Good Times

Tuesday my parents were headed up to Calgary to visit their good friends, the boys and I tagged along so we could hang out with Rachel. We Went to A&W for dinner and ate pretty much the best onion rings ever made. Yum! We order 3 helpings and still wanted more. Then we headed off in search of cowboy hats for the boys, but instead the kids ended up with another webkinz and soccer balls. Thanks Auntie Rachel! Then we headed off to the park to test out the soccer balls and played a highly competitive game of football.










Grandma Kaye invited to us to spend Wednesday afternoon with her. We went to a new fountain park. The kids had tons of fun dashing through the water - even Kaye got wet. So Fun.

My Uncle Mel came for a visit and quickly became beloved by Nolan and Jarom. Uncle Mel took Nolan fishing, was introduce to UNO and SKIPBO (showing no mercy to his younger opponents crushing them time after time in defeat)and engaged in many battles. The boys, and their mom, were very sad to see Uncle Mel Leave.

Rantings of an Overcharge Consumer

I totally feel the need to rant. In fact I don't think I will feel better until I have had many people listen to my rantings so I am posting in on my blog there by reaching more people. I'll try to keep it short.

Jarom is allergic to the protein in cows milk so he drinks goat milk. In Winnipeg I paid $5.49 for 2 liters which bothered me, but since I have no other choice I paid the money. After an unpleasant trip to Safeway on Monday I was informed that they were no longer carrying goats milk, but Save on Foods did.

Yesterday I made my way to Save On and found the desired goat milk when I got to the till it cost $6.49 FOR 2 liters - 2 LITERS! Is it just me or does that seem a tad high?

The Make Over

While the kids and I have been in Alberta"playing", Spencer has been in Winnipeg working all day and then coming home and doing all the repairs our house needs to be ready to sell. He has repaired, painted and poured a new front step as the old one was crumbing away and a bit of an eye sore. It was back breaking work mixing and pouring the concrete, but it looks amazing!

He sent me pictures this morning and I was so impressed with his work I wanted to share and express my appreciation to him for all he does for our family! Spencer is an amazing father and husband who always puts his family first.

We miss you and can't wait for you to join us in Alberta!

New Favorite Thing

If you are anything like me the thought of coming up with another idea of what to cook for supper is Pure torture!

I found this new site that sends 4 - 20 minute meal recipes every week. This was the first week I've been able to try out the recipes and they are so good.

I made the salmon cakes - which don't really sound appealing, but are so delicious - Nolan even ate them. Tonight we made the Chicken with Mango and Pepper Salad which was met with rave reviews!

Check it out and sign up for the 20 minute supper club

http://www.wish.ca/food/

New Beginnings

Ok, all those of you who are faithful followers of my blog may have noticed that when something is going on in my life I take a break from blogging. There is some weird connection in my head that makes me believe that it’s not really real until it appears on my blog.

So here it is... we are relocating to Southern Alberta.

This comes as a totally shock as neither Spencer nor I thought that we would ever return “Home”. We didn’t go looking for a change, but nonetheless we were ready for one and it found us. On a whim Spencer applied for a job, not really thinking he would even get an interview as he wasn’t qualified for the job. But want him they did and once we heard the offer we knew we couldn’t turn it down. So in the last two weeks we have been going crazy trying to get ready to move before we came to Alberta to celebrate my grandma’s 90th birthday.

Spencer will be the Assistant Director of ???? at the U of L. He is, as I understand it, over all the construction that goes on at the university. I don’t think that really does it justice, but I’m sure if you check back Spencer will have left a lengthy comment as to what the job all entails.

How we all feel about this move.... shocked, nervous, stunned, heartbroken, angry (Nolan) excited for a change – if you can think it we’ve felt it.

Saying Good-bye to Winnipeg and all the people we love there was harder than I ever thought it would be. How do you say good-bye to people who have become your family? How do you say good-bye to a place that helped you grow into who you are?

Winnipeg and our friends there were a blessing. We had so many people touch mine, Spencer’s and our kid’s lives. I’ve never been good at emotional outpourings and the last two weeks have been just that. Since I tried to be strong when saying good-bye to those I love, I would cry (more like sob) alone at 4 in the morning, so stupid. I am so thankful for the time our family spent in Winnipeg, the people there are amazing and we will miss them.

