Week #8: Missionaries are the best!

This Week...

...we had the Spanish Elders over for dinner and Elder Sanchez got transferred in. Saying good bye to missionaries is never easy, but meeting the new ones coming in makes up for it. We love Elder Sanchez already. He's from Mexico and is super positive and friendly. When they first stopped by after transfers, we asked him a ton of questions.

Elder Tirado and Elder Beal

Elder Sanchez and Elder Dunnell living the life! Sharing the word!

...the Kings came to play. They made perler bead creations with Emma.

...on my Wednesday popping excursion at the middle school, it seemed like I received a lot of thank yous for the popcorn. It may have had something to do with this little sign that someone posted. Everyone is very appreciative, but I think this little sticky note reminded everyone to vocalize it. :)

...Lainey's been losing her front teeth. It seems every time I turn around (or every time she eats something), she loses a tooth.

...I went with Emma to her New Beginnings program. She earned her knowledge ribbon. It's so fun to see her grow. She's come a long way since the time she went as an incoming Beehive. Her confidence has grown so much. She 's friendly and comfortable with the other girls. She looks for ways to be encouraging and helpful to the girls and leaders. Love my Emma! 

Emma, Josephine Lopez, Savannah Greenhalgh, Callie Lewis

...we went to a free carnival at the high school. Each leadership class from the Pasco high schools and middle schools was in charge of a booth with several games. Then they had community businesses running booths with information and free stuff (pens, lanyards, candy, toys, pens, etc.). The kids had a blast. What am I saying? I had a blast! I'm a sucker for pens. There weren't a whole lot of people in attendance, so the kids got to make the rounds several times. Emma was in charge of the human Tic-Tac-Toe. She was really nervous about how it would turn out. She wondered if people would want to play and if it would be fun. Her worries were unfounded. She was busy all night. If the kids didn't have a partner, she raced against them so they could have a turn. I especially liked seeing the parents play against their kids. 

...while we were at the carnival, Jason was watching Lainey at her first grade Valentine's concert. She knew the words so well and sang the songs so loudly. You could tell she was having a fun time. Go first graders!

...I went to a parent conference sponsored by the school district. It was so much fun! Mac Bledsoe (father to famous NFL quarterback Drew Bledsoe) was the keynote speaker. He is the founder/creator of Parenting with Dignity, a course for parents. It was so engaging and great to listen to. I was motivated by his techniques, advice, and experience. 

Week #7: Valentine Box Season, Again!

This Week...

...it's Valentine box season again. No, it's not Valentine season. It's Valentine box season. At first, I was pushing back. The kids had such big ideas and all I could think about was the time and mess it would take and create. You could catch me saying "Bah humbug" even though Christmas was over. Once I just let go and let them do it their way, we had a grand time working together. Lainey made her box last year and wasn't able to use it. We kept it all year for this day. We had a frog, an owl, a boom box, and a duct tape dragon. I found pictures on google images to match their boxes for their valentines. So cute and fun!

...I helped the Stake Relief Society Presidency with the Stake brunch for widows/single sisters. It was so much fun! These ladies in the presidency sure know how to make it look and taste good. I was so inspired by Debbie's beautiful production that I hurried to create a special dinner for my kids at home.

...Jason and I worked on refinishing some bath tubs and a shower. Our friend is flipping a house and the bathtub/shower units were looking pretty gross. He paid us to refinish them. It wasn't a whole lot of fun scraping, cleaning, and prepping them, but the finished product is so worth it.

...Jason went with Paul on his Scout outing to the Elk feeding grounds in Naches. The numbers of elk were amazing!

Week #6: Mattawa Snow Storm

This Week...

...we made a trip to Mattawa for Sunday dinner. Our cousins were there too which made it that much more fun. Uncle Kirk and Aunt Sharee came with their kids and Uncle Kent and Aunt Julie came with their kids. It was snowing pretty consistently on the way out there and continued the whole time we were there. Over the last several weeks of snow fall, the wind had blown the snow up into their yard and flower garden in some formidable snow drifts. The kids definitely had a lot of fun outside.

...we enjoyed a day of sunshine. Things started to melt and we were pretty excited. I made a trip to my mom's to work for her and get some things done.

Just when we thought the snow frenzy was over, that's when it dumped on us again. 

Knock, knock

Who's there?

Mother Nature.

Mother Nature who?

Mother Nature who keeps dumping ridiculous amounts of snow!

...Lainey lost one of her top front teeth. She was so excited! Tooth Fairy time - if she remembers!

Week #5: Snow and More Snow...and More Snow

This Week...

...we got more snow. It filled in just as fast as we could shovel it.

Paul and Claire played on the snow pile at the church. 

...we took Elder Williamson and Elder Dunnell out to lunch at El Sazon. Elder Williamson is being transferred to West Richland. 

He stopped by later to get a photo with out family.

...Jason did a cop presentation for the Bear Scouts. It's always fun to go and listen to what he shares.

...Paul suffered an attack from the icy snow. The kids were playing in the backyard before school. Benjamin pushed Paul down and he hit his face on the snow. Before the school day had gotten too far underway, Paul had these red scratches on his face. They hurt really bad too.

Week #4: Another Snow Day

This Week...

...started off with another snow day! Our summer this year will be just as short as last year because of all these snow days! It is what it is and we made the most of it. Jason and I worked out in the garage and the kids played with Legos all morning. My parents came for a visit and took us out to Azteca. This was the first time for our four younger kids. They all got chicken tenders and can't wait to go back again. Haha! I really enjoyed the Pollo Fundido. Yum! We sat around the table and visited for quite a while. My dad was in no hurry to get back to work. 

...this Lainey girl is growing up far too fast. One of my friends commented recently that they couldn't believe how fast their oldest seems to be growing up. I commented that it isn't my oldest that seems to be growing up so fast, it's my youngest. I know that Emma is growing up, but it seems normal and natural, like she's ready. It's Lainey that seems to be changing and growing when I still think of her as a toddler. Those days are over, I'm afraid. Jason always asks her to stay little and we just haven't found a way for her to do it even though she wants to.) 

...Benjamin threatened to blast us with the calk gun after Cub Scouts. He is working hard on his Bear requirements. He recently made a display board about Marty for Critter Care.

...the neighbors, Evie and Immanuel came over again to play in the backyard. They began work on a snow fort.

...I worked the Just Serve booth at the Family Expo. It was so much fun. Bruce and Debbie Harker were there with their grandsons (one was dressed as The Cat in the Hat). They manned the Family Preparedness table. The Just Serve Table had all kinds of ideas for service opportunities right in our area. It got me excited to get to work. Some people were interested, some were not. Some had heard of it (church members) and some had not. Some people were already doing service and some were excited for a way to get started. The site, justserve.org, is such a great resource.

...we started a sock and glove drive across the stake for the Union Gospel Mission. We didn't get as many as I was hoping for, but we did get some.

Cherice drew some cute art about serving. That's exactly what happens when we help others.

...we made some more boxes just to sell for fun. We tried painting one blue and then antiquing it. It's so fun!