Twilight

I finally went to see the movie "Twilight," since I happened to see that it was at the dollar theater. Our family almost never goes to the movies and if we do we usually wait until it is at the dollar (now $2.00) theater. I brought Janika with me since I didn't think I would be able to drag Rick to it (I am quite sure he would have made snide remarks through the whole thing and totally ruined it if he had come).

I have to admit that I actually liked the movie. I had heard a lot of negatives about it and so I went with with some low expectations. When the previews and posters came out and I saw who they had picked for Edward it was a disappointment. I mean this guy is supposed to be drop dead gorgeous remember? I thought he was definitely all wrong for the part, I mean, what's up with that big wave of hair on top of his head? They also could have done without the white make-up, weird eye-brows, and was that lip-stick? And his skin in the sunlight which is supposed to look like diamonds looked more like a bottle of glitter. But having said that, however, I did like his eyes, and he had a certain amount of mysteriousness about him that made his character more do-able.

Aside from Edward, I thought the other characters were well cast. It has been awhile since I have read the books and so I wasn't over-analyzing every little thing that was left out. The book definitely had MUCH MORE character development but some of that is often lost when books become movies. Overall though, I thought the movie was a fairly good portrayal and that it had the same "feel" of the book.

Headshots

Well, we got our new head shots of the kids done. They are on the right side bar. Scroll down further to see the black and white shots. Jaiden's bangs are still growing back from her butcher job a few months ago but it is still a cute picture. I can't believe how old Jase looks! He just barely turned eleven but he looks fourteen in those pictures! These kids are growing up!

Sandbox Fun

...and then I wonder why my house gets so dirty!

Rooting out evil...

Four year old Jaiden had the Family Home Evening Lesson tonight and Rick helped her put it together. Jared was asked to read a scripture (Alma 22:15) which talks about King Lamoni's conversion to the gospel. In the scripture Lamoni states: "...Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy...?"

Then family members were given the challenge to find something within ourselves that we don't like, that we could have "rooted" out. We started with Jaiden and she must have had some coaching from Dad prior to the lesson because she said that she wanted to stop crying (and whining) so much. I vehemently was nodding my agreement at that one and was thinking to myself, "yes, yes, please oh please!!" (It was one of those days today).

Then Rick asked Janelle (age six) what she wanted to rid herself of and she said, "I wanna like cockroaches more cause I really don't like them!" I was laughing so hard that I could hardly make it through the rest of the lesson! Okay, so that wasn't exactly what we had in mind so we steered her towards a more appropriate goal -- being more obedient when asked to do something instead of the usual whining, "But I don't like work -- it's boring!" She happened to have one of those tearful, whining days today too -- crying at every irrational thing that came along.

Jase's goal was to overcome laziness (but I still couldn't convince him to redo his book report poster which was in my opinion a slipshod job!) Jared's goal was to improve sloppy handwriting (and to not be so loud -- sorry I had to add that last one). Janika's was to not procrastinate (she only procrastinates those things she really doesn't want to do -- like cleaning her room). Rick's was to overcome laziness by actually exercising (something besides his fingers from typing on the computer), and mine was to root out impatience (like I said, I had one of THOSE days today -- yeah, I wasn't very patient).

Then we went outside with some dandelion diggers and shovels and we each got to dig out a weed down to the roots and throw it away. We named off the thing we wanted to get rid of as we did it. It was actually pretty fun.

Janika said that it was Dad's way of tricking us into doing yard work...

Moms and Dads sure have a lot of work!

I was busy making breakfast for the kids and Janelle (my six year old) asked for more eggs. I said that they were all gone and so I would have to go down to the basement fridge and bring some more up and cook them. She said, "Moms and Dads sure do a lot of work, huh?" I said, "Yes, we sure do!" She said, "Sometimes Moms and Dads are like Kings and Queens (it seems like to kids) and that they don't do work. But really they do a LOT of work!" I agreed.

Then she said that kids were lucky cause they got to go to birthday parties but moms and dads didn't (which wasn't fair she said). But then she exclaimed, "But Moms and Dads get to go to weddings!" (Actually I think I'd rather go to a birthday party than a wedding reception but that is beside the point).

I was just glad to see that some of the work we moms do is actually noticed and validated by our kids (sometimes at least). There are those other times when we simply reign as Kings and Queens (in our dreams anyway)!

Happy Birthday Gerilyn!!

Gerilyn is Rick's younger sister and my sister-in-law. She is the BEST aunt and just like a second mom to our kids. She always remembers the little things that are going on in our childrens' lives and will call to see how it went. Our kids also love to let her know if anything exciting happens in their day. Janika will often call her or e-mail her to tell her something funny that one of the kids said or did that day so that they can laugh about it together.

