General Relief Society Meeting

On Friday, Eileen called me and asked if I wanted to go to the General Relief Society Meeting (held once a year in the conference center in Salt Lake City).  She had tickets and it turns out she had never been to a conference meeting live either so this was pretty special for both of us.

 The closest I ever got was when I was in my first year of college. Christie, Shannon, and I had went up to temple square while the Priesthood session was going on.  At this time, the conference center hadn't been built and so all the conferences were held in the tabernacle on Temple Square.  I remember walking by, peeking in the door.  President Monson (a counselor in the First Presidency at the time) was at the pulpit addressing those in attendance and those watching live throughout the world.  Lots of lights were on him and he looked as if he glowed.  He look like an angel.

Now all the conferences are held in the Conference Center.  It is HUGE!

There are so many things that you just can't really appreciate watching on TV.  The choir that was singing today (a young single female adults choir) was amazing.  They sounded so beautiful.  As I listened to them, I thought of how the Tabernacle Choir must sound in there.  When you watch it on TV, it is impressive but I'm telling you, it is nothing like listening to a skillful choir in person in this conference center.

The other thing that was impressive was what was not seen on TV.  Before the session started, President Monson walked on stage.  Immediately, everyone stood up and was silent.  Now, this is a HUGE room and to have that kind of silence just showed the type of respect that members of the church have towards their prophet.  But the most impressive thing to me was when the conference ended.  The prophet got up to leave and everyone just stayed there and waited for him to wave at us.  It was so sweet to see all age types wait in anticipation for our beloved Prophet to say goodbye.  No one moved.....again, this is a HUGE room which means that it is going to take quite sometime for everyone to get out of there and yet it was more important for us to watch our Prophet than to be the first ones out.

It was a wonderful experience.  I was reminded of how important it is for women to be of service to others.  That being a member of Christ's church just isn't enough.  Action is required.  But my favorite part was as I was listening to the Second Counselor in the General Relief Society Presidency talk to us.  She spoke of trials and shared both personal as well as other people's experiences.  As most women around me were sniffling and crying, I couldn't help but feel extremely blessed.  Now, some of those women could have felt the Spirit and nothing more but I imagine that most of the women were crying because it hit home.  Trials that come with doubts that our creator is near anymore are real and they are horrible to experience.  I have been there and yet instead of those memories making me cry, I felt joy as I knew I am in a period of my life where there is peace.  I am blessed.  I feel it.  I know it.  And I am grateful.

Fun Run

This year's PTA fundraiser was a Fun Run.  Yesterday was their way of collecting money for school events as well as keeping the kids active. 

Since Hyrum is now in school for a few hours, I am able to volunteer quite a bit now.  It feels so good helping in the boy's classroom.  They just light up when I come to help and I just soak it all up because I know it won't be long until I'm not so "cool" and become an embarrassment. 

Helping with the Fun Run has probably been the greatest yet.  Each grade had 40 or so minutes to run their mile (each grade was tailored differently on how far they ran) and then had healthy snacks as well as a few games to play before going back inside the school.  I came prepared with Brigham's inhaler and lots of encouragement to cheer him on.  

My asthmatic was determined to run this mile....without stopping for puffs from his inhaler.  When he would pass me I would offer but that just wasn't an option.  A little part of me wanted him to stop for a couple but at the same time I was really proud of him for his determination.  His asthma has definitely stopped him in active things before.   Usually, he is really cautious about what he does though.  He was the one who decided he didn't want to play soccer anymore, because of his asthma.  So, I was a little surprised that he kept running but at the same time, this is my very determined boy.  Brigham has a hard time backing down on anything that he has set his mind to do or be.

Afterwards, of course, he was coughing and wheezing like crazy but we made it through it!

The Sharks

 Money has been a little tight since school started and so it really bothered me that we could only put one of our boys in a sport this fall.  Brigham even cried about it.....now that, as a parent, makes you feel low (especially when they cry that sad cry, and not the "I didn't get my way" cry).  But since Brigham and Levi played in the spring, we felt it was only fair that it was Hyrum's turn.  Here is Levi reminding Hyrum what to do right before his first game.

 The first game, I felt just a tad bad for Hyrum as he was always the one trailing behind...

 ...but every once in a while he did get in there.

By the third game, it became "painful" for Daddy to watch as Hyrum clearly didn't care that he wasn't in the mix of things.  He would do this little prance like thing and then purposely fall to the ground while yelling "Whoah!"  I kept encouraging him to get up but he kept insisting he couldn't help falling.  You had to be there to see it but trust me, he was just playing around.  He was always very far behind everyone else, so they couldn't have tripped him, and his shoes were tied....and he smiled on his way down everytime.  Little Stinker!!!

All that matters is that he is enjoying it :)  I am not a sporty or competive mom so you won't see me out there yelling at him.  I do think we should try a different sport next time, though.  I'm thinking baseball might be a better match for him since you are not out in the field the whole time and when it is your turn to bat, all eyes are on you.  He likes attention like that.

