Play Ball! and hang out at the park

Malcolm started playing baseball on Friday night. Well, his team started practicing - he went and met the coach and then headed over to the last night of Maple Valley Soccer Academy. He and Laurel attended every Friday during Februrary. The kids said they had fun, but didn't think they learned anything.

Anyway -- Malcolm will be on The Marlins team this year, along with Ethan (and a few other kids). It looks like it will be an interesting and hopefully fun season. Their second practice was this afternoon. While Malcolm practiced, Dana and Aubrey played with Davey and Audrey. Before practice Becca curled Aubrey's hair for her...so she and Audrey could be twins in their new coats (compliments of Becca).

Dana and I got there a little bit later than Becca (who took Malcolm and Aubrey for me). Aubrey came running up to me and said, "Mom! Do you want to play Picture Tag with me and Audrey?! You try and take our pictures and then we hide from you." After that she promptly posed. :) Aside from being VERY windy and really cold, it was a fun afternoon.

Strikers recognition and the Blue & Gold

The Strikers were given a medal from the Maple Valley Soccer Association tonight. Doug took Laurel while I took the other kids to Aubrey's dance lesson and then we all met up at the Blue & Gold Banquet afterwards. Doug and Laurel were excited to see the other Strikers again -- made us all a little wistful for the fall when we're knee-deep in soccer!

The Blue & Gold Banquet was pretty simple...just the way I like it. We went with the American ABC theme and played the License Plate Game and a "Name the US location/monument" game. We had hotdogs and potluck side-dishes and homemade rootbeer for dinner with apple crisp for dessert. You might wonder why I don't have a picture of Malcolm ~ and it's because he is such a busy boy that I can never snap a picture of him!

Finding joy in motherhood

"When mothers know who they are and who God is and have made covenants with Him, they will have great power and influence for good on their children...there is eternal influence and power in motherhood." Julie B. Beck

Mothers who know...

...desire to bear children. Women who desire and work toward that blessing in this life are promised they will recieve it for all eternity, and eternity is much, much longer than mortality.

...honor sacred ordinances and covenants. They know that if they are not pointing their children to the temple, they are not pointing them toward desired eternal goals.

...are nurturers. They create a climate for spiritual and temoral growth. Home is where women have the most power and influence. Nurturing requires organization, patience, love and work.

...are leaders. They lead a great and eternal organization; plan for the future of their organization; build children into future leaders; and maximize their influence where it matters most.

...are teachers. They are always teachers. They are never off duty.

...do less. They permit less of what will not bear good fruit eternally; are willing to live on less in order to spend more time with their children; choose carefuly and do not try to choose it all. Their goal is to prepare a rising generation of children who will take the gospel of Jesus Christ into the entire world.

...stand strong and immovable. They do not give up during difficult and discouraging times.

These thoughts have been running through my head a lot over the last few months. I am trying to find my joy in motherhood, in being a wife, in being a daughter of God. Trying to remember (discover?) that there is more to being a mom than just cleaning up after the kids, feeding them, and disciplining them. So when I saw this in the comics yesterday, I felt as if it was there as a reminder just for me.

you can click on it to make it larger and easier to read

6 things that make me happy

I was tagged by Tina to list 6 things that make me happy...it's taken me a few days to catch up on the blog, and then really think about what makes me happy. Here are the results...

1. The restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Nothing gives me more happiness and peace in this life than my testimony of the gospel. I am grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ and for His atoning sacrifice.

2. My family. Doug and the kids might drive me crazy sometimes, but I love each and every one of them with my whole heart and soul. They make me laugh, bring me joy, and teach me things I didn't realize I didn't know. I am finding more joy in being a wife and mother, and it's because of my love for Doug, Laurel, Malcolm, Aubrey, and Dana ~ and their love for me.

3. The dogs. I was so excited when Doug finally conceded to adopting a dog a little over 6 years ago. Henry has been such a great addition to our family...he camps, chills, and has fun with the rest of us. And now that Shadow is a member of our family, we look forward to new adventures with her, too.

4. A good book. It doesn't have to be eduational, spiritual, or even mindless -- it just has to be a good read. A good escape. It drives Doug crazy, but I will totally immerse myself into a book and then forget all about it very quickly. I enjoy the act of reading, but I don't retain much. I'm currently reading "Yearning for the Living God" by F. Enzio Busche. I am really enjoying it...and I hope to retain a lot of it. One of the reasons I'm enjoying it so much is that Doug's Dad (while serving his mission in Germany) was one of the first two missionaries to introduce Elder Busche to the gospel.

5. Signs of Spring. I love all the seasons...they all make me smile. But there is something special about the first signs of spring. It's hope. It's promise. It's life.

6. A lifetime of amazing friends. I have been blessed throughout my life with good friends. Some of them I have lost touch with (and found again through FaceBook), others have been "with me" for almost as long as I can remember. I definitely do not feel worthy of such great and amazing friends and all the support and love they give me.

If you're up to the challenge, you may consider yourself "tagged" and list your own 6 Happy Things.

Skate Park

Yesterday Becca took the kids to the Skate Park. They had so much fun that when she said she was going again, I invited Dana and myself along. I took the camera; I take it everywhere...trying to improve my skills ~ especially if Becca has her camera. I keep hoping that I'll become an amazing photographer just by taking pictures standing or sitting next to her. And by asking endless questions. Sometimes it actually works!

