Cereal

6. What is your middle name? Don't have one

7. What food do you dislike? Fish

8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? No certain one right now

9. What kind of car do you drive? Dodge Grand Caravan

10. Favorite Sandwich? BLT Panini

11. What characteristic do you despise? Backbiting

12. Favorite Item of clothing? PJ pants

13. If you could go anywhere on vacation where would it be? Disneyland my kids really need to experience this!!!

14. Favorite brand of clothing? Kohl's they always have great sales and their clothes fit nicely

15. Where would you retire if you could? Wherever my family is at

16. What was your most memorable b-day? When Mark took me to Park City and his sister watched the kids a few years ago, loved the quiet break!

17. Favorite Sport to watch? Basketball and the olympics

18. Are you a morning person or night person? Morning person

19. What is your shoe size? 7

20. Pets? No

21. Any new and exciting news to share? Our basement is as finished as it is going to get for the next little while and it is fun moving into it and getting organized!

22. When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up? A mom

23. How are you today? Surviving and getting lots of grey hair, not even kidding

24. Favorite Candy? Reese's peanut butter cups

25. Favorite Flower? Rose - for today anyway

26. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Easter Sunday/Nick's birthday (same day)

27. What is your full name? Holly Page Potter

28. What are you listening to now? Sophia playing with the neighbor girl

29. What was the last thing you ate? Lunch - progresso soup and some flipside crackers

30. Do you wish on stars? Not really, but maybe I should.

31. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Yellow

32. What is the weather like right now? Cloudy but warm

33. The first person you spoke on the phone with today? Deluxe Carpet calling to give me a quote, apparently they don't keep good records, they cleaned my carpet less than a month ago.

Lunch

Yesterday I was asking Sophia what she wanted for lunch. She said, "Well, Miss Alisha says we need to have a grain everyday." I said, "So what does that mean?" She said, "Well, I guess I better have some toast with cinnamon sugar on it!"

So if you are not sure what a grain is ... well, it is cinnamon toast.

What Kind of Women Are We?

Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity. ~ Margaret D. Nadald

I came across this quote and found that I have a few things that I need to work on. It is hard to live this life sometimes with the things that surround us daily, but I think it is possible:)

What Were You Doing...

I saw this on my sisters blog and thought it was a cute idea.

TWENTY years ago I...
1. Was going to Mont Harmon Junior High
2. Had really big hair, tapered my pants, and rolled up my shirt sleeves
3. Went on tour with a singing group to California

TEN years ago I...
1. Was celebrating my fifth anniversary
2. Building our first house
3. Was wishing my mom didn't have to have chemo treatments

FIVE years ago I...
1. Had our fourth baby
2. Sat by myself in church every Sunday
3. Had more time to scrapbook

THREE years ago I...
1. Was surprised to find out that there would be a baby #5
2. Had the best neighbors ever
3. Was excited to finally have family move close

ONE year ago I...
1. Was trying to find a house for our family because our other house sold quickly (very stressful)
2. Moved to Kaysville
3. Didn't have to sit by myself at church anymore (yeah)

So far THIS YEAR I have...
1. Been bogged down by the Mean Mommy Syndrome
2. Almost gotten our basement finished
3. Gone to the cabin once, it was snowy and peaceful

YESTERDAY I...
1. Went church and actually bore my testimony in Relief Society
2. Started working on some gift bags for our Relief Society Birthday Party
3. Looked at the Sunday ads, this is my Sunday ritual.

TODAY I
1. Finished the gift bags with a friend
2. Went to Walmart
3. Took Kimball's gym clothes to him at school.

TOMORROW I will...
1. Finish preparations for our Relief Society Party
2. Do the laundry
3. Get the carpets cleaned

In the NEXT YEAR I hope to...
1. Lose 15 lbs.
2. Scrapbook again
3. Get my house organized

EVERYDAY I...
1. Am thankful I don't have to go to a job
2. Am thankful my kids are healthy
3. Think of my mom at least once (sorry to copy Heather) but its true

Bad Words

Hope has gotten quite a temper lately. She screams all the time and it is really getting old. She has learned many not so nice words from her siblings, but we are trying to figure out where she got her latest naughty word. When she is really mad she calls people a "polka dot". It is pretty cute and the kids try to get her mad just so she will say it.