Here’s to starting new chapter in our lives

90 years

Under protest we planned a celebration for my grandma’s 90th birthday. Although grandma repeatedly griped about the event; she had a great time. Grandma was radiant all day basking in all the attention!

I had such a great time reconnecting with cousins I hadn’t seen in many years. I wish all our family could have been there, but there are plans in the works for a family reunion next summer so hopefully more family will be able to attend.

Strawberry Goodness

Canning in one of my favourite domestic duties, scrap that, it is my favourite. I love the way the jars look all lined up on the shelves. Unlike making supper, cleaning the bathroom, doing the laundry and the list goes on – canning is satisfying. After the meal is consumed, the bathroom is grungy and the laundry baskets are once again spilling over; I can go down and gaze at the beautifully arranged jars of goodness.

Now all I have to do is learn how to make bread to go with my jam.

Best 3.99 I ever spent

This morning I learned that a Indiana Jones action spoon which lights up while you eat will get Jarom to eat his cream of wheat without thrashing around on the floor complaining.

Can I get a life time supply?

What's the Third?

When Spence and I got married he introduced me to the Law of Threes – Which states that bad things happen in groups of three. Our family has tested this Law out over the years and I have become a believer.

Last Friday – I was picking the kids up from school and the breaks went totally “soft” (this is a term that I have since learned). I had to push the brakes all the way to the floor to stop and even then it took a long time. I waited for Spencer to get home from work and then mentioned there was something wrong with the brakes in the Van. Spencer went out to take the van for a test drive and as he was backing out of the drive way the brakes completely failed and he rolled into the fence behind our house. The top of the fence post hit our back windshield totally shattering it. There is a nice dent in the van gate and a ding in the bumper. We got the brakes fixed on Saturday and I dropped the van off at the body shop on Thursday.

All things Considered I feel very blessed. I was just so thankful that nothing happened while my kids were in the van that the rest didn’t really seem to matter.

Tuesday I went up stairs to brush my teeth and discovered the bathroom sink cracked with chip in it and a puddle of water on the floor. Now I don’t know exactly what happed, but I do have my theories.

I will soon be the owner of a new windshield, van gate, bumper and bathroom sink- Lucky me.

Jarom

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The end of the school year seems to be coming at a rapid pace. This is Jarom’s last week of pre-school. Last week they had concert and here is just a little snippet for you to enjoy. I especially love it when Jarom and his friend start to break-dance. I had no idea he had such talent. I missed filming the best part, but there is a bit of him mov’in and grov’in.

Since this is for the most part my Journal I just wanted to add some of Jaroms favorite things – so I can remember when I am old and grey!

Favorite Food: squishy potatoes and gravy

Favorite Color: all the colors, but green is the most loved

Life’s aspirations: To be the Yellow Wiggle. If that does work Jarom would like to be a Jedi and if for some reason that doesn’t work out he would like to be a fireman.

The Immovables

The Mutual theme this year is “Be steadfast and immovable always abounding in good works” (Mosiah 5:15). For our New Beginning this year, as a presidency – I am serious blessed with awesome counsellors, we decided that the 3rd Thursday of every month would be our “abounding in good works activity” and we would perform service. We had T-shirts made for all the girls, brainstormed a team name; called ourselves the “Immovables”, had it printed on the back of the shirts and then we wear them to each of our service activities.

We’ve done different service activities; provided babysitting at the church so couples could go out with there significant other on Valentines day, cleaned the church, made sandwiches and took them to homeless shelters. Some activities have been more successful than others. Teaching girls why we do service and having them experience the true meaning of service has always been a bit of a struggle.

Tonight we went to a nursing home; our main purpose in going was to visit with the people and sing to them. We brought music from their era and one of the girls brought her dog and another leader brought her guitar. When we arrived I could tell that the girls were nervous. The people living in the home were at different stages health wise and mentally, which can be a little scary when you're young; I was a little nervous about how the girls would react.

