The great outdoors

I started to contribute as a blogger to the Utah Trikes blog. I'm doing a 30 day triing challenge which means that for 30 days straight I will ride my trike for a little or a lot. I've done it for 4 days and it's going great so far. It was chilly this morning, but it was wonderful. I don't really feeel comfortable writing anything with any religious connotations because I'm not sure who is reading my submissions. It is just so beautiful out there right now. The weather has cooled down enough for it not to be dreadful even in the afternoon. I think about how riding makes me feel. Exercising inside just can't compare with being outside and enjoying nature's beauty. The Lord has given us such a beautiful world. It's a shame when we have to spend so much time indoors. Especially those of us who live in Utah know that the winters are so harsh here. I'm going to make an effort to spend more time outside while I still can. I'm not a fan of the hot Summer sun , so this weather is perfect. It usually doesn't snow a lot until the last week of November or the first week in December. I'm going to try to get the kids out as m uch as possible as well until then. Benjamin is beautiful right now with the corn fields and full trees.

swimming

I'm so glad to be back on this. I could not sign in because whenever I tried it did a weird loop thing. I found out how to fix it, but I couldn't do it. I'm not very computer savvy. I'm using a different browser now. I like to do this because hardly no one reads this and it's way better than facebook. So, we are done with swim lessons. The kids did a great job. They will probably all go back next year to improve their strokes. Haley will need further lessons she was just too goofy when she did her lessons. I'm so glad it's done last week was so hard because we had to be there at 7 and the kids and I are not morning people. I have taken 2 swim lessons and I still can't let go of the kickboard. I just don't know how to do it. I never learned to swim as a child and the paralizing fear and overthinking it just gets me. They said the class was for beginners or for people wanting to improve their stroke. I am the only one in the class that did not know how to swim. I look stupid and I'm helpless and I hate that feeling. I didn't go last Thursday because I used the weather as an excuse. It's funny how we can come up with excuses so readily. I don't know if I'll ever let go of the kickboard. I tried it yesterday and it just feels like I'm going to drown. I don't know how to float on my own and you'd think it would be easy with all the extra weight. It all comes down to fear. My instructor is a certified lifeguard she says that there is no way I will drown because she wouldn't let it happen. I understand the logic, but fear still takes over. This is a metaphor for life and the lifeguard represents our savior. She holds on to the kickboard and pulls me while I kick and hold the other end. She doesn't let go unless I want her to. I don't want her to. I don't know if I will ever want her to. It's comforting to know that our savior is there for us to hang on to for dear life when times are tough. We don't ever have to loosen the grip if we don't want to. We can though. We can use the principles and teachings that he has given us and spread our wings. It's comforting to know that like a lifeguard he will always be within reach to rescue us from the abyss. I feel like writing more but the kids are needing my attention.

Some pictures

Here are a few pics of my flowers before they were done for the season! The others are of the kids in Sacramento near the State Capitol, Fisherman's Wharf, and in the basement of our new shop! That apple tree now has a bunch of leaves and apple blossoms!

Crazy woman

A couple days a month I am a crazy woman. I struggle with myself not to say all the mean and hurtful things that cross my mind. I think that's what it means to put aside the natural man . It is so hard when at the time it would feel so good to lash out. My children have no idea how I'm feeling most of the time, but sometimes the natural woman comes out. Usually I'm a calm, patient, charitable peacemaker, but one or two days out of the month I think that everyone hates me and is out to get me and it's quite horrible. I know when it's happening, so I talk myself out of being mean, most of the time.
I'm glad that this time it was mostly over before Mother's Day. My kids are beautiful, wonderful children. They amaze me all the time. They are not perfect because no one is, but they are perfect for me. My husband works too much, but if he didn't we wouldn't have a home, food or books to read and learn from. Life is so weird! I guess if I was always calm and peaceful I wouldn't be able to work on those very important attributes. I know that that mean person is not my true self. Having those feelings helps me work on those other good attributes of patience and charity when it's so hard to. Last night Harold said he was so sad that Mother's day was almost over. He said it was such a good day. We had great food made by the men and lots of fun hanging out at the new shop helping daddy by putting things away and playing in the basement. That's who I am and that's who my children are. That other crazy woman is just a reminder of who not to become.

