Family Home Evening -- Week 4

Oh what a night (day) it was! Daddy was home all day since it was a holiday and we had such great adventures. We decided to go sledding at Jolley's Ranch with Mimi and Bear. As we were driving out there, Ryan and I decided to stop by our old apartment in Springville to show the kids. That separated us from Mom and Dad, but we (thought) we knew how to get to the ranch, so no big deal. Well, it turned out that we didn't quite know how to get there, and we ended up driving pretty far up Hobble Creek Canyon. We were lost, no cell phone service, and no gas in the van. Luckily we turned around and made it to a gas station and then were able to get a hold of Mom and Dad and make it to the ranch.

It was such a great place. They had three hills that were perfect for the kids. Lila had a blast riding down with all of us. She kept saying ,"Fun, Funny, Snow." Griffin sat by the fire with Bear and I think he enjoyed himself too.

As for Jackson and Sunny. I think they might be professional sledders one day. After the first initial run down the hill with me and Ryan they were ready to do it by themselves. They were going head first on their bellies, backwards, spinning, and any other way you can think of. The guys that worked there were great. They kept getting the kids different kinds of sleds to use so they could go faster and farther. I think Jackson holds the record for the farthest, but don't tell Sunny that :)

After sledding we went with Mom and Dad to Cracker Barrel, which is one of my all time favorites. Enough said! On the way home we sang songs from the primary cd, and had a little lesson about families. Where we came from, why we are here, where are we going, etc. I so love my little family. I think I have been blessed with the coolest kids ever and I am so grateful that they are mine. I am so thankful for the opportunity to be a Mom to these kids, and to teach them and help guide them through life. And, to do all the really fun things (like sledding) with them. The truly are awesome!

And, yet again, no pictures b/c I forgot the camera. But they pretty much just looked like little marshmallows in their puffy snow clothes. Very cute!

1st Dentist Visit

I can't remember if I wrote on the blog about Sunny's dentist visit last week or not, but now Jackson has had his visit, so I'll write about both of them.

Jackson went today for his first ever visit to the dentist. I waited so long b/c I was scared to take him. At one time, kids with heart defects had to take antibiotics prior to dental work. Every visit for the first 2 1/2 years of his life they would tell me to make sure he got them or it could cause a serious infection for him. Then, the guidelines for antibiotic use and dental procedures changed and they told me that he did not need them. Well, lets just say I was hard to convince of that. I have been paranoid about taking him and so I just didn't. Well, he is almost 7, so I finally had to bite the bullet and do it. He did great! No cavities! Dr. Smith also said that looking at the x-rays, Jackson won't lose a tooth for another 6 months or so. I thought that was so funny. That poor kid just wants to lose his first tooth, or at least have one loose. Oh well. He loved going and we really like the dentist we picked. So, yea for Jackson.

Poor sweet Sunny on the other hand. She had an accident a few years ago where she got hit in the mouth. It damaged her two front teeth and one has started to die and become abscessed and infected. She also had 5 cavities (can you even believe that?!?!) I was shocked. Neither of my kids drink any juice, they hardly have any treats, and they are excellent about brushing their teeth. The dentist said she just has weak enamel (turns out Ryan does too) and that it wasn't really her fault. So, she has to go back next week to have her dead tooth pulled and to fill 3 of the cavities. The others were really small, so we will just watch them.

Sunny is really exited to have the first visit from the tooth fairy in our house. She loves that she gets to beat Jackson! She is wishing for a CTR ring from the tooth fairy. I think that can be arranged!

Avocado

Today for lunch Lila and I decided to fix Griffin his first real food. Avocado. He loved it (as I'm sure you can tell).

For those that don't know, I started making baby food for Lila, and I love it. I don't do cereal for my kids (except for their first taste, and I use it to thicken some other foods) so their first food is avocado. They are totally healthy and full of good fats. They are also so easy to make. When Lila was little I made a bunch of it, along with other things, and froze them. This time I am mainly just doing fresh. It is really so easy (and healthy), and I love being able to do that for them.

If you've never tried it, I would strongly encourage you to. It really is simple and kinda fun!

In other news, Griffin got his first haircut on Wednesday when Uncle Joshy came to visit. Don't you love how I cut all of his hair out of this picture?!? His Mohawk was getting freakishly long and was starting to curl over on itself, so I decided a snip-snip was in order. Josh held him and I just trimmed off about 1/4 of an inch of the top of the Mohawk. It looks pretty good.

