emily

Emily and I got to go to the General YW Meeting in the conference center last night. It was really great to be there. We rode trax in and made it through the metal dectors safely into the building. We had tried to be on time which was in seats by 5:30 but with all the lines to get in the building and the wonderful crowds our seat section was full. Off we raced to the next level up to try and find a seat. We did find our seats with about 10 minutes to spare but even after they began people were walking around looking for seats. The crowd itself was inspiring to us. It was great to see so many young women from all over making this meeting a priority, listening to their leaders and to President Eyring.

spring break

In the un-leafy treetops we find Isaac. This is the way we all felt going home, good time but time to rest.

Spring break was a little mixed up this year. Emily, Elise and John were off one week and then the rest of the kids were off the next so we didn't get to do anything all together but we still had fun. Those that had it off this last week headed up to Grandma and Grandpa P.'s home to help get it ready for their return from Denmark. I should have taken pictures of all their hard work. The boys worked outside cleanin up the yards, rebuilding grow boxes and filling them and making everything look as nice as possible. Things had been neglected so there was lots to do to keep them busy.

Isaac, Sim, Nat, Peter, and Dane (Debbie stayed with Amber)

The pictures here are of a little bit of fun. We went to the Mayan Restuarant where we enjoyed fire dancers, cliff divers, and Mexican food. It was a lot of fun and Simeon wants to go back. Mark and Jen and their family joined us. It was great to spend some time with them, especially since they will be moving away soon. We do enjoy family and having fun with cousins.

Easter surprise

Chloe surprised us with 4 new puppies when we came home from church. By the time we had our Easter dinner of lamb, asparagus, orange fluff, baked potatoes, rolls, and Natalie's cheesecake we had 5 puppies! We had been reading about whelping and what we might need to do but Chloe did it all just fine. She is a great little mom and we are proud of her. I do wish we had a least one yellow lab like Chloe but they are all black. Her father was a black lab but we are not sure yet what the father was of these puppies, maybe boarder collie.

easter egg hunts at home and park

Easter eggs

We had great fun dyeing Easter eggs. I cooked a large pot full. It looked like tons but once you start it always goes so fast and everyone wants to do a few more. Don't they look great. We will enjoy a lot of deviled eggs (or are they angel eggs for Easter?)

Debbie's driving and other Spring fun

Debbie loves being outside and one of her favorite things is riding with Simeon in this green truck. Well he had gone inside so she decided to do it herself. Luckily we were outside also and just enjoyed her first driving experience. She is a natural. (We missed doing her hair this day, sorry.)

The taste of Spring weather is causing a bit of cabin fever. As you can tell Spring is a little slow this year but the signs are there--it will come. Emily and Evan have been doing lots of outdoor stuff together and John has recruited Dane to help him with his mechanical expertise on John's motorcycle (dirt bike). It's for sale if anyone is in the market.

Evan and Emily taking a break from playing.

there's the motorcycle

John and Dane taking a break from the motorcycle fix up.

We have also been doing some kite flying. Dane's got stuck in a tree at the park so the boys went over to save it. They took the big truck and stood the tall extension ladder in it. While Dad held the ladder, Peter climbed up with a long pole and got it down. SCARY. I didn't watch. Dane had lost the string in the "accident" so I bought a couple of kinds for him not knowing which he would want. He put them all together and had 500 feet of kite string. He got the kite way up there and had a great time. It took a good 45 minutes just to reel it back in. He and Peter said next time they will take the cordless drill to help them reel it in. Great Spring fun.

Gone to Prison, my first time was great!

Milt and I were able to speak at the Gunnison prison on Sunday. What an amazing and interesting experience. I was nervous. I am always nervous when I have to talk but it was compounded by speaking to a room full of prisoners. We went through security checks, metal detectors, locking doors, giving up our ID for a guest pass and then finding peace in the middle recesses of a prison. We stood outside the chapel door and were greeted by nearly every prisoner attending the service. They were kind, welcoming and grateful that we would come. I felt more comfortable and safe with each handshake. They were a thoughtful audience, attentive and participating with their own scriptures. They provided the music, a choir number and the prayers. They are not given the sacrament and Milt and I were the only speakers. I talked about Palm Sunday and President Eyring's last conference talk. I learned so much and promised them that I would do better at righting down the simple blessings of the day and hoped they would too. I have been doing better and I am amazed at how much it has affected my days. I am recognizing little tender mercies through out my day each day. It is wonderful and I feel loved and blessed. I am looking forward to conference coming in a couple of weeks where once again I can be feed and motivated in following the example of the disciples of Christ. I love my Savior!

watching signing time

Debbie loves watching "Signing Time". She asks for it by name (with her hands) and watches several times a day. She watches in my room on the bed and usually with a blanket.

