Five for Friday--Leaving On A Jet Plane Edition

1. Whitney's teacher totally surprised me by giving me this fabulous cupcake (those are Reese's Peanut Butter Cups on top of some sort of mildly delicious peanut butter concoction), along with a cute photo card signed by all the kids in the class, AND a $20 gift card to Zupas to thank me for being the room mom this year!

I was seriously delighted with these items.

2. I have said before that "Whitney is trying to kill me one sock at a time" and usually this is because I find her socks (most often mismatched or one at a time) all over the house. I have found them in her toy bins, under the couch, on the book shelf, on the floor in my bedroom ($#@!), on the front porch and in the garage, so I am often shouting "Whitney!" (ala Fred Flintstone's "Wilma!") throughout the day, even when she's not home.

Another one of her sock issues is that she doesn't line the heel part (even when conveniently colored for easy placement) on her heels, so instead she pulls her little ankle-high socks up as if she's trying to stretch them into knee-highs...it's quite attractive. (Notice how she's wearing mismatched socks AND featuring the misplaced heel look.)


3. Here is another Whitneyism from this week. She was mad at me the other morning because I wouldn't put pony tails in her hair. I told her I would do them next day, but that we didn't have time that morning and I had just blown dry her hair so she was looking particularly cute. She was not happy with this verdict and just had to illustrate her feelings.


4. My mom and I went to the Dance Festival at the school to see the kids' perform, and totally lucked out that 5th grade danced first and the 2nd grade performed second, that meant we didn't have to stay for the whole thing (I'd watched the entire rehearsal the day before) and could go to breakfast instead. Score!


5. I ended up having to miss our big family party for Tess' 7th birthday so I would have enough time to do the rest of the pretrip laundry and packing. It worked out beautifully to have Randy and the kids gone for 4 hours (this should be our new tradition when packing needs to be done). I was able to focus with minimal distractions and get almost everything done. This was my first time using the "roll" method for packing, and I think I definitely got more in my suitcase than I would have if I'd tried to fold everything.

We're leaving for Illinois at 1:40pm today and I have no idea when I'll be able to blog (or comment) again. Heaven help me!

**Have you ever had a Reese's cupcake like this?
Does anyone in your house have sock issues?
What do you think of Whitney's angry art?
Do you roll or fold your clothes when packing?**

Last Day of School!

It's not ideal to be leaving for a 3 week trip on the last day of school, but I've done surprisingly well with all the school activities this week and with the trip preparations. My main concern was having a good idea for a teacher gift. I wanted something thoughtful, personal and inexpensive, but had no ideas. Luckily Shauna left a comment on my post the other day, and I was able to go to her blog and see her great idea for teacher gifts. Thank you Shauna for saving the day!


Having "Gifts" as my love language can be quite a challenge since it means I always want to give gifts and often feel like my desires don't match my means.


This morning I was scrambling to finish the teacher gifts, have the kids and I write in the cards for their teachers, and then make cards for the office staff (2 angelic women) and Landon's choir teacher. I was so thrilled to have gotten those cards done (following through on an intention never gets old!).

Whitney's note to her teacher.

Landon's note to his teacher.


This is the picture from their first day of school!

This is the picture from their last day of school.
I can't believe the school year is over already!

**Did the school year fly by for you?
Do you love Shauna's teacher gift idea?
Do you write notes to your kids' teachers?
Do you want to give more than you're able?**

Guest Blogger--The Great Landini

Hello everybody! This is my first post so be with me on this!

A few weeks ago my dad and I went on a camp out.
It was very fun and I had a good time.

We had a dinner of hot dogs,chips,and beans. I had everything but the beans[when I get gas......]
I saw my dad with a plate full of stuff and asked him how many rounds of beans he had.
He said " I've had two rounds and now iI'm going for thirds!" I thought in horror as how this would go sleeping in the tent 1/2 a foot away from Mr. Beans. Later when we went to go sleep in the tent I fell asleep 1st, but later in the night I awoke to the cutting of the cheese very loudly coming from my dad! He awoke at like 2 A.M. in the morning to tell me he had to go to the bathroom. And half awake I replied "Good for you."

