Zoo

Today I had the rare treat of spending the day with Clay. As the "middle child" he has not had much time alone with mom. Although, now that I am thinking about it, he would accompany me on those Relief Society visits in Ohio when Sam was in preschool. We did have our mornings that year. Anyway, that has been almost 5 years ago. Time alone with my Clay has been sparse. But I found a sitter for the girls and took the bus down to the zoo to spend the day with my boy. What a fun day. We met some friends there and I had every intention of letting the kids "explore" and watch the animals while I enjoyed some adult conversation as well. Clay wasn't going to have any of that. We were barely off the bus and he was begging to see the leopards. He wasn't much for stopping anywhere until we had seen the leopards. He wanted to see how "fierce" they were. So, we were off, and we weren't waiting for anyone anywhere. We excitedly went from animal to animal. Imagine Clay's surprise when we finally got to the leopard and on the sign it describes these creatures as "shy and elusive." He was floored. It really was a riot to see his expression. He was still impressed with these beautiful creatures. {I love tigers!} I missed out on any photo op of us together, but we did get a few of some of the animals, and some of my hansome boy.

The River Is High

When we go to the park for a walk, Amelia brings along the camera she got for her birthday. She got this shot of this awsome bridge, and as you can kind of see, the river is getting a little high. We went back on Thursday morning and this is what we saw
By our house, the river looks like this The river just absolutely fascinates me. I think it is amazing how fluid, changing, and strong it is. It has the power to shape the landscape and transport rocks, sticks, and seeds. It is something to respect and, at times, something to fear. This year, I think the Lord has been merciful thusfar. Just when we had a nice dose of beautiful warm weather{finally}, and the river responded fiercely, we were blessed with a couple of cool nights, slowing the melting snow from the mountains, and bringing the river back under control. It's hard to complain about the rain/snow mix when I think about it in that light. I can be sure there will be more to tell.

The Best Day Ever

Today, as we got home from WalMart, Sam got out of the car and said something to this effect.

You know, this kind of day is really the best day ever. Where we just get to
play and have fun. Except for going to the store, but I guess that wasn't too
bad because we got to get a movie. Today was SO fun.

I wish that I had taken some pictures today to show what a great
day it was. The boys were able to attend a stake father-son campout with
their grandpa and Uncle Paul last night.

I went to a baptism with the girls and then picked them up around noon. They did their usual chores and then they jumped on the trampoline, ran through the sprinklers, and jumped on the trampoline some more. It was an amazingly beautiful and warm day. The girls were decked out in their swimming suits, as were the boys, and we even blew up the turtle pool that Clay pulled out of the shed. At day's end we ate pizza and watched Alvin and the Chipmunks for the 3rd or 4th time. Sam and Clay are quite the fans of this "new musical sensation." So, we are going to prepare a number for the school talent show in a couple of weeks. They are so excited they can't stand it. They had to stand up and see how well they could actually move like the little creatures. It's a hoot to watch. And then little Emma, who was sitting next to me, starts her little body moving every time the music starts, and she sings too. What a bunch!

I feel like I need a little pat on the back. I was able to get our sprinkler system up and running today, all the time hoping that we're done with the freezing weather. I can probably guarantee one more snow, so I hope that we don't have problems, but we had the lawn aerated yesterday, and I wanted to overseed and fertilize while the lawn still had some pretty good holes in it, and with the lovely "breeze" that happens here, it is very important to keep the lawn wet. We're not talking about a little move the sprinkler a couple times kind of lawn. We've got 11 sprinkler zones in our side and back yard, and I used $70.00 in grass seed. If I want our yard, and not the neighbor's yard, to reap the benefits, I need those sprinklers on! So I just did it myself :)

What Could Happen to Photos in a Cardboard Box

Lesson #1:
Teach your children to wipe without using a half a roll of toilet paper every time they go.
Lesson #2:
Always make sure water valves are turned all the way on or all the way off.
Lesson #3:
If your office is near the bathroom or other potential water source, keep pictures off the floor.
Lesson #4:
Do not store pictures in a cardboard box, even if it is intended to store photos.



Gratefully, there are no major casualties in this incident (except for the box and a few negatives)


Just a few lessons learned, and a few minutes of remembering back when.

Happy Birthday Amelia

Beautiful here had a dance recital on her birthday yesterday. She was a doll! Every move was as precise as a four year old can, and she is so serious about doing what her teacher tells her to do. The class was a combination of gymnastics and dance, so they showed off their skills in both areas. Amelia was a star!

If I can find the cords to my camcorder, I just might post a video of the gymnastics part! More on the birthday later.

FLaShBaCk FrIdAY

OK, I'm going to copy other fellow bloggers with this flashback Friday idea. Maybe this will be the only time I get to it...

Since it is almost Amelia's birthday, and my baby girl is turning 4, I thought I'd remember for a minute what an absolutely marvelous, beautiful, and precious miracle she is. When the initial ultrasound didn't show them exactly what they were looking for, they had us come back two weeks later. The "expert" told us that the pregnancy was a disaster and that we should consider terminating the pregnancy. We weren't really ready to hear something like that. That was a horrifying day. It surely drove us to our knees and humbled us. We knew that everything would be ok, whether she was born health or strong, or whether she didn't survive the term of the pregnancy, we didn't know, but we did know that the Lord's will would be, and we were willing to accept that. We hoped for health and strength, and even our sweet boys prayed daily for that miracle to occur. And it did. I am so in love with Amelia and her fun, energetic, and magnetic (literally) personality. She is my Mia.

This & That

A little bit of what we've been up to lately.

The girls and I made some strawberry freezer jam the other day. Can you say delicious? We love strawberries at our house, and can go through a pound a day, easy. So, we decided to try our hand at the freezer variety. (I've done the other kind before) It was very simple, and very fun, even for the girls.

Before the playoffs, the hospital took Nate and me to one of the last regular season games for the Jazz. It was a blast! Darren offered to keep the kids since all of our babysitters were involved in Prom that night. When we went to get the kids, they were very excited to show us what they had made with the help of their crafty uncle. (He'll take orders, by the way.) Is our Yukon spoiled or what?

Then there was the fun week where Nate, I mean Sam, had to make his car for the pinewood derby. Sam really did do most of the work. He cut the car out and sanded it and painted it and decorated it. Nate added the weight and polished and aligned the wheels. He had some good ideas and was pretty excited about the car. We thought it would do great. It didn't, but Sam really had a great time making it with his dad, and actually, in the open round that they did after the official races, he came in second! I guess it just needed warmed up a bit.
We've had the fun of having some of my family come out lately. My mom was here for the weekend and then the next weekend Matt & Laura came with their David, and Aaron stopped by for the night too. It was so fun to hang out. Not a lot of pictures taken, but I thought this was cute of the boys and my mom. They pestered her nonstop to do puzzles, games, and any other play thing they could think of. That's what grandma's are for, right?
Laura took this darling picture.
Clay had his first grade program. They looked so awesome all decked out to be "Down on Grandpa's Farm" Here he is with his buddy. Imagine that pair in 10 years!
And FINALLY, it's nice enough that we can play outside without winter coats. We even got the tramp up! Next, we'll redo the deck. Really.