The Sharks

Parent Night

Thursday night was Silver Crest's parent night.  They only had 2 sessions, which made it hard to get to all 3 of the boy's teachers, but it all went well.  My only complaint is that it was all so formal and in a group setting (with each session pretty much going over the same thing) that it made it very hard to have one on one with your child's teacher.  I already was disappointed that they didn't have you meet your child's teacher before school started so I was really looking forward to meeting the teachers tonight.  I think I spent maybe 3-5 minutes with each teacher one on one, which is not even close to enough time to ask about what is being sent home, how they want to handle certain things, what they expect of my children, or to explain how some of my children have very different learning styles.  I will say it again, I very much miss the school system in Grove.  I feel they were more parent involved.  But I also don't feel like I should be complaining.  They are attending a very safe school where I have no doubt that they are learning more than I could ever teach them.  For that I am very grateful.

So, as I was waiting for the teachers to arrive, I found Levi's classroom.  Outside of his classroom were lots of pictures that the student's had drawn of themselves with a paper next to the picture, telling about themselves.  I felt so proud of my son as he spoke mainly of his brothers and how much he loved them.  I love that boy so much :)

Speaking of loving that boy.....

Last night, we were heading out the door to go to the West's home for a dinner/game night.  Brigham holds the door open for me and I tell him how much I appreciate it and how it is good that he is doing this because boys should open up doors for girls out of respect.  Levi hears this and says something like, "So, when I get married I will open the doors?"  I told him yes but that he should do it when he is dating also.  That girls like that.  He then asks me, "Is it illegal not to do it?"  I really tried not to laugh but it was too funny!  Before long, we were all laughing so hard as the boys turned it into a silly fest of things that should be illegal.  When we got up to the van, Levi opens the door for me and I am so proud.  I tell him so and then teasingly ask David, "How do you feel that your son just showed you up?"  He looks at me, smiles, and then says, "Kinda proud."

I love my boys!

Pass Of All Passes: Rocky Mountain Raceway

Tonight we met the West's at the Rocky Mountain Raceway to watch a Motocross race.  

(Yes, once again, Hyrum's shoes are on backwards!)

 The Pass Of All Passes also gets us into car races but I thought that the motocross would be a better bet with Hyrum and him not liking loud noises.....um, not so much.....

 But he soon got used to it and was glued to my lap which prompted this picture of him, Levi and I.

 But boredom set in and soon he was experimenting with my camera.

 I am surrounded by boy stuff all the time and .... well, you know, I'm used to it.  It was kinda fun watching all this tonight.  The type of people at this event reminded me of home...really laid back.  David and I really felt at ease and it made us miss the mentality of Oklahoma....even if we were making jokes about some of the things we saw tonight :)

 There was a girl racing tonight.  Of course, Christine and I couldn't help but root for her.  I even tried to get Hyrum to yell, "GIRLS RULE!"  But Brigham was not going to have any of that!

This kid is ALL boy!

Hyrum's first day of kindergarten

Today was Hyrum's first day of Kindergarten.  It felt weird to me.  Not because he is my last child going to school.  That is what you would think.

The older boys started school 2 weeks ago so I think that had something to do with it.  Plus, Hyrum only goes to school for 2 1/2 hours Monday - Thursday and only for 2 hours on Friday.  Hyrum was in Head Start all day for 1 1/2 years while we were in Oklahoma so I think it just felt like he had always been in school.  So when I overheard a mother talking about how sad she was that this day had come for her Kindergartner....I kinda felt bad.  Oh yeah, I'm suppose to be sad.  Maybe next year when he is going full time, it will really hit me.  I guess it feels so weird because I'm not sad but I'm not jumping for joy either.  Hyrum is such an easy kid so staying home with him has been very rewarding.

 Here he is with his teacher, Mrs. Cloward.  He is wearing a Silver Crest Knights t-shirt that the school gave him last year at his orientation.

After his first day of school, we had 4 hours to kill before the older boys got home so we went to the Aquarium with Christine.  Hyrum was so excited to pet the "swimy fings (slimy things)" (stingrays) but to our surprise they were gone and replaced with sharks!  Hyrum was too scared to pet the Leopard shark but I was all over that!  Who gets to say that they have pet a shark?!  There was also horn sharks...they felt like sand paper and not at all what I expected.

Squaw Peak

I am not an outdoorsy person.  I wish I were but I'm not.  I do, however, really like to hike.  It can be hard work (depending on where you are hiking) but the views and quiet nature is so rewarding to me.  As much as I really enjoy hiking, I have to admit that this is the first hike I have taken since moving back to Utah.

We went to Squaw Peak in Provo this morning.  Here are the boys with Daddy at the lookout point just before you start the actual hike.  You can see the Utah Lake (and unfortunately the smog) behind them.

 I LOVE THE MOUNTAINS!

Here are the boys on one of the many stops that Mommy had to make as her heart was racing.  I am not sure if it was all because of me being out of breath... since I am VERY afraid of heights.  My heart was really racing!  But for sure it was a workout for me.  Since moving here I have lost 32 pounds.  I have changed the way I eat and excersize 5-7 days a week for at least 45 minutes.  You would think I could out-hike my kids....but not even close!

 In a few days it will be to the exact date, 11 years ago, when David proposed to me.  I usually figure things out before most people can surprise me but he fooled me into thinking that he was taking me on a hike so I could take pictures of the changing leaves.  I am a sucker for pictures and he knew it.  He completely surprised me!

And here is the exact spot that he did it.  Here we are, almost 11 years later, with a family of 5.  I sure do love this family of mine!