We are so grateful that Gerilyn has room in her heart and in her home for all of our kids! Whenever we go up North, all of the kids sleep over at Aunt Gerilyn's house. She makes them yummy food, plays games with them and spoils them rotten. Gerilyn has baby-sat our kids numerous times while Rick and I have gone on vacations, work conventions, or participated as session directors for EFY. She has also come and stayed with us several times to help out when we were having a new baby.

She takes each of the kids' out on their own special date to have some one on one time with them. All of our kids absolutely love Gerilyn (and so do we)! Every family needs someone like her -- we have had friends and family tell us that they are jealous that we have her! She is so loving and giving and is always thinking about and serving other people. We are so grateful for her! As a side note, Gerilyn is also incredibly talented including (but not limited to) being an amazing pianist/organist and singer.

Thank you Gerilyn, for loving our kids. We wish you lived closer than six hours away! We hope you have a WONDERFUL birthday today!

We love you!!

Jumpin' Jacks!

Janelle, Jaiden, and Jared earned a GOLD ticket (by doing chores and so forth) which means they get a special date. So today I took them to Jumpin' Jacks and they loved it! Well, at least Janelle and Jaiden did. Janika helped me keep track of the kids and Jase baby-sat Josh at home (it was Josh's nap-time anyway). Jared liked it but not as much as he thought he would. Janelle and Jaiden bounced and jumped and played to their heart's content! They can't wait to go again!

Special Place

This is how I found the kids this morning....just laying on the stairs, reading books! It was cute!

Happy President's Day!

Jase already passed off all of his requirements for "Give Me Liberty!" Way to go, Jase! (They get their award at the end of the year). Tomorrow he gets to go to the early bird party for those who finished memorizing the Gettyburg Address and all of the Presidents in order. He did that..and everything else too! I think he is the first one to pass everything off (they have until April 1st). To show my moral support and to prove that my mind has not totally gone to mush, I memorized the Gettysburg Address along with him. So we have both passed it off! But I haven't memorized all the rest of the stuff...yet.

So now Jase is moving on to preparing for the upcoming Geography Bee. I have been walking each morning and so I asked him if he wanted to wake up early and come with me on my walk and I could quiz him as we go. He liked that idea and so we have had several nice walks/study sessions. Actually he roller-blades and I walk or jog. Since there was no school this morning we went a little later and were joined by Jenna and Jared. I love the beautiful scenery I pass each morning on our walks and I've enjoyed spending more time with my son!

Happy Birthday Michelle!

Michelle: Just in case you read this...Happy Birthday today!! We are grateful to have great friends like you!! (Last year Michelle was with us on her birthday...here are some pictures!) This was the day (last year) we made the big announcement to our kids that we were expecting Jennalee!

Happy Birthday to my niece, Alyssa, too!























We are lucky that everyone has been healthy for awhile now. Until today... Josh was up in the night with a yucky croupy cough and Rick took him to sleep in the basement with him since the colder air helps with the croup. I was planning to stay home from church with him but didn't know what to do about my primary class. Janika volunteered to stay home with him insisting (cough cough) that she was sick too...

Happy Valentines Day!!

Okay...whose the wise guy that got the balloon all tangled up in the ceiling fan? (And high ceilings I might add.) That's what happens when you let a balloon go and then turn on the fan. Just how in the heck are we supposed to get that down? Well, for our date Rick and I went out to dinner Friday night at Durangos and then after the kids were in bed we watched the DVD, "Fireproof." It is a Christian (Baptist) movie about marriage (or saving a marriage rather). It was quite didactic but very well-written. We give it a thumbs up! Saturday morning we followed our tradition of cooking a big Valentine's Day Breakfast complete with pink waffles (compliments of Chef Janika). Usually Rick cooks the breakfast but I did it this year (bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns) while he wrote love letters to all of the kids (another tradition). The boys did their best to ruin every picture with their grimaces and weird faces. Then we let the kids clean up while Rick and I went on a long walk (with no kids). We snuck into one of the parade of homes houses (actually the builder is in our ward and so he let us in...) We usually go to the parade of homes but no one gave us any free tickets this year. Going through those mansions always put Rick in a sort of melancholy "why aren't we that rich" sort of moods. Actually Valentines Day was quite nice. I had my hubby home all day and we stayed up late eating popcorn and watching sappy Hallmark movies. What more could a girl want? Happy Valentines Day!!!

Boredom leads to...

Yeah, so Janika was bored today....

But don't worry, she isn't planning on a career in Cosmetology...

Happy Baby!

Here is our happy baby -- four months old!

Wrong Way!

After dropping Jaiden off at pre-school, I turned right instead of left to drop some things off at the elementary school instead of heading straight home like I usually do. Josh immediately piped up, "Mom! You're going the wrong way! You're going the wrong way mom!" Wow -- it is amazing how observant a
2 1/2 year can be while strapped into a car-seat in the back seat of a van!