Here are my favorites...if you want to see some really awesome pictures, check out The Kidds' blog.

Dana taking a spill at the end of the slide

Audrey and Aubrey flying on the "spinny-thing"

Dana's tantrum because she thinks she needs my help on the slide

a perspective shot...something I've become obsessed with since Mary's photography assignment on perspective

Aubrey took this picture ~ and I love it because it almost looks like Malcolm's skating on the rail

Malcolm trying to skate down a big ramp...it didn't quite work, but he tried so hard!

Happy Trails to You, Until we Meet Again

Quite suddenly Grandpa Dennis & Grandma Sandii decided to move (along with Aunt Lisa) to Las Vegas. With everyone's crazy schedules we weren't sure we'd get to say goodbye before they left. But fortunately, Grandpa and Aunt Lisa came for dinner and dessert on Monday night. Unfortunately, Grandma Sandii had to stay behind to tie up some obligations. We had a nice visit, a tasty (if I do say so myself) Chicken n' Dumplings dinner, and Laurel made brownies for dessert. Aunt Sheila and Preston were able to join us for the fun.

All the kids, but especially Malcolm, were very excited when Grandpa agreed to an impromptu trombone lesson. Near Christmas, he gave our family his trombone that he'd had since high school. Aside from the very musty smell that wafted from the case, the kids were pretty impressed with the instrument. Maybe one of them will choose to play it in band.

We'll miss them, but wish them well on their new adventure!

Dana's version of Twin Day

Dana was so sad when the other kids dressed as twins on Friday. So on Sunday, it was easy for me to finally convince her to wear a matching dress with Aubrey. They looked so cute (even though Dana insisted on wearing her white shoes).

Happy Valentines Day!

Today was a pretty great Valentines Day. I made heart-shaped french toast and bacon for breakfast.

And then the weather was so awesome that the kids scattered and had a great time playing outside. Malcolm even made a new friend.

Hope you had time with your Sweeties!

Friday the 13th

Today was Twin Day at School. As the kids were running about last night trying to pull their Twin Outfits together, Dana started crying because SHE wanted to be a twin, too. She seemed satisfied when we told her she could wear the matching outfit Anna's mommy bought for her and Anna. Everyone looked great -- and this year I didn't even have to buy anything special for the kids to wear!

Aubrey and Audrey were twins (duh). They matched right down to the holes in their knees! Can you tell it was COLDY and windy this morning??

Malcolm and Ethan were twins (double-duh).

And Laurel was a triplet with Katie and Kaylee (triple-duh).

It was also Aubrey's class Valentine's Day party. She was so excited to have Dana and me back to the classroom for some sugary fun. The kids had fun exchanging Valentines, eating candy, decorating cookies, and just being friends. I was relieved to discover we were NOT the only family to forget a Valentine for the teacher -- we hope she knows how much we love and appreciate her! you can click on the picture to see it bigger...

Field Trip: Seattle Art Museum

I was able to chaperone Aubrey's 1st grade class on a field trip to the Seattle Art Museum today. There were enough chaperones, that I just had Aubrey and her cute friend Emma to watch over.

I am not sure that the Docent assigned to our group was very fond of children, but she did a very nice job explaining some of the art at the Museum.

The Docent told us a story aof this African girl who became a Queen. The African King sent out word that he wanted to marry. All the beautiful girls in the kingdom (?) were so excited. But the father of this particular girl did not want his daughter to be Queen so he scarred her forehead. The King had a dream that he would marry a beautiful girl with scars on her forehead. So even though her family was not happy, she married the King and became Queen. Her son loved her very much and carried this miniature mask of his mother's face around his waist as his way to honor her. (This is not the mask we saw, but it is similar.)

I found this painting very interesting. The Docent had the kids examine it very closely for about 45 seconds. Then she turned them around and asked them questions about what they saw. I was impressed with how much they noticed ~ things that I hadn't noticed at all. But the thing that I found most interesting about the painting is the man's silhouette on the pillar. It represents the woman's husband, who is off to war. But he looks an a LOT like Joseph Smith. So much so, in fact, that one of the girls in the other group said she thought it WAS Joseph in the picture. But when I went back up to investigate, the time period is off...just a strange coincidence.

Out of all the things we saw, though, the kids were most fascinated with this ceramic toilet. Especially when they discovered that it contained ceramic poo.

While much of the art at SAM is from the modern genre, I managed to find some things that I thought were interesting and even artistic in a traditional sense. And the kids seemed to really enjoy themselves, too!

she LOVES her girl dog

I'm not sure if Dana can't remember Shadow's name, or if she is just really into boys and girls lately (which she is). But she insists on calling Shadow "my girl dog." This is how she shows Shadow her love. Poor Shadow.

Bella Dancerella

Aubrey has wanted to take ball-ah-ay lessons for a few years...it's her favorite dress-up choice. When Audrey started taking dance lessons last year, it almost broke Aubrey's heart to watch her go every week. FINALLY, we agreed to let her try it. And it's been the happiest four weeks of her life ~ just ask her!

Today the girls got to try on their Recital Costumes. Aubrey is very excited to be a cowgirl! W e're looking forward to her recital in June.

And we hope that Laurel will one day find it in her heart to forgive us for giving her little sister something Laurel has always wanted, too.