Hope

February always gives us a few Sunny days. Just enough to give us hope that Spring is just around the corner. Today was one of those beautiful days. This is my first little daffodil that peeked it's head out for the first time this afternoon. I just LOVE it when my daffodils start to bloom. It makes me happy.

We had a fun-filled afternoon...

We played with trucks

We planted flowers

We rode bikes

We played "Horse" (Reed won)We were enjoying the sunny afternoon so much that "we" forgot to go inside and fix dinner before Hank came home. Lucky for us, he's a pretty understanding guy.

There was a Court of Honor last night for the Boy Scouts in our area. Reed was going to be getting some merit badges and advancements. I thought it would be nice to get a picture of my two handsome Boy Scouts in their uniforms. Reed didn't think that was such a great idea. Here's Hank trying to manhandle him so I can snap a photo. It didn't work very well.

Here's Reed mocking me because I wasn't able to get his picture


See, Reed doesn't exactly....well, how can I say this? He doesn't prefer Scouting. I'm not sure why, exactly. Scouting is kind of a family tradition on both sides of our family. His dad is an Eagle Scout, as well as both of his Grandfathers. He has at least 6 uncles who have their Eagle, and probably more. And at least 6 of his cousins have their Eagle. So he comes by it naturally. Except he doesn't. It's been a constant battle ever since he turned 8 years old and started Cub Scouts. We wouldn't force the issue, but our church really encourages the young men to participate in Scouting. And Hank is the Scoutmaster. Our parenting approach has become something like this: "You don't have to like it, you just have to go and act like you do." So here are a few of his attempts at faking it...

Did he convince you??

At least somebody was excited to go. Montana.

She wanted to show off her zig-zag hairdo

24 Hours

Do you know how hard it is to keep something a secret from your husband when there are 4 children and 2 grandparents involved? It's really hard. In fact, I'm quite amazed I was able to pull it off. There were a couple of close calls, which is a topic for another day, but with the help of a few little white lies and an easygoing, non-suspicious husband, it was a success.


I whisked him away for a 24 hour get-a-way. We didn't go anywhere fancy or far away, but it didn't matter. We just had fun being together. We went to a small "resort" about 25 miles from home. It turned out to be much nicer than I expected. It's an older resort, but they are in the process of refurbishing and remodeling. We had a new "french cottage" type room with a fireplace and a back porch. It was totally cute.

They have decorated the walkways and buildings with interesting little touches, like this moss covered bicycle.

They have a courtyard with a fountain and gazebo.

And they have about 10 or so acres of all different types of gardens. They weren't all that beautiful at this time of year, but I'm sure in the summer it looks great. They have these cute mailboxes at each garden. Inside the mailbox, you find information on that particular garden.

They had a labrynth mowed into the back lawn. To be used for meditation and prayer while walking through it. Here's Hank meditating on how 24 hours could come and go so quickly.

Dinasaur

I was helping out in Montana's classroom the other day and I found this on her desk. I'm glad her "dinsor" is nice and happy. That's the way "dinsors" should be.

I Won! I Won!

I won a contest. I didn't have to do much, really. Just comment on Hallie's blog. And I won this beautiful "Watermelon Tourmalene" necklace from ttp://www.vlajoiejewelry.com/ Pretty cool. Thanks, Hallie. It came in the mail yesterday and I love it.

I think the last time I won a contest I was in college and I entered the Life cereal's "Guess who's Mikey?" contest. Is anyone old enough to remember the old commercial with the little boy named Mikey who was brave enough to try the cereal and then he liked it? Mikey grew up and they put his grown up picture on the box, along with a bunch of other kids his same age and you had to guess which one was the real Mikey. I won $100 and then used it to pay bills. How exciting.

What contests have you won?

Sister Sleepover

Montana loves to sleep in JJ's room in her trundle bed. It's kind of a special treat because they are only allowed to do it on weekends. Last night I went to tuck them in and I found JJ reading a chapter book to Montana. I thought it was so sweet. I'm glad they like to be together (most of the time!) They have their share of sister fights, that's for sure. But for the most part, I think they truly enjoy each other's company.

Talkin' Uno Smack

Happy, friendly little family Uno game...

Quickly turns into Uno Smack Down

It's all fun and games until teenage son loses to his dad.

Let's Go...G.N.O.

Since we weren't able to make it to the actual concert, a friend and I took our girls to see the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus 'Best of Both Worlds' Concert 3D movie. We had so much fun on our G.N.O. (girl's night out) It was a very entertaining movie/concert. The 3D effects were pretty cool, too. At one point, it looked like an object was flying out of the screen into the audience. JJ held up her hands and tried to "catch" it. She really thought something was coming at her. She laughed and laughed about that one. Montana loved the confetti that appeared to be floating in the air. She kept swatting at it and giggling. It was cute to watch.
JJ and Montana have the C.D.'s and know all the songs by heart. With all the inappropriate and nasty lyrics out there today, it's nice to hear my girls singing lyrics like:

"Don't let anyone tell you that you're not strong enough. Don't give up. There's nothing wrong with just being yourself. That's more than enough. So come on and raise your voice. Speak your mind, make some noise."

"Life's what you make it so let's make it rock"

I hope Miley can keep up her good girl image and positive message. It certainly won't be easy.

I Wish that I had Duck Feet

This is how Little Guy dressed himself yesterday. Go Ducks! Or not.

Goodbye for Now

I'm not sure why I feel so overcome with emotion about the passing of President Hickley. I know in my heart and in my mind that he is happier and in a much better place now. He's reunited with his beloved wife Marjorie and many other relatives and loved ones. I would imagine that he's had a chance to meet the prophet Joseph and others who came before.

It's just that I have so many tender feelings for this man who has been our prophet for the past 12 years. He's the only prophet my children have known. He's been such a shining example of living the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is so humble, so loving, so funny.

I love you and I will miss you, President Hinckley. (Say Hi to Grandpa for me.)