A New Year, A New Start

I’ve always been horrible at keeping a journal.  I have about 20 different journals in a tub in my garage but none of them are finished.  I love to write but writing has never been my forte, if that makes sense.  I would start a new journal in hopes that the new cover or the new design and layout would spark some long forgotten ability to write and keep it going, all to no success.  That was until a dear friend of mine started keeping a blog.

Her and her husband lived in the same apartment complex as us back in California.  We were in the same ward, went through pregnancy mishaps together but then schooling and jobs sent them to live in Texas.  With Jared in law school there was no way we could afford to visit and were subject to keep in touch through email.  That was until she started keeping a blog and I could check in on her whenever I had time.  I loved being able to be a fly on her wall and I learned so much about what life can throw at you as a young mother and wife and through her amazing example I discovered new and different ways to approach and face it.  It wasn’t until we moved to the other side of the country that I decided it was the perfect opportunity to start a blog of my own so that family and friends back on the west coast could see how we were doing.  It also saved on the phone bills 🙂 .

For seven years I’ve managed to keep a pretty faithful account of my life and the life of my family on a regular basis on this blog.  It is, in its own right, a small sort of miracle that I’ve been able to keep a journal for this long especially since past experience has shown it to be pretty impossible.  I love that I’m able to read back and remember the kids through both story and picture.  I have referred back to past posts on more than one occasion to see if I had similar situations with the kids as they each grow up.  There are stories and little tid-bits of not only our family’s life but of those closest to us and who have made an impact, for good and bad.  It is a medium that has worked for me and consequently it’s not going to change.

In an effort to print off my blog I’ve noticed how much easier it would have been if I had several smaller blogs instead of one massive one.  So, I’m opening up a new blog for the year 2013!  It’s the same address just with 2013 attached to the end (jaredjohnsonfam2013.wordpress.com).  This blog will still remain right where it is but I won’t be adding any more to it, instead I’ll be refocusing my efforts on the new blog and recording all our adventures from this new year!

If you’ve enjoyed following our little family and our crazy lives feel more than free to come over and continue to follow us!  It’s been an amazing journey being a young wife, mother of four, and trying to make every experience our family has the best that I can offer them.  Happy 2013!!!

Hanging by a thread

I don’t know, I feel like I’m losing all control. Some days are great but it seems like they’re fewer and farther apart these days. Maybe it’s the holidays. They always seem to get pretty crazy. I think today I had just had enough. I had to walk out of the house and down the street to the park to cool off. I’m just tired of doing every… little… thing… for my children who are perfectly capable of doing it themselves.  I was perfectly happy knowing I needed to do those things for them when they weren’t able to do it themselves.  I loved it in fact.  But as the kids have grown I’ve required more self-reliance from them.  I don’t make them do outrageously difficult things but I do require some help around the house. But their work seems to have gotten worse over the last few weeks. For example, I’ll clean up their rooms after they go to bed only to have them wake up and DESTROY it before they even get ready in the morning.  Then I have two hours before they get home to clean it back up and do all the other things I need to do to make it seem like I had a successful day only to have them come home and create havoc again.

So, now with all this frustration being written out while I’m sitting here at the park it doesn’t seem as dire and horrific as I was feeling it was just half an hour ago. Thinking about everything that has been frustrating me and with taking the time to write it out I can’t help but cool down. Maybe the fact that it’s 50° outside and I’m sitting on a cold bench has something to do with that 🙂 .  It could also have something to do with the beautiful, clear night and the fact that I can see the stars.  Living in the city (even when you’re 10 miles outside) doesn’t allow for the chance to see the stars.  The sheer magnitude of it, even this close to the city, is breathtaking! You can’t help but feel so small and insignificant but somehow, in a very weird way, feel so important and fundamental. There has to be something that I need to learn from having these frustrating moments with my children. I might not realize it yet but in time I will.If there’s anything I’ve learned over the years of doing things and redoing things is that there’s always a reason.  It’s just whether or not you’re willing to open your eyes to see it.  So that’s what I’ll have to keep reminding myself until this “phase” is over and keep reminding me that the children are learning too and as long as we keep reading our scriptures and saying our prayers as a family we’ll pull through.

I think I just found my “time-out” spot!!!  This was awesome!

