Ten on Tuesday

1. Chris started doing Cross Fit. His first fundamental session was Monday night. He went this morning. When he waled in the house Annmarie asked "did you puke?" nope he didn't, this this is something he says he thinks he will enjoy.

2. Spring break started on Friday  It was beautiful sunny and 60!!!! well lets just say that has long since gone. it is back to 30's with Canadian  winds which makes the windchill feel like 7-12. Needless to say this years spring break is not very warm.

3. We got our first pet after 11.5 years. A fish. He has been named Hill Billy. If we ever find a white one that one will be named White Trash. then if there is a 3rd fish his name will be "the other fish"

4. Saturday I attended a TRX suspension training course. I loved it! I am now "certified or trained" to teach others. I love it and am a huge believer in what it can do for your body, As someone once said to me I am the poster child for it. If you ever want to try it out come on over and I can "practice" my training with you.

5. We had a new frozen yogurt place open up down the street from us. 2 teenagers we know are working there and Monday night was free yogurt night. It was wonderful!!! Jeffrey asked if we can go every Monday night. I said no since they will not be having free yogurt every Monday night. It was nice to let the kids get whatever they wanted.

6. March Maddness!!!! do I really need to say more. It was a tough call choosing between UNLV and Syracuse. really why must they do that to me.

7. Sunday morning the kids asked to use the cards to play "War" a bit later I heard lots of noise. Come to find out they were doing a deck of cards workout. Well I guess passing on exercise is a good thing right?

8. I got to run outside 2 times last week. it was heavenly. a bit of ice in places but hey better than running on the dreadmill. Hope to be able to go outside more often once it warms up. . . sometime.

9. Here are a bunch of photos that I just wanted to post.

this is what 40 looks like in Des Moines.

Henry's place to stare out at the world

This is not a great photo but Annmarie and Jed where shoveling show in the back and loving every min of it.

 Chris and My spring break challange . . . 2000 piece puzzle

I love how babies just chill in this position. If only I was that flexible. 

10. Random fact. I do not like teaching more than 3 classes a week. Today I taught 3. starting at 5 am and the last one ended at 7 pm. I am not cut out to be a full time fitness instructor.

Ten on Tuesday

1. Last night Chris and I listened to and read 2 amazing general conference talks. The first was in the RS session back in Oct 1981. It was by President Benson. Oh wow, I needed to read that. click here to read this. Then the other one was in April 1981 again by President Benson. This was directed at the fathers. Another wonderful read. If you are a parent please take the time and look over these.

2. I started running a bit more, and I just got my new running shoes! nothing better than new shoes, well maybe being able to run outside but soon!!!

3. On Saturday Will decided that he wanted to run with Chris and I at the Y. He ran for 30 min! we were on the track but I would guess he was somewhere close to 3 miles. Hope his desire to run only increases

4. Chris and I got to go see OZ the other night. I must say I really did enjoy it. It was beautiful.

5. Saturday night we showed the kids the Wizard of Oz. Note to self do not watch a new version then watch an older version. There is just way to much difference in the way films are made today compared to 70 years ago. Here they are all watching.

6. I have ever mentioned I have the best job ever? I get to be a mom! Nothing better than that!

 7. So the candy on the beds has worked great. Henry discovered where it was kept and would wander in grab the candy the chew a hole in the bag. You'd have thought he was a mouse :) But he did eat all the Almond Joys!

8. While watching the kids eat breakfast this morning I realized that they all eat the same

They eat with their hands and don't cut anything. Love it.


6. We had parent teacher conference this past week. I love hearing how good my kids are. I am surprised when they tell me how well they follow directions. Glad my kids some how have learned to be good. But the best thing I discovered Annmarie's teacher had Pickle Chiffon Pie!!!! My mom used to read this to me. I loved this book. She let us barrow it for the night. So thankful for awesome people who let me have great memories.

7. The older 3 are still enjoying piano lessons. Will is very excited because he is almost done with this first book.

8. We watched the Piano Guys on PBS the other night. The kids were loving it. I told our kids they could quit taking piano lessons when they can play one of John Schmidt's songs. Jeffrey they asked when he could play the cello. Love this!!

