On Saturday I had a really neat opportunity to go to the conference center in SLC and watch the Relief Society General Conference meeting with six other friends. I look forward to this session of conference every year and I always leave with a strong sense of womanhood and a reaffirmation of the value of my role as a woman and as a mother in our Father's great plan of happiness. Elder Utchdorf's talk was empowering. He recognized the pressures and stresses of every day life as mothers and women and the frustration of trying to "stay above water". He said many inspired things to lead us to feel peace in our every days lives, but there were two things that stood out to me. They were to CREATE and to be COMPASSIONATE. I love to be creative and am always happiest when I make something around me more beautiful or create something bran new. Being compassionate takes you away from the "wo is me" stooper, and by helping others around you, you begin to help yourself. My goal every day is to be a better mother. To relate this new advice to motherhood I am going to try to be more creative with my kids and for my kids. Kids naturally love to create and what's better than creating something together! And my bet is that I will be a happier mom when I take time to do the creating that makes me happy. Of course every one needs compassion, but I am also going to focus on being more compassionate with my kids. How are they feeling? What do they need from me? What can I do to make them feel special and loved?
If you would like to learn more about my beliefs go to www.mormon.org
If you would like to watch the Relief Society General Broadcast go here.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
My Little Tumblers
I can't believe how much the girls have learned in such a short amount of time. They love tumbling and our living room has become their tumbling grounds. One day our basement will be finished and there will be a better place with more room to practice, but the living room will have to do for now. Here's Kaeli's standing back handspring:
Kaeli's Round-off Back Hand Spring
Here's Kaeli's round-off back handspring. She wants to make sure Aunt Dawn sees this one :-)
Rylie's One-Handed Cartwheel
Here's Rylie's new trick! I love the look of one-handed cartwheels. They look so cool! Who knows, she may be doing ariels before we know it!
Happy Birthday...to me!
Aaron has a habit of spoiling me on my birthday. This year he called me up from work on Friday and told me that Dawn (his awesome sister) was taking the kids for the night and we were going to SLC to hang out. So I packed an overnight bag for the kids and myself and we headed to Dawn's to drop the kids off. We went to SLC and ate sushi (one of those things I swore I would never eat that now I love) and then meandered around downtown. In the morning we went to the Farmer's Market, which I absolutely loved. Aaron was so patient (shopping really isn't his thing) as I looked at almost every booth and told him what I thought was so cute and what I thought wasn't so cute (oh what the hubby endures!). Then we headed to REI to pick out hiking boots, which I have needed for so long. Aaron bought these studly Keens for me (pictured below). After lunch we returned to Dawn's and of course visited for hours and pigged out on pizza. Sunday was my actual birthday which was just nice and relaxing. Any way, THANKS HUBBS for the awesome birthday!
P.S. We have a new nephew! He was born this morning super early (just missed my b-day by a few hours!) So Congrats to B and Lila on their baby boy Maxton!
P.S. We have a new nephew! He was born this morning super early (just missed my b-day by a few hours!) So Congrats to B and Lila on their baby boy Maxton!
Friday, September 19, 2008
What a WEEK!
Well, the weekend started out pretty nice. I went to Super Saturday and made these cute bracelets for the girls. I made a necklace for Sammy too. I love Super Saturdays because I can just go and visit with other mommies. Aaron knew I needed a little break so he and the kids did their Saturday morning chores and then went to the movie theater for a matinee! I think they had just as much fun as I did :-)
Here's Rylie sporting her new bracelet right before preschool! She loves that it matches her butterfly shirt!
After Super Saturday we rode our bikes (our new favorite family activity) to a park we had never been to before. The park has steep grassy slopes to create a bowl. The kids had more fun rolling down the hill than playing on the equipment!
