'Tis that Time of Year

Spring is springing and so footballs are flying around here. Chandler asked to do flag football again this year, in hopes of participating in tackle this fall. I'm still not sure how that will work out...we shall see. So, Scott is his coach and this is really a good experience for all. The team is full of excited, somewhat distractable, boys who are eager to learn. Chandler scored a touchdown in the first game. Scott has been working on plays and ways to keep the boys focused. It is a good time. If you want to join the fun plan on coming to a game on a Thursday night or Saturday afternoon. All games are held at the Dimple Dell Rec Center on 10600 S. and 1000 E. The remaining dates are:
4/30  12 pm
5/5    6:30 pm
5/7    1:00 pm
5/12  6:30 pm
5/14  12 pm
Bring a chair and enjoy the game!

Almost Done with Scouts, Boy Scouts That Is!

Yes, it's true, Cub Scouts is almost at an end around here. At least for seven more years. Chandler is moving on to Boy Scouts in less than two weeks. I guess that's what happens when boys will not stop growing. Chandler has had some really great Cub Scout leaders the past four years. I really appreciate all that they have taught him, all the time they spend preparing and spending with the scouts, and their endless amount of patience and love for the boys. With encouragement from many Chandler did earn his Arrow of Light. It is an award that takes some work to get. He completed eight activity badges, memorized the Scout Oath of Promise, motto, slogan, sign, salute, and handshake. He did this along with a few other requirements. I'm really proud of him. I look forward to his continuing to grow into a great Scout as he moves forward. Great job Kiddo!

We Did It!

We have been reading the Book of Mormon together for a few years, trying to fit it in each night. It started when Chandler was in 2nd grade, we would each read a little at a time. As Chandler has gotten older, we have read more, to the point of a chapter a day. Yes, our reading together was a little spotty. It seemed difficult to really get into a routine together, especially with the every other week interruption of Chandler not being home. About six months ago, though, I really felt a strong impression to change our routine with reading. From that time on we set a plan to read every weekday morning at 8 am. It worked! We did just that, practically every morning. It really blessed our family to make the day go well and allow us to feel the spirit more fully. We set a goal the beginning of this year to finish our reading by Chandler's birthday--which is May 9th. We met our goal ahead of time by reading the last two chapters in Moroni on Easter. This was Chandler's idea and he was excited and insistent on reading the last verse of Moroni 10. It really has been a great experience for our little family. We often had great discussions about what we read and what we believe. Chandler knows a lot about the gospel and is so interested in learning more. He is such a good example to me of how I can truly be "like a child." When I send Chandler back to his other house on Mondays I always feel he is a little more prepared because we read the scriptures together as family. This often speaks peace to my heart. We did take President Hinckley's challenge seriously way back when, we did the best we could, and feel very blessed because of it. We are excited to start our study again!

Minnie, Mickey, and Us

We decided to surprise Chandler with a trip to Disneyland over Spring Break. Thanks to Scott's hard work we were able to make the little week long trip. We drove straight to the airport with Chandler after picking him up on Monday, bags were packed and in the trunk. We were wearing our Mickey Mouse tees and hat and his mouse ears were waiting for him in the car. Our flight was full but on time and Watson was a rock star during the short trip. Chandler was the perfect big brother in letting Watson take over the window seat to stay entertained. We headed to the hotel Monday night and got everything ready for our first day in Disneyland the next morning.

Chandler's deal for the trip was to smile for every  picture! He was smiling anyway so it was a small price to pay.

First day of Disneyland, we were all excited!

I had a flash forward of seeing this same look on his face in five short years...behind the wheel of a real car.

Watson was great at napping the stroller when he tuckered out. Perfect little traveler for The Happiest Place on Earth.

It's a Small World was fun for everyone--well, Chandler was a good sport about the kiddie rides.

On the Choo-Choo, one of Watson's favorites.

Watson was so excited when he saw the train, he couldn't contain himself.

We rode the Winnie the Pooh ride at least a dozen times, maybe more.

After three days of Disneyland, we ended our vacation with a relaxing day at Newport Beach. The weather was nice, around mid 70's. Scott and Chandler braved the water while Watson and I hung out on the beach. Scott did take the boys looking for crabs in the tide pools among the rock barriers. Now when Watson sees crabs at The Living Planet Aquarium he points and says "dad, dada, dad." Watson loved the sand and found sticks and shells to dig with. I relaxed and got a funny little sunburn, from the rolled up pant shins to my toes. I'm still sporting the tan lines. This was a great little trip for our family. It was so nice to be away from the norm and relax with just each other. I loved to watch Chandler and Watson and Scott get so excited as we went from ride to ride. I'm so grateful we had this time together. 

Holy Smokes!

WOW! Chandler has been busy, busy, busy! This past month:

He earned his Webelos badge for Scouts. He is looking forward to getting his Arrow of Light. He is pretty close.

He also advanced to District, Region, and now State for his Reflections project. See video--I love his collaborative effort with Dad.

He completed his Science Fair project and is now moving on to District with it.

Yes, he is a great kid. I love that he is willing to put in effort to accomplish his goal or assignment (combined with gentle parental nudging.) He is creative and particular with how he wants things. And, he really wants to do a good job.