Earlier we went on a hike up in the woods.

The bishop gave a talk about Nephi and his family.

We roasted marshmellows from 9 to 11 P.M. and I awoke at 5:30 A.M.[ugh] and my dad slept for another 3 or 4 hours. It was very cold at 5:3o in the canyon. I'm lucky there was a fire going.
Later we played games up in the hills which was fun.

**Do you like going camping?
Do you get bad gas from beans?
Do you sleep awful like me going camping?**

Note from Jill: Landon wrote this post (complete with questions and labels) totally on his own.

Serenity Now

It's the last week of school here, and having Monday off for Memorial Day has taken much-needed time away from my very busy week. We leave for Illinois on Friday at 1:40 (the kids finish school at 10:30) so I should be in full-on trip prep mode, but instead I'm in a busy last-week-of school mode. Aargh!

This is what yesterday looked like.


8:30am Hair appointment for Whitney and eyebrow wax for me.

9:40am Whitney back to school, I watched the school dance festival rehearsal.

10:45-12:50 Home to package (which was strangely time consuming) 3 books I sold on Amazon.com this weekend and a good mail item.


1:00-3:15 Go back to the school to help with the choir's bowling party. This involved being in charge of a group of 10 kids, walking to the bowling alley (it felt very hot outside), supervising the bowling, then walking back.

3:15-3:30 Mail items at post office. The worker there said, "Hey, it's the good mail sticker lady" after she saw one of my packages.

3:30-3:55 Chug some water, lie on my bed to attempt to bring my body temperature down to a manageable level, get the kids set for the afternoon.


4:00-5:00 Fill in for another leader at Activity Days.

5:10-5:45 Go grocery shopping and get a new bag of Sonic Ice.

5:45 Unload groceries and make spaghetti for dinner.

The rest of the evening was calmer but still busy. Good grief.

Today is a surprisingly calm day, which I really need to take advantage of. I still need to get teacher gifts, snacks for our trip, a birthday present for Tess, do laundry, figure out what we need to take, try to pack while bearing in mind that the airlines now charge to check in luggage (#$@!), and so on while knowing I'll be helping at Field Day for 6 hours tomorrow and then going to a birthday party tomorrow evening. Serenity Now!

**Do you have a busy week?
Are you bugged about having to pay to check luggage?
Do you have a good idea for teacher's gifts?**

Memorable Memorial Day

We spent Memorial Day in freakin Eagle Mountain at my parents' house (lovingly referred to as The Compound).


I started taking pictures immediately upon arriving because the sky was so picturesque and because I felt the urge document my dad's yard working ways.


He gave me a tour of his what's growing in his greenhouse, which was very cool to see.


They recently got a couple chickens (for the eggs), so it's a new thing to have clucking going on in the background.


We had some good, Memorial Day-type food and enjoyed sitting in the screened in porch (can't believe I didn't take a picture of us out there) feeling the breeze. Adam and Amy weren't there because they'd made plans with some friends (whatever), so we actually had several lulls in the conversation. Adam usually does most of the talking and entertaining at our family functions, so the day felt much calmer and quieter than usual. It was still good, but noticeably different.


The highlight of the day was our 2 hour Four Square tournament which involved everyone except Randy and Jared (they drove around looking at houses for sale). It was so fun to have everyone involved from ages 5 to 60!

Check out this action shot!

Andrew even hung around outside with us and did sidewalk chalk and some humming. He also threw a tennis ball onto the roof, which landed in the rain gutter (much to my dad's chagrin).

Andrew took Ashley's bike for test drive.

