Ten on Tuesday

1. I've decided that Camera's need a ringer button. So when I lose it, as I do all the time hence no photos, I can cal it to find it.

2. Grandpa Scott and Aunt Michelle visited us for the 4th. We were so excited to have family around.We had a great time and I had a major chimichanga craving yesterday, so 3 of us ate Mexican on the USA's birthday. . . I almost felt a little unpatriotic until I ate the chimi and I had no regrets. We were so happy to have them visit us and as we live further away from family It gets harder to see them go back home.

3. Annmarie and Jeffrey both learned how to ride their bikes without training wheels this past week. Annmarie taught herself (like she does with everything) and Jeffrey got lots of help from his dad. They are both happy to have passed this milestone

4. On Friday I was feeling great so I said hey I think I'm going to take 2 classes at the YMCA. Well that was not the smartest thing I could have done. I was so tired the rest of the day I took naps and watched TV with the kids for a long time.

5. Thursday and Friday were hot days here (110) with the heat index. So because it was soooo hot (hahahaha how funny is that) We went and played at a park that  has a splash pad and a little pool (2 1/2 feet deep at its deepest)


6. Our friends the Hills have a slip n slide and a pool. We went over there last week and my kids had a blast. Then when they babysat our kids on Friday night one of their neighbors had on of the medium inflatables up that had a slide into water. My kids were in heaven! so glad for great friends who are willing to share their cool toys with us.


7. Women's World Cup - I am so glad we have ESPN 3 here because I can actually watch it. Love watching the USA and saying you see that girl Abby Wambach yeah I played basketball against her. I also love seeing good soccer be played.


8. Movies - we rarely go to the movies. But this past weekend was a rare exception. Chris and I went on a date to see Transformers 3 which I loved (much much better than #2) then on Monday we took the kids to see Cars 2. It was a cute film. our last movie for the year will be in a few weeks. HARRY POTTER!!!!! I cannot wait and am so glad we have a movie theater that only costs 4.50 or 6.50 So much better than 9+ per movie. another huge benefit to living in a smaller area.


9. Chris - (there will be a whole post dedicated to him and our marriage on Thursday since it will be 10 years!) but I love how willing he is to help around the house and how much he loves playing with his children. I'm so thankful for such a wonderful man in my life.


10. Will took my exercising class today with me. He got exposed to suicides, springs, lunges, and fast feet. I'm sure this will not be the last time he gets to do these wonderful things ;) He did such and awesome job. So proud of him and his hard work.

Ten on Tuesday

1.       Annmarie got her ears pierced, then she proceeded to lose one. I tried to put my own in but it was already too closed up. We went last night and got it repierced. Had I found the earing it would have been free. .

.

2.      I have started reading again. I grabbed the new Brandon Mull book The Beyonders: a world without hero’s. I loved his fablehaven series. What I did not realize when I started reading the book was it was the 1^st of 3. I didn’t start reading Harry potter until book 5. All series I read are old enough I don’t have to wait for a new book to come out. Well guess what this book was new enough that I get to wait 1 more year for book 2 and another year after for book 3. I do not like having to wait! The book was pretty good though. I’d say 3.75 stars out of 5. As if my rating actually means anything

3.      My kids have been soo excited for summer to actually be here. Well our first few days of real summer I spent in long pants and sweatshirts because it was about 65 here. Have I mentioned how much I love this place? (later this week it is suppesed to get to the upper 90’s ask again if I still love this place.)

4.      Jeffrey has been a major handful lately. He is getting tantrums that has screams so loud I’m afraid for my ears. We’ve tried lots of different things but one that has actually worked for 2 days we shall see how long it actually works. We have him say a prayer after each one. It seems to help him calm down and make better choices . . . for a little while

5.      Thursday night I had a relief society meeting and it was about Charity. I was amazed that the aspects of having charity are all what seemed to me as spiritual gifts. It was a nice moment for me to realize that.

6.      Working out while pregnant – I dislike quickly my heart rate skyrockets and takes forever to come down. In my classes that remind me of High School basketball (mostly because of the suicides) I feel so helpless because I feel like I have to not try as hard because When my heart gets too high it takes a few min to come back down so I have to not do the next exercise. I hate feeling like I quitter, Chris keeps reminding me that I wanted this and I’ll be ok.

