Happy Anniversary Eva and Dave

Today my sister Eva and BIL Dave celebrate their 8th wedding anniversary. I remember I was just starting to date Aaron, and I had no idea what was in store for me.
There are a few things I remember clearly about the days leading up to their reception. I was buying my dad’s car from him and needed to go to the DMV and change the registration. We got in and out of there in 45 minutes and that was at 4:30 in the afternoon – little miracle #1. It had been raining all week, but the weather was beautiful in Oakland that day – little miracle #2. Dave’s dad and step-mom came to wait outside the temple, we were so glad they came. Back in Stockton it was windy beyond belief, and we worried about the outdoor reception. Dave’s mom had worked hard on her yard to accent the colors of the reception (shades of purple - of course) and it was beautiful, we would hate to have the wind ruin that. We had trouble getting the tablecloth to stay on top of the hot tub cover where the cake was supposed to be displayed. The winds died down 30 minutes before the reception – little miracle #3. There were a few more little miracles, that week, but I can’t remember them all. It all came together and we enjoyed a wonderful reception.
Eva and Dave are great together, and I can’t wait to see them soon. Happy Anniversary Eva and Dave

DSL down

My DSL is down, so I am only posting today, I won't be able to read able blogs until it is up. It takes too long, and I hate to tie up my phone line.

Change is coming

Last night I had a wonderful time at the Stake R.S. Conference. I enjoyed a nice dinner, sang with some fabulous women, heard fantastic speakers and listened to more beautiful music. I took 3 pages of notes, and I hope I can implement some of the things I learned from the talks. I got to hold a three week old baby while I ate dessert and listened to Pres. N* give some great thoughts. It was to visit with sisters I hadn't seen in a while. And some of them I may never see again, unless we come back this way.

Tara B* and I enjoyed a great conversation on the way back home, The drive is so much faster with most of the construction done. It also seems faster when you have someone to talk to. When I got home Aaron was still in his clothes from work, which I thought was odd. But then he told me Pres. B* was coming over. We were pretty sure we knew why. Sure enough when he came over, he told us that Aaron would be released today. We also found out there would be a new bishop. As Aaron and I were getting ready for bed he thought out loud, "I wonder if Br. H* has ever been a bishop." He was right again - Craig H* is our new bishop.

Change is coming. We knew Aaron would be released, because we were leaving, but I figured he'd be there until right before we left. It's seems like we are one step closer to moving. I am just glad that Aaron gets to sit with me for a few weeks. During residency I never know when he'll be able to come to church, so I will enjoy the next few weeks.

We are also getting very busy. Not with packing and moving, but with things we want to do and places we want to go and people we want to see before we leave. It is exciting.

On a fun note I have a couple of funny kid stories. Today David's primary teacher told them they were coloring with washable crayons, and David thought that meant they would wash off the paper, and really wanted to try it. The other thing was the kids were hanging out in the gym after church, while I was waiting for Aaron (since he would be coming home earlier). Timothy came up to me with a shoe. I looked at it and wondered where he got it. Then I looked at his feet. One shoe was missing. However, they weren't his shoes. He must have taken his shoes off in nursery and then got switched with some other kids' shoes. After we got home I tracked them down. Katie H*'s boy, Evan, has Timothy's shoes, and we'll use Tara B* to exchange them - since we will both see her before we see each other.

So, sorry if this is boring, but I'm kind of using this as a journal, and I want to document my thoughts etc. Maybe next time will be more exciting! And I'll have pictures.

Happy Birthday Kimberly

Today is Kimberly's birthday. Another of Aaron's siblings - 7th in line. She turns 21 today, and is the most recently married in our family. She and Joe got married in October. Kimberly is just as talented as the rest of the G* family. She also plays the piano and ran cross country. She played the piano for her high school choir. She is very thoughtful and pretty darn smart. She is studying Math Education at BYU. (I don't know if that's the right wording or not, but anyway...)
I remember Kimberly as a 13 year old little girl. And it's been fun to watch her grow up! I love having a large extended family, because I get to have lots of sisters! Kimberly loves to play basketball and is up for all kinds of sports. We miss seeing her and can't wait to catch up with her in 4 weeks!!! Happy Birthday Kimberly!

