Leaving on a Jet Plane

Today I am heading off to Utah to attend Women's Conference at BYU.  My sister and I talked about going for years.  Finally, last year, we bit the bullet, threw our schedules to the wind, and met up in SLC.  (Jill even tolerated a 4 hour layover in Arizona?  Texas?  I can't remember.  Just let it be known that sacrifices were made.)  We went with my mom and sister-in-law, Lia.  And we had a great time.

(Don't you love how Lia and my mom are looking one way, and Jill and I are looking another?  We must have had two photographers taking our picture at the same time.  Obviously I am looking at MY camera... and my mom is probably looking at hers.  Funny how that works.)

We ran our guts out going from one class to the next.  We were informed, uplifted and inspired.  We went to dinner, did a little shopping, and laughed as we drifted off to dreamland in our shared room (Jill and I shared a not-quite-full-sized pull-out sofa bed, and chuckled at the snoring coming from the big king-sized comfy bed on the other side of the room).  Good times.

So we decided that we must do it again.  Sacrifices must be made (I'll miss the most intense part of cheer tryout week), and schedules must be adjusted (Bill will be carpooling like crazy).  Lia is smack dab in the middle of house-selling/purchasing/moving.  This time my mom can't make it, so I invited my friend Rebecca along for the ride.  I hope she won't think we are nuts as we release our pent-up anxiety and stress by running through crowds of women trying to secure our spot in line for some awesome class. 

And this year I have a bonus in Provo -- Britta.  I told her I would be stopping by the bookstore while she was working.  She'll get to shop and dine with us, new contacts and eyeglasses, and some groceries.  Hopefully she considers it a bonus as well.  I can't wait.

Encouraging Words

Cheer tryouts are here already.  My, how time flies.  I decorated Britta's room back in 2005, the first time she tried out.  I wanted to encourage her efforts and dreams.  I wanted to show my love and support.  It became a tradition each year as a new cheer team was selected. 

(This is actually 2007 -- Britta at the same age Lex is now.  I was going to post an earlier picture, but Shilo laughed and laughed and said, "Yeah, post it mom.  Then tell her Austin would LOVE to see it."  I personally thought it was a very cute picture, but decided from Shi's reaction that I would post this more mildly-expressive picture instead.  THIS picture is a reminder of how Britta biffed her nose at tryouts that year.  Ouch!  Cheer tryouts in general make me think of this song.)


In keeping with tradition, Shilo and I decorated Lexee's room yesterday.

Tryout clinics every day through Thursday, and final tryouts and team selection on Friday.


Requirements to make the Legend varsity team:
Must show a solid standing back hand-spring, and a solid round-off back hand-spring
Must run the mile in under 9 minutes
Must show jumps (toe-touch, pike, left and right hurdle)
Must show ability in dance, motions, and voice
Must pass a written basic sports test with 80% or higher
Other considerations:  work ethic, punctuality, preparedness, attitude, coachability, organization, 
use of time, adherence to rules, and teamwork


It's a lot of hard work, especially when the clinics start immediately following track practice.  I know I couldn't do it.

And, just for fun, a quick view of Lex's white board (yes, there is one under all that stuff).

Hmmmm... which gets more space, cheer or track?

Long Course

As it turns out, Mauri could have skipped Friday.  A little after noon, my phone started ringing.  Or playing it's little tune (I guess they don't ring anymore).  I was visiting teaching.  The cute girl I was visiting (and she really is a girl -- she was one of my young women last year) had made me lunch.  The phone calls were to inform me that school was releasing early due to inclement weather, and could I please pick my children up now.  Then my neighbor called.  Then Bill called.  Did I hear that the kids needed to picked up?  I quickly ate the lunch and ended the visit.  I headed off to collect the kids in the wet, slushy snow.  By the time school should have been over, the snow had stopped and the roads were clear.  Of course.

Saturday morning Lexee's track meet was cancelled (the snow had started again), so we headed off to Shilo's swim meet.  It was the first time she had competed in a 50 meter pool, aka a "long course" meet.