We had a holding area for those waiting for their turn to rotate into the game, and this proved to be hilarious. No one was there for long, and we kept getting confused about who was next, so my mom ended up making these little number cards to help us keep track. This proved helpful yet confusing because each time someone rotated into the game we all had to get a different number, so everyone was saying "I need 2" "Where's 5?" and so on. We're retarded.

There was all kinds of family bonding going on.

Ashley didn't play four square, but she hung out with us and was her usual cute self.


Olivia impressed us all with her enthusiasm and good sportsmanship as this was the first time she had ever played the game. She would usually get one or two hits and then be out, so it could have been really frustrating for her. We were thrilled at the end of the game when she made it all the way to the "Ace" square! (She didn't stay there very long, but she got there.)


After we were all thoroughly pooped (and some of us sweating) we did the logical thing and made a fire. The weather was actually cool and breezy, but I was still overly warm after playing for so long. Lori brought stuff to make s'mores, so the kids were in heaven.


I think the gooeyness of it all appealed to Whitney's natural mess-making tendencies.


Randy and Jared finally came back and threw the football around with me, Landon and Austin for awhile. (I took this picture through the screen on the porch.)


The kids and I went to visit Amie, James and Jessica (Jimmy had left for a trip earlier in the day) since we were in the area. Whitney was so excited to ride her bike with Jessica since there's much less traffic than where we live. (Lori ended up driving Randy home.)


James talked Amie into letting him give Landon and Austin a ride in their Ranger. Can you imagine the euphoria involved in getting drive something like this as a kid? Landon later told me that James is a great driver and will be awesome when he gets to drive for real.


I'd brought brownies and ice cream for dessert at The Compound, but we didn't eat them because of the s'mores, so we ended up having some tasty treats to share with Amie and the kids.

Amie and I didn't end up taking a self-portrait because it was dark by the time we left, and I didn't want to subject us to an end-of-the-day, nighttime light picture. Oh well.

**Did you have a good Memorial Day?
When was the last time you played Four Square?
Do you like s'mores?
Who's the entertainer in your family?**

One of My Favorites

This is one of my favorite clips from The New Adventures of Old Christine, enjoy!

If you haven't been watching this show from the beginning, treat yourself to watching Seasons 1 and 2 on dvd, you will NOT be disappointed.

**Do you watch this show?
Did you laugh?**

Sunday Thoughts

I was originally planning on reporting back on the many mothers in my life, but I'm not ready yet because I keep thinking of more, so maybe that will be next week's post.


Today was another great Sunday at church, so I'm feeling totally uplifted and super charged by the Spirit. We had two graduating seniors who talked about what they've learned by attending seminary (it's part of their high school curriculum in Utah, so it's not early morning...lucky!). They've both learned so much over their 4 years of attending and feel better prepared to move on in life and share the gospel.

Then our primary chorister (who is also the Bishop's wife and former Stake Primary President) gave a fantastic talk about teaching children. I love this woman and am always touched by what a wonderful she does teaching the primary kids music each week. She is constantly sharing her testimony with them and pointing out the doctrine they're learning in the songs. She said...

--Little children are alive in Christ.
--When teaching children to be reverent we need to be loving, patient and consistent.
--Children hunger for and respond to true doctrine.
--We have the greatest opportunity with the young.
--We are able to learn spiritual things through music that may be harder to learn otherwise.
--We sing about many things, but we mostly sing about Jesus.


One of the songs we're learning for our primary program this year is How Firm A Foundation. (I love it that the kids learn one of the hymns for the program each year.) We sang this as a rest hymn in Sacrament today and I teared up, like I always do, as we sang the third verse.

"Fear not, I am with thee.
Oh, be not afraid.
For I am thy God
And will still give thee aid.

I'll strengthen thee, help thee,
and cause thee to stand.
Upheld, by my righteous,
Upheld, by my righteous,
Upheld, by my righteous
omnipotent hand."

These are powerfully comforting words to me, and their truthfulness hits me again every time we sing them. I know we have no need to fear the things we face in life because Christ will lift us over and over again.