At first the girls huddled together at the side, but people started to notice the dog and wanted to pet her. We gave the girls a push and told them to mingle around. At first they timidly approached a person and inquired as to their name and politely asked questions about their lives. It was so fun to watch the people light up when the dog would come near them or how their demeanor would change as the girls talked to them and held their hand. After we had been there about an hour I was having a lovely chat with a man named Bill and two of my girls were visiting with a woman just behind Bill. One of the girls looked at me and said, “I like coming here, it makes me feel good. I want to come back”.

I’ve learned so many things as yw’s president. I’ve learned that we try and try and try and then suddenly it happens, the girls have an experience that helps them to understand a principle or gain a testimony of what we have been trying to teach them. I was so proud to be a part of these outstanding girls.

Yum!

I have brownies...with icing. Want to come over?

Catching Up

I have a lot of catching up to do as I have been neglecting my blog site for the last couple of months. It seems we are a busy little family always up to something, although I feel as though our lives are starting to repeat on a yearly cycle. Depending on the season, you could look up a blog posting for the same month the pervious year and it would pretty much be accurate as to what we are all up to right now. There have been some highlights that I did want to touch on. Hopefully you have a while to read or I guess you’ll have to read in small sections.

MY BIRTHDAY
Yes it’s sad, but true, I am indeed a year older. I have officially reached the age where I no longer wish to acknowledge the fact that I have celebrated another birthday- yet I'm doing a blog post so that says other wise. I had lots of birthday wishes and kisses from the 3 amazing guys in my life. Lots of my family and friends called to help me celebrate(not really the word I want to use but it seems the most commonly used word to describe birthdays).

There seemed to be an overwhelming theme that I needed some new clothes as everyone treated me to an amazing summer wardrobe. I am all set for the summer and will be looking good. Spencer got our good friend Tricia to come and watch the kids and he took me shopping. Although it was very hard for me to accept such a gift, I will say that I am thankful to have a friend that loves me so much that she wanted me to have something she loves so much and treated me to a pair of LuLulemon pants. All I can say is – they really are as comfortable as everyone says, I’m hooked. If you don’t own a pair yet, grit your teeth and get yourself a pair.

KAYE COMES TO WINNIPEG
We look forward to Kaye’s (Aka Spencer’s mom, playdough grandma, grandma Kaye) every year. It is so fun to have her here. Kaye brought lots of fun activities to do with the kids - balloon tying being at the top of the list, they also did puzzles, sidewalk chalking, stories, singing to Raffi and so many other fun things I could go on and on. We of course made our daily (although it seems a little more like hourly) trips for ice-cream, gelato, frozen yogurt, more gelato, more ice-cream, you get the idea. Next year I am going to bring my camera so I can take pictures of all the places we consume a frozen dairy treat.

I pulled Nolan out of school for an afternoon and we all went to the Zoo, followed by a trip to the BDI(ice-cream). Friday night being Kaye’s last night we decided to go to Horton Hears a Who. Totally fun and cute- take your kids. We arrived at the airport bright and early Saturday morning only to discover that due to a terrible snowstorm in Calgary her flight had been cancelled and she would be spending another day with us. We were all delighted as we had planned a bonfire and never had time to roast some wiennies. We went to a park by our house and fulfilled our roasting plans and had wonderful afternoon.

To be continuted as I have to put Jarom to bed.

Apostle Song

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A Wife’s Prerogative

I have lots to share! The last couple of weeks have been busy with Kaye and my mom visiting, not to mention the great lumpia roll, but I wanted to brag about my amazing ultra talented husband.

We had lots of good news last week. After an agonizing month (for Spencer) we learned that Spencer did indeed pass another exam. Yippee!!! He left the exam feeling like he had failed, but I’ve learned after 13 yrs of marriage that this is probably not the case and remained optimistic. This means 3 exams down and 6 more to go.

On a huger note, Spencer has finally, after 5 yrs of working, completed his intern hours. 5600 hours total spread across 16 categories of professional experience. This means that, after he passes his last 6 exams he will officially be an architect.

Spencer has worked on many projects, gaining the respect and admiration of all those he works with. His bosses love him and I happen to think he is an architectural genius.