It reminded me of when I would occasionally (okay, rarely) swim laps in the 50 meter pool at the Oquirrh Park Fitness Center back in the day.  I vividly remember the first lap I swam in that pool.  I was done exercising by the time I reached the other side.  Actually, though, I think I did a good 4 laps.  Shilo finds that laughable.

By Sunday afternoon, the snow was gone.  I had to get a picture of Mauri and her friend Caitlin in their matching dresses after church.

They even both had side pony-tails.  How cute.  Can you believe how quickly that snow left?  Then what do I wake up to this morning?  More snow, of course.

5 More Minutes

Out my front door today:

I am tired of the snow.  Sometimes here in CO we skip spring altogether.  
Just this week we had temps to the 80s, and now we're back to this.  Sigh.

Yesterday Bill and I spent the day here:

While inside, we missed the weather craziness going on.  Thunder, lightening, hail, tornado warnings.  The girls had their schools locked-down for the full tornado drill.  
Now there's a contrast for you, illustrating one of my favorite scriptures from D&C 6:34:

 "Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail."

It was nice to be away from it all, and I was grateful to have missed the golfball-size hail not too far from our home. (Last year I was unlucky enough to hit two big hail storms, and our car has the dings to prove it.)

Back to today.  As I tried to wake Mauri up this morning, she responded in her sleepy voice, 
"May I skip today?"  
I wondered if she meant school or the whole day, period.  I've had those mornings before.

"No, sweets.  You need to go to school today."

Resorting to her most commonly used morning phrase, she rolled over and said, "Five more minutes!"

It's been about 20.  I'd better go get her up.

I'm Random Too

Finally.  All the children are back in school on a regular schedule.  First time in a month.  And there's only about a month left before the school year's over.  At least for Lex and Shi.  Mauri will still have another month after that.  I envy those who have all of their children on the same schedule.  Back when I was young, we all started and ended the school year at the same time.

First day of school -- 1975.  Doesn't my brother look thrilled to be taking a picture?  
And yes, I still have that beautiful coral shawl made by my Grandma G.  I am such a lucky girl.  Seriously.

We had a good three months off for summer break.  Those were the days.

My friend Denise wrote on her blog about the randomness of 7th graders (you can read it here), and it made me realize that I am pretty darn random too.  It adds that element of the unexpected.  Spice.  A variance from the routine.  My randomness is not quite as entertaining, but here are a couple of random, ordinary day kind of things that have happened recently (there really isn't a  purpose to my sharing them other than the fact that my life is full of them):

Yesterday I took Shilo to the dentist.  As I was waiting for her, I browsed through the magazines on the table in front of me.  There weren't any People Magazines -- bummer.  I don't know why I enjoy them.  I guess it's because they really do make me appreciate my life.  I spotted a Money magazine with the title The New Ultra Middle Class.  It caught my attention, so I picked it up and found the article.  It's always fun to compare where you are on that scale of perceived wealth.  The article was interesting.  Once read, I flipped through a couple more pages, and found one of those Best Places to Live articles.  I looked for Louisville, CO.  I had heard on the news a few months back that it had made that prestigious list in Money magazine.  It's where Bill's office is located, and very far away from our lovely town of Parker.  It's occasionally crossed our minds (fleetingly) that IF we moved there, Bill's commute would be minutes versus over an hour.  And it DID make the list of the best places to live.  I wanted to see what the article said.  I flipped another page.  Oh, Salt Lake City made the list?  I started reading what it had to say... and came across a sentence that said something like this:  "We didn't choose Salt Lake City only because it will host the 2002 Winter Games..."  WHAT?  It WILL host the games?  I closed the magazine to find the date.  December 2000.  Are you kidding me?  Who puts a nearly 10 year old magazine in their waiting room?  And Money magazine?  Those numbers don't mean anything anymore.  I almost took the magazine up to the lady at the desk to ask her to kindly throw it away, but decided not to.  I know my limits, however, and I know I don't have any space in my brain to place random facts that no longer apply.  Another lesson learned:  check the date on any magazines you read during your time spent in waiting rooms.

