Captain Moroni Comes to Primary

Emily helped me make rice krispy treats for the primary activity we had this morning. Don't you wish you could look this good in the morning without even fixing your hair?
Our activity was about teaching the children to strengthen their family. We sang the I" am a Builder Song" and then divided up into groups for different activities. I was in charge of helping the kids make our own "title of liberty" with pictures of things they could do to strengthen their family. So I recruited Jared to be Captain Moroni and tell his story. Then I read this quote by Elder Ballard about the Family Proclamation
“Today I call on members of this Church and on committed parents, grandparents, and extended family members everywhere to hold fast to this great proclamation,” Elder Ballard said, “to make it a banner not unlike General Moroni’s ‘title of liberty,’ and to commit ourselves to live by its precepts” (News of the Church,” Ensign, Nov 2005, 126–28)

Then the kids drew pictures of them doing things to strengthen their families. I gave them ideas from one of my favorite parts of the proclamation...
"Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities."

It was cute to hear a lot of the boys saying - is that real? can I touch your sword? etc. I ended up taking pictures of a lot of them w/ "Captain Moroni" and I think that was their favorite part.

Jacob loves football

Jacob came home from school yesterday and told me about how much fun he is having at recess. He loves playing football with some of the other boys. We had fun throwing a few passes in the backyard. Here are a few pics of him when he played football this summer. He's the one in the light blue shorts.

A BIG Kindergarten Project

Jacob brought home a cup with seeds in it from Kindergarten in the spring.
Now it is taller than him! Then it got infested with aphids. I tried to cut it down w/ a shovel but the stem was soooo hard. Its more like a tree than a flower.

Summer Fun is Almost Done:(

Our version of Rock Climbing


We took the family to Ross Park one evening. The kids to climb on the rocks and especially love this natural "rock slide".


Slaying the Dragon

This has been a great summer. I can't believe its over. Here are some pics of the fun things we did. For the Knight Family reunion we had fun doing "Knight" themed activities like...

Fighting Knight Battles (oops, I forgot to rotate)
Swimming in the Moat
Sword Fighting
Improving Archery Skills
The Kids love hanging out in the backyard. Our giant basketball swing is a big attraction.



Hanging out in the yard

Rebecca Races to the Finish

Rebecca had to run the mile at school today. She was a little nervous and went running with Jared earlier this week to practice. Today she came home with some bad news - she threw up after finishing the race. So did another boy in her class. She was feeling better by the time she got home. I asked her if she was the last to finish. She said she didn't know. I assumed she would take after me and not be the greatest at running, since she prefers to stay indoors and read books or write stories most of the time. Jared, (the therapist) came home and asked her about the run. Apparently he is better at getting information out of people then I am. Maybe that's because that's what he has to do at work all day. Actually Rebecca finished 4th in her class - ( the 2nd girl). I was so proud of her for pushing herself so hard. She is so determined. She must have gotten her athletic abilities from her dad. I remember trying to pass the Cooper's Test (running in high school in a certain time limit). I walked and had my social hour most days with my friend Lyndall. Then when I had to pass the test so I wouldn't jeopardize my 4.0 GPA I ran my heart out, and I barely made the cutoff for the A. I felt like I ran my guts out because I came close to throwing up too! Its nice to see my kids surpass me.

You know you're too busy when...

You start washing water. I've been trying to clean up the garden, freeze corn, harvest potatoes, make a grocery list, arrange my schedule for helping at the school, enter in receipts and clean the house this morning between loads of laundry. I just went to switch the laundry over and discovered I washed a batch full of nothin'! Well, actually there was downy and soap in the water:). I thought the washer sounded a little weird from downstairs, but I just figured I put in too many towels so it was a bit too full. I better get back to work - but what a really want to do is kick back and read our new book - Undaunted by Gerald Lund. Someone gave Jared a gift certificate to Deseret Book so he bought this new release about the Hole-in-the-Rock expedition. It is hard to put down, so I haven't touched it yet today.

Family Article by Elder Nelson

I read this talk a few days ago the Elder Russell M. Nelson gave at the World Conference on families . I love how Elder Nelson shared his personal family experiences with trials. It reminded me of the cherished good times I have with my family as well as the trials and the challenges that life throws to everyone - even an apostle. I am so thankful for my family even though I never realized what a refining experience parenthood is. I used to think I was a patient person, but being a mom has shown me another side of myself to help me remember that I still have plenty to learn. One of my favorite parts of his message is when he shares about his experience of seeing his first wife pass away while by his side from a heart problem. Even though he is an expert heart surgeon, he couldn't save her life. This was just a reminder to me that even with our very best efforts we can't control all of the things in our life that happen to us, but we can control how we react and what we learn from them.