Dress Like Your Hero

One of the spirit days at Lincoln Crossing Elementary was "Dress Like Your Hero" day!  I love that, without hesitation, Loren said she wanted to dress like me and Morgan wanted to dress like her daddy.  Loren decided to be a cub master for the day and Morgan took on the role of soccer coach like her Dad.  I'm so proud of these girls.  We want to always be their heroes....someone they can look up to and count on always.  They make me want to be a better Mom!

Cup Stacking....and an impromptu FHE about teamwork

One Monday night, the kids were helping me test out a team building activity I had planned to do with the cub scouts the following night at our pack meeting.  After trying that activity, the kids decided to do some cup stacking challenges.  It turned into a great family home evening about teamwork and how working together is better than alone.  We also talked about listening to others suggestions and making adjustments when things don't go as planned.  You can tell from some of the expressions in these pictures that communication was something we had to talk a lot about.  hahaha! Sometimes, the best lessons aren't even planned in advance.  This was fun, educational and yes, fun!

Hannah & Morgan

Last year, Morgan met and became friends with the sweetest little girl.  Hannah was truly an answer to prayer.  Morgan had lots of little friends and there are tons of little girls her same age at church, but she never really had a "best friend."  She didn't really have someone who she clicked with 100%.  She had plenty of friends, but was always looking for that special friend that she could really connect with. Mrs. Cook's first grade class was such a blessing to us on so many levels, but one of the big ones was meeting Hannah.  Morgan and Hannah became instant friends.  Hannah is sweet and silly and just so kind.  She has a beautiful heart and is just such a good friend. These girls can often be found walking hand in hand or hugging each other.  Just so sweet and I am so grateful that her and Morgan met.  I'm also grateful that it brought Hannah's mommy into my life as well.  Emily (Hannah's mom) and I became fast friends.  I tell her all the time that we are kindred spirits...just like our daughters.

Morgan and Hannah's favorite things to do together:
Play dates'
Playing American Girl Dolls
Playing Switch it and tag These girls at school
Climbing trees in Hannah's backyard

Early Morning Church = afternoon family fun time

It feels like forever since we had early morning church.  Although later church and not rushing around in the morning has its benefits, I think our family prefers the earlier time.  This year we have church at 8:30 a.m. and are back at the chapel in Lincoln.  Getting out at 11:30 means eating lunch when we get home and then lots of time to spend as a family (which is much needed during tax season for sure).  We have taken walks, gone to the park, and this last weekend, we went on a family bike ride.  The weather was gorgeous.   The kids even enjoyed individual car rides with Dad in the TR6.  Special family moments that help us recharge, feel united and strengthen our family!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baptism Preview for Morgan

Where does the time go?  It is hard to believe that our baby will be getting baptized this summer.  I had the pleasure of attending the Baptism Preview with my sweet Morgan.  It is such a fun night to go and learn more about your upcoming baptism.  They had talks about baptism and the holy ghost, a little baptism demo by Brother Stacy and Madelyn, and messages from the Primary Presidency and bishopric.  I am so excited that Morgan wants to be baptized.  We know that her baptism will be on July 9th and we are so looking forward to celebrating this wonderful step with her. 

Heart Project for Morgan's Class

 Morgan came home with the sweetest little family project for her class.  Each student was given a large white piece of cardstock with a heart drawn on it.  They were asked to cut out the heart and then decorate it as a family.  Morgan was very serious about this project and although they had weeks to actually complete it, she was adamant about getting it done right away.  We spend several evenings working on it and she was having a blast raiding my craft room for all sorts of supplies.  We gathered lots of quotes and cute die cuts from my scrapbooking stuff and she chose where she wanted everything to go.  She knew that she wanted a family picture on it and also some other pictures.  She was so excited about how it turned out.  When she took it to school, she said that she liked her heart the best of all.  That's what's important! She was happy with her own creation.

Loren does hair

 For the past year or so, Loren has taken an interest in doing her own hair.  I love that she has her own style and loves trying new hair dos.  She looks at the young women at church and tries to replicate the hair styles they do.  She especially loves the "messy" hair styles.  I just love this beautiful girl and her uniqueness!