Snow globe Cake

Tonight was difficult!  It’s going to be that way for the rest of the month.  It’s just something new that we have to adjust ourselves to. Jared has tithing settlement all this month and so we don’t get to see him at all on Sundays. Tonight was the First Presidency Christmas Devotional which the kids and I got to watch, in full!  It was quite the accomplishment especially since I’ve been having a rough couple of weeks with the kids and their behavior.

The devotional had great stories and thoughts about how to make our Christmas experience better.  They talked about being a good receiver which I thought was really important for the kids to hear.

As the devotional was finishing up and I was getting leftover cake prepared for after dinner, Jacob asked if it was for daddy.  I said it was for them, the kids.  Emma must have over heard because she came in and agreed with what I guess Jacob was trying to say.  She said we should bring it to daddy since he was working hard and wouldn’t be home ’til late.  I asked the boys if that was okay and everyone was on board.  We gussied it up a bit and within 10 minutes we had a beautiful snow globe cake with the baby Jesus at the center.  It would be the perfect dessert to give the bishopric after hearing the devotional and to kick off our Christmas holiday.

Special Delivery from the North Pole

It has been a wonderful start to the Christmas holiday!  Last week we got a package from The North Pole delivered to our doorstep.  It was torture for the kids to come home from school, see it on the doorstep, see who it was from and not rip it open right then and there.  The package was so amazing and everything that you’d want from a mysterious package this time of year 🙂 .  It had stamps from all over the world but the best one said “Special Delivery from the North Pole”.  I mean, come on!  How great is that!?!

Well, we hadn’t even come to Thanksgiving yet and I’m a big believer in letting each holiday have it’s time so Jared and I made the kids wait until tonight, after Thanksgiving dinner, to open it.  When it came time to actually open it Jared and I were a little giddy.  We opened the box to find an even prettier box with a gold “Made in Santa’s Workshop” seal.  With each layer the kids were squealing and Jared and I were inching closer to get a better look.  We finally got the whole thing opened and saw that Santa sent us an ELF!!!

He is one of the cutest little things you’ve ever seen.  The kids names him FRED!!!  There was a book about him and explained all the rules, well the one rule – DON’T TOUCH!!!  If you touch him his magic will disappear and he can’t fly back to Santa and tell him how good or bad you’ve been.

At one point while we were reading the book it said, “Tell me your thoughts and wishes and I’ll keep a list”.  Right after that Emma looked at Fred and said, “Fred, I really want a baby sister!”  Uh oh!!!  Jared and didn’t really know how to respond to that one especially since it broke my heart just listening to her fervently asking.  We explained, again, how I can’t have any more babies but that we could enjoy our friends’ babies and get ready for babysitting.  Oh so sad 😦

Well this whole elf thing should be quite the experience.  I’m hoping it will become one of those treasured traditions that the kids can’t wait to have with their own kids one day.

BFF stage

Emma has this little friend that lives down the street from us.  They ride the bus home together and since her house is on the way to ours from the gate they walk home together too.  She’s been over three times in just the last week, every time choosing to come over to our house.  Her mother and father are divorced and her dad described the mother as a Disney mom, absent from the picture.  Her dad is very involved and came over to meet us and see who her daughter has been spending so much time with.

Emma has had other little friends but nothing quite like the little friendship she has with Taylor.  They are such girly girls playing dress up and doing each other’s makeup.  They love when I paint their nails and helping me in the kitchen.  They helped make Thanksgiving rolls the other day and were excited to see what they made.

Taylor came over the other day with this adorable Best Friends necklace and asked me to help her put it on.  They went back and forth over who would get what color.  I think I might have been a little more excited about the necklace than either of the girls 🙂 .  It just signified so much to me that my daughter is getting older.  She gets baptized in 6 months time and I can’t believe how big she’s getting.  I still remember her being this tiny little dark-haired thing when she was 5 days old at Megan and Mike’s wedding.  She has changed so much, although she’s still a little wisp of a thing 🙂 .

I’m so excited to be stepping into this phase of life with my daughter.  She’s so much like me in that she loves to read, do crafty things, and is perfectly content with solitude but also so much unlike me that it will be such an adventure!  She loves to talk on the phone, something I hardly ever did as a child which is exactly how my dad knew something was up when I would talk to Jared for hours on the phone 🙂 .  Oh, I just love being a mom and watching my children grow but also celebrate the now!

