Sunday, February 22, 2009

Memories...

We've made some memories over the last couple weeks... some fun, others not.... Grandma and Grandpa Ankeney came and spent Valentine's weekend with us. As always, we love it when they come and especially when they spoil us! The kids have a tendency to wear them out.


Also while Grandma and Grandpa were here, we got to play with our Cedar Park cousins. Holly had a volleyball tournament in Grand Praire. Cheri came up on Friday night and spent much of Saturday with Holly at the games. We had a blast with Rebecca, Ryan, and even Paige. The weather was cold so we stayed couped up in the house most of the day until Rachel said she'd had enough. We ended up at a neighborhood park where the kids pushed each other on a large bench swing. They took turns pushing and trying to jump onto the moving swing before they got run over. Oh, what kids will do to entertain themselves! Alyson and Rebecca hated to part ways at the end of the day, but they always have fun when they're together.


Alyson decided she wanted to help with chores yesterday and determined her assistance was best offered by cleaning the kitchen floor. She filled a bucket with cold water and a little soap and began wiping the floor with a cleaning rag. Alyson has done this before; I saw no need to worry. So, I went upstairs to study for my Sunday lesson. Matthew and Rachel got wind of what Alyson was doing and wanted to join the fun. Rachel thought it would be more efficient to put the Palmolive dish soap concentrate directly on the floor and use rags to lather up the soap - destined to provide the deepest clean! You could have heard Dave's response 100 miles away when he saw all the suds covering the kitchen floor!!! The kids and Pokey were sent upstairs while Dave spent the next 3 hours trying to get up all the soap. Like I said, we've made some memories this week!


Dave and I enjoyed a trip to the Dallas temple yesterday with another couple from our ward. I don't make it there as often as I should; I realized how much I've missed the Spirit I feel in the temple. I've set a goal to make attend at least one session each month. Dave is on schedule with his goal, but I've have to catch up. Luckily, it's only February.


Some other fun activities include the 2nd grade music program where Alyson dressed up like an elephant and sang in the jungle with her classmates. The other varieties represented included lions, giraffes, hippos, monkeys and "natives". Alyson looked adorable in her costume! She has been singing the songs for months now; I am glad to put the songs in context now.




Matthew is excited for new signs of growing up... other than his pants looking like high waters and having to cram his feet into shoes 2 sizes too small. He can no longer eat apples! This could be quite devastating to him as apples are one of his favorite snacks. In fact, I've noticed the bushel of applies on the counter has not been decreasing in size over the last couple weeks. All of this due to ....... loose teeth! He is looking forward to the tooth fairy visits at night... and I think he's hoping he'll benefit from a very forgetful fairy!

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Is it really February already?

The month of January just seemed to fly by. It was hard for me to write out a check this morning and put February as the date.

The highlight of the week was the ice and fog. You're probably wondering what is so wonderful about that, right? I worked from home in the comforts of my pajamas on both Tuesday and Wednesday due to the icy roads. The kids went to school on Tuesday but then the school district got smart and closed for Wednesday. Matthew and Alyson had a blast slipping and sliding on the patches of ice in our yard. They thought it was really fun to jump on the trampoline and watch the ice go flying into the air. Dave had visions of a trip to the emergency room with a something broken or cut, but we were spared! I preferred to watch from the comforts of my nicely heated home and a warm cup of hot chocolate.

It was fun to hear from Kevin this week. He was visiting Charlotte, NC and took a tour of Lowe's Motor Speedway. He called us to "rub it in" to Dave. And yes, Dave was jealous! Among the wishes of Dave's heart include visiting all of the NASCAR tracks - and even better watching races at each one! It was good to hear Kevin's voice.

The "lowlights" of the week were Rachel and David. Rachel was sick all last weekend and it never got better. I took her in to the local insta-care and she was diagnosed with strep. She missed four days of school and was thrilled to return to her social realms on Friday. Dave had been feeling like crudd and decided he better be checked out. Luckily he doesn't have strep but he does have a good ole case of influenza! To be honest, I don't know which I'd rather have! Rachel is feeling much better this weekend. Dave continues to mend; he may need a few more days to get back to normal.

I will be glad once we can rid our house of all the bugs going around! In the meantime, I'll just count my blessings and thank the Lord for his goodness to my family. There are many more challenges I could be faced with.

"The past is behind--we must learn from it. The future is ahead--we must prepare for it. The present is now—we must live in it." --President Thomas S. Monson

Have a great week!