A Visit with Grandma and Grandpa

Grandma and Grandpa came from frezno to visit. we had a lot of fun .   we went shopping at the mall.     so that was very fun.      me and Loren and are grandma played the train game A few times.    We went to dinner to celabrate are grandma's and grandpa's anniversary.    this picture is when they left.   We had the super boll together we ate lot of snacks together that was really fun.  --Morgan

It had been quite awhile since my parents had been up to visit.  I was excited to have them and so were the kids.  Loren exclaimed, "yay, my playing Grandma is coming!"  hahaha.  She loves when Grandma Ols comes because she loves to take walks and play games.  We spent plenty of time doing both and also did a bunch of shopping.  The kids were troopers while Grandma and I shopped our little hearts out.  Grandma and Grandpa bought me new white dinner dishes for my birthday.  It only took trips to several Marshalls, Home Goods and TJMaxx's to find a full set.    Their visit also coincided with super bowl Sunday so after early church, we enjoyed lots of yummy treats and snacks during the big game.

We had a super fun time with Grandma and Grandpa and were sad to see them leave.

 

Snuggling with Mommy

Me and mommy are snuggling .   I love getting my mommy's neckie.   any time my mom has time I always ask my mom if she has time to snuggle.   that is always what I would ask my mommy. I love my mommy. I enjoy snuggling with my mommy.   I always say to my mommy her neckie is soooooooooooooooooooooooooo soft.    I like snuggling in my mommy bed better than on the couch. my mommy is soooooooooo sweet to me. ----Morgan

A visit with Kirsten

We love when Kirsten comes to town for a visit.  It's so hard to believe that not that many years ago, she was a mommy helper to me when we had three very young children.  Now she is married and has two girls of her own, Adaline and Elsie.  Adaline is a total Mommy's girl and takes a little while to warm up to us, but once she does, we have so much fun.  During Kirsten's visit to Lincoln, she came over and I taught her to make artisan bread.  Another day, we went to the park with all the kids and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine.  Our kids were all eager to help Adaline, while I snuggled baby Elsie. The girls got in on the baby snuggling too!  These girls are just so precious.  We wish they lived closer so we could see them more often.  Missouri is just to far away!

Daddy Daughter Dance Dress Shopping

Grant was gone on a Saturday afternoon at a birthday party, so the girls and I took advantage of the opportunity to go shopping for dresses for the daddy daughter dance.  We have never visited so many stores in such a short amount of time.  These girls know how to shop.  They tried on a ton of dresses and in the end, they both had success.  They love their dresses and most importantly, they FEEL beautiful in them.  Just need to get some little cover-ups to go over their shoulders.  The dance is on February 27th and they are looking forward to it!

Crocheted Afghans

Awhile ago, I made myself a crocheted afghan.   It was my first attempt at crocheting an afghan.  I searched for an easy pattern and one I could do with a larger hook so that the patter could be loosely done.  I found a free pattern on pinterest and loved the way it turned out.  In fact, we all love that blanket so much that the kids requested that I make them their very own.  Morgan picked out her yarn first and after months of working on it here and there, I finally got it done this week.  She loves it.  Now onto Grant's afghan.  He picked out the same type of yarn but in "Harry Potter" colors!  I'm working hard on it, but I'm sure it won't be done before spring weather is here to stay.  

It's that time of year again

It's February again, and the weather has been unseasonably warm.  The sun is shining brightly and the kids are digging for something to wear.  I guess that means it's time to go through the closets, pull out the clothes that don't fit from last summer and assess what each kiddo needs for this year.  This pile is just from Morgan's closet.  Can I just say that boys are much easier?  I have already cleaned out Grant's closet, taken out what doesn't fit and have already purchased his whole summer wardrobe.  Bring on the tshirts and shorts.  The girls' are a little more challenging and it often requires them to try clothes on.  Though Morgan can fit into so many things still, they are just too short.  She's a tall thing.  So....out with these size 7-8's and even some size 10 dresses.  Looks like we will need to do some shopping for her soon.  Loren's closet is still a work in progress, but we will get there.  Just as I finished Grant and Morgan's closet, we got another bout of winter weather.  Doesn't look like it's going to last long so we will be needing those spring clothes soon!

The Henry Knox Trail and the Fort Ticonderoga Cannons

About a month ago, Grant came home telling me how excited he was about a poster contest they were having at school.  We quickly ran out to buy his poster board, he took it to school and that was the last I had heard about it...until last night.  Last night, Grant told me that the poster was not only due the next day, but that it wasn't just for a contest, it was a for a grade in their class.  I was so frustrated that he hadn't communicated this to me until so late and now we were going to have to spend hours getting it done to turn in the following day.  If it had just been a contest,and not part of his grade, we wouldn't have rushed to get it done.  Thankfully, Grant knew what he wanted to accomplish and a fully stocked craft room makes supply shopping easy.  hahaha!  I cut letters on the silhouette.  He chose pictures to print, wrote captions and then we framed and matted the pictures.  He was please with the outcome and loved his poster.

