95 Days - Yoga, Phone, & New Shoes

Most of today was spent hanging out with Audrey around the house. We cleaned, did laundry, and played Polly Pockets. I did some yoga this morning. It felt so good to stretch. I need to do it more regularly.

Anyone who has known me a really long time knows that I hate to call people on the phone. Hate it. Today I had to call and set up visiting teaching appointments with people that I have barely met or have never met. I had to take a huge step out of my comfort zone. But I did it and I survived.

After Family Home Evening, I took the boys shopping. William needs new shoes. They didn't have his size in the style that he likes, so they are on hold at a nearby shoe store and we will get them tomorrow. We ran over to Target for some groceries. It was fun to hang out with my boys. They are growing up way too fast.

96 Days, New Temple, & Fall Leaves

A bit tired today. I have been up with poor Sophie and a bloody nose the last two nights. Hopefully tonight will be different.

This morning, Sophie, the boys, and I attended the televised dedication of the Brigham City Temple. It was a nice meeting. We attended the temple open house a few weeks ago. It was beautiful. While in Brigham City, we stopped at Aunt Pennie's house for a visit and had a great time. She and Dennis have collected a lot of interesting things over the years. The kids loved checking things out and eating all of the yummy treats that she offered. We also bought a box of delicious peaches. Here are a couple of pictures in front of the temple.

We drove up to Snow Basin Ski Resort this afternoon to look at the beautiful fall leaves. It was gorgeous. The weather was perfect. We had a little picnic. We took a few pictures. I love this time of year.

97 Days & Back to School

Well, I was not so productive on the 97th day until my 40th birthday. I took William to his soccer game this morning. I wasn't sure if he would be able to play in his walking boot. But he wanted to and they let him. He played three of the four quarters. He can't run as well as usual but he got a few good kicks in. The doctor said he could do whatever he wants, as long as he wears the boot. I will have to get a picture next week. We stopped at the library to return books and checked out a couple of dvds. Then I took Will to where they were taking team pictures. We hung out at home the rest of the afternoon. Vince and I just got back from a faculty dinner party for his department. He works with a lot of nice people. We had a good time. We hadn't been out without the kids for quite a while.

I downloaded some recent pictures from the camera today. Here are the kids on the first day of school. Landon is in eighth grade this year. His public junior high requires uniforms, which explains the polo shirt. He is otherwise strictly a t-shirt guy. William is in fifth grade. And Sophie is in third. Audrey is home with me, so she is wearing her nightgown in these pictures. She did a little pre-school last year but we haven't found one here yet, and so she is just staying home with mom. We put together puzzles, play memory match, read books, build with blocks, and call this our home pre-school. The picture of the four of them is in our front yard. The picture of Landon is on our back patio and shows our lovely view. I will have to take another picture when the light is better. It was the trees and the views that sold us on this house.

98 Days & Baby Charlotte

Counting today, there are only 98 days until I turn 40. Aging has not been a big deal to me in the past. But this looming 40th birthday has been weighing on my mind lately. I feel like I should have things figured out a little better by now. I am still not really sure what I want to do when I grow up, and here I am middle-aged. But you know, those birthdays come, ready or not. So, I have some goals in mind for these next 14 weeks. I want to get in better shape. I gained at least 20 pounds this summer. Moving is stressful! I want to update our new home, that is still sporting 1978 decor. And I want to do this on a very limited budget. Moving is expensive! I want to figure out how to use the nice camera that I bought about five years ago, and take more pictures of my kids that are growing up way too fast. I have a few other goals in mind too. And I plan to blog about them all right here. So maybe when I turn 40, I can look back on the last 98 days and see that I do stuff beyond dishes and laundry.

When I took the time to calculate that there are 98 days until my birthday this morning, I thought that I should have counted them up two days ago. Then I could have set goals for a nice even 100 days. But I didn't. But I will update what the last couple of days have entailed. So I will have a history of the last 100 days of my 30s. Working on my family history and my personal history are on my to-do list as well.

