How did I miss summer?

 After finally entering my blog site after what felt like a couple of weeks....it occurred to me that I missed the ENTIRE SUMMER! WHOOPS! I guess that I have been so busy having a good time that it just got overlooked.

We spent some time at the ocean with our extended family. It was great! We went to Pacific Beach on the Coast...we even brought our dog! Needless to say, Baxter really enjoyed himself playing fetch like a crazy person and chasing after our kite. I think that if Baxter had the choice, he would like on the beach every moment of his life!

Aaron was "master" of the kite

Elijah found cool sand bugs

Ariana got dirty!

...Look at those cute kids eating crackers!

Elijah and cousin Brenna building a castle. ...or Elijah knocking it down!

The kids had fun too! It was fun to see them interact with each other and with the rest of the family.

We also spent some time at Greenlake where Ariana showed off her cool dance moves! And Elijah shower us how "frog-like" he really is!

...more summer pics and fun to come!

What am I grateful for?

On days like today, (when you want to sell your kid on ebay for being an ABSOLUTE STINKER...not to mention LIVING in time-out and crying more than a newborn baby!) I think it is important to remember what we are grateful for. Why do I continue to do this day in and day out (aside from my genetic obligation)

1. Today Elijah got our attention chanting, "okay, quiet everyone" then proceeded to clap three times followed by a fast spin/jump/fall dance move! (Really cute!)

2. While playing play-dough Elijah DESTROYED my very cool circle shaped piece of artwork. (covered in a neat diamond montage) I then walked away saying that if he was going to destroy what I was playing with, I didn't want to play anymore. I think Elijah could tell that I was a little sad so he came over to me, gave me a really big hug and said, "I am so sorry mom! I Love you!"

3. One of my favorite "mindless x-box games" is zuma. I was playing for a couple of minutes when Eli came by and wanted to play. My 3 year old ROCKED IT! I can't believe how well he could use the controller and match the colors. I am SO PROUD of him!

4. Ariana and I had some alone time this morning (the boys were on a trip into Aaron's work). I am so in love with that little girl. She is learning so much everyday. She does really cute dance moves, she smiles BIG, her "language" is fun and interesting to watch (she gestures as she speak too...very cute!) She is finally old enough to spend some time in Nursery at church. I cannot believe how fast she is growing. I am so thankful that I have this sweet little GIRL!

5. Sometimes the kids tag team on aaron by climbing up on his lap and taking turns head-butting him! HAHAHA!

6. When I really needed a break today, Aaron let me sneak away to soak in a bath. I grabbed my i-pod, turned on Norah Jones and read a magazine. Sometimes it just helps to step away from the "yuck" and soak. Thanks Aaron for being such a sweetheart!

7. Oh! I also got to sleep in until 7:30 am this morning! That was nice...

8. There was a potluck at church this afternoon...I am so thankful that I didn't have to add, "cook dinner" to the crazy of my day.

9. This morning Aaron and I decided to stay home for part of church to give Eli a much needed nap (before a 3 hour church session) When I told Eli how this was going down, initially he lost it. He was really mad! Finally he calmed down and I was sitting with him helping him to fall asleep. The crying stopped but he had this sad little frown that would sneak up occasionally  with some sad whimpers. When I asked him what was wrong, he said that he just really wanted to go to primary. I am grateful that Elijah loves church so much that he would be sad about missing it. (sounds kind of weird I know but...I would hate to force him to go) I then promised him that if he took a quick little nap we could make it to church just in time for primary.

10. Have I mentioned how much I love my little family?! Aaron and I work so well together. I love him so much! I am grateful that we have the opportunity to raise these two little "aaron clones" together. They really are cute, fun, good kids (despite the occasional yuck!) It is such a neat experience to see both of them grow and mature and learn. Yeah for family!

....it really is true what they say. If you spend a couple of minutes focusing on all of the things that you are grateful for, you forget about the other stuff. (well...not forget but...you know what I mean) What are you grateful for?

Weathering the storm (almost)

A few weeks back, Elijah was given a cup in primary which he filled with dirt and planted 2 small sunflower seeds, Following church this day, the cup was given to me and we told Elijah that we would water it and wait for it to grow. After about 1 hour Elijah came running back to the cup looking for the plant. It had not grown yet. This surprised him. I told him that plants need water, sunshine, soil, and time to grow. We cannot expect this little seed to burst through the soil after merely a few hours/minutes. I told him that we would continue to take care of it and eventually it would grow. A few days passed and before we knew it the plant had grown tall. So tall in fact that it was beginning to lean to one side (in search of the sun) so we put it outside.

Then there was a big windstorm...

The cup was knocked to the ground. The plant was torn from the cup and left to die. Unfortunately as this was happening, my family and I went out of town so we did not discover the plant for a couple of days following the windstorm. Elijah saw it first. He called to me and showed me what had happened. I quickly picked up the plant (which was limp and obviously dying/dead) put it back in the cup, added new soil and water and prepared Elijah for the worst. I told him that we would try everything that we could to help the plant get better but that it was probably not going to make it. Sometimes plants die. The poor little plants were hanging lifelessly over the sides of the cup--I thought it was too late. This plant could not weather the storm, it was just to small and lacked the support it needed to grow.

To my surprise, after a little TLC and some time, the plants started to perk up. After about 1 hour the stem of the plants had gone from withered to "fattening" but the leaves still appeared dead. After about 3 hours the leaves began to take their regular shape. After 4 hours the plant once again stood tall, leaves plump and in tact, once again leaning in search of the sun. This time, Elijah and I quickly grabbed some small sticks, placed them in the dirt near the base of the plant and attached the plants carefully to the sticks. This was to act as a support system for the plants. It would help them to gorw up straight and tall,

It may seem silly that I am recounting this story. But what a huge effect it has had on me. How often do we feel that we cannot weather the storm? Have you ever been thrown around by external conditions and left to "die" feeling only that you are too small? Not ready? Unprepared?

Just like this plant, we too can be saved. It is never too late. Given a little TLC and some time we can once again grow strong in search of the sun. This time, we know better. This time, we will grasp at a support system to help us to stand tall and grow upright.

This plant was intended as a lesson on testimonies/faith in God. I have always enjoyed the section in the Book of Mormon that relates our Faith to a small seed. http://scriptures.lds.org/en/alma/32 . Never before has this lesson had such a huge impact on my heart. I feel so strongly now that once our faith has begun to grow--it may be knocked down not because it was a bad seed (because, remember it had begun to grow strong) but because of external forces. But it is never too late. We can be saved.