Walk Through California

The Fourth Grade classes at Lincoln Crossing Elementary School participated in a presentation called "Walk Through California."  The students were all given expert cards with a specific definition and question.  They had to memorize their parts and then recite them at a given time during the 2 1/2 hour presentation.  It was a very interactive and captivating way to teach the kids about the history of California.  The presenters were animated and really kept the kids attention while helping them learn in a unique way! Grant loved it last year and Loren really enjoyed it this year.

Teeth Pulling

Mommy is sooooo not the tooth puller...that's usually a Daddy job.  However, it's tax season and Daddy is hard at work at his office so I had to step in and do the job.  Thankfully this tooth came out pretty easily and hardly bled.  Tooth number 9 gone, just like that!

Fourth Grade Historical Site Project

Loren worked really hard on this project for school. They had to visit a historical site (which we did while in SF for our anniversary) and then do a project on it. They could choose a newspaperr, brochure or time capsule. Loren chose a brochure and wanted me to teach her how to use photoshop to do it. I was impressed with how quickly she grasped it and was able to create such a beautiful brochure. We found pictures online and also used ones from our trip. They also had to do an oral presentation on their historical site.  Loren was quick to volunteer to be the first on her particular day and I was able to be in class to see her presentation.  She did amazing!

We Love Aunt Ellen

This lady has been a huge blessing in my life and when she comes to town once a year, I realize just how much I miss having her close by. She's like another mom to me...another grandma to my kids. We just adore her. She is always willing to help me, teach me a new sewing trick, go eat in-n-out burger with me and the kids, or just plain chat with me. On this trip, she helped me set up my new sewing machine and figure out how to wind the bobbins, thread the machine and then she taught me to hem some pants. She has taught me about a temporary fabric adhesive that is going to change my quilting life. She is currently sewing new rice bag hand warmers for me. She really is THE best! Thank you, Ellen, for always being so kind to me and for teaching me so many valuable homemaking skills over the many years.we 

Some days you need a pep talk...from your 7 year old

We had an especially rough night in our home last night.  Grant came home from a play date, and parkour, only to find out that he had to finish typing a story and complete a poster board assignment that was due the next day.  I was super stressed out thinking we would be up for hours trying to get all the stuff done.  The girls could see and feel my stress and thankfully, they jumped into action to do anything they could to help.  Loren helped Grant type his story while I printed pictures on-line for the poster board.  Morgan sat by me giving me all sorts of encouragement and hugs.   Once Grant's story was done being typed, Aunt Ellen helped him proofread and fix any grammatical or punctuation errors.  I continued to work on the poster with Grant's input.  I cut letters on the silhouette and got the pictures all cut out - and in the meantime, got a little education about The Henry Knox Trail and the Fort Ticonderoga Cannons.  At one point, Morgan disappeared and wrote me the most beautiful letter and brought it to me.  It is possibly the sweetest thing I have ever read.  It brought tears to both our eyes and it was just the pep talk I needed to help us push through and get these projects done as quickly as possibly.   I will forever cherish this letter and the many helping hands that evening.  

Valentine's Day at School

Valentine's Day is always a fun time at school.  As the kids get older though, I wasn't sure if it would be quite as fun. I had to email both Grant and Loren's teachers to find out whether they would be exchanging Valentines because I hadn't heard anything.  Thankfully, their teachers said they could exchange valentines if they wanted.  For Grant's class, we made yoda sugar cookies and put them in little bags.  For the girls classes, we used wilton chocolate and dipped pretzels.  I designed a cute topper and we put them in cello bags.  Wish I had taken a picture of the girls' valentines.  

This year has been so fun to be the room mom in Mrs. Maynard's class.  My sweet friend, Emily (Hannah's mom) and I have worked together to plan some fun art and activities for these sweet kids.  For Valentine's Day, we decided to do a fun art piece using the children's own hands, drawn together to form a heart in the middle.  We thought it would be a fun gift for their parents.  The kids were pretty attentive and worked hard on their pieces.  It was definitely a challenging piece and some kids were frustrated.   We persevered though and everyone got theirs done in time. 

After art, we quickly changed the classroom from an art studio to a party place.  I led the kids in some fun "minute to win it" type games using conversation hearts and chopsticks.  One of their favorite games was to see how many conversation hearts they could get into their bowl using only their chopsticks to pick up the hearts.  I encouraged the kids to improve their own number rather than compare it to how many their neighbor could do.  The kids had a great time.  They ate treats after the games and then got to open the valentine's they exchanged with their fellow students.  I think they were all on a sugar high by the time they left there, but that's valentine's day for ya!