Can I Just Vent!

Ok, so just to preface I love to have children to play over at our house. I always want to be the house that is fun to come over and play. We have two neighbor children who I feel I have been very good about having over to play on a regular basis. Yesterday, was my breaking point! Jake has been out of town all week and I had my friends kids over while they went through the temple. They were so good, not a problem! But, this neighbor girl comes over everyday and her Mom or Dad brings her so I feel like I cant say No, not today. Well, the other day I was leaving to meet with my childs teacher and had Ashley down the street come babysit since Sammi is gone to the Grand Canyon with Jake. Well, this little girl and her Dad show up and I say " I am just leaving and Ashley is babysitting" and he says "Well I am sure Ashley wouldnt mind watching one more" I am fuming, because I mind! She is over everyday and she constantly whines and tattles on my boys! Well, my breaking point came yesterday when she came over and they were all playing outside and Tanner comes crying with a bloody nose! She had whacked him in the face with these foam swords that we have. When I asked her what happened she said she didnt do it. That made me mad because all the other kids saw her do it. I was going to send her home but she came in and said she wanted to go home. I felt bad, because I am not normally that frusterated but it was a good thing because we had a great afternoon and there were no more issues. I just needed to vent about it since it has been bugging me. I feel taken advantage of sometimes like she has so many kids already what is one more! On a positive note I love to have kids over to play and I am happy to watch any of your children anytime. Truly!

Missionary Moment

The sister Missionaries called and asked if Rebecca and I would go with them to visit a 10 year old girl who wants to come to Activity Days. We met them at Tailor's house. Rebecca was very shy and nervous at first. I talked to her about Activity Days and got her contact information to get in touch with her. The sisters went over her Book of Mormon reading and taught her about Fasting. She really wants to be bapzited but needs to attend church at least three times. Her parents are members but not active. Rebecca really warmed up and told her about her baptism and Activity Days. Tailor wanted Rebecca to say the closing prayer and Rebecca asked that Tailor could be baptized soon. At the end Tailor likes to play charades. She has a ton of energy and her attention span isnt long so the sisters play this at the end. It was cute to see Rebecca act out taking the sacrament and reading the scriptures. It was a neat experience for us and I am so happy I got to share it with Rebecca.

Easter in St. John's

We spent Easter weekend in St. John's with my family. My sister Amy and her family live there and we all went and stayed at her house. It was really a cold weekend but we all had a great time. On Friday we went to the Petrified Forest near Holbrook. The kids loved walking the trails and being with their cousins. It was super windy that day. There were all these petrified logs and some of them had contained big crystals but people have taken the crystals out so there are just big holes where they were. On Saturday we had an Easter egg hunt in the backyard. We scattered the kids by age and they had fun finding and eating their finds. Later we went to Lyman Lake and had a barbeque and did some hiking. There had been some snow flurries that morning so it was really cold. The kids had fun skipping roks in the lake. That night after all the kids were in bed the adults played Ticket to Ride, I love that game. My Dad had never played before and he loved it too. On Sunday we all went to church. The church buliding were in was over 100 years old. It was a nice meeting and it is fun to go to other wards and meet new people. We had a really yummy early dinner and then headed home. Thank you Amy and Brad! It was fun to get out of town and to spend time with family!

Good Excuse!

It has been too long since I last posted, but I have a really good excuse! Or, at least I am going to use it as one. Watch out, five is becoming six! Yes, we are having a little bundle of joy join our family and we could'nt be happier about it. It was a real surprise but a great one. Tessa just turned a year old so they will be 19 months apart which is the closest for me but it will be so fun for Tessa to have a little brother or sister to have at home with her.

Tessa Turns 1 Year Old!

My baby Tessa turned one year old on March 13th. She had shots the day before her birthday so she wasnt feeling good the day of her birthday so we gave her, her gift which she loved. It is a Fisher Price kitchen and she dances so cute to the music. We had two families from our ward over for dinner and Family Night so we sang and had brownies and ice cream to celebrate.

Tessa is a bright spot in our family. She is such a fun baby and she loves to be in all the action! When Jake comes home from work he takes her to feed the chickens and she knows that is her routine and gets so excited. She tries really hard to say "ch ch chicken"! Tessa is walking now and she is so cute with her arms in the air to balance herself. All the kids just love her and want to carry her all over, but now she wants to get down and just go! Happy Birthday Tessa, We love you!

Yum! Brownies and Ice Cream!
How does this work?

Oooh!

Just blow the candle!

She wanted to grab the flame!

In her kitchen!

Korean Date Night

On Saturday night Jake and I went out with another couple from our ward for Korean food. I served my mission in Taejon, Korea and so did the husband of this other couple. It had been a long time since I had had Korean food. As soon as they brought it out the smells were so familiar and it tasted so good! It brought back a lot of good memories. We are going to have to go back soon! After dinner we headed over to a Korean market and bought some things to take home. I got a jar of Kimchi, a package of seaweed, a few Korean side dishes, and some marianade to make the pulkogi (barbeque meat you wrap in lettuce). We ate frozen melon bars on the way home. It was such a fun night out! Jake even enjoyed it, he is not a huge fan, but it is growing on him. I have been eating rice and Kimchi and seaweed for lunch and my kids say "Oh, that stinks!" and it does have a strong smell but I love it! It also gave me an idea for my sharing time that is coming up and I am going to talk about missionary work.

Sammi turns 12!

Thursday was Sammi's 12th Birthday! She had a party on Friday with some friends. They had early release so the girls came over after school and they went to the ice skating rink. Jake took the girls and I stayed home with Tanner and Tessa and got everything ready for when they got back. They had pizza and cake and ice cream and opened her gifts. She had decorated the cake herself and it turned out really cute. I had seen the idea in a magazine and she loved it. We all played Apples to Apples while we waited for parents to come.

Sammi is so excited to be going to Young Women's! She is a fun and sweet daughter and sister and friend. She keeps us on our toes and likes things to be her way! We love you Sammi and are so happy to have you in our family! What a wonderful blessing and one of our greatest memories and blessings was taking you to the temple to be sealed to us forever! Happy Happy Birthday!