I spent most of Wednesday, the 100th day, with my sister Kellie, her sweet new baby Charlotte, my cute little Audrey, and my mom. It was a good day. We did some shopping. My mom bought me some great smelling soap and some new earrings. She bought Audrey some paper dolls. We shared a yummy lunch. And my favorite part, we snuggled and cuddled this cute new baby. Wednesday evening, we all went to a Boy Scout Court of Honor. Landon conducted and he did a great job. He also received a few merit badges. He has great Scout Leaders.

Thursday, the 99th day, I went up to Weber State for a writing assessment. I applied to the Masters of Education Program there a while back. The next step was this writing assessment and then I'll have an interview with the Education Department in a few weeks. We'll see what happens. I hadn't written an essay in fourteen years. I was pretty nervous but thought that I did OK. Later that day, I took William to the doctor. His foot had been hurting him for a week. They took some x-rays and found that he has a fracture. So, he is in a boot for at least a few weeks. This is a bummer because he has really been enjoying soccer lately, both at recess and the community youth league. But that is how it goes sometimes. Hopefully he will be healed and ready to run again soon.

Today, the 98th day, was pretty relaxed. While the kids were at school, Audrey and I cleaned and ran to Ross. I had bought Landon a dress shirt at Ross last December when we were in town for Christmas. He didn't like it and I didn't have time to return it. So I left it with Kellie to return after we were gone. Well, everyone forgot about it and it just re-surfaced, still in the bag, a few weeks ago. I saw it at Kellie's on Wednesday and thought that I would try to return it now and see what happens. I was surprised and thrilled when they took it back with a receipt that showed it was purchased over nine months ago. Now I have some credit that I get to spend at Ross. Woohoo. I spent the afternoon hurrying to get Landon ready for a Scout Campout. Then the other kids and I went to the bank, picked Vince up from work, got ice-cream cones at Artic Circle, and played at a park in South Weber. We also drove on what I believe is the only toll road in the beautiful state of Utah. It is called Adams Avenue Parkway. It cost us a dollar. It was a nice little road.

Missionaries & Lazy Morning

One thing that we will really miss when we move back to Utah is having the missionaries over for dinner. We have been blessed with Elder Scobes and Elder Hall lately. They are great and have shared some really fun lessons with the kids.

School is out and the other morning, when I came out of my room, I found all four kids reading in the living room. The boys have been enjoying the Fablehaven Series. Sophie just finished The BFG and is starting Despereaux. Audrey had a stack of Dr. Seuss. I am so glad that my kids enjoy reading. It is quiet and doesn't make a mess. (And it is probably good for their brain development or something like that too. LOL)

Dance, Scouts, Friends, News

Sophie has loved taking a ballet class this year. Her recital was on Saturday and she danced beautifully.

William earned his Arrow of Light Award in Cub Scouts this week. His expression in these pictures doesn't show it, but Will really does like Scouts. This first picture is with Sister Kelli Holman. Kelli loves Cub Scouts and I love her for that. She has been a tremendous help to Landon and William and a dear friend. The second is with Zach and Mikey, two Scout friends.

Sophie was only two years old when we moved here. Hannah and Eliza are wonderful friends that she has grown up with that she will miss terribly. Amber (Eliza's mom) was nice enough to help them make pen-pal kits to stay in touch and take them on an adventure to a peony farm nearby. The second picture includes Audrey and Yvy. Such pretty girls!

I am hoping to take more pictures the next several days and blog about all of the wonderful things that we will miss about our little Missouri town. But I also have to pack up the entire house, so we will see how far I get. We have had a great six-year adventure here. Vince was released as the Branch President today. It was a good meeting. The Spirit was there. He served just over four years. I know that we will remember this time and the friends that we have made here with such fondness. The people of the Maryville Branch are truly some of the best people that we have had the pleasure of knowing and loving.

A New Year

Last year, I wrote two blog posts. I have a lofty goal of blogging more frequently this year. I am sure that our life isn't completely boring, yet when I think of blogging, I can't think of anything that we are doing that seems all that interesting. Guess we've got to spice things up around here or just pay better attention to the wonders and beauty of our everyday life, and attempt to document them.

I did get two cute pictures of Audrey and her pre-school friends from one of her teachers today. I have to say that the boys are not carrying their fair share of the domestic duties at pre-school.