Just call him Grandpa.  

Bill was attending a church meeting at another ward a couple of weeks ago, and a nice younger brother in the meeting said, "So, how are the grandkids?"  We laughed and laughed when he told us about it.  I guess that's what gray hair does for ya.  Something to consider as I decide what to do about my own (gray hair, that is).

I got flipped off the other day.  By a woman in a landscaping truck.  She made sure I saw it, as she stuck her entire arm out the window.  I was on my way to take Shilo to swim practice, and we had slowed down to watch a large herd of deer grazing by the road.  We were on a winding road in a neighborhood.  The lady (or should I say "female" -- she certainly wasn't behaving like a lady) was driving too fast anyway, but apparently I was not hugging my side of the road as much as she thought I should.  I have decided that people like that are just unhappy in their lives, especially adults who choose to express themselves that way.  It wasn't as surprising coming from the middle school student who flipped me off for honking when the driver of his car cut me off making a left turn as I was making a right into the same lane.  He was in the back seat and didn't even see (and I'm sure wouldn't even know) whose right-of-way it was.  I hate it when people do that, whether intentional or out of ignorance.  
What happened to WWJD?

Enough random ramblings for today.  I need to get a few things checked off my to-do list.

Monday, Monday

*Received a letter from Elder Syddall -- things seem to be looking up.  Good news.

*Rearranged the Cancun trip --  we will now be going in December.  

Changing the flights was not a happy matter at $100 a pop, but worth keeping the family together for the family vacation.

*Attended Standards Night last night -- inspiring ideas were shared on how to be a better parent.  Now if I can only carry through.

*Talked to Jill (my sister) and Britta for an hour each today -- such an enjoyable use of my time.

*Had a great discussion full of spontaneous testimony with Shilo on the way to buy groceries.

*No major crisis.  Mauri's back on track.  Milk's in the fridge.

Although not all problems have been resolved, it's definitely been a better Monday than the last.

Up Close and Personal

Mauri and I went to see Beauty and the Beast again.

After the performance, Belle was kind enough to pause for a moment so we could get a picture.  

The last time Mauri met up with her was at Disneyland in 2008:

Mauri enjoyed the play just as much the second time around, and is hoping to find the Disney DVD (we had the original VHS from the very first release, but I donated it to Goodwill about a year ago.  I don't think it had been watched for years prior to that) -- I don't even know if it's available right now or not.  I guess we'll start looking.

We are Sowing

According to plan, yesterday Mauri and I went to the park, took a nap, then tackled a sewing project. Mauri has wanted to sew again ever since we made some pajama pants together last summer at Grandma G's house. She was excited to choose some fabric (from my somewhat limited collection), and decided to make a flannel blanket for her Webkinz.

She helped cut the squares.  She figured out the pattern for her quilt.  She sewed the pieces together.  She loved every minute of the project.  I loved that she was so happy.

From start to finish, it only took us about an hour and a half.  Such a small amount of time for such feelings of 
accomplishment and joy.

Mauri loves her mini quilt so much, she has decided to keep it for herself.  
Maybe she'll occasionally share with a Webkinz or baby doll.

It was the most well-spent hour of my week. While we were sewing, I was also sowing... the seeds of time, attention, and love. Mauri's spelling on her list was more accurate than she knows {wink}.

Are Day

It's already looking up today.  It helps to have a plan, and Mauri has made sure that we are going to have a great day.

She gets her list-making skills from her mom... I usually leave them laying around all over the place.  Here comes the sun.

Just one of those days...

The yucky kind.  Where life feels hard and stressful.  There are actually many days like that, but some just seem worse than others.  Today is one of those.  Here is a list of my worries:

Taylor had a rough week in the mission field.  He is in a new area and has a new companion (who is also new to the area).  They have had difficulty finding their way around, and are living in a place that is less than desirable.

