Elizabeth's Science Project

Elizabeth made a battery magnet with Andy for the Science Extravaganza at school. It was optional, but I want her to get used to doing things that make me nervous, even now. I helped her with the poster and write up.

These are the things she took to her class to show them how it works.

This is her title poster. It says, "Battery Magnet". (We were filling up space.)

All the supplies to use.

The Battery Magnet set up to work.

This is the magnetic chart that Elizabeth and I made. All I did was draw the lines and help her with spelling and I drew the second question mark too. She did all the rest.


Here's the first part of Elizabeth's project presentation to her class.

This is the second part of the presentation to her class. She did pretty well, I think. The battery is starting to run out of juice though and doesn't pick up very well anymore.

This is Elizabeth's Blue ribbon. All the kids had the same one. (Andy says: normally, I'm against the idea that everyone gets a trophy no matter how well they do, because I think that attitude is contributing to the decline of our society. But in this case, it's probably OK because this science fair was never billed as a competitive event.) (It doesn't look as pretty because the flash had to be off to read it.)

Universal Remote Kicks Butt!!

Andy says:

I just finished setting up my new Universal Remote, it's great! You might be saying to yourself, "I've had those before, they stink!" I agree, the old ones usually didn't work that great. The manual had a list of TVs and VCRs with a little code next to each model, and maybe the stuff you owned was on the list and maybe it wasn't. You had a model 8245 Hitachi TV, but the list only had 8240 and 8250, so you had to pick one code, and the universal remote could change the TV's channel or adjust the volume, but not both. And even if the thing worked OK, as soon as you bought something new, it became useless, because there was naturally no code in the manual for a brand new VCR, assuming you hadn't lost the manual.

Well, those days are over. I just got a Logitech Universal Remote, and it works like a champ. It has a USB port, and you use software to configure it. It even has a sensor that let's you aim the existing remote at it, push a button, and the new remote will learn the signal and copy it. It took me about an hour to set it up, and now I can set aside five (5) remote controls that were sitting on top of my TV set (TV, VCR, DVD, HD receiver, Stereo).

The only drawback is that they aren't cheap. The one I have cost about $150, (my dad bought two, and gave one to me in return for help when he builds his cabin later this year, NaDell says 'slave labor', but it is my inheritance after-all). It's a mid range one, the top-of-the-line $400 unit looks like a tri-corder from Star Trek, and is capable of controlling your whole house.

Anyway, I highly recommend getting one of these.

NaDell says: Now I get to figure out how to work it too. I'm sure it won't be as annoying as the
aforementioned FIVE remotes.

Well, I've had the thing for a day now, and it still works fine, but I've got a little more fine-tuning to do. NaDell didn't like it when she started recording a show with the VCR and then I switched to the DVD player and the VCR stopped recording. You have to expect these minor setbacks when you're trying something new. Pioneers take the arrows, you know.

Oh, yes it's ladies night...

I arranged a trip to the movies with some friends (girls only) Tuesday night. We went to see "Confessions of a Shopaholic". It was SO funny. I was surprised. I laughed so much. It was like all of the clothes were horrible and hilarious on purpose. I think that they did that so the stylus people wouldn't want to buy her entire wardrobe. The acting, I thought, was good. I always love John Goodman and Joan Cusack. I liked the main actress a lot. I think she looks like a younger, prettier Debra Messing. I liked it and it had a good message that stuff doesn't bring you happiness. It really was an anti-credit card, anti-debt movie.
Thanks for coming everybody!
Happy Birthday, Diane!
See what I mean? She looks like Big Bird mixed with Zoe or something. Believe me, this is a great movie even just for the outfits!
This is the shot I like the most. She is so pretty! Oh, and she has some great RED hair too!
Oh, and Elizabeth wants a Snuggie. Have you seen commercials for them. She is convinced that she needs one. We saw a commercial at the Hyundai shop yesterday for one and she told me she needs one. I told her that it looks like it is way too big, so she told me that they make kid ones. I guess they must sell them to kids on Saturday mornings too. If you want to see how convincing they are, go here. But wait, there's more! Do you "NEED" one too?

