St. George (Part 2)

We spent all day on Saturday visiting and swimming in the pool. We even threw in a little birthday party for Aaron. The weather was awesome! It was a perfect day for swimming. Aaron loved his gifts and hugged them tightly to show his approval. He quickly pulled them away when Grandpa asked if they were for him and replied, "No Grandpa, you're too big, they won't fit!" The kids were literally wiped out after a full-day of swimming.

On Saturday night, Uncle Scott took us to an awesome park where we enjoyed a picnic of Cafe Rio. I told Scott that St. George would be a perfect place to live if you could just leave for the summer months. The air was dry and warm with a slight breeze, it really felt perfect.

I left St. George Sunday about 11:00 just as everyone else was heading off to church. I opted not to go, but to get on the road to beat the SoCal traffic. My plan was foiled when my mom called right as I reached Vegas. From the sound of her voice, I thought someone had died, but thank goodness it was just to tell me this, "Amy, you left your purse." Well, since I had feared the worst, my heart and stomach had already sunk and my nerves were whacked out of control, this was relieving news to hear. We made a plan to meet half-way somewhere outside of Mesquite for the hand-off. This added 2 extra hours onto our trip, but I am just glad it wasn't discovered any later and I am so grateful for my parents for coming to bring it to me. They are the best! I think Heavenly Father definitely has a sense of humor and he uses it to teach us a lesson. He must have been shaking his head witha smile saying, "Amy, you don't get ahead by skipping out on church." I learned my lesson. :)

The kids were troopers. We did hit SoCal traffic making the supposedly 7-8 hour trip closer to 10 hours , but we arrived home safe and happy. The last 30 minutes of the drive Isaac got really restless and started to cry, so Abby called Joe. He and Isaac talked and babbled and sang back and forth until we arrived home. It was amazing how much his spirits were lifted by hearing his dad's voice. I love my family and I am so grateful we were able to visit.

We've discovered another benefit to living in Southern California. It's alot easier to find an in-between spot to meet family. When you're living in Northern California, not many people live in or plan weekend trips to Elko or Battle Mountain, Nevada (if you know what I mean).

St. George

Last weekend we took a trip to St. George and met up with everyone in my family except for Chad and Jenn. Joseph was going to come with us, but then he decided last Friday afternoon to stay home to work on a report and to get a long ride in to train for some of his upcoming races. We had a great time visiting and playing and meeting the newest members of the Vest Family, Samantha Rose Vest and Stephen Vest Covey. Every one of us loved holding the tiny little bundles.

It was fun to see the natural motherly instinct in my girls and it was a special treat to watch my boys with the babies. On Saturday night, while I was holding baby Stephen, Aaron came and sat next to me and asked sweetly, "Mom, I hold baby Stephen?" He sat there with a dimply grin gazing at the baby and then looked up at me and said, "Mom, baby Stephen's cute!" Not too much later Isaac climbed up and started to stroke, then poke (yikes!) at baby TT. Both boys thought the baby was pretty cool. The boys had a reverence about them when they were next to the baby. It was amazing to see that even though they are young, they can feel how delicate a newborn is. Soon after, they were off to be there rumble tumble selves, wrestling, jumping, running and throwing everything in sight. But it was fun to get a little glimpse of the sensitive side of them.

A morning email from Joseph

Wish you were here....

Ahhh! Me too! He has business meetings for the next couple of days at the Ritz-Carlton. Spouses weren't invited this time because as they put it "...we'll be spending all day in meetings..." Believe me, I could find plenty to do (or not to do) all by myself. But they've assured us an event for spouses is in the works, so I'll just have to be patient.

WANTED: Children to play with toys!

I love the way Abby's mind works.