I want to be like Abish

I never finished writing about my experience at the meeting I went to last week. Sister Beck's main points that she made were that just like the Lamanite Mothers of the strippling warriors, we are also mothers who know. The Latina woman may be humble but by small and humble means are great things brought to pass. She spoke about Abish - the Lamanite Queen's servant who went and gathered the town's people together in preparation for them to hear the gospel. She was a mere servant but because of her actions the people in that land were able to hear the miraculous things that had transpired in King Lamoni's court by the king himself and as many as were there and heard his words were converted to the gospel. I'll bet that she never thought that she could ever have such an impact on so many people. I want to live my life in such a way that when the opportunity presents itself I can also be the humble servant who brings many to the Lord. I think I'm already doing it by preparing my children to serve faithful missions when they are older. They are so special and I know because of their gentle nature and humility they will be able to preach the gospel with power and authority. This was her point. We as mothers can do so much to not only prepare missionaries but also to live our lives as examples of the true believers. she said that we should not be afraid to open our mouth to friends and neighbors. If we store the gospel in our hearts we will be ready to proclaim it when the opportunity arises. Boy, I miss being a full time missionary. It was so hard because of insomnia and the heat and humidity, but it was so worth it. Well, this is enough for now.

Sister Beck

I just had a wonderful spirirtual experience. On Sunday Night I went with a couple of my friends to a special meeting held for all the Spanish speaking sisters in our area. Sister Allred the first counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency and Sister Beck the President of the relief Society General Presidency spoke to us. Sister Allred's talk was good and very well prepared, but when Sister Beck stood up to speak I felt an instant connection with her. I didn't know that her Father was a mission president in Sao Paolo Brazil while she was a young girl. She spoke Spanish with a Brazilian accent and for some words she used the Portuguese word. I took notes on both their talks. You really can't put it into words the spirit that was there.

The meeting was at the UVU institute building and the counted 1450 women present. we were near the back and it was really neat to look over the audience and see a sea of dark hair and hear the buzz of excitement in spanish.

Friday Morning

It's Friday so that means science, cooking lessons, and art. The kids slept in and woke up looking for those pumpkin muffins made from Trader Joe's mix. They discovered that there was only 1 left because Daddy really liked them last night. So, the girls and I decided to make some more this time from scratch. It's fun to bake and cook with the kids. They love to mix and stir and create. We made applesauce spice muffins and they are very good and pretty healthy. We did save 2 big ones for Daddy. Harold got up just in time to make scrambled eggs. He whipped the eggs, seasoned and cooked them. They were so good and moist. I taught him a couple tricks so his eggs would turn out moist and retain their bright yellow color. Hannah and Haley made juice and set the table. It was more like brunch by the time we were done. What a wonderful way to spend the morning!
My house is back to being messy. I left it looking pretty good. The floors were clear of toys and the laundry was put away or taken with us. Oh well. We're glad to be home and to be able to do our own things in the space we have. We have a ton of dandelions in the yard. I'm going to have to go out and spread weed and feed. It's such a drag that ugly things also grow.

California

We're back from California! We had a great time. My Mom had her 76th birthday on Easter Sunday. We went to Monterey and got to go to the aquarium. They are focused on Sea Horses right now, so we got to learn a lot about sea horses. We also got to go go on a tour at the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield and on a tour of the State Capitol Building. We went to the Fisherman's Wharf and saw the Sea Lions and ate fresh sour dough bread. The best part was picking up Ashley at the airport. I misssd him so much. We didn't see each other for 4 full days but it seemed like an eternity. He was lonely without us. He said the house seemed so empty without us. My daffodils have bloomed and my tulips have started to bloom as well. It is so warm out today. It's just a beaurtiful day to live in Benjamin.
Today is Tuesday now and we jumped back into school. It went well. Hannah has e new math book and calendar. She filled in the counting strips and got acquainted with her new calendar. Henry got a new book and worked on the letter Q today. He has a cool letter book that I made for him. Harold went to piano class. It's nice to get back to the daily life. The kids and I love the structure.
Well, I've gotta go take care of stuff now.

