Conference Weekend

There's something amazing about General Conference weekend.  It feels like a spiritual spa get away to me.  You can relax in your own home to watch it or attend if you like.  This time we stayed at home.  It is a true spiritual feast to hear from our living Prophet and Apostles and other leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  I know that they receive revelation from our Father in Heaven as to what we need in our day and time and to remind and encourage us to turn more to our Savior, the scriptures, and prayer to become more like Him.  I'm so grateful we get this incredible blessing twice every year.  

I felt like more of the talks and counsel were focused on our need to stand up for what's right no matter the consequences.  To give us perspective on the trials that we face and how to use them for our improvement and good.  I can't wait to go back and study their words more along with my scripture study.  It gave me some great motivation to make some more goals in my life to improve the quality of life I'm living.  It was a fabulous weekend to say the least.  

The night before the weekend I surprised Stephen with a date to dinner and to see the new Captain America movie.  It was a good break from his crazy studying and a great movie to watch!  The rest of the weekend was being with family and watching Conference.

While the men went to the Priesthood session, we girls did our semiannual outing to Cheesecake Factory.  I was so determined to get something different, but ended up with the same dish - the chicken bellagio  - and was completely satisfied. Yum!  My kids did great there too which was a huge plus.

Sunday, Steve's family came up for the morning session. We made breakfast - pancakes with whole wheat flour - which was scrumptious.  It's always good being with the fam!  We got to meet a mission companion of my brother-in-law's who's from Botswana.  I realized Ruby had never seen a black person before and was quite curious about him.  He was so cute to her.  She warmed right up and wanted to play with him by the end.  
 

Conference Bingo with Grandpa - reversed.  You put all the M&M's on and eat one when something was said from your card....Ross seemed to think they said a lot of things. :)

Lounging and listening :)

Cutie grandma and cousin Alex

Ruby's new friend, Sima.

Morning Jammies!

Our own Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker - Rush Hour! :)

Such a SWEET pic of Grandpa and Alex

Grandpa REALLY wanted a picture with all the grandkids...do you think they were as interested???

We tried REALLY hard to make it work...but it really didn't. :)

Ruby had a thing for buckets on her head

And running in to things...

Anyway - if you'd like to take a look at what the conference was about - look here.  You won't regret it!  It's amazing!  Hooray for Church!

The kids LIVE for watching home movies of themselves...especially with Daddy. 

Ross seems to feel a need for EVERY toy to be accounted for, to not be left out, or to be guarded so Ruby can't steal them.  I can't decide...but I keep finding him like this!

Steve thought it would be a hilarious joke to see what his dad and brothers would say to this facial hair before the Priesthood session.  No one took it very well. ;)  Haha.  This is only two days worth too.  All I can say is if he ever wants his wife to kiss him he will forever avoid beards of any kind. :)

We went to see Non-Stop the movie - a pretty intense film.  This was outside the movie theater.  Can you spot what doesn't belong? ;) 

Ruby has become a crazy slide addict.  She LOVES them and can go down quite a few all by herself.

Ross isn't so much into slides...he prefers climbing up and down instead. :)

The weather has gotten so much warmer.  We drove with the windows down and Ruby LOVED it. 

Finding fire hydrants is like treasure hunting - and just as rewarding when you find the treasure. :)

I took the kiddos to a new amazing park - Mountview - that had some really fun stuff.  Ross and Ruby ate it up...well Ruby mostly tried to eat the wood chips, but Ross definitely loved it!

Wait Till Helen Comes...

