Our Mini Vacation!

Our family went on a little excursion....over a month ago.....to Salt Lake. We had a really fun time and were able to do lots of interesting and fun things!! We were able to have Jed's Grandma come with us and that made the trip extra special. We stayed in a Condo down there and Grandma insisted on sleeping on the couch. We tried to get her to take the room, but she was immovable. Drew and Madelyn wanted to "camp out" with Grandma in the living room, so they were able to have some good late night chats!! :)

We didn't waste any time when we were there, we were constantly going. Grandma was amazing and always said she was doing just fine! We took tours of several of the buildings there, this picture is of little exhausted Hannah and I on top of the Conference Center. That building is SO impressive. The gardens on top of the building have grown so much since the last time I saw them. I've taken a tour of the building before, but you learn new things every time and just get re-amazed.

In a couple of the buildings we toured they had children's play areas. This is the one at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Hannah loved this little red car, it's not the best picture, but it shows her enthusiasm! While we were at this building we watched the amazing film "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration." We also learned about and got to play around with the new family search program. Amazing!! It shows your family line with all the information INCLUDING whether they have had all their temple work done. Everything is in ONE place! It hasn't quite made it to our area yet, but we are anxiously awaiting!

As for this picture, just call me Robert Boyd! Ha!

We got to ride the Tram downtown to go to the Gateway Mall. The ride over there was a blast. The kids loved it, they were so excited to ride the "train." Grandma had always wanted to ride the Tram too. At the Gateway Mall they have a lot of outdoor water fountains that you can play in. The kids had a lot of fun, and of course Jed wouldn't let me stay dry!! It felt great to cool off!

Drew's favorite part of the whole trip was getting to touch the temple, seriously!! If you ask that is what he will tell you. It was fun to see the temple because we had been reading about church history for months and had been teaching the kids some of the things we learned. It was neat because the temple meant something to them. Did you know at one of the S.L. Temple dedication a woman delivered a baby in the temple? That was one of the crazy facts we learned in one of our FHE lessons. The baby was blessed in the temple later and named "Joseph Temple Bennett." :)

It was such an amazing trip. We're so glad we were able to go. It is just so nice to get away and do fun things with the family, even if it is just a few hours away!!

InSuLaTiOn!!

We got our insulation in!! It was the first official job that we hired out, and we're glad we did because they did a great job. We got the house all ready for sheetrock now, so pretty soon our house is going to actually look like a HOUSE!! I can't believe it.

Finally, a chance to put my training and skills to the test!!!

Anyone who knows even remotely well knows I have a passion for the cool creamy treat, ice cream. I have eaten half gallons at a time, eaten my whole day's worth of calories in one sitting with my delicious friend Ben&Jerry's, taste tested pretty much every brand of ice cream, and even formally celebrated National Ice Cream Day (which if any of you wondered is THIS WEEK!!) complete with a party, games, and of course the eating of it. Well, the day of my dreams came to town last week. All of the best ice creameries in town came to one central location and for one small fee, you could have ALL the ice cream your heart desired!!!!!! This opportunity was not going to slip away from me!! I looked forward to this for WEEKS I tell you. And last Saturday I was able to pull out all the stops and let myself go to town eating all the ice cream I could manage to down in a couple of hours. It was GREAT!!

Don't let this picture fool you. The fact that Madelyn is in the picture does not mean I had any help whatsoever in emptying 10 cups of ice cream. My friend Kristin--who is pregnant mind you--did a pretty good job of keeping up with me. I knew I would probably scare her with my capabilities. I think she had about 9, but couldn't keep it down after she got home..... I didn't have that trouble. In fact what I really needed was a good steak--random I know-- and I could have even gone for more. It was just so much sugar all at once that I had a hankering for some excellent grilled red meat. When I got home I grilled some burgers and was really ready for more ice cream!! Next year, and I do think this will actually become an annual event, I will know to bring a few BBQ ribs in my purse to really prove what I can do.

So the breakdown, if anyone was curious of what this ice cream connoisseur's impressions were, is as follows:

#1 Reed's Dairy

You just can't beat the creamy-ness of their ice cream!! SO good. Now if they could offer their ice cream so you could personalize it with whatever you wanted, that would be a knockout!!