Coat Shopping

Tonight for my date with Emma I took her shopping for a new coat.  She outgrew hers by the end of last winter.  For some strange reason it’s starting to get colder out here in the desert.  They are starting to put cold weather clothing out in the stores and so I thought it would be nice to go and get a coat now, when we have lots of choices, rather than wait for everything to go off the shelves.

We chose to hit Target!  There were so many cute options, some that are not even practical but they look so stinkin’ cute that you have to at least try them on.  We grabbed hats and gloves and scarves and coats and hit the dressing room.

Emma is so ridiculously  cute I couldn’t help but snap a few pictures of her trying on the clothes.  We ended up getting both hats and the pink coat.  The blue pea coat didn’t stand a chance once she found out that the pink one zipped apart and turned into two coats!!!  She was sold!

So now we’re ready for the cold weather but knowing Vegas it will get warm for the next few weeks until we hit December.

Twilight Finale

I spent the morning trying to get tickets for a group of 25 people to see the new Breaking Dawn movie.  It’s the final Twilight movie and with it comes a great sense of finality.  This is something that me and a group of men and women in my ward have done religiously for the last 4 years.  The fun thing is that we’ll just transfer that energy into the new Hunger Games movies 🙂 .

It’s been super fun to do this with everyone, but this time will be even a little more special because Jared planned for me to go to the marathon that whole day!  I’m nervous and quite excited about it.  I’ll send the kids off to school and then Jared will take over at lunch time while I go and watch 5 movies in a row!  It’s going to be a little overwhelming and I don’t know if I can sit there for that long without getting a little antsy but I’m sure going to try to enjoy myself.  I’ll just have to make sure that I’ve planned for everything and anything and even if something comes up I’ll only be 10 minutes away.

So almost 30 minutes after walking up to the ticket counter at RAVE I walked away with a stack of 25 tickets and a whole lot of evil looks from people in line behind me.  Oh, well.  I know the group I’ll be with will enjoy themselves.

13th Birthday Owl

A sweet girl in my ward turned into a teenager today!  She is an amazing young lady and I’d only be too happy if my daughter turned out to be as thoughtful, funny, and well-rounded as her.  Her mom had asked me to make a cake to celebrate and mentioned the all too well-known fact that she loves owls!!!  I had picked up a ridiculously cute owl necklace that I was going to give to her anyway but I thought it would be fun if I could incorporate it into her cake.

I set out by making the main part of her cake just a regular stacked cake.  I then used the same technique/approach I used to make my little nieces’ first birthday cake several months ago.  With the mommy owl made and the nest decorated I set out covering two extra-large plastic Easter eggs with fondant.  That was a little trickier than I had anticipated but it was well worth it because once they hardened a bit you could open and close the eggs.  I decorated the outside and then placed the baby owl necklace inside one of the eggs for her to open up later!  I added a sweet little butterfly to the edge of the nest and sent it off to be devoured!

20th Birthday Cake

I spent the bulk of last night finishing this cake!  I think it turned out spectacular especially since there are so many personal aspects to it for the young lady who it was for.

She is an avid mountain biker and had a great trip with her mom right before her birthday.  I had heard the story in great detail and portrayed it through the fondant and frosting work.

My kids were so thrilled to look at all the details that I had pipped on there and asked about them.  I was really pleased with the way it turned out! 🙂

Trick-or-Treating

 

Tonight was the last night of our Halloween extravaganza.  Jared got home from work a little early so we could all go trick-or-treating in the neighborhood.  We got Kami all set up with the projector on the garage door before we all left as a Star Wars family.  Jared had a hard time seeing through the mask so as the sun set he mask came off.

This year was so much fun because the kids knew what to do.  We assigned them partners who they had to stay with the whole night.  Our neighborhood has a nice little circuit that took us about an hour to finish but loaded us with plenty of candy!  The kids were excited to get back home and dig into their treasures while watching Monsters vs. Aliens.  Such a great movie and even better to watch with neighbors and other trick-or-treaters.  I had made a huge thing of brownies for one of the class parties that I didn’t end up using and I most certainly didn’t want to eat them all by myself so we brought those out for the adults.  It was a truly wonderful time!