Spence was a design architect and contract administrator on the Seven Oaks Emergency redevelopment project and the architecture is mainly his design. All those who have seen the designs are thoroughly impressed. Because the design and planning was approached in a modern new way, doctors from all over the city are vying for the opportunity to work in such a remarkable new facility. He is also assisting with the design of renovations to Victoria General Hospital Emergency.

FHE

For FHE on Monday night I wanted to talk about love and kindness in our home. I think all things considered our family is pretty good, but there is always that continually striving for peace, love and harmony. I spent most of Monday trying to think of a way to teach the importance of family and how we need to treat each other with kindness. Then I remembered a story from my childhood.

One winter my grandma and grandpa Blumel let us toboggan off their roof. They had an addition on the side of their house that had a lower roof – perfect for sledding off of. We would climb up the ladder and slide down and drop a few feet to the ground; the drop was high enough that we had to make sure we were feet first or we could have gotten hurt. I still remember how much fun this was.

I remember one time on my way down I got turned around so that I was sliding back first. I started to panic as I thought about what would happen if I couldn’t get myself turned around. I tired to get my body positioned feet first, but no luck. I hit the edge of roof and braced myself for the impact and prepared myself for a broken arm or leg, I felt myself sailing through the air and then I felt Shane catch me.

I told the boys my story, related it to our family and went on to talk about how important our family is; how we need to treat one another and look out for one another. It was gratifying to tell the story and have their full attention and then have them participate as we set goals as a family.


This is our family’s favourite FHE game. Nolan and Jarom love to be in charge of the game and usually this is the one they decide to play. We set up all the pictures of the first presidency and the apostles and then the kids set their bowling pins on top. Whoever’s pin you knock down first you have to say his name. If you’re right you are rewarded with a small treat, candy, mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, whatever we have on hand. This actually works really well, Nolan know almost all the apostles and Jarom know lots of the names – just doesn’t always get the right name with the right pictures.

I remembered

Ok, this one is a tad on the lame side and I know many of you will just be shaking your head wondering what sort of state my house is in – could be worse, bit could always be better.

I have anyways hated the smell of bleach and the weird funky feeling that plagues me long after my work is done, so for many years I have not used bleach. I had something I had to buy bleach for and then for some reason starting bleaching everything and anything I could get my hands on. The curtains in my kitchen are gleaming white, my white towels are finally rid of the blue paint smears, but my favourite of all is my sink. I had no idea the transformation that bleach can do to a sink. I filled the sink with hot water, dumped in a bunch of beach and my sink now shines like never before. I love it.

Some of my Favorite Things

Last week I had 4 favorite things to share, but right now I can only think of 3, I'll post the 4th once I remember it.


I tried Dove Cream oil – Jasmine and vanilla scent at my mom house last month and loved it. Normally I would not have tried such a product.

Ever since my pregnancy with Nolan and a very long car ride home with Patrice and her clothes aromatic with vanilla scented fabric softener, vanilla scent has made me feel like puking. However, this body wash is soft and creamy on my skin and the scent makes me feel so happy as I can smell it long after my shower is over.




On the recommendation of many people I watch the movie August Rush this week. I was a little worried after hearing so many great things about this movie that it would fail to live up to all the hype – as has been my experience in the past, but August Rush delivered in a big way. I loved this movie and would highly recommend it to anyone.


I love Salad and the find of a new great recipe make me totally excited - I made this one last Sunday and all those who consumed it agreed it was one of the best ever.

Strawberry-Spinach Salad

1 lb asparagus spears
1/3 cup bottled poppy seed salad dressing
1 tsp finely shredded orange peel
1 tbsp orange juice
8 cups fresh baby spinach or assorted greens
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries and/or blueberries
3/4 cup to 1 lb cooked turky, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/4 cup pecan halves, toasted

1. Snap off and discard woody bases from asparagus. If desired, scrape off scales. Cut into 1-inch pieces. Cook asparagus, covered, in a small amount of boiling lightly salted water for 3 to 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain asparagus. Rinse with cold water. Let stand in cold water until cool; drain.

