New Growth

Spring has always been one of my favorite times of year. Part of that is due to how much I dislike winter. That's always been the case, even when I lived in Florida and did't have much of a winter.

My garden utterly failed last year. It didn't help that a snot-nosed kid dumped out the buckets, forcing me to start over. I was faithful at watering them every day and keeping them in the sun, but everything mysteriously died during the hot weeks of July. That experience has left me a little pessimistic about my gardening skills, even though this year is the first time I'll have a real one in a patch of ground that I own. (Now, if only I lived in a place where it actually rained!)

I should just forget about last year's failure. That was last year. Now is the time to start anew. Here's to a good harvest! I'm hoping for enough stuff to start canning. James has been awesome. He deconstructed pallets to make raised beds for the garden, and part of my Mother's Day present was to get them set up. I'm hoping the combo of dirt, manure, and potting soil will work well. We shall see!

Nawth Ca'lina

I had an amazing trip to NC! I was really worried about flying with Katie alone. I guess I'm still scarred from our last flying experience (Christmas 2012) which was truly horrible. However, everything went without a hitch. I met up with Christian, Myles, and Mara in SLC, and we all had a direct flight to Raleigh. We got in around 11 EST. Katie was a doll. Everyone loved her during the trip, and I got tons of comments on how cute she is. I have to agree. I even had a missionary moment in the airport where I got to talk to a woman about the Church a little bit. It was awesome.

Brinson and Ceci got married the next morning. It was a perfect day: 70 degrees, partly cloudy, and slightly breezy. If I could freeze that weather and have it every day, I would! The wedding left a few tears in everyone's eyes. We took a few pics afterward. The reception was also amazingly fun despite the food showing up late. There was lots of dancing, and I got to see some people I haven't seen since before I got married.

Saturday, we all hung out at the house, ate dinner at Golden Corral with my grandparents, and watched them open presents. Sunday was time to leave - way too early for everyone! The newlyweds are still on their cruise as I write this. I had a very tiring day on Sunday. James was also having a lot of pain from kidney stones, but he is okay now. (Thankfully, no ER trip was required - or surgery!)

It's been a busy week getting caught up on things. I've started a jean quilt for Katie since I realized I have enough squares! There are less than 3 weeks left of school now. I've been helping James grade a bit so he can get caught up. I can't wait for the weekend, because it's been a long week.

Heading Out

*Pretend I published this last Wednesday, and it will make a lot more sense! Our internet was down.

Well, last weekend's trip was stressful. I simply don't travel well. I try so hard to be prepared, even printing a packing list that I've kept on my computer after a certain trip where I forgot to take shirts. Yes, shirts. However, I just can't sleep the first night in a strange place, no matter what I do. (Even "not thinking about it" doesn't help.) For a one-night trip with a day where we try to get lots done, I always end up feeling awfully tired and grumpy. Plus, the packing for one day of travel is almost as time-consuming as for a week of travel.

We left Friday afternoon to go to Gretchen (my cousin's) wedding reception. I hadn't seen her in 4 years! We had a great time eating waffles, which is the coolest idea ever. Then, we headed to SLC to meet up with James's family. The rest of the story is the same as any day trip - went to bed late, couldn't sleep, kids got up early. We went to the museum, and I felt pretty good until afternoon, when it really hit me that I was exhausted. We went to Hill AFB museum, and I almost fell asleep when I was feeding Katie. The weather was a bit depressing, and I didn't pack for it. I really hate spring sometimes.

The kids have all had pink eye in the last week. Kenny and Katie have a well check today, but they will have to go on the sick side. They are all recovering from little colds. Really, no one is that miserable; they just look icky and gunky. Thankfully, the cream Grandpa called in for them works pretty fast.

I leave for NC tomorrow with Katie, and James will take the boys to Rexburg. I can't wait! I wish they could all come, but it's going to be a quick trip, just until Sunday. I've packed for Katie and me - just a backpack and diaper bag since I'm cheap. I'm leaving the rest of the packing up to James so he can see what it's like. ;)

So for now, I say goodbye to Utah and hello to North Carolina. It's time for a few days of real spring!