Shortly after this picture was taken I had spent $20 and bought back all four bags of the kids’ candy.  This is the third time they have collected candy (Fall Festival, trunk-or-treating, and tonight) and each time I allowed them to pick out 5 pieces that they could eat that night.  Tonight was the same thing but then after they ate their five pieces I gave them the option of continuing to eat as much of the candy as they could tonight but at the end of the evening we would be throwing it all away OR they could sell it to me for $5, each! The three younger kids jumped on the $5 while Benjamin sat there and weighed the offer very heavily.  His response was, “How about I eat as much as I can AND THEN sell you the rest for $5!”  I had to laugh at his way of thinking but I told him it was all or nothing.  He took the $5 and handed over his candy which we proceeded to pass out to trick-or-treaters.

An amazing Halloween without the added chaos that the leftover candy brings!!!

Trunk-or-Treating

I had very little time to get the kids dressed today for the trunk-or-treat but I did a better job of it than I did the other day for the Fall Festival.  I had time to do the make-up better on all the kids and I just felt more prepared.  So, with the kids getting home at 4:00 and needing to be to the church at 5:3o I was surprised when we had extra time.  I used that time to take some pictures in the front yard because who knows when they’ll all look this good again!!!

                

     

                

      

I really love this theme that we have this year!  We hardly spent any money on the costumes.  With Yoda we spend $1 for the green face paint, $1 for the green hair spray, and then used my sweater and his clothes.  I spent a little extra time cutting out some green felt and gluing them to one of Emma’s old headbands that she never uses.  For Luke I had luckily raided Jared’s closet and gotten rid of some of his old shirts.  I cut it apart to make the tunic and then used a dollar store light saber.  Leia was a little more in-depth.  I used some yarn similar to Emma’s hair color and another old headband to make the double buns.  I’m sure if I had made it more of a priority I could have made a white dress out of a sheet or something but I ran out of time so I bought an angel costume that happened to be on sale at Party City so that was a whopping $7 and a little makeup to finish it off.  Darth Maul was all about the makeup.  $1 for the red and $1 for the black.  I had a bunch of leftover black material from years ago when I did a production of The Woman at the Well that I shredded and draped to get the effect I wanted.  With all that done I found a pair of black gloves in clearance at Target for $2 and just used some black electrical tape to tape two $1 light sabers together.  I love when you can be creative and use the things you have lying around to create something special and unique!

The kids were great!  Everything was so enjoyable and fun!  We’ve been entering a different stage over the past few months of independence and self-sufficiency that makes me able to enjoy my children even more.  I loved when I was so inherently needed when they were little ones but I can now immerse myself in their personalities and really get to know and enjoy my children.  I’ll always miss some of those little baby and toddler times but I enjoyed them fully and so have no regrets in that department which really helps when moving onto the next stage.

We saw so many friends tonight since our ward and the newly established Windmill ward met together.  There was a bunch of great food and funny enough all my kids camped out right next to the food tables.  It was funny to watch little Miss Leia (Emma) keep up with her brothers and go back for thirds.  It’s things like that to help me to know that they’re starting a growth spurt and I need to watch what they’re eating and to be patient with them because for the next couple weeks they’ll be asking for food non-stop.

After eating it was time for some trunk-or-treating.  Such fun trunks and such amazing people here tonight.  I got a good laugh when I watched Luke (Joseph) fight Batman for a piece of candy.  That Batman is such a character I’m pretty sure he was asking for it 😉 .

Benjamin met up with two of his best friends at the church and I couldn’t help but snap a picture of the three of them.  Chaz was the Hulk, Willie was Cap’n Jack, and Benjamin was Darth Maul.  It was fun to watch these three very different boys, not just in their choice of costume, talk and laugh together.  It’s friendships like this that span ward splits and the years to come.

Nana’s Birthday

Several days ago my dad had approached me about my mom’s birthday.  He wanted to see if we could do a family dinner.  I thought it would be a great idea.  He then asked if I could make the dinner and a birthday cake for her!  With dad at work and mom at home it would make it impossible to have dinner be a surprise unless I made it.  I agreed, as long as we could do it at my place.

