On Probation

Over the weekend my parents arrived in Springville.  On Saturday we helped them unpack and drop the moving truck off at the Home Depot.  It is so good to have them here.  They have made a lot of progress in getting their house set up.  I love seeing so much of the furniture that I grew up with here in Springville.  They seem really pleased with their home, and that makes me happy.  

Kirsten and Reagan seem really happy about having their grandparents down the street, too.  Reagan has said a couple of adorable prayers:  "Thank you that we have such a wonderful Nana" and "Please bless that we can stay at Nana's house forever."  To top it all off, the girls have received about a million new toys and books from my childhood that my parents brought out with them.  They especially like the Ariel dolls and the Babs and Buster Bunny.  It makes me happy to see them enjoy my old toys so much.

This morning was my court date for Porter.  When I arrived at the Police Court at City Hall, I was surprised to realize that it was actual court.  I know that sounds dumb, but I really wasn't imagining standing up in front of a judge and having to plead guilty or not guilty.  However, the worst part was that I had to wait about an hour for my turn while listening to all of the other cases.  One man even went to jail.  Of course, I knew I wasn't going to be going to jail over my dog getting loose, but my imagination started to go a little wild as I waited.  As a rule follower, I was a little out of place.  

When it was my turn, I plead guilty and explained that we forgot that our fence was under repair when we let the dog out in the morning.  The prosecutor suggested lowering the fine to $100 instead of $299, which was about what I expected.  While I was waiting for my paperwork, the prosecutor asked me if all the geese were okay at the farm.  Apparently he lives quite close to the Hall's farm.  So, he knew what Porter had done when he was "at large."  In a small-ish town there is no hiding even the worst of our criminal offenses from the city prosecutor.  Fortunately, all of the geese were okay.  More importantly, my court case is done.  Oh, Porter and I are now on probation for six months.  We won't be wearing GPS trackers, but if he gets out again, the consequences could be pretty expensive.

  

The girls with my mom on Sunday

The girls stayed with my mom while I went to court.  They had a tea party, and afterward, they did "tricks" for "treats" with Mason.

They are sitting for a piece of ham.

Here, Reagan is laying.

Crazy Animals

Last Monday morning around 8:30 I realized that Porter was missing.  The night before Matt and I had knocked down the woodpile that we use as an ersatz fence, so that we could put the chicken coop on top of the run.  We knew this meant that we would not be able to put Porter in the backyard until we had piled the wood back up the next evening, but apparently it was such a habit for me to let Porter out in the morning that I had completely forgotten.  I couldn't even remember letting him out, but I knew he wasn't in the house or in the backyard.  So, I figured that I must have.

I immediately got my shoes on, and even though I was still in my pajamas, I went walking around the neighborhood calling for Porter.  Then I decided that the girls and I would drive around looking for him.  We rolled down the windows and called his name at the top of our lungs while I drove about 15 miles an hour.  I'm pretty sure everyone in the neighborhood knew that he was missing just by the sheer amount of noise we were making.

After about an hour, I decided that I needed a shower because I felt absolutely disgusting and couldn't think of anywhere else to look.  I called Matt to tell him Porter was missing, and Matt told me that he had let Porter outside before he left for work, which at least made me feel less absentminded, since I couldn't even remember seeing the dog at all that morning.  Then I quickly showered, and after I got dressed, I headed outside to call his name again.  As soon as I stepped outside, Officer Barker (the perfect name for a dog catcher) pulled up in his Animal Control truck.  Apparently, Dutch Hall had found Porter in his pond chasing the swans even before I realized Porter was missing.  Porter had scared the Hall's chickens into a tree and had chased the peacocks into a corner.  So, great . . . yeah, we got a ticket.  I supposed worse things could have happened, but I am not pleased that I have to appear in court next week.

A few days later I even received this offer in the mail.
I certainly hope I won't be needing representation.

  On Tuesday I apologized to the Hall's for our stupid dog when I picked Kirsten up from farm preschool.  They didn't realize he was our dog and said that they wouldn't have taken him to Animal Control if they had known, but honestly, I can hardly blame them.  After all, he was chasing their animals.

Thursday evening Kirsten and I walked over to the farm, and we got to see the peacock spread his feathers.  We thought he was so beautiful and watched him for quite some time.

Male peacock showing off

On Friday we stayed home since we had been running around like crazy all week, and the girls asked me to swaddle them, so that I could pretend they were my newborn babies.  They were so funny and sweet.

