At the crossroads

Ben and Luke went to the U of U vs Stanford basketball game with my parents last week. They had a great time. I loved hearing about the soft pretzels and nachos at the game.

 Sara went to her friends birthday party last Friday. The weather was 60 degrees so she wore short sleeves and capris. She was so cute skipping to her party with her dog and a present.

 When Michael started scouts at age 11, he was a little guy so we bought him the small scout sash. At that time we didn't know he was going to try and earn EVERY merit badge OR that he would be so tall! I have struggled with what to do about his sash being too small. I went to the scout shop last week and they gave me the name of a lady who sews on merit badges. I called her thinking I would need to unpick every merit badge and hire her to re-sew them on to a bigger sash. I was so grateful when she told me to just buy a new sash and that she would add to the top of his existing sash. Brilliant! I picked it up from her today and I couldn't be more thrilled. Not only does it fit him much better but we can add another 30 merit badges!

 Ben came home from school today with a 4.0 honor roll certificate. Nice work Ben!

We all helped quiz Mary on her spelling bee words over the weekend. She came home from school today proudly wearing her 3rd place medal for the 6th grade spelling bee. She is moving on to the school spelling bee at the end of the month. Looks like we've got more studying days ahead. Nice work Mary!

 Michael found out that prom is four days after his 16th birthday. Why not make his first date a big one right?! He asked a darling friend from the mountain biking team to prom today. It was so fun to watch him get excited and run to the door with a box of donuts to ask to prom. 

I have to admit that my heart hurts to see our kids growing up so fast. I wish I could bottle up time and keep it just like it is or at least slow it down!

In any case, I feel so fortunate to be at the crossroads when our kids come home from games or school with exciting news or when they have big life events like first dates. My good husband works hard so that I can be at the crossroads for our kids and I am so grateful.

Luckily we didn't have to wait long for a response about prom. It's a good thing too! The suspense was killing me. Aw... our Michael has a date to prom!

Big brother, life with a golden retriever, and a party

Mary had 7th grade orientation at her middle school this week. She has mixed feelings. She can't wait to be part of the orchestra. 

 But she is nervous about the big, crowded school. Thankfully her big brother showed her around the school after orientation.

 He let her practice combination locks on his locker. I feel so much better knowing that Ben will be looking after our sweet Mary at school starting in the Fall. Big brothers are awesome!

 I found this sticker on a car this week. Usually I agree with this sticker except for when I don't :)

 I agree when I see my kids reading to the dog or taking the dog to the park.

 I disagree when I am at the orthodontist with Michael and I have a tight afternoon and evening schedule and one of my kids calls me in a panic saying that Nana is throwing up. That's when I have to remind myself that Nana is still a puppy and puppies are unpredictable. Thankfully she wasn't sick, but she ate part of the blanket in her crate. Really Nana?! Choose a time when I'm not so busy to snack on something nasty okay?!

 Last night we had the 16-18 year old youth from our church over at our house for pizza and games. Each time I have the opportunity to talk with these kids, I'm impressed with their goodness. They are a great group of kids!

Testimony

Luke gave a talk in Primary yesterday. To prepare for his talk, we found a story in the February 2018 Friend magazine called, "The plan of happiness," for him to read. Then I talked to him about sharing his testimony at the end of his talk. We talked about the importance of sharing the things he knows to be true.

I was touched by his sweet testimony that he shared following his talk. Luke is a special boy and I feel so blessed to be his mom.

 We love to stop by Todd's bishops office after church to give him a kiss (even with my disgusting fasting breath) and find out what time I should plan to serve dinner. Yesterday he had just received this darling note and treats from the nursery. We have such good people in our ward.

 Last night we went for a drive so Michael could get some more driving practice. We peeked through the gates of the Jordan River Temple. All temples are special to us but this temple has been extra special for us since Todd's parents had the opportunity to serve in the temple presidency there. This temple has been closed for a couple of years for renovations and we are thrilled to have it opening again soon. The open house begins in March.

 We stopped in to visit my sweet grandma. She lost my grandpa 8 months ago and I'm sad that she is alone. I'm grateful that I can still feel grandpa with her in their comfortable home. The kids love her tray of jelly beans and caramels. Notice that Luke and Mary have almost passed her in height. :) We love you grandma!

100 days of school

Today Sara's class celebrated their 100th day of first grade.

Last night we counted 100 taffy candies for Sara to trade in class. (I think she ate close to 100 candies while she was counting- note to self: don't buy candy bags from Costco).

 Sara dressed as a 100 year old for her class celebration.

 Mary turned in her science fair project today too.

 I taught Meet the Masters in Sara's class today. It's always fun and exhausting at the same time.

 The artist we studied today was Remington. Look at these amazing Remington works of art!

At one point today while I was teaching Sara's class, I was trying to quiet the class to give them instructions and Sara said, "You should be quiet cause my mom sometimes gets headaches!"

There must be other moms that get headaches too, because it worked! They were instantly quiet!