Scripture Reading

Gives whole new meaning to "feasting upon the word of God."

It kills me how cute this kid is.

This May or May Not be a Pout

I kind of think it is.

A pout, that is.

Very dramatic.

Yoga

Not me

I went to yoga for the first time today. I was surprised by how much I was able to do. And tonight I am not at all surprised at how sore I am. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to move tomorrow.

Answers to Prayers

This evening I suggested that perhaps tomorrow, with the kids out of school, I could take them snowshoeing. 

As Brandt said his prayers tonight, he asked Heavenly Father, "Please bless Mom not to take us snowshoeing tomorrow."

I guess we won't be going.

Poetry

Here is a poem Brandt wrote in school.

He brought it home to show us.

The picture below was the illustration.

It's powerful stuff.

Star Wars

Star Wars has light sabers.

Jedis have star ships.

Jedis have clones.

Jedis fight the dark side.

Jedis have robes.

Their robes are brown.

Darth Vader has a red light saber.

The clones have blasters.

The color of the blasters is blue.

Star Wars is awesome.

Awesome indeed.

Valentine's Cousin Party

We gathered today at Christopher and Tysen's house for a cousins Valentine party.  The children absolutely love being together.  If we did no activities and only plied them snacks when they proclaimed their hunger, it would be a success.  Add fun activities and it's a rollicking good time.  We played a couple of games, we decorated sugar cookies, and we were together.  What could be better?

We made hearts to hang in the windows.

They are lots of little bits of tissue and wrapping paper stuck to contact paper and then cut in the shape of a heart.

An easy and fun craft.

The finished product hanging in the window.

This was a game of trying to fish candy out of a bowl with chopsticks. 

The boys got creative and wound up stabbing the candies with the chopsticks.

Effective.

  

Brick enjoyed all the activity although he didn't actually participate in any of the games.

Two-handed chopsticking.

Lyla found a package of Oreos and hid herself, with them, in the pantry.

She was in there with no lights on, eating.

She did ask for some milk when she was discovered.

Mashed Potatoes

Brick is not sure if he likes mashed potatoes or not.  

Although he made this face, he grabbed for more as soon as he had swallowed what was in his mouth.

Blythe Speaks in Primary

Blythe gave a talk today in Primary.  She did a great job.  The theme was "Heavenly Father commanded Jesus Christ to create the earth as a home for his children."  I suggested she talk about her favorite creations and draw pictures of three of them she could use as visual aids.  She thought this was good, so here is her talk and the pictures that go along.

Heavenly Father told Jesus to create the earth as part of his plan.  We come here in families to learn to love each other.  Some of my favorite creations are:

trees and flowers,

apples,

and my Aunt Mikayla's dog Kila.

Before and After

We have finished another house project.  I'm always so relieved to finish something, knowing how many more somethings there are still to do.  But rather than seem like I am complaining, I want to say that I am excessively pleased with the way it turned out.  We have finished up the loo, the half-bath on the main floor.  This has previously been a boring little space, unpainted even since before we moved in.  When we were painting initially, I didn't know what color I wanted, and I really wanted to completely redo the loo, so we just left it.  Over the Christmas break when Kent wasn't working, we launched in and were pretty much able to finish before he want back to work after the new year.  So here are the before and after shots.

 

Kent had replaced the toilet last summer, but the linoleum on the floor was boring and peeling up, the wall color was a yellow tinted white, the vanity was uninteresting (the black door was a trial for the upstairs bathroom to see how the oak would take pigment), and the light fixture (which you can't see in the picture) was a cheap glass panel with bulbs sticking out.  Uninspiring and not up to snuff.

So, we painted . . . twice, because Kent didn't like the initial color I chose, and so I toned it down a bit.  In the end, I like the second color better too.  We tiled using the same checkerboard tiles we put in the kids bathroom, then added beadboard and a railing, put in a pedestal sink, and added a new light fixture, hooks, and a mirror that was my great-grandmother's.  I wanted a green leafy wreath which I found at a little shop, and voila!  Finished bathroom.  I do need to put some pictures on the long wall you face as you walk in, but I haven't found frames I like yet, so that may be a while.  However, all in all, I'm very pleased with the end result. 

I do want to make an observation here which Kent won't appreciate, but which makes me laugh.  There was a heating register on the floor.  We always have the vent closed because in the winter it gets super hot in the little space, and in the summer it gets super cold.  When we were going to start the floor, Kent said, "I'm just going to cover up the heating register.  We always keep the vent closed and I don't think we'll need it."  I suggested that with with shared wall to the garage, the bathroom would be very cold without any heat getting in there at all.  Kent disagreed, I ceded, and we tiled over the register.  As I was doing the tiling, I will admit it made my job easier because I wasn't having to work around the hole in the floor, but I was also convinced it would be cold.  Only two days ago, Brandt said to Kent, "I don't like using this bathroom.  It is really cold."  Kent graciously stepped out of the bathroom and said to me, "Go ahead and say it."  So I did.  "I told you so."  We may try to break through the floor and uncover the vent, but my guess is, with all the other stuff to do, we'll just have a cold bathroom.  Maybe I'll look for a cute rug.

Cute floor and beadboard.

Lilac paint and wreath.

Pedestal sink and mirror

Hooks and light fixture which you can't see very well.

Selfies

Blythe is into selfies.  Really into them.  This morning she spelled her name with her Mini-Wheats and wanted to take a picture, but one picture is never enough.

Acting!

This morning we went to a matinee performance of Cymbeline (by Shakespeare) at BYU.  It was a production by the Young Company, specifically aimed at children.  Although neither Kent nor I could remember what the story was about, they did an excellent job of narrating events.  We all understood through the whole thing.  It was fast paced and exciting, had good guys and bad guys (a wicked queen in particular), and a happy ending.  Plus, Blythe was chosen to be the doctor!  She got to go onstage, wear a costume, and trickily trade a deadly poison for one that would only cause a deep sleep to come upon the person who drank it.  She was very brave, and I feel fairly confident that this is only her first appearance on the stage of many.  And though there is no photographic evidence of it, we went for lunch and ice cream at the Creamery Grill afterwards, because that is what you do after a play at BYU.

Doctor Blythe

Love the hat!