I planned the meal around her favorite Olive Garden special.  She always orders the Pasta Fagioli with salad and bread sticks  so that’s what I made.  Dad picked up some bread sticks on his way home from work and a bottle of their famous salad dressing.  While I was cooking and setting the table the kids were writing menus and signs for the front door.  I had made her cake the night before so that I wouldn’t be swamped with trying to make that at the same time.  My mom LOVES German chocolate cake!  The only problem is that she’s the only one that likes that kind of cake!  I remember making her a German chocolate bunt cake for her 50th birthday and thinking that it looked like a big mound of something not very delicious 😉 .  This year I made my version of German chocolate with homemade Coconut-Pecan Cajeta frosting.  It was delicious!!!  I’m lucky we got any of that stuff on the cake.

After dinner and we cleaned off the table we pulled out the cake and sang happy birthday.  Nana wouldn’t let anyone touch the cake for about 10 minutes while she dug into it.  The kids kept trying to get a piece or a bite and she, jokingly, kept shooing them away.  It wasn’t until the kids started to get really upset and some even cry that she finally relented and allowed them to have a piece.  I think she ate about half the cake all by herself 🙂 .  That’s when you know you did something right!

    

When we were all sufficiently stuffed, we all made our way over to the couches and enjoyed Star Wars Episode IV.  I was really impressed because my mom is NOT into the whole sci-fi thing but she watched the movie with the kids and I think she really enjoyed herself.  It was such a wonderful evening.  The food was wonderful, the cake was a hit with everyone, and we were able to relax and enjoy ourselves.  I love that my house was able to accommodate everyone and that it create a wonderful inviting spirit where everyone can enjoy themselves.  It was a very fulfilling moment to look at everyone in the family room and see them truly relaxed.  The kids were lounging on the floor or the ottoman, Nana and Papa sat on the couch with some of the kids going back and forth from the floor to snuggling, Michael fell asleep on the couch for a bit, Jared and I got to sit together and watch all of this… it was just perfect!  I’m so grateful that my husband has been able to create this wonderful life for us where I can stay at home with the children and that we are able to have the gospel in our lives and have that reflect in our home!

Fall Festival

Tonight was the school’s Fall Festival.  This year I entered our car to be used for the trunk-or-treating.  One of the fun things about using your car is decorating it.  This year we went really simple.  One of my young women needed some service hours for NHS and so I said she could come and man our car.  My kids love Michaela and so it was really special to have her there with us at a family event.  I had her dress in some of Jared’s clothes which were too big, and sit propped up in a lawn chair with the candy in her lap.  The material was thin enough that she could see through and grab a kids’ hand or offer candy when needed.  It made for a very basic decoration but it got right to the point of handing out candy and I don’t have a lot of Halloween decorations anyway.

I was completely surprised and baffled at the kids’, and even parents’ in some cases, response to our trunk.  The kids were very apprehensive about approaching our car.  Some parents wouldn’t even let their kids come up to it.  Meanwhile, we had a trunk on one side of us with decapitated wolves (+gore), shrunken heads, and a huge bloody scythe in the trunk.  On the other side there were zombies and tombstones and creepy pictures in frames.  I couldn’t believe it when one mother actually yelled at ME because her daughter got scarred!  I’d rather have a little scare from a harmless scarecrow than have nightmares because of the crazy stuff I saw next to me.  Plus… it’s HALLOWEEN!!!  Some people?!?!

School Pumpkins

Today I had to finish decorating the plastic pumpkins from the kids’ classes for the Fall Festival this weekend.  There are so many things I want to do for Halloween but there doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day to get it all done.  We finally just put up the decorations and I’m planning on buying some pumpkins next week to carve.  Last year we never got around to that and I want to make sure we do that this year.

I like to make sure I get a wide variety of pumpkins for the teachers to pick from and make sure that they get the most bids possible.  I had two pumpkins to decorate for Joseph’s class (am and pm classes) and this is what I came up with…

Emma’s class got the pumpkin chopped in half to make two matching frames (I thought Emma’s teacher would pick the sparkly one but I guess I was wrong and Emma was a little disappointed too)…

and Benjamin’s class got the crazy cauldron with the “IT” popping out of it!  Fun stuff!!!

Halloween Brownies

I have had this urge to bake and bake and bake ever since conference. I think it’s this time of year and the cooler weather that gets me all fired up. I have a list, an actual list, of things that I want to make for my family, friends, and things to create with my kids. One of the first things was these brownies! I’ve seen them all over Pinterest and I am a sucker when it comes to all things chocolate and mint, especially when the two are combined! I just put a little spin on it and made them a little more whimsical and inviting to the kids although what kid is not going to want to eat any kind of brownie!?!

