Day 6 Spring Break

Cousins, playing, laughing Hiking, and getting wet!

I love the beautiful mountains in my back yard. And I was SO excited to share them with someone in my family.  We forgot water bottles which didn't help the kids...but all in all they were really good and had fun running and climbing all around the mountain with the dogs.

The kids ALWAYS want to get in this canal, but it usually has water so they were excited it was water free and they could run around in it.

We love to take shadow picture!

Ya. I actually made it in one picture this week! :O)

Cute Bonnie walkin with her boys. I love when my family comes to visit. It was a perfect trip. Layed back and just hangin out. Taking pictures and laughing! :O) Thank you Bonnie for coming to stay for a couple days!

Day 5 Spring Break

The kids REALLY wanted to go to a movie. THAT is EXPENSIVE! We could go to a hotel for the price of going to a movie, the reason we only go to the cheap seats very seldom. But they worked hard all week and earned money to pay their way to the Movie. I am so lucky they are all hard workers and like to save their money! It was a cute show. Wish Bri could have come.

Our neighbor had her annual Easter Egg Hunt and it's the first year we have had all the kids to go. And of course I took a lot of pictures of my Bethy cuz' she's still at that fun age when it's SO cute how they pick up eggs and their faces are so cute with excitement.

So much fun! Thanks Jess!

Day 5 done and over...starting to get to count down mode! :O)

Excited for the Bunnells to get here!!!!

Day 4 Spring Break

 Day 4 started with playing in the pool at the hotel till 11. :O)  

We came home and Brian took all the kids to the park and played while I did some massages, in a quiet house.

Then I was in need of some "MEDZ" so we drove out to North Ogden and went to Penny Candy (the MOST divine yummy scrumptious chocolate) The kids each brought a dollar and said it was worth every penny! :O)

 We watched a movie while Beth napped and then be and the oldest went for an hour hike up the mountain and watched the sunset. It was beautiful! I love getting them all outside and being with them. I hope they learn to love the outdoors and being together. Some of my most cherished family times were hiking, fishing, camping and being outside. Kids don't get enough of that these days.

Me and my Gang! Super fun and special time with my kiddos!

                                                                                      

~Still Alive...3 more days to go!~

Day 3 of Srping Break

 Cartoons for an hour and then Cleaning Time.  We like to turn the music up load and go go go till it's done. It helped that the reward was going to a hotel! I wrote all the to do's on sticky notes and then they knew what needed to be done. It didn't even take an hour. 

(maybe because I keep my house fairly clean...Lucky Kids :O)

Joey made every one Chinese number paper things?  Ha ha ha! I don't know what they are called but they all wrote funny things on the inside like

"You will be eaten by a squirrel this week"

"Your hair will turn green in 2 days."

Beth cracked me up counted and opning and closing her fingers to make it work and then gibber babbing some phrase when she opened up the last number.

Lily FINALLY lost her very first tooth. She will be 7 years old in 2 months and it finally happened (Thanks to the help from Syd and I). I flicked it REALLY good and then all Syd had to do was pin her down and pop it out. :O)

Hotel fun! Ridge, Austin, & Ty came swimming and had pizza with us. It was fun to have 5 kids that could swim and help out with Beth. I love these boys! My little Ty (the red head) is getting so talkative and just so big. I forget he's older than Beth because she's so big! I am so grateful we have some cousins and family close to play and have fun with! And it helps that I LOVE G & AMY! The most AWESOME in laws you could ask for. :O)

I am feeling sleep deprived and tired...but hanging in there...does anyone have a Zanex or Valium? :O) hee hee
I feel very grateful for all the photography/massage I have been able to do lately to make it so we could do ALOT of fun things this week. I am glad we decided to stay home and spend the money we would have spent on gas to Idaho on doing fun stuff with our kids!

Day 2 Spring Break

 We started out with Cartoons.... and the tramp!

 Dad took you all to the church to ride bikes...and I had a morning break while he played with you and then took you to McDonalds! You guys love when I am not around you seem to get WAY more spoiled than you already are.

Papa showed up with a Tether Ball for our Tether Ball Pole and stayed and played with us the rest of the day. He had you all help rake up the left over leaves from last fall. And spent some one on one with each of you playing or throwing the ball!

 Papa and Bethy posing! :O)

 We made a fire burnt sticks for fun (you all love when I let you throw whatever in the fire) and then we roasted Hot Dogs for Dinner.

Then Joey, Syd, and I went to Activity Days/Mutual. My cute Young Women were in charge of Activity days this week. SO IT WAS PERFECT to get both my 8 year olds for a special night with me. :O) We made hair bows, got our nails painted and decorated cookies while we learned about the Young Women Values.  (Don't you LOVE the one they made me?)

