Goat Rock!!

Last Saturday Jacen went on an excursion to the Santa Cruz mountains to climb Goat Rock! The weather was perfect and he had a lot of fun. It was difficult and Jacen did a great job! It is an annual tradition and I am thinking of going next year!!

Poor Beetle

When I picked up Gavin from preschool today, Gavin saw a beetle on the sidewalk. He thought it was so cute and he stroked it's little back, petting it. He spent several minutes observing it and then said, "Little beetle, go find your mommy!" Then we left the beetle to walk over to the playground. After playing for a while, we walked again past the place where the beetle had been and Gavin saw it squished on the sidewalk. He was very upset and sad that it had gotten squished. Tears started to form in his sweet little eyes. I felt so sorry for him. So, to people everywhere, watch out for little bugs! They may have captured a little boys heart!

Ward Talent Night Pictures!

Thanks to a lady in our ward, I have a couple pictures to post from the ward talent night!


Too bad I don't have any of Linnea playing. I will have to remember my camera next time!

Ward Talent Night

Last night was our ward talent night and we had so much fun. I forgot my camera so I couldn't take any pictures; however, I wanted to at least write about it. Linnea has been taking piano lessons just since January and she played a piano piece entitled "Quiet River" so perfectly. I was so proud of her to be so brave. Jacen played a couple of songs on his trumpet from Lord of the Rings and one from Star Wars. Then Jacen and I played the Star Wars love theme song, "Across the Stars." I LOVED playing with him. I wouldn't have thought the trumpet and flute would really sound great together but I thought the two instruments played well together and I had fun playing with him. I'm so proud of him and all the practicing he has been doing. Then I played a solo arrangement on my flute. It was a great opportunity to perform. We loved watching the other performers as well. Our ward has so much talent in it!

Pretty Flowers for Mom

I feel like a most loved mother. My kitchen counters are always adorned with beautiful flowers picked so lovingly by my children. As I'm washing the dishes or making dinner, I love to see them and think about Gavin's little fist clinging to a clump of flowers picked just for me. I feel so grateful for my children and the different ways they show their love.

Jacen shows me he loves me through his obedience and determination to do what is right. He also loves to cuddle with me while we read in the evening. I hope he never outgrows that. I feel like I want to bottle up all his love and sweetness in case I need it when he's sixteen. Or maybe I'll just be lucky and have a sixteen year old who loves me and will show it?? He is so good and a great example to me in so many ways! I truly believe he is my son to teach me important and eternal things. I love him so much.

Linnea is the sweetest girl. I tell her constantly that I'm so grateful for her! She shows me her love in the small and large ways she obediently helps me and even steps in to help when it is not asked. She quietly observes what needs to be done and quietly goes about helping. I don't remember ever asking her to do something when she didn't happily and immediately do it. She is gentle and compassionate. When she says her prayers, she often asks Heavenly Father to please bless all the children in the world. She truly thinks of all the children in the world. She is the most wonderful peacemaker. She prays for peace in our home and works towards that in everything she says and does. I love Linnea so much.

Gavin is my extreme one. Everything he does, he does it ALL the way! My job is to try to channel that in the RIGHT way. He is so affectionate and loving toward me. He curls up in my lap and kisses me and hugs me and says, "Mommy, I want to marry you!" Then exclaims, "Why did you marry Daddy??" He is so serious! I tell him, "We'll be together forever." He is pretty happy with that response. I want him to cuddle up with me forever and find refuge in my arms. I guess that is the dilemma that mothers have. We want our children to grow and mature and sometimes I even want a little freedom, but I don't want to lose them. I wonder if that is how Heavenly Father felt as we came down to Earth to grow and mature and have experiences. He probably yearns for us, wanting so badly for us to be obedient so that he doesn't "lose" us.

I am so grateful for motherhood. I feel honored that Heavenly Father has entrusted with me three strong and valient and sweet children.

Recycling News

Hello! Just a tid bit of information that I thought I would pass on! Did you know to take off the lids of your water bottles before recycling? A friend of mine watched the show "Dirty Jobs" when the guy went to a recycling plant. They learned that if the lids are not taken off, they let the bottle pass on and it doesn't get recycled! The reason is because the lids and bottles need to be recycled separately and they view it as too time consuming to try to unscrew them. All of my hard work in saving my bottles and trying to do the Earth some good has been in vain! So--take off the lids!!

