Sabbath

We had Stake Conference today. Kids usually take my phone, even Katharine. I usually know who has had it by the photos taken. Katharine is becoming quite proficient at photographing feet. 

I was with her in the primary room for a while, and walking the halls. In the halls I saw a few pics of my kids from some stake activities. Hi Abi! Hi Wes! (at a 16+ youth activity at the Stake President's house)

And a Youth Olympics thing that Wes helped organize, as he was on the Stake Youth committee. They played Gaga ball (thanks to Uncle Neil for introducing us to that game!)

Lucky is doing good. Took him outside for some sunshine today

So, Hyrum has been down here in Utah with three friends from school - Aly, Piper, and Nic. Hyrum and his friends were here to go to the Orem temple open house, went to the Provo City Center temple to do baptisms.

Hyrum's friends, Nick, Aly, and Piper

Driving down. 

They came to our Stake Conference today and then joined us for lunch/dinner. It was nice to visit with them. After feeding and entertaining kids, Corey was especially feeling a bit exhausted from fatherly duties, and I found Corey reading Escape from Camp 14 in our bedroom. He looked at me from behind the open book and said "It could be worse..." 

We usually feel exhausted on Sundays (everyday actually) and so it was nothing personal, but I think we scared them away. I had suggested Hyrum take his friends to see the Temple Quarry, which we often do with guests, and they were nice enough to take the little noisemaker boys with them so they could run around, and then Wes went along to help watch the littles, and Abi was here with Katharine. Seeing our frazzled state, Abi took Katharine out for a walk, and she was out there when they were all coming back from the quarry and she suggested we be given more quiet time, so then they went to the school park and then they jumped back inside to grab their back packs but that was it. They headed back up around 4. It would have been fun to talk to Hyrum more and visit with his friends, but it was good to see him even if it was just for a bit. And the break when they were all at the park was really nice. We appreciate getting a little rest on the Sabbath now and then.

Concert, Corn, Etc

Mel had a Wind Symphony concert tonight for Veteran's Day. It was a patriotic performance in Brigham Young University's brand new Music Building Concert Hall. The concert was called "For Heroes Proved: Veterans Day Celebration featuring Tony Award nominee Derek Klena" I have not heard of him, but lots of women were swooning over how handsome he is and how well he sings. It was good, I was actually struggling to stay awake cause I get interrupted sleep every night, but then I was about to have a coughing fit so that woke me up and I was just swallowing and swallowing trying to calm my itchy throat down. We made it through without me having an attack, and we waved to Mel (got credit for our attendance) and then we texted Ethan and Joseph to see if they wanted to join us for a post concert treat. Corey and I were late cause we stopped to grab some Aubergine at the Orem store. I ordered online, but they didn't have it ready, so that was unfortunate. Since we had dinner, I wasn't really hungry, but I had some dessert anyway but I shouldn't have. I felt sick after. Joseph suggested a churro place but there were a lot of customers standing around and it looked like only one employee trying to serve them, so we skipped that and walked to a place called Yonutz. It was a bit over done with the color scheme and visual stimulation...

As if just having a donut isn't enough, they mix the donut with ice cream and toppings = too much sugar. I can't remember what we ordered, but when it was served to us, we had a hard time with it's presentation. Just not that appetizing looking...

Corey Joseph and Mel were all being funny and making me laugh. Prob won't ever go there again, but it was a memory and we took home pink color changing spoons as souvenirs. 

Ok, a few more pics from this weekend. Today (and I'm so glad I wasn't there when this happened) Wesley climbed the tree trunk next to our home. HE COULD HAVE KILLED HIMSELF. He shimmied his way up the trunk and then SAT DOWN on the top! I told him he may never ever do that again. He had Lily take a picture of him. 

and he took a picture from his bird's eye view of the house. 