Funny things kids say (and do) 3

Lately the kids love to cut and glue/tape/staple. I have two pair of kids scissors. So when David finds his scissors Timothy always asks:
"Where are my lizars?" (Like lizards without the "d") I have tried to correct him, but he insists that they are "lizars". To add to the silliness I often hear David trying to correct him:
"No, Timothy they are scissors. Say 'sss'."
Timothy: "sss"
David: "Good, now say 'scissors'."
Timothy: "lizars"
David: "No, scissors"
Timothy: "Lizars"
David: "AAAUUGH!"

Another funny thing Timothy does is make airplanes. Everything can become an airplane. Crackers, pretzels, blocks, sticks, etc. And he doesn't just pretend things are airplanes, he makes them into the right shape, then they are an airplane.

One more thing

I had the most wonderful dinner tonight! And it wasn't the food...we had taco salad. But the kids were quiet, and polite. BOTH kids ate their lettuce and tomatoes! Timothy even attempted to use a fork the entire meal. Aaron and I had a great conversation and got to talk to the kids. They were even reverent during scripture time. I had to write it down, because it was amazing. It gave a glimpse of the future, because I probably won't have a dinner like that again for a long time. So to every one else out there waiting for that day... It will come! I'm still in shock: a nice, quiet, (somewhat)healthy, dinner WITH kids! Horray!

Happy Birthday Anthon

Today is my BIL Anthon's birthday. He is another sibling of Aaron's - 8th in line. He is turning 19 and is finishing up his first year at BYU this week. He reports to the MTC in a few weeks.
Anthon is a fun guy with lots of talent. He ran cross country and played tennis for his high school. He also sang in the choir and plays the piano. He is a big joker and loves to tease everyone, especially his mom. Happy Birthday Anthon, we wish you the best for the next two years!

Want to know more about me?

I MISS: my extended family
I HATE: upsetting people
I HEAR: the kids playing "quietly" -It's quiet time
I REGRET: not working harder in college
I LIKE: baking
I SING: whenever I get a chance
I GOT THIS SURVEY FROM: Audra, Natalie and Jodie
I SHOULD: clean my house

[IN THE LAST MONTH HAVE YOU...]
KISSED SOMEONE?: yes
CRIED?: yes-when my hair turned pink
HELPED SOMEONE?: yes, I babysat for a few people, and brought dinner to a new mom.
BEEN ILL : no, *knock on wood*
GONE TO THE CINEMA?: no
GONE OUT FOR DINNER?: yes, but we didn't pay for it. In fact we got paid to be there!
WRITTEN A REAL LETTER? does a card count?
WRITTEN IN A JOURNAL?: yes

[WOULD YOU EVER...]
EAT AN INSECT? no, probably not
BUNGEE JUMP?: maybe
HANG GLIDE?: with someone who knows what they are doing - yes
KILL SOMEONE?: I'm with my friends - in defense of my family, I would
WALK ON HOT COALS?: no
GO OUT TO EAT WITH A COMPLETE STRANGER?: As long as the person I was with knew them
BE A VEGETARIAN?: no way
PURPOSELY HURT SOMEONE?: see answer to KILL SOMEONE
RUN A RED LIGHT?: not on purpose
DYE YOUR HAIR BLUE?: no - the pink was an accident!
MAKE SOMEONE CRY?: not on purpose
STAY UP ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT: not by choice

[THE LAST PERSON WHO...]
SLEPT ON THE SAME BED WITH YOU?: Aaron
SAW YOU CRY?: Aaron
YOU SAW CRY? David, he is sensitive when he's tired
WENT TO THE CINEMA WITH?: Aaron
WENT TO DINNER/LUNCH WITH?: Aaron
THAT CALLED YOU ON THE PHONE: Tara B.
TEXT YOU: no one,
MADE YOU LAUGH: Timothy

[DO YOU PREFER]
FLOWERS OR CANDY?: can I have both?
GRAY OR BLACK?: Black
COLOR OR BLACK?: depends, but mostly color.
SUNRISE OR SUNSET?: sunrise
STAYING UP LATE OR WAKING UP EARLY?: waking early - I'm much more productive in the morning.

weekend pictures

Aaron brought these flowers home for me. They were on the tables for the Alumni reunion on Friday and Saturday. I think the colors are gorgeous! I had a picture of us at the Gala, but I think it's still on Aaron's pen drive.