2. Meanwhile, for dressing, in a small bowl stir together poppy seed dressing, orange peel, and orange juice; set aside.

3. In a salad bowl combine asparagus, spinach, berries, and turkey. Place on salad plates. Top with pecans. Serve with dressing.

* When I made the salad I omitted the turkey and blueberries. But if you left the turkey in it would make a really good main dish.

Update

Here is a point form run down of all the exciting goings on for the last couple of months.

· After years and years of living with a fridge that barely worked and a stove that apparently didn’t work at all, not to mention the rust color – which for some odd and unexplainable reason I really liked, we (or I guess I should say I, because Spencer wanted to do it years ago) finally broke down and bought a new fridge and stove. I have very much enjoyed both a working fridge and a stove. It’s been a whole new experience and I’ve had to learn how to cook again, now that my stove cooks with more than one temperature.

· Jarom and Nolan finished their swimming lessons. Both are given the opportunity to repeat their level. Which is good because Jarom is as far as he can go until he turns 6 so even if he had passed he would still get to do the class again this spring.

Nolan is in level 5 which meant he spent the whole class in the deep end swimming laps. Nolan has always had a fear of deep water and spent the first 4 classes terrified he was going to drown. I was so proud of him for conquering his fear as he kept getting into the pool each week!

· Jarom was enrolled in Gymnastics for the first time this year. He loved it and was a natural. He does a great cartwheel, handstand and skin the cat. It’s been really fun to watch as he progressed through the weeks – he starts his second session next week.

· Nolan finished up his 2nd season of basketball. He is a great little player and looking forward to attending b-ball camp this summer.

· I took a quick trip back to Alberta for a week-end in February. My parent’s basement flooded, as most of you know, and after a tearful phone call from my mom, I wanted to be with them. It was lots of fun, I got to have lunch with my sister, dad and mom, get a pedicure with my mom, and spend time gabbing with my sisters.

· It seems like I had lots more to share, but nothing else comes to mind. I’ll update if I think of something else later.

Easter Hunt 2008

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Good Friday was the perfect day for our annual Easter Egg (stuffed with Chocolate and Candy) Hunt. The day was seriously the most perfect day. It was warm; the sun was shinning and despite all the snow we had a great time.

The kids hunted until every last egg was found and then they really got down to business consuming as many jelly beans, mike and ikes, and chocolate eggs as they could before we cut them off.

After the baskets had been safely stashed in the vans, we headed off adventuring. We choose a new location this year and since there was plenty of snow on the ground still, we went to see was we could find.

We found the best spot for a snow ball fight. There was a hill that had drifted over, forming different levels and coves, making perfect spots to hide and run and jump. At first the fight started as kids against the dads, but after awhile Tricia and I became the targets. I tried to reason with them and threatened anything and everything I could think of, but the delight in hitting me with a snowball was so much fun, they didn’t care about the consequences.

After an hour of pelting each other with snowballs, everyone was soaking wet and ready to head back for round two with their Easter baskets.

Why does this Ham taste like Chicken?

Ham is our family’s favourite meat. It is the one meat that both my kids love and will eat tons of without having to be threatened or cajoled. The problem being that I don’t really like ham leftovers. I haven’t really found a good casserole dish that uses up the remaining ham and really there are only so many ham dinners you can eat. As a result I always like to have company over when there is ham on the menu.

I’ve had a ham in my freezer that I’ve been saving for Easter and was really looking forward to. This morning before my meeting, I did all the dinner preparations so we could just take the ham out of the oven, cook up some veggies and tada Easter dinner would be really.

I had ward correlation this morning, when I got home the kids had their coats on and Spencer was ready to drive us to church before he had to head off to talk in another ward. I quickly programmed the oven to come on at the right time, threw the ham in the oven and ran out the door.

I walked in the house after church expecting to be greeted by the tantalizing aroma of perfectly cooked ham, but all I smelled was the stinky garbage. I checked the oven and it quickly became apparent that I had miss programmed the oven and there sat a raw ham.

A few years ago this would have devastated me and I would have freaked out. Apparently I have mellowed in my old age – I just defrosted some chicken breast threw on a little teriyaki sauce (thanks Anne) and popped it in the oven.