AHH I'm so glad I wasn't there. Had I been, I'm sure my panicked emotions would have vibrated through the air and shaken him off his pedestal. And here is another moment of drama, this one I WAS present for - Thursday night Katharine put a kernel of corn up her nose and she was freaking out and I could not get it out. I've had a dozen nasal bulbs over the years but I could not find one. I was trying a straw and tweezers, I texted our pediatrician, I could see the yellow thing, I was pretty sure it was corn from dinner. I couldn't get it out. I put K in the tub to try and just wash it out. I texted a few neighbors to see if they had a bulb and one of them did, hooray for Caroline. Her daughter brought it over. I got in the tub with her, and she already was super mad at me and all of us for pinning her down and operating on her. I held her head one more time once I got the bulb and we got it out. It was the BIG kernel! I put the other one there for size comparison of what I thought I was trying to get. Huge kernel. 

Ahh! Once we got it out, she was still red faced, but much more comfortable and soon she was smiling and playing with the bulb. 

Don't do that again Katharine! 

And last item of documentation - Natalie is a keyboard typing wizard. 

She is killing her class statistics - she's got 3030 Stars, average accuracy 100%, average speed 34 wpm and 1,500,000+ points! almost double the second place from her class (two of our neighborhood kids Grant at 846K, and 3rd Jack at 735K) Natalie has a good group of kids her age in our neighborhood, good kids that are smart and hard workers.

Puppy

On Tuesday, I had a dentist appointment to get a cavity fixed and a sealant on my molars repaired. A neighbor, who has a little girl Peter's age, said she could watch Peter and Katharine while I went. When we got there, she went to take Katharine, and K wasn't having any of that. She held tightly to me and whimpered. So I carried Katharine in and we found some toys for her to play with. That seemed to do the trick and I was standing to go, and then I pointed out to Katharine something that was behind her. It was their small white dog Juno! And with that I was off without a problem. My friend texted me this picture of Katharine and told me that K just kept saying "Puppy! Puppy!" the whole time. Aww, she looks so happy!!

I think her love for dogs might end up causing me to be a pushover and get her a pet dog someday... A small dog like Juno could work. Of course it wouldn't happen until she's older and it is official that she is the last child (cause I think the jury is still out on that). But perhaps by then her love for puppies won't be as strong as it is now. Right now we'll say the obsession is probably just a big deal cause "doggy" and "puppy" are two of the only words she knows! She is holding a little dalmatian puppy in the picture above. That is her favorite stuffed animal. At violin on Monday, Katharine grabbed the tiny board book for "101 Dalmatians" and was reading that. She likes puppies. She looked so cute rocking back and forth on that little chair!

Also once here at home, when she was down for a nap and I was making my escape, she rolled over and got more comfortable and said "puppy..." in her sleep with a satisfied little grin. That made me smile. Poor toddler Peter had nightmares, but little Katharine dreams about puppies. She's fun. She's also a little spoiled. 

Eating breakfast with Corey. Er - eating Corey's breakfast?

He usually brings enough that he has extra to share with her. I thought the pictures of her squatting on the table were funny. Usually she's on his lap, like this morning. 

Katharine can also do a pretty good dog bark and whimpering sound that will make us crack up (video here). She's so fun, we love Kafrin! Right now she and Peter are over playing at a friends house, and she took her puppy. My friend texted me this pic. I'm glad to see K still has her puppy close by. 

I Hear A Symphony

Wesley has been working for a few weeks on playing a Cody Fry song called "I Hear a Symphony". He has learned it from watching a tutorial video on youtube (thanks Hugo!)

It makes me want to learn piano! And makes me wish we had a grand piano. We'll get one someday. As for now, it's the keyboard from Costco. I recorded Wesley playing the song via Marco polo for my family via the Hibbert Channel. He's getting good! I'm super impressed. Who knew Wesley would be a concert pianist? Wow. Well after me sharing that, Grant was listening to Cody Fry songs and he shared this one with us. Mel and Wes already knew about this song, I'm sure, cause they know his music, but I didn't know much other than what the kids play here at home, so I hadn't heard this, but I've been listening to it all day - sooo beautiful. It made me tear up!

