Favorite from Conference

(Story from Elder Packard)

We watched conference today out and about around our beautiful neighborhood. We packed up the kids in the Bob stroller and went walking with Jordan's ipad and portable internet streaming conference. We had a walk to the park with highlights of Spring popping up all along the way - daffodils, crocuses, bright yellow bushes, and budding trees. And a nearly perfect time sitting at the park watching our sweet children play while we listened to wonderful counsel and instruction. Then another walk in the afternoon up to the Bonneville trail with the kids running ahead while we walked and listened. A lovely day!

Ellie's Roundabout Game

Ellie and I played out on the roundabout for a while yesterday while Landon was at school and Owen was napping. This was her game, nearly word for word. :) (Pictures from Jordan tonight while Ellie and Landon played together over there)

A little yard work (and cute one-sock Owen)

We spent some time working on the yard this evening while the kids played outside and enjoyed the days late arrival of blue sky. Landon and Cinderella (er...Ellie) played on the roundabout, Owen played with rocks on the sidewalk, and Jordan and I raked and trimmed and listened to the soccer games across the street. I was worn out when Jordan suggested the idea after work and I almost rebelled, but was grateful I didn't. It was a perfect little hour of time.

Saturday

Jordan wanted to enjoy our first Springtime Saturday with a day of exercising. Throughout the day, he ran (to Chick Fil A and back -- taking the kids to breakfast while I slept in :), unicycled (practiced for an hour or more at the park while Ellie played and I ran errands with Owen and Landon), rip-sticked around the neighborhood, rode the elliptical, did yard work, and rollerbladed to Aggie ice cream where the kids and I enjoyed a treat. Phewph!

Packing up for a Friday evening adventure -- a bike ride on the river trail

And an adventure break for graham crackers and hill rolling

Bless his happy, little heart

Owen's not actually at this stage yet (though fast approaching!), but after reading this poem at our Relief Society birthday activity I've just had this little picture in my mind waiting to be drawn. :)

Happy Owen enjoying a Springtime day with Landon and Ellie

Sweet Springtime Vacation

From a morning walk w/ Owen while Jordan worked -- on a San Francisco mini-vacation within a vacation :)

Kathie made a great Animoto of our fun California times -- here. We sure loved being with Kathie and Winslow and enjoying the lovely Livermore sunshine and friends!

On my mind

(On my mind today -- made at Wordle)

These jumbled words seem like a pretty decent illustration of what is going on inside my head these days. :) We have a lot of decisions and upcoming changes that are all kind of hanging in the balance right now waiting for each other and for other decisions to see how everything is going to fall into place...

I love this description from Cloverlane --

...every brain works differently. My husband is wonderful at compartmentalizing his different roles. His brain I think, has little rooms with doors, and when he walks out of one room so to speak, into another, he can slam that door and all the stress, deadlines, responsibility stay shut in there. My brain doesn't have doors, heck it doesn't have walls.

This is very much me :)

image

I (fortunately) am feeling like all these things really are going to work out, and maybe even in amazing ways... but in the meantime, my brain is under construction as I try to remodel and create a few holding rooms where I can store all of the what if's and when's and how's while I wait for things to work themselves out.

It must be Spring!

Jordan outside working in his new office between the garden shed and the raspberry patch

Você fala Português?

Jordan was super excited to get this package in the mail last week all the way from Brazil. (His newest effort in encouraging our family to learn Portuguese :)

Landon's take - "I wish it was in English, because I can't understand anything they are saying!" But he did cheerfully watch and mostly follow the entire movie. When I walked in near the end as the house was falling away Landon was saying quietly "It's more important to live than to have things." I love his tender heart. And I love Jordan's excitement in figuring out how to make things like this work (getting a DVD in Portuguese-harder than you'd think).

Little helpers

The last few mornings, Owen has joined the after-breakfast dishwasher unloading party. While Landon puts away all of the down-low dishes (for one cent each), Ellie and Owen have become quite a team in putting the silverware away piece by piece.