My newborn babies

Saturday morning we went to the Rec Center.  I did yoga with Matt.  Reagan went to the Kids' Club, and Kirsten went to Zumba Kids.  Afterward we went to the mall to eat lunch and watch Zootopia, which we loved.  I'm pretty sure Matt and I laughed louder than anyone else in the theater.

That evening the girls had a babysitter, and Matt and I went to see Jane Eyre the musical at the Orem Hale Center Theater.  It was an enjoyable production, but honestly, Jane Eyre makes a much better book than musical.  I highly recommend the book to anyone and everyone.

On Mother's Day I woke up to Kirsten knocking on the door to let me know that Reagan had had an accident.  At least the accident was in the bathroom.  So, it wasn't that hard to clean up.  Then we realized that Reagan was sick.  She had a cold, which meant that she wouldn't be able to go to Nursery at Church.  We all went to Sacrament Meeting, but then I went home with her afterward because Matt had to teach the Elders' Quorum lesson.  I was bummed to have to go home from Church early, especially on Mother's Day.  However, despite having a sick kid, which is never fun, the day was quite nice.  Matt made me eggs for breakfast, and he grilled up some delicious filet mignon for dinner.

Reagan was still sick on Monday, but we mostly had a nice day.  She took a long nap in the morning since she hadn't slept well Sunday night, and Kirsten and I played/worked outside.

Kirsten took a picture of our chickens wandering the yard.

This is me digging out a garden box to replace the dirt with sand for a sandbox.

Later after Kirsten and I went inside, I heard one of the chickens in distress.  I ran outside to find that Porter had her in his mouth.  Yelling at Porter to drop her, I ran outside to make sure she was okay.  Thankfully she wasn't hurt, but she was not happy.  When I carried her back to the coop, I realized that I could only see three chickens in the yard.  At that point, the girls and I started looking for the other three.

Apparently, Porter had scared them out of the yard.  I quickly found one in the front yard, but I couldn't find the other two.  Once again the girls and I looked everywhere, and once again it seemed to be to no avail.  We asked the neighbors.  I called Animal Control.  When Matt got home, he looked too.  Finally, when there was a torrential downpour with lightning and thunder, I gave up.  I resigned myself to the fact that we were never going to find those chickens again.  Then, after the rain let up, Matt went outside to look again, and he found them on our driveway trying to get back in the backyard.  It seems that the perils of the rain made them ready to face the perils of our dog once again.  I felt so relieved to have those chickens back.

Tulip Festival Half Marathon

The last week has been filled with fun adventures again!

The girls painted their own fingernails and toenails.  I particularly like Reagan's method for painting her toenails.

Kirsten brought home a jellyfish from preschool.  So cute!

Kirsten and I made a bumblebee on Friday morning.

 Around 11:30 on Friday my friend Melanie came over with her kids for our weekly play date.  Kirsten didn't eat lunch, and when I touched her, I could tell that she was burning up.  After I checked her temperature and found she had a fever of 103, Melanie packed up her kids and went home.  Can you believe it?  We had to cut our play date with them short two weeks in a row because my kids started showing symptoms of being sick in the middle of the play date.  I was a little embarrassed, but honestly, Kirsten hadn't seemed sick at all while we were making the bumblebee earlier that morning.

That afternoon was the first time Kirsten has taken a nap in years.  She even napped the next day.  Fortunately she got better by Monday without needing to go to the doctor.  I was glad about that.

Speaking of naps, Reagan has been having a hard time falling asleep at night.  So, I thought I'd start weaning her off her naps.  I told her that she could stay awake during quiet time if she wanted, but the adorable little girl fell asleep anyway.  What a snuggly sight to walk in on after quiet time!

Exhausted little girl.

 Saturday morning I woke up early to run my second half marathon at Thanksgiving Point.  This time I ran it in 2 hours 14 minutes and 46 seconds, which was an average of 10:17 per mile.  I improved my time by 2 minutes 11 seconds!  The first seven miles of the course were relatively flat and easy.  I even passed the 2:10 pacer.  I was cruising and felt great!  However, the last six miles were in the golf course, and there were a lot of hills.  The hills were steep.  At some point, the 2:10 pacer cruised past me, but I was pleased that I never even saw the 2:20 pacer.

It was a beautiful morning to be out running, and the food at the finish line was very yummy.  I quickly drank a water bottle and a chocolate milk followed by eating a glazed donut, part of a bagel, a bag of Sun Chips, and a banana.  Then I laid down in the grass to stretch.  I was filled with a feeling of satisfaction and contentment as I felt the gentle Spring sun shine on me.