#2 Coldstone Creamery

This was a close second. The trouble here was that obviously they couldn't cart all possible creations to this event. They just had 3 of their flavor concoctions available. Cake batter ice cream was one of them, which is my personal favorite, but they also put about a pound of sprinkles in it along with the chocolate cake peices...I'm just not a fan of waxy sprinkles.....

#3 Sub Zero Ice Cream

Sub Zero is just so cool because of the way they make their ice cream. Plus you can cater it to how you like it with all the flavorings and toppings, but the creamy-ness factor was a little shy of its potential.

#4 Sarah's Candy Cottage

Actually an ice cream I was not familiar with before this event!! They only had two flavor offerings of their gelato: Pistachio and Coffee. I opted for Pistachio and it was surprisingly good. I think they only put milk and eggs in it and flavorings of course, but it was pretty creamy. They just needed a chocolate flavor or a strawberry cheesecake would have been delicious....

#5 Sundae's Eats and Treats (Leatherby's)

Now before you scoff at why they are so far down on the list, let me explain: if you have ever been here you know it is delicious!! But it is their sauces that make their ice cream soar. Their hot fudge and carmel sauce are to die for. But when they just served me a cup of their plain old ice cream, it was lacking.

#6 Farr's Ice Cream

They offered one of my favorite flavors--which I hadn't seen all day: mint cookie. It was pretty good. Farr's isn't near as creamy as Reed's. But they do serve this ice cream at the gas station on the way to Swan Valley, which when we visit, this stuff always hits the spot. Just put next to the big guys of ice cream......they don't quite make the cut.

All in all it was an awesome event with some great offerings. Now I can just focus my efforts on what I really LOVE next time. If anyone would like to go against me in an all-you-can-eat contest next year: BRING IT ON!! :)

Disclaimer

In my last post I wrote about so many positive things that are happening in our family because that is what I want to remember. Things definitely don't always run so smoothly, trust me. Being a mom is the most difficult thing I've ever done, but it is also the most rewarding. I appreciate Elder Ballard's counsel in the conference address directed to young mothers, "recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction." Very true, that is why I want to try to capture those moments!

Somethings better than nothing...right?

Ok, so I just decided to write a post and forgo the pictures. I just have to eliminate one step or this just will get left by the wayside! Hopefully a temporary thing though.... It seems like our family has been busy lately, as I'm sure all families are! So I will just give the lowdown on what everyone has been up to:
Jed has been working hard on our house. We are actually going to hire out the insulating and the sheetrock, which will SPEED things right up!! I actually am having to choose paint colors fairly soon!!! Yikes! The house looks so good with everything Jed has done, now I'm scared my decorating and color scheming are not going to be up to par! Jed is the hardest worker I know and is such a good example to me. He puts his all into everything he does. I LOVE YOU hun--sorry, I wasn't trying to turn this into a tribute, just an update, but when you love your hubby and talk about the things he is doing for his family...its natural.
I have been having fun with our kids doing our thing. Some of our area schools have had a free lunch program for kids 1-18 so the kids and I have been visiting our school for free lunch together. It's been way fun. Another bonus: One less meal I have to prepare and clean!! Two thumbs WAY up. We also headed out to our movie theater last week and enjoyed a free show: The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. I love Veggie Tales, always have....even before I was a mom.... :) It has just been so fun to be with my kids and to do something we don't usually do together. Basically I have just been trying to keep up with everything and everyone around me!

Drew is doing great and has made a lot of progress in what he is learning. He just started to read a couple of verses at scripture time for us--of course there are lots of words he has never seen, but he does his best and sounds everything out. Best of all, he LOVES to do it!! Also last week Drew vacuumed our house 3 times. This was like a blessing from heaven!! Especially because he has offered to do it. I tell you what, that really is a HUGE help to me. I'm sure the new-ness of being able to do BIG chores will wear off, but for now I'm LOVIN it! (No I haven't been to McDonald's recently)...