Going to California

We are getting ready for our trip to California. We are excited to see the cousins there and to celebrate my mom's birthday with her. We just had Henry's birthday party and he is so excited to be turning 6 tomorrow. Our bags are mostly packed and the kids are so anxious to get to California. It's gonna be rainy on the way there, but it should clear up by Saturday. Ashley won't be gone very long , but we'll stay for over a week. He'll be busy with work and we'll get a much needed break from cold Utah weather. We actually had a great day yesterday, we even had dinner al fresco. I'm so glad that Henry and I took the time to walk around the property looking for bird nests yesterday afternoon. It was fun. He rode his bike without training wheels for a few seconds and we were very proud of him.
When we get back we will probably get started on a garden area for this year. It'll be fun. I'll miss Chip a lot while we're gone. She barks a lot at strangers, but she loves us unconditionally. You can learn a lot about devotion from a dog.
Well I'm gonna go now. Harold has to get ready for scouts. It's so windy, but they'll still have fun.

my kitchen will take forever

We're so excited to have more family living close by. The kids and I have been doubling up on school in preparation for our vacation to California. We're excited to go somewhere warm and to see my Mom and Dad and Connie.
So, last week I hopped on the counters and painted that area above the cabinets on the ceiling there were 2 spots I couldn't reach, so I'll have to figure out how to do it. I'm not sure footed at all so that was a big deal for me to walk along the narrow part of the counters. It's going to take me forever to finish all the work around here. It's a good thing that's the one thing I do have. It's given me a chance to figure out what color to paint in that space above the cabinets by the ceiling . I think I will paint it some kind of brown. The backsplash tiles I saw at Home Depot have red yello and brown and they were gorgeous. I still don't like the shade of yellow that Ashley chose. I like my yellow better. That can be painted over eventually if I want, but I think the backsplash in the kitchen will tie it all together, whenever I'm ready. It will probably be after I choose the brown for the kitchen and paint it. Then I have to find accessories to go on my cabinets. I took down the country ones and I'm just keeping a couple of those. It'll be nice when it's done. I still have to finish the kids bathroom downstairs. There's a bunch of wood and stuff that I'm not sure how I'm gonna put it up. The blue in there is way nicer than the grey. Anything is nicer than grey. I'll probably see if I can get the floor tiled when I do the backsplash. I'm not sure if it's possible, with that stamped cement in there. What were they thinking? The crevices get gook and stuff stuck in there. Yuck! I gotta go.

Reflections on a messy house and Primary

I just heard a talk in sacrament meeting by a friend of mine. She and her husband sppoke about their marriage and family. She was so funny. She talked about the primary theme for the month..Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God. D&C 88:119 She talked about how when the Bishopric came to extend a call there was blood smeared on the walls because one of her little ones had just bumped into the wall. There was stuff all over the place and it was embarrrassing to her. She talked about how hard it is sometimes to be organized, so when she saw the theme she felt disheartened. But, as she and many of us stopped to examine that scripture we were enlightened. All that the compulsive person might see is the part where it says a house of order, but all of the things that come before that are what determine if your house is a house of order and therefore a house of God. I like the part that says a house of glory In sharing time a sister mentioned that it means joy, so I looked it up among other definitions that are quite similar, I found the following; the splendor and bliss of heaven; perfect happiness, enjoyment. This is what I strive for and to be honest sometimes it's loud and there's lots of crying. My home has always been open to my neighbors they stop by and if it's messy so be it. I have a dear friend that is 51years young and she and I do turbo jam and hip hop abs together. She's told me not to worry if it's messy. She remembers those years when she too had a bunch of kids running around.
I love to teach primary and I love the kids. I remember last year these twins that were in my class asked if I could come play. For a moment they forgot I was their teacher. That made me so happy and honored. They came here to play with the kids and we had a great time. I have another little boy this year he had been asking to come over, but we were sick for over a month. He loves to play with Harold. He came over a couple of weeks ago and had a graet time. I don't think he cared that it was messy because he felt love in our home. He and his little sister live with their aunt because their parents just can't do it. He had been acting up in class. The Sunday after he visited he was reverent and during sharing time he sat by me and held my arm and I felt his love and he knew that I love him. My joy was full just like the Savior's joy was full when he came to the Americas and he wept because of the love that he felt for the Nephites and Lamanites and the love they felt for him. I have been told by Our Stake President that the love he feels in our home is not common. We are different. So, yes it makes me sad sometimes that is is not all neat and organized, but We have love , a roof over our heads , food to eat, and a husband that provides, presides and protects us. I do my part to nurture my children. They are loved and they are taught not out of compulsion but because that is who I am. I have probably spent way too much time typing this up when I could have been cleaning, but I wanted to get this down because I wasn't going to write it on paper. This is much easier. Well we're gonna get ready for Our Blue and Gold Dinner now. I have to find some Mexican decorations for it. I'll proof read this later and make any gramatical or spelling corrections then.