Britta's broke.  She wants to find a new job, but is waiting for help from her oh-so-busy dad to get a resume together. 

The next cheer season is about to begin, and at a try-out meeting last night we were told that the girls can not have Fall Break off of cheer, and if they are gone during that time, they will be removed from the team.  I have planned a family vacation to Cancun over Fall Break.  The travel is already paid for.  The reservations are made.  When I mentioned to my family that we may have to find a vacation alternative, they were disgruntle.  When I asked Lex if she was willing to miss the vacation for cheer, she didn't know.  I feel responsible.  I'm at a loss for what to do.

Shilo missed her assessment at swim because of her involvement in the school play, so last night at swim practice, a lot of the kids in the Queens group had been moved up to Kings, and Jacks had been moved up to Queens.  After a full week without practice, Shilo felt sluggish.  She will miss the make-up assessment on Thursday, and practice for the rest of the week because of the play.  Who knows when she will be able to be assessed and hopefully move up.

Bill called yesterday while I was out walking, desperately needing me to give him some info he needed for a meeting at work. I was too far from home to help in the time he had available, so there was nothing I could do.  Later that night, when I came home after the cheer meeting, he was cleaning the cooktop (I had put some cereal on the stove that morning, and then walked away.  The milk and cereal had boiled over and made a huge burnt mess on the stove.  I had scraped the bulk of the burned stuff off, but didn't have time to do a thorough job).  As he scrubbed away, I sensed that it had not been a good day for him either.  It probably wasn't the best time to bring up the vacation dilemma, but I wanted to discuss it as a family and hopefully get some input and ideas on how to resolve the problem.  It only added to the stress, so the topic was quickly put on the back burner (haha).  We managed a respectable dinner and FHE despite the earlier tension.  But nothing has been resolved.

Mauri was supposed to be grounded today (I've told her many times recently that when I tell her to do something, it's not just a "suggestion").  However she convinced me to let her go with her friend to Party On today, and she will gladly take her grounding tomorrow.  I was weak.  I gave in.

The sun will come out tomorrow, I just know it.

High School Musical

Saturday evening we attended the Legend/Cimarron Spring Musical:

Shilo decided to try something different this year, and signed up for Set Crew.  It's been a learning experience.  Some of the things she has shared over the past few months of preparation and practice:

1.  Set Crew requires a lot of time, but you don't get to enjoy the feeling of being appreciated on stage.  You actually do your best NOT to be seen (she was disappointed that I saw her -- I told her I was LOOKING for her.  Plus I knew WHEN to look for her.)

2.  Sometimes things happen that are beyond your control.  Like when you are told there will be 10 students on Set Crew, so you get to school early the day of sign-ups to get on the crew you want, and then, before you know it, there are 21 members on your crew.  Too many cooks in the kitchen.  And bossy too.

3.  When you are on a crew, some people think that you tried out for the play and didn't make it.

4.  When someone gives you a new job to do at the matinee because the person that was supposed to do it isn't there, that doesn't mean you should plan on doing that job at the evening performance.  In fact, you may even get reprimanded for trying to do it.

Life is just full of lessons, isn't it?  I think it's been a good exercise for Shilo in working with and getting along with people.  And now she knows what it's like to be behind the scenes.  In the shadows.  And she will appreciate (probably for the rest of her life) the effort given by those who are unseen at any musical or play she attends.  As will I.

The play was awesome.  More than I expected.  Probably the best high school musical I've ever attended.  
(And remember, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th graders...)

Kudos to the cast and crew.

After the play was over, we celebrated Shilo's hard work at Red Robin (it's close and open late).

Four more performances to go.