Another great day!

Day 1 Spring Break

 I was FREAKING out a couple weeks ago about Spring Break! "6 kids ALL WEEK LONG!!!! What will I do? the Anxiety, the fighting, 6 KIDS ALL WEEK? Ahhh!!!" 

I felt consumed with all the negative of what could happen, and due to a trip we have been planning and saving for Brian only got to take off a couple mornings this week.

So I had been praying and searching for ways to keep busy and have fun! 

I am so thankful for the priesthood and blessings to help refocus and energize me on my AWESOME calling and responsibility I have to be a mother or wicked step mother, to these kids... :O)

It's going to be a GREAT WEEK!

So Day 1 started out with going to the Library and then D.I. :O)

 The kids each picked 2 books to read this week during reading time (at least 25 minutes each day) Something I decided to do when I could tell tension was running high and they needed a short break from each other!

 

 SIDEWALK CHALK! :O) The kids played for at least 2 hours making our family, the grass, the sky, birds, clouds..a pet Lady bug that they could ALL play on (p.s. it was Haylees pet Lady Bug)

 I love more than anything to just sit and listen to them laugh and imagine and create. My kids are pretty cool... and FUNNY!

Brian & I "SO IN LOVE" is what they kept saying! And I do have to say I look good as a blonde!

We also started Rock Candy... to be determined in a week?

Perfect first day! Busy, crazy, and fun!

Happiness...and the DAILY dilema

 Searching...searching....searching?! Always Searching! Does anyone else find themselves constantly searching?  I had been stuck in this place for the last couple weeks and I came across this quote a couple days ago....

 (I forgot the y in the first everything...ooopsy as you can tell, or my Sister Becca would tell you, I am no English major... oh well!)

Hmmm...Happy people just make the best of everything! I am sure all of us know this & at times have been able to realize it because it is how we were living. Luckily we have each day to try again, each day to do better, each day to plead with the Lord for strength to live a happier more grateful life.

This month I was gave into the pressure of outside influences on so many sides and found myself in

"I don't deserve," "I am not worth," & "I will never overcome." And as I listened to a couple of you tell me how you feel this same way and overwhelmed with the world and mean people...I prayed to help us all find answers. This quote is our answer and we have to start to ALWAYS try and see the good, and be happy no matter what. It doesn't mean we're perfect, it doesn't mean we don't have trials...it doesn't mean we don't struggle....but we have a choice to be happy regardless of opposing forces who would have me believe otherwise.  

You and I are a Daughter of God, we have the beautiful opportunity to use the Atonement daily.

 (Our little Young Women Group~who I LOVE!)

So to my YOUNG WOMEN, and those I love, I share a small testimony of something I have learned to believe myself.  No matter your circumstances, whether you caused the situation or someone else's choices effect you...YOU HAVE A CHOICE! You can choose happiness or you can choose misery. I know it's easier said than done, but I know the power of the Atonement works for both, and how beautiful the Lords Plan is! You all have the opportunity to be Kind NO MATTER WHAT! And that is who the Lord wants us to be, and that is who I will continue to strive to become 

( I have ALONG way to go :O)

Elder Boyd K Packer said..."To earn forgiveness, one must make restitution. That means you give back what you have taken or ease the pain of those you have injured. But sometimes you cannot give back what you have taken because you don’t have it to give. If you have caused others to suffer unbearably—defiled someone’s virtue, for example—it is not within your power to give it back.

There are times you cannot mend that which you have broken. Perhaps the offense was long ago, or the injured refused your penance. Perhaps the damage was so severe that you cannot fix it no matter how desperately you want to. Your repentance cannot be accepted unless there is a restitution. If you cannot undo what you have done, you are trapped. It is easy to understand how helpless and hopeless you then feel and why you might want to give up, just as Alma did. The thought that rescued Alma, when he acted upon it, is this: Restoring what you cannot restore, healing the wound you cannot heal, fixing that which you broke and you cannot fix is the very purpose of the atonement of Christ.

When your desire is firm and you are willing to pay the “uttermost farthing,”  the law of restitution is suspended. Your obligation is transferred to the Lord. He will settle your accounts.  (we are so lucky) I repeat, save for the exception of the very few who defect to perdition, there is no habit, no addiction, no rebellion, no transgression, no apostasy, no crime exempted from the promise of complete forgiveness. That is the promise of the atonement of Christ." 

I loved reading this and knowing and feeling hope in Christ!

MAKE the Temple your goal! And remember.....

 STAND! Be WHO the Lord NEEDS you to be! Love ya!