This is the finisher's medal I earned.

If you want to watch me cross the finish line, you can watch the video.  Start at 1:13.  I felt much more impressive when I crossed the finish line than I looked.  Honestly, when I crossed the finish line, I felt like I was going so fast because I gave it everything I had right there at the end.  I look exhausted, which is how I felt.  So, at least looks don't deceive in this case, right?

On Monday we went to my friend Jennie's house.  She had her third baby a month ago, and it was so good to see them again.  Kirsten and Reagan enjoyed holding baby Lizzie.

Later that day Kirsten told me that she'd better not hold babies anymore or else she might start wanting one.

Reagan loved the baby too.

 On Tuesday Kirsten had a Pirate Party at preschool.  I put her hair in pigtails and put a bandana around her head.  She wore some costume jewelry and her snow boots.  Kirsten was very pleased with her costume, and she had a great time at the party.  They practiced their letters with lots of fun pirate-themed games.

Fun with Friends

It's been a short week since I didn't write until Thursday last week, but I generally prefer writing on Tuesdays.  So, I'm going to get back on track.

On Friday we went over to Melanie's house to play, but shortly after we got there Reagan started to act really tired.  All she wanted to do was cuddle.  I held her for awhile, and then I realized that she was burning up.  We curtailed the fun and decided to go home for a nap.  When I checked her temperature, it was 103.4.  Poor girl!

She rested for the remainder of the day on Friday, and she rested all day Saturday.  Saturday evening Matt and I looked in her throat with a flashlight, and she had huge white sores on her tonsils.  Thinking it was strep throat, I took her to the Instacare down the street.  The strep test was negative, but the doctor gave her an antibiotic anyway.  She was feeling better Sunday morning.   Now she has had this mysterious strep throat look-alike three times in three months.  I hope she won't have to get her tonsils removed.

On Sunday we went to church, and I got to substitute for the three year old Sunday School class.  There was only one student, which was a little sad, but we had a good time anyway.  Also, I got to use the lesson I prepared for Primary for Family Home Evening again last night.

Our girls were pretty impressed by all the preparation I put into the FHE lesson.  We talked about the Creation, and I had cut-outs of a whole bunch of animals.  Also, we played a matching game where we matched the days of creation with pictures of what God created on that day.  Now we have pictures of tons of different animals floating around our house!

Yesterday I took the girls to my friend Megan's house.  Megan and I were roommates in college for about three years.  She was having a get-together at her place with several of our friends from college.  Lindsey had flown in from Maryland for a week, and Torie had driven up from Arizona.  Their trips just happened to coincide, and Megan and I got to enjoy their company for a couple of hours.  Kirsten and Reagan had fun playing with all the kids.  I was grateful that Reagan was feeling better, so that we could go.

Lindsey did Reagan's hair, so that she looked like Elsa.

This is Torie and her little girl.

Reagan is playing in the "stuffed animal room."

Showing off her hair

New Neighbors

Last Thursday morning my parents drove into town after a two and a half day road trip from Tennessee to Utah.  That afternoon they went to look at a house two blocks south of our house in our neighborhood, and they put an offer on the house.  On Friday their offer was accepted.  That means my parents will be our new neighbors.  How exciting!

It's been a crazy whirlwind of a time for them, and we were glad to be any kind of support we could be.  I can't believe they're actually going to live a six minute walk away from us.

While they were here, my parents slept in Reagan's room, and Reagan slept on the bottom bunk in Kirsten's room.  However, my parents were so inviting that the girls often went in to play with their Nana and Grampa.  Here they are jumping on the bed after taking a bath.

Jumping on the bed!

Since we had already planned to go visit Matt's Aunt Cheryl in Idaho on Saturday, we decided to stick with our plan.  My parents really seemed to need the peace and quiet to get their heads wrapped around how fast everything thing had happened.

Eating lunch at Aunt Cheryl's house.  I thought the mountain lion was so neat.

Aunt Cheryl had some Mater Power Wheel cars and let the girls drive them around in the house.  It was awesome!

 On Sunday we got together with my brother Brian and his family.  It was fun to have big family dinners every night while my parents were in town.  It's nice that we'll get to do it more often now that they're moving here.  Of course, I think we'll have to slow down a bit or we'll all be too worn out to talk to each other anymore.

