A fun, time waster

If you have some time on your hands, this is pretty fun. I know Jared will love it! He loves geography!

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Tulip festival 2008

Yesterday, we went to the annual Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point. If you don't live in Utah, you should know that it has been an especially cold Spring and the Tulips weren't quite ready for their close-up this year. It was very cold and windy, but we went for it anyway. We went our Hemmert relatives that live in-state. Devin and Heidi were getting professional pictures taken most of the time, but we were still glad to have them along. Matt and Julie were good sports when Preston kept stealing Goldfish crackers and fruit snacks from their 1-year old, Mason, and Joyce was the fun Grandma, as usual.For my boys, the best part was all the wide open grass to run around on, and the hills to roll down.
The three of us. Jared was not able to go with us this year. He was missed.
Preston with his water bottle. Yes, most of it did end up spilled down the front of him.
Cute brothers!
My boys with Mason towards the end of the outing. Chandler was nice enough to hold him up for the picture, but look what happened when the photo-op was done....
Oops! I guess he was done being helpful! No harm done, Mason is tough, little guy! You have to be to hang around these cousins! We had a great time. The tulips and other flowers will probably be just about ready in 2 weeks, so you should all go check out the beautiful gardens at Thanksgiving Point. It's pretty spectacular when everything is in full bloom!

Embarrassing parent moment

Last night we had a double whammy of humiliation.  Allow me to set the scene.  We were just leaving Tepanyaki after celebrating Wynn's 65th birthday.  Jared was ahead with Preston and I was holding Chandler's hand walking out to the car.  I look out to the door and about to walk in is a disabled person on crutches who was noticeable shorter than average.  As I see this person, I pray that silent prayer that mothers always do, "Please don't let my child say anything.  And if they do, please let it be quiet enough that no one hears."  Admit it, you've been there!  My prayers were not answered as I wanted this time.  Chandler immediately sees the man, and says very loudly, "Mom, look at that little man!"  I squeeze his hand, hoping he understands what that means.  He doesn't!  Again, because I ignored him, he says, "Mom, look at that little man!"  By this time we are walking as fast as I can drag him out the doors.  I give him the talk about how it would hurt that man's feelings if he heard him say that, etc., etc.  When we get outside, Jared looks like I feel.  Oh no, not the other kid too.  Apparently, Preston saw the guy and said, "Look Dad!  A dog!"  Jared tried to shush him and say, "No Preston, it's a guy."  Preston then said, "Oh, Dad, look it's a guy-dog!  It's a guy-dog!"  And as two-year olds tend to do, he kept repeating it over and over.  Of course he also said it very loudly.  So there we were mortified!  I'm sure the guy, unfortunately, has heard things before, but we still felt awful.  I guess we'll have to reinforce the concepts of whispering, quiet and tact some other time.

Attitude of Gratitude

5 things I'm thankful for right now.

1.  Family, friends and neighbors who are so helpful, kind and willing to help out when we need it.

2.  Warm sunny days even though they are few and far between this time of year.

3.  We've finally started finishing our basement!

4.  Preston still calling out "Mom, hold me!" occasionally.

5.  Fun Girls Night Out with old friends.  It can be several months since we've seen each other, but when we're back together, it's like we've never missed a beat.

Conference weekend + soccer

Chandler at his first soccer game of the spring season. He has so much fun playing. Since he is one of the youngest on the team, he pretty much just chases the crowd around, but he has fun, so we're happy!
This past Conference weekend, we stayed up in Midway at my parent's condo. We actually did things that we don't usually do when we're there. It was a nice change of pace. We started out Friday evening bowling at the Holiday Lanes in Heber City. The boys had a great time.
Chandler rolled a strike with some help from the wooden aparatus that helps kids aim their balls right down the middle. We then made our required trip to Dairy Keen for dinner so the boys could get in some train time.
Chandler playing air hockey at McDonald's in Heber City. You may be wondering why there are so many pictures of Chandler and not Preston. If you know Preston at all, you will not find it surprising that almost all the pictures we have of him turn out blurry.
On Saturday afternoon, we met our friends the Hulls and Christensens at the Rec Center in Kamas. Yes, Kamas! They have this really fun, indoor pool for kids with tons of equipment, a lazy river and a water slide.
Our whole group. The Hulls and Christensens lived near us when we lived at the married student housing complex at the University village, and we've all been good friends ever since.
Jared and Preston coming down the waterslide.
Chandler and Jared on the waterslide. By the end of the afternoon, both boys were going on the waterslide alone with just one of us to catch them at the bottom. The pool in Kamas will definitely be a new tradition for us when we go to Midway. It was great fun. After getting thoroughly waterlogged (and Chandler getting a rash from his much-too-small life jacket), we ate take out at the Hulls house in Park City and watched Kansas win their way into the National Championship! (Jared was at the Priesthood session, but made it in time for the end of the game). We had such a fun weekend and can't wait to do it all again!

The best talk EVER!

Dear Elder M. Russell Ballard,
Your talk given during the Sunday afternoon session of General Conference was the best talk EVER. As a mother of young children myself, it was exactly what I needed to hear and exactly what I wanted my husband to hear. Unfortunately for me, he may have dozed off during your talk, but MARK MY WORDS, he will be reading it as soon as the transcripts are available at LDS.org on Thursday. Again, your words both inspired and uplifted me and I'm sure the same applies to mothers everywhere! Thanks a million, Jaime

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVE?

Update: Here is the link to the talk. Enjoy! Again and again!

Attitude of Gratitude

This is the next installment of things I am grateful for.
1. I am grateful for General Conference this weekend. Along with that goes, I am very grateful that I live in a place that I can watch the Conference on TV. When we lived in Toronto, we had to go to the stake center for each session. On the other hand, it is easier to concentrate in a darkened chapel than home on the couch.
2. I am thankful that we are relatively healthy right now. It can never be 100% can it?
3. I am grateful that boys enjoy playing with each other. They do fight over things a lot, but when one of them is gone, the other misses him greatly.
4. I am thankful for Chandler's enjoyment of soccer this year. Admittedly, he is not the "star" of the team (he is still one of the youngest), but he thoroughly enjoys it.
5. I am grateful for the wonderful storytime program that the Provo Library offers. We live in Orem, but go to Provo's library every week. They sing songs, read books, and have a puppet show each week. The older kids have their own room with similar activities. My boys love it!