Bowling

Late last night, I was falling asleep and suddenly I remembered that I forgot to post about our kids bowling. We took them bowling for Matt's birthday party (their cousin) last Saturday. They don't bowl very often and I couldn't help but take some video. So, enjoy!

Bria's is kinda long, but it is so funny to watch her bowl! She does this skipping move up the lane. I started the video a little late, so there is video of her first making a strike, then her skipping. I told her that if she can get really good at bowling and make a lot of strikes, she might get famous just from her skipping technique.

 Max did awesome!! He is really a great bowler! He didn't know I was video-ing (or he NEVER would have acted so excited!)

And I can't forget Logan. He's still so new at it, but he was determined to carry his own bowling ball.

The only pictures I took were on my phone. I really don't know how people get good pictures on phones! My are always terrible!

Bishop Calling and a Trunk or Treat

This is going to be a long blog post. And filled with lots of personal and deep feelings. If you'd rather not read all of it, it's no big deal. I wrote most of it for our family and for our kids later. 

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My heart has been so full all week. We knew for a couple of weeks that this week would be an important week. On October 8, Dave and I had an appointment with the Stake President. About an hour before the appointment, Logan cut his finger really bad. Bad enough to need stitches. I told Dave that I would rush Logan to the urgent care and try my hardest to get to the Stake President's office as quickly as I could. I hoped that I would have time to at least run home and change my clothes first, but I didn't. Logan and I got to the Stake President's office exactly on time - freshly bandaged and wearing sweats. Normally I would have left Logan home and obviously dressed up myself. Dave and I had a pretty good idea why we were there. We had both been having pretty strong feelings for months that Dave was going to get called as Bishop. And that is exactly what happened. Later, Dave said that he wondered if the Stake President was maybe expecting a little more of a reaction from us. In hindsight, we really knew. We just didn't know for sure. You know what I mean?

It was a hard two weeks. We couldn't really tell anyone. We both told our parents but anyone that lived close or was in the ward was obviously out of the question. The Stake President even asked us not to tell our kids until the night before. Logan was an exception because he was there. But, he very clearly didn't know what was going on. A lot of people were speculating that it was Dave beforehand. We both had to get pretty good at dodging the question without telling a lie.

One week after Dave got called, they called his counselors. It was a fun week leading up to that - watching Dave pray and try his hardest to know who to have serve with him. The Stake Presidency asked Dave and I to go to the Stake office so we could meet with the counselors as well. It's a tradition of this Stake Presidency to have the new bishop "hide" in the high counsel room and get revealed AFTER the counselors had already accepted their callings. While we were waiting, I whispered to Dave that I wondered if either of the counselors had impressions before coming like we did. After they both accepted the calling and came into the room with us, they both told stories about how they felt like this calling was coming. It was really cool.

Sunday, October 20th was the day that Dave was sustained and set apart. It was such an incredibly spiritual day! From the minute I woke up, I felt Heavenly Father's love so close. We didn't know what to expect when we got there. Sacrament meeting was under the direction of the Stake Presidency. First, they started by releasing the old bishopric and thanking them for such a wonderful job. Then, one by one they called the new bishopric. They then asked for the previous bishop's wife to come up and say a few words, then the previous bishop. Next they would hear from each of the new counselors, the new bishop's wife, Dave and finally the Stake President would get up. My only regret is that I wasn't prepared. We didn't know ahead of time, but Dave told me that he thought they may ask me to come up. I did think about what to say, but I couldn't come up with anything specific. My heart sank a little bit when they wanted me to go up. I did get up and speak. With a really long pause right in the middle. Dave more than made up for it. He had actually sat down and prepared a few words of testimony. He didn't have his paper with him, but he has an incredible memory.

The Stake President gave a really good talk on the process of choosing a new bishop. He said that he starts a year in advance. He studies the ward directory and listens to the spirit about who should be bishop. He makes a list of about 10 or so that may be good. Over the next few months, he shortens the list more until he gets down to 2 or 3. He said that he then is very careful about doing anything in his personal life that would detract from the spirit. He stops watching tv and is careful about his thoughts. He fasts and prays until he feels that one name is standing out. He then prays that the particular name that he feels inspired by IS who the Lord wants to be bishop. After that, he sends the name in to be approved. I didn't know before this but bishops are approved by the First Presidency. He gave us the letter that he got back approving Dave with all three members of the first presidency's signatures. It's pretty cool! Not that I've ever done this in the past, but I'll definitely never question who is called as bishop. With that intense of a process, it definitely ends up being who the Lord wants.

After sacrament meeting, they ordained all three members of the bishopric as high priests and set them apart. They also set apart the new executive secretary. Poor Logan did an outstanding job! It was 7 prayers in a row. He was getting pretty tired, but he did so good being quiet!

Dave had his dad ordain him to be a high priest. I cried the entire time. It was amazing! His dad has been in really poor health for several years and Dave's brother had to hold him up so he could stand to ordain Dave.

The Stake President set Dave apart. Right after Dave got called, I told him that I wished that the bishop's wife got a blessing. It's not my calling, but it is a sacrifice for me and our family. It only seemed fair, I thought. I only brought it up once to Dave beforehand. I was going to ask him after he got called to give me a blessing. But, I didn't need one. As Dave was getting set apart, the Stake President specifically said that through Dave he was blessing his wife and family. That was only said during Dave's setting apart and I know that Heavenly Father did that for me. I'm so grateful!

After church, we had Dave's family and a few of our close friends over for dinner. It was so nice to be surrounded by those we love most. I went to sleep thank my Heavenly Father for having such amazing people in our lives!!

Dave and I are both incredibly adