Kissing Cousin Keep Away

This morning I got to demonstrate an interactive writing lesson for Noah's class. Mrs. Bjorge was interested in learning about this shared pen technique and I really enjoyed polishing up my old dusty skills. Noah has a great class. They were so well behaved and had unbelievable participation.

Then we had a day of cousins. First Luci before kindergarten, then Elise after kindergarten....then Marcus, Luci, Elise, Annie, and Ben after school. They played a game where the girls chased the boys with lip gloss covered mouths. Kissing Marcus' cheeks was the goal and I think a few times, when his bodyguards Ben and Noah weren't close enough to help, he let the girls catch him. So cute.

But my favorite part of the day was surprising Mary and taking her out of school for lunch. Where did the kids choose to go....wait for it....McDonalds, of course...that place is so gross to me.

And congratulations to my cousin Michael and his beautiful wife who just delivered their first baby, a girl! Wish I could give that new cousin a kiss on the cheek!

No School and Family Night

Teacher in-service days mean play dates and fun for all the kids. I love having a day off from the routine every once and a while. And so do the kids. It makes for lots of house hopping with the cousins and on-and-off with the hot tub lid a few times.

For family night we had a lesson on the temple and watched our old wedding video. The kids were just kind of interested in that. Nicole told Aaron that she doesn't want to get married when she grows-up . When he asked why she replied that she doesn't want to take care of him and go to meetings. Not sure what she meant by all of it. I don't think she likes it when I leave for conference or church meetings and Aaron puts her to bed. I guess if he wasn't around I would have to be home putting her to bed instead of going to meetings? Little does she know if he wasn't around..she wouldn't be here! Love that girl!

Happy Birthday Ashton

Today was Ashton's 11th birthday. He is such an amazing young man. He is probably Noah's greatest hero. We celebrated a Cafe Rio style dinner with the family. I was in charge of the beans and rice. Instead of the canned black beans Aaron made some feijoada. It was delicious. He bought a new pressure cooker the night before and we soaked the beans over night. It all tasted incredible.

In the morning I had the kids work on decorating some notes to the homeless before stake conference. A friend of ours, not of our faith and touched by seeing those in need, helped arrange for a group of people to buy and gather "blessing bags" for 130 homeless people in our community. Then she had the idea to have families write notes or scriptures to include in the bags. I wrote my testimony of Heavenly Father and the Savior. It was such a beautiful experience being part of the project and having our children think beyond ourselves. I felt like I was sharing my testimony with others, which was a real joy.

Fixing Pipes, Basketball, and Stake Conference

Since we returned home from Disneyland, we noticed some wet areas on the exterior wall in our garage. We knew it was related to the condensation line from the heater. We know that when the pipes froze something must have cracked in pipe resulting in the damp sheet-rock and wooden stair. Just how far it went up we didn't see until today when Aaron cut the sheet-rock to reveal a pipe cracked and split and completely detached almost up to the ceiling. So, he fixed it and we dried out the wall.

Then Mary and Noah headed to their first practice of the season. Both of them are playing on the same team. We decided to keep it low key and do the Mighty Mites program instead of the more time consuming Jr. Comets, especially since it's their first experience on a basketball team. Our friend Scott is the coach and there are several church friends on the team. They loved it.

After practice Aaron attended the leadership session of stake conference and I got to attend the adult session. If there is anything I am feeling after listening to the talks, it's that I need to be a better missionary and attend the temple more. Last year, I tried to go at least once a month, but that kind of stopped in October with all the holiday and birthday hustle and bustle. I live so close it's ridiculous that I haven't been more steady.

Basque Dinner

 My mom made a delicious and traditional six-course five-star basque meal for a couple (and their guests) who purchased it at our youth auction/fundraiser last year. It was an incredible evening. Basque clothing, Basque decorations, Basque recipes, Basque music, and real live basque people! I helped by making the gateau Basque and plating the meals my mom had prepared. She really did a fantastic job. 

It's amazing how strong that Spirit of Elijah is. I feel such a desire to stay connected to our heritage and know more about my ancestors. That pull pushes me to do my family history work, especially as I see the traditions and culture slipping away into the world.

N is for noodle

I prepared for joyschool today by cooking noodles and soaking them in food colored water. The noodles were so vibrant and colorful that the kids loved eating them while trying to shape them into the letter N.

 The noodles also tied in nicely to our theme this week: different cultures. We sang songs, read stories, sorted and counted lucky charms, built pyramids, and played Chinese sticks. It was a fun day and the kids are really starting to grow and change. 

I was glad Nikki didn't bite her toenails as she did during most of joyschool on Tuesday.

Dancing Queens

The girls with their wild post-hot tubbing hair danced it up to the Frozen soundtrack. Mary watched herself dance in front of the mirror examining her moves and facial expressions. Nicole watched Mary trying to imitate her groove. It was so cute.