Behaving themselves!

I do drive sometimes. Here's proof.

James contemplating the origin of life.

cute train-themed restaurant in Heber. This train goes around the restaurant ceiling.

Best part (aside from the food): play tables for the kids!

Kenny's 2nd Birthday

I can't believe how much Kenny has changed over the last year. He turned two on April 5th, and I'm lame for not writing about it then. A few highlights from his life these days:

He loves to eat just about anything. He can shovel in food very quickly, though it means a huge mess for me. Always.

He has a very sweet, spirited personality. He won't take no for an answer, and he insists on doing things his way. Hmm, sounds like his mommy. He's my little shadow in the kitchen. No movie/toy can keep him from following me around.

He's a loving big brother and great snuggler. He often wakes up grumpy from his nap, but a few minutes of snuggle time, and he's ready to go bounce off the walls.

He loves water and bath time. He also loves learning his letters and already recognizes a bunch of them. Don't blame me; it was Super Why! (Joseph's reward for #2 on the potty).

Kenny can be a bit of an enigma for me, but I feel that his second year of life went much more smoothly than the first. I can't get enough of that big smile. I'm excited to see what the next year brings!

Sidenote: I bought him a cute pair of sandals for summer, but he refuses to wear them. The only thing he'll wear? His older brother's shoes that are too big for him and require socks. Oh well.

Visitors

The past week was a little crazy due to family stopping by. It was technically spring break for James on Thursday and Friday, which if you ask me, is a terrible rip-off of a spring break. (We always got a full week, plus a Friday!) The Heads arrived on Wednesday night. 3 of my siblings stopped by on Friday on their way to Rexburg. While everyone was here, our house was like a big slumber party.

We enjoyed our spring break...

making foil dinners and enjoying Dry Fork canyon

doing an Easter egg hunt for the boys

going (late) birthday shopping, in which I got new shoes

taking the kids to the park

doing a little yard work

going on a date for lunch

watching a few family videos that I finally got my hands on!

By the time everyone left, I was exhausted due to going to bed an hour late four days in a row. I spent Saturday doing nothing much at all, and it was great. That "nothing" includes not taking any pictures. I must get better at this.

Introducing...

My new blog!

Green M&M's

Please let me know if you have questions, etc. I am not a professional blogger. Haha. I will be adding lots of recipes in the next few weeks and a menu as well. Enjoy.

Stubborn

Every time I read through the Old Testament, I am astounded at the unwillingness of the Children of Israel to listen. It seems that they do nothing but complain and make demands. Especially as a child, I thought they were very undeserving of the title "chosen people".

The more I look at my life, I realize that they aren't so different from me. I've been trying hard to find a lesson in each chapter of scripture, down to the most boring sacrificial rite or genealogy. It's not always easy, but there is at least one lesson to be found in each chapter.

I thought I'd share of few gems from the "boring" chapters. Many themes keep popping up again and again, something that surprised me as I've kept writing them down.

1. God is always there. Whether it's a literal cloud or a quiet presence, his hand is always in our lives. He takes care of us, even when we don't ask.

2. Every commandment is important and brings us closer to God. Israel had a "lesser" law, but the purpose was the same - to point them to Christ. Many commandments were symbolic, and many laws had scientific reasons behind them that no one knew at the time (like their laws of purification).

3. God qualifies us for our callings. Moses didn't want to be a prophet, but he was able to lead the Israelites for more than 40 years.

4. The best way to be happy is to remember God always, worship only Him, and stop lusting for more. Israel's main faults were murmuring and turning away from God to worship idols.

I can do a lot better. I complain about my lack of time for myself, money, and fitness. I want more when I have enough. I don't feel like I'm cracked up to be a mom of one, much less three children. I forget that I have more than enough, that motherhood is my divine calling, and that I don't always needs reasons to live every commandment to its fullest. Since I am a member of the Church, I guess that literally makes me a "child of Israel". I don't condemn their actions in the wilderness. I've complained about many of the same things.

And now, I must take care of a complaining child. :)