Kirsten and Reagan eating with their cousin Sierra at the little yellow table.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that my parents brought their dog Mason with them on this trip.  So, this was the first time Mason and Porter met.  They were pretty competitive with each other, but my mom was good at spoiling both of them.  As such, they stayed happy--except for Mason's tireless desire to hump Porter.  Seriously, their little dog wore himself out.  I can't believe Porter tolerated it!
 

Kirsten took this picture of Porter and Mason while Mason was taking a break :)

Selfie with Sierra

Selfie with William

Sierra and Reagan had fun playing doctor together.

Reagan loves collecting rocks.  We lined them up on the porch.

 On Tuesday Reagan got her very own scooter like Kirsten.  Kirsten has been riding her scooter like crazy, and I really felt like Reagan needed one too.  She has already figured out how to steer, and today they both rode their scooters to their friend Gracie's house while I walked.  I can't believe they're both so big.

Kirsten and Reagan with their friend Gracie.

After playing with Gracie, we came home and played in the dirt.

My parents flew back to Tennessee on Wednesday, and now they're starting the next step on the big move.  We can't wait to see them when they get back with all of their stuff!

"Please bless Daddy in Okaha"

Matt is in Omaha this week, and he was in Austen last week.  The girls have been a little confused about where their daddy has gone since he almost never goes out of town for work.  In their prayers, they pray that Daddy will be safe in "Okaha."  I think it is very cute.  We miss him, but he'll be back on Friday.  So, I know we'll survive.

Actually, we're more than surviving.  Last week was Spring Break, and we had a play date nearly every day.  If Matt had been in town, I probably wouldn't have planned our week to be so full, but I knew I would want some adult interaction.

On Monday we met Jennie and her kids at the South Towne Mall.  Jennie had her baby a few days later.  So, I was glad that she was up to meeting us at the mall.  Our kids play so well together.  They played on the indoor playground and pretended to ride the rides in the food court.  Jennie shared cookies and candy with my girls, which made them very happy.  We are so excited that her third baby has arrived now!

We met my neighbor Jessica and her kids at the Provo Rec Center pool on Tuesday.  I had sent her a text inviting her to meet us, but I never heard back from her.  Fortunately, the girls and I still went to the pool because apparently she did text me back.  I just didn't receive Jessica's text until the next day.  Phones can be so unreliable at times!  I would have felt like such a heel if we hadn't gone to the pool.

Reagan has entered a new I'm-terrified-of-the-water stage, and I do not like it.  Last summer she would jump into the pool and throw her body all around without any fear, but now if she can't touch the bottom, she clings to me and cries.  It's sad, but honestly kind of annoying.  I hope she outgrows the phase soon.  Fortunately, they have a really nice "kiddie" pool, and since she can touch there, she has a lot of fun.  She'll even go down the twisty slides.

Kirsten loves swimming.  I expect that after her swim lessons this summer she'll be doing well enough for me to feel comfortable letting her swim without her floaties.  I can't believe how quickly she's growing up!

On Wednesday we went to our friend Melanie's house.  We get together nearly every week, and our girls are such good friends.  Sadie and Reagan are even starting to be able to play together, which is cute to see.  After lunch we went over to a park near their house and enjoyed the sunshine.

Since it was Spring Break, Kirsten didn't have preschool.  So, we invited her best friend from preschool over on Thursday.  Kynslie is such a sweet little girl.  She loved our chickens and was really good at including Reagan, which made me happy.  Kirsten was in heaven having her friend at her house.

On Friday Matt came home, and we all went swimming at the Rec Center in the evening.  I like to see him play with Kirsten in the water, but I admit I get a little envious that I can't play because Reagan is squeezing my neck.  We try to warm her up to the water by passing her back and forth, but she seems to consider it the rarest form of torture.  Sad.

Matt and I went on a date Saturday evening.  We went out to eat at the Art City Trolley, which is our favorite restaurant.  We like to get the spinach and artichoke dip with pita bread as an appetizer, and they also have the most delicious quesadillas.  After dinner we played black light miniature golf, and I won!  Honestly, we were pretty evenly matched for most of the game, but I did pull ahead on the last hole.  After playing mini-golf, we went to see Kung Fu Panda 3 at a discount theater in Spanish Fork.  We felt like we crammed three dates into one, and we still got home 15 minutes before we had told our babysitter that we would be back.

Sunday was pretty much our typical Sunday, and then Matt left on Monday.  About an hour after Matt left, Melanie and her kids came to our house to play.  Kirsten, Reagan, and Amielee really enjoyed playing outside together.

