At last!

So, Joe finally got a calling in church. I am on my second one in this ward. So, I was pretty glad when the Elder's Quorum Presidency showed up on our doorstep this last week. They asked him to be the E.Q. secretary. Joe says he apparently didn't get it right the last time. I think he was so great at it that the Lord knew he would be a great person for that calling in this ward. But we did chuckle when they said they would like him to be the secretary. It's funny how you get those repeat callings sometimes. I sometimes think we move too soon so we have to finish up our time in that same calling in a different ward.

I was called to be a Primary teacher a few months ago. I taught the CTR5 class. They are very active. There was just one boy and 7 girls. I was a team teacher. Apparently the class needed two teachers to keep it under control. One crazy Sunday our busy boy managed to injure three of the girls. The first time we were coloring. He started coloring on the wall so I had him sit down. He couldn't sit still and somehow his chair fell over on one girl's head. These are those heavy, folding, metal chairs. Ouch! She was crying and sitting on my lap while I was trying to teach. The other teacher took her while I continued the lesson. We sat on the ground in a circle for a little story. Busy boy decided he liked rolling onto his back instead of sitting and he managed to kick a girl in the head. She wasn't hurt too bad just kind of mad at him. Next we were passing a bean bag around as we shared ways we could show our love for Jesus. Well, instead of passing the bean bag, Busy Boy, decided to throw it as hard as he could. It hit another girl in the eye. The other teacher now had two crying girls on her lap. No one wanted to sit by the boy. They kept saying he was naughty and they didn't like him. I just kept telling them (and myself) he is just a busy boy and he has a hard time sitting still but, they could be good examples for him by being really reverent. :) Most of them have started kindergarten now and I think the routine of it and learning to sit and listen is having an effect on them in Primary too. The last two weeks I was their teacher the were wonderful. It was great to end that calling on a good note.

So, for the last two Sundays I have gotten to sit in front of the Primary as the 2nd counselor. I actually enjoy it. Time goes by so fast! We're always running around finding subs, getting supplies for teachers (sometimes the library isn't open), or helping in some other way. I oversee Cub Scouts, Nursery (we have 3), and the four annual primary activities. The Presidency is great to work with and I look forward to getting to know them better.

New Update

I made a post about Rebekah's birthday on the 15th. I noticed no one had left any comments. Ya, I'm needy. I like comments. Anyhow, I also noticed on other people's blogs that on our link it didn't show the Rebekah is One post. I don't know why? So I am writing this to see if this shows up on your link. So let me know if you see this and if the birthday post shows up too. THANKS!

Rebekah is ONE!

I'm a little behind but Rebekah had her first birthday on September 15th. I did a ladybug theme. I put up red crepe paper and white balloons with little lady bug stickers on them.

As you can see from the pictures I made a lady bug cake as well. I think it turned out pretty adorable. (Okay so maybe I am a little too proud of my handy work posting a video and two pictures of it. Sorry.) It took almost half a bottle of the red paste food coloring to get it as red as I wanted. I made sure I got the unflavored kind so it didn't have that nasty bitter flavor.

Rebekah didn't fully get the unwrapping presents but had some help. She did however like the tissue paper and ribbon. After that was thrown away she liked the presents, too.

Rebekah is so sweet. She started walking really good just before her birthday. Now she nearly runs. She is such a doll with her blonde curly hair. She is getting more interactive and likes to play with and chase Romney. We love our little Rebekah!

Summer is Over

Summer is over for us. I survived! I survived kids whining that they were bored or hot. I survived the fighting that comes with boredom and being hot. Now the kids are back in school. Yay for me! Actually the kids were pretty excited too. They were also nervous since they are going to a new school. Hopefully they'll come home and say how great it was and that they already have a new friend in their class. I can be positive and hopeful some of the time!

Here they are in front of the school mascot. Paige did not want her picture taken! She was feeling apprehensive.

We stopped to play at a park after dropping the kids off at school. Romney just can't pass by a park with out playing.

Now for a little back tracking...