Saturday afternoon I noticed Sammy's eye was all red in the corner. I didn't think too much of it, but on Sunday morning it was even more noticeable so I pulled his bottom lid down and asked him to look up. Lo and behold his eye was filled with blood within the membrane under his iris. When we got to church I solicited some advice from a friend who happens to be a nurse. She seemed surprised by its appearance and assumed Sammy had bumped or poked his eye. But neither Sammy or I could think of such an incidence. She said not to worry too much about it unless there's a change, like more blood or pain. So we sat down for sacrament meeting and halfway through the meeting Sam mentioned to me that his vision was getting blurry. That kinda concerned me and I mentioned it to Aaron and it concerned him too. I didn't think it was too much of an emergency, but at the same time thought a doctor should look at it sooner than later. I decided to take Sam to the Urgent Care down the road since there are always doctors there and I would be back in time for Relief Society. A doctor could just peak at it, tell us it's all good and we'd be right back in church. When we got to the Urgent Care a nurse came out into the waiting room to look at it. She said that they are supposed to tell us to go to Primary Children's Hospital if there's any changes in vision. I thought that was a bit rash and asked if their doctor could just take a peak at it. She said no because they didn't have the equipment to look at eyes, but I was to take him to Primary Children's . I asked, "Well, this isn't an emergency is it?" The nurse quickly replied, "Oh yes it is! You need to go straight to the Emergency Room at Primary Children's. Don't even stop to go home!" That threw me into a little panic trying to think of what the big problem could be and how the heck do I get to Primary Children's! So off Sam and I went to SLC, reading a map and trying to get a hold of Aaron who was in Sunday School by that time. When we got there we spent SEVERAL hours just simply waiting in our own little room. Sammy had a vision test, and he also had this orange dye put in his eye so the doctor could look at it w/ a black light. They also dilated his eye to see into and the back of his eye. After over 3 hours we were told that Sam was just fine. He has a conjunctal hemmorage, but no scary bleeding back behind his eye...phew! It'll heal like a bruise. So we should see some gnarly colors just in time for Halloween! Right now it's red and yellow. Here are some pictures a few days after the fact. I wish I had taken pictures of his eye on Sunday when it was pure red and covered a much larger area.
Sammy was really cute about going to the hospital. He was way concerned about going on Sunday. He asked me, "Are you sure it's alright to go to the hospital on Sunday?" When we finally got there I was trying to figure out where I was supposed to park. And once we had it figured out Sammy said, "Phew, I'm so glad we didn't have to pay for parking...because it's Sunday!" And of course while we were waiting Sam said, "I hope I'm not missing a good lesson in Primary." He reminded me that the last time he missed church (we went to Uncle Ryan's house and attended church there) he had missed a lesson on the Good Samaritan (who remembers these kinds of things!!!). Because we had left church Sammy was wearing a white shirt and tie and the nurses kept commenting on how handsome he was, and of course each time Sam's cheeks instantly turned bright red. It was so cute! When we were finally leaving the hospital Sam said that it wasn't as scary as he thought it would have been and he actually had fun. I guess sitting in a dark room (had to be dark once his eye was dilated) with only your mom to visit with isn't so bad :-)
Here's Rylie sporting her new bracelet right before preschool! She loves that it matches her butterfly shirt!
After Super Saturday we rode our bikes (our new favorite family activity) to a park we had never been to before. The park has steep grassy slopes to create a bowl. The kids had more fun rolling down the hill than playing on the equipment!
Saturday afternoon I noticed Sammy's eye was all red in the corner. I didn't think too much of it, but on Sunday morning it was even more noticeable so I pulled his bottom lid down and asked him to look up. Lo and behold his eye was filled with blood within the membrane under his iris. When we got to church I solicited some advice from a friend who happens to be a nurse. She seemed surprised by its appearance and assumed Sammy had bumped or poked his eye. But neither Sammy or I could think of such an incidence. She said not to worry too much about it unless there's a change, like more blood or pain. So we sat down for sacrament meeting and halfway through the meeting Sam mentioned to me that his vision was getting blurry. That kinda concerned me and I mentioned it to Aaron and it concerned him too. I didn't think it was too much of an emergency, but at the same time thought a doctor should look at it sooner than later. I decided to take Sam to the Urgent Care down the road since there are always doctors there and I would be back in time for Relief Society. A doctor could just peak at it, tell us it's all good and we'd be right back in church. When we got to the Urgent Care a nurse came out into the waiting room to look at it. She said that they are supposed to tell us to go to Primary Children's Hospital if there's any changes in vision. I thought that was a bit rash and asked if their doctor could just take a peak at it. She said no because they didn't have the equipment to look at eyes, but I was to take him to Primary Children's . I asked, "Well, this isn't an emergency is it?" The nurse quickly replied, "Oh yes it is! You need to go straight to the Emergency Room at Primary Children's. Don't even stop to go home!" That threw me into a little panic trying to think of what the big problem could be and how the heck do I get to Primary Children's! So off Sam and I went to SLC, reading a map and trying to get a hold of Aaron who was in Sunday School by that time. When we got there we spent SEVERAL hours just simply waiting in our own little room. Sammy had a vision test, and he also had this orange dye put in his eye so the doctor could look at it w/ a black light. They also dilated his eye to see into and the back of his eye. After over 3 hours we were told that Sam was just fine. He has a conjunctal hemmorage, but no scary bleeding back behind his eye...phew! It'll heal like a bruise. So we should see some gnarly colors just in time for Halloween! Right now it's red and yellow. Here are some pictures a few days after the fact. I wish I had taken pictures of his eye on Sunday when it was pure red and covered a much larger area.