Then while I was in the middle of making lunch, my sister-in-law called to tell me that my parents had sold their house and had asked if we would go over to a house in our neighborhood to do a walk through with my parents' realtor.   Right after lunch the girls and I went over to the house with my brother and his wife.  I was able to get on Skype with my parents and show them the house as we walked through.

Now my parents are driving out from Tennessee to come see the house for themselves.  I'm so excited to see them tomorrow morning.  I can't believe it's actually happening!

On Tuesday I babysat one of my friend Brianne's kids.  Brenna is 11, and Quin is 4.  They played so well with my kids.  The four of them were running in and out of the house, which became pretty obvious by the amount of mulch that got spread throughout the entire house, but it was so much fun to see them be so carefree and uninhibited.  Also, since Brenna was 11, I didn't feel like I had to go outside every time Reagan went out the door, and that was nice.

Well, you can tell we've had a fun-filled week because I didn't even think to take a single picture.  Hopefully, it was still a fun read though.

Connecting in Weakness

A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine shared a quote with me that has stuck with me:  "Connect with people in weakness instead of trying to impress with strength."

When I'm trying, whether consciously or unconsciously, to impress people, I'm more concerned about what they think of me than actually trying to connect with them.  I can't "mourn with those who mourn" or "comfort those who stand in need of comfort," as I covenanted to do when I was baptized, if I'm trying to prove to myself and other people that my life is perfect.  Since I want to have genuine connections with people, I have been trying to share more of my human frailties with others.  That's not to say that I feel the need to share all of my weaknesses with everyone all the time, but I've come to realize that sometimes I even hesitate to share my talents because I don't deem them to be "good enough."

In March, I had an opportunity to share some of my talents at the Relief Society birthday party activity at Church.  A week before the activity Sister Hancock came to my door with two pieces of music.  She asked me to sing one and play the other one while my friend Janette sang.  In turn, Janette would play for me while I sang.  Sister Hancock is relatively new in the Ward, and she told me that she was getting to know everyone's talents,  She had prayed to ask who should sing the songs she had selected, and Janette's and my name came to her mind.  In addition, she felt strongly that we should help each other by accompanying.  When she asked Janette, she didn't even know if Janette could play the piano (she can).

I had heard both songs before, and I even had the piano book.  However, I had never really learned or practiced either of those two songs.  Janette and I practiced together a few days after my half marathon, and my fingers were all over the place.  When Sister Hancock had asked me to play, I had felt confident that I could play the song, but practicing at Janette's house, I started to feel a little embarrassed.  Maybe I wasn't good enough to accompany?  I quickly threw my shame and my doubt away and told myself that I could play the song.  I simply needed to practice more.  Janette gave me encouraging words, and I gave Janette encouraging words because I think she was feeling the same way about her ability to accompany.

Then I went home and I practiced.  I spent hours on the song.  For the next two or three nights it was in head as I fell asleep at night.  I practiced at the Church and at home.  I prayed for the ability to invite the Spirit to the meeting through the music.  I surrendered, in prayer, my desire to impress people with my musical talents because, I'll confess, that I never once played the song perfectly all the way through.  It was a pretty long song, and my hands weren't even large enough to reach all of the notes in some of the chords.  It was clearly written by a man with very large hands, but I was able to do some modifications, so that my hands could play enough of the notes.

On the night of the activity, Janette and I encouraged each other.  Neither of us had even had time to be nervous about singing because our complete focus was on practicing the piano.  And do you know what?  Neither of us played perfectly that evening, but we both played well.  Most importantly, the Spirit was in the room because our hearts were in the right place.  We had connected with each other and with the other women in the room in our weakness.  That made me feel more than "good enough."  I felt like I was a divine member of a divine sisterhood.

On a more newsy note:  My parents went home on Wednesday.  We had a fantastic visit with them, and I was happy that I got to drive them to the airport.  I'm a bit selfish when it comes to driving family to the airport because I want the time in the car to talk.

On Saturday I went to Insanity at the Rec Center for the first time in six months or so.  The last time I went I had to leave the class early because I thought I was going to pass out, but this time, I finished the entire workout.  My body was sore until Monday, but it was fun anyway.  I intend to do it again because I think it will help me improve my running.    On April 30th I'm going to run another half marathon at Thanksgiving Point, and I would like to improve my time.

Here are a couple of pictures:

Kirsten took this picture today while we were playing outside.

We let the chicks play in the yard on Sunday, and they kept gravitating toward our Easter decorations.  How appropriate!