9. Chris got called as the Stake YM's Secretary . He is excited for a new challenge. plus now he goes to stake dances, youth conference and Priest Laurel. I know he is excited.

10.  Random fact - I still love Iowa. even after the latest snow storm (sunday) I still love this place.

ten on tuesday

1. here is a photo of Will's hockey mouth. Now he thinks it is cool.

2. Henry loves oatmeal. . . even dry. I'm still trying to figure out how he got it open

3. Henry hates boots! I got these over a year ago for like $5. I thought they were kids size 5 not toddlers. . . needless to say they lasted for a very short time.

4. I have seen this sign a ton of times since moving here 2.5 years ago. I finally got a photo of it. The best part is there is a baskin robbins in this strip mall.

5. We signed the older 3 up for soccer again. I will be coaching the u6 team (Jeffrey) and Will and Annmarie will be with Will's old coach. I'm so thankful for the league that makes it possible for us to play, and who lets Annmarie play with the older kids because she can hack it.

6. Friday Chris and I spent the day in the town of Algona. never heard of it? well the internet does it no justice. I cannot imagine how beautiful that place is in the fall and spring!

7. Saturday and Sunday were stake Conference here. On Saturday the talk that meant the most to me was one where the speaker spoke about how he got in a car accident (not his fault) at age 16 and didn't feel his fathers love for months because if it. It made me pause and check how I react to certain things that my kids do. So thankful for his talk and all the inspiration that came with his and all the other talks this past weekend.

8. Chris intervened on a discussion between Will and Jeffrey.
       c - Will what would Jesus do in this situation
       w - Fine, Rock paper scissors
 gotta love that thinking

9. I started having some tooth pain while in DC. I figured a filling had fallen out. Well last week it was finally hurting enough to bother me. A wonderful lady that I work with and her awesome husband of a dentist got me in the following day. Yes the filling had fallen out. The problem was is it was still a baby tooth. Many of us lucky Sherwood's still have baby teeth in our mouth. Well long story short. I only have 2 baby teeth left in my mouth instead of 3. So no lets just say I am not buying my kids many gooey things to eat.

10. I stole this from a friend. She was sick of "reminding" her children to make their beds and clean their rooms. So she started putting a piece of candy on their bed when it got made and the room was clean. Well lets just say this has worked great! Today was the first morning there was no reminders from me and only 1 did it. Hopes this helps remind the other 3 what they need to do.

random fact - 20 years ago "the ice storm" hit Rochester NY. Oh such wonderful memories I have of that. The place looked beautiful!

ten on tuesday

1. Snow days. . . were to start. Last wed was an early out day. Then thursday was another because of the potential snow storm that was on its way (we got maybe 3 inches). Then today the kids got out early as well.  At least today it is nice enough for them to be outside playing in it rather than stuck inside and freezing out side.

2. Today's snow is absolutely beautiful!!! I love how big the flakes are and watching them fall. It reminds me of snow growing up. 

3. I was asked to be a campaigner for the YMCA Y partners program. This means calling strangers and asking them to support those who cannot afford to pay the full membership price. It really is a wonderful cause. But I hate calling people. I told my boss I would only ask those who I knew. Well it turns out that I got lucky. My friend Curtis, who comes to HEAT class, was very very generous. I had asked him then a few weeks later he donated. He donated huge! It almost made 5 grown women cry. When i texted him to tell him how much this meant, he responded with "I prayed to God this morning asking for an opportunity to help someone out, and the Y was the opportunity he gave me." I love people like this! 

4. before we moved away from Vegas I had to stock up on some things. In March Smiths always has their case lot sale. Needless to say I bought a ton of peanut butter. This week we opened our last jar. We go through a jar a week here. This is a small blessing that Heavenly Father has chosen to bless us with!

5. Jed got his cast off on Friday. The yesterday he got his foot fitted for his brace. It looks like he will get it in 3 weeks. And get to keep it on for a year. Oh and the Dr told us to keep him off his foot as much as possible before he gets his brace on. yeah that is going to happen

6. Chris took the webelos on a hike Saturday and took Will and Jeffrey. Needless to say it was cold and our children were very unprepared.