Busyness

Andy went to Utah for a super-short trip with his dad, an uncle, and two cousins who we dropped off halfway. They went down to see a different uncle who has been having heart trouble (I guess it's at 50 percent function). They left (in my regular car, so I got Andy's work Jeep) on Friday afternoon to go to Boise. Then they went the rest of the way to Bountiful on Saturday. They left early Sunday morning to make it back for dinner at 5:00pm. They had a good trip and met up with another uncle and more cousins there.

As for me? Andy's wonderful mom offered to have a girl's night with Elizabeth and Olivia. I dropped them off Friday night (and had pizza with them) and they played and crafted until Saturday evening. SO NICE! Vincent and I stayed up too late and worked on craft projects (he was a ton of help.) I also helped with a baby shower on Saturday afternoon that I had to finish a cross-stitch for. I went to JoAnn's on Friday night and spent an hour without yelling at kids to stop touching things (Vincent just sat nicely in the cart looking around) and even found some deals. Saturday morning I went to WalMart (found more deals) and did our grocery shopping, (including pop for Andy that he didn't think he'd have when he got home), and ran into a few ladies from church. We had a great weekend. Saturday night I made breakfast for dinner for the kids and I and relaxed. They had their bathes and jammies by 7. It was nice.
Sunday, they were already clean and I just had to brush through their hair. Vincent was dressed all snazzy (and I think, I was too with one of my deals). I survived the three hour wrestle. Olivia gave her first prayer in Primary. I'm not sure that anyone could understand it, but she did give it. Vincent is so busy at church trying to walk along the pews and rows of chairs, stealing toys and snacks from kids, tackling them, wiping his little face on nearby skirts, etc. Good thing he's cute, right? After church, the kids played while I rested for a few minutes. Then we went to Andy's parent's for dinner. I was there for only a few minutes before they pulled in. Relief. The dinner was yummy and the visiting was nice, as always.
Monday-I went to help a friend who works in the Young Women's with the MiaMaids. I'm helping them to do some of my I Spy Bags. We cut out the things we needed and made sure we had all of the little things that go in the bag. From there, Elizabeth to school, us home to straighten the craft table and fix dinner in the crockpot, then Olivia and Vincent to a friend's house, me to the school to help, back to the friend's house, home to get a snack ready and some books + a diaper change, back to the school to pick Elizabeth up in the rain, and to the car dealership for an oil change and a new wiper motor. We just got home and finished dinner before Andy got home from work. Time for dinner and FHE. And we have to finish up Elizabeth's science project that Andy's in charge of too. Whew. I don't think I'm busy tomorrow night. Is anyone up for a chick flick? Seriously! I'm thinking Bride Wars or that new one Confessions of a Shopaholic.

Seven Hidden Truths

Missy, one of my former MiaMaids, tagged me with this: I am supposed to reveal Seven Hidden Truths about myself (I'm not sure much about me is hidden-that I want to reveal, but I'll try. Some of you will know them), and then I will dare some others to continue passing this along.

1. I was the MiaMaid advisor in my ward when I was only 19. Right after Andy and I were married.

2. After we were married and went to Olive Garden for our Wedding dinner, I was surprised by a operatic version of "Happy Birthday".

3. My DVD's are in alphabetical order. So are the CD's we own.

4. I've always said "I'm not a quilter", but I am becoming one, I think. I'm going to a class right now and it's fun. Maybe I am a quilter?

5. I don't like seafood.

6. I pretty much flunked out of French class in college (I don't remember much at all. I was too busy being engaged and planning the wedding over the phone/emails/letters with my mom.)

7. I know a Fijian dance (well, maybe I can still do a little anyway. It wouldn't look as nice as when we practiced everyday.-Do you still know it, Lorie, Sarah, and Emily?)

