Last night after sharing our 2014 ‘Plant the Garden’ photos, I read this in Mosiah 6. I’m sure hoping that tilling the earth (& working hard!) = no contention for 3 years. Wish us luck with that one!
Even though the kids may not enjoy this task,
remember WORK BUILDS CHARACTER!
Weekend plans consisted of
Garden Prep…
digging up corn stalk roots from last year…
hauling and spreading manure mixture from a neighbor (stinky business, I tell ya!)
I thought I’d rather rake manure than make dinner… until I went out and helped for a minute.
tilling manure, vermiculite, peat moss into last year’s mix
(p.s. the kids just loved raking and shoveling manure – NOT!)
Work builds character!
Planting seeds.
Playing with the hose (TRUMAN!)
Enjoying sunshine & green grass & warmth!
Really we planted 2 Zucchini… 2 cucumber … a double row of peas, still need to buy green pepper plants, went thin on carrots since last year was out of control, thin on marigolds since they were gynormous last year, stuck with silver queen corn seeds only, one each of Better Boy, Early Girl, & Big Boy Tomato Plants.
Grandma Smith came to spend BYU Women’s Conference with her sisters, Honey, Becky, & Tammy. They came over for dinner (which they brought themselves) on Thursday. It was fun to see them all! Fun Gals who endured all the burps and giggles from the boys. Saturday … Grandma came to spend the entire day with the kids. She helped in the garden, pushed Truman on the swing, wiped Liza’s drama tears, shared suckers, and had a ‘spirited’ conversation with Jimmy about the curse upon the Lamanites. We enjoyed a dinner & dessert crepe dinner with her. It was great having her here for a visit!
Left at 9 in the morning…arrived home by 8 p.m. = 10 1/2 hour day trip to Goblin Valley.
3 1/2 hours driving…
3 1/2 hours Picnic & hiking…
3 1/2 hours driving
Forgive the billions of photos. I just liked so many for specific reasons.
Potato Rock discovered by Max. This Idaho girl loved that!
Believe it or not, that was a hug… not a choke-hold Max was giving Truman.
Liza coloring on the long drive. Darling chica! Her eyes!!!
(sidenote: this potty-training 2-year-old was amazing.
She came home with a dry pull-up. True Story.
Of course, we had more than a few potty breaks for all 5 kiddos + prego mama)
(another sidenote: state park restrooms were not designed for a prego mama with sensitive smellers & gag reflex. Ugh.)
Abe started out feeling so tired from our long drive. He soon found his energy and was a climbing adventurer!
Zuzu: “Yelp mom. Yelp.”
She couldn’t get up onto that small rock. Tru came to show her how it was done, only he stepped on her pinky finger.
Tears & wailing.
Help from mom and all was well. Hence, happy picture of Tru & Liza on Rock.
Loved Zuzu’s happy hair.
Max requested many pictures. He likes to pose.
Tru tried to go anywhere Abe went. He is a great little climber.
And when he doesn’t know how to get down, he’d just slide right off those rocks. Yikes!
Luckily, he didn’t even get hurt.
Liza started to get paranoid about the sand on her shoes. Such is life hiking around sandstone.
Mostly it was because we had a 10-15 min wait session while Dad ran Max back to the picnic area to poop (sorry… such is life with lots of kids. this is a huge part of our life!)
Tru said his favorite parts of the hike were, “hiking up the rock mountain” (top right), climbing the turtle, and the fish. We also saw a cool Star Trek ship that Max steered for the fam. Imaginations at work!!!
Bottom Right: See how far we’ve come from the parking lot!
Top Left: Love this one of Tru & Max. Max found his way up there… Tru followed. It was a sweet, happy brother moment … they were friends!!!
Top Right: Miss Hannah stayed pretty close to mom and Liza to help. Not quite so many adventurous photos of her this trip. Thanks for watching out for the girlies Hannah.
Bottom Left: Hannah seeking shade. When we arrived it was 65 and cloudy… when we left it was 80 and sunny. It felt pretty warm.
Tru ran and ran around and climbed and climbed. We only lost him once. He wouldn’t respond to our calls because he was in a secret hideout. Luckily it was only a few minutes so we didn’t panic.