Yesterday Timothy had fun trying on the superman stuff my mom got David for his birthday and the batman mask David borrowed from Margarita's. He said he was "super batman".

A little recognition

This is a copy of an online news story (I edited the last names to protect my family). My BIL is the bolded name! Pretty cool huh? He's the one that will be joining us in WA doing a graduate program in Math imagine that! ;)

BYU math students do well in contest

PROVO — Students in the math program at Brigham Young University scored at the top in a prestigious math contest that matched the skills of 3,640 college students. BYU had four students ranked in the top 10 percent of the Putnam Exam, which is held simultaneously on 400 campuses.
Those receiving the highest scores for BYU were Yu Y* Edison (140th), Russell H* and Nathan G* (tied for 239th) and Russell Ricks (282nd) among the 3,640 participants.
A BYU team composed of junior E*and seniors H* and Wayne R*, coached by faculty adviser Darrin D*, placed 18th in the competition.
The exam is the biggest competition in college mathematics in the United States and has been likened to an NCAA tournament for math students.
The Mathematical Association of America sponsors the exam, a test designed to pull together the best mathematical minds from universities in the United States and Canada. It consists of 12 math problems that must be solved in a six-hour period.
The MAA focuses on mathematics taught to undergraduates and is the largest professional society in its category. Members include university teachers, computer scientists, statisticians and graduate and undergraduate students.

What I've been up to

I feel like I have been very busy. I haven't had time to blog a whole lot until today. I've been busy. Mostly with moving type things. We inherited a bunch of boxes from Candy H. Her daughter recently moved to S-town and when Mindy didn't need the boxes we got them. (She might have more if anyone else needs them.) With the YW camp fund raiser - yard sale- tomorrow, I have been going through lots of old clothes and tossing a lot of them. I have four garbage bags of things I am giving away. Most of it doesn't fit - either too big or too small. It's mostly mine, but about one bag is stuff from Aaron or the boys. I have also been planning our drive to WA. I'm figuring out the drive and places to stop and fuel up etc.


I am realizing that this is going to be a very long trip! We are going to have 3 full days of driving, 2 1/2 days of rest in ID then 1 1/2 days of driving. How am I going to keep the kids entertained? We do have a portable DVD player, but I don't want them watching 8-10 hours of the screen for 4 1/2 days! The last time we made this long drive It was Aaron David and I when David was 15 months old. He slept at least four hours of the trip every day. We didn't have to worry about potty breaks. All three of us were in the cab of the truck. Now we have two kids who will need to go potty at inconvenient times and Aaron will be driving the truck and I the car. We can change things up a bit and have one of them in the truck occasionally. But I really wonder how we are going to do it. If you have any suggestions please let me know. Even if you think I may have heard it already. I need all the advice I can get!