I tag: April, Laurie, Cali, Janae, Sara, Sarah, and Jessie

Flickr Tag

How to Play:
1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
2. Using only the first page, pick an image.
3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker. (choose four columns and three rows, also choose individual URL's)
4. After getting collage made, "save image as" to save it onto your computer and you don't have to sign up for anything.

Questions:
1. What is your first name? NaDell
2. What is your favorite food? Lasagna
3. What school did you go to? Columbia Burbank
4. What is your favorite color? Periwinkle
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Vince Vaughn
6. Favorite drink? Water
7. Dream vacation? Japan
8. Favorite dessert? Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Teacher
10. What do you love most in life? Family
11. One word to describe you. Fun
12. Your nickname. Mom

If you want to try it, you are tagged!

Answered Prayers

I've been thinking more lately about "Tender Mercies" from God.
I'm trying to recognize better the hand of God in my everyday life.
I've found several without even trying very hard. I hate to sound just like everybody else and use the same "Tender Mercies" thing, 'cause it bugs me a little that it's like the new catch phrase, but....

I was woken up a little earlier than normal (about 7:30am) and took care of the kids and then was reading. I had a thought that I hope my brother didn't crash on his way home or anything (he's a little reckless). So, I didn't think anything much about praying for my brother driving across the country. I just had a thought to do it and did it. It wasn't even right at 7:30. It was probably 8am.

Then, I got a call from my little brother at lunchtime letting me know that he had rolled his truck while driving home. He is in Wyoming. Here's what he said in an email that followed:

"I overturned my truck this morning at 0835 mountain time. I was going westbound on I-80 about 10 miles out of Rawlins, WY when I hit ice. I tried to keep it on the road, but it went to the left, it spun around, and then came to a rest on the passenger side. There are just a few dents and a flat tire. My truck was in the median facing eastbound. They got me out of there (his door was stuck) and towed me back to Rawlins where I waited forever, but they took care of me. All it needed was 3 qts of transmission fluid and a new tire for the front driver's side. It had a piece of sagebrush in it." (Edited to make more sense)

He is fine. He should be home this weekend. I'm just glad for a loving Heavenly Father who cares for us and will watch out for us and for this obvious and wonderful example to me of "tender mercies" and I'm glad that I put him on the Temple prayer roll a week and a half ago too.

My DAD

It's my Dad's birthday today. He is turning 55 years old.
I want to share 55 wonderful things about him. He is an amazing example of Christlike love and service.

Baby Picture.

1. Paul Gordon Crowther was born on February 15, 1954. His parents had been married 9 1/2 months.
2. He slept in a laundry basket for a while (or was it a drawer?) because he was born a little premature.
3. He had two grandmas and no grandpas (they were both married, one widow and one left).

My Dad at three years old. This is my mom's favorite picture of him.

4. He was this old when his family moved from Idaho Falls, Idaho to Mesa, Washington to be farming pioneers in the Basin.
5. He was the oldest of five children of my grandparents. He has two brothers and two sisters.
6. He and my mom have six of their own children. 2 boys and a girl (me) 2 boys and a girl.
7. He was this age when he started driving the tractor on the farm.
8. He was baptized in Richland, Washington (the areas only LDS Stake Center at the time-now there are about 12.)
9. He spent summers in Utah with his maternal grandmother to get away from all the pollen and things he is allergic to at home on the farm and loved her so much.
10. He was a great student.
11. He is a hard worker.
12. He was ordained a Deacon in the Priesthood by his father.
13. He was/is skinny.
14. He earned his Boy Scouts of America Eagle Scout award.

My Dad with one of his steers he raised.

15. He was the Future Farmers of America President with his brother as Vice President.
16. He dated, I think. He tried to kiss a girl and she turned her head, so he kissed her cheek.
17. He was shy. (Good thing my mom was not!)

My Dad's senior picture.

