February 2011: short month, long review

Normally I lament how quickly time seems to fly by, but February seem to have dragged on forever so by the end of the "short" month I was definitely READY for March!  February arrived with a mixed bag of challenges (too many to list) sprinkled with just enough good things to keep us moving along from one day to the next.  Fortunately February was filled with lots of GOOD chocolate (thank you Valentine's Day!) and many opportunities for me to craft--extremely helpful in getting through the rough patches.

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Road Trip
We started out the month of February with a great road trip to L.A. for Cousin E's wedding.  We left home Friday afternoon and returned Sunday evening.  Yes, it was a real quick trip.  While we were in L.A. we stayed at J-rod's G'ma M's house and had a fabulous time.  G'ma and G'pa S, Aunt K, Aunt C, and Uncle N were there too.  It's always good to be with family!

We all enjoyed visiting with everyone.  M got some much needed help on his homework from Uncle N, C-sta enjoyed playing "pretties" with Aunt C, and all three kids had a blast playing "Just Dance" 1 & 2 on G'ma M's Wii while the adults had a wonderful time visiting and watching the "Just Dance" competitors.  Bet'cha can't guess which Wii games are now on our wish list?

~A favorite toy at G'ma M's house~

Saturday we went to the L.A. temple for Cousin E's wedding. While we went into the temple, the kids got to spend some time on the temple grounds with Aunt C, Uncle N, and lots of cousins.  G'ma made matching skirts for all the girls--so fun!

~Waiting with Aunt A, Uncle, N, and Cousins S and R~

Once we came out of the temple and waited for the new Mr. and Mrs. G to make their grand appearance we: enjoyed visiting with all the family that had gathered, took some fun pictures together, and played Angry Birds.

~Waiting for the Bride and Groom~

We were all so happy when E and S walked out of the temple doors.  C-sta commented on what a beautiful "princess" E was coming out of the temple and yes, yes she was!  A beautiful day for a beautiful couple.  I LOVED E's gorgeous lace wedding gown.  Her shoes were a beautiful shade of plum--so cool!

~Introducing Mr. and Mrs. G~

After snapping a few pictures of the happy couple, we took the kids to visit my mom and Aunt A for a little bit before heading to E and S's reception that night.  It's too bad our stay in L.A. had too be such a short one as we would have loved to spend more time with my mom, Aunt A, and visited so many other family members, but it just wasn't too be this time around.

One of the neat things for me about the wonderful young man E married, is that he happens to be a younger brother of my R.A. from my freshman year at BYU.  What a small world!  

~A and Z reunited~

So not only de we attend a beautiful wedding, have fun at the reception, and see LOTS of family, but I also got to visit with a great lady and her sweet family.  What a great reunion weekend this was for us.

At the reception we posed for lots of pics and enjoyed taking part in the festivities.  Since the awesome DJ (Uncle C) was taking requests, Li'l J requested the Hokey-Pokey and we all had a great time dancing to it together!

~Sweet Li'l J~

~C-sta and Aunt C:

waiting to catch the bouquet

and dancing the night away~

~These dancing pics are courtesy of the

very talented wedding photographer.~

Thank you A for sharing your photos!

http://ariaphotographyonline.com/

~"Helping" to decorate the car~

Sunday morning we went to Sacrament meeting with J-rod's family then returned to G'ma's to pack up, say our good-byes and all travel our separate ways towards home.  While we were all sad to leave G'ma M with a very quiet house, Li'l J offered to stay behind with her.  When I asked him if he would miss his kindergarten friends and teachers (whom he loves very much), he very matter-of-factly replied, "I can go to school here and make new friends."  Once it dawned on him that Aunt C and Uncle N would also be going home that day, Li'l J decided that it would be okay after all for him to come home with us and return for another visit again soon.  Oh, my sweet boy!

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Keepin' It Real

Upon returning from our quick trip, first thing Monday morning I got to have a failed root canal (originally done a little over a year ago) drilled through by an endodontist to clear out the infection that had been causing me all sorts of trouble for the last month.  Ugh!  Once the he had drilled past the failed/original root canal, the specialist found that I had an extra root that had been "hiding", missed by my general dentist during the original procedure, and thus latching on like crazy to the small portion of bacteria that apparently hadn't been completely cleared out the first time around.  Ahh, lucky me!  I got to spend almost every Monday in February in a dentist chair getting it all taken care of and then also spent a considerable amount of time on antibiotics and pain killers.  I know I already said it, but I'm going to say it again, ugh!

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Field Trips

Once my dental issues were on their way to being resolved and I was feeling better, I got to chaperone some pretty cool field trip for each of our boys.  M and I, along with all the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classes, attended a fun concert put on by The Phoenix Youth Symphony.