So let me continue. This week I have also been working on a new project. I am making a quilt. I have never done this before. I have made baby blankets that entail cutting fabric, sewing it together and tying, but never something that you have to measure many pieces of fabric, cut and sew together so it looks straight. I'm a little overwhelmed, but I have a deadline. It is for our preschool, "graduation", end-of the year celebration. So it has to be done.
On top of that last night was the Alumni Reunion Gala. Aaron is the Student Ambassador Coordinator, and I was invited to help out and attend a wonderful dinner, the awards ceremony, and there was some dancing at the end. It was a long night. It was fun to rub shoulders with the doctors that we will be seeing when we return for Aaron's future reunions. But the night didn't start off so well. I was planning to put my hair up and curl it, like I did last year. So I put it up in a pony tail after my shower, so I could have it ready for later. This is what I saw when I took it down.
I started crying. I tried to wash it out, to no avail. It is still there after 5 washes. Apparently the ponytail holder had something in it. It was all over my hands. I think it might be red food coloring, but I don't know. I have no idea what I am going to do. I have never dyed my hair, and I was hoping to never have to. Now I don't know what I am going to do. HELP! So until I figure it out my hair is up and hiding the hideous pink in my hair. This sounds like something out of the movies, or a sitcom, but it really happened. Crazy huh?!! But I got to take home this lovely corsage. It was left over from a guest that didn't come. I know this is really long, but I needed to take a few minutes and reflect on this past week, so here you are!!

Blue Bell

I am so behind!!! On Monday we took the ever popular trip the the ice cream factory. The kids loved it, especially the ice cream at the end of it! Then we snagged a few blue bonnet pictures and here's what we got:






I can never get them to look at the camera and smile at the same time. I'll be so glad when I can hire a professional, or even an amateur. I have been so pleased with the pictures that have been taken by friends. Thank-you to you all!!!

Funny updates

Last night Timothy woke up numerous times. One time he even woke up took off his pajama bottoms and diaper and peed in the potty. Then fell back asleep on the floor outside of the bathroom. I heard him in the bathroom and thought it was David, but when I he was stirring an hour later, I found him half clothed laying outside my door. At almost 3 he is waking to use the bathroom at night??? I can't even get David, who is 5, to do that!!!

Also David the other day was "writing" a story. I took a notebook and with a crayon wrote (read scribbled) a story entitled "I Like to Do What I like to Do". He then proceeded to narrate this story as he was "writing" it. Going on and on about the things he liked to do. I thought this was so great that I has Aaron sit down with him and record it on tape. David wasn't as elaborate this time, but my favorite quote is when he said, "I like to play with my little sister, when I have a little sister..." So where is that little sister??? I would like to know!

Anniversary

I have a ton to blog about, so I'll make this quick. But I thought it was worth mentioning that Aaron and I had our first date 8 years ago today!!! I had just taken my last final at BYU and was set to graduate in two days. After he made dinner for me (clam chowder from scratch) we watched It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World. It is now a sentimental favorite. After the movie was over slowly his roommates started coming home and were watching a basketball game. We got kicked out at midnight (BYU rules) and sat out on the picnic bench for another couple of hours and talked. The night ended as he walked my to my door (we lived in the same Apartment complex (and the same ward) and gave me a sweet little kiss. The rest is history. I'll document more later.

Happy Birthday Valerie

Today is my SIL Valerie's birthday. She is Aaron's younger sister - the 5th oldest. I believe she turns 26 today. She has been a great friend since we met 8 years ago. I'm glad she's my sister. She has taught me tons of stuff.
She has so many talents it's hard to know where to begin. She plays the piano beautifully. She can cook and I love her cookies. She has picked up many handicrafts, I'll mention a few. She taught me how to knit slippers. She knits others things as well, like scarfs and blankets. She can also cross-stitch and crochet. And many other things.
She and her husband Christian live in Kansas where he is finishing up Physical Therapy school. She currently works in an office for UPS - I'm not sure what her title is, but she talks with customers from all over the world. I know she really wants to be a mom, and we pray constantly that the Lord will bless them with children. She is great with kids!
Valerie is sweet, fun, and loves her little pug! I hope we can get together soon, and talk sports! Valerie, join us in WA if you can!!! Happy Birthday Valerie!