18. He graduated from Connell High School and went to BYU for a year.
19. He went on his mission to Australia.
20. His mission president was Earl Tingey was a Seventy and is now a Temple President in Washington DC.
21. He returned from his mission with not many baptisms, but a very strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
22. He met my mom the August 1976 after returning from his mission at Levy Landing outside of Pasco (normally neither of them would have been there because he was going to BYU and she was from Moses Lake.) She caught him with her short shorts and they tossed a Frisbee around. The next day in the fields with his sisters (Mary and Anne), he told them he met someone and they didn't believe him, especially when he told them that her name was Mary Brown. They married on Thanksgiving Day in the Cardston Alberta Temple and haven't been back there (to Canada) since.
23. He and my mom had their first baby, Milton in September of 1977.
24. He continued to work on the farm with his family and lived just around the corner (farm speak-about 1/2 mile away).
25. My dad was 11 days away from being 25 when my second brother, Joe was born February of 1979.
26. He came home at lunchtime for his meals that my mom would make him.
27. Mount St. Helens blew miles away and scattered dust all over the basin. The sky was black, like at nighttime, but it was only noon. My mom brought Joe home from church to take a nap and thought it was the Second Coming.
28. My dad was this old when I (the first girl that they wanted so badly) was born in June of 1982. I'm almost that old now (next summer).
29. My dad would do extra work helping with other peoples' farms.
30. When my dad was almost 30, my brother, Brant, was born (January 1984)
31. Jeffery was born a year and a half later in July of 1985.
32. Janessa, my little sister, was born September of 1986. (Yep, four kids, four years.)
33. When Dad's allergies got too bad, we moved to Umatilla, Oregon.
34. He started to work at Americold, a freezer storage plant.

Me and my siblings in late 1980's.

35. He worked hard and was able to allow my mom stay at home with us. I know it wasn't easy to take care of six kids at home on his wages.
36. My Dad baptized me at the Hermiston Stake Center June 30, 1990.
37. My Dad served in Bishoprics in Umatilla.
38. We moved to Burbank, Washington when Dad's job transferred over to Americold in Wallula, Washington (Burbank is ten minutes outside of Tri-Cities for those of you who don't know your way around here) when Dad was 36 in September of 1992.
39. Soon after moving to Burbank, my Dad was called as a member of the Bishopric in Burbank.
40. His favorite hobby is genealogy.
41. His other hobby is reading scriptures.
42. Another hobby is "stretching out". Napping.
43. He always made a nice, big garden in the backyard.

Family Picture in 1995

44. My dad will have a conversation with anyone, which used to be a little embarrassing, but I find myself making connections the same way he used to, which happens a lot around here in our small world.
45. Dad's oldest child, Milton, served his mission, returned home to marry Christen.
46. Jared, first grandchild on both sides was born when dad was 46 years old.

My Dad and me at my wedding reception in 2001.

47. Seth, second child of Milton and Christen was born in December of 2001.

Elizabeth playing horsey with Grandpa. Good thing he had those back surgeries!

48. Elizabeth, the first granddaughter was born in February of 2003. She loved to take walks and play with grandpa. (There are many more grandkids, but I can't add them all-now there are 13, with one more on the way.)
49. My parents and two siblings who still lived at home moved to Walla Walla, Washington (an hour from us).
50. He quickly showed his spirit to the people of that town and was put on the High Council to oversee other wards and help them.
51. My Dad loves to serve in the Columbia River Temple
52. My Dad was made the Bishop of his ward in Walla Walla. He cares so much about the members and does his very best.
53. His favorite restaurant is Wendy's. He loves the Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger, but didn't like it when the price went from .99 to $1.19 a while ago. It's at .99 again.

2005 Thanksgiving Family Picture.

54. My Dad has very rarely ever said a negative word. His "swear" word is Dang or Shoot. My Dad inspires me to do better.
55. I love my Dad. 55 reasons you should love him too.

This is what my Dad looks like now, even though the picture is from three years ago.
We get to go and see him Sunday night. We hope he doesn't have to do too many Bishop duties. We love to see him.