Women's Conference

This past weekend I attended our Stake Women's Conference. I left feeling like a new woman. It was so inspiring and made me feel like I can keep going. One of the opening speakers was our Stake Patriarchs wife, Sister MacFarlene. Her talk was "Standing Knee Deep in Water and Drowning of Thirst". Oh how I feel this way to much of the time. I am overwhelmed with being a mother, wife, and all the other things we must do. It is interesting that we have everything we need at our fingertips, but we just need to take the time to partake of it.

Sister MacFarlene recommended a couple of things to help us out. She said first of all SLOW DOWN.....sounds easy, but its not. Second, she said get rid of the unnecessary things in your life. What do you get rid of? She recommended that we make this a matter of prayer and Heavenly Father will help us know what we need to get rid of in our lives. (Truth of the matter is there are probably lots of things I could get rid of.) Sister MacFarlene said, third we need learn how to receive revelation. Revelation comes in those quite times (like when is that I wondered). But we need to make quite times, take off the earphones, turn off the TV, turn off the radio when you drive. She said we can choose a life of commotion or serenity, of course who wants commotion. Having serenity takes a little more effort, but I think it is worth it.

So my dear friends I urge you all to slow down, give up the good and better things for the best and allow your Heavenly Father to direct your life. He knows best!

Honest Scrap

So I have been awarded the Honest Scrap Award and have been challenged to list 10 honest things about myself, and then award it to 4 other people.

1. I am terrified of water. I remember when my boys started to take swimming lessons when they were little. I walked into the pool and that terrible nauseous feeling came over me just like when I was a child. I almost didn't want to make them take swim lessons because it was so awful when I was a kid. But they are great swimmers now and I love to watch them swim. I am so glad that they were able to do it. Someday I WILL learn to swim. I know I would be so happy if I didn't have this fear.

2. I hate to speak in public. But I must mention I taught Relief Society for the first time and I am alive to tell about it. I honestly didn't know if I could do it. Before I left for church I kept thinking either I am going to throw up or faint. I don't know why this is so hard. I don't think next time it will be as hard.

3. I love treats. I love chocolate, candy, pie, cake, brownies, donuts, ice cream.... I really can't think of a treat I have tasted that I didn't like. Sometimes I curse my Nick for being the candy man because he is always begging to make a treat or go buy one, but he truly is a man after my own heart.

4. I recently realized that I still need a mom. I realize that there are many women in my life who I look up to who kind of in a way mother me. They give me that motherly encouragement that a girl needs. If you have a mom tell her thanks for all she does because you really don't know what you have got until its gone.

5. I have the best husband ever. He always tells me he loves me and the great thing is that I know he really does. We work together well and I feel very blessed to have him as an eternal companion.

6. Sundays stress me out. I know that it is supposed to be a day of rest, but it sure doesn't feel like it sometimes. I think that I just need to be a little more prepared on Saturdays so that I enjoy Sundays more. If you have any tips please pass them along.

7. The last month or so I have felt this incredible need to create...what I know not, but something. I have looked on lots of crafty blogs and there are lots of cute things, but I feel so intimidated. So Nick needed an indian costume for a school program and I made it. It doesn't look professional but I was pretty darn proud of myself. I feel like I can venture out now because if I can make an indian outfit I can certainly make something a little more girly.

8. Mad libs crack me up! One of the kids got a mad libs book from Wendy's (I know one of those stupid kids meal toys!) and the last couple of nights Mark and I have been filling in the blanks. It is just funny and it makes me laugh. I need to lighten up and not be so serious all the time. I guess I should thank Wendy's for giving me a laugh.

9. I love my friends. I have the best friends in the whole world and I miss them very much. I have discovered that friends for a stay at home mom make life so much more bearable. Thanks to all my great friends!

10. I wish I was more spiritual. There are some ladies in my ward that just inspire me. They seem so wise and just understand the gospel inside and out. I am sure that they have paid their dues and are way more diligent than I am.


Now I would like to award the Honest Scrap to:

Heather Hales
Melissa Page
Tia Chapman
Liz Rushton

Let Me Introduce You....

In preparation for a Relief Society lesson I came across this quote from Elder H. Burke Peterson.

