Hobbies?

I was at a meeting for seminary and institute teachers this past Saturday. Yep, I'll be teaching early morning seminary this year for the youth in our branch. I've been hoping they realized they made a mistake and call someone else to do it, but I've finally come to grips with the fact that I'm it. So, I had to fill out this information sheet about myself. It was mostly name, address, email, birth day without the year, and then talents, hobbies, etc. I thought and thought and then thought, "what ARE my hobbies?" Uh....nothin'.
This is kinda what I wrote:
piano, raising 2 little boys--legos, library, bugs, books, running/chasing, snacks...

I couldn't believe I didn't have any hobbies to write down! I was so embarassed! That night I was preparing my Sunday School lesson (16-17 year olds) and I read this quote by Elder Richard G. Scott:
"You must be willing to forgo personal pleasure and self-interest for family-centered activity, and not turn over to church, school, or society the principal role of fostering a child's well-rounded development. It takes time, great effort, and significant personal sacrifice to 'train up a child in the way he should go.' But where can you find greater rewards for a job well done?"(Ensign, May 1993)

I read this outloud to Barrett and he said we should plaster that quote all over the house. Today my mom suggested putting it on a big poster. I'm thinking vinyl lettering...that way it can't fall down. Barrett later said, "I think your answer for your hobbies was perfect." That made me feel better...maybe I am on the right track afterall:)

I guess we've been pretty boring lately because I only have a few pictures from this week.

Here's what happened this week...

I've now completed 10 days of the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred workout. (I haven't seen much improvement on the scale, but I do have a little more energy) One morning Damon decided to workout with me. At one point we "pretend" to jump rope. Damon fell down and said, "agh, I got tangled." Hilarious! I went out one night while Barrett stayed home with the boys. Barrett told me Damon cried for me for 45 minutes when it was time for bed. The next morning he told me he missed me when I was gone and that he loved me...this made me feel really good. One evening we went to the park. Damon got stung by a bee or wasp and went hysterical. We took him home and put a baking soda paste on his finger. The next thing I know, his other hand is covered in it...he said it felt like sugar and wanted to play with it. Barrett had his guitar out and then Damon wanted a turn. He really sounded like he could play.


Tommy has been pretty fun this week. Barrett played hide-and-seek with the boys and said when Tommy hides with you he gets really excited and can barely keep quiet. We were roaring and chasing each other one day and Tommy started doing super cute faces while he roared. He has been imitating Damon like crazy...sometimes it is way cute, other times not so much. Tommy got a black eye this week. Damon threw a book and it hit Tommy under his eye and left a scratch and bruise. I thought I had taken a picture of it, but it turns out I didn't.




For Quinn
(pause the playlist on the right)

Camping

Barrett had been gone almost every night for the past few weeks and we were all missing him. We thought going camping would be a fun way to spend time together...and it was! The boys loved every minute of it. They loved helping Dad set up the tent. They loved playing outside and collecting rocks and things. They loved the food. They loved playing football and running. They were pretty grouchy from waking up really early in the morning, but I think they loved the little hike too.

Barrett wanted to make something really good for dinner, but we figured by the time we got there, we'd all be hungry. So, hotdogs it was. Tommy went crazy when Barrett busted out the hotdogs. He kept saying, "hhhawt dawss" until he finally got one! Damon ate TWO hotdogs in buns plus marshmallows and s'mores. Tommy ate all the fixings for s'mores, just not all together. The next morning they ate tons of pancakes too!

It was fun to have happy family time again. We're excited to hopefully go again in a few weeks.

Fun, mischief, and other stuff

What Kind of FUN have we been up to?
- playing outside in the water and dirt
- storytime at the library hearing violinists and eating ice cream cake
- making and eating banana bread
- drawing pictures with a new box of crayons
- making newspaper boats and hats...even a hat for Tommy's bear!
- having 2 little girls stay with us for the weekend and getting lots of hugs:)
- going to a parade for the Peach Festival...Tommy was in heaven waving and saying good bye to everyone passing by. Damon loved collecting candy!
- eating free peach ice cream!!
- making and eating mango salsa
- finally having daddy around...he's had lots of night meetings lately!







What kind of MISCHIEF have the boys been into?
- emptying out mom's wallet and hiding the new gift card to Rita's and polishing off an entire package of Tic-Tacs (in under 5 minutes!)
- picking all but one of our tomato crop before they were ripe...Barrett was sad:(
- rubbing mud all over Tommy's head when it was time to clean up to go eat popsicles
- getting the tub of yogurt out of the fridge and rubbing it all over Tommy's head
- drawing with crayon on the flat painted wall
- breaking a blue unfrozen Otter Pop and getting it all over clothes, floor, and old bed spread, and not telling mom about it.
- eating Tommy's share of the banana bread when mom went to get Tommy after his nap.
- opening a can of soda and sipping it downstairs



What FUNNY things have the boys been saying?
Damon: pretty sure there's cinnamon in my eyes
Tommy: Dah-dee...wrah--ree...(Daddy, where are you?)
Damon: these make me kiss (talking about candy that make him pucker)
Tommy: day doo (thank you)
Damon: I got mad skills (about how good he is at eating otter pops)
Tommy: oh wats (oh rats)
Damon: Uh, because I realllllly love banana bread!! (when asked why he ate Tommy's pieces of banana bread)
In Damon's prayers:
- bless that Jeff can be a good daddy
- bless that we got a mango to make mango salsa
- bless that we can have ice cream, and cookies,...(and a long list of treats that he wanted)

What family worries have we been having?
My younger sister, Jenny, had a sweet little girl on the 30th. They knew she would be born with heart problems and had to relocate 5 hours from where they were living. Within a few days, the doctors decided a more experienced medical team would need to do surgery. The new little family was air lifted to Stanford and the surgery went underway to repair little Afton's heart a week after she was born. It has been a few days since surgery and she is still recovering. For the last 2 weeks, I have been constantly thinking and praying for Jenny, Jeff, and baby Afton. I find myself making lunch or doing other daily tasks and thinking about this little family and I automatically say a little prayer. I have been saying lots of little prayers throughout the day for them. I can't remember a time when I have felt the need to "always have a prayer in your heart." (I am trying to say more prayers throughout the day when the boys get into mischief) These last 2 weeks have made me realize the power of prayer and fasting and family support. I can't stand that I am soooo far away...the only thing I CAN do is pray.
This couple has so much faith and they are already amazing parents...they have truly learned the sacrifice parents make in behalf of their children. We're still praying for you guys!