We're nearing the end of the short-term lease in the home we are currently in. We have the option of renewing for another year, but the house is too big and the yard is too small. (Not too surprising since this is Southern California we're talking about). Even a little bit more yard will help. We've been working with our landlord to figure out timing so that the transition to our next place will be smooth. It might not be, and we might need to make our summer trip to Utah an extended version to fill in the gaps, but our landlord felt he needed to start advertising our current house just in case the timing is sooner than we expect. I've watched craigslist for the past few days and saw the ad posted Saturday night. What does this mean for us? Well, it means that I need to have the home ready to show at a moment's notice until they find the proper tenants. If you've ever dropped by my house unexpectedly, you'll know that this will be a huge feat. I mean we're sanitary folks, but definitely not clean freaks. Couple that with the fact that our belongings (or lack thereof) have a way of "dumbing things down" it could make for some interesting showings.

I've been talking about it non-stop since the ad was posted. Brynn is annoyed and told me I'm obsessed about having the house clean. Abby's reply was, "Mom, when they call, all you need to do is this, come and get us to make it look like we are playing with the toys that are on the floor, then you don't have to worry about the mess."

What a great way to get out of cleaning up after yourself! ;) Like I said, I love her mind. She thinks on a completely different plane.

It's Friday!

When we moved here a few months ago I started a new rule. No television on school days. We've mostly kept that rule with a few exceptions, but I think my new rule has backfired. Today while I was doing Abby's hair for school, I said, "Abby! It's Friday! What do you want to do after school?"

I expected a request for the park, swimming, the beach, etc. Her answer was, "Watch tv! All I want to do is watch tv!"

Wow, that's not the outcome I wanted my rule to produce. Hmm, we may need to rethink things a little. I'm realizing that by setting that rule, I'm giving the television more value than it deserves. I've turned it into a pretty hot commodity. :) Perhaps I should have taken a more positive approach and focused on all the activities we can do during the week. Sometimes it's easy for all of us to become fixated on what we're told we can't have.

Airport

This morning Aaron came to me and said, "Mom, let's go to the airport!" I asked him why and he said, "Because I want to see Grandma and Grandpa and go to a hotel!" We had a great weekend visiting with family in St. George and these events always leave us wishing for more.

ABC Order

Aaron has had a fascination with the alphabet for a couple of years. He wasn't an early speaker but he picked up on the letters and sounds of the alphabet on his own. It caught us all by surprise because he didn't really speak otherwise and none of us had worked with him on letter recognition, we figure it must have just been from exposure around the house...maybe books, tv???

He's also a pretty particular boy in some ways and can get frustrated when things aren't done just like he thinks they should be. His latest thing to note is the letters on the computer keyboard. He just noticed that they are not in alphabetical order and it has been bothering him like crazy. Multiple times each day he comes to me and asks, "Mom will you fix the letters, they're in the wrong order." It took me a while to figure out what he was talking about, but last night he sat on my lap while I was typing an email and he pointed to the letters and said, "See Mom, can you fix the letters?" Aha! Hopefully he won't try to take matters into his own hands and start pulling keys off. I can tell it totally irks him.

Family Time

We enjoyed a nice afternoon yesterday at the beach here in Oceanside. It's great to have such a free and fun activity so close. Afterward we enjoyed our family favorite, dinner at Rubio's.

Today Abby confessed that if I weren't on the earth, she would marry "dad" because she has a crush on him. I don't blame her, he's pretty great stuff!

Isaac loves him too, and wants to be just like him. He has some big shoes to fill! Today Isaac saw some photos of some cyclists and as he pointed he said, "Daddy, daddy, daddy!" Joseph beamed.

Mother's Day Tea

Last week I received an invitation from Brynn to come to her classroom for a Mother's Day Tea. Joseph met me at the school to take the boys so Brynn and I could have some time together. Her teacher met me at the door of the classroom and then Brynn came and greeted me and took me around the class. It was so cute to see her. She was so excited and had a huge smile across her face the whole time. She first took me to the wall of portraits and had me guess which one was mine. Brynn's was seriously the best, and so there was not question which one was me. All of the other mom's laughed at how well she did. Most of them had to guess a few times for their own portraits.
What do you think?

