Fire and Kids

Sounds like a good recipe for disaster, right? WRONG! We had so much fun last night with our "camp out". We got a burn permit to take care of the brush and wood we cleared out from our property. Sadly, it included some good firewood, but, since we don't have a fireplace or need for wood, we needed it removed. This sparked the idea that we should have a cook out and roast hot dogs and marshmallows.
The girls had a blast. Gianna looked like an Amazon woman with her cooking spear and, like our fearless child, was much more comfortable around the fire than her big sister. Emily is a bit more cautious and careful around things, which is an added blessing.
We made a table out of our debris cart (it's like the super duper wheelbarrel but rectangular and metal with four wheels and a pull handle). I laughed at how redneck we probably looked, but enjoyed it so much!


We talked about fire and how dangerous and how beneficial it can be, depending on the situation. Emily is great at presenting us with the opportunities to explain things since she is so curious and asks tons of questions and then repeats what she has learned (to anyone willing to listen to her recitation).

Would You or Have You Hitchhiked?

I was listening to the radio the other day and they shared some statistics. Back in the '70's, around 68% of people were willing to hitchhike. Today, that figure is closer to 18% (my hands were in dishwater, so I couldn't get the exact figures). The radio commentary really ragged on people for hitchhiking or picking up hitchhikers.
Although I don't recommend picking up hitchhikers, I must admit, I've been a hitchhiker before.
Back in the days when I lived in Hawaii, I had no job, very little "extra" cash to pay for The Bus, and frequently traveled between Hauula and Laie...around 3-4 miles each way. So, what do people do when they see a blond, fair skinned girl walking on the highway? Well, they pull over and generously offer her a ride.
Let me tell you, I never got into a vehicle unless I felt completely safe. No scary music playing and no hairs standing on the back of my neck. However, I know, as a parent, that it would be terrifying to know that one of my children was sometimes taking rides from strangers.
There were some seriously generous people out there! The people who pulled over were sometimes male and sometimes female. There was one guy who passed me, pulled over, turned around, picked me up and took me in the opposite direction just to be nice. One van load of Samoans pulled over and gave me a lift and there was never anything scary about the situation. Just truly Christian service from these people.
I'm not saying that we shouldn't be careful. I am saying that we should use the Spirit more often in our lives to know when and how to help people; whether they are on the street, in the grocery store, or our neighbors.

Let the Pampering Begin!

I previously posted a brag session on my husband for attending an award weekend for work held this year at Callaway Gardens. We left early Friday morning and drove across the state to check in at the beautiful Lodge.
It was extremely relaxing and refreshing to spend some one-on-one time with my wonderful husband. We checked in, ran an errand (our GPS broke on the way, so we got a brand new one for the difference in taxes...and the new one is AWESOME...and I think we could watch a movie on it: the screen is that big), got back and ate a wonderful lunch, had time to digest, went to our scheduled appointment for our hour massage (AMAZING!!), more time to hang out, got ready for the luau, rode the crazy bus (our driver seriously got lost along the way) down to the beach front, enjoyed dinner and entertainment (I'm still in love with Polynesian cultures!!), chatted with the Regional Director, rode back to the lodge, and fell asleep watching TV. Did I mention there wasn't a single diaper to change, no clothes to wash, no beds to make, no dishes to do, and not to pay a dime for it?
It was so much fun. The only things I would have changed would be no alcohol served (they had an open bar, so I'm pretty sure we were the only sober attendants at the awards), and to be able to figure out how to have my kids with me. I had an upset tummy from the time we left them until we came home, but that's okay. I know that I just love my kids that much to make me sick when I'm not with them!
Funniest story of the event: when we returned from the awards, along with the whole bus load of people, we entered the elevator and when the doors opened and the bell rang, we got off. We went to our room (we were like the third room from the elevator) and Eric inserted his card. Red light. "What?!" he exclaims. He inserts the card again, no dice. We then looked at the room number. Whoops! We got off on the wrong floor! We were such lemmings!! We got back on the elevator and went up the last floor. A guy saw us and laughingly said, "I know what you guys have been doing!" (referencing the consumption of alcohol). It's a good thing we DON'T drink! We are confused enough staying out "late" (it was about 10pm...but we are NEVER out that late) that we never need the added confusion alcohol can give. Anyway, we laughed thinking about the people whose room we were trying to get into.
I'm still super proud of the hard work my husband does as well as the Lord blessing him to be so successful. The event honored those who represented the top 1/2 percent of all the (retail) employees in the region. This was Eric's third qualifying year and the third time he has earned the award. I just love this hard working man!

3-D Children's Art

I have a lot to say about our most recent General Conference, but it's going to have to be commented on slowly. One of the first things is how important it is to utilize our talents in raising and teaching children. With that in mind, I created this:

I've been the Nursery leader for our ward since August. I've had it in my mind what I wanted to do with the board since that time but hadn't gotten around to fixing it. I even purchased most of the items I used at the beginning of the year. Last week I kidnapped Susan and she helped me put this together. I didn't have it planned out on paper, so it took awhile to get things to work in reality space.
I've never made something so large and it was really fun to create this 3-D version of a child's drawing (really, this is probably better than I could draw on paper myself!). It isn't finished yet...I'll be adding the children in our Nursery to the board as well as a title in blocks on the bottom, but at least I can share this with you as well as encouragement to seek to develop your talents and make your world a happier and joyous place.

If I Could...

If I could, I would have a little shop to sell my reconstructions of old shirts. It's my new favorite gift to give at baby showers. Of course, I'd probably just want to give them away because it's interesting to think about where the dress may end up. AND, there's the fact that I'm still a novice seamstress (everything I make is basically on the fly...I can't get the guts to do something from a "real" pattern), so it's always a "hmmm, how do I fix that?" kind of gig.
But, I love doing it and it is so fun to watch these shirts become little dresses. This one is actually a shirt I purchased just after returning from my mission. It's shrunk a little over the past few years and now is just a tad too short in the torso for me to wear. So, into the recycle pile for dresses to be made and voila! just in time for the baby shower this weekend!!

General Conference, The Sequel

While explaining to Emily that we are going to church today to watch General Conference, she asked, "The Prophet Movie?" I laughed and said yes. She ran to the DVD's and pulled out the most recent copy of General Conference and showed it to me. I laughed again and got to tell her "yes, but we are going to see the new one!"
So, as you enjoy Conference weekend, remember, you are getting to watch the Prophet movie and it's the newest one, so it's going to be great and more relevant to your life than the last one! These are the best "sequels" you can watch!!

She's Reading!!

Well, reading words, at least. I think the technicality of "reading" is multiple words together in sentences, but I'll use her ability to sound out words and read them as reading.
Emily has been passionate about letters for awhile now. Then she wanted to read. It's been rough because although she could sound things out phonetically, she wasn't getting the actual words. She's getting it now, though!
Her favorite book to read is The Rhyming Dust Bunnies. Don't be deceived. I know what is memorized versus what she is reading. If you could see her sounding out the words and then saying them, you'd understand that this is real. It's so cute and has lessened her frustration at trying to read. Now, if she'll just let us continue to read the Scriptures to her! (There are just too many difficult words there for a 3.5 year old.)