I had planned on making these for Joseph’s kindergarten Halloween party so I thought I’d do a dry run and make sure I could do it. After going through the entire process I’m sad to say that they are a little to time-consuming for such a small party like that but it was fun to do and even more fun to enjoy. It was the perfect FHE treat and I’m glad the kids got to enjoy them because so many times I make things and they don’t get to enjoy them because they are for others.

* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
* 1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
* 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
* 1 1/4 cup sugar
* 1/2 pound bittersweet chocolate chips (1 1/2 cups)
* 3 large eggs
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 32 miniature chocolate peppermint patties, like York
* melted white chocolate for decorating

 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly butter and 8-inch square pan and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.  In a medium saucepan, melt butter, sugar, and bittersweet chocolate over medium, stirring frequently, until smooth.  Add to flour mixture and stir to combine.  Stir in eggs and vanilla, then let cool to room temperature, 10 minutes.

2. Transfer batter to pan.  Press 16 peppermint patties evenly into batter and, with a small offset spatula, evenly spread batter to completely cover patties.

3. Bake until cake is puffed and just set, about 35 minutes.  Let cool on a wire rack, 25 minutes, then top with 16 peppermint patties.  Let cool 25 minutes more, then decorate peppermint patties with candy eyes and chocolate chip ears.  Refrigerate until chocolate is set, 5 minutes.  Using parchment, lift cake from pan and cut into 16 squares.  Decorate with icing pens.

I made just a few changes to the above recipe by making it larger but it’s key to make sure you wait for it to cool during the aloted time.  If you don’t wait long enough the brownies will be too hot and will melt the patty all over.  You’re just waiting long enough for the patty to slightly melt (you can see how shiny they are in the pictures above, showing the chocolate is melted but still retaining it’s shape).

I decided to add some fangs to the other half of the brownies and then they looked more like bats the kids said. So I guess either way you do it and depending if you want to spend an extra two minutes on this treat you can have yummy cats or yummy bats!!!

Splitting

Today was our stake conference.  I have been loving these past few weeks of instruction that we have been receiving from our leaders, both general and local.  Today’s stake meeting was a bit different because we (our ward and two other wards) were asked to return to the stake center to discuss the boundary realignment.  There have been whispering of this happening for the past several weeks but tonight we got our first glimpse of the extent of the changes that will be happening.  The funny thing is Jared has known about this for several months but has been so good about not telling me.  Part of me is so pleased that I didn’t bug him incessantly so that he gave in but then there is a small part of me that was thinking “Why didn’t you tell me it would be this bad???” 🙂  I don’t know, just the  crazy workings of my brain.

My dad was put in as the new bishop of the Windmill ward.  We were sitting with Nana and Papa when they announced that little detail and actually Benjamin was sitting right next to him.  Papa was asked to join the other bishops on the stand and then was later asked to bear his testimony.  It wasn’t until after the meeting and in the hallway that I noticed Benjamin’s antisocial behavior.  I approached him thinking he had got in some fight with his brothers or sister.  Unfortunately, I snapped at him to push his attitude aside and to remember that this whole affair wasn’t about him. It wasn’t til after I was done that he started crying angry tears and said, “I don’t like Heavenly Father right now!”  It was kind of like a slap on the fact for me because I hadn’t expected anything like that.  I asked him why and he proceeded to tell me that Heavenly Father had taken his Papa away and we would never get to see him again.  It took every ounce of strength not to laugh out loud but I could tell it wouldn’t make things better.  It was the perfect opportunity for me to explain to him that we wouldn’t see him AT CHURCH and I stressed that fact very much.  He would still be our Papa and he would still come over to our house and he could still go over to theirs but that he was right that we wouldn’t get to sit by him every Sunday like we had for the last 4 years.  I reminded him that the church is still true and that Papa being moved to a different ward didn’t change that.

It will be sad not to see them at ward functions like we used to but that just means that we’ll have to be more diligent and creative in our efforts to see them.  Even though change is hard to see and experience it’s amazing because that means that the church is growing. This will give all of us new ways to serve and stretch ourselves.