Drama at the Meet

Yesterday I attended another track meet. I actually kind of enjoy going, even though they are eternally long. The weather was supposed to be nice, and I made all the arrangements necessary to make sure I could arrive at the meet before it started so I would be sure to see the sprint medley, which was scheduled as the first event. I gave Mauri options: come with me and her friend Lauren could come and we would stop by McDonald's on the way out and get happy meals with the awesome dragon prizes (they had gone to see the movie How to Tame Your Dragon on Wednesday, and had already collected one dragon). It really wasn't a bribe... just the only way I could make it to McD's that day. The second option was to stay home. It wouldn't be long before Shi would be home from school, then once she left for the play, Bill would be home soon after. With the allure of that happy meal dragon staring her in the face, Mar chose option 1.

The meet was about an hour away in Colorado Springs.  We grabbed the happy meals on the way out, then set off.  Not 20 minutes into the drive, one of the girls asked, "How much longer?"  Once we arrived at the meet, the girls debated whether or not to leave their sweatshirts in the car... it WAS a nice day.  I told them to bring them, just in case (remembering the last meet where I froze for 3 long hours).  The good news, we were there in time for the relay... and they started right on time.  Three teams scratched (they weren't there in time), but here is the final leg (and please just ignore my yelling... I'm such an embarrassing mom):

Good job, Lex!  Once that event was over, I was in for four long hours of a cold, sad, dramatic, sick-to-her-stomach, head-aching Mauri.  Lauren was cold too.  And bored.  Because Mauri was just no fun in that state of mind.  Lesson learned.  
Mauri + track meet = Misery.

Other drama at the meet:

We unknowingly sat by the loudest Mom/Grandma/Guardian and her two boys on the face of the planet.  After about 30 minutes of listening to her threaten those noisy boys nonstop in her even noisier voice, we politely shuffled to a new area.

My emotions were stirred as a girl named Grace ran the 1600.  She was double-lapped by the leading girls, and lapped by the rest.  She ran that final lap alone.  What were her coaches thinking??  People applauded as she crossed the finish line, then I watched as her coaches and teammates congratulated her... then walked away.  I hope it wasn't the kind of confidence killer that will affect her for the rest of her life.

Then, somewhere in the middle of the meet, a dad showed up and sat behind us.  I could never figure out exactly what school he was there to support, since he was hollering for everyone.  I overheard him say they had recently moved from Virginia and had no other family here in Colorado.  I was somewhat impressed with his support for all participants, but annoyed at the same time (especially since I was also dealing with dramatic Mauri).  I don't know how many times you can hear, "Way to go, way to go, Vista Ridge!" and "Looking good, looking good, Liberty!"  Seriously... he was cheering for them all.  In his loud, deep, penetrating, manly voice.  Right behind me.

Lexee ran the 400.  I was trying to take pictures over the very high chain link fence surrounding the track.

She was running in second place, but the third place girl was gaining.  I tried to watch the finish, but from my vantage point couldn't see if the other girl had edged her out.  Another Legend Mom said, "Lex took second.  I saw it."  When they announced the results, however, Lex had placed third.  I figured that the girl must have just barely beat her.  Maybe she leaned forward, or thrust her arm out... something.  As we were leaving I stopped by the posted result papers... blowing in the cold mountain wind.  I wanted to see how close it was.  The results showed that other girl had beat Lex by over a second.  No way.  I asked Lex about it.  She said, "Mom, I know I finished ahead of her."  I'm not saying the girl couldn't have beat her... I'm just saying that even I know it wasn't by THAT much.  Makes you just wonder, doesn't it?

Lauren's mom showed up with the requested blanket after a couple hours, but Mauri apparently wanted to play the misery martyr for a little bit longer and wouldn't get under it.  Sigh.  In Mauri's defense, though, she has a little temperature today.  So it wasn't all for show. 

After Lexee's final event, I headed for home with Mauri.  She slept in the back seat, avoiding the almost-running-out-of-gas dilemma.  I definitely cut it close. I had decided to go home the "back way," meaning a good 40 miles of country road with no gas stations in sight.  But we made it.  Drama over.

Going, Going...

Gone.

