Bits and Pieces

Is summer almost over? Really? We've kept ourselves so busy I guess it's been flying by, which is funny because I expected it to drag since we didn't plan any kind of vacation (who can with the current price of gas?) I made it a goal to plan some fun activities with the kids, and we have - we spent a couple of hours the other day making landscape jars (which I never did take pictures of, but you can see an example on Rebecca's website here) and ALL the kids just loved it. We started out in our yard where they found sand, mushrooms, flower petals and who knows what else to add to their jars. Then we set out on a walk through a field near our house where they found a huge number of wild flowers and pine cones, as well as some cool rocks to add. They had a blast - even little JJ who absolutely refused to let me carry her jar, which was nearly as big (and as heavy) as she was. Time well spent!

Yesterday we went swimming at a fun outdoor pool with a couple of friends ($11.00 for the entire family to swim. NICE!) and the kids just loved it! I hate getting in a swimsuit, but I refuse to make my kids suffer from my own insecurities. We spent almost 3 hours there, and again, no pictures. Sometimes it's nice to live life - not just capture it. LOL! My husband made great friends with all the kids we were there with - chasing them, giving them rides on his back, and just being a general goof ball. I may have even added some color to my uber-white shoulders. I probably blinded a few people with the whiteness of my skin.

We travelled to Swift Current for church today as my hubby had a speaking assignment there, which meant we left for church just after 7:15am this morning. You can only guess how early we were up to be ready to leave at that hour. Ugh. The ride was fine, but we arrived with four very tired and cranky kiddos. Okay, I was kinda cranky myself - didn't get much sleep the night before. TJ was pouting non-stop, BB was whining and crying about being hungry (we had eaten breakfast not long before), JJ was antsy and defiant, and B fell asleep during my husband's talk (which was funny because he asked if he had lost anyone, and I point over to his sleeping, drooling 6 year old). His talk was awesome, don't get me wrong! LOL! Why else would I get up the family to travel 2 1/2 hours to hear him speak?

The branch was huge as there was a family of over 20 members visiting family there that week (I'm talking aunts, uncles, cousins - not just one couple with 18 kids. LOL!) One of the families had 7 children, one of which was a little girl, about 5 years old, who was deaf. She needed her mom or sister to interpret for her and what so impressed me was the fact that her mother took the time to interpret the entire meeting, all for her daughter's benefit who, in my mind, was probably too young to even understand much of what was said. It got me thinking about my children, even though they are young and don't understand everything, still pick things up as they listen to the speakers each Sunday during Sacrament meeting, and develop good habits of sitting through the meeting right from the very beginning. I thought about this mom and how easy it would be to say to herself "my daughter won't understand this, I'll just sit and enjoy the talks and let her play" and yet there she was, being the voice of the speaker for her young daughter, knowing that her daughter will be picking something up from it all. It just impressed upon me the importance of having my children there on Sunday, and IN the chapel during the talks. I have seen many parents leave the chapel with their kids and sit in the foyer letting their kids run wild, maybe believing that they aren't getting anything out of the meeting anyway. I am grateful for a mother who always impressed upon me the importance of being in the chapel for all of sacrament meeting, and that I've been able to pass it along to my kids. And I'll forever have in my memory this diligent mother, instilling the same sense of importance into her young children. Such a great experience.

I've gotten some scrapbooking done, but I'm finding it harder now that I'm caught up. Not sure why that happens. Anyway, we recently took some pics and I couldn't wait to get to them.


You might remember this photo from the tutorial last week. I thought it would be fun to journal right on the photo.
JJ can look so serious sometimes. She either has a scowl on her face (her 'concentrating' face) or is grinning from ear to ear.
I also received my Aug/Sept. issue of Scrapbooks Etc. magazine where my layout was published!! YAY! It was so fun to see my little layout right in one of my favorite scrapbook magazines. I hope to see more in the future! ;) It did cause some strife between the older girls - TJ whined about HER picture not being in the magazine. "Didn't they like any layouts with MY picture on it?" Oh boy - there's no winning, is there? Wait, I just sounded like my mother for a second there.

BB was so funny today (as usual). On our trip to Swift Current, TJ was complaining a little about feeling sick. I told her she might be car sick. Later on, after church, the branch fed us and the kids were kind of running around the large cultural hall type room. BB came up to me with a stricken look on her face and moaned "Moooom, I think I'm run sick!" LOL! Yeah, it had absolutely nothing to do with the numerous desserts she had stuffed her face with just moments before. I need to teach my children better self control around desserts. As soon as I teach MYSELF self - control, I'll get right on that :)

I took some photos of my girls so I could do interviews with each of them and scrapbook it (I'll be posting them another day) I can't believe they can look so sweet in photos, then behave like cranky little monsters like they did today. How does that transformation happen?? I think it's a good thing they're so cute - it makes dealing with the grumpiness a lot easier :)