Conference Time!

Every six months, conference time at our house is met with anxious anticipation. Listening to the Prophet and Apostles speak for eight hours over a two day period, is not exactly what our kids think of as fun. As much as I long for the much needed fuel for my spiritual tank, it takes a whole lot of energy keeping the kids occupied and quiet as we listen. Thanks to advances in technology we are now able to watch conference over the internet, which is TONS better than just listening to it. We are also so grateful for the General Conference Activity Packets that come out every 6 months. It has been a huge blessing for us to have these awesome workbooks for the kids so that I can actually listen and pay attention to what I need to hear. My kids love coloring the pages and doing the activities during each session and actually seem to remember some of it afterward!

So, in preparation for this upcoming weekend, I found a couple of different packets to download. I did not make these packets (although I wish I had) and want to give credit where credit is due. Thank you to these wonderful people who put time and effort into these packets and are willing to share them with the rest of us! Check them out and get what you need and please pass them on!

Packet #1

Packet #2


Happy Conferencing!

St. Patrick's Day

We went all out this year to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Here's a picture of the trap that Kelsie and Brandon made to try and catch the pesky little leprechaun we had hanging around our house! We all wore green of course. Brandon had to be convinced to wear it and also coached that it is "pinch" not "punch" someone if they're not wearing green. (Which was quickly followed by not really pinching anyone at all.) The leprechauns put green sprinkles in our chocolate-chip pancakes for breakfast and then left us alone for most of the day.

We had corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes for dinner, along with Irish soda bread and freshly squeezed limeade. It turned out pretty good, except for the soggy cabbage. Everyone liked the corned beef, even though none of us really knew what it was! We ended the day eating green cupcakes with green frosting and sprinkles and mint chocolate chip ice cream. Next year I think we'll skip the corned beef and instead have a dinner that is all green. Hmmm. Makes me hungry just thinking about it!

Oh, and we set the leprechaun trap out before we went to bed in our last attempt to catch our friend. There was a note and 5 lucky bucks the next morning telling us better luck next year!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Celebrating Irish Style

We were so excited this year to go down to the city to be part of the St. Patrick's Day celebrations! We rode the train down, which is always a big hit for the kids. We first went to the Chicago River to watch the river turn a bright green. We found a great spot on the bridge across from State Street where we were sure to be able to see. We waited a little longer than we wanted to, and lucky for us there was a group of kayakers on the river entertaining the crowds. Finally, after almost an hour later, the boat zoomed by with the green dye and the crowds cheered! We hung around for the dye to spread out through the river and tried to get some good pictures to share.

We also tried to get down to the parade, but there were so many people downtown, that we decided to head home after lunch. We had a fun time down in the city and it sure got us ready to celebrate on the 17th!

Home-cation

I consider our family pretty adventurous. We like to do and try new things any chance we can. So, when I read a magazine article about a 'Stay At Home Vacation', I thought this was a great idea! We found a weekend that would work for us and planned a fun home-cation!

When the kids came home from school last Friday, we told them to pack an overnight bag because we were going on a home-cation. They both got really excited about the idea and ran off packing pj's and toys. We went to try and find a geocache close by, but it ended up being a little too muddy so we went to the park instead. It was so nice to be able to spend some time outside in the fresh air and play together. After awhile, when our noses and fingers were cold, we drove over to the library to get some new books because you always need a good book on a home-cation. We then stopped by the redbox for some entertainment later that night on our way to dinner at the kids choice restaurant, Wendy's.

After finishing desert (jr. frosty's and a strawberry shake) we drove to the Hotel Paxtonia in a beautiful part of the city, close to the lake. Kelsie made sure that we all "turned on our imaginations" and then secured the suite for us upon arrival and was even more excited when she said it was going to be free! We turned our basement into a hotel room, pulled out the hide-a-bed for Wally and I, put up the tent for Kelsie and Brandon, and the pack'n'play for Caleb. We had a great time watching Beverly Hills Chihuahua (Kelsie's movie night pick) and then it was lights out. Then the giggles began. It felt like a slumber party from my pre-teen years! We laughed and laughed at nothing in particular until we fell asleep. It was a lot of fun.

Our home-cation continued the next morning when we took the train down into the city to watch all the festivities going on for St. Patrick's Day and then came home for pizza night. It turned out to be so much more fun than we had anticipated and can't wait to do it again!

Tricky

Strange things have been happening around here lately. We have had a little visitor at our house the last few days. And I'm not talking about the small furry kind we had a few months ago. We think we've got a leprechaun on our hands. We first noticed it last week when somehow the lunchboxes were switched in backpacks. It's a good thing we always double check we have everything before we go to school in the morning. The next day, we came home from school and all the chairs around the table had been knocked over and upside down. Then, last night, a couple drawers in the kitchen were switched and the utensils were all messed up (we needed spoons for dessert, that's when we noticed). When we got out the milk and Lucky Charms yesterday morning for breakfast, it happened again. The milk was green. And it was still fresh. He must have been thirsty or something. Then, tonight, we went to the computer to turn on the family night song, and the monitor was tinted green.

You may be wondering how we know it's a leprechaun. Each time these strange things happened, we noticed some green glitter left behind. Yep, that's right. The mark of a leprechaun. We've never had problems with leprechauns before and we clearly don't have any gold. So we're not exactly sure why we're getting these unexpected visits.

We decided that we have had enough. Kelsie and Brandon spent all Sunday morning first researching and then building the most clever trap for our little friend. Hopefully, we won't have any more incidents...but we've heard that they can be pretty tricky!

Wish us luck!

Good Morning!

Here's a little something to brighten your day!

Brandon also informed me the other day that Caleb is no longer a baby.

He's a "tobbler".

Heart and Soul

A long time ago, in a place far away from here, a nice (looking) boy asked me out. I said yes and thus began a relationship that has lasted and will last into the eternities. One particular night out, we walked up to one of the buildings on campus and found an empty room with a piano and started playing.

The piano, that is. Ahem.

He asked me if I knew how to play Heart and Soul and I said I did all the while thinking to myself, I'm sooo going to impress him! So, he started the lower part while I did my very best version of the melody a couple octaves higher. By the end of the song, he was impressed and I was feeling very proud of my performance. We then switched places. As I began playing, I noticed that he was serious about his part. And as we continued to play, he totally blew me out of the water. He was good. Real good. He made my not-so-humble rendition sound not so impressive. (As it turns out, he's just really good at improvising.) It wasn't long after our little piano recital that he kissed me for the first time.

Heart and Soul, baby.

It has been almost 11 years since that night. We still like to play that song together, usually with him on the melody. Except, now, our daughter can play it too.

Good times, my friends.

Good times.

In like a Lion, Out like a Lamb

I tell myself every winter that I just have to make it to March. March is that magical month where things are supposed to warm up again, flowers start to bloom, and buds start to form on the trees. In the last few years, though, I have also learned to gear up for one last big snowfall sometime around St. Patrick's Day. So, the count down is on. Today marks the first day of March and it has been snowing all day. We are currently in a Lake Effect Snow Advisory and could see up to 5 inches of the fresh powder by morning (yeah, I am kind of a weather geek). But you know what? I'm totally OK with that. Tomorrow is Pulaski Day which means the kids are home from school so we can just hang out here together doing fun things all day. The famous March saying, In like a lion, out like a lamb, is proving to be true. I'm just holding on to that lamb. I don't want him to get too far out of reach.