Jayson - Court of Honor

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O Canada

A few Highlights from our trip to Canada

This is the city of NELSON
where my Dad served part of his mission
over 44 years ago.
It is nestled between mountains
and surrounds this gorgeous, very long lake.

It is also the place where my oldest got to attend
his very first Priesthood Session of Conference;
with his Papa, in the place his Papa had served his mission
so many years before.
Pretty cool.

Another favorite city we visited was WHITE ROCK.
It is near the border and sits on the coast
where when you go out to the beach and look over the bay
you can see Vancouver to the north
and the State of Washington to the south.

Here the kids got to explore outside the car.

We went through Banff National Park
and drove between lots of TALL mountain ranges
and even saw a few glaciers.

And the kids were HAPPY to see
that even in Canada there was McD's.

In Vancouver we...

took a beautiful scenic drive up to Whistler Mountain,

tried to get in to see a few of the Olympic Venues
but we were denied because they were ALL shut down,

walked around Stanley Park
where we found this familiar sight and got rained on,

and attended the open house of the new Vancouver Temple

that was built in Langley.

This is the monument we saw at the border heading back into the US.
Engraved on this side was,
"Brethren.Dwelling.Together.In.Unity"
and on the other side it said,
"Children.Of.A.Common.Mother"
Love that saying.

On the way home we stayed in Seattle.
First time I had been there.
We went to Pikes Place Fish Market.
They sold fresh fish there of course
but also fresh flowers and all sorts of other crafty things.


Despite the Hours and Hours of driving,
it was interesting to travel to where I had never been before
and to see the different cities where my Dad
had spent two years of his life serving the Lord.

When I asked the kids what their favorite part of the trip was
guess what they said...

Yep, it was the water slides at the Hotels we stayed in.

MARCH in Utah

March in Utah can be very confusing.
One day it so beautiful it seems like summer is almost here,
The next day it is storming like it is January.

Back and forth, back and forth.
It can be frustrating.
But it can also be FUN.

This year a few days into March it snowed.
It snowed a good 3 inches.
Mind you we hadn't had a good snow fall since December.
So we took the opportunity to try out that SNOWMAN kit.
You know the one he got for CHRISTMAS in hopes of building many snowmen.





Of course you can't be out in the fresh snowfall and not taste of its goodness. It was a nice morning snack.
And there was plenty to go around.



The best part of March snow,
It is usually melted by the evening or the next day.
This is how Mr. Snowman looked the day after his creation.

A Day Off

This Young Man
had a day off from school yesterday.
And what did he choose to do with his free time?


GO TO THE TEMPLE.


What a pleasant surprise it was
to hear him ask if he could go do baptisms for the dead with his friends.
I didn't even know you were allowed to attend the temple
without adult supervision.

But in the afternoon off they went,
and I was so proud.
He is an EXAMPLE to me.

I often hear about the Strength of our youth,
and I know my oldest will need this spiritual strength
to help him through these turbulent teenage years.

I remember feeling that spiritual strength in my youth.
I KNEW that our Father in Heaven knew me individually and
I could feel his love and concern for me.

That knowledge saved me
and gave me hope to be the best I could be
and to ask for forgiveness when I made mistakes.

I pray I can help all my children to gain the testimony they will need
of their Father in Heaven and of their Savior
so that they can feel GOOD about themselves,
can do AMAZING things, and
can be a GREAT EXAMPLE to others.

Tea Party

Today
we ventured out to the backyard,
for a little tea party because it was WARM.


This kind of weather gives me HOPE
that the cold, smoggy, dreary days will soon be behind us.

And this little girl brings HAPPINESS to my heart
to have around our home.

NO, this wasn't my first Tea Party with one of my children.
My second SON has enjoyed many a party with tea cups in hand
and plush animals around a table.

More so when he was younger, however,
he saw our after party mess today
and declared to me that he wanted to be
the HOST of tomorrow's party,
right after he gets home from school.

I think he and his sister are going to get along quite well!

A Little HELP

We have a problem.

Our second born is much too creative for me and my hubby.
Here is a project he wanted us to complete with him.

He just wanted us to help him build a nutcracker.
He had everything worked out (in his head).
He even had figured out what and how many parts we needed.

The PROBLEM is
we are not that crafty
and we are NOT good at shaping and painting wood.

We tell him this and his next request...
build a Buzz-Saw Louie.

It seems simple enough to him,
but much too complicated for us.

Gardens, Cornfields and Mazes, OH MY

We have been out and about
enjoying all the ACTIVITIES
that only happen this time of year.

Like this FUN gardening center,
that is nearby and always decorates for Halloween.


The boys favorite part...
this scary pirate ship you can climb on.


And Miss M couldn't resist picking out a pumpkin.



The other fun spot we found this year
was this CORN MAZE in Bluebell.
It had lots of activities for the kiddies to try

like this MINI MAZE,

a slide made out of PVC pipe,

a CORN shed,

a CORN cannon

a PUMPKIN launcher

and of course the main event the CORN MAZE.
We let the boys navigate us through
and they did a pretty good job.

We made it out before dark.

My Super HERO

I am soooo lucky.


I get to hang out with this little man everyday
and he is
fun,
imaginative,
friendly,
TOO CUTE,
and my three year old super HERO.

Everyday he seems to come up with a new identity.

I LOVE this pretend stage,
and so it seems do a lot of other people we run into
when we are out and about.

It is fun to see strangers interactions
with my little super Hero,
and his reaction.
And YES, he wears the mask everywhere.

The little girls at the playground
adore this spiderman.
And I do too.

Foster CARE

Just over a week ago we said goodbye to this little guy,
(the one in the brown jumper).

No, he wasn't living with our family, but my sister-in-law's family. They were his foster parents. He came to them shortly after being born and was only supposed to be with them for a week or two. Six months later they have finally found him a family and we had to say good bye. Only it was hard to explain to my children, especially the younger ones, why he had to leave. The process of finding him a family took soooooo long because he is part Navajo, and there are tribal laws that say such children are to be placed with parents who are direct relatives or who are of Native American descent. And because it took six months we all became quite attached to him. That is a blessed family who get to call him theirs.

Beyond all that I just find the Foster Care program intriguing. I have known quite a few families throughout my life that have participated in foster care and who have benefited from the opportunities given them and I have also heard horror stories, mainly in the media, about people who abuse the foster care program and the precious children who by no fault of their own have ended up in the system.

When I think about these children all that comes to mind is that THEY are Children of our Heavenly Father, just as much as I am and THEY deserve to belong to and feel a part of a loving family just as much as my children. And a part of me wants to jump in and bring as many of these kids into my home as possible and then I come back to reality and wonder if I could really handle that. I am so impressed and proud of those families who reach out to these children who are in need. And although circumstances don't seem appropriate at the moment for me and my family to do so, I do hope that one day our home will be open to a child or two that needs us and who in return will bless our family.