Madelyn also accomplished something big, she can now write her name all by HERSELF. She is really doing well with identifying the letters and numbers too. She really wants to read like Drew, but she always tells me she already knows how. She is my little miss RED personality. The other day she surprised Drew and cleaned up all of his stuff. She was so happy and so was I! It just makes a mother so happy to see her kids serving each other. She performed a ballet recital for me the other day, so I cheered when she was done and said "Bravo!!" Then she told me it was my turn....so I got up and did my ballet debut (sorry everyone missed it!) and then she gave me raving reviews or "Bravo" right back. It was cute.

Hannah, she is changing so much!!! She has been scootching since last month and now she gets up on her hands and knees for a little while and then reverts back to the scootch. She also is sitting up, yes that came long after she scootched around the house. Hannah is my mover. She cannot hold still. Jed likes to say that I put caffeine in her milk! She can also be very loud and loves to have contests to see who has the most wind. She is our baby of many faces: monster baby (think of king kong in the world of blocks), police baby (Drew pushes her in her police car..the laundry basket and she gives Madelyn and I tickets. She even holds a police badge), and super baby complete with cape and special glasses. It is so fun when all of us are playing something together! Hannah also loves when I play fiddle songs on the violin, she just starts shaking her arm and laughing, very cute.

Congratulations on making it through the LARGEST NO PICTURE POST EVER!! I have to admit it was more for my sake than anyone elses. A lot has been going on that I had to write down before I forgot!!

A BIG Congrats goes to:

My brother-in-law Troy and my niece Becca on their graduations!!! You both are stellar individuals and we're so lucky to call you family!!

Troy--we're so impressed with the person you have become! I still remember when Jed and I were dating and I was able to go to your ordination to become a deacon and receive the priesthood. I was amazed at how seriously you took that step in your life, even at 12 years old. And it hasn't stopped there. You are an amazing example of dedication to the most important things in life. I've seen you arrive to church WAY early to take care of your priesthood responsibilities. I've admired your hard work in many areas including make your own lathe--which is amazing. Just want you to know we love you!

Becca--I can't believe that cute little baby girl I used to babysit is graduating!! I can't believe that I have children that are the same age that I remember you being just yesterday......You have become such a talented, intelligent, and fun girl! You've obviously worked very hard and been able to maintain amazing grades while being involved in so many different things. Congratulations on your scholarships! You are an exemplary person and we wish you the very best as you move up and on with your life!

CONGRATULATIONS AND GOOD LUCK WITH ALL THE FUTURE BRINGS YOU!

Family Fun

We had a lot of fun with our family the other weekend. We found a really fun place for a picnic. We had gotten some little fishing nets that CAL-Ranch gave out for free that Drew and Madelyn wanted to test out. No such luck on the fish, but they were able to clean out some ponds of their dead fall leaves!

Jed has been doing some work out of town and Drew was given the responsibility of being the "Man of the House." I was reminded of this often..... He was in charge of Family Home Evening and also assigning prayers. Then one day I was helping Madelyn with something and Drew decided it was time for lunch. I told him I would get to it in a minute. I came out and found this: Drew had cooked us all lunch!! It was a quesadilla with two slices of american cheese inside. Drew got four slices and Madelyn and I got two apiece. And we got a Go-Gurt. I loved it. This same day I had been trying to figure out why Hannah was so upset. I said " I don't know what the matter is.." Madelyn took this opportunity and said "Let me tell you something about babies mom. Sometimes babies wake up...and their bottoms are sore." Also, Hannah had decided this day that she didn't want me to feed her anything, including milk. She would handle everything herself. I began to think, what is my role here again? My kids are so self-sufficient!...

This is us at the same picnic I talked about before. It was such a beautiful day! We had a blast.

On Memorial Day weekend our family went on a little excursion. We went to Jed's family's cabin. We went on a fun four-wheeler ride with the kids, Drew and Jed went fishing with no luck, and we just had a good time. It was great. When we got home and Jed was unloading all the gear, the kids were loading up the trailer with their own kind of "toys." I thought it was pretty cute. To sum everything up can I just say that we LOVE the sunshine?!!


I also just have to write this down before I forget. The kids said the funniest thing the other day.

Madelyn: Dad is it tomorrow?

Drew: No Sis, it's yesterday.

Kids do say the darndest things!