Electrobeth

A few months ago something went wrong with our furnace, so I finally got serious about fixing it today. I had to solder something, and the tip of my soldering iron was loose, and it was hot so I needed a pliers to tighten it. I asked Elizabeth to bring me a pliers and she brought me a pliers and a wire-cutters (it's really a model-railroad rail-nippers, but it works good on small copper wire). "Thanks, go put the wire-cutters back," I said. Elizabeth went back into the utility room, a minute later there was a flash of light and a popping noise. The moral of the story is, keep wire-cutters away from six-year-olds. Sure, my tool is ruined, but I'm glad Elizabeth was misusing this tool and not my wire-cutters that doesn't have insulated handles. Also, it's nice to know that our 60 year old circuit breakers are still performing their duty. In any case, I'm going to have to keep an eye on Elizabeth to prevent her from sending any more tools to that big toolbox in the sky, or herself to the hospital.

Wanna see a good movie?

Andy says, go see the movie Taken. I don't want to give anything away, but Liam Neeson kills more people in this movie than he did in Schindler's List. By the way NaDell liked it too. I'm such a lucky guy, not only does my wife not drag me to chick movies, but she'll go with me to guy movies too.

Valentine's School Party

Elizabeth's Valentine Party was today at school. She took her invitations (that we found at a thrift shop and they were in an unopened package with heart stickers. There were 10 different big puzzles on three cards each for 50 cents-Elizabeth spotted the unicorn on front. The date on the package was 1985)

This is Malia and Elizabeth. They are best buddies, but butt heads sometimes because they both like to be in charge.Elizabeth's decorated bunny Valentine bag.
She was working on a conversation heart graph when we came in. I like that even on party day, there is a learning activity and not just a waste of time.
Olivia made one too. She loves to do the things the big kids do. She has been wearing that necklace everyday for a month!

Elizabeth took her turn to drop the cards into the bags.

Tonight Andy and I are going to see Taken and go out to eat. The kids are going to my brother's house. I love this trading thing. It's so great! We don't have to pay a babysitter and the cousins all get to play! Love it!
I love my husband. He takes good care of me and our family. He doesn't complain that I like to craft or blog all the time. He likes what I cook for dinners and picks up after himself (mostly). He is funny and sweet and is such and great husband to me.
He likes to read to the kids and the girls love to "wrestle" him. He keeps telling them that they are getting too big and starting to hurt him though. (Have you met our rough little Elizabeth? She likes to jump and punch!) I love him so much and I'm so glad I picked him out.

Alphabet Tag

My sister in law, Sara, passed this tag along. I don't think I've done one like this.
It's kind of fun. Try it out.

A. Attached or single? Ummmm, I'm pretty sure I'm attached, pretty sure. A lot.
B. Best friend? I don't think I really have a super best friend right now. Lots of on the surface friends though.
C. Cake or Pie? Cake
D. Day of Choice? Wednesday
E. Essential item? Slippers
F. Favorite color? Red or blue or green or brown. Whatever. I'm not very picky.
G. Gummy bears or worms? Worms, but only in Dirt Cake (if you don't know what this is, let me know and I'll put the recipe on my food blog.
H. Hometown? Burbank, not the cool one, but it was nice.
I. Indulgence? Sleeping in
J. January or July? July, more picnics
K. Kids? Three
L. Life isn't complete without? Family
M. Marriage date? Saturday, June 16, 2001 at 11am in Portland Oregon.
N. Number of brothers and sisters? My family-4 bros 1 sis. + 5 correlating spouses + Andy's 4 sisters and their spouses = 18
O. Orange or apples? Apples
P. Phobias? Car crash
Q. Quotes? "Don't worry, be happy." Da da da da da da da da da da da la la la la la
R. Reasons to smile? Kids are all asleep.
S. Season of Choice? Spring
T. Tag some peeps: Anyone who wants to do this
U. Unknown fact about me? Tell me one about me most people don't know.
V. Vegetable? Carrots
W. Worst habit? Staying up too late.
X. X-ray or Ultrasound? Ultrasound. If it's an x-ray, that means I hurt something!
Y. Your favorite food? Dessert, specifically, cookies
Z. Zodiac sign? Gemini, although I don't care much about that stuff.