7.      I was able to talk to my mom on the phone for about 45 min the other night. It was so nice. My family is not the biggest phone talkers and so when we actually have stuff to talk about that long it is just nice

8.      Did you know not all Costco’s sell the most wonderful Chocolate (and also a lemon one) bunt cake ever. I was looking for one and was so sad when I went there that they did not have either one! Thankfully I found one at Wal-Mart (which who knows if it will taste good) but I really wanted the Costco one! 

9.      Will and Chris’s date last week was going running the loop at Gray’s Lake (2 miles) Chris said he did great and ran them at a 12 minute a mile pace. Love how Will wants to run and be healthy!! Love that Chris is willing to go and run with him.

10.  I think I’ve realized that I love blogs more than Facebook. You get a more complete picture of what is really going on with people other than just a random though as in “ESPN 3 is not working and I really need it to.” Yes that would be mine from today but all in all I think I am so glad I started blogging again and grateful for the chance to “remember” what happened the last week. Thanks to those of you who read about our oh so exciting life.

Ten on Tuesday

1.       Ragnar – Chris participated in the Wasatch back ragnar this past weekend. He had a great time and was glad to get to run with his friends again. 

2.      Awesome kids – our kids are great. We drove to UT on Thursday (16 hours) and did lots of driving in between and then drove home on Sunday (14:45hours). There was very little fighting and they did so wonderful un the car. I was so thankful for this huge blessing

3.      SLC children’s museum – My kids loved this place. If you’ve been there they spent most of the time on the 2^nd floor building anything they could. This place was great. 

4.      Not arguing – This trip was a monumental occasion for Chris and I, we did not get into any arguments while driving to or from UT. On most road trips over 2 hours this tends to happen. Yeah we are finally growing up :)

5.      Grandma Carmen and Angie – My kids had so much fun playing with these 2 on our trip to UT. It ranged from swimming in the pool to playing baseball or jumping on a tramp. I could not have made this trip without them. Thanks!!

6.      Conference center – My kids got a short tour of the conference center (where our church has its 2 times a year meeting that is watched on TV) It was so neat for them to be able to see where President Monson and others will talk to them in October. They also saw the outside of the SLC temple. They loved that as well.

7.      Exercising – I have had a little trouble in this area. Since becoming pregnant I have discovered that my heart rate rises really fast and doesn’t slow down as fast as usual. This has been very difficult for me especially when I am in class where we do suicides or are “racing” others in the class. I guess I will be learning some humility during this pregnancy. If I learn this lesson or not is what I’m trying to work on. Cannot wait for a few more weeks when my tiredness will be gone!

8.      Annmarie announced to the whole Primary that I was pregnant. While Will said form the background its a secret! It was really funny to see the leaders come out after and ask me if she was telling the truth.

9.      Dinosaurs at the Zoo – our zoo has some traveling dinosaur exhibit right now. The kids liked and were more than happy to get out of the house.

10.  Annmarie got her ears pierced on Saturday. We had told her once she stopped biting her nails for 2 weeks we would get them pierced. She looks so cute. Plus she picked blue earrings over purple. Pink was not an option.

7 for a super hero

My dad has always been one of my hero’s for many reasons. Here are 7 I could think of.

1.      He was my biggest cheerleader. He was always at my athletic events as well as many other events. He never told me what I did wrong or what I could have done better. He told me how great I did and that he was proud of me. I am so ever thankful for that! I still remember running around the track on field day and him yelling for me. GO KAREN!

2.      Our talks – We had many talks about various things sitting by the wood burning stove. It was wonderful. I don’t remember much but I remember he was interested in what I did and what I was learning. I remember feeling the spirit many times in our talks. 