Okay -that's the name of a creepy kid's ghost story - a must read - if only for the creepy cheesiness of it.  However, my actual friend, Helen, is neither creepy or a ghost. ;)  I couldn't WAIT for her to come to visit all the way from England!  She came with her brother who had just finished his mission in Ogden and parents to see General Conference.  I got to snag a day with her which was fabulous.  We talked like no time had passed...even though our random close friendship started on my mission and her a mom of three.  She would come out and do lessons with us, and I found such an amazing friendship from all the time spent with her.  She is one of the funniest Brits I've ever met and always has such amazing spiritual insight.  Now, seven years later, she's got 5 kids, I married and had two, and it was SO good to catch up in person.  The time went too fast, but I loved every minute of it.  It was nice not to be mocked for any of my British lingo that hangs around still, and to get to use some more of it normally. :)  I miss the fabulous accent, the humor, EVERYTHING.  The best was having my friend here though.

We went to the historic Wheeler Farm for my kids and had fun seeing the animals and especially feeding the ducks.  Ross, who usually takes quite a while warming up to new people, automatically loved her, and wanted to constantly sit on her shoulders wherever we went.  Ruby loved being her little friend too.  It was so fun to have her meet them.  

He was so proud he made it to the top. :)

Wood chip piles take a lot of concentration

Hanging with the ducks

Buds

Really wanting to get to those ducks...

A face off.  Who's going to win?

Ross would have stayed on this loader all day if I would have let him!

The sweet awesome playground. ;)

I think he would have gone home with her!

The ducks and geese at the farm were in no way afraid of people.  My kids weren't afraid of them either.  Ross kept chasing them and Ruby would walk right up to them with her face in their beak.  We took a wagon ride and got some duck food to feed to the ducks.  We all got quite a bit of sun too.  

Then we headed down to BYU to show off a little of Provo.  I drove her past the Provo Tabernacle Temple being built, the MTC, and stopped for a quick pic at the Provo temple while the kids slept in the car.  Then we had to stop at the Creamery on 9th for some ice cream and for Helen to stock up on some of their chocolate milk she fell in love with. :) We walked over to BYU campus and check out the bookstore where I found these babies for my babies. :)
 

She is a sassy girl isn't she?  And ADORABLE.

We got some more candy and enjoyed the weather some more before heading back to pick up Steve, drop the kids off, and take Helen to the long awaited Cafe Rio I had been telling her about since my mission.  It was an immediate win and now I have something else beside PF Chang's lettuce wraps to try and lure her back here to Utah sooner rather than later.
 

If you're in Utah you've got to see the Salt Lake AND the Provo Temple. :)

Helen's two scoops...more like four!  Ruby was all about the chocolate.

Nothing like scaling the walls!

Trying to figure out how to get that candy out of the bag.

We talked for a long while, having some amazing conversation that I love having with her, and then all of the sudden our day was over.  It stinks sometimes having great friends that live thousands of miles away.  Especially after you have a great visit and love hanging out while you're together only for the distance to get thrown back in to place.  BLAH.  Oh how I love my Helen though.  She is an amazing woman.  I'm so grateful she made some time in her crazy busy schedule for me.  It was a brilliant day! :)  Cheers! 

Sickies Round 2 and First Dentist Trip!

Just as we were all starting to feel better it seemed another round of plague-i-ness decided to invite itself over.  Ruby was finally getting better and when we went down to Utah County over the weekend she seemed to get worse.  Her nose and cough got worse and she seemed pretty miserable poor thing.  I took her to the doctor that Tuesday as well as the dentist...

It seems Ruby chipped a tooth somehow, sometime, somewhere.  The details of that remain a mystery.  Her top teeth aren't very visual when she talks or smiles so on a random day of inspection we noticed her top right tooth looked off.  She thinks she's much faster than her legs will go and can be quite klutzy so - seriously - we have no idea when it happened.  

I was pretty worried about the idea of taking the kids to the dentist.  Ross is like a chameleon changing his views and willingness to cooperate with whatever whim of a mood he's in.  I tried to set him up for success with getting a handful of books from the library and talking about a sweet prize he'll get if he lets the dentist look in his mouth.  I was so worried...I forgot to even take a picture of his first trip!