She then led me to the table where she had made a placemat for me and then served me a little snack. The night before she was very concerned because she realized they would be serving real "tea" and of course, we don't drink tea. She asked if I would bring a water bottle because she didn't want me to not have anything drink. I didn't bring any water, and I could see her wringing her hands a little as she watched her teacher fill all of the glasses with iced tea, but she walked up to her teacher and said, "Mrs. Hartshorn, my mom doesn't drink tea, can I have a cup to get her some water?" She was relieved when her teacher gave her a cup filled with ice and a lemon and she served me a drink from the water fountain in her classroom. She's such a sweetheart.

The class then sang 3 cute songs to the mom's and put on a recorder concert, playing about 6 songs.

At the end, I opened up the present Brynn had made in class for me, a new bracelet! I'm so happy to be a mom. Brynn is sweet and thoughtful and good.

We missed Aaron's preschool Mom's Day party because of his cold, :( Abby came to the car with a handmade present and a cute song to sing for me. I'm very grateful for all of my children. They fill every part of my life with goodness.

Bonsall West Round-Up and other tidbits

Last Friday we had a great time at the Bonsall West Annual Round-Up. The PTA did a great job putting on a fun night. They had a yummy BBQ dinner catered by a local steakhouse, a climbing wall, petting zoo, lots of arts and craft activities, a bounce house and about 20 booths with different games. I volunteered at both of the booths for the girls' classes. They had fun running around with Dad and their friends.

The PTA had a drawing for prizes and I thought for sure we were going to win the Disneyland tickets, but it wasn't our lucky night. ;)

We love the school. It's been a wonderful part of our move.

On a side note: The black skirt Abby is wearing is her favorite and the yellow striped shirt she is also very fond of. The other day I looked at her and said, "Abby, for some reason I feel like I've seen that skirt on you quite a few days this week." She informed me, "Yeah, this is my fifth time wearing it." She wore the same skirt for a whole week, if not more. No joke! I don't even know if I washed it in between. Normally, I would say I'm an awful mother, but it's not like she didn't have anything else to wear, she just wanted to wear her old stand-by. What she is wearing is the last thing on my mind in the morning. I've tried the whole "setting her clothes out for her" routine, it doesn't work, the girl has a mind of her own. We're switching things up a bit now...every other day. ;) She also wears pig tails everyday, she comes bouncing into the kitchen every morning asking, "Mom, will give me fresh piggy tails?" For Abby right now, pig tails are the new headband. The last couple of times I've sent her to shower, she gets out and her hair is still in the pig-tails. Brynn says she's mastered the art of washing her hair with the pig tails in. Oh Abby, what are we going to do with you?



We visited some ballet programs today. We think we've found one that will work, it's 5 blocks away from the beach (bonus!) so we'll have to make a trip there on dance day too. But oh how we miss Applegate Dance and our friends there. It is seriously painful! It made me sad all afternoon just thinking about it. It was a little slice of heaven, and a part of life we have really missed. But, everyday I'm trying to remind myself of this advice...

".....try to benefit from a proper view of what has gone before, I plead with you not to dwell on days now gone nor to yearn vainly for yesterdays, however good those yesterdays may have been. The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead and remember that faith is always pointed toward the future. Faith always has to do with blessings and truths that will yet be efficacious in our lives." Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

We have been blessed to remember so many good things about the past few years of our lives, so many glowing experiences. We are looking with faith to the future. Good things are happening here. We have experienced tender mercies and we know Heavenly Father is watchful of us.

Fanning the Flame

I loved this past LDS General Conference. There was so much directed toward our responsibility as parents. Having children is such a sacred stewardship. I loved what Elder Neil A. Anderson said about that stewardship.

"We hold in our arms the rising generation. They come to this earth with important responsibilities and great spiritual capacities. We cannot be casual in how we prepare them. Our challenge as parents and teachers is not to create a spiritual core in their souls but rather to fan the flame of their spiritual core already aglow with the fire of their premortal faith.
In our world today, each child, each young man and young woman needs his or her own conversion to the truth. Each needs his or her own light, his or her own “steadfast and immovable” faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, independent of parents, youth leaders, and supportive friends."