Peter's truck II

Peter is getting to know his truck really well, inside and out. He loves his truck, spends most of his time with his truck, got it liscensed this week and also got his own liscense so he is legal on the road. The truck was working, purring until he hit something underneath and it is back to being really loud. (He had driven out to the shooting range to make sure his muzzle loader still works, it does (whew, I think there was no doubt that it would). We think that the people who did the muffler didn't do it quite right. I am sure we will be calling them tomorrow. When it comes to his truck

he has no patience. It is the priority. He was sitting in his truck when I went to take this picture and ended up with a video but he is getting to know every part quite intimately.

elise and john

Please go to elise's blog and figure out the secret message and why I am so excited!

Freedom to raise our own children

As some of you have heard they have made a new law in California against homeschooling. Basically it is illegal to home school unless you are a certified teacher. Whether you home school, public school or some option inbetween, it is not our governments place to decide that all the children in a state will best benefit from public school ignoring the parents knowledge, understanding of their own children's needs and best interests. Once again the government is telling us that we are not capable of making our own decisions and we need them to do it for us. We don't need them to tell us what is best for us--from what car to drive, what shoes to wear, etc. It really is about freedom--the freedom to choose according to what we believe is best. It isn't about just home schooling-it's about choice. Protect our right to make our own choices with our own families. Please learn more about this case and sign the petition at www.hslda.org and help the home schoolers there along with all families to protect our right to raise our own families. Thank you.

It's crazy I know but I finally found some free time without guilt. Debbie woke up cold at about 3:30 am. By the time I got her warm and asleep again, I couldn't sleep. I headed down to my library to read for a while and then moved onto the computer. I went blog surfing. I found some fun links and had a lot of fun bookmarking sites I want to go back to and read more about--things on organizing, fun things to do with my kids, interesting families. I finally thought I better get some sleep and headed upstairs to bed in time to turn off my 5:30 alarm and kick Milt out of bed. My mind was still going and I think I only dosed a little until 6:30 when it was time to have all the kids up. I probably should have just stayed up and I would have been on top of my schedule and got my scripture reading in. I guess I'll go for it now and then I will try to move forward with the rest of the great ideas I found in the middle of the night.

Isaac turns 7!

Isaac's 7th birthday was celebrated with crepes for breakfast and opening presents. He went out to lunch for hamburgers and then at dinner time we roasted hot dogs over the fire. It was a lot of fun. He was especially excited to get a scooter and loves riding it in the front yard. He also got a lego set, his own clock radio, and a kite. Isaac is such a sweet boy. He has been very excited to turn 7 and is learning so much about being a friend, a good brother, an obedient son

and a great worker around the house and yard. I am especially grateful that he enjoys working with his dad and big brothers. He has gotten more personal with his prayers lately and is often thinking of others and how he can be a better person.

I love you more.

Simeon and Emily have this cute game they play when Emily leaves the house. She calls out "I love you" Simeon--I love you, too. Emily--I love you more, then they battle it out with who can come up with the highest numbers. Eventually someone introduced infinity to Simeon, so now we add on to infinity. Dane was playing this game with Sim at lunch today and was saying he love Simeon a million infinity. Well Simeon came back with "I love you as much as Dad and Mom loved each other!" Wow what a compliment to me. I felt so grateful that Simeon knows his mom and dad love each other--a lot. I can't think of a better gift to give my children than to love their Dad. And I do!

PROM!

Paige and Peter at promenade. Paige looked beautiful. If you look close you'll notice that Emily and Paige have the same dress but in a different color. Cute! Paige is such a sweetheart.
Peter, Emily, and Neil. Don't they look great?!
Emily and Evan. Look how good they match! What a cute couple! :) Evan was such a gentleman, and treated me like a princess. He even came prepared to face the snow with an umbrella. He's such a good guy! What a stallion!

Emily and Peter looked wonderful for prom. They had separate groups, but both had a great time. Peter took Paige and Emily got to go with Evan! For Emily's date they went up north. She had an Oakcrest Interview in Murray at 9:20 that morning, so Emily and Evan started out their day at 7am to get there on time. After the interview (Emily said it went really good and is happy with it. Whether she gets the job or not, she knows it will be right.) Emily and Evan met up with their group at Classic Skating. They loved skating and playing some of the arcade games. After Classic Skating they went to the Nickelcade. They ate dinner at Olive Garden. They had SO much fun!
We don't know exactly what Peter did on his date as he won't tell us ANYTHING. We think he went miniature black light golfing. They also played games at a cabin and had a very nice dinner. Most of this information we learned from Neil and Lauri. He refuses to give us any details, but we love him anyways :) Paige said she had so much fun, so i guess thats the important thing.

When Debbie saw Emily getting her hair all pretty for prom she thought a bow would give the perfect finishing touch. Debbie then thought that all the girls should have a bow. So she got one for each of us. What a sweet, thoughtful girl! :) Elise liked her bow so much she wore it to church today!