March Family Madness!

March is a really busy month for our family. It starts with our anniversary. We throw in a lot of family birthdays, Spring Break and end with my birthday. It makes for a full month! Here are some of our highlights:

John and I celebrated 19 years this year. We were able to visit the Phoenix temple and do some sealings. The highlight was being able to sit in the celestial room for a long time and just talk.

January & February 2015

I started a new herbal protocol on January 3rd. It has been not the greatest of months for me. However, I did want to blog while I still remember most of it.

Rebecca is a REALLY smart little girl. We were at Costco, and she said, "MOM! Look at these steps!" She then ran over to the toilet paper and noticed that they looked just like...steps. I had to draw the line at climbing them however. 

Trip to Utah/Home Sweet Home!

Taylor is the best big brother Rebecca could ask for. He will give her back rides, dance with her and is my #1 pony finder. Rebecca sure loves her "Tay-er"

Busy Little Bees...And Wasps!

What a busy couple of weeks we have had! We are in the process of refinancing our home, so we are trying to get it ready for the appraisal this week. Besides that, we have had a cold going through our home and life events!

This girl was sick for about 4 days. That was not fun for mom! Lots of juice and popsicles and little sleep.

We Are Just Getting Warmed Up!

I can't believe we are already to MAY! This month generally goes crazy fast as it is, I don't need any help. At work we were talking about May and someone mentioned we should just name it "Paper Plate Month" because it seems you have more concerts, activities and events during May than any other month. No one wants to do dishes. :-)

This week was no exception. On Tuesday we celebrated Taylor's birthday. We went to Red Robin for dinner and were able to get both Taylor and John's meal for free. Then John took Jonathan to his violin lesson and I took the other kids to Walmart to get some things for Taylor's upcoming birthday party. My neighbor sent me a text asking when we were going to be home. They had a gift for Taylor. I felt we should invite them over for cupcakes and ice cream. Taylor thought that was a great idea. So they came over at 8pm for cupcakes and ice cream. Their boys loved it, as did ours.

Art Museums + More!

This past week, John had a meeting on Tuesday night.  That meant I had to take all the kids to ASU for Jonathan's violin lesson.  I took them over to the art museum. The most exciting part was the store. There were 5 areas and only two of those areas we could walk around and see exhibits.  Out of the two, I would say only one of them really made sense. (The other one was really abstract and Thomas kept saying, "I don't get it mom...") At the gift shop, we found the clearance section. Rebecca found a spider she kept giving loves to.

Planes, Trains and Pinewood Derby!

What a week!  It seems like most of our week happened on Saturday. :-)  I can sum up the rest of the week here:

Jonathan had orchestra practice 3 days to get ready for his concert which is tonight! He also had scouts, student council, lots of homework and chores.

Taylor was my helper all week long!  He has been practicing the piano all week faithfully and is a huge help in watching Rebecca so I can make dinner and get things done.

Thomas started bringing home books this past week to read.  He REALLY wants a ribbon at the end of the year and you need to read 50 books by May 13 to get the ribbon.  Guess what we have been doing...

Rebecca...has discovered that she loves to color.  Yes we have entered the coloring stage!  She also figured out that the desk drawer that houses most of our pens/pencils is just her height.  So I will frequently find her like this:

Blue & Gold + Snow!

This past week was Taylor's Blue & Gold Banquet.  They had invited just the parents, so John went and I stayed home with the other children.  They pulled up to the church and there was a limo waiting for them.  The boys got to sit in the limo and then they took their picture as they walked down the red carpet.  They also had stars on the red carpet.  One for each boy.

Glimpse Into Our Family

Last weekend, our stake had a Relief Society Conference.  The theme was on "Enjoy the Journey."  It was something that I needed to hear.  I think as a mother it is too easy to get wrapped up in the daily list of things to do verses taking a step back and really looking at what is going on in your home.  If you do nothing else, I suggest reading this blog post on Drops of Awesome and then think how you can apply it in your own life.  I think I cried through most of the story as it was being read.

Pinewood Derby 2013 (Round 1)

Why Round 1?  Because we have at least 2 Pinewood Derbies to go to this year.  Our old pack right now has 1 boy in it.  (Yes, I said pack and boy.)  They will be getting 2 new Wolves next month, so they invited them as well Taylor to come and race.  They also gave a car to Jonathan & Dad to make so they could race as well.  This week was really busy. 