Just moments ago

Elizabeth brought a book home that she wrote. The school "published" it for her. She is supposed to practice reading it to everyone. Here it is:

Giveaway?

My friend Jenne had this on her blog a few minutes ago. Sounds fun. Do you want to play too?

The first FIVE people to respond to this post will get something made by me!

My choice.

For you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!

2- What I create will be just for you.

3- It'll be done this year. (might be a little while)

4- You have no clue what it's going to be. Who knows?

5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog.

The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

Sounds like fun, right? So, let's play!

12 hours later...

The snow is almost gone now. The snow is quickly melting off of roofs and cars and in the grass. (My neighbor across the street still has some because the front of their house is in the shade all morning.) The sky looks blue and nice. I love it here (most of the time).
I SO want spring to come! I love spring. I want to be able to take the kids for walks and bike rides (and teach Elizabeth to balance and ride a bike for real!) I want to not have to bundle kids up to go outside to the car and then to the school/store/church/wherever to then remove the bulky coat and then start all over again. I want to play tennis! I need a buddy and a babysitter. I'm sick of having colds and I want to be able to send the kids outside after school to play for more than 10 minutes. Ugh. Now! Hurry Spring! We're all waiting for you!

WHAT?!?!?!?

Why is it still snowing time here?
WHAT?
I don't understand.
Has the world turned upside down?

I hope it goes away soon.
I heard the news say it might snow, but didn't check until a few minutes ago when I was going to bed. Craziness!
(Now, for those of you with a "real" winter season who are still digging out from the December snow, sorry to complain about the tiny amount we get here in the Desert side of Washington.)

In other craziness, when I checked on the girls, they each were only covered by one of the three blankets on their beds. I don't get it.

Also, I just watched the Dateline with the Octomom. Wow. So many things I don't understand.
I think they try way too hard to make strange people appeal to normal people. Like, they could (and probably did) interview the Manson brothers and make it look like the parents were creeps who deserved it and make us feel sorry that the "poor" boys are orphaned now. So sad. I'm not saying that it was bad to make so many kids, just that it seems WAY too hard to take care of that many. By yourself. Without a job. Going to college. And with SIX other kids.

Um, and check out these cute cards I made last night. I have been thinking for several days of how to do thank you notes for both birthdays without having to make TONS of cards. I made the card split in half and did Vincent's message on top and Elizabeth's on the bottom. I wrote Vincent's last night and Elizabeth helped with her message after school. We added stickers to them this afternoon too. Some of you will be getting one in the mail. (Too bad they are still on my counter.)

How to read books

Andy was reading a book to the girls tonight before bed and I was finishing up my own book on the couch next to them (my throat hurts and I can't talk today, so I read all day long-and napped-and took care of Vincent while Andy took the girls to church and to family dinner).
Andy was reading one of Olivia's Cinderella stories and asked her what she thought would happen next.
The little smarty-pants said, "Turn the page and you'll see." She may have well said, "turn the page and you'll see, dummy."
What a silly girl. She knows what happens and just doesn't want to answer. But, so you know, that is how you read books. Keep turning the pages to see what happens next.

All Partied Out...

Here's the kids from the party. We sent them outside for a few minutes to run around.
Olivia, Elise, Elizabeth, Kailee, Chris, Miaka, Skylar

Wow. Today we had FOUR parties to go to. I think we would be worn out if it wasn't for all the sugar in our systems...
We started the day with Elizabeth's birthday party from 10:30-12. Before that, the kids watched Shrek that we gave Elizabeth for her birthday last night. (We also went to McDonalds for the first time this year as a family last night. We will go out twice in February because this one was for Elizabeth's birthday.)
While we waited for everyone to arrive, the kids colored pictures of pet shops that I found online and printed out. (Actually, Andy went to work a half hour before the party to print them because our printer's out of ink.)
Then, we did cake. They had "Funfetti" cupcakes with chocolate frosting and Reese's Maltballs with rings on the cupcakes.
With the rest of the cake mix, I made a smaller cake. I was going to make a pet shop doggy face, but it wouldn't work, so I did the same kind of thing I did for the last party. I put clean toys on the top. The lighter tan is whipped topping mixed in with the regular frosting. We didn't end up needing this for the party (I wasn't sure how many moms would stay...) so we took it to party #2.
What did Vincent do during the party when he wasn't mooching toys off of the kids? Playing with the streamers. Great entertainment for cheap, by the way. All the kids liked running through the streamers!
Elizabeth's cousin, Chris, gave her this cool police helicopter Lego set. His mom said they tried to find a girl Lego set that wasn't lame and couldn't. I told her that Elizabeth likes boyish stuff.
Elizabeth's favorite boy at school, Skylar, gave her this fun pet shop coloring pages, markers, and stickers set. She wanted to play with it IMMEDIATELY, but had to wait until her guests were gone.
Elise, one of her buddies from church, preschool, and school, gave her a few of these pet shop sets. This one is a puppy. (If you zoom in on the picture, you can see what else the puppy comes with...) She also got a third giraffe. Now we have twins and one that's a slightly different color. Even better.
Skylar's sister, Kailee, joined the party for the present opening and playing. She's here with Elizabeth, Miaka, Olivia, and Elise.
Chris, Elizabeth, and Vincent playing with some of the pet shop toys. I always like to have friends have time to play. Elizabeth was sad after a few parties because all they did was the party and they didn't play with toys. It was a fairly laid back party.
Vincent, Olivia, and Skylar playing with pet shops. Vincent was trying really hard to find some small pieces. I don't think he actually swallowed any though. Time will tell.

We gave Elizabeth this pet shop house for her birthday last night. (Don't tell her, but I bought it at a thrift store for $2.99. Actually, I don't care if you tell her. It was a great deal. I just had to bring it home and clean it and most of the time they cost 40-50 bucks!)
Here are the Shrek movies we gave Elizabeth for her birthday. Nope, we didn't have them yet. I found them for four bucks each. Nice. (Remember, I'm trying to save money this year. I'm not usually so cheap and that's the problem. =)

From there, we went to Uncle Gary's house for lunch with Andy's aunts and uncles and cousins at 1pm. We hung out there until about 4 and then we were off to a birthday party for a friend of Elizabeth's from ballet. We didn't stay there long because Vincent was asleep in the car and Andy can only hang out in the car so long with him, so we were there for the belly dancer lessons (yes, for a six year old's party-her mom is from Turkey. It was very interesting. Some of those kids can shake it. Olivia is one of them.) From there we drove around for a little while (Andy loves to drive around in the "country backroads" on our little adventures.) and then we went home for about an hour before going to the church for a "meet and greet the new families in our ward fun games and cookie party". Phew. All done.

Now I cropped and cleaned up the pictures from Elizabeth's party. The girls are in bed (even quiet now) and Vincent's having a milk. Andy's finishing up our taxes (YEA!) and I'm about ready to watch a movie and work on some cross-stitching. (I have such a debate in my head lately about whether to cross-stitch, craft other things to sell, or to read. I want to do it all, but don't have time (see above schedule!) to do everything. Or maybe I do. I don't know.

6 YEARS OLD!

The ring she's wearing is one that she took to give to her classmates at school. She gave each of them a pencil too. The crown is from school. Each student gets to wear one on their birthday. She still has hers on. She is so happy!
WOW! I can't believe Elizabeth is six already. I'm glad she is. It seems like she has been with us our whole lives. We love her. She is a sweet, considerate, nice little girl. She helps others and tries to make them feel better if they are sad. She makes friends easily and gets to talk to a lot of people in the stores (because of her bright red hair everyone likes to compliment:).
She was a hard baby, but turned into a pretty smart, nice kid. We are glad for that!