Anyway - we found Ruby had ear infections (of course when I'm not even thinking about that - mostly just concerned for her cough - she would have ear infections...whenever I think my kids have them - they don't) and got her on an antibiotic.  

We headed to the dentist - which a good friend recommended.  I love pediatric dentists.  Anyway - Ross was thrilled to find a train table with some awesome trains to play with.  Ruby was into bothering a 10 year old boy trying to build something with blocks, and I got some peace and quiet to fill out all their forms.  We headed to the back and Ross climbed right up in to the chair - excited to watch the movie they had on with the ear phones.  Her truly looked so adorable laying so still and showed the assistant he knew how to open his mouth and say "awwwww".  He was fascinated with the tools and was just perfect letting them look at everything and even clean his teeth.  He was even more thrilled when he got a new Mater tooth brush, Buzz floss, AND to pick a prize from their treasure chest.  

Ruby was less than compliant as I had to lay her back and hold her head still.  Thankfully, it was a tiny chip and nothing needed to be done.  Overall - a success at the dentist!

The next evening Ross started complaining about his ear - great.  He had a semi-bad night ending up in our bed which led to ANOTHER doctor visit.  The doc first thought he ruptured his eardrum but I had put olive oil to soften the ear wax and it was oozing.  He got put on antibiotics too and we went home to try and get better...just in time for me to get sick with a gross cold and knock me out for a few days too.
 

Bubble Beards are the best!

Cutie!

Of course all this happened in time for me to leave to see the play Pride and Prejudice with my mom and sis.  The plan was for Steve to stay with Ross so he could study and Ross could just chill and watch a movie before bed.  I took Ruby with me to stay down in Utah County till the next morning when we came back.

The play was great - I was a bit disappointed with the scenery - but the script was fantastic.  It was fun hanging out with my mom and sister too.  Ruby slept really well too which was nice.  I can't say the same for Steve and Ross.  Steve went nuts.  Ross was pretty miserable and complained about his ear the whole night with Steve trying to juggle studying and taking care of him.  

Of course the next evening was Women's Conference which I had gotten tickets for!  I did my best to have the kids all sorted for Steve to take care of and it went better than night. (I think it had something to with tender mercies from Heavenly Father.)  
 

Hooray for Women's Conference!

Women's Conference was wonderful.  The Spirit was strong and my heart was touched many times and filled.  It's funny you don't realize how empty your tank can be at times until you go to fill it again.  I was especially happy to hear a sweet story about Ruby Haight (the apostle, Elder Haight's wife) where Ruby's name was inspired from.  President Eyring talked about how she always smiled (just like our Ruby) and always found a sisterhood and stayed in touch with the young women she served even though she was so much older.  It reconfirmed why we named our Ruby her name.  I love names that come from somewhere or someone.  It reminds me of in the Book of Mormon when Helaman is counseling his sons before they go to serve their missions - in 3 Nephi 5:6 

 "Behold, my sons, I desire that ye should remember to keep the commandments of God; and I would that ye should declare unto the people these words. Behold, I have given unto you the names of our first parents who came out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I have done that when you remember your names ye may remember them; and when ye remember them ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their works ye may know how that it is said, and also written, that they were good."  

It's always good to have a great example before you.  President Eyring also talked about Eve and opened my eyes more with the importance of her role, decision, and example to us.  She was a wonderful person.  

After our amazing conference we went to a restaurant called The Dodo.  I extremely and highly recommend this place.  Their dessert menu is to die for and their food is so scrumptious!  We had a great time talking and eating and my cup was filled in all areas.  

