Trafalga

Another fun Saturday afternoon at Trafalga!

Follow the Prophet

The Spirit has been gently prodding me lately. Gently as in...none too. I've felt this overwhelming need to get my food storage in check. I don't necessarily think anything bad is coming my way (knock on wood), I just feel soooo disobedient to the prophet in this regard; food storage has always been something I struggle with. I've always had plenty of food in the pantry, and extras of toiletries...but food storage?

Thanks to Macey's awesome case-lot sale and my bank account which is now $200 lighter...I can say I'm on my way to feeling more at peace. I am nowhere near where I should be...but my shelves are overflowing (there are some cases on the floor in the basement) and I will sleep well tonight knowing I'm doing my best to be obedient.

24 cans fancy cut green beans

24 cans whole kernel corn

24 giant cups o' noodles

24 cans red kidney beans

24 cans cream of chicken soup

24 cans diced green chilies

12 cans beef stew

12 cans chili con carne

48 cans tomato sauce

24 cans refried beans

12 bags uncooked pasta

25 boxes macaroni and cheese

12 cake mixes

12 boxes skillet meals

Repentance and a 3DS

I have an awesome son. Seriously, probably the best ever. Recently (no more than 2 months ago), Sean was invited to spend the night at his cousin's house where they were going to pig out on pizza, go to a monster truck show and stay up to what I'm sure was the wee hours of the morning. I suggested he take his camera with him to the truck show so he could get some stellar photos. He said he didn't want to lose it. Understandable, right? So, I dropped the issue. He took his DSi with him to play with while at the sleepover (this is something is does often...that DSi went with him everywhere). He had been warned repeatedly to keep the DSi (BTW, it's an upgraded version of a Nintendo DS...handheld video game device to you old-schoolers) in his bag, with the bag zipped shut to prevent any loss of games, chargers, etc. Seriously, Lyle and i have admonished him to do this no less than a ba-zillion times. When I went to pick Sean up the next night, my sister told me the awful story (well, technically she told me again, she had told me over the phone the night before).

Even though Sean had chosen not to take his digital camera for fear of losing it, he HAD chosen to take his DSi to take pictures with. Which, in itself, isn't a huge issue. But...he didn't take it in it's bag. He put it in his back pocket. The DSi he had was an XL which means it was extra large...it stuck up above his pocket at least 3 inches. Easily seen, easily taken. The boys rode the TRAX train with their adult supervision and Sean realized as he got off the train on the way home...he no longer had his DSi. Ever the knight in shining armor, Adam (the adult supervision) attempted to jump back on the train to see if the DSi was on a seat...but he wasn't fast enough. As Adam and my sister discussed it they realized there was a good chance it had been pilfered right from his pocket as the train was filled to capacity and it was standing room only. Either way, the DSi was gone...and Sean was in tears. He kept saying, "My parents are going to kill me". Adam went home and tried calling the event center where the truck show was held and UTA to see if they found the DSi...to no avail. Sean cried over his loss for about half an hour, and then abruptly stopped. Adam asked him if he was ok. Sean replied, "Yeah. I just realized that crying won't bring it back, and I don't want to ruin the rest of the night for everyone else." We adults were all quite impressed with that attitude.

As we drove home that night, Sean and I discussed the situation. I tried desperatley to impress upon Sean that the loss of his DSi was a direct consequence of his disobedience; not to not take it to the monster truck show, but to not place it safely in his bag where it couldn't get stolen. I was disappointed that he was disobedient, and I was heart-broken that he had suffered such an intense consequence (like I said, that DSi went everywhere with him...it was like an extra appendage). But, I persevered in the teaching moment and we talked about the repentance process. I told Sean that in addition to the consequence of losing the DSi, he had lost our trust in his ability to be responsible for his possessions. We talked about what's involved in the repentance process. Yes, he understood he did something wrong and he didn't want to do it again (although, I'm still not entirely sure that referred to losing the DSi or being disobedience). Yes, he apologized...profusely. "I'm sorry" were practically the only words I heard all the way home that night. Lastly, restitution (he'd already stated he didn't want to do it again). I told him he needed to earn the money to replace what he had lost through his disobedience. It would take a long time. It would be expensive. It would be worth it. Sean sold his own items to earn the money in addition to earning a weekly allowance.