I love how he emphasized the plea of a child from the primary song, “Tell me the stories of Jesus." Elder Anderson said that the stories of Jesus shared over and over bring faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strength to the testimony.

He asked....

Are the life and teachings of Jesus Christ imbedded in our children?
Do they think about the Savior’s life when they think of their own life?
“Do they know of the love Jesus has for children?”

Do they think about His humble birth, the Savior of the world lying in a manger?

Do His circumstances help them better understand the proper place of material possessions?
Do they know that he stands with open arms to receive them?”

Do they know of the loneliness he felt and how he can help them overcome loneliness in their own lives?

Have they felt the power of the Savior’s miracles?

And then he promised....

As you reverently speak about the Savior—in the car, on the bus, at the dinner table, as you kneel in prayer, during scripture study, or in late-night conversations—the Spirit of the Lord will accompany your words.
If a child is not listening, don’t despair. Time and truth are on your side. At the right moment, your words will return as if from heaven itself. Your testimony will never leave your children.
He promised that As you do your best, the testimony of Jesus will gently distill upon your children’s hearts.

Elder Anderson’s talk was especially meaningful to me because it reinforced specific promptings I had had earlier in the week prior to conference. For the past few years, the week prior to Easter Sunday we spend a little time each evening talking about the last week of the Savior’s mortal ministry. We talk of the triumphal entry, the cleansing of the temple, his day of rest in Bethany, the feast of the Passover, prayer in Gethsemane, the crucifixion , his resurrection and appearances after his resurrection. We also read and talk about parables he taught, and the miracles and teachings of his earthly ministry. Sometimes we prepare well for this and other times we just throw something together last minute. This year, with the move and all, was rather thrown together. But as I watched my children sit quietly next to my husband and attentively listen to the stories, I had a distinct impression that this was something we needed to do more often, not just at Easter, or Christmas, or on Sundays, or Monday nights, but all the time. I could tell they loved hearing the stories. When I heard Elder Anderson give this counsel, the importance of what I felt earlier in the week was reaffirmed to a greater degree. I want for my children the promises that Elder Anderson proclaimed, I want the life and teachings of Jesus Christ embedded in their minds and their souls.

I want to help them develop a personal faith in Jesus Christ that will prepare them for the challenges they will face.

I want them to think of the words Helaman spoke to his sons, “Remember, remember, that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.” Helaman Chapter 5 verse 12~The Book of Mormon

I want them to feel that they can do all things through Christ.

As this session of General Conference concluded, I felt a greater desire to actively and intentionally parent, to live by the spirit, to bear testimony spontaneously and regularly, I want our children to feel the love of our Heavenly Father and Savior in their lives and I want them to desire to have the spirit with them always. I know that the purpose of the gospel of Jesus Christ is to make individuals and families whole and unified. I want to make sure that my everyday habits and efforts are focused on principles and activities that will support this purpose.

La Jolla Shores and San Diego Temple

On Friday, Joseph took us to La Jolla Shores where he had taken the girls just a week before. The water was a beautiful, clear color and the sand was so nice and.....I don't know...fluffy? It felt good, even to me the girl who doesn't love sand.
Living so close to the beach gives us many opportunities to explain to the girls appropriate and inappropriate behavior and dress. I caught Abby staring at quite a few scantily dressed young women, and I said to her, "Abby, don't you ever even think of coming to the beach in something like that or I will come and drag you home by your piggy tails!" :)



Mom and Dad watched the kids while Joseph and I did a session at the San Diego temple in La Jolla. When we arrived, I reached into my bag and then into my purse for my recommend and realized that I left it in my scripture case at home. They had to call my current and former bishop, but we were were able to make it for the last session of the evening. It was so nice to be there. Getting to spend time at the beach and this temple makes me feel happy to be living here.

Mom and Dad left Saturday morning and then we had the treat of hosting Joseph's sister, Michal , along with her husband Matthew and their kids, for some homemade Cafe Rio. They were visiting SoCal for their spring break. The kids loved having cousins over to play with. We loved having them in our home and were sad when they left. It was a great spring break!