FLYING - Cody Fry

Where did my wings go?
I could've sworn I could fly
Straight up into the sky
Boy, I should have known
It was all just a lie
No one on earth can fly

Thought the things you said would turn out true
Guess that's what I get for trusting you
You said if I believed enough, I would fly
Why didn't I?

Did faith let me down
Or did I not have enough?
That distinction is tough
Still, I thought your hands
Protected me from the fall
Did you mean that at all?

Thought the things you said would turn out true
Was it even you I listened to?
I thought if I believed enough, that I would fly

Air is rushing past, and I can barely see
Seems like this fall will be the death of me
In a second now, the ground will come to take me home

Suddenly, a peace that I cannot explain
Feels like the wind is running through my veins
Oh, and all that I can do is close my eyes as you lift me up
You lift me up

All that I know now is sky and cloud
Don't know when my feet last touched the ground
You said if I believed enough, I would fly

Isn't that beautiful?!? It sounds to me like a song about a child and their conversation with God. They start off life having childlike wonder for the world and belief in themselves, that they can fly, but then somehow their wings are gone "Where did my wings go?" Then there's a period of doubt and distrust in God, and I loved the line "Did faith let me down Or did I not have enough? That distinction is tough." (that really is a tough one to know!) And when it seems like you've fallen and it is too hard to even keep trying, God comes with a peace that cannot be explained, He lifts us up. That point in the song describes what I think "becoming new creatures in Christ" feels like - we go through this change and then all we will see is sky and cloud - we'll see things from a heavenly perspective ("think celestial"!) and we'll find that we are flying, and it was because and through HIM. 

Oh, Corey and I have also been reading "My Descent Into Death" by Howard Storm. I ordered it after seeing After Death and hearing him share his experience. Howard was one of the people who actually went to Hell first and was rescued from there when he called out to Jesus to save him. So my mind has been on Christ and his love for us and his power to save and help us fly if we will just turn to Him. Howard was told by Christ and angels "You can save the world." Howard doubted it and pushed back asking how (this is on page 82) and this was in the movie, he was told "You are to love the person you are with." At that part of the movie, I thought he was being told to love his wife better, but then realized it was rather to love whatever person you are presently with - so BE PRESENT and LOVE that person you are with! Love and believe and let God's love lift you up to fly and see and feel and experience all that is glorious and good in the world. Jesus is real, God is real, Heaven is real! So is Hell and all the bad stuff. Be good and choose Christ! 

A Job

There is a group of boys in the neighborhood who all like to ride their bikes to school. Owen is one of them. He is ready to go rain or shine. One mom usually rides with them every morning, and she makes sure they are safe crossing the road, and the rest of us mom's take turns seeing the kids across the road after school. Joseph left a fluorescent orange vest here, that he uses to use with his scooter. I've decided to use that as my vest, and I ordered a stop sign too! 

When Daniel was riding home one day, and saw me in this little outfit, he looked so surprised and said as he rode up to me: "Mom!! You WORK here?!?!" I laughed and said yep! I didn't let him know that I had not been hired by anyone. I'm just self employed. Owen also has a proud smile on his face when he rides up to me. My mom, the crosswalk guard! It's almost as cool as having me volunteer in the classroom. Atleast I hope it is, since I'm not volunteering yet... I hope this counts for something. When I came home today after helping the kids cross, Daniel saw me putting away my stuff and said "Have fun at your job?" He seems very pleased that I have found employment. "Are you glad that I have a job now?" I asked. He nodded and said "I'm glad for you." Daniel is a fun kid. He stayed home briefly today before school with a slight cough. I've been sick since last Thursday with a cough and my voice sounds pretty bad. Corey has NOT been sick, which is odd for us for me to be the sick one and for him to be feeling fine. He said I probably need to get more sleep. So he stayed around this moring with Daniel and Peter while I took a nap with Katharine. I woke up feeling much improved and I'm hopeful that I'm almost over this sore throat. Daniel was at the computer when Corey walked by, and D put up his hand to cover up the screen. Corey said he wouldn't have noticed anything if Daniel hadn't done that, but since he did try to hide it, Corey was curious. He took this picture of what Daniel had been working on. 