This morning, around 11, Sean proudly handed over his money to the clerk at Wal-mart and bought a flame red 3DS. Throughout the day I heard comments like, "This is the BEST day ever!", and "I can't believe I finally got it!" and "It's in my hands. In MY hands!". I'm proud of him for sticking to the plan and earning the money. I'm proud of him for completing the repentance process. But, most of all, I'm just proud to be his Mom. He teaches me every day how I can be a better person and I find my heart growing every day to hold the love I have for him. There are days it seems my heart will explode...but somehow, it always finds room to hold all I feel for my sweet first-born miracle.

The "L" Family

My most recent photoshoot took place at Temple Square on Easter Saturday! It was so much fun! Beautiful weather...beautiful subjects! In spite of a small wardrobe snafu in the beginning the shoot went so well and the kidlets smiled on command (gotta love that!). Love this family and their adorable happiness!

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Easter

 Easter this year was such a blast!  I spent a few hours Saturday night filling Easter eggs and Easter baskets.  When the kids woke up, they found lots of goodies waiting for them.

 Sean found a small container for his Lego minifigures and a $20 Walmart giftcard (he's been so diligent lately about saving every penny for a 3DS that I decided he needed a break to spend a little money...thus the giftcard).

 Ava got a new stroller for her babies and play sippy cups.

 After church we headed out to Lyle's parents' house for Easter egg hunts and dinner.  The egg hunts came first.  It took five of us 20 minutes to hide the eggs!  The oldest kid hunting is 5 years old, so most of the eggs were on the ground within easy reach of the kidlets.

 All the kiddos came out ready to go!  They took off and got plenty of candy.

 This is the first year Ava walked to get the eggs all by herself.  She's still unsure on the grass, but she did great!

 After the kids egg hunt, Mom and Dad hid the eggs for the adult egg hunt.  Sean may be only 10, but he's done with the kid egg hunt;  he's right on the cusp of being a kid and wanting to be with the adults.  So, he joined the adult egg hunt this year.

 I kept getting distracted in my hunt by gorgeous pictures.

 Finally!  Sean found an egg!  There were 12 eggs hidden and only 2 of them were giant eggs.  Sean found one of them!  Way to go, McDonald!

At the end of the day, Ava crashed on Grandma's lap.  It was a long, exhausting day....but filled with delicious food (in spite of a heating element in the oven going out during cooking), good laughs and loving family.

Happy Easter from our Bunnies!

Happy Easter!

Conference Weeeknd

We spent our General Conference weekend in the usual way; sleeping at Lyle's parents house, watching all sessions and having a Girls Night while the guys went to Priesthood Session. I spent Friday frantically baking and packing for the big weekend. I made one of my favorite snacks...chocolate buttons. That's what I call them anyway. They're easy to make (though they take awhile to harden), and have just the perfect salty to sweet ratio!

One of the new things I did this year were Conference Buckets.  I bought two tins from Target and filled them with small items from the nDollar Store, Target's Dollar Spot, etc.  I printed out a picture of each member of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve and put one picture on each item.  Whenever one of them spoke, the kids got to pick out that item from the bucket.  Ava was a bit young (let's be honest, she's only 2), but Sean got a kick out of it and actually looked to see who was talking EVERY TIME!  Yay! 

Another activity I did was Key Word Treats.  I bought these tins from the Dollar Spot at Target, filled them with yummy treats and stuck in a sign with a word on it.  Whenever anyone heard that word they got a treat from the bucket!  (You may have to put rules into effect, such as this activity only counts during talks, or you may have a 33-year-old boy rushing to the "prayer" bucket DURING the opening prayer...I won't name names.)

During Priesthood Session the girls and the kidlets all gathered at Aunt Vicki's house for craft night!  We ate yummy homemade Cafe Rio Chicken Tacos and then delved right into crafts!  I was in charge of the craft and as a result have now officially been placed in charge of the craft every time.

Our awesome creation!  My original idea was a wreath...but it looked more Spring-ey and less Easter-ey.  After running around to 5 different stores, I couldn't find ANY of the yarn I needed (unless I wanted to drive to Reno, no thanks).  So, at the last minute, Mom helped me re-vamp my idea.  This is our final creation!  Everyone loved it and it only took about 30 minutes to make.  Mine is now hanging on my kitchen cabinet!  My only Easter decoration, incidentally.

While the Mom's crafted, Grandma Susan helped them dye Easter eggs...even using a magic crayon!  It really hit me during this activity that next October Conference, Sean will be attending Priesthood Session with the guys;  he sat on the couch and wouldn't dye any eggs (too baby-ish, I guess).  I helped Ava dye her one and only egg (which we left at Grandma's on accident).  She chose the color and loved the flower! 

It was a peaceful, relaxing, spirit-rejuvenating weekend.  Cannot wait until this upcoming weekend.  EASTER!