7. Chris and I got to attend a birthday party for a friend who had turned 50. WE had a great time and it was a fun party. We learned more about him because his wife had an awesome video going with photos and stuff from his life. Hope I can throw Chris a party that cool in 14 years :)


8. We were talking about Presidents of the USA the other day and Will says "mom President Obama is the worst president ever"
Starting to panic and thinking what did Chris and I
say? I respond "Why"

Will - His wife took out ice cream out of our lunches at
school.
oh to be 8 and think that is what is important in life.


9. Henry had his 1 year appointment. Stats:
Head 76%
Weight 22 lb 7oz - 61%
Height 29'' - 12%

yeah we are out of the single digit percentile for height!!!!


10. Chris and I went and saw Safe Haven. Oh my what an A movie (1 scene could have been removed) I loved it. It made me so thankful for Him and what a wonderful man I married. I am so lucky!!

An Amazing week!

1. First off This trip would never have been possible without our amazing friends! Thanks to the Allison's, Finch's and Tidwell's who watched our kids. To the Flints who took us to the airport and took out our trash, the Adam's who probably thought they spent way to much time with us. And the Coleman's who have been where we are and showed kindness (and let Chris have some fun with their boys). and to Tina who picked us up from the airport. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!

There will probably not be numbers today just photos and explanations  We got in to DC Tuesday night and here was our go-cart err rental car. It was soooo tiny. I'm not sure why it actually had 4 doors.

We became experts at riding the metro. I must say it was not as bad or scary as I thought it was going to be. I am so glad we both brought. our running shoes.

Wednesday we did lots of touristy things. 

we saw the capital from a distance

We did lots of the Museums's

Natural history - the animals and the gem (The hope Diamond etc) were pretty cool

Air and Space - we did this on 2 days and actually took photos the 2nd day.

American History

And the National Archives

It was great too see the important Documents that make our country what it was and what we hope it will always be.

then we hit the mall.

The Washington Monument was a bit sad since we could not go up ( I have vague memories of doing this as a kid) 

The WWII memorial. It was very very well done.

 we did the other war Memorial's as well. All were very nicely done.

The on to One of my most favorite places ever. The Lincoln Memorial. I remember when I went as a kid there was a different feeling there. As an adult it was still there. What a great man.

The view from Lincoln to Washington. 

 Thursday was more sightseeing. We took a tour of the Capital Building thanks to Harry Ried's office. We didn't get any photos because I don't think that way.

 we "saw" the Supreme Court building. 

We went to see Ford'd theater, the house across the street where he died and we also saw the boarding house (that is now a restaurant) where the assassination was planned

The best part of the day was seeing the Tomb of the unknown soldier. and all of Arlington. It was a sweet reminder of the cost that people have paid to preserve our liberties.

Thursday night we actually went to the conference that we came for. It was a J. Reuben Clark Law Society 25th annual Conference. We had a great time and learned lots. (Chris probally more than I).

Friday was all conference. We got to hear Justice Clarence Thomas speak at Lunch. Then hear Elder Holland speak before dinner.

We had dinner with our friends the Coleman's that night at an amazing restaurant in Chinatown. For those who know me. I ate grilled lettuce and tried some scampi. I must say I might actually be starting to grow up. maybe just a bit.

We stayed with a wonderful Host family. We could not have been more blessed to stay with anyone else. They fit us perfectly.

Saturday we had more conference in the morning then did a few more sights. 

We actually got a close up of the Capital 

got photos of Amelia Earhart's plane. 

After that we headed to the Holocaust Mesuem. I cannot think of a way to describe this place. It did a very good job and showing what happened. We were not able to finish the tour due to the emotional of it. At one point there is a huge spot of shoes that were worn by people in the camps. The smell was so overwhelming that I thought I was going to throw up. It was a very "heavy" place to go. It reminded us of what happens when good people stand by and do nothing. Also this is what happens where people are not accepting of religions. It made the morning panel of religious freedoms all the more relevant.

After that we headed back to our host family's house. We were so blessed that they litterally live right next to the Washington DC temple. Chris and I got to go in and do a session. Such a wonderful blessing.

a view from our host family's front porch.

