Week #12: Desitin Chapstick

This week we...

...watched lots of trees go in at the park. Hooray! We weren't sure we would get any, but there are tons. We'll have plenty of shade as they grow bigger.



...made cake-in-a-cup. Yummy! I found the idea on pinterest (from The Hidden Pantry via my friend Kristy Southwick). You take an angel food cake mix and any other type of cake mix, and combine them in a large zip lock bag. Then you spoon 3 Tbl of the mix and 2 Tbl of water into a microwaveable mug and heat for one minute. Then, ta-da! A little bit of cake for one! We did this as a Family Home Evening treat.


...used desitin for chapstick. When we realized what Lainey was playing with, it was too late. She had already succeeded in creating this cute, white, clown mouth. It was so funny to note that, upon realization of the potential mess hazard, Jason and I both ran for...the camera! This was one we definitely didn't want to miss.

Mom and Dad: "Lainey! What are you doing?"

Lainey: "I dunknow."

Mom and Dad: "Oh duh, just putting on chapstick."

Lainey: "I need just a little bit more."

Lainey: "Oh no! They found me!"

...played at the park. No biggie that it snowed overnight and we woke up to a little white covering over lawn and roadway this morning. The sun was out not long after the day got started and warmed everything up. We went over to the park in the afternoon and loved being out without coats.

This is a favorite of mine
I love to see these two sisters with their arms around each other and laughing
It made me flash forward 10-15 years and see them as friends, still laughing

...met Underwear Heroes Ben and Claire. Yes, their underoos were clean.




...played a game that Ben made up. Paul dubbed it "Stack it to Back it" and of course Benjamin liked it. He had Emma and Grandma Z trapped in a game where only he knew the rules...and there definitely were rules. He made sure they did things his way.

handing out the cards

making sure Emma plays the right card

watching the game in progress with his hands leisurely stuck in his pockets
(what's funny is that his pants are on backwards)

...participated in the Pam-a-thon. My wonderful friend Molly coordinated a 5k, 10k, 1/2 Marathon in honor of her mom, Pam, who died last August due to cancer. Doing a half marathon was something Molly's mom always wanted to do. They were preparing for one the Spring before she passed away, but never actually got to do it. Pam was so amazing, and I only knew her for a short time. She inspired me in so many ways. Everything I learned about her I wanted to write down and incorporate in raising my kids and living life.

I was so excited to go to Othello to be part of this event to remember Pam and to support Molly and her family. They had so many people come out for the event; it was awesome to see all the orange shirts (we got there late and so didn't have ours for the race). They served birthday cake afterwards for all of the participants since Pam's birthday is March 27th. She always said, "If people forget your birthday, it's your own fault."



We also got to see our good friends, the Berrys. We walked the route together. They brought their spiffy wagon and Shela and I took turns pulling Sommer and Lainey. The other kids walked the whole way without a lot of complaint. We saw so many wonderful friends, both of our old houses, and Emma's old school. (wipe a tear)

Kurt and Shela had us over for lunch, which was so thoughtful and nice with traveling. Then we got to talk and the kids got to play. We miss them so much!

Lainey, Paul, Emma, Kiersten, Sommer, Claire
The chips were bribery tools - it worked for all but Ben

...surprised Emma's friend, Sydney Anderson, with a visit. Sydney was one of Emma's good friends in Othello. While we were in town for the Pam-a-thon, we stopped by to say hello.



...had a visit from a former babysitter. One of our wonderful Othello babysitters, Amy Clay, came by to see us here in Pasco. She is now a sophomore in College at BYU-I. The kids didn't really remember her that well (she watched Ben and Claire when they were between one and two years old), but I enjoyed getting caught up with the wonderful things happening for her now. She was one of my little angels that helped me with the kids when Jason was in the academy.

Amy was as beautiful as ever, but the kids were not all that cooperative for the picture, as you can see. Lainey was enthralled with Amy's phone, Claire with her wallet, and the boys with some bouncy balls from her bag. Look at that! The mark of great babysitter; always have tricks in the bag.

...started work on our fence. Whoo-hoo! We got the supplies on Thursday.

We can build high, we can build it low!

We started cutting out the grass along the edges for the mow strip and setting the corner poles on Friday. We're trading help with our neighbor (in the red-he lives in the blue house-kitty corner behind us).

Week #11: Together Forever

This week...