3.      Listening – Dad has done this with many many people. He is a great listener and often has sound but simple advice. I am ever thankful for this. Hopefully I can be someone what close to him on this someday

4.      Spirit – My dad has always tried his best to have  the spirit in his life. He has done the small things that he preaches, prayer scripture study and FHE. It helps me to realize that it is the small things we do that effect our spirituality

5.      Small things – I think I remember hearing my Dad say at one point his favorite calling was being in Nursery. He had this calling when I was in HS so he was not a newlywed. I learned that no calling is beneath us. I also learned that it really is the small things that matter. My senior quote in my yearbook was  “People think they are too big to do little things, often they are too little to be asked to do big things.” This quote is my Dad

6.      Sense of humor – I will relate 2 of my favorite personal memories of my Dad in this area (which I’m sure I will suffer the wrath of later J )  1. The morning after my Junior Prom I came down stairs. My Dad was sitting at the kitchen table and he turns towards me and says smile if it was good. He was referring to the fact that he knew I got my first kiss the night previous. I smiled. 2. My parents were in the kitchen and my Dad says if I go outside and catch you kissing a boy like this (he pecks my mom on the lips) you’re going to be in trouble. If I go outside and see you kissing a boy like this (he French kissed my mom) you’re going to be in the same amount of trouble.  

7.      Love of my mom – I have never know anyone who loves their spouse more (hopefully Chris and I someday). Whenever my mom leaves to visit grand-kids, or anyone and is gone from the house for more than a day my Dad is missing her sorely. He never speaks unkindly of her and I have never heard him raise his voice at her. Only at us children when we were being disrespectful to her. She is the love of His life and anyone who knows them knows this. I love that this is the relationship my parents have. I was able to see an almost perfect marriage growing up. How spoiled I was because of this, I know that my parents love each other.

I am so thankful for the wonderful man my father is and was. I had many friends growing up who’s fathers were not members or inactive. I realized how lucky I was when a few of them came over and received a blessing from my Dad. How lucky I am to have a Dad who can give a blessing at a moment’s notice. Who supports me and my family in our dreams and goals. Who wants nothing but the best for his family. I am so thankful for a man  who knew that money was not the most important things. He realized that attending sporting events of his children was so much more important. It was more important because in the long run  I don’t care that I didn’t wear the cool clothes but I can tell you my dad was at every single one of my games for 3 years of high school. He let me know I was more important than money. Thank you Dad, thank you for the wonderful example you have set for me. Thank you for listening to the spirit, thank you for wanting to have 9 and not 8 kids.

Ten on Tuesday

1. flooding - We have had a ton of rain this past week. we have learned that when we have too much rain too quickly our drain cannot keep up. But on the positive side our pallets were high enough up and once the rain stops our drain works fine.

2. Fender bender - Chris was in a car accident on his way to work on Friday. A lady rear ended him. His neck was sore on Friday. His car will be getting a brand new bumper next Monday :)

3. I finally found a new "place." when I was growing up whenever I needed a place to clear my head etc I would always go to the Hill Cumorah. Thanks to a friend I now have one here in Des Moines. Gotta love new favorite places.

4. Hail in June? The weather here has been crazy!!! it hailed 2 times in one day. It was big hail and it hurt when I got hit by it :)

5. Kid fit - This week Will and Annmarie started their free class at the Y. The run in the gym for 40 min every day. Love it!

6. Library reading program - I've been searching for new books for Will to read to encourage him in his reading. Well I guess the prize of a flashlight should have been all I needed. He read 5 hours in about 8 days. For him this is huge! So happy.

7. Jeffrey's date night.  He wanted to go "golfing." the local sports store has 2  little putting isles. Then they went and tired out some shot guns that were just Jeffrey's size. I would have loved to have seen Chris's face. He had to be in heaven.

8. Singing in the car. The kids class sent home a fitness bingo paper and one of the things was singing in the car. So last night we were driving home with  the raido blaring. We were all singing some Abba and I've got a dream. It was so much fun. we were the ghetto car with really loud music coming out of it. Everyone was singing fro the top of their lungs. It was awesome.

9. Being flexible - this has been a crazy week. The thing I learned the most was even when we have goals for the day it is OK if we don't get them done because life or other things happened.

10. today I got to see our newest gummy bear and see its heart beating :)

Ten on Tuesday

1.      School is out! I never thought I would be excited about this but I am. No more early morning hassle (well we still go to the Y but that can be pushed back). I am so happy to have Will at home. Yes there tends to be more noise but he is much more helpful at home and I’m loving it.

2.      Jed’s GI appointment. Monday we went to the follow up visit from Jed’s scope and being on his meds for about 2 months now. Sadly we have to continue the meds, but they are working which I guess is what I should focus on. That was the good part of the appointment. I went with all 4 kids. What was I thinking!!! One child was climbing and jumping on me while I was trying to talk to the dr. another one was running crazy around the room. I hope to never have to take extra bodies to a doctor’s appointment ever again.