Happy Birthday Dave

Today is my BIL Dave's birthday. He is married to my older sister Eva. I believe he is 3 years older than me (do the math). I chose this picture because it was taken by my David. It may not be the greatest shot, but it does show Dave's playfulness. One of his many hobbies is photography. This he usually sets up our family picture, then has to jump in at the last second!
Okay I'm getting ahead of myself. Dave is awesome! He and Eva have been friends since jr. high and even dated in high school. But it wasn't until Eva went on her mission that they began to develop a close relationship. While Eva was gone Dave became interested in the church and was baptized a couple of months before she came home. They began dating almost immediately after she came home. 2 years later they were married. They just celebrated their 8th anniversary!
Dave is a hard worker and currently works in group home for teenagers. He loves to golf and hang out with his friends. I'm so glad that he married Eva! We love you Dave. Happy birthday!

Aaron's trip

Aaron's trip to WA made me excited for our move. Here are some of the pictures he took.
the view from up the hill


the park a few blocks away


the school we hope David will go to for 1st grade


Aaron took this one at the arboretum


a fun fountain to play in downtown

6 more weeks. 39 days to graduation!

Happy Birthday David and Me

Five years ago today I was in the hospital. I gave birth to my first son. He was 8 lbs. 7 oz. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. The first five years of motherhood have been amazing. I didn't know it would be so hard. I knew it would be worth it, I knew it would be rewarding. But I only had a glimpse of how much love I could have for a little baby, and a growing child. Maybe it's a little cliche, but that's how I feel. Today David is 5 years old and amazes me everyday. He can read, and write, and loves to try new things. I am excited to see what the future brings.
Here are some of my favorite things about David.
* He loves to laugh and make people laugh.
* He is always trying to help his brother.
* He likes to make things for his friends and family.
* He likes to surprise me by cleaning up.
* He will randomly tell me that he loves me!
* He loves to be around people.
* He loves babies.
* He is kind to animals.
With all of the things that get on my nerves, the good definitely outweigh the bad.
Happy birthday David!

Of course that also means that it is my birthday. Today I turn 30! Wow! I celebrated first with a beautiful bouquet of flowers that Aaron brought home yesterday.Then today I got a pedicure (my first ever), thanks to a certain reader of my blog. It wasn't meant for my birthday, but I saved it for today. I have gotten lots of phone calls from my family. Aaron made a cake and decorated it.
We served it with some Blue Bell ice cream (David picked the strawberries and homemade vanilla). We had a couple of neighbors come and join us, so we didn't have to eat it all by ourselves. I love the cake tray that I got for my birthday.
And tonight I get the entire night off. Aaron and the boys are camping (yes in the rain) for the Father and Sons campout. I am going to enjoy a night of doing what ever I want. I'll probably end up scrapbooking (I'm way behind!!), watching movies, listening to my 80's online radio station and reading my new issue of Parents magazine. Oh and blogging!!! So you'll hear more from me soon.

He's back!

I am so glad to have Aaron back! He was able to catch an earlier flight and was home by lunch time. He stayed for lunch and then went to work at the museum for a couple hours, but he was back in 30 minutes, the times had changed and he hadn't been told. It was about that time that our DSL died on us. When we finally found a phone number to call (without the internet) we realized our phone was dead too. So instead of using our precious minutes on our cell phone, we used our neighbor's phone and found that the line had probably been cut. He was told that it would be fixed by 7:30 pm. So I went to the enrichment activity and let Aaron deal with it. They called around 7:30 to let him know that it had been temporarily fixed, and that they would come back and fix it the next day. It had been cut by the construction on C* St. Apparently the same construction had cut the phone lines to a nearby soda distribution center and they were not happy campers!










So we had our phone back and our DSL, until that died around 9:00, so we gave up and went to bed. I talked to the DSL people today and he was very patient with me in trying to figure out what he was talking about. Eventually we found out that our DSL filter wasn't working properly and it needed to bee replaced. Luckily we had an extra one, because I didn't want to have to buy a new one for the 6 weeks we would be here. So I got on the internet finally and had just pulled up my blogs when the phone went dead. They decided to start repairing the phone line at 11:15 this morning. It was finally back up at 4:15 this afternoon.

What I have learned is that I have become very dependent on the internet and the phone. Obviously I survived without it, but I kept thinking of things I wanted to look up, but couldn't, or people I needed to call, but couldn't. I remembered how to look things up on an actual map, without google! I feel for you Tara. Just my few hours disconnected yesterday and today have made me very grateful for modern day technology.

Well, I have a ton more to write about today, but we need to wrap dome birthday presents for David. So I'll have to write another day.

Baby Hali

My little niece is so cute!!! Here's some pictures to prove it!

Here she is!

Hali Mae with her mom, Becca

And proud daddy, Aaron

Hali with a happy Grandma!!
I can't wait to see her in person!

2x a year

I have always been pretty good about going to the dentist. Growing up we went to Dr. J*. At some point we switched to Dr. K*. His office was a little further away, but he was a good friend of the family. We knew his family through church and camping. We hung out with his family at Rucker Lake all the time. His parents were the caretakers there for a while. His daughter Heidi is my age. I always remember listening to them discuss BYU basketball when I was in the chair. I never had a fear of the dentist. Not even when I had to have a root canal at 16. I don't always remember to set up the appointments every six months, but I'm not afraid to go. I'm not great at flossing every day, but I do brush twice a day (or more).

After high school I would go to Dr. Kerr when I was home over Christmas and during summer break. From the time I was 18 I didn't have any cavities until about 2 years ago. I haven't had good luck with dentists here. They seem to be trying to get as much money out of you as possible. My last dentist said my teeth were fine the first few times I was there and I had to fill one cavity on the next two visits. Then all of a sudden I had 3 cavities, I had the beginning stages of periodontal disease and I needed 4 antibiotic shots (they were $60 each!!!) I thought that was ridiculous. I told them I would come back later to do it. Aaron wasn't impressed with the large amount of work that he needed to get done. Aaron hardly ever had a cavity growing up and now he's had over $1000 of work done. We know at least some of it was necessary because it was done by Dr. H (Leslie's hubby) for his boards. The rest done by Dr. E... I don't know.

Luckily last year our dental plan changed and we had to find a new dentist. I love that I only have to pay $5 copays, and no co-insurance for filling cavities. My new dentist said I did have 5 cavities that I needed to fill, but everything else was fine. I just went again today for a check-up and everything is fine!!! I love to hear that. No more dentist problems. Except that I am moving to another state and I have to find a new dentist once again.

Storyteller

One thing I have inherited from my dad is telling stories. I am a master story teller. Not that I have great stories, or that I am entertaining, but I sure do have a lot of stories to tell. I often get teased by my family because of it. The other day I was trying to tell Aaron something that had happened that day and asked David not to interrupt. David rolled his eyes and whined, "Mommy, you are always telling Daddy lots of stories." So even my almost-5 year-old has picked up on that fact that I tell way too many stories!

Aaron, I miss you

Aaron is in WA checking out a bunch of stuff for us and our move. The biggest shock was at church today when not only did they have a lot of kids and babies, (two born this week) but 8 young men passing the sacrament (no EQ members had to do it). He's in awe of the scenery and taking lots of pictures to show me. He's only been gone two days and I miss him so much. But I have gotten a lot of blogging done. So here's my pro/con list of having Aaron gone.

Pros
* I can go to sleep when I want, I don't have to wait for Aaron.
* I can watch what I want without feeling guilty that he is studying/working in the other room.
* I have the computer to myself, I can email and blog and websurf to my heart's content.
* I get lots of fun phone calls. Oh it's just like when we were dating "I love you more..."; saying goodbye 10 times before actually hanging up...
* I can work on projects at night without being interrupted.
* I can put off cleaning the house until after dinner or the kids go to bed.

Cons
*I have to get two kids ready for bed with no help, it takes a lot longer.
*I get really bored at night with no one interrupting me.
*I have a hard time falling asleep at night.
*I don't get a break from the kids in the evening.
*I miss kisses and hugs and other things.
*I have all of these plans, but without him to motivate me I get lazy.
*The mail gets left in the mailbox, because I forget to get it - that's something he loves to do, so I leave it for him.
*I have to take the trash out.
*I have no one to complain to, or to cheer me up.
*He has the camera, so I can't take pictures for my blogs (like the rolls I made today or the nice gash on Timothy's nose from falling into the bookshelf).