"Dere Millie i love you so much you'r my best frend in the hol intire wold. if you love me then i love you. Millie i am sory but we can't kiss any more. adleste we are stil best frend's. from: Daniel to millie love Daniel"

I loved all the spelling. Cute kid. Corey shared that with the college kids and Ethan said "What the flip did I just read?" and Joseph commented "We're gonna have to keep an eye on that kid!" Yep! And that is why I do NOT and will not have a job anytime soon. We have lots of kids that we need to keep our eyes on!

Balloon Festival

Melodie went down to Arizona over the weekend with some friends. They went to a hot air balloon festival on Saturday Nov 4th.

Don't you just love all the colors? 

So pretty! It would be fun to take the kids to one of these festivals some day. I'm not sure if this is the one she went to, but I just googled it. Yeah, this would be fun to do with the kids. 

On the way back after the festival, they went hiking - not sure where though.

(I'm waiting for Mel to reply about that)

But again - I loved the pictures that she took!! Doesn't this one look so cool?

Beautiful southwest desert. 

She also walked through this one muddy spot, and I congratulated her for doing it. I said I would have done it with her had I been there. It needed to be done, I commend her for making it happen.

Although I'm not sure how she finished the hike or if she was able to put her shoes back on with her feet covered in mud? I'm assuming she might have found water? I guess there is a river behind her here - 

And it would have taken water to make that mud, so hopefully she got it washed off. I shall ask her and update if I remember. But she's fun, I'm glad she was able to do that. I was jealous when I saw she was in Arizona. We need to take the kids there someday, cause that was where I served a mission! It is also just the next state over, compared to Chile where Corey served, and we've been able to make it there to his mission, some of the kids several times... seems like we should be able to make it to Arizona. Maybe we'll go in the winter sometime so we can go biking while Utah's mountains are trapped in snow. 

Time with the Littles

It was a busy Saturday morning with getting Abi and Lily off to GMS. Corey took them to the bus and I'm glad they didn't miss it today. They have missed it the past two weeks, and that usually throws everything off. So I made sure they were up earlier today. Then Owen had a trumpet group class in Sugarhouse at 11. Corey took Owen to that and I was home on kid duty. Cute Peter was asleep on our floor with his stuffed dinosaur Tiny. 

Katharine snuggled woke up and came for me to hold her, then fell back asleep on me. It was a rare treat. She'll fall asleep nursing, but not cuddling. 

Lunch time - Katharine and Peter eating Mac'n Cheese with Lucky the butterfly on Katharine's finger. 

Today two important things happened for the little boys. One milestone for Peter - Corey taught Peter how to ride a bike without training wheels, and Peter is already a pro!

And today also marks the beginning of Daniel's music career. We toyed a little bit with him doing trumpet with Owen, and he did a little bit with the pocket trumpet with me telling him what to do with my limited knowledge, but saxophone will be better. It will be good for Daniel and his personality to have a live in music teacher (aka his father.) So Corey spent some time teaching Daniel some things on the soprano sax. Daniel is a little Ethan, a bit spunky and independent, so Corey said he needs something to bond with him with when Daniel is a teenager. (Good job thinking ahead, sweetheart!) Corey and I weren't able to do a morning ride because of all that, but did sneak away this evening at 4:30 after Abi and Lily were back to watch the kids. We like the Little Cottonwood Creek. 

The internet connection isn't good up at the top, and I took a BeReal yesterday but it never uploaded, so my loyalty to BeReal is waning. I'm taking a technology stand: If I can't count on that app to capture the moments, I won't use it. So BeReal, you are warned. Thankfully we go up there a lot, so I told Corey we had to re-do it with the forward shot of the creek above and a selfie.