3.      Chris got an A- in one of his classes this semester. This is huge!!!! I cannot express how proud of him I am. For those who don’t know Law school is graded on a curve. So most students get B- C+. So this grade is awesome!!! Chris has done an excellent job at school.

4.      With Friday being Will’s last day of school we decided to let him choose a place to go out to dinner as a family. First he choose McDonalds, then after some coaxing he picked Red Robin. The kids actually did pretty good. Other that 20 bathroom trips. But for the first time in years going out to eat they did good. It probably helped that our neighbor was the waiter, and red robin is loud.

5.      1^st Sunday lesson. Once every 3 months I get to teach on whatever subject I feel I should teach in Relief Society. I am so thankful for this opportunity to learn so much. I know that I learn so much more that the ladies that I teach. I’m thankful they put up with me and my ramblings.

6.      Date night. We have been so lucky to be able to continue this. It is so nice to have a chance to go to the grocery store, eat some dinner and watch a Psych episode, oh yeah and talk all without the worries of our kids. I know you are all envious of the fantastic dates we have. I am so thankful for the friends I have that allow me to leave my kids with them and spend some quality time with the love of my life.

7.      Gray’s lake. Saturday afternoon we went running/bike riding around the lake. Will road his while Chris ran. He did really good and they ran/biked almost 6 miles. I had 1 bike and 3 kids. Jeffrey and Annmarie took turns on the bike and Jed quickly fell asleep, it must have been my wonderful running J After the kids went and put their feet in the lake and then Will ended up falling into the lake. Other than having to come home totally wet he was just fine.

8.      Child date nights continued. Chris and Annmarie went to the store. Fancy date I know. I was asking Chris if he noticed a difference in himself or the kids. He said he noticed that Annmarie was clingier with him after their date. This right there is all the reason I need to keep this new habit up.

9.      Monday we ate 3 strawberries from our garden. I forgot how much I love fresh fruit. Our garden looks like it is doing well. Time will tell. I would post photos of it but I cannot find our camera. Hopefully this will be found sooner rather than later. So you all can see how beautiful our garden is.

10.  Weekly goals – I did really good with the laundry until Sunday. This always happens. I’ve decided that I am going to mainly focus on daily goals. So each day I will pick 4-5 goals. Going to the gym will probably be there most times to give myself an easy check mark. But this way I can tailor what needs to be done on a daily basis.

ten on tuesday

1. Chris's daddy child date night. We have been talking about this for a while. The kids need a little bit more individual attention and with Chris out of school for a little be we thought it we be smart to try. Will and Chris went to an Iowa Barnstormers (arena football) game Friday night. They had a great time. The other kids are excited for their date with daddy.

2. date night. I am so glad that I have friends here who are willing to switch watching kids so that we can go on dates. Life is so much better when I get a chance to see my hubby and talk with him without being interrupted by children.

3. Watching amazing soccer! loved that regular Fox showed the UEFA finals. it is so nice to see soccer that is played well. It was really weird that I recognized so many players because of the world up. Looks like I might have to go see the Iowa Menace play (our soccer team its like AAA)

4. Jed. . . he can now climb off the top bunk. We got rid of the ladders a long long time ago. This was to encourage our kids not not climb up and make it harder for them to climb down. Jed has actually taken longer than I thought he would to learn this. He is so proud of himself. Whenever I put him down for a nap (usually because he is so cranky) he gets down and comes out and says "mom I'm happy!" funny kid.

5. BBQ - Chris decided he was going to invite the Elders Quorum (men's church group) to our house for Memorial day. I was a little worried how this was going to work out. It turned into a family affair. We had a great time. It was so nice to sit around and chat with friends. The kids loved Croquet. They also played some soccer, with a few men. The women mostly sat around and . . . yes chatted. It was so nice. Thanks Chris for a great idea.

6. My good Friend Jana and her family stopped at our house last week as they drove out to their new home. Her husband just graduated from Med school and they moved to Rochester NY!!!! They made it to their new home 2 days later. Which in and of its self was a bunch of small miracles!