**Are you working on your list of mothers?
Did you have a good day at church?
Are you touched by the goodness of little kids?
Do you love this hymn?**

Creative Friday--Until We Meet Again Edition

It felt like it had been ages since Michelle and I had gotten together for Creative Friday, but it had only been 9 days. This could mean trouble for June because our family is heading out to Illinois and Michigan next Friday for several weeks (though Randy will be coming back earlier). Next week is so busy we can't squeeze in a make-up session, so we won't be able to get together again until the 3rd or 4th week of June!! Oh the humanity.


I arrived earlier than usual because I had to leave early in order to be at the Author's Tea in Whitney's class by 2:00. Eva was at a makeup day of preschool so Michelle and I had a very quiet house to ourselves. We had so much to catch up on since she'd been in Colorado for 6 days, that I'd been there almost an hour before we even realized we didn't have any music playing (unheard of for us!).


Michelle made salt-encrusted potatoes for lunch, these are always good.


We were moving in slow motion because we were both so tired, but we still managed to get some things done. We snacked on the Trader Joe treats Lisa sent for us, man were they good.


Michelle gave me these monogrammed notepads she'd bought at Michael's, aren't they cute?


I ended up making and writing 7 cards, which isn't too shabby considering how slowly I was moving.

Our self-portrait for the day. Why won't my make-up stay on more than an hour? I always look like I didn't get ready for the day.

**Are you planning any trips this summer?
Do you schedule make-up sessions with
friends if you know you're going to be gone?
Do you enjoy baked potatoes?
Does your make-up stay on all day?**

Five for Friday--Last Tulip Edition

1. This is my last tulip of the season, and I am so sad to see it go. I've had to talk myself through the circle of life as I've watched the tulips shrivel up and die this week, so sad.


2. We had two afternoon rain storms this week and I loved them! We don't usually have hit and run rain like that, but it came and went so fast that within an hour there was no trace of it at all.


During Wednesday's rain storm, I fled to the cozy to read. I had the window open with all its billowy curtain goodness and just reveled in it. (I will be finishing the Book of Mormon on my birthday again this year! Using this scripture calculator has made such a big difference for me.)


3. I went visiting teaching yesterday and brought both women a copy of the Conference issue of the Ensign. I find that even when we have our subscription current (which we don't right now) I like to get an extra copy so Randy and I can each have our own.

I chose to share thoughts from President's Monson's talk called "Be Your Best Self". I was totally inspired by this message and really hope they were too.

On a side note--When I called to report my visiting teaching I spoke with my supervisor's husband (a sweet old man) and after I told him my name he said, "You always do your visiting teaching don't you? And you always call to report it, thank you for that, I know my wife sure appreciates it." It was such a sweet thing for him to say and made me feel oozing with goodness because I definitely want it to be said of me that I always do my visiting teaching.


4. Lori and I have still been going to lunch once a week, but I keep forgetting to take a self-portrait (what the?) but always seem to remember to take on of our food (priority problem). Poor Lori has hives so bad right now she's miserable. She's doped up on all kinds of medication that's not working except to make her look swollen...we need to pray for her.


5. Landon had his spring choir concert the other night, and my dad came to join us in the crowd. We went to JCW's (of course) to celebrate with shakes afterward.


6. I am SO, SO excited that it's the time of year for So You Think You Can Dance! This show is seriously one of the highlights of the summer for me. I just love it, and last night's 2 hour show full of auditions had me in tears at least 6 times (including the very first audition). Landon likes to watch it too (he especially loves the break dancers) so we snuggle on the couch together critiquing everyone and gasping at the amazingness of it all. I love this show on many levels!


I also loved seeing Kris Allen win American Idol this week! Woohoo for that!

**Do you ever have to talk yourself through
the circle of life when your flowers die?
Do you love a good rain storm?
Have you ever had hives?
Do you like having your own Conference issue Ensign?
Do you love So You Think You Can Dance?**