~M, T, and the 3 Musketeer's: I, G, and M~

~Super cute kids captured with my grainy cell phone~

The first grade field trip took us to a neat park we'd never been to and then a working dairy/farm.  We had loads of fun that day!  Since the park and farm were located oh-so-far away from our side of town, rather then put Li'l J on the school bus and risk him getting motion sick (one student did on the way there and then two more also got sick on the way back), I got permission from the school to drive him myself which meant C-sta got to come along too--yay!

At the park:

We stopped at the park first to play and have lunch before heading over to the farm.  Since it was the middle of the morning, our school group pretty much had the whole park to ourselves.

~C-sta had a great time playing with our friend O.~

~C-sta and Li'l J loved the swings~

~The looks on their faces don't say it but,

eating lunch with her big bro was kind of a BIG deal for C-sta!~

~Swinging at the top of slide was C-sta's FAVORITE thing to do...

that, and race her big bro down the double slide.~

At the dairy farm:

When we got to the dairy farm, there were a number of other school groups there as well.  Since our school group was rather large, they split us up and we rotated through the different activities with those groups.

~The welcoming committee~

~Passing the time while waiting for the hay ride.~

~K, J, and J enjoying the hay ride

where we learned all about how

the dairy farm is run.~

~After the hay ride, the kids were invited

to enjoy the petting zoo.

The "uni-goat" with one horn

seemingly in the middle of its head,

was really cool!!

Li'l J enjoyed petting and holding the animals,

but says his favorite was playing catch

with the farm dog that was out and about.~

~After the petting zoo our group 

moved into the farm "school room"

where we learned about:

1. The many different types of feed 

the dairy cows are given so they'll stay healthy

(including natural feed, surplus bakery, pastas, grains,

and even cotton turn.  Who knew?  Now we do!)

2. How each cow is tagged

and how their number helps the farmer

keep a detailed history of her.

3-4. The tools used to give a cow 

any medicine they might need...

Did you know that cows have a big magnet 

rolling around in the bottom of their belly?

We learned why.~

After learning all about the how the farm works on the hay ride and about how the cows are taken care of in the school room, we were treated to a glassful of yummy milk from the farm "Milk Bar" and a small cupful of very delicious and creamy ice cream.  Li'l J and I drank chocolate milk and C-sta tried the strawberry milk.  The ice cream flavors were quite plentiful so between the three of us we tried: Chocolate Brownie, Birthday Cake (with lots of sprinkles), and Apple Pie and because we tend to like chocolate quite a bit in our family...the Chocolate Brownie flavor was our favorite.

~After waving goodbye to the buses,

we walked through the gift shop on our way to our car.

In the gift shop we discovered that for a small fee,

you could purchase bottles of milk

to feed the calves in the petting zoo area.

Li'l J and C-sta wanted to give it a try, 

so we did.  It was a pretty neat experience!

Then we stopped for one last look at the mama cows

before heading home.~

I'm so grateful I was able to go on each of these field trips with our kids and share in that joyful time with each of them!

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Still Keepin' It Real

This blog chronicles our family adventures right?  Right.  All of our adventures then? Yes.  Though I don't often post about the unpleasant adventures, we do have them.

As mentioned at the beginning of this post we experienced some challenges in February and now that I've told you about my dental drama, I wish I could say that was the extent of the challenges but no.  I won't go into the details regarding some of the trying adventures we had in February, those are of no consequence now.  I need only mention that some of the unpleasant adventures we experienced this  month helped remind us to better appreciate and cherish the sweet moments that come our way.

One such "sweet moment" came my way during one afternoon early on in the month.  While I was wallowing in the disappointment brought on by a trying experience, I decided to email a dear friend on the other side of the country who always knows just how to lift my spirits.  As I was sending her a message telling her to be on the look out for a Valentine's Day package I had just sent her, the door-bell rang and to my utter surprise there on my door-step was a Valentine's Day package from her to me!  

Coincidence?  No.  I don't believe so.  The arrival brought with it a necessary reminder.  I was reminded that especially in my most fragile moments when I feel all alone, I am not alone.  Heavenly Father knows me.  He knows what I'm experiencing and what I stand in need of.

I brought the package in, opened it, and cried!  Good tears.  The kind of tears that helped me release and let go of all the hurt I had been holding onto.  The unexpected arrival of her package was just what I needed.  Here is what I ended up emailing to my dear friend after I opened her package:

"WOW...um yep, that about covers it!  Your package is nothing short of AMAZING!  The words "THANK YOU" don't cover the appreciation I feel right now, but that's what I've got...THANK YOU!  You are SO thoughtful!  Everything is PERFECT!  I LOVE it all!

 My main goal for this Friday when both boys are home from school (after M's piano lesson) is to work on Valentines for their classmates and now we have the perfect ones from YOU for them to give to their friends at school--you chose VERY well!  AND, now we can make heart cookies that day too with the cookie cutters you sent!  

