The end of the school year is here!

I haven't posted in while, partly because of my schedule, and partly because of my bad attitude, but thanks to a little love from my sis (who is far from me, so she reads this) I'm excited to post again.  And boy howdy have we been deep in 'doing'.

The school year ended for us, and I cannot believe the number of parties, celebrations, awards assemblies and to-do items that sprung up in the last weeks.  I can barely turn our library books, people.  This is overdrive, and I'm at the front of ship carrying 4 kiddos and a hardworking husband (who tries to be here to help as often as he can) who each have commitments.  It's just like that too, stopping a whole ship at some small port to get off and get on several times a day.  And pregnant ladies don't just set out on trips like that.  They need a bum pillow everywhere they go.  And someone to open the door so they can heft the giant 2 year old in when he wants to chase birds.



Literally.  He chases birds everywhere, and we happened to find a dead one that he grabbed a hold of like a treasure, then asked if he could see again for 2 weeks straight thereafter.  This will be funny far from now.

I don't mean to complain, because I'm the one who got us into all of these things.  Liam started T-ball, Hannah is in dance (her calling in life) and Aaron is in Soccer.  And we added piano in there too.  I want to chauffeur none of it, but love the confidence that is seeping out of my kids, and the excitement that they have for doing something new with their abilities that they didn't know they could do.

Dan and I also love to serve in our Church, so we're flip flopping who has kids on which nights, and I'm so grateful for helpful and willing in-laws that don't bat an eyelid when I call last minute and ask for help for, "um...just 3 hours".  And for good friends who see that you are barely keeping up, and come over to help you with laundry and dishes so you don't bust a belly muscle trying to do the loads.  We are seriously blessed on every side.

I've often related to the book of Mormon when it talks about Lehi's family and the hard traveling they were going through.  It says that times rough, and they had to eat raw meat, but still the Lord blessed their women to become strong, even like the men and to bear their journeyings without murmuring. (1 Nep. 17:2).  I'm not eating raw meat that I hunted out of the woods, and I'm not carrying on without complaining, but I have been made strong, even when I look around me and wonder if I should be going all around town like a spry young momma, I realize my stretched out body is good for it.  Thank Goodness!

We had the best time recently, with our dear friends the B's who moved away years ago, and came to visit!  It was so good to be with them again, and their *seriously* good kids (they have 5, in exactly the same gender and order that we will!).  Having them as neighbors made our summers so fun, and really even the winters too.  Man we love them!

Lastly, a little critter and I played spook-each-other-to-death for about 2 hours last night.  I simply do not like mice, and no matter how often I see the same one poke his head out from behind my couch, I can't help but freak out.  Which would then send him back for cover.  Finally I blocked off all the other exits, and put a sticky mouse catcher on the only way out.

 But when he finally got stuck, it was such a pathetic struggle that I couldn't kill him.  So I waited till Dan was done working at midnight, and he did the deed.   I feel bad, but we can't live with mice, people.   I remember the Black Plague.  Note: this photo is from wikihow, where it instructs you on how to release a mouse from a glue trap (and put it where?!).  There's even an article on how to tame a wild rat if you want to.  Wow.

I'll try not to space out the posts here so very long.  We have such good things happening and I love to connect, so thank you for popping in for a visit!

PS, we had a rockin trip to SF, which I will tell you about.  Yay for the redwoods!