I'm sure there's more, but it's getting late. I might get to bed before 11:00 tonight. I miss you Aaron, I can't wait 'til you get home!

Tithing lesson

On Monday David was part of a reading study. A local university was doing a reading study for 5-9 year olds and they were paying $10 a hour, for a 2 hour session. We decided to sign David up. I was wondering if he would cooperate or not, but he did great and at the end of the slightly less than two hours, he got $20 (and I got $6 to pay for parking). That night we had a FHE lesson on tithing. After David agreed to give $2 to the bishop, we went to Toys R Us (his choice) and pick out something to buy. We let him choose and told him whether or not he had enough money. Eventually he chose this: a battery operated bulldozer. He had some change leftover and he put $2 in a tithing envelope. With the remaining change later this week he bought a recorder at Wal-Mart, which I will forever hate. But I guess it was his choice, he just has to follow the rules about when to play it and how loud. Maybe I'll teach him how to play a song, if only I can remember from when I was in elementary school!

The only down side to this is that now he is obsessed with money. He keeps asking me when he can get more money. Today while he was talking to me in the car I told him that he could get money by working.
David: "I want lots and lot of money"
Me: "Then you have to work really hard."
David: "Okay, I'll work hard."
This surprised me. So I continued. "Do you know how else you can make money? If you go to school and work really hard, you can be really smart. Then you can learn how to do a great job and earn money."
David: "What kind of job?"
So I started listing all sorts of jobs like "a teacher, or an astronaut, or an engineer, or a veterinarian ..."
David: "Or a doctor"
Me: "Yes or a doctor, or lots of things"
Then out of the blue he started listing all kinds of things he could do to be a better person, "I can be really nice to people, and I'll listen to Mom and Dad, and I'll be baptized, and be a Daddy"
Me:"And go on a mission?"
David: "Yeah, go on a mission, and...."
Now if only he would remember this conversation as well as I do and follow through with it! Kids are great!!!!

David's Birthday Party

Next week is David's 5th birthday. However it is also the Father and Sons campout. Aaron is also gone until Wednesday, so we had his birthday party yesterday. I wish we could have invited more people, but I think what we had there was about the maximum that we could have handled. My mom's rule growing up was you could only invite as many people as your age. He was turning 5 hence five guests came, Naomi H*, Zach B*, Anna T*, Hailey M* and Alex N* (but we also had siblings and parents, so there were more people). OK I fudged a little - two other friends were invited but couldn't come. Aaron's work study at the Health Museum allowed us to hold the party there and it was a blast. Here's a quick rundown, well I'm not very good at making things short.
The invite (edited)

The bunny cake. That's what he wanted. I realized that the few tips I learned from Ashley K. were not going to be good enough without some practice. But here is my feeble attempt to decorate a cake. I wanted to use a different color (like blue) for the bow tie, but I didn't look at the package of jelly beans very closely and when I opened it I found that there were only red flavors!!!. Oh well.

Aaron and a coworker, JD, did a broken finger demonstration and all the kids got little casts on their fingers (all except David who refused to do it). When they dried they slipped them off and took them home.

Aaron putting a "cast" on Anna T*

Then Patty took the kids on a little tour of the museum where she instructed them to push every button and make it really noisy! We had a little trouble keeping all the kids in the same room and had to corral them every time we went to a new room, but we didn't lose any!

After the tour we went back upstairs and had cake. David loved to be sung to and blow out his candles. However I think he was the only one who didn't want to eat the cake. He only eats the frosting anyway, and I guess he didn't like this frosting. I'm sure he thought we were going to have ice cream. I let him pick some out, but it's for next week on his real birthday.

After cake David opened presents. I loved his reaction, he was excited about all of them.

He really did enjoy having his first friend birthday party, and I hope the rest of his parties won't be a disappointment, because I don't think we will have an opportunity like this again. He loved the giving out gifts to his friends as they left. I would say it was a success.