Sunday Park Time

On another one of our Sunday walks we walked by a park and I let the girls play for a little bit. They have never been to this park since it is in a different neighborhood and have decided to dub it the "Alien Park".  I think they called it this because of the colors of the park and because it had a cool round swing. Whatever the name the fun was the same and they enjoyed the little time there.

She's Permitted!

While I was busy at TOFW Kenedy had her final hour of driving before she got her permit. We were told by her cheer coach at the beginning of the year that the girls were not allowed to take drivers ed until the spring because of scheduling. I thought that was ridiculous and that they should be able to make it so the girls could take it especially with all of the driving around we have to do for them. But, whatever, I resigned myself to the fate of her not doing it until much later. But then, coaching got all switched around. The head coach was fired for an unknown reason and Kenedy's JV coach was moved to head coach and the assistant JV coach was put in as Head JV coach. This coach is nicer and more understanding and so one of the Mom's asked her if our Daughters could take drivers ed. She was agreeable to it and said as long as we do it before the end of October which is when Competition starts. We were told about a two week course that was every night and a little more spendy but worth it because she would get done faster then any other courses. We signed her up and she had three hours of class every night and missed two football games and cheer practice for those two weeks but we got it done and now she is officially permitted! 

When I got home I was excited to have Kenedy drive so I had her drive me to Wal-Greens to pick up a couple of items. 

She has 6 months to get in 60 hours of drive time and then she can get her license. I am ready to have another driver in the family to help out and I am ready for her to drive herself to everything she needs to be at. 

As I have been riding with her I have been surprised by how patient I am and not needlessly freaking out and making her nervous. She already told me she likes driving with me better then her Dad because he does not have any patience and makes her nervous. 

I think she will be a great driver and am excited for her but also for me. :)

Time Out For Women

Earlier this week I got a text from my Aunt Tami saying she had an extra ticket to TOFW and asked if I wanted it? First I had to google what TOFW was because I had no idea. I assumed it was a church thing but not sure, once I saw it was for Time Out For Women I was really interested. I checked my calendar, made sure Kefford did not have any plans I was not aware of and then excitedly let Tami know that I was in!

I still was not quite sure what to expect at this event since I have never been before so I looked at the website and figured it must be like a one day EFY type thing only for Women. None the less I was excited for this time to learn something, to feel the Spirit and to hang out with my Cousin and Aunt both of whom I have not seen in a little while. 

After I had accepted the invitation I really felt like this was something that was meant to be and that there was going to be a message that I needed to hear. So for the couple of days leading up to the event I preyed that I would recognize what the Lord wanted me to hear and that I would be able to really feel the Spirit. Wouldn't you know the thing I feel the Lord wanted me to hear was said in the first 10 minutes. I heard it and know that it was for me! I am so grateful for the Lord for answering my prayers and also to Tami for being the means to get me there. It was not anything super profound or huge but it was something I needed to hear. I also heard a couple of other things throughout the day that I am glad I was there to hear. What a great day it was. I loved all of the Speakers and the entertainment was Mercy River. There songs and music helped to enhance the Spirit that day.

Tami, Taylor and Elizabeth

I bought one of the "Mercy River" CD's for Kenedy and during a break I saw they were signing and taking pictures so I grabbed my CD and hurried over. One of the girls had to go backstage to get ready for the next thing so I only got two signatures and a picture with just the two. After the closing prayer they were out front again and so I went over to get the last signature and then the three of us got a picture with the three of them.

Taylor, Elizabeth, Whitney, Brooke, Soni and Tami

After we were done we met up with Kelsey who came with friends to get a picture in front of the TOFW sign.

Kelsey, Taylor, Tami and Elizabeth

Thanks to Tami for the extra ticket and a huge thank you to Taylor for suggesting me when told there was an extra ticket. It means a lot to me and the day was a great day!

Spooky Books

We had parent teacher conferences last week and while I was at Rylees her teacher was telling me about the spooky Halloween chapter book she is reading her class right now. It got me to thinking about one I read when I was a kid but I could not remember the name. I was describing it to her and she knew what it was right away and she even had it there in the classroom. She pulled it out and told me I could borrow it to read to my kiddos. The book is called "The Dollhouse Murders" and I was so excited to bring it home and start reading it to my kids. Kenedy is not around in the evenings because of something she is doing for two weeks, and Ryker had no desire to listen to a Spooky story so it ended up just me, Avynlea and Rylee reading the book together. We have also, as a family, been watching Halloween movies this month. I love Halloween and I love watching Halloween movies with my kids. Most of them are Disney and are ones Kefford and I watched when we were kids. Movies that scared us then but are not a big deal now. My kids find them scary though so that is perfect.

This night after we read a few chapters from our book I was chilling on my bed with my girls when I realized Avynlea was singing some cute children songs. She said she learned them while being at her friends house and it was so cute watching and listening to her. She was singing "slippery fish" when I decided to take some pictures. What a little cutie pie!