I guess we’re having ham tomorrow – want to come for dinner?

True Confessions

I probably shouldn’t be writing this because I am tired and my censor seems to be toned down, if not totally off when I am tired. I named my blog Confessions of a stay at home mom – but then all I do is present all the good things in our life – but it’s good because there are a lot of good things. Plus whenever I read everyone else blog their life seem perfect so I try to pretend that mine is too – although it is pretty good just needs a bit of tweaking and relocation to warmer temperatures.

The end of February/beginning of March is the hardest time of the year for me. The winter blues peak and I am so tired of the bitterly cold I feel like I’m not going to make it. With the warming up of the temperature so does my outlook on life.

I think my kids share in my feelings of the long long cold winter and are ready for the warm temps and time outside. The fighting and frustration seem to be at an all time high and my patients seem to be at an all time low. In an effort to once again bring some serenity to our family I am trying to implement some changes! I’ve started a nightly “love note” at the dinner table telling my children and hubby why I love them and why I am proud of them. Nolan seems to really like this, but Jarom feels he should be the one to write on the card.

Today at Gymkids I was talking to the other mom’s and one mom was telling me that her friend attended a parenting course, the instructor told her for two days to just completely praise her children; to put a positive spin on everything and ignore all the bad behaviour. I am really willing to try anything and so I’ve tried to put this advice into action.

During family prayers tonight when Nolan kept touching Jarom just to be annoying and I really wanted to say, stop touching your brother or there will be no ice-cream for you, Instead I said, “wow, look at how much you love your brother, you’re always touching him”. Nolan stopped and looked at me for a sec and then nodded and started hugging Jarom, then me. A much nicer result I must confess.

Kub Kar Rally

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Country Time

I went through a country music faze just before Spencer and I were married. I liked the main stream singers like, Tricia Yearwood, Garth Brooks and Martina McBride – there were some others I liked but have no idea now who they were. Anyhow, Spencer’s detest for country music ran deep so I eventually stopped tuning into the country station.

I like to listen to Hot 103 in the morning – the morning hosts Ace Burpee and Chrissy Troy – are so randomly hilarious they make me laugh and start my day off right. Lately I’ve noticed that the music the station plays is particularly vulgar and the lyrics to the song don’t even try to disguise their sexual message. I think I am getting old – some of the songs just drive me crazy and they are played over and over and over again throughout the day because the songs are h-o-t- HOT.

In an effort to escape the depravity, I’ve started tuning into the country station. I am quickly realizing country music is its own culture. The host is different, the callers are different and most importantly the lyrics are different. A little on the peculiar side, - something about searching for ticks; It is all very enjoyable to me!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Pillows

For every holiday (or just for fun), Nolan and Jarom’s grandma makes them a pillow case. They love it. They love receiving them in the mail and then sleeping on them every night. One night I put a pillowcase purchased from the store on one of Nolan’s pillows - that did not fly, he wanted me to change it to one of the soft ones that grandma makes.

Flat Nolan Goes to the Calgary Tower

Nolan’s class is doing a totally fun project. They made flat versions of themselves and then mailed them off to people they know around the world!!! The person who receives flat Nolan is to take pictures of them and flat Nolan at some fun attraction, e-mail the pictures to Nolan’s class and then send flat Nolan to another destination.

This is flat Nolan’s first stop around the world. He visited the Calgary Tower with Aunt Rachel, where I am told he had a bad case of vertigo, but with the promise of ice-cream and a trip to Pengrowth Saddledome to visit his beloved Calgary Flames he got over it pretty fast.

Next stop: Japan – Thanks Paul!!!

Yummy Yummy

I made this roast chicken recipe for dinner yesterday and it really is as good as all the reviews say it is. I followed the recipe exactly, except I used two 2lb chickens since I couldn't find 4 lb ones. I cooked them for about 2hrs 45mns - 3 hrs. So Good!!!


http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Roast-Sticky-Chicken-Rotisserie-Style/Detail.aspx


P.S. if you make this recipes let me know what you think

Nolan's Magnetic Mouse Maze

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Nolan had to create a maze with a Mouse that is moved by a magnetic power. Maze goers have to retrieve the cheese in the top right corner and then make it out the exit. Nolan had a great time working on it and did a great job.