We returned Sunday morning. The kids were excited to see us (well all but Henry). They had fun while we were gone. Will and Jeffrey got to go roller skating. Will learned what happens when you fall on your mouth. After going to the dentist yesterday His front top tooth will have a fake bottom half to it in 6 weeks.

WE had a great time and didn't miss the kids until Saturday. It was so nice to go be just adults. It also makes you realize how much we do really love each other and our kids.

Ten on Tuesday. .

This is early because if I don't do it now it will not happen!

1. Friday night Annmarie and Chris went to a daddy daughter Valentines date. They had a great time. We are so thankful for our thoughtful friends who do things like this.

it started, she didn't want Chris to kiss her.

2. So a few weeks ago I made a daily chore board. Apparently Annmarie thought Chris and I need our own chores to do as well. The rule is no electronics until everything on the board is done. Annmarie added an exception to ours. Computer only if need not want. nice does facebook count as a need?

3. This week has been the week of sickness! But here is Henry snot free, throwing up free and happy!!!! it is so nice to have happy healthy kids back.

4. Wednesday night was the blue and gold dinner for cub scouts. We had a great time. Will finished all the requirements to receive his wolf badge. Way to go Will!!!

5. I made 3 batches of cookies today. I decided to count them.  There were about 270. no I will not eat them. I made them for a bake sale.

6. Saturday night we babysat for a family. I took the kids home and put them in bed, then what did I do? I fell asleep on their couch. It reminded me of what would happen every time I babysat growing up. Fun memories

7. With sick kids this week there was little exercise for me. I forgot how much it effects me. I was so glad to be back working out the last few days.

8. Jed went to the GI for a regular check up. The Dr has taken him off all his meds (except the one that prevents ulcers). Happy day!

9. Have I mentioned that Chris and I leave for DC tomorrow!!!!! I am so excited. The kids are so excited to stay with friends as well so it seems like a win win for us all.

10. Henry is into the head butting stage. He thinks it is the funniest thing. I love to see him grow and learn new things!

Monthly goal

So I have been trying to work on something new each month and needed some accountability. here it goes.

my goal for Feb is to work on being a better friend.

how?
 listen better.
 Try not to multi task while a friend is talking to me etc.
spend more time getting to know people than just talking
call and actually talk to people not just text!

and a variety of other things

Ten on Tuesday

1. Henry was eating black beans (like a champ Will is our only other kid who will eat them with out a fuss). When I placed them on his plate I would blow on them and say Hot! then he would bend down close then try to blow, (more of spit) on them then flap his hands like they touched something hot. So funny!!!

2. A friend of mine helped me out with a valentines day thing for Chris. She took photos of my kids and then an all kid one. She did great! Chris's firsts words were How do I hand this in my office!

3. Will got to go to a video game party. He thought it was the coolest thing ever!!!! note to self have 2 tvs and 2 video game systems and you will have some very happy boys!

4. We filed our taxes! it is always such a great feeling to be done with that!

5. Henry and Jed have been sick. Oh how I feel so bad when they are. but mostly they never act like it until the moment comes then in 2 min they are done and think that life should be normal. Hope they get better soon

6. Saturday I went out with my own personal Stacy London (What not to wear). My friend Leslie took me to lots of stores gave me tips. I must say this is one of the first shopping trips I have ever enjoyed (other than shopping with Kindy). Needless to say I got some very nice complements at church. Why did I do this? Chris and I are headed to DC next week for a conference  The dress those days is Business. I have very few clothes that fit me. So I wanted to buy good new pieces. I must say after my hair cut on Monday I feel like a new person. I will take photos next week while I am in my "business" stuff.

7. While trying to ask the kids what "sport" they wanted to do this spring none of them choose soccer. Will wants to do swim club, Annmarie basketball, and Jeffrey some sort of Karate. We shall see if this actually happens

8. Jeffrey has had a great week!!!! he has had small moments but it seems that we might be past his really rough patch (hopefully)!

9. Will finished his first Harry Potter book. Needless to say he enjoyed it. But he got a not from school about his eye sight so looks like we will be making another appointment with the eye dr.

10. Random fact - I have been officially registered for the first ever out of US Ragnar, Guess it means as a 30 something year old I should get a passport. I think I am the last one!