All that stuff has been cleared, sorted, and either thrown away, put in the donation bag, or put in it's proper place.  It didn't take that long.  Then I did this (it helped that I posted about it... I almost felt like I HAD to at least start):

I got the table and four chairs primed.  I only have four chairs to go... then I have to do the actual painting.  Okay, this is a big project.  Not one that will take less time than I thought after all.

Today I am back to the dentist.  With Mauri.  This has not been my month for coordinating those appointments.  You know how they usually schedule them 6 months out?  I have always tried to keep the appointments together to conserve time and energy, but I've run into a few snags this time.

Mauri really stresses over going to the dentist (she's like her mom... who - don't tell anyone - hasn't been to the dentist for a couple of years!).  She had her initial appt. on the 1st, and was thrilled to be told she had no cavities and would not need to endure the painful process of getting a cavity filled.  Yesterday morning, however, she let me know that, while eating a chocolate egg, a filling fell out.  Shilo was originally scheduled on the 1st, but needed to reschedule because of play practice, so her appt. is now on the 20th.  Lexee went on the 6th, at which we were asked to consult the ortho before returning to fill a small cavity on the 20th (but not at the same time Shilo will be there).  So I took Lex to the ortho on the 7th, and Mauri will be getting that filling fixed today.  So.... let's see... that's six trips to teeth specialists (all located in the same building) in less than a month.  And if Shilo needs to come back for any reason following her initial visit, it could raise to seven.  Talk about going... and going...

What to do?

Since this is what it looks like out my front door this morning,

and since my morning duties of getting Lexee, Bill and Shilo fed and out the door are complete (believe me, it's a long, busy process that starts at 5:30 and concludes around 7), I am considering my options for what to do with my day... until 2:45, after which it is all spoken for.

I would like to go climb back in bed and sleep for a couple of hours.  If I'm really quiet, off-track Mauri may sleep that long too.  It could be a nice, uninterrupted session of shut-eye catch-up.  Hmmmm....

I should go put on my workout clothes and get down on that treadmill.  Then, as I am huffing and sweating away I could see the need to take care of this little area of my life:

This is our catch-all table in the basement.  I usually clear it off about once a month... I think this stuff has been accumulating for a tad longer than that, though.  And the table is all sanded and ready for a new coat of black paint (I purchased the primer and paint about a year ago).  I keep thinking that if I just get the paintbrush and primer out and start, it will probably take less time than I think and I will spend the next year asking myself, "Why didn't I do that sooner?"  My goal is to make this table beautiful and replace my sad, worn-out table in the kitchen with it.  (Yes, they are actually the same table -- some friends of ours gave us theirs in exchange for a Chaparral card -- what a bargain!)  Then I want to take my table that is currently in the kitchen, sand it down, and paint it some crazy color like red.  Just for fun.

Maybe if I go back to bed, I will wake up with renewed energy to tackle the treadmill AND the table.  Hmmm... still thinking.  Tune in tomorrow to find out what I actually did with my day (motivation for me to be able to say I did something rather than nothing).

Tradition! Tradition!

Although hectic and busy as usual, it's been a weekend filled with family traditions.  And for some reason I have that song from The Fiddler on the Roof running through my head (it's got a catchy tune, don't you think?)... so I'll start with... 

The Papa.... the Papa!

Bill sat and listened to General Conference on Saturday, taking careful notes on the messages shared and spiritual promptings that he had.  In between sessions, he worked like a madman helping get the house in order (which means he dusted and wiped down the sofas -- a couple of my least favorite jobs) for our semi-annual Conference Sunday Luncheon.  He attended the Priesthood session alone, but with anticipation of attending the next one in six short months with his beloved son, Taylor.  Later that evening he assisted the Easter Bunny in finding places to hide the girls' baskets.  (Which, by the way, I have done the past few years... and can I just say, I'm better?  The girls found them in mere minutes this year.)

Tradition!

The Mama... the Mama!