Some days are like that

I received an e-mail Monday morning from my cousin title “Some days you just shouldn’t get out of bed”. By the time I went to bed Monday night I shared these exact sentiments.

My days are usually very busy running kids everywhere, trying to keep my house running smoothly and fulfilling my obligations. I usually manage pretty good during the day; but when Nolan gets home from school and he has Mad Science Class, Jarom has a friend over (who refuses to leave), there is supper to be made, homework to be completed, a magnetic Mouse Maze project due, not to mention the nightly reading, as well as basketball practice to get to, I sometimes get a little frazzled.

Monday was just such a night. By the time I got everyone organized and out the door we were running late for basketball. In my hast to get into practice I forgot to lock the van doors and returned after practice to find the van totally ransacked - my wallet missing and Nolan’s back pack gone.

Now it could have been a lot worse, I wasn’t using my wallet so all the vital cards were not there – except mine and the kid’s birth certificates. Nolan had forgotten to take his glasses to school so they were not in his back pack – something that was such a relief to me I wasn’t to worried about the rest of the missing “stuff”.

Spencer and I spend half and hour searching in the freezing cold for the wallet and backpack, hoping they had dumped it somewhere along the way – no luck.

Tuesday morning Spencer received a phone call at work from a man who found his business card amongst all the other card thrown all over the street. He told us the street and my friend (I was trapped at home waiting for my new fridge and stove to be delivered - Yippee) went and searched the street and recovered more of my cards and Nolan’s backpack and agenda minus the library book – the thieves must be into A-Z mystery books.

We haven’t recovered the birth certificates yet, but all in all I feel very fortunate.

I Have the Best Young Women EVER!

Sunday night 2 of my young women surprised me by showing up at my house with a plateful of brownies – a dessert they know I love. They even went to the extra effort of cutting them out like hearts!!! Along with the brownies I received a “Love Note” it was so fun to read and made me laugh and feel so treasured. I feel so fortunate to have these incredible young women in my life!!!

Party Night has TWO New Additions

Party night has been a long standing tradition. Every friday night we possible can, we gather with friends and play games. There have been many games over the years we have enjoyed playing: Settler, Rook, Lord of the Rings Risk, and Killer Bunnies; just to name a few of our favourites. We now have two new games that I totally love.

The Northcott’s purchased Ticket to Ride, which is very fun and doesn’t take to long to play – Nolan and Greg even love it. At the start of the game everyone is given mission cards (I think that is was they are called, but I really have no idea) telling you which cities you have to build a train to. For example , build a train from San Francisco to New York. There are only so many train tracks and if someone builds in your way, you have to find an alternate route. Very fun, although somewhat stressful.

One of Spencer bus friends told him about Puerto Rico a couple of years ago, and when the sale man added his confirmation that it was indeed a very fun game, we decided to make the purchase. I totally love it. Three people are the minimum amount you can play with for I would make Spencer play with me every night. I can’t even begin to explain how to play the game as it is very complicated; but well worth the time it takes for figure it out. In my opinion it is right up there with Settlers, so anyone who is a Cities and Knights fan will love Puerto Rico.

President Gordon B. Hinckley

Today we were able to attend President Hinckley’s Funeral. I was surprised by the emotion that came over me as the camera scanned the row of apostles and then rested on the empty seat between President Monson and President Eyring. I was touched listening to his daughter, Sister Pearce and the other speakers talk about all President Hinckley has accomplished in his life.

President Hinckley has been the prophet for pretty much all of my adult life, I have always had a testimony that he was called to be our prophet and always felt the love that he had for the people he served. I love that so many of the speakers talked about him being a prophet of the people and the great love he had for us.

I think Jarom’s thoughts sum it up best. As the closing song was being sung, there was a slide show of President Hinckley visiting people around the world; the last picture was a portrait of President Hinckley. Jarom saw the picture and said, “He was looking at me, he knows me”.