Sammy was really cute about going to the hospital. He was way concerned about going on Sunday. He asked me, "Are you sure it's alright to go to the hospital on Sunday?" When we finally got there I was trying to figure out where I was supposed to park. And once we had it figured out Sammy said, "Phew, I'm so glad we didn't have to pay for parking...because it's Sunday!" And of course while we were waiting Sam said, "I hope I'm not missing a good lesson in Primary." He reminded me that the last time he missed church (we went to Uncle Ryan's house and attended church there) he had missed a lesson on the Good Samaritan (who remembers these kinds of things!!!). Because we had left church Sammy was wearing a white shirt and tie and the nurses kept commenting on how handsome he was, and of course each time Sam's cheeks instantly turned bright red. It was so cute! When we were finally leaving the hospital Sam said that it wasn't as scary as he thought it would have been and he actually had fun. I guess sitting in a dark room (had to be dark once his eye was dilated) with only your mom to visit with isn't so bad :-)
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
PC on the FRITZ!
My computer is broken and hubby is in the process of fixing it. I am quickly borrowing his laptop to let you know that I won't be able to add posts to the blog until my PC is fixed. I know just what you're thinking...How will I possibly make it through the week without reading new posts on Maegan's blog?!!! Well, have courage and know that my superman truly is a SUPER MAN and will have my PC up and running before you know it!
Monday, September 8, 2008
NIE
Tonight I was watching the news and there was a story about a woman named Stephanie (nicknamed Nie) and her husband who were in a terrible plane crash in Arizona in August. They both survived but are badly burned. Nie has four kids and her sister has taken them on while Nie and her husband remain in critical condition. Any way, instead of hitting the sack after watching the news I decided to come read Nie's blog and her sister's blog:
It'll make you cry, but when you get a chance read these blogs. Nie is a wonderful example of a creative and fabulous mom. Her sister "C-Jane" and the rest of Nie's family have great faith and hope for Nie and Christian's (her husband) recovery.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Bike Ride
On Saturday we went on a bike ride. Rylie has a pretty good set-up with her daddy. He brings a tow strap that connects to both their bikes. On the way up steep hills Aaron pulls Rylie behind him. On the way down the steep hills Rylie leads but the tow strap keeps her from flying down too fast. She wiped out a few times, and the peddle to her bike kept twisting off. But she's pretty tough and after each crash she got right back on. Sam and Kaeli are also good riders. They actually love going up the hills because they know on the way back they get to go down them! Weeeeeee!
Sara has a nice set-up too :-)
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
FIRST DAY OF PRESCHOOL!
Today is Rylie's first day of preschool! It's her second year of preschool so she wasn't at all nervous, just very excited to see Miss. Lisa and all her friends again. Rylie's new friend is Claire and Rylie gets to ride in her car on the way to school! And of course riding in someone else's car is so much more fun than riding in your own! Here are pictures of the BIG preschooler:
Of course Sara had to be in some of the pictures too :-)
Of course Sara had to be in some of the pictures too :-)Labor Day Weekend
We had a FUN Labor Day Weekend! Dawn and Alan came up with their girls on Saturday for a BBQ. The cousins love being together. We went to the splash pad but the kids didn't get very wet because it was super windy. So they mostly played in the park. Reese and Sara however proved to be the bravest and got the most wet (Babies RULE)! Then the kids took turns flying kites. Both kites ended up in the tall scrub oak trees and we're sad to say that we lost the Hello Kitty Kite when her string broke. We saw her flying north so she's probably somewhere in Canada by now. (I guess she is only Hello Kitty to Canadians...to us she's Bye-Bye Kitty.) Here are the cousins doing their arch-ups:
On Monday we went to the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point. We watched a 3D movie about Sea Monsters. So cool! And of course topped the day off with dinner at Cafe Rio...YUM!
On Monday we went to the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point. We watched a 3D movie about Sea Monsters. So cool! And of course topped the day off with dinner at Cafe Rio...YUM!
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