Change of Picture Plans

Brandon, Kyrina, and Brayden have been in town for a few days and I had convinced Kyrina to let me take some maternity pictures before they leave.  We were going to try to squeeze it into my day this afternoon but their plans got changed and so we cancelled the session.  While running loads of laundry up and down the stairs, prepping dinner, cleaning and setting up for the shoot, Emma had convinced me to paint her nails like I had painted my toes the other night at Young Womens.  It was super easy just a little time-consuming, as is everything.  With her nails done and wearing this super cute headband I knew I needed to take some pictures of her.

I love my daughter!  She’s such a beautiful and talented little girl.  I’m so excited to watch and help her grow in to an even more spectacular young woman!

DESPERADO Date

Tonight was my turn to take Benjamin out on a date.  I have to say that it probably wasn’t my best idea but he seemed to enjoy it.

I remember when my dad used to work for Primm and our whole family would spend the weekend or days off of school down at the state line riding rides.  I even remember having a summer job cataloging or some such thing with my dad.  I loved going behind doors that no one else could and eating at one of the buffets with my dad.  But it was always so much fun to go on the roller coaster with my dad and brothers.

Last year Primm did a special for Nevada residence and you got to ride the rides for free.  We rode the log ride several times and after much coaxing I convinced Benjamin to go on the Desperado with me.  By the time we got up there it had closed due to wind so we went home without that thrill.  This time, I made sure he was up for it and we took the drive down to the state line and enjoyed some one on one time.

As we were standing in line he started getting a little nervous and started hyperventilating as the car inched its way up to the top but the minute we were zooming around you could hear him laughing and having such a great time.  Me, on the other hand, got tossed around left and right.  I don’t remember it being so bumpy.  I don’t know if it’s because of the age or if it’s because I’m taller or maybe even because I was so nervous about Benjamin that I didn’t enjoy it as much as I remember.

By the time we pulled back into the dock Benjamin was “whooping” and so excited!  If it hadn’t been so expensive we probably would have gone again.  As it was I don’t think my neck could have taken one more time 🙂 .

Oh the things you do for your kids!!!

WICKED

Tonight my parents took Jared and I to see Wicked!!!  I can’t tell you how long I’ve wanted to see this show and I finally got to see it, but in style!

My parents got tickets at the new Smith Center downtown and it was a pleasure to be there.  It had a very old Hollywood feel to it and with it being so new everything was immaculate!

It was funny that my parents took us to the theater because the last time we to the theater to see a live production was when we were living in London and, again, my parents took us to see Les Miserables!  That was equally exciting and thrilling, but I had heard such great things about Wicked I could hardly wait.

It didn’t disappoint!  I loved every minute of it!  I was familiar with the music but hearing it in context brought a whole new level to it.  I loved the fact that the writers could shed some more light on the classic characters.  I love things like that!  Even though it’s not my favorite, the new star wars movies did the same thing for me – bringing a new dimension to the originals.

The fact that I was able to enjoy the musical was second only to the fact that I was with my husband who was equally engrossed by the tale.  I love that we can share things like this together!

Return to Book Club

Tonight was the Book Club meeting where we all bring suggestions of books that we read over the summer or just books that we’d like to suggest to read during the next year.  I love book club but this is always my favorite meeting because you get so many ideas of things to read.  This was the list of suggestions of which 12 we picked for the next 12 months (*).

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by Fiona Carnarvon
The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman
The World of Downton by Jessica Fellowes
*Tres Leches by Josi Kilpack
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
*And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
The Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
*Seeking Persephone by Sarah Eden
Courting Miss Lancaster by Sarah Eden
Kiss of a Stranger by Sarah Eden
Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt
*The Is My Words by Nancy Turner
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
*The Uses of Adversity by Carlfred Broderick
*Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
Sold by Patricia McCormick
*The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
Borrowed Light by Carla Kelly
The Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
*A Heart So Broken by Christene Houston
Delivering Happiness Tony Hsieh
Black Heel and Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Snow White and the Huntsman by Lily Blake
The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley
Timepiece by Richard Paul Evans
The Letter by Richard Paul Evans
Mrs. Miracle by Debbie Macomber
Seven Miracles that Saved America by Chris Stewart
Return to Virtue by Elaine Dalton
*Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
*Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth
After Hello by Lisa Mangum
*The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy

I’m so excited to read these books!  It will be super fun to read my friend Christene Houston’s new book for November.  I don’t think I know anyone that has written a book and so this will be a fun experience.  I was also asked to take pictures at her book launch so that will be a fun adventure as well 🙂 .