our yard

I planted a new apple tree yesterday. It's where a pear tree used to be. I don't have much of a green thumb, but I do like to dig in the ground a bit. The perennials are growing and the grass is greener. It's very windy today and it will most likely rain. I hope that it does not snow. I just am so tired of it.
We made a delicious cake on Friday. The batter has mandarin oranges in it and the topping has ccolwhip, vanilla pudding and crushed pineapple. It was a perfect cake to celebrate the first day of spring. Harold also went to a rock and gemstone expo for cubscouts. He brought me back a crystal. My kids are quite a handful, but I am so grateful for each one of them and their uniqueness. We found a nest in one of our arborvitae in the front yard. There were a few berries from the tree in it. It's very cute. The birds are gobbling up the bird seed and they ate most of the berrries off the trees. I hope that Ashley will put in the pump for the sprinklers this year. Our lawn looked like crap last year. We'll see what happens. This year I hope to find someone to help me with the yard. It is just too much for me. Between homeschooling, exercise, cooking, laundry and sorta cleaning this huge house, I can''t mow and weed properly. And I really don't want to either. I do want to plant more trees and plants to attract bees, butterflies, and birds. My goal is to plant at least 10 trees and some shrubs and at least 50 bulbs in the fall every year. Even if only half of them make it that's still 25 trees in the next 5 years. All of last year's plantings are still alive. It is really hard to maintain them during the summmer when it is hot.
Well I've gotta go now.

spring projects

It snowed again on Monday. It was horrible! We went to Starr's house to visit because Helen's family was in town. It is scary to drive in the snow , especially at night.
The weather cleared up and we have had a great week. We had a good time visiting with the Porters and are glad to have more family moving here soon. It increases our chances of doing family activities.
This was a regular week. Harold had a friend over and hey went to scouts together. There's a family who has lots of birds and they went to their house for cubscouts. We've been studying zoology for over a year now so we are very interested in birds. We put a bird feeder out and are constantly filling it up. All the berries have been picked off the arborvitae birds and we're glad to provide some nourishment for our feathered friends.
The imposssibly easy cheeseburger pie turned out delicious. This week we are making dessert. Our friend makes an awesome pineapple cake. I think we'll do that.
So my friend Judy and I have been doing hip hop abs for a few weeks now and I just got some wrist weights. We've been doing the total body workout and we love it. My main problem is that i love food. The times that i have lost the most weight, I have totally restricted myself and I feel that it's no way to live. That means that I have to exercise a lot more. I'm looking forward to doing some heavy gardening this year. I'm also going to get out on a trike. I think I'm getting an aqua colored one. I wanted a pink one but then Harold wouldn't ever want to use it. I'm so glad he learned to ride a bike lasst year.
It sounds like Ashley is working all day tomorrow. I still have a bunch of painting to do. I'm also fixing up the kids bathroom downstairs. Then I'll move on to the piano room and other bathroom downstairs. This year I have vowed to put in a beautiful backsplash in my kitchen and we are going to put in arches downstairs and finish the crown moulding. I don't know when this will get done this year but slowly but surely it will get done one project at a time. We won't work on our room until we put a patio down in the back we want to put a hot tub right outside our room so we would put in some french dooors where the window is at. This is at least a couple years away. It's nothing too expensive just very time consuming. It's exciting. I think that we are putting in our huge workshop this year too. It will be great to have the extra space in the garage for my projects eventually.
I am so excited for our bulbs to open up. It takes a lot of faith to plant something in the fall. The kids are excited to see the beautiful flowers also.
Well We're going to do our science lesson and put more bird seed out now. For the two of you that read this have a good weekend!