Name and Date

Janelle was doing her kindergarten homework tonight and it said Name_______ Date_______. I told her to fill in the information and so after the word "date" she carefully wrote "Boots." Boots is her little friend who lives next door (the one she says she is going to marry). I said, "Boots?" why did you write that? She said, "Well, he is the one I am going on a date with!"
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Oh by the way...Janika didn't make it into "Annie." So that is disappointing but at least I will have my daughter around this summer and that is VERY good news!

Annie Auditions

Janika and her best friend, Madison, both auditioned for "Annie" on Thursday (vocal auditions). We were told that we would receive a phone call the next day if they made it to the next step. I am not sure how many girls auditioned, but it was A LOT! So Friday I hurried to the phone every time it rang to see if it was Tuacahn. Finally in afternoon both girls received the call that they were to come to the dance auditions on Satuday. They were WAY excited!

So today we went. The halls were filled with dozens of girls in dance attair. Janika and Madison had lots of friends there who were also auditioning. The girls lingering about ranged in age from anywhere to really young (probably around five or six) to older teenagers. And along with all of the girls were dozens of cute, chatty nervous mothers.

I was surprised how many out of town kids were there -- there were even some from LA. We all tried to take a peek as the girls learned and performed their dance. The dance room has a full wall of windows to the outside so we could look in and see how they were doing. Janika hasn't had any formal dance training (since kindergarten) but I thought she did great!

Of course there were several girls who obviously have had years of training. We will hear sometime this week whether or not they make it into the callbacks next Saturday. But some bad news -- we heard that they are only taking sixteen girls for the show -- ouch! We were hoping they would be taking a lot more than that. Well, whatever happens happens. I think it is a great experience for these girls to audition whether they get in or not...

So.......YOU GO GIRLS!! We are proud of you!!

50 Valentine Ideas For Your Sweetheart!

Click below for 50 Inexpensive Valentine Ideas for your sweetheart!!

Ideas For Valentine's Day

The Crayon Messages

"We must cherish one another, watch over one another, comfort one another and gain instruction, that we may all sit down in heaven together. --Lucy Mack Smith-- Every so often, our Relief Society chooses a book that they want each sister to read. They purchase several copies and then list seven or eight names on the back of each book. After one sister reads it, she checks off her name and then passes it along to another sister on the list. "The Crayon Messages: a visiting teaching adventure" is our current read. I am assuming it is in preparation for the Visiting Teaching Convention next week. It is the first novel by Christine Thackeray and I quite enjoyed the story with its engaging, diverse characters and uplifting messages. Here is a little blurb from one of the web-sites about the book: "The Crayon Message is a touching reminder of 'untapped treasures' we as women have to offer one another. This story illustrates a woman's great gift of compassion and sensitivity. Cath in a struggle to find her place takes a journey of love and acceptance thanks to her unusual visiting teaching route and companion. Through her wit, Christine Thackeray shares this uplifting story showing the possibility for all women to find our place no matter what our circumstances. A wonderful comforting book for anyone who needs a little encouragement just being a Mormon mom!" Well, I just checked off my name -- now I will run it over to my neighbor to read...

Fairies

These kids crack me up. This is what I overheard this morning...

Janelle: Look what the tooth fairy brought me!! (holding up a dollar).
Jaiden: I saw her -- I did! She came right down here and we talked with each other.
Mom: Really? What did she look like?
Jaiden: (pause) I don't remember. I just opened my eyes up real wide and I saw her, but I can't remember what she looks like.
Jaiden: Janelle, did she do jobs?
Janelle: Jaiden, the tooth fairy doesn't do jobs, she just takes your tooth and leaves you money.
Jaiden: No, remember that time the tooth fairy came and did jobs?
Janelle: Oh, that wasn't the tooth fairy, that was a different kind of fairy. They come and do jobs in the night.
(I think she means mom)
Jaiden: I was just tricken' Janelle, I didn't really see the tooth fairy.
Janelle: Tricken? That's kind of like lying....MOM!!!!

Janelle Loses Another Tooth

Janelle held out her palm with a little white tooth in it and said, "The Tooth Fairy is going to come tonight!" Then she ran all over the house shouting, "I lost a tooth! I lost a tooth! I am so excited!!" When we started family home evening she exclaimed, "Okay guys, let's talk about my tooth!" I sure hope the tooth fairy remembers to come tonight!

FHE

I thought Jared and Janika did a good job with the Family Home Evening lesson today. They talked about how our body is a temple and opened up a discussion about how we can keep our body and spirit clean. Then they played a matching game with the temple pictures that they had gotten from a past issue of the FRIEND magazine.

They had printed out the pictures, cut them out and glued them to card stock. No wonder they were taking so long to put it together! Great job kids!