Family Trip to the Oakland Temple

We recently took a family temple trip to the Oakland temple. It was so great to be there as a family. It was our ward temple day and our Bishop arranged with the temple president to have a chapel session with the children as well. It was nice to have the children included in part of it. Then it was also Jacen's first time inside the temple since he was four, so that was memorable too. It was a beautiful day and of course the grounds were beautiful. I am so grateful that we have a temple on the Earth and one so near our home. I have a renewed goal to visit more often. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to go and thus be sealed enabling me to be with my family for eternity. I love my family so much. I don't want to spend eternity without any one of them.

We have had some great weather (off and on with some cold) and have taken advantage of it. I am determined that when it's warm and sunny, I drop the dishes and laundry and we walk to the beach. It's so fun for the chidren and so relaxing for me! I love, love, love the ocean. I feel so at home at the oceanside.













This was a huge jellyfish right at the water's edge. It was very cool to look at. We have never seen one at this particular beach but have seen lots of them washed up on the sand at a different beach across town. It stayed around long enough for us to look at it a few minutes and then it floated back out with the tide.




Jacen had a blast with the skim board. They are so much fun!

Funny Story--Mom's MUST read

THE NEXT SURVIVOR TELEVISION SERIES
Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each for
six weeks.

Each kid will play two sport s and either take music or dance classes.

There is no fast food.

Each man must take care of his 3 kids; keep his assigned house clean, correct
all homework, complete science projects, cook, do laundry, and pay a list of
"pretend" bills with not enough money.

In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week.

Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives, and
send cards out on time.

Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment, a dentist
appointment and a haircut appointment . He must make one unscheduled and
inconvenient visit per child to the Urgent Care (weekend, evening, on a holiday
or right when they're about to leave for vacation). He must also make cookies
or cupcakes for a social function.

Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting
flowers outside and keeping it presentable at all times.

The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all
chores are done.

Each father will be required to know all of the words to every song that
comes on TV and the name of each and every character on cartoons.

Each man will have to make an Indian hut model with six toothpicks, a tortilla
and one marker; and get a 4 year old to eat a serving of peas.

Each man must adorn himself with jewelry, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes,
keep their nails polished and eyebrows groomed. The men must try to get through
each day without snot, spit-up or barf on their clothing.

During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal
cramps, back aches, and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once
complain or slow down from other duties. They must try to explain what a tampon
is for when the 6-yr old boy finds it in the purse.

They must attend weekly school meetings, church, and find time at least once to
spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting.

He will need to read a book to the children each night without falling asleep,
and then feed them, dress them, brush their teeth and comb their hair each
morning by 7:00. They must leave the home with no food on their face or clothes.

A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be
required to know all of the following information: each child's birthday, height, weight, shoe size, clothes size and doctor's name. Also the child's weight at
birth, length, time of birth, and length of labor, each child's favorite colour,
middle name, favorite snack, favorite song, favorite drink, favorite toy,
biggest fear and what they want to be when they grow up.

They must clean up after their sick children at 2:00 a.m. and then spend the
remainder of the day tending to that child and waiting on them hand and foot
until they are better.

They must have a loving, age appropriate reply to, "You're not the boss of me".

The kids vote them off the island based on performance. The last man wins only
if...he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment's
notice.

A friend emailed this to me a while back and I have kept it to laugh over. I thought it worthy of posting--at least it's worth a good laugh and actually helps a mother to feel a little better about herself when so much is expected!

Happy Birthday Grama!

Happy Birthday to Grama Shirley! Grama and Grampa came over on Grama's birthday to celebrate with us! First we met them at the lighthouse and enjoyed touring it and learning about it. It was very interesting. Later that evening we went out to dinner to an Italian restaurant for a birthday dinner, and then back to Great-Grampa's house for dessert. Tera made an apple pie and I made a pumpkin pie. Jacen, Linnea and Gavin were so excited to give her the presents they made. They went to a ceramics shop and each picked out a piece to paint for her. A week later they were fired and glazed and ready to wrap up for Grama's birthday. Jacen painted a vase in which he put some flowers. Linnea painted a cute kitten figurine that looks like our cat, Sunflower. Gavin painted a salad plate with a big spider in the middle and red polka dots. They loved making and giving their gifts to her. They love their Grama so much! She is so much fun and loves to spend time with her grandchildren. Happy Birthday!