I can't believe I had to cut his hair this early. As you all might remember, Jax was completely (and totally) bald until sometime past a year. Then we ended up buzzing his curls away at about 2 years old.

Sunny had her first hair cut, which was just a trim, at about 2 1/2.

Lila still hasn't had a hair cut, though she could use one. She is looking a little shaggy and has a mullet going on when her hair is straight. I've attempted to even it out several times, but I always chicken out.

And so, Griffin beats Lila at the hair cutting game and also edges out all of his siblings for the honor of the earliest hair cut. (I'll try to put a picture of it soon, but I promise, you won't be able to tell a difference :)

Sharing

Lila wanted to share her coveted "Flower" diaper with Griffin. I just couldn't say no. It is one of her favorites and I thought it was so sweet that she wanted him to wear it. He obviously wasn't impressed with her kindness.

I only took and loaded two pictures. For some reason blogger decided to put them on here over and over. So, enjoy these pictures of my little screamer.

Family Home Evening -- Week 3

No pictures from this week, but we talked about the Priesthood. What it is, what it does, how we use it, and who holds it. Then we all gathered under an umbrella and talked about how the umbrella could protect our family from rain, and that the Priesthood works the same way with our family.

This lesson lasted all of 5 minutes and did not go over nearly as well as last week. But, on the plus side, I now know that Sunny has all the "primary" answers down pat.

Me: What is the Priesthood?

Sunny: God

Me: No, think about it.

Sunny : Jesus

Sunny: Pray, read the scriptures, go to church

And the list went on. It was pretty funny. She also told me that her teacher at church told her Jewish people hate Jesus. I'm pretty sure the original point was probably that they didn't believe he was the Savior, and they crucified him, but I guess that is neither here nor there. At least she is trying to listen in church.

After the lesson we played a game of family bowling on the wii. Jackson won, I got 2nd (I only lost to Jax by 1 point) , Ryan got 3rd, and Sunny barely got 4th (stand back though, b/c that girl is going to kill someone with her wii remote).

So, not the most exciting or spiritual Family Night, but we did it, and that is what counts.

Sweet Lila Cate

She is so cute! Today I straightened her hair to see how long it is getting. She thought she was pretty adorable. I think this picture is one of a very few I have that show her real personality. No fake weird smile, just her sweet self.

I can't believe how long her hair is getting. Sunny's hair was just above her shoulders at 2. Lila is 22 months and hers is halfway down her back when it is straightened. When it is curly it is just a bit below her shoulders. She has a bit of a mullet going on, but not as bad as it was last time we tried to do her hair like this.

And, just a few updates about Lila. She loves singing. Hannah Montana and Taylor Swift are her faves. Not surprising with a big sis like Sunny. I also caught her singing "If you're happy and you know it" last week and she did it perfectly.

She started nursery last week. I went with her the first week and she did great. I didn't know what would happen yesterday, but I dropped her off and walked away. She did great. The nursery leaders said she was wonderful. Well, actually they said she was the best one, but I don't want to brag. Ha ha ha. Of course I do!

I can't believe my tiny little Lila Cate is almost 2 years old.

Family Home Evening -- Week 2

One of the goals I made for the New Year is to have Family Home Evening every Monday night. Nancy gave me a book with 52 short and easy lessons and I want to use it as a guide for the year. I have tried this goal before and failed pretty miserably, but this time we are going to do it.
We actually started the last week of December. We talked about making goals and behaviors we wanted to improve upon for the new year. We had races on Jackson's new race track, and we also played Apples to Apples (fabulous game, btw).

This week our lesson was from Genesis. We talked about the Creation of the Earth. The kids really enjoyed it. Then we put the babies to bed and did a big kid activity. We made clay and cooked it in the oven. We will paint it later (when I buy some paint). Jackson made the Earth. Sunny made a hand print. Ryan made a Volcano, and I made a bowl.

I'm hoping to blog about our FHE every week. Partly as a way to keep me motivated to do it, and partly to share with others the things we are doing and learning in our family.

I will say, our kids love having FHE. They beg all week to do it, and love to plan things. It is so much fun to spend that quality time with them. So, here's looking forward to 51 more blog posts this year about our Family Night activities.