7. Field day - Will got 2 field days. The reason. They started the first one and then the rains came. so it was postponed until Monday. The sad part was we went on Monday but he could only stay for about 45 min. He had to have another tooth pulled (I think this is going to be reoccurring) and I didn't want him to miss field day on Friday so I made the appointment for Monday. . . guess that backfired a bit huh.

 I love how tight he had his arm on his back! he was not going to cheat :)

8. I found a nest on our front porch! it has 4 eggs in it. I'm so excited to have nature so close to us!

9. Chris finished his first week of his internship. He gets to wear a suit and tie every day. He looks awesome!! we are in need of a few new ties for him. . . looks like another goodwill run is coming. Unless any of you have ties you want to donate. his thoughts on his first week are . . . he had to were a suit everyday. gotta love that :)



10. my goal for the week - do laundry everyday and put it away daily. I think I have a little too much of a brother of mine in me. I usually fold the laundry then leave it in the laundry basket. This really is a big goal for me.

Ten blessings on tuesday

This week I have been stuck by how much the lord has been blessing us since we’ve moved here. Here are 10 things I’ve noticed and have been thankful for.

1.      Drake – this sounds really funny but. We have been so blessed to live here, go to school here. Etc. They have been wonderful landlords. They have let us plant a garden (see photos) and we have even made money off our property (see #2)

2.      Earning money as a grad student. Chris has not been working during this past year of school and this has made things a little bit harder than normal. We were recently blessed with him getting part time work at the Law Library (3 days a week). While it isn’t much this is really huge for our family. The 2^nd money making adventure we have been blessed with is because we live a stone’s throw from the track/football stadium when they have huge meets like Drake Relay’s, or last weekend’s state HS track and Field meet, and next month’s NCAA meet. We can charge people to park in our driveway. This has been a most unexpected and very nice source of income. 

3.      The internet. When we moved here we got a home phone and internet. Well since we technically live on Drake campus (or close enough) we are so lucky to get their wireless internet. We were talking to our neighbor the other day and found out they got horrible internet form drake so they got their own. Heavenly Father has blessed us with receiving a strong enough connection for our needs. Which in turn saves us 40+ a month

4.      Shampoo and conditioner. This one sounds really funny but I am a believer of it. I have not purchased a new bottle of Shampoo or conditioner since we moved here. The same ones have stayed in our shower day after day and kid over use of kid over use. This is truly amazing to me and I am so thankful for this small blessing.

5.      Chris getting an amazing internship here in Iowa. Right after the 2^nd semester started Chris was offered the amazing internship to work with an Appellate Court Judge in AZ. We were so excited for him but we knew that we all could not afford to go. While we were happy for him we were sad that we would be split up this summer. About a month or so ago he found out he got an internship with the Governor here in Iowa. The capital building is about 15 min from our house. We are so thankful to have had 2 wonderful opportunities for him to learn and grow at. But we are even more thankful that we could stay together as a family this summer.

6.      Having callings that keep us busy. We thought when we moved here they would give us callings that took little to no time. Well that is not exactly the case. Chris is in Elders Quorum presidency and I am in the Relief Society presidency. Even though these callings keep us a little busier than we might like some days. We can certainly attest to the fact that when we fulfill our callings to the best of our ability everything else falls into place. 

7.      Jed’s EE – when we moved here I thought the move will be great for Jed he will be “cured” well this did not happen. But what happened was that we found a GI doctor and Allergist who actually listened to us and made sure we know what this disease is and how to treat it. In March Jed was scoped again and then at the end of the month he started his treatment (drinking 2 little vials of Pulmacort) a day. Since that day he has only throw up one time when he was sick with the stomach bug. This is a huge blessing for us and for him.

8.      Missionaries – since we live in a small branch we have the opportunity to feed the missionaries quite regularly. This is wonderful because my kids love them and they bring such a great spirit into our home.

9.      Date nights – When we moved here this was a worry of mine. I am a firm believer that you and your spouse go on weekly dates things work better for everyone in the house. Almost immediately we made friends with people who will swap kids with us, or want to watch our kids. This has continued up until today and we are a much stronger couple and a happier family because of this

10.  The best blessing we could receive while we are here is the continued knowledge that Heavenly Father really is in Charge. If we listen to him we will be lead to do what is right. 

I know many of these may sound silly or unimportant to you but they have made a huge difference in our life here in Des Moines.