The aprons are SO cute and the towels will go so well in our kitchen...I've been looking for cute Valentine towels and hadn't yet come across anything that I liked but these, these I LOVE!  The gift card for that great restaurant is also perfect.  I've been wanting to go back there SO badly, now I have a good reason to go--thank you!  Did you make the beautiful "Here's My Heart" tree?   

Oh. My. Gosh! I just am SO thrilled to have received such a sweet surprise today--you have TOTALLY made my day, my week by brightening my spirits...how did you know I SO needed it?!?!  Okay...I'll stop gushing now.  (Sorry if my package pales in comparison...just know that I LOVE you dear lady!!  Heavenly Father had us cross paths for a reason, and I'm SO grateful He did and even more grateful we are still friends...friends that have managed to stay close even after all these years and miles!!!)" 

~C-sta & I received matching aprons in the surprise package.~

I'm so grateful for all the wonderful family and friends in our life, for their love and support, and for the way they enrich our life.  We are so blessed!

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Family Fun

Each year for Valentine's Day we like to give the kids something fun and unexpected and then take pictures of their CUTE faces!  We sure do love our kiddos and are grateful for their unconditional love.  This year J-rod got me a beautiful bouquet of colorful roses and I surprised him with a replacement for his long-lost wedding band. 

~Happy Valentine's Day!~

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Tradition
The biggest Pack Meeting of the year, the Blue and Gold dinner, was held in February this year.  All the Cub Scouts, their families, and boys (and their families) that will become Cub Scouts in 2011 were invited to attend.  This year the theme was "Mystery" dinner.  The pack leaders did a fantastic job incorporating the theme all throughout the evening which really added to the fun for everyone there.

~Congrats on all your hard work M!~

When we arrived we each received a "menu" from which we picked everything for our meal, from the utensils with which we ate our food to the food that we ate.  The menu was written in code so we that when we placed our order we didn't know what we were asking for.  I ended up having to eat spaghetti with a knife and Li'l J ate his with a HUGE soup ladle--it was pretty funny!

~Yum-yum!~

Once dinner was well underway the first counselor in the bishopric who is a Crime Lab professor at a local community college had all the Cub Scouts participate in solving the mystery of which Cub Scout Leader "stole" one of the dessert cakes.  Within their dens the boys worked together to compare the ransom note left behind the thieves to handwriting samples as well as fingerprints and shoe casts taken of each leader.  It was such a fun activity for the boys!

~Detective work~

The traditional cake table was laden with lots of yummy cakes made and brought by the boys and their families.  M's contribution was a simple chocolate cake frosted in white with red question marks all over it to go with the "mystery" theme.  It was completely gone by the end of the night--guess we weren't the only ones who thought it was YUMMY!

~The yummy tasting cakes~

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The Boys

A sure sign that someone is growing up:

~Li'l J discovered he finally had a loose tooth

and was SO-O excited,

he BEGGED me to take a picture.~

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Earlier in the school year, the main campus of M's school experienced a power-outage that caused school to be cancelled for the day.  Now that was a FUN surprise!  However, in order to end the year with the required number of school hours, M's school held a "half-day" on President's Day for those students whose families would be in town that holiday.  In preparation for that day, M's social studies teacher had the students pick a US President or First Lady to research, prepare a lesson plan based on their research, dress up as the person they chose, and then on President's Day the got to teach their fellow classmates. M chose to learn about President Woodrow Wilson.

~Yes, M is pretending 

to pick Wilson's nose 

with his pointer.

No, T is not picking his nose 

while looking over M's shoulder at the computer.  

T is just deep in thought!~

M learned that President Woodrow Wilson:

*was the 28th President of the United States.

*is the only President to hold a doctorate.

*was the second President
to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

*really enjoyed cycling, 

but since he couldn't ride around D.C., 

he took up golfing instead.

*during the winter the Secret Service 

would paint golf balls with black paint

so Wilson could hit the golf balls around

in the snow on the White House lawn.

*he often wore a top hat.

*was only 1 of 3 Presidents to be widowed while in office.

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We finished out February with M taking part in his school talent show.  The school teamed up with Carrabba's Italian Grill to raise funds for the school by providing a very YUMMY dinner prior to the talent show.  During dinner and before the show, all guests were encouraged to roam the halls and take part in the "Art Walk": displays of student work throughout all the hallways.

~A couple of M's projects~

The talent show was held on an outdoor stage to help provide enough seating, but this presented a handful of technical difficulties.  Despite the generators going out numerous times taking the lights and sound down each time, overall the show was lots of fun and watching the talent displayed by the students was well worth the wait!

The talent show was even broadcasted online so those unable to attend in person (family and friends living out of the area) could also join in.  It was fun for those of our family who were able to watch M perform his piano solo via the web.  Because it was dark we didn't take any pictures of M's performance, but I someone we know does have a copy of a picture taken of M during his performance that night and if I can get a hold of it I will add it to this post later.