...some friends from our days in Ellensburg suffered a great loss, in the death of their beautiful 7 year old daughter. We were so shocked by what happened and wanted to draw our family so close. We've offered so many prayers for this family during this unexpected difficult time. We had a family home evening lesson about eternal families, as a reminder and reassurance, of the great blessing that we enjoy as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I brought out a jar of pears that we canned last summer to help me in my discussion. (Claire is my willing model.)

We use the term sealed to represent the bond that forms between a man and woman, and their children, when they are married in the Temple by the proper priesthood authority. So I used the jar with a sealed lid to demonstrate that concept. Emma caught on right away, putting it together in her mind. We are stuck together and nothing will break that bond, not even death, if we live according to the commandments and Heavenly Father's plan.

...Lainey wanted a haircut. I gave Jason a haircut and after I was done Lainey said, "My turn!" She ran over and jumped on the chair all ready to go. Of course, she didn't do too well sitting still for it, but at least she was willing. Then she made all these silly faces that were quite funny.

...Emma learned the cat's cradle game. I remember doing this when I was younger. So when the book showed up in the scholastic book order last month, I got it as a surprise for Emma. The book came with two strings, , and they glow in the dark. Emma took the string to school and played with her teacher and taught her friends. She even got to go in front of the class with a friend to demonstrate and then the teacher gave all the students string and let them try it. Emma loves this game. She would play it all the time forever if she could. She asks me to play at bedtime, when I'm making dinner, in the morning before she goes to school, when she gets home from school...ALL THE TIME. Grandma Z boasted about her mad skills and wanted to show what she knew. Emma was excited to find a willing partner. (Grandma's wearing some makeshift green because she forgot all together on St. Patrick's Day...we all did.)

The cat's eye formation
(Grandma came on St. Patrick's Day and didn't have any green,
so Emma gave her some.)

...Emma found the craft book section at the library. She brought one home with paper folding ideas. She made a really cool woven star. Then she brought home one with painting ideas. She came across an idea to paint a vase for flowers and wanted to try that. Emma loves to collect flowers from Grandpa E's garden so we actually had a vase for her to paint. Now she'll have a cool vase already for this year.


...Lainey was impatient at dinner time. What a better way to dish up your own plate than to crawl right up on the table.


...we had our Relief Society birthday dinner. It turned out really well. I was taking pictures of each table and they thought I needed to be included. How nice!

The cute table decs that Ashley put together for the dinner.

me, Shannon Greenhalgh, Lucy Lowe, Melanie Cook,
Ashley Wright, Amy Storrs, Paulette Stinson

Week #10: March is a Roarin'

This week...

...we're still vacuuming the grass. As you've seen from a previous post, the wind is a blowin' and wreaking havoc on our 6 month old sod. Our poor little baby grasslings! All I've had going through my head is the saying, "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb." Well, I'm sick of this roaring beast already. Claire tried to help a little with the vacuum, but that didn't last long.


...we got some new pillows to go with our new couch. We really wanted to buy new-new on the couch, but our kids are still young (lots of wear and tear still going on) and we just can't afford it right now. Craigslist was the next best option. We found a couch in good condition, with plenty of seating (which we also needed), and for a good price. Jason talked the woman down from $450 to $350.


...Emma played Star Wars Monopoly with Grandpa E.


...Paul and Claire had some domino fun with Aunt Shawnee. We're glad you came for a visit!


...Paul is learning to read. He is so proud of his book bag. He brings home books to read each night throughout the week.


...Lainey had a little static action. The couch and pillows were making Lainey's hair stand on end. It was quite funny to watch her roll around on the couch and then sit up with her hair straight out in all directions.



...Paul and Lainey were sharing some love.



...Lainey rearranged the FHE board for us this week. I loved how she was up on her tippy-toes to move the flowers around.


...the kids helped Dad wash his patrol car. With this nice weather lately, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to get out and get some spring things done.

Week #9: Fancy Ear Plugs

This week we...

...found some fancy earplugs. Jason gave these earplugs to Benjamin as he was cleaning out our closet. Ben thought they were pretty cool. When I saw him wearing them at dinner, I it so surprised me, that I laughed out loud and quickly retrieved the camera. Isn't that such a good Benjamin smile?


...played a little game of copycat. Lainey is learning and growing so much. She loves to play along with her older brothers and sisters. So when Claire got cozy in her sleeping bag for a family movie night, Lainey wanted to do the same.


...saw teenagers and technology at their finest. I forgot this one from last week. This is my nephew during the game we were playing last Sunday. Ha! Made me smile, these kids and their phones...


...woke to a ground cover of snow. It wasn't much and it didn't stay long, but long enough for snow pants, boots, and gloves. Perfect, if you ask my kids.