Family Home Evening activity

Choosing the activity for FHE is the favorite assignment.

This summer we planted 6 zucchini plants. Now don't laugh, I'm not new at this.I knew what I was doing.

If you miss a day of picking zucchini, the next day you will come back to find this...

and what do you do with zucchinis the size of torpedoes?

Have zucchini boat races!

and that, my friends, is exactly the reason we planted 6 zucchinis

FHE activity planned. No fighting over whose game we will be playing!

The best part: some neighbor kids came over to watch what we were doing, and we told them about Family Home Evening. Then we passed the boats on to them at the end of the evening, and pointed out to the kids our opportunity for missionary work. Two lessons in one evening! And they didn't even know they were getting the second one!

Avvy at 6 months

Avonlea's milestones at 6 months: she sits alone, still sucks her thumb, can roll from stomach to back and almost from back to stomach. She doesn't care who holds her, she is such a happy baby! Soon we will be trying baby food! We can only guess at her weight...about 16 1/2 lbs. She is a very "healthy, chubby, Gerber baby"!

Little Patch of Heaven

This is our home. 1400 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 1 bathroom. Quaint, close... cozy. Within these walls homework happens, and hugs, and tears. Laughter, family home evening. We also have deep discussions and life's lessons and scripture study. We're raising future missionaries and children who know their Father in Heaven. We pray here. We pray for our children and our neighbors and our family. We pray for each other and the prophet and the bishopric. We pray for strength and wisdom and help. In this home we sing really loud - and off key- but we sing! We celebrate, we practice, we learn. Sometimes we disagree, but we hope that a disagreement teaches a lesson; if nothing more than how to disagree pleasantly and then love again after a disagreement. Sometimes we have time outs. Mom and Dad need them, too. Here we have sewing lessons, and cooking lessons and gardening lessons. We play games and run and squeal. We practice the cello and ballet and gymnastics. We have campouts and cookouts and stargazing. We are constantly doing home improvements. Sometimes we check the water. We weed together and plant together and harvest together. Then we offer thanks for our blessings. Our home has a roof and doors and walls just like other people's homes. It may be small but it's what happens inside that matters most. We dubbed our home "Little Patch of Heaven" when we first bought it, so thankful for a place to celebrate our family. I think of the book "The Little House" about the little home that was so loved. That's our house. Our home. Good things happen here.

John & Matthew's trip to the Jazz vs Nuggets NBA playoffs game 6

Yesterday I heard nothing all day except "I am going to a Jazz game tonight."

"You are not going to a Jazz game tonight."

"Are they here yet to take me to a Jazz game?"

"Daddy is going with me to a Jazz game tonight."

"You have to stay home to go grocery shopping and fold laundry but I get to go to a Jazz game tonight!"

"Ohhhh, 'tonight' is NEVER gonna get here!"

"Is it 'tonight' yet?"

"I am going to a Jazz game tonight!"

Boy, I tell you, I have never been so relieved for "tonight" to get here, and I didn't even get to go!

But John and Matty had a BLAST with Aunt Mary, Aubrey, Ashlee, Mandy, and "Princess Grandma".
Here are some of the highlights in Matthew's words:
The big bear was riding on a stand up motorcycle and shot t-shirts out of a BIG gun! It was HILARIOUS!!

Balloons and little tiny paper came out. But there was a big bear and a little bear and both of them didn't come up the stairs, but they did come out.

The basketball players, they just slammed the ball!


Princess Grandma thought the blue guys were the Jazz! But it was the white guys!

It was so loud! Really, really loud!


Those players were really HUGE! They would beat Daddy any day!
(Way to go John! You have changed your four year old's image of you forever!)

Now, today all I have heard is "Go Jazz, Go!" (Green #1 fan finger stabbing the air!) And the other two have joined in the celebration!

"It was such a fun night!" Matty said this morning as he dribbled his new Jazz basketball around the kitchen in his Jazz basketball clothes.
I have a feeling I won't be hearing about anything else for a long time!

*Note: They did win! And it was an INTENSE game that the rest of us got to watch at Great Grandma's house!*

Joseph Smith III

Spencer recently had the opportunity to play Joseph Smith III in a performance of "My Servant Joseph" which Aubrey and Ashlee's student ward sponsored. It was so fun to see him practice his part and go from embarrassed and unsure about it, to confident and ready.



He had a solo singing part as his only actual 'spoken' lines, and he was only in three scenes total, but he had a great time, earned some money (we paid him for every time he sang his lines, and so he went around the house with a little note book making tally marks each time he sang it), and gained a little more appreciation and a greater testimony for the prophet Joseph. It was an amazing first performing experience! We are so proud of him!


Spencer with Nate and Erica as Joseph and Emma Smith

Olivia and Matthew were so excited for Spencer!

...and we have a thumbsucker!!

Nothing says innocent and precious as a thumbsucker. I know I will probably hate it when she's older, but right now it just makes me think of my baby. And Baby Girl, stay that way!!

April Fool's Day!

This was the April Fool's joke we had played on us this morning. 8 inches of crummy snow! We didn't think it was very funny!