First Day of Spring!

The sun was shining all day, melting away yesterday's snow in celebration of the first day of Spring -- I'm getting excited to be spending our days outside again!

Today, I...

- Made flower shaped pancakes (and spinach salad) for lunch to celebrate Springtime.

- Went for a walk with Ellie to retrieve her long-lost and forgotten near the neighbor's house riding toy.

- Ran around delivering scouting for food bags with the webelos

- Played teacher and mother and Cinderella's mother and other pretending games with Ellie

- Read about Logan's downtown plan for the coming years, and went to observe at the city council meeting where they adopted the plan

- Hugged Owen, who has had a rough few days with something so important to tell us that we can't seem to figure out. But oh, he has great hugs!

- Looked at Dinosaur Train dinosaur facts with Landon

- Enjoyed a delicious cooked-by-Jordan dinner of grilled chicken and potatoes.

A happy first day of Spring.

Snow Morning

The kids were delighted to wake up to a snowy morning today. While I made breakfast, they gathered their snow gear and headed outside. This is Landon's favorite kind of day. He couldn't stand to come inside on such a beautiful morning, so he cleared off the play table and ate his breakfast in full snow gear.

Landon in the backyard, enjoying his Frosted Shredded Wheat in the snow.

Abreves

Landon working on his Science Fair project last month ('Which bread will toast the fastest?')

Every once in a while Landon uses abbreviations in his conversation that rival even the best (Laura and Cass). Some have been hilarious -- of course I always forget to write them down, sure I'll remember them... But here are a few recent ones:

Could we make some hot choc?

Mind if we watch some Gar? (Garfield)

Does anyone want to play Monop? (monopoly)

(Monopoly has been Landon's new love this year - he'll play anyone he can get to join the game, or play himself -- happy to have a sure chance of winning :)

I want to pretend - Do you want to pretend?

There was a time in Landon's 3-year-old stage when I thought that another moment of pretending might just be unbearable. ('You're gonna miss those days!') Now Ellie is loving to spend her days pretending. So far, Cinderella is the character of choice with me as Cinderella's (nice) mother. What do you want to do Cinderella's mother?" Now that I know how quickly this is going to fly by, I feel like this is a pretty fun stage. :)

One Man Band

You can imagine the great tunes we hear from this energetic one man band :) Every once in a while Owen joins in on the drum (lego box) or Ellie on the ukelele. Or I'll play the piano (by request, most often You've Got a Friend in Me) while Landon accompanies on the guitar and/or harmonica and Ellie dances in the background. These are happy moments!

Playing Games

Our littlest lumberjack :)

This little kiddo is just loving to play games these days. Passing a ball back and forth - his first games of catch, silly tickling and surprise and peek-a-boo style games, hitting his tray and watching the reaction of Jordan copying the motion, any kind of back and forth/give and take/cause and effect game and he is loving it. Such fun!

Welcome Home

Part of a sweet welcome surprise from April :)

And the next best surprise has been the lovely warm weather! We've played at the park, done some make-up yard work, ridden our bikes, gone for walks, played in the front yard... It's been a happy nearly-Spring week!

Also this week -

Stake Conference, recovering from a stomach bug, Scouts, back to school, precinct caucus night, paying bills and taking care of post vacation business, a trip to Salt Lake to visit with Dad and Shauna and see the Book of Mormon children's exhibit with Parker's kids, visiting teaching and home teaching, a St. Patrick's day green dinner/ scavenger hunt at Lee's with April, a bike ride adventure family date night riding downtown and making it (barely!) back home again... Now we just need to finish unpacking. :)

Valentine's

My flower delivery girl and shabby princess extras

While I went to Scout, Jordan and the kids decorated for our Valentine's dinner -- yummy take-out from Noodles & Company.

Landon all dressed up for his school's Valentine's Manners Tea Party. Landon had a great time making superhero tootsie pop valentine's for his classmates - he was super excited to pass them out and for his valentine's in return.