It was a good ride. I got some more PRs on the descent! It's getting less scary to go fast. It might also help that there are less people on the trail, so we don't have to slow down for them. After we got back, Wes Abi Lily Sophi and Natalie went to go see After Death for the 7:45 showing. Corey and I went and saw it last night with Wayne. It was pretty good. I'm sure the kids will like it. I think death experiences are super interesting. NDE books were the first ones that caught my interest when I started to read books. (I was not much of a reader in elementary school or jr. high, but started NDE books in high school and college). We have quite a collection and had a lot of the ones from people that were in the After Death movie. While the older kids were gone, we spent more time with the little kids. Corey played more saxophone with Daniel and taught Owen some jazz stuff on his trumpet. They are going to form a band - the O&D Brothers. I got ready for my Sunday school lesson tomorrow. It is my first time teaching the class of our fourteen 11 and 12 year old kids. I made some study journals for them and am hoping to encourage them (and being more regular myself) to really seeking answers and writing down impressions. 

After Death

Corey and I went and saw the movie "After Death" tonight and we liked it. Ethan told us to go see it after he and Mel went to see it in Provo. We invited Wayne to come with us and it was good. We've all read a lot of near death experience books, so nothing on there surprised us. Corey and I talked afterwards and he said he wished that they had gone a little deeper into some of the things they shared, but we get it - it was probably targeting a more skeptic audience and inviting them to believe in God and life after death. We aren't in that audience, cause we already believe in those things. Most of it was standard for us, but we were really intrigued by Howard Storm's story. He was the art professor who had a medical emergency while visiting France. His near death experience started with him actually going to hell! So that is really interesting! He was an athiest when he died but said he was rescued from hell by Jesus after praying to God. Very cool story. Now he is a Christian and an ordained minister. We hadn't heard of him before, but he has a book, so I ordered that tonight - My Descent Into Death. We're excited to read it! I want to really read a lot of books this next year. I have so many, I need to start getting through them. 

So going to that movie was the most exciting thing from today. We went out to eat at the strip mall close to our house, trying a few dishes from Vessel Kitchen, A Curry place, and a dessert at Nautical Bowls. It was good. Other than that, today I organized spices (after Katharine got into the Cumin on the bottom shelf - so I organized them and put them in boxes on a higher shelf so she can't get into them. She is very good at getting lids off of things (shampoo, pill bottles, spices, etc.) Peter had a friend come over to play today, and they sat at the back door eating from the bin of apples that they picked a week ago at my parents' house. 

It was cute to see them on that step. It was a perfect little bench for them. Zach put his arm around Peter, cute.

And I spent time today preparing for my lesson on Sunday. Used Teaching with Power's video for Hebrews as my guide. Good stuff. And our butterfly Lucky is doing good! Cute little bug.

Great Imitator

Yesterday, Corey was reading the Book of Mormon, and Katharine picked up her mini Book of Mormon and sat on his back. Precious.

There have been several moments like this recently, like when Katharine joined her siblings looking at Instagram reels last night.

Her little legs!!!

I saw Katharine sitting to watch a movie on the floor today, and it made me think of Sister Jones' talk "A Sin Resistant Generation". She shared an anonymously quote:

“Children are great imitators, so give them something great to imitate.”

She always sits there on the floor next to the ottoman, and she sits there because that is where I sit. I sit there during scriptures, cause the couch space is usually all taken by the time I arrive. Sometimes I'll kick a kid off of the ottoman if K is being fussy and I decide to nurse her. Anyway, I've noticed her sit down here as I've turned on movies a few times this past week - Peter Pan and Curious George are the two current favorites of Peter, and K likes them too. 

Today Owen didn't have trumpet, and Abi was home, so I took the opportunity for us to do back massages. We both did each other for 22 minutes, and it was great. And then Katharine came and imitated us. 

Oh, what I would give to have a back that was as unstressed as Katharine's back! How do I imitate that, Katharine??

I put Lucky (our pet butterfly) on my shirt, and K wanted to as well. 

She is precious. I hope we give her lots of great things to imitate and that she'll continue to learn and become a beautiful little human!