“I have often wondered what would happen if the method of introducing a father to his newborn child were different. Instead of a doctor coming out and saying, ‘It’s another girl,’ or ‘It’s another boy,’ how would we react if each time a child was born our Father in Heaven made this kind of introduction to the parents:
“ ‘Thank you for preparing this little body for the spirit I have created. Now, I present her to you for a season to care for. Please teach her of me and of my Son. I so much want her back with me some day. … Remember this: She is loving. She will respond to teaching. She wants to learn. Please treat her with respect. The road will not be easy. Some of the time it will be most difficult. I want to help you raise her. Please call on me often for advice and counsel. Together we can help her fulfill her purpose in the earth.’ ” (Ensign, Jan. 1973, p. 115.)

This brought tears to my eyes and made me grateful that I have been given the opportunity to assist in giving some of Heavenly Father's children a mortal experience. What a great responsibility and blessing it is to be a parent!

Visions of Cousin Camp Danced in my Head

So, two years ago, (along with my sister, dad, and step-mom) I hosted cousin camp for 17 of the cousins which included 3 of my own kids. I felt bad not doing it last year, but we had moved in the spring and I just didn't have the time to plan it. But the last couple of nights I have been waking up with visions of cousin camp dancing in my head. I have been so excited that I haven't been able to go back to sleep. I just love that the cousins get to spend time with each other and when you take the parents out of the equation anything goes (well almost anything)! My vibe after cousin camp a couple of years ago was that the kids loved it and what a nice break for the parents. So the gears are turning and I am getting excited, guess I better tell the parents!

Some of my ideas this year are a carnival day with lots of games, booths, face painting and maybe even a store they can earn tickets and buy fun treasures. Maybe we can fit in a dollar movie, bowling, or classic skate day. I was contemplating getting a fire pit so we can roast hot dogs and make smores. Last time breakfast at the park was a hit and so was the milk jug baseball, so maybe we will do that again. Our service project this year might be a service scavenger hunt. I would like to do some type of ropes course for children - anyone heard of one- something to build self-esteem. I tell you the possibilities are endless.

If you have any great ideas please let me know. Three days is a long time and you have to keep them busy or it gets a little crazy.

You Know We Can Say A Prayer

The other day Sophia was at her little friends house when her mom overheard this conversation. They were looking for a specific doll and couldn't find it.

Sophia: "You know Avery we can say a prayer. Heavenly Father will help us out."

Avery: "I know but I think we will be able to find it without saying a prayer."

Sophia: "But maybe if we say a prayer we will find it faster."

About this time Avery discovers the doll.

Avery: "See we didn't need to pray to find the doll."

Sophia: "But we still could have prayed Avery. We can pray anytime, anywhere!"

Out of the mouth of babes we are reminded of the simple gospel truths. I am grateful that Sophia knows she can pray anytime, anywhere.

Sisters that make me smile☺

Through the years I have come to realize that I really like to be around older people. For a few years I visit taught Sister Golightly, she has become one of my best friends and cheerleaders. She has given me advice with the utmost love. She always lifts me up and tells me she loves me. I just love this woman, she makes me smile. We hardly make a trip to Kearns without at least stopping to see if she has just a few minutes to visit. The kids are always asking if we can stop and see Grandma and Grandpa Golightly.

Then I moved closer to my grandma, whom I have already blogged about a little bit. I have found myself finding excuses to be with her and have her teach me something new. This week she came and taught me how to crochet, which I had learned when I was little but hadn't done since then. I realized that older people have so much life experience and wisdom to offer. They have been around the block and have dealt with life. They are so willing to help and I hope that as I grow old that I will be this way.

Just the other day I went to visit a sister in our ward. I just stopped by to deliver her a birthday gift because she would be in surgery and not home yet before her birthday. I was planning on just giving it to her and leaving, but she wanted to visit. We talked about family, raising kids, church, health problems, schools, just lots of fun things. She said you sisters who are raising kids right now are just amazing. She just went on and on. I must say I felt pretty good about life when I left.

I am truly grateful for all these fabulous friends that I have made that lift me up and make me smile.

Just Try to Remain Calm

Just a little over a month ago we began finishing our basement, yeah! Oh we are so excited. Despite the excitement, I think I might go crazy very soon. Our boys who were sleeping in the basement in a partially finished room, now sleep in the living room in sleeping bags. Boys will be boys, whether they have a bedroom or the living room floor. They are driving me crazy with all the wrestling (I know they wrestle more now just to make me crazy). I get to witness every fight. Their clothes are everywhere, but only because they have no where to really be (the laundry room is the designated area). The laundry room has no floor. There is always boy stuff all over the living room. My motto: Just try to remain calm. If I can't see the laundry room floor in a month then my freaking out will be justified.