On Saturday I attended Lexee's track meet in Windsor (only a 90 minute drive one-way), missing her first event because, of course, they were an hour ahead of schedule (when does THAT happen?).  I stood in the very cold and windy weather for three hours (getting a nice sunglass sunburn... you know, raccoon eyes) before heading for home with Lex in tow.  That evening I couldn't resist watching The Ten Commandments while I made and cleaned up dinner.

I think I watched it because it reminded me of my childhood.  This was one of two shows that we were allowed to watch on Sunday while I was growing up (we had a "no Sunday TV" rule).  It was such a treat when it (or The Sound of Music) came on and we could spend the evening in front of the television.  And I absolutely loved when the Red Sea parted... the intense walk through the middle... the Egyptian army coming after them... what a thrill.  Mauri watched it with me until she fell asleep.  Bill and I recorded the end (she missed the whole Red Sea part!) so she could finish it at her convenience.

On Sunday I arose early to put the ham in the oven and start preparing for the luncheon, which we have held every conference since we've lived in CO.  We invite various ward members over for lunch and socializing in between the two sessions on Sunday.  The group changes here and there, but there are a few families (3 of our neighbors and some good friends) that are there almost every time.  After the first session (loved it), people began arriving and a yummy lunch of ham and cheesy potatoes (Tradition! - for Easter) and various pot-luck sides and desserts was consumed.  I told Bill we were taking pictures (we never have), but we all got too involved in our discussions of conference talks and life in general.  One exciting bit of news... our recently released Stake President was called and sustained as an area Seventy.  It's pretty neat to hear the name of someone you actually know... over the pulpit... at General Conference.  Afterwards we listened to the last session of conference, then talked about how we can improve as a family in some of the areas mentioned.  We decided that we need to share our testimonies more, and have decided to make that the focus of our FHE lesson as we rotate it each week.  Whoever is giving the lesson will choose a gospel principle they have a strong testimony of, then share a message about that topic, concluding with their testimony.  Shilo's turn is tomorrow night.

Tradition!

The son... the son!

We miss Taylor but it's comforting to know he is hearing the same messages from the leaders of the church that we are, at the same time we are hearing them.  It is truly wonderful to live in an age where communication is so available (it would be so hard not to have that weekly email... and it's so immediate.  Not the one-month span of time between writing and receiving an answer that Bill dealt with back in the day).  A friend of mine said that when her sons served missions (she has 3 RMs), she would count Fast Sundays until they returned rather than days because that made her feel not as overwhelmed by the length of time they would be gone.  It's a more manageable number -- 24 vs. 730.  I decided that I would count General Conferences (even more manageable!).  4 down, 0 to go.  Now just to get the next 5 1/2 months to fly by...  according to Elder Syddall, the time is flying by.

Tradition!

The daughters... the daughters!

They colored eggs (and cracked a few in the process)

and got their baskets ready for the Bunny.

Sunday morning they hunted them down in record time.

After conference, we measured their growth.  Our measuring post is in the basement, which is a good excuse for not getting it finished, don't you think?

Youngest to oldest (Tradition!)...

Mauri was thrilled with her 1" growth since last conference, 2" in the past year.  She's now as tall as Shilo was at age 7.

Speaking of which, Shilo was next.

Wow!  That girl has grown 3 inches in the past year.  She's the same height Taylor was at age 14.  
And she's less than an inch away from Lexee...

... who doesn't want to grow any more... and nervously awaited the results of the accurate measuring of her father...

...to find out that she has only grown 1/2 inch the past year. She's about 1/8 inch away from the last mark we have for Britt (who I don't think we've measured since April '09 -- but hasn't grown much since, if any. When we met her down in Las Vegas, we measured her and Lex back-to-back... it was darn close and we even thought Lex looked a little taller. Since neither of those girls ever wear heels, maybe Lex had on higher flip-flops?).

It's so fun to measure every 6 months and compare and congratulate the kids on the growing they've done.

As for Britta... we Skyped her this week... asked some serious questions and talked for over an hour.  
I stole this pic off of her facebook today (I'm so sneaky):

...higher education... independent living... roommates... friends... boyfriend... we miss her too!

Tradition!