March 2014

So, March started off with a bang--you can't really beat a week-long cruise with beautiful weather! But after a great vacation, it is always nice to come back home again and get back into the swing of things. So, here goes for our March doings:

-It was my month to teach preschool.  I have a separate post of all our preschool fun!

-We went to the temple with our stake for Stake Temple Day.  We have never been to a stake temple day before, and it was pretty awesome! It was at the Salt Lake Temple, and that was pretty cool because Rob had never seen a live session before, and I had only seen one once so it was a fun experience for both of us.  Also, the temple really pulled out all the stops for us--we had a special meeting in the chapel beforehand for just our stake and the area seventy and his wife were there and gave some great talks.  It was really nice to be in the temple with so many people that we know! It felt a lot like what I think heaven will feel like. After the session, the temple served us a very yummy special lunch down in the basement.  Overall, it was a fantastic day!

-Random cuteness:

Claire studying spelling while here little sisters eat lollipops and watch.

-In March, we bought 4 new baby chicks.  We have 3 hens right now and we love getting fresh eggs every day.  Rob wanted a few more chickens, so we got 4 chicks.  They were so cute and tiny when we bought them, but man, they grow fast!

They're teeny! I love their little "cheep cheep" sounds

We kept them in the laundry room for the first week, then when they started smelling really bad we moved them to the garage

Showing the chicks to Freddy, Hallie's best friend.

Awww, they're so cute and little! Within two weeks, however, they were a lot bigger and not cute at all anymore.  I think they were going through their "awkward phase".  It happens to the best of us.

Hallie was pretty good at grabbing them. 

-I taught Zumba at Activity Days.  Way fun! I have taught Zumba at Young Women's once in our ward, and then again in February for the Urie ward.  It's great to teach the Young Women because they have so much energy.  It was really great at Activity Days too because none of the girls were embarrassed, and we all had a great time! 

-Also in March, we measured all the kids again.  The last time they were measured was last September, so it had been about 6 months.  Everyone grew at least an inch--Shaelyn grew 2 inches! Sometimes I worry about her because she is so tiny and short and skinny.  But it's a relief to know that she is growing! 

This growth chart is definitely one of the most useful crafts I have ever made.

A close-up of how I keep track of their heights.

-I went into Claire's class and gave a presentation about Qatar.  I had done this last year when Claire was in Kindergarten and the kids liked it.  It went even better this time. I brought some things they could hold and touch and showed them lots of pictures and videos.   Although I took more time than I should have, the kids were paying attention really well and asking questions.  It was really fun!

-Rob bought a HUGE camping trailer from one of his parents' renters, who sold it to him for $200! Crazy--it's worth at least 15 or 20 thousand (I'm not an expert on trailer prices, so it could be worth more, I don't know!).  So, since we didn't have a vehicle big enough to pull it, we bought this Suburban.  It can hold our whole family and pull the trailer! Awesome.  It ain't new, but it runs great! It can also run on CNG (natural gas), which is a fraction of the price of regular gasoline (about 1.80 per gallon), so that is a big plus--since it burns through fuel like crazy.  So far, we love it!

New wheels!

-We had dentist appointments in Green River and so we got to visit with the Birches again.  Their new dream home is finally finished and so we helped them move in on Saturday March 29th.  It is so amazing! They are going to love living there. Then we went over to Stacey and Rob's house and Rob helped Rob :) finish Taylor's new bedroom in their basement.  Stacey, Taylor, Hallie and I went to the new General Women's Meeting of the church--I think it is genius to combine these meetings into one and I was so stoked to be able to have Hallie come with me!  It was a historic occasion since never before have girls 8-11 been invited to a general meeting like this.  They did a lot of things in the meeting to keep the attention of these younger girls.  They had the girls stand up and sing the first verse of Teach Me to Walk in the Light, then had all the rest of us sing the second verse.  Hallie loved the meeting.  She was very reverent and really felt the spirit of the meeting. I love my sweet, tender girl! There were a lot of songs, and I particularly liked the new song Daughters in Thy Kingdom.  Beautiful! Also, that video on Leading Covenant Lives made me absolutely sob--the tears were just running down my face! I loved it so much.

-Claire lost her other top tooth--that didn't take long! She's now officially missing her two front teeth! Unfortunately, the tooth fairy wasn't very on top of things and missed her.  Claire lost her tooth right before bedtime, and so the next morning, I consoled Claire by saying that maybe the tooth fairy missed her because she had lost her tooth so late at night and the tooth fairy was already making her rounds for the night, so she didn't make it on the list in time.  Well, then the tooth fairy missed her AGAIN the next night! Darn tooth fairy! What was she thinking?! So she wrote Claire a note to make up for it--which was only fair, in my opinion.

Toothless!

 -We went to a country dance at the Heritage Barn.  There were only 5 couples there including us, but we knew most of them, so it was a very fun date night! I wish we would have taken a picture, Rob wore his cowboy hat and I wore my belt buckle and everything!

-Claire gave a talk in Primary on how Jesus is our Savior.  My kids always amaze me when they write talks with how much they know!

-We went to the family night at the Book Fair.  Always a highlight! Hallie and Claire both won a new book in the door prize drawing, and so we all came home happy. 

-Hallie had a special parent-teacher conference at school.  Instead of parent-TEACHER, it was actually a parent-student conference where Hallie got to eat lunch with me and Rob and show us all the work she has been doing. She gave us her report card and told us the progress she has been making.  She is doing very well academically, she just struggles with controlling her emotions at school and sometimes cries so much that it disrupts the class. This is something we have struggled with all through her school career, and we are still working on it.  I think she is getting better as she gets older.  I just don't want to quash her tenderness too much because it is a very good quality in a lot of ways--just not when you're crying because they are serving tater tots and not fries.  Those are the times we need to work on.

-Random cuteness:

Just snuggling with Daddy!

-We had another ward party, centered around basketball.  When I walked into the gym and there wasn't a single decoration or table in sight, I knew this party must have been planned by men.  Sure enough, the young men were in charge! It made me smile.  Everyone brought their favorite tailgate food and we ate on the stage, and then whoever wanted to just played basketball.  I am not much of a basketball girl myself, and I was wearing heels, so that was out.  I had a great time just visiting with people though! The kids had a blast playing and running around with friends from the ward, and overall it was a success!

-And one more of me and my dear friend Tenya Hall.  She is so wonderful, and my favorite part of living here in Bridger Valley is being friends with her! She is so grounded and always makes me want to be a better person! I love being friends with her.  I've never had such a close friend that I'm never afraid to just call up and invite her over or ask her to watch my kids.  I love talking with her about the gospel and working with her, whether we are canning chicken, making strawberry jam, or just visiting. She is one of my greatest blessings!

Evie wanted to take some pictures right as Tenya came over to pick up Taylee from preschool.  When she asked if she could take a picture of me and Tenya, I realized that I don't think I have a single picture of Tenya and I together! Even just looking at this picture makes me happy!