The boys at one point this week brought out all of Rebecca's stuffed animals and put them on the chair.  Does not look too comfortable...does it? 

Jonathan's Birthday Weekend!

I suppose I should start with the beginning of the week.  On Tuesday, Jonathan had his last Webelos meeting.  I think he is a tad excited about moving onto scouts.  His leader (actually, his leader's wife...) got some ice cream and cake so they could celebrate.

Our Newest Bear!

Last night was Cub Scout Pack Meeting!  We have not had a pack meeting since Taylor turned 9 in April.  He wanted to earn his Bear by the time school started and we worked towards that.  Last night, he was able to get all 4 red beads and his Bear.  He also earned a gold and silver arrow, but they did not get those awards in time for the meeting.  Taylor was on cloud nine!

Cub Scout Day Camp

Last Thursday, Friday & Saturday Jonathan & Taylor went to Cub Scout Day Camp.  This is the first year that we only had to go one day as an adult too!  John went on Friday.  He was with Jonathan's group, so that is why we have more pictures of Jonathan than of Taylor.

The boys had a great time, although it was HOT!  That weekend we broke records.  It was 112, 114 and 110 degrees.  Here are pictures of the day John went.  We had two Bears and two Webelos go. I can't believe this was Jonathan's last year.  The theme this year was cowboys.

Jonathan: Arrow of Light!

Last night was our Blue & Gold Banquet.  I am so glad I was not in charge this year!!!  Not that I would not have done it, but it would have been tough with Rebecca in tow.  The theme was space and John was in charge of doing the Arrow of Light ceremony.

Grandma & Grandpa came as well Uncle Steven.  The boys were excited to see him.  Aunt Jessica stayed home with the kids.  Rebecca was really fussy, and would have loved it if I just pushed her in the stroller all night long.

District Pinewood Derby 2012

Rebecca's hair is so baby fine, that getting bows to stay in her hair is next to impossible right now.  My sister-in-law suggested putting grippy shelf line on them and it worked!  Here Rebecca is modeling one of them for me :-)

Pinewood Derby 2012

Today was the Pinewood Derby for our boys! Taylor has waited for this day for the past two years!!  John has been so busy studying this week, that our good friend helped the boys paint their cars.  They looked pretty awesome.   

This is Jonathan's "The Fast Wedge."

 Taylor named his "Republic Star Cruiser."

John took the boys to the church for the last minute details.  Turns out Taylor's car was over the weight limit.
John spent the next portion of his day doing this:

Webelos Hike

Since John is now a Webelos leader, he wanted to make sure that the boys were all going to earn their Arrow of Light awards.  We have one boy that will be turning 11 this week, so they were under the gun to get everything in.  One thing that he was missing was a hike with the den.  He goes hiking with his family a lot, but that does not count for the requirement.  So John took the boys two Saturdays ago.  He needed another leader and both dad's were free so it turned into a father/son hike :-)

Here are some pictures John took.  He can fill in the details.

Cub Scout Hall of Fame

Every December, the Mesa District with scouts has an awards ceremony.  Since John and I were released we did not see a need to go, but have had some gentle prodding from bishopric and primary presidency members.  So we were told to bring the whole family, wear our uniforms and be there at 6:30.  We did that last night.  Jonathan & Taylor wore their uniforms as well.  They had a bunch of desserts, so the boys were happy.  I don't think it started at 6:30 though.  We got started closer to 7:00.  The boys were quite bored before it even got started.  There were comments of, "Is this just going to be a boring meeting where they will read names?"  "Do I really have to sit here the entire time?"  "Can I go walk around..."  You get the idea.  I told them no tablet, so they played with the camera:

 Taylor

 Jonathan

 Jonathan & Taylor being goofy

 Thomas wearing Grandma's gloves.  (Grandma was invited as well.)

 Rebecca thought her dad's bolo tie looked tasty. 

 She is trying to decide what string to go after next.

The ceremony got started and they started with the formalities and then got to the Cub Scout Hall of Fame awards.  Both John and I received an award!  We were both stunned and appreciative of the recognition.  Here are our awards:

 Sarah

 Taylor - he was really starting to get bored at this point...

 At the end of the main awards, they had those in the Order of the Arrow come out and they did a few dances.  The boys were interested in those, and the drums were quite loud.

It was a nice evening, and the boys got to stay up past their bedtime!