Rylee started acting silly and so I turned the camera on her and then we took some of all three of us.

On Sunday I wanted to go on a walk and these two were the only ones willing to go with me. What am I going to do when I don't have anyone willing to go with me? Sad day. Luckily these two still like going and so we went on a short walk around the neighborhood. Avynlea noticed how cool the clouds look and wanted me to take a picture. Since I don't like taking pictures with out people in them I had the girls to pose with the clouds and then I could take a picture. She was right about the clouds looking pretty cool and I was right about including my two cute girls in the picture. 

Love these fun times with my kids!

Primary Program Talks

The Primary Program is at the end of this month and a couple of weeks ago the kids got their assignments. Our kids were all given the same assignment. They were assigned to collectively give a talk on why having Family Home Evening, Family Scripture Study, and Family Prayer was importent. Since Kenedy was at her Drivers Ed class on Monday night we decided to use the time to have the kids write their talks. We decided to break it up into the three topics and have each kid write a paragraph on their topic. At the Program they will get up and stand together at the Pulpit, each one will recite their section and then collectively say "in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen". We had each child write their own ideas as to why their given subject was important and then we helped flesh out ideas as needed. Honestly not  a lot of help was needed and my kids had some really amazing things to write. I was truly impressed! We are going to have them practice every night so that by the time the Program rolls around they have their parts memorized. Definitely a successful FHE! 

Conference Sunday

This past weekend we got to listen to conference. The kids have been begging to go visit the farm and so on Saturday we did just that. I did not get any pictures but the kids had a lot of fun and I was able to get some busy work done on the computer and at the table during conference. It helps me to concentrate and stay awake to be doing something while watching. When we came home I found a muffin in a brown paper bag left on the front porch for me. It was from the Primary President thanking me for my service in Primary. I have been in my Nursery calling for over two years now and it never gets old, I love it!

The next day, Sunday, we gathered to watch Conference at home. After the first session I decided to go on a Sunday walk since it was such a beautiful day outside. Avynlea and Rylee came with me again but Avynlea headed back home after a block because she was tired and did not feel like going on a long walk. Rylee and I walked to the Elementary school by our house and walked the walking path, she wanted to see what a school other then her own was like. We saw the map of the USA painted on the playground and so I had her stand in Idaho so I could take a picture. 

We got home right before the last session was to start and we discovered the other kids had pulled out the paints and were painting Halloween Decorations. The were at the table and wanted to move their stuff into the Family Room to watch conference and I said that was not a good idea. They did not listen and I assumed Kefford told them OK so they moved their paint in. All was going fine until Rylee spilled some blue paint on the carpet. Luckily I got it cleaned up fine, but that ended the fun of painting in the Family Room.

After dinner I made a batch of Caramel Popcorn and we settled in to watch "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" Most of the kids had not seen it and Alison let us borrow their VHS copy. It was an enjoyable time watching the movie and eating the most delicious Caramel popcorn. I took a picture of the remains of our treat, why is it that no matter how much I scrape and stir, there is always a pool of caramel on the bottom of the bowl?

We had gotten "Booed" a couple of days ago and so we decided to "Boo" a couple of families in our Ward. We got our treats together and the "Boo" paper and off we went. Rylee and Ryker delivered the first treat and did a smooth job. In and out and we were on our way before the door was opened and we were caught. Avynlea and Kenedy did the second house and did a good job despite Avynleas giggles. As they were running back to the car Kenedy managed to jump in but Kefford started driving away before Avy could get in. I tried grabbing her but I couldn't so Kefford had to slow it down so the giggle monster could jump in. Everyone had a lot of fun secretly delivering our treats and want to do it some more. It is a fun way to do some service and let people know they are loved. 

A Cheerleader and a Camera Phone

Kenedy had cheer pictures on Friday after school. She had one hour from the time school got out to get ready and be back at the school for group and individual shots. I asked her how she was going to do her hair and she said probably just flat ironed hair. I thought she needed to be a little bit more fancy and I suggested she curl her hair. She does not think she is good at curling her hair and so I asked my friend Michelle Porter if she would curl Kenedy's hair with her wand. She does her daughter's hair all the time and it always looks so cute, we were so happy when she agreed to do it. Kenedy does not have too thick of hair and so it only took Michelle about 25 minutes to curl. This gave us enough time to run home so that Kenedy could brush her teeth and apparently also take a bunch of pictures with my phone. She looks beautiful but I am getting a little irritated with all of the "surprise" pictures popping up on my phone from this teenager. I had to tell her no more taking pictures on my phone without permission. I don't like that my phone is being played with without my knowledge. It makes me nervous that something could happen to it, phones are not cheap. 

Anyway these pictures were taken and Kenedy is beautiful and her hair looked awesome! I also love that while she does wear make-up she keeps it light and more natural. She is naturally a beautiful girl and I think it is awesome that she enhances her natural beauty with light make-up rather then covering it with a ton of make-up like some girls tend to do.