Today we went to one lady we visit teach and then to the library for story time and then dropped Elizabeth off at school. I made cupcakes while she was at school and then picked her up in time to buy her quarter treats at Fun Friday. Then, we went to her birthday buddy's house to drop off some cookies and a drawing from Elizabeth. Her buddy is 9 today. She was able to hang out there and play with her for a while. They had a lot of fun. Now we are home waiting for Andy and resting before dinner. We are also getting a bunch of phone call birthday wishes and even a drop by visit from her Primary teacher. She says she's having a great day. Tomorrow is her friend party and then like three other parties for us to go to. We are busy!

10 Promises...

This is from a talk given by Elder Joe J. Christensen of the Presidency of the Seventy in the LDS Church.

Create an environment in your family in which spiritual experiences can occur. For example:

• Remember family prayer every day. With schedules as they are, you may need to have more than one prayer. Sending children out of your home without the spiritual protection of prayer is like sending them out into a blizzard without sufficient clothing.

• Hold family home evenings every week without fail. This is a wonderful time to share your testimony with your children. Give them an opportunity to share their feelings about the gospel. Help them to learn to recognize when they feel the presence of the Spirit. Family home evenings will help create an island of refuge and security within your own home.

• Read the scriptures together daily as a family. There is real power in the scriptures.

President Benson has said, “May I admonish you to participate in a program of daily reading and pondering of the scriptures. … The Book of Mormon will change your life. It will fortify you against the evils of our day. It will bring a spirituality into your life that no other book will” (Ensign, May 1986, p. 43).

Is the Book of Mormon a significant part of your reading? Count the number of rich promises President Marion G. Romney made to parents when he said:

“I feel certain that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, both by themselves and with their children, (1) the spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes. … (2) The spirit of reverence will increase; (3) mutual respect and (4) consideration for each other will grow. (5) The spirit of contention will depart. (6) Parents will counsel their children in greater love and wisdom. (7) Children will be more responsive and submissive to the counsel of their parents. (8) Righteousness will increase. … (9) The pure love of Christ … will abound in our homes and lives, (10) bringing in their wake peace, joy, and happiness” (Ensign, May 1980, p. 67).

Me again:

A teacher at our big Stake Enrichment tonight told us these ten (I think there's even more in there than that) promises. They are amazing. I hope I can do better to get them all!

I went to a class on how to have deeper faith too and it was great as well. I loved how the class was taught and just wanted to share my wonderful evening.

Photos of our Sunday festivities

Well, photos from before and after church anyway. I didn't take any actually at church.
Before church I did a little photo shoot on Vincent in his new snazzy outfit for church from my parent's. It's still a little big, but I love it!
Today he went to the doctor's office for his one year check-up and he weighs 21 pounds 4 ounces and is 30 inches long. He's about average, they say. He has an ear infection too though, poor guy. I can't ever tell. I just figured the waking up at night a little was because of teeth coming in or something.
He wouldn't smile for me, but he did try to "share" his toothbrush. He has been really good at that lately, handing stuff to me and then taking it (nicely) back and doing it over and over again.
After church, I made some rolls to go with dinner at Andy's parent's house and Andy went to our ward's choir practice for a while with Elizabeth. She plays while they sing to keep busy (and it helps me take a nap some Sundays when I'm especially lazy feeling).
After we ate yummy dinner there, we drove Andy's uncle's house (Elizabeth and Olivia rode with grandma and grandpa) where Andy's uncle and aunt were having cake and ice cream (and they even had fruit offered in a bowl) for their family's birthdays. The kids all had a great time playing and Vincent can climb up stairs with some help now.
Here's the birthday party at their pad. Elisha turned 16 a few weeks ago and Chris will be 6 on the 5th. They included Vincent and Elizabeth in their party too. It was sweet of them. Brent and Olivia wanted to get in on the cake action. They are so funny. Elizabeth's hair is such a mess, I know. Yesterday at church, we went into the primary room before she gave the scripture, and half of her piggy tails was out. I had to fix them for her. Crazy hair girl! This picture is after some running around (like an hour of it) and trying on some dress up there too (in my defense).