General Conference

In view of the fact that General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is this coming Saturday and Sunday, I thought I would share the pictures from last October conference. Since we live in Utah, I want to take my children to a General Conference session as soon as they are old enough. Last year, Benjamin turned eight and had to wait until the October conference to go. We were fortunate to get tickets and so just the two of us went to the Sunday afternoon session of conference.

Card Trick Quilt

Last year, as we were coming to the conclusion of our tenth year of marriage we came to the realization that some things only have about a ten year life span. One of those things, sadly, was the quilt I made before we were married and saved to use when that time came.

The quilt I had made was a little threadbare and so I decided it was time to make a new one. Michael went to the fabric store so we could pick out fabric together, and I spent a few months making this quilt in a new and challenging pattern called "the card trick." The interlocking squares give the pattern its name because it looks like cards fanned out or overlapped. Thankfully, I was able to find a post online by someone who had made squares the size I wanted to make so I didn't have to do all of the math myself. If you look closely (which technically you can't because I don't have a super close picture) each solid colored "square" is actually made up of three triangles. Each "card trick" is a series of triangles put together to make squares which is challenging yet gratifying when complete.

Now we have a new quilt for our bed and I have developed a new talent. I love projects that turn out that way!

The Polar Express

We visited the North Pole via train last year. While there, we met Santa and Mrs. Claus and told them our Christmas wishes. When the children were done Santa talked to us about the true meaning of Christmas that comes through the birth of Jesus Christ. He talked about how the symbols, like the candy cane, we see at Christmas time can be reminders of Christ's birth. I loved how he took the spirit of fun that comes with Christmas and tied it back to the spiritual side of the holiday. Then, on the train ride back from the North Pole we heard angels singing the Christmas hymns. We had a wonderful night.

Festival of Trees 2013

Ryan and I went to Festival of Trees during the school day last year. It was far less crowded and so much more enjoyable then going on a crowded Saturday afternoon. This year we will be skipping school to go to the Festival of Trees.

 He insisted he wanted to see Santa and sit on his lap.

Football Movie Party

Last year, I was the team mom for Benjamin's football season. After the championship game we had most of the team over for popcorn and a movie. Benjamin had such a great time playing last year, he is playing again this year with most of the same teammates.

They even helped clean up the popcorn mess when the party was over!

Halloween Parade

 Are they going to start soon?

Excuse the fuzziness,

I am moving to fast to be caught on film.

Trick of Treat 2013

Halloween Activities

In 2013, Benjamin was a werewolf, Bekah was Perriwinkle (Tinkerbelle's sister), and Ryan was a minion (yellow creature in overalls) for Halloween. We spent several days dressed up in costumes enjoying some Halloween festivities.

Ryan Turns 3 (2013)

Last year, Ryan turned 3 in October. Since I'm fairly certain I have yet to post pictures, I am posting them now before he turns 4 in a few weeks and I become two birthdays behind.

Lunch Box Notes

Tomorrow is "secret note Friday." It's the one day of the week where I put special notes in the kiddos lunch boxes. Last year I wasn't able to be consistent about it, and because I know how important these notes are to my children I search for other resources online. Thanks to some creative and kind women I was able to download quite a few notes and jokes to print off. Now, I have enough notes to get me through a few months of "secret note Friday"s, and my kiddos have something to look forward to at the end of each week.

I like Leprechauns

There is a controversy about how social media affects are choices, habits, and the elaborateness with which we celebrate holidays and special occasions. Some people ascribe to it. Some people strongly dislike it. I find myself somewhere in between. I love when I can find better ways to enjoy the things I already like and solutions to problems I am already trying to solve.

Take St. Patrick's Day for instance. I'm sure you can find hundreds of things on Pinterest to do to celebrate it. I saw all kinds of posts about making every meal green to going out to eat for green items to elaborate scavenger hunts. I also saw posts about people being upset about the "leprechauns" visiting and their children being left out and criticizing those who overdo the holiday.

Personally, I actually like St. Patrick's day. I like it a whole lot more than Valentine's Day. If I had control I would skip V-day altogether, but since the schools have parties for Valentine's instead of St. Patrick's day we celebrate that to. But, I digress because I was talking about St. Patrick's Day and how I use it as an excuse to buy chocolate "gold" for my kiddos and I. Sometimes the "gold" comes in the form of Rolos spread all over the floor when the kiddos wake up. Sometimes, like this year, the "gold" came in the form of mini Reese's peanut butter cups in a Target bag when the big kids came home from school. Nothing fancy, just something they don't get all of the time as a special treat. The leprechaun isn't even a secret. The kids know it is me, but still enjoy getting a treat on the day most people just wear green.

I think one of the reasons I like St. Patrick's Day (and it's not because we are expected to wear green, because it is not my best color) is because leprechauns come with this idea of finding something good after working really hard to find it. I know not all leprechaun lore is that simple or nice, but I like that idea.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Saddling a Horse, Buckling a Child

When I was little we had horses. One of the horses liked to inflate his belly when he was saddled. After he was saddled, he would exhale and the saddle would be loose. Buckling in my 3 year old with a five point harness car seat is kind of the same experience. Ryan arches his back when he is being buckled in and I have to tell him to put his back against the seat to make sure he is buckled in correctly and everything is the right tension. I don't think he knows about our old horse but he sure acts like him when it comes time to be buckled into the car.