Congrats, Chandler, on all your hard work and efforts! Great job Kiddo!

Wonder Woman

It has been 7 days, officially. My mom has been in the hospital since last Tuesday. She went in because of massive pain in her abdomen and bowel area. We found out she had a small bowel obstruction. It was likely caused by adhesion (scar tissue) from an appendectomy or hysterectomy. Any way you look at it, it isn't a good thing. At first I joked with her about the pain--could it be that bad? was it gas? did she eat something she shouldn't have? I just couldn't believe it was as serious as it was. After several days of attempting to work it out on its own, the doctor did surgery. Everything went well and the fix for the problem was much smaller than originally thought possible. She still has quite a process for recovery as her body relearns to digest properly.
This experience has really made me think more about my mom--the original Wonder Woman. She is strong. Really strong. I've always expected that she would recover from anything, and she has. I have never considered that something could really stop her from being her. But, something can. However, it isn't this experience. She is going to recover. She is going to get stronger. She is going to continue on being the great mother, grandmother, aunt, friend, RS President, wedding doer (who state she doesn't do weddings), that she always has been. I realized I need and want to be more sensitive to her when her "powers" are lacking and really be as supportive as possible. I hope to someday be the Wonder Woman she is.

My Best Gift

I can't wait until Spring! Or at least, I can't wait until I can ride my new present! I've been wanting one of these since my mom got one three years ago. It must be the romantic in me that sees myself riding along to the market without a care in the world. The little basket on the front really does make my dream come true. Thanks, honey, for my best gift!

New Year's Fun

I've discovered celebrating the New Year is more fun with kids than not. Chandler loves the idea of getting together with others and staying up until midnight to say GOODBYE to the old and HELLO to the new. So, Scott and I hosted and played the part of having a HAPPY NEW YEAR with Chandler and most of his cousins.  All the kids (minus Tori, who is 12 and had her own plans, and Nicole, who is 3 months and wanted to be with mom) came over for dinner, games, and a little bit of fun. We started off the night with play dough and coloring and Shirley Temples. This was followed with mini pizzas or mac and cheese. Promptly after we all burned up energy with balloon volleyball and musical chairs. After a couple rounds of Red Light, Green Light and Simon Says the older kids played the Wii while the two little girls enjoyed a movie. We then ate yummy "Smith" brownies with ice cream and sprinkles and capped it all off with poppers and noisemakers at 10 pm. I'm still picking up confetti from the sidewalk. The kids got picked up by parents shortly after and Chandler got a little sleepover with Stratton. He did insist on staying up until midnight--and fell to sleep immediately after. It was a great night with fun for everyone. Thankfully Watson slept through it all.

Together We Can...

This year's Reflections Theme is "Together We Can..." Chandler decided to make another movie. He and Scott put together a little film about making work fun. They did a great job and Chandler was able to move on to the District level. He passed that and now his little movie is being judged at the Regional level. Great job Chandler for working so hard on this!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Every year we put up a fresh tree. Scott is finally seeing my way of thinking when it comes to tree selection. It needs to be full, but not too full, and have "shelves" for perfect ornament placement. This year, our tree was perfect! And, I remembered to keep water in it on a regular basis. Our living room smelled Heavenly for three weeks. Scott is such a good sport to take care of the setting up and lights. It is always so fun to decorate it as a family.

Chandler did a great job dividing the ornaments and checking the lights. He even hid the pickle (for good luck) this year. I didn't find it until I put all of the ornaments and lights away!  He loves talking about when and where we got each ornament and the special story behind it. When he put the Disneyland globe on this year he made it a point that we haven't been back.  Someday...

 Notice the lack of ornaments on the lower branches and missing presents? Yep, we had a curious 1 year old this year. Watson did a pretty good job leaving the tree alone--except for the little red basket light covers and one red beanie baby teddy bear. He loved to look at the lights and it seemed he knew the tree meant something special.

 Christmas Day came on the 27th for us. Chandler was at his other house until then so things were pretty relaxed.  He had a pretty big pile of presents and it was fun to see his excitement while he unwrapped everything. He got some big gifts from Santa and Mom and Dad--a new unicycle, a microscope, and a giant K'Nex roller coaster. The next day I didn't see Chandler until about 2:00 pm. He holed himself up in his room to build the roller coaster and "survived" on the candy in his stocking.

 Watson got a slide and scooter from Santa and some other fun trucks and toys from Mom and Dad. The candy was new and exciting and if you really want to be his best friend, just give him a ring pop.

 Nana Wood gave Chandler a telescope. He was so excited to use it! He put it together that night and set it up in the kitchen to look at the moon out the window. He did discover, though, it is best used outside.

 I surprised Scott with a gift for an introductory scuba dive at the Homestead Crater. He loves snorkeling and has always wanted to learn how to dive so I thought he could try it out in some warm water nearby. We stayed at the Homestead a couple of weeks later for our Anniversary and he did the dive then. He loved it and is planning to take additional courses to get certified. I may join him and then plan a trip to Mexico, or something.

It was fantastic to spend some quiet time for Christmas this year. We didn't have many places to go so we really enjoyed our time as a family.

We hope your Christmas was as nice as ours!