Our kids finally got better by Sunday and we enjoyed attending our meetings at church.  While the Sacrament was being prepared and they were laying the cloth over it.  Ross turned to us and said, "They're wrapping Jesus up." which was sweet of him and surprisingly symbolic of how the Sacrament is prepared.  Children have amazing simple insight.  I love it.  I got up to bare my testimony and Ross trotted on along behind me and when I finished he insisted it was his turn.  I was amazed and proud he wanted to.  He whispered it in the microphone since I was whispering in his ear.  He was just jabbering at first until I decided he needed some guidance, and he shared he loved Heavenly Father and knew Jesus loved him and finished the end all by himself. :)  He's pretty good at saying his personal prayers at night now too. :)   

Ruby and Ross just keep getting bigger and older.  They are so funny to watch together.  Ross is having to learn more and more the importance of sharing...he prefers to hoard his toys in a big pile and guard them so Ruby can't get them.  She thinks this is a great game and has found the wooden airplane we gave Ross that he painted and put together is the best one to try and thieve because Ross goes bounding after the second he realizes its gone.  Her skills in dodging him have greatly improved too.  He may be faster in the end since she's still working on running (she's still pretty quick though), but she can change directions on a dime.  She lasts quite a while before he gets to her.  Ross doesn't think it's so funny, but she sure does. :)

Ross's airplane he painted all himself and we put together!

Ruby saying, "Cheese!" and waiting for Ross to put down his plane...

Anytime now...

Ruby is getting in to "pretty" things too.  She loves my headbands and always wants them on (which she promptly takes off too) and as soon as it's fitted on she says, "Pretty" and then stops and poses while saying, "Cheese!"  She just kills me.  
 

This is her pose while she says, "Cheese!"

Sporting the headband

She also can count to three - she'll say, 'One, Two, Three, Weeee!" since we do a lot of that around here. ;)  She loves her hippo and can say "hippo" when she wants it.  She'll say, "hold you" "all done" "Hi, Baby!" (a favorite).  She is ALWAYS jabbering at us.  Nonstop - even to herself when she's in her bed.  She can say so many things now and give us all sorts of commands.  She loves to pretend she's a mom and her doll or animals are her babies and she's say, "Hi Baby!  Hi Baby!" like I say to her when I get her up in the mornings or from her naps.  She likes trying things by herself and even likes trying to draw with pens and crayons.  She's hilarious and demanding and drama all wrapped in one in her happy self.  She also prefers to eat grown up food from your spoon or plate.  She'll eat bananas only if it's from the peel itself so she can take a bite or things she thinks would not be meant for her.  Silly thing.
 

If the kids are up when Daddy has breakfast...he HAS to share...

with EVERYONE - it's a rule.  A fav is Cheerios with honey

Ross has mastered his abc's uppercase and lowercase, colors, shapes, and numbers.  His counting is going really well too.  He likes drawing on the whiteboard or going outside to dig, look for worms or bugs, or ride his tricycle for a little bit (he still doesn't like to ride it for very long...hopefully warmer weather will change that).  He loves reading and has become a little stinker at night.  We hear him digging through his toy box in the dark and when he finally falls asleep I have to fish about a billion toys out of his bed.  Lately he's gotten in to presenting with his arm and hand as he's trying to convince you of something.  He'll hold his arm up high with his hand out like, "look at this great idea!  or thing! You HAVE to go for it, because I'm presenting it to you on a pretend platter!"  It's hilarious.  He breaks my heart when he doesn't feel well or when he's hurting - he's such a sweet boy.  I'm glad he's been feeling better - that we're all getting better.
 

Loves his Dusty - which has been relocated to his room now that birthday month is over. :)

He is SO handsome!  Love this kid!

Ross kept telling me there was a D on his trike and I didn't get it for quite a while.  Do you see it? :)

Blackmail photo!  He's deep in thought

Still love a kid in overalls :)

Steve has been feeling like he's peering out the end of the tunnel finally and getting close to actually being finished.  He likes this new rotation okay and is glad to have more time to study for boards (which he has been doing NONstop)  I'll be glad not to be a single parent most of the day anymore when he's finally done.  He's such a hard worker and we love him so much.  

Whew!  So hopefully our health will kick in and we can get going on fun things once again!