Spring is near.

So, We're not sick anymore. It felt like we woild be sick forever. The kids had ear inections last week or was it 2 weeks ago? Sometimes the weeks and months all seem to meld together.
Harold is back in piano class. Our teacher had knee replacement surgery. She was out for 2 months. My children remembered her in every single prayer that was uttered in our home. They are such good kids even though they fight with each other. I think the close contact has something to do with it. Children that are at school all day in separate classrooms are so much more disconnected from each other. We thought about sending Hannah and Harold to public school next year. But with the way things are going in the world, I think that we are better off not doing that. I thought that it would be great to give Henry and Haley more one on one attention and it would also free me up to finish all my projects around the house and finally have a cleaner house. It sounds kinda selfish and stupid. I think that I'll just keep working on decluttering. The painting will take forever, but so be it!
The snow had melted completely and we had enjoyed some great weather. I even took the kids to the park on Saturday, but it snowed again yesterday. It mostly melted though. The bulbs we planted last fall are starting to emerge. I can't wait to see the flowers in the spring! Hannah says we planted 100. I don't remember. I just know that we wanted to be able to cut some and put them in a vase. We'll plant more this fall again.
I'm looking forward to planting a garden this year. We have chives and strawberries that come back every year and we'll plant more this year but this year we will also plant zucchini , squash and tomatoes. I planted them in containers last year but the only things that grew were the squash. We are also looking into planting corn this year. We have made no money on the alfalfa so if we plant corn we can at least eat a lot of it. We love corn on the cob. I have a friend that gives me a ton of zucchini and I would love to give her corn this year. Plus it would be tons of fun to run through the corn field with the children and play hide and seek. I have to call the neighbor's son about running our property from now on.
Today is Friday and it's our modified school day. We do cooking and science on Fridays. we didn't plan out our cooking project this weeek so we're going to wing it. I think we're making the impossibly easy cheeseburger pie off the bisquick box. It'll be good and fun. Well gotta go do my thing now.

It's snowing again

I don't know if anyone is going to read this, but I really don't like the snow. We are all doing fine now. For the past 2 weeks we have had a cold in the house. Last week was my turn. It was very hard for me to take a day off from homeschooling on Wednesday but all I could do was just lay there on the couch. Fortunately the kids are a little older than the last time I was really sick about 3 years ago. It would be nice to have someone that could take our kids for just a few hours or a day without having to shell out a small fortune. I do appreciate Starr for taking Hannah when we go out of town, that is so nice. But I guess that we have learned to rely on each other and to take our kids with us most places. Haley made me a sandwich that day that I was really sick. I'm grateful for my 4 beautiful children.


We have an Elders Quorum Valentines Day party that we're going to on Friday. It should be lots of fun. We've lived here for almost 4 years now and have quite a few acquaintances and a couple good friends. That's what you have when you live out in the country! Most people here have family close by that they do things with. We have a couple friends that don't have very much family either. We sometimes do stuff with them.


In fact we went to Oceanside with some friends three weeks ago or so. Oceanside is about 30 miles north of SanDiego. We were right on the beach. It was beautiful and relaxing. We got to see the San Diego Temple, it looks like a castle. We had lots of delicious food but my favorite was the banana nut crunch french toast that I had at a little breakfast place there. I tried replicating it and mine was pretty good but not exactly like theirs.


It's nice to get away occasionally,but it's so expensive to pay a babysitter for 3 days thay we can't do it very often.


We're pretty sure that we're going to California for Easter. My mom is turning 76 this year. I wish that I could have gone for her birthday last year but it was too difficult with the new business and everything. Hopefully, we can do a big Easter party at Dad and Connie's. I totally miss the Easter parties. We had a really big one for Clayton's homecoming and I miss having big get togethers like that with Don and Cathy and Grandpa Guy and Linda. We'll have to go to SanFrancisco or something for my Mom's birthday afterward. Anyway, I guess I've rambled on enough. We'll probably leave on Thurday and come home on Monday if all goes well. O.K. now I"m really done.