For the 4th of July we attended the parade in Basin City again. Small town parades are the best. They still throw candy which the kids love! We also got ice cream bars from the Dairy. It was a hot day and it felt very refreshing to have to the fire department go by spraying water. Paige loved the horses!

My sister, Nancy, and her family joined us and we met up with my other sister, Karyn and her husband, Jason. After the parade we headed to Moses Lake for good food and lots of fun.

In July, Joe and I were in charge planning the family reunion for Joe's parents and siblings. We were really excited about it and had fun planning out activities to keep the easily bored children busy. I was so busy setting stuff up and getting ready for the next activity that I kept forgetting to get out my camera. Then when I finally did I discovered after taking just two pictures that both of my batteries were dead. But, my wonderful sister-in-law, Heather, sent me a bunch of great pictures that she took. Thank you!! We played some kid-friendly baseball. Even I took a whack at it once. Actually I did hit it (I wanted to use the T-ball but they wouldn't let me). The little kids were so cute playing.

Jacob up to bat.

We went on a nature hike to hunt for things we could make into intruments.

Here's Joe helping to create something.

Here they are with their intruments going on a little parade.

Joe arranged to have Smokey the Bear come visit. They kids thought it was great!

Some of the grandkids waiting to go on a hike.

A little fishing pond. This picture must have been from the beginning because it didn't take long for the water to be quite muddy. Some of the kids didn't want to stop.

Everyone loved adorable baby Clara

After camping in the mountains for four nights we headed back to Oakley. There were a couple extended family reunions with a bunch of people I didn't really know. I also discovered that Joe is pretty much related to nearly everyone in Oakley. :) We watched the 24th of July parade and then a fireworks show that night. It was very fun and the kids had a blast.

Sometime (I lost track of time this summer) after returning from Idaho we headed over the Vancouver, Washington to spend a day at the beach. It started out a little overcast but turned out to be beautiful and sunny. It was really the perfect temperature. The kids just ran and played all day long. That evening we built a fire on the beach and roasted hot dogs and made smores. We pulled some big driftwood around an area that looked like an old fire pit so we would have something to sit on. One of the logs was charred in places so the girls put their towels over it and sat down. Suddenly my sister, Nancy, noticed smoke coming up behind her daughter. She went over to take a look. Her daughter stood up and they picked up her towel. There were pretty decent sized holes burned right through it!

Rebekah loved the ocean. She would walk right into the waves.

Nancy, looking so chic in her hat, and Tommy.

Romney just squealed with delight at all the waves.

Time to dry off and warm up a little.

I think they were trying to build sand castles and be mermaids.

I thought this looked liked Jacob dragging a pet around. It certainly kept him occupied for awhile. Such interesting things in the ocean. Oh yeah, another thing which we didn't catch on film was a big fish that just jumped out of a wave and onto shore next to Jacob, Joe and Adam. I don't know...it could just be a fish tale.

Keepin' it Cool

It was so hot! We didn't really realize that until we were halfway into our walk. We played at the park for as long as we could stand and then had to drag Romney away. On the way home we drank all our water and tried to stay cool thinking about how we were going to put up the slip and slide and the wading pool when we got back. Even I had to try out the slide in this heat. Thankfully no one was filming that! It was a little painful. I am obviously not a kid anymore. That is made all too clear to me all the time. Rebekah loved the slip and slide. It was more of a crawl and slide for her.

Hair

I was feeling bored with life and needed a change. So, I asked my sister, Karyn, to cut and highlight my hair. I love the cut. At first I felt like there were a ton of highlights and really blonde but now that I have gotten used to it, it doesn't seem like all that much. This isn't the best picture to show off the cut but I had Jacob take the picture. Also, I wanted to show Rebekah's adorable little piggy tails!

Do you remember?

Do you remember making forts and tents out of blankets when you were a kid? I remember dragging the dining room table chairs into the family room and making huge tents (and huge messes). At least the tents seemed huge to me back then. My kids made this tent outside with patio chairs, blankets and towels. They had so much fun and played out there for quite awhile.Romney apparently had so much fun he got worn out. We couldn't figure out where he was (an all too often occurrence) until Paige found him taking a nap out here. I had to get the camera and take a picture.