Memorial Day all year round

I had a good experience last weekend that reminded me that Memorial Day should really be everyday. In Walmart while shopping, I watched a little 4-year-old boy pick up the vegetable spray hose and start soaking his mom ~ it was so spontaneous and just funny to me, I started laughing - like belly laughing it was so hilarious. The mom was turned away from me, talking to her little baby in the cart, when she got surprise-pelted with the water by her son.  If it had been me, my first instinct would have been to laugh at my kid... but I noticed that she was instantly upset with her son, and started to gripe him out, at the same time that she noticed me laughing. I quickly composed myself and apologized, and told her how cute he was. Then she started to cry and told me how it had been a hard weekend ~ her husband has been deployed for 6 months, and its just been rough for her with the kids.  We talked awhile about it and I thanked her for her family's service. And I left feeling so grateful for so many families that give the ultimate sacrifice - their family members' time -- for our country. We are lucky to live here in America.

Loved going with Kassie for her first temple baptisms for the dead!

 

Fun rainy day playtime at Mountasia!

 

Sterling, my hero, leading the way on our mud-biking adventure... he had to move super big branches

 

When riding home from school today, Kenny looked out the window and said – "Mom, I don’t think that house is going to get yard of the month. They have no color in their frontyard." I told him he could only say things like that to me. But it kind of made me happy my interest in gardening is rubbing off on him... 8-)

Family Photo shoot!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the waterfight afterwards...

 



 

May: birthday month!

Kenny is 9 and Kas is 12, both within a week! Solution: use the same swim party invite and prepare lots of cake and ice-cream!

 

 

 

 

 

 

After months of taking drum lessons... he earned his 1st set!

 

And Kassie turns 12 -- already loves Young Womens!

 

 

 Cousin whip cream fight!

 

 

 Savannah catching the windblown umbrella like Mary Poppins!

 

 

Stephen is named Doerre's Outstanding Language Arts 7th Grader!

 

 

 

Youth Beach trip to Surfside

 

Loving this new Stake calling -- a Mexican Fiesta for the Graduating Senior girls in the stake!

And Yard of the Month... 2nd time ~such a fun surprise!

 

 Night out at the movies...

 



 

Realization

Tonight as I was about to totter off to bed, I thought - I'm tired. Just so tired. Why am I so tired? Then I realized. I sat down and thought about the stuff I did today. Not anything terribly unusual... in fact, perhaps less to-do items today than other days. But here it is, just for the benefit of my children who will one day sit down and read this to their kids... like how we've read my mom's journal about her busy life with 5 kids... Steff and I have an ongoing joke about the word 'busy' - because we're all busy. But alas - here's my busy day today ~

1am -- went to bed, after late night emailing about multiple Stake items
5am -- Woke up to Kassie patting my face... "Mom are you awake? Sorry to wake you up... Can I sleep on your floor?" Sure honey. Here let me just hop up and make you that bed right at my feet.
7am -- making breakfast, making lunches, doing kids' hair, reading morning devotional
8am -- school drop offs
8:30 -- YW emails reminding for Senior Dinner tomorrow night
9am -- drive to vet to get Geneve's heartworm pills
9:30 -- drive to Goodyear Tires for alignment, oil change
9:30 -- same time, grocery shopping next door. (must multitask)
10 - worked on talk I get to give in a few weeks at Stake Conference while waiting for tires
10:45 - home to put away groceries, assemble new lawn blower
11 - Mow and edge yard
12 - Drive 1 hour downtown to mammogram... 6 month follow-up checking on calcifications
1 to 2pm - mammogram... extra smooshy and tight today to get super good views. Awesome
2 - drive 1 hour back home
2:30 - phone calls finalizing next year's new girls camp site
3 - Vacuum and mop house
3:30 - kids home from school, snacks, briefly look in their eyes
4 to 6 - teaching voice and piano lessons
6:30 - eat quick dinner, host/feed 3 of Stephen's friends over for movie night
7 - drive Kenny to Scouts. Watch him rank up to Wolf.  Hallelujah.
8:45 - home. 1st time to sit down. Listen to message from school nurse about kids' immunization records out of date. Nice - gotta get on that. Put kids to bed. Read to kids (Kenny: random books; Kassie: Kingdom and Crown; Stephen: The Hiding Place).
10 - Hang and chat with Daron. Go thru mail, fix kids' lunches for tomorrow. Look at tomorrow's schedule: exercise, set up for Stake Dinner, fill 8 empty gas tanks, arrange warranty call for broken pool timers, sing with Janae, Kids' guitar/drum lessons, Stephen to YM, host Stake Dinner.
11 - Blogging. It's all good stuff. Lots and lots of good stuff. Very glad to have it all. 8-)

Birthday, Great Wolf Lodge, Medieval Times!

Love turning 42! Feeling very blessed for a great life... living by family, love Daron and the kids... sweet Facebook birthday wishes... so happy!

 

 

 

Memorable weekend getaway at Dallas Great Wolf Lodge... indoor waterpark and hotel!

 

 

   

 Fun dinner/entertainment at Medieval Times

 

 

Breanna & Dustin's cute son Michael gets baptized