Top Left: Mom trying to get in a photo… 3 littles in the background hiding.
Top Right: Finally caught one of those speedy lizards on camera.
Bottom Left: Car ride home for Max. Lego people tower. Max enjoying a blue dum-dum sucker.
Bottom Right: The broken heart rock. Really cool to see how hard sand gets over the bazillions of years.
Tru & Dad returning from a potty break. About 10 minutes after leaving the visitor’s center restroom, Tru had an emergency #2. Being far away from any bathroom, we opted for a behind-the-dune dump. The tricky part was getting to and from without stepping in all the cow-pies.
Abe: Wasn’t feeling 100%. Next day… fever and stomach bug. No bueno. Glad he hung in there on the drive home.
Hannah: Intense on her soduku workbook. She quite enjoyed it.
Last rest-stop of the trip. Spanish Fork Train Display. Fun to balance on the railroad tracks. You can see how chaotic it is to give instructions to 5 kids for a clever photoshoot of everyone balancing on the tracks. Such is our life with lots of littles… often confusion which results in either laughter or tears (luckily this time it was laughter!).
p.s. the last time we went to Goblin Valley was when Max was a wee babe. We drove the 3 1/2 hour… it was pouring so we took a photo and had a picnic in the car… and drove the 3 1/2 hours home. We learned to double-check the weather before leaving the house! (I spy my favorite maternity pants… must have been a few months along with Tru when we took this trip!)
Today’s Spring Break Outing was meeting Grandma & Grandpa Price at the Church history museum. The weather was PERFECT! The flowers are starting to bloom. The kids had fun in the children’s history museum section. Liza loved the spanish dancing and the kitchen/food. Tru loved the scout bugle calls, the hilarious oldie scout gymnastics movie, and fishing on Nephi’s boat. Max, Hannah, & Abe enjoyed trying each activity. Throwing pennies in the fountain is always a treat when with Gr & Gr Price. Thanks for the mighty great time together!
The Temple Strengthens our Family!
You should have heard the cheers and exclamations
and pitter-patter of children’s feet running up the sidewalk
to meet and hug dad. Super Special moment!
Joy in being together!
Jimmy’s mom asked if anyone wanted one of the old trumpet’s lying around the Smith home. We thought the kids would love it. Behold – they really loved it. They were clamoring for a turn.
So interesting that the 3 oldest kids played with cheeks full of air. Little Tru had tight lips and cheeks. I have no idea the proper way to play a trumpet. But everyone did a great job getting some good honks out of that instrument.
Jimmy played the trumpet in the 6th grade when he lived in Dahlonega, GA. Stephen played the trombone & Phillip played the French Horn. His mom used to have them go out to the cow pasture to practice.
Girls Dancing
Boy’s light-sabering
such is life around here.
if it’s too cold to light-saber on the tramp, they use the living room.
Prayers from the tots:
Truman: “Please bless mom to smile lots.”
Maxwell: “Grateful I can be a ‘choose the right’ kid.”
Truman: “Grateful Heavenly Father can make us be good.”
Liza – “Big Chicken”
this girl loves when we have bites of chicken.
She must be a growin’ because she will eat so much.
Her way of asking for a lot is “Big Chicken!!”
Tru: “I am easy at that game.”
Instead of saying “that game is easy for me”.
Maxwell: “Asked & Answered”
a pinterest tip to help your kids stop pestering you with the same request over and over
Max: “Can I play with Jack?”
Mom: “No, not today?”
Max: begging… pleading…
Mom: “You asked. I answered. End of discussion.”
Max: begging… pleading…
still working on this principle with this kid.
We might get this parenting thing by the time we’re … oh, like 90.
Picnic @ the Park
Last Monday we had a day off of school for teacher training.
Wasn’t up for much, but the weather was actually supposed to be semi-warm.
But if the sun isn’t out and it’s breezy, 55 doesn’t seem warm at the park.
So – we headed to Krispy Kreme donuts to redeem “A” report cards for free donuts.
Tasty treat!
Then a maniac mother decision to take 5 kids to Target to buy Max new Sunday shoes.
Never take Eliza into the girlie-girl shoe section. She wants to try on every sparkly shoe there.