Family Reunion, Halloween Carnival & Church

Last week John's Dad and Maxine came down for the Skabelund family reunion that we had last Saturday.  On Friday night, we went to John's Uncle Max's house to visit with them.  John's Uncle Max makes flutes (Mad Max Flutes) and he let Jonathan & Taylor play them.

 Thomas fell asleep in the car on the way over and was kind of grumpy that night.  He was being a little stinker here.

 We had to get a picture of our children with Grandpa & Grandma Maxine.  These two were the best ones.

Saturday the reunion started at 11.  We got there about 5 minutes early and we were the first ones there still.  John put up signs and we got the food tables ready.  John borrowed an air compressor and we did air rockets with the kids.  (I have John's permission to remind him that this was not worth it for the next reunion.)  The kids all had a great time watching the rockets being blasted into the air.

 Cheryl (Russell & Kalynn) & Hayley (Chris & Amber) walking around.

 Bryan (Russell & Kalynn) & Emma (Chris & Amber) chasing the big ball.

 Bryan (Russell & Kalynn) & Emma (Chris & Amber) getting ready to launch the rocket.  Jonathan in the background.

 Cheryl (Russell & Kalynn) & Taylor trying to catch the rocket.

 Kevin (Russell & Kalynn) taking a picture of the kids with the rockets.

 Jonathan, Bryan (Russell & Kaylnn) & Emma with the rockets.

 Taylor getting ready to launch.

 Cheryl (Russell & Kalynn)

 Sarah, Rebecca, Shari & Aunt Jeannie

 Aunt Karen & Lori

 Maxine, Uncle Dan, Dad, Uncle Max

 Aunt Judy, Tom

 Maxine

 Uncle Dan, Dad, Uncle Max, Kirt

 Those a bit older opted to play volleyball.

 Aunt Karen, Lori

 Aunt Judy & Aunt Jeannie

 Thomas

 One of the Ramada's next to us had everyone release balloons.  You can kind of see the orange balloons in the sky.

 The weather was perfect.  It did get a bit warm, but nothing compared to the reunion 2 years ago.

We left around 2:15 and then had to be at the church by 5:30 for the Halloween Carnival.  The Cub Scouts were able to sell water and soda this year at the carnival as their fundraiser.  This was the last thing that I was helping with to get everything ready.  It went really well and we sold everything!  Thanks to donations the boys have more than half of their funds for Cub Scout Day Camp.  We did not get pictures of our kids together, but plan to do that tomorrow night.  Here are some pictures from the night though.  Rebecca was a cow.  (I have the last three of my kids as cows now. Here is Thomas in the same costume.)

 Jonathan was Harry Potter.  We found the robe 1 hour before the carnival and I had him color the top with a marker.  He did ok for a rush job.

 Taylor found the Firefighter costume and wanted to be that this year.

 Thomas at the fish pond.

 Jonathan getting ready to do the milk jugs.

 This is all Thomas wanted.  You can tell by his smile.

 Grandma holding Rebecca.

 Jonathan & Taylor working the soda & water station.  We had each boy work 40 minutes with a parent. Poor John split his finger.

 Thomas also was looking forward to having soda all day!  He finally got that and his hot dog.  He was a happy camper!

We came home EXHAUSTED around 9:30pm.

Sunday we went to church and there was someone sitting on the stand that we did not know.  We learned it was Elder Christoffel Golden Jr. of the Seventy.

He was speaking at a fireside that night at ASU institute, so he decided to visit a ward.  He picked ours for some reason.  At the end, he asked for a few minutes and when he stood up he said a few things.  He could feel there were some there that were hanging on by their fingertips, but promised them that the Lord does hear their prayers and will answer them in his own time.  He also said that there were those that had family members that were not in full fellowship with the church and if they continued to live the gospel they would be blessed.  He gave 5 things we could do to make sure we stay close to the Lord and have things always work out:

1- Pray morning & night

2- Open your scriptures each day

3- Have FHE

4- Attend Sacrament each week and partake worthily of the sacrament

5- Attend the temple

It was a great sacrament meeting!  I have never had a Seventy come to Sacrament Meeting unexpectedly, and I don't think it ever will again.  I am very grateful for my family.  Despite things that we go through, I believe that our family is here to teach us how to get along, to forgive and to love.  Without our families, we would lead very boring lives.  I have been very blessed by my family and love them.