Finally… lunch time…
picnic at the park
the sun came out and kids even took jackets off.
what kiddo doesn’t love freedom of playing at the park?
The trick is finding a park that the big kids and little kids both like.
(and a park with shade and bench for mama)
Tru rocked the monkey bars too! He’s growing up, I guess.
It was fun to have a lazy-ish sort of activity with no pressure to keep kids in line or quiet (at a museum, etc).
We might just spend all summer having picnics at the park.
Then a few days later, it snowed. Tru was so delighted and acted like it was the first snow of season.
So then we made pasta salad to delight Hannah. Love the color … and veggies!
Let’s see… somewhere in there Jimmy had a conference.
He was gone 4 1/2 days.
We lived!
I barfed…
from changing poopy diapers… to emptying garbage… to doing dishes… to coughing… to brushing teeth.
But we lived!
And were so grateful when Jimmy got home.
Single parenting is not my strength.
He showed the kids pictures from his trip to Las Vegas.
Pregnancy Update:
15 weeks.
Starting to feel a bit better.
whenever I say that I end up upchucking everything.
But there is always hope.
Anyhoo… there is a small smidgen of our life.
I need to update Abe’s pinewood derby…
and spotlight Hannah’s upcoming Eleanor Roosevelt Wax Museum Report.
someday…
We’ve had an unusually warm February and today seemed like the perfect weather to get out of the house and into the sunshine. We headed to the Provo Temple. We weren’t the only ones with this idea. I guess on Sundays the missionaries at the MTC get some free time to walk around the temple. It was fabulous to see so many missionaries. We chatted with quite a few… some going to Brazil, some to Florida, some to Russia… others to Japan. They were all so excited to leave the MTC to share the gospel with others.
Our kids enjoyed shaking hands with missionaries, rolling down the hills (I know, not the most reverent… but it’s Feb… and it’s sunny!), and seeing the water fountains. Going to the temple is generally a successful family activity which makes it a grand idea!
Off-court.
Liza obsessed with treats and spilling them.
Hannah entertaining the littles.
Weekend of balloons. Lots of spit flying about.
Princess Tutu Liza who ruled the stands.
(at least she thought she did… she was also the un-official team cheerleader/mascot)
Abe’s Game.
Jimmy is coach.
President’s Day Weekend means only 4 teammates show up.
Abe wasn’t feeling well the entire game but he kept going.
He is a tall player!
Hannah’s Game.
Great hustler… zips right down the court.
Working on balancing aggressive steals … 4 fouls
Fifth Grade = full-court ball.
Great attitude & energy.
We enjoyed a fun New Year’s Eve. The kids wanted to continue the tradition of Fried Rice & Fortune Cookies. This year we added sherbet/fresca smoothie which was loved by all! We found some plastic goblets at Walmart which made it extra fun. We played Headbanz, watched Happy New Year Charlie Brown, went outside and counted down and snapped the poppers!, read the scriptures, and put the littles in bed by 8. Hannah, Abe, Dad, Mom (oh and Eliza who didn’t go to bed with the littles) played Life and ate popcorn. Hannah & Abe really wanted to stay up until midnight. Mom & Dad were ready to zonk by 10:30. I showed Hannah & Abe the Astronomy Star App and then we goofed off asking Siri funny questions. The kids ended up watching movies until midnight and then went to bed. Mom & dad tried to get to bed earlier, but ended up talking until almost midnight. See ya later 2013. Onward to 2014.
My kids rarely are playing outside in the summer when it is dark (umm… 10 p.m. or so) … so night games haven’t happened so much around here. But… when it’s autumn and the time changes… and it gets dark at 5 p.m. = perfect time for night games. Hannah taught this one to the kids. They had a smashing great time… and I snuck some glow sticks on them so they wouldn’t ram into each other.
Museum After Dark is a good game to play when your outdoor space is limited. Choose one player to be the “museum guide” and give this person a flashlight. The rest of the players spread out in the playing space and strike an interesting pose, as if they are pieces of art. The museum guide then goes to each piece of “art” and looks it over with her flashlight, describing the piece of “art” in funny ways, but without touching it. If the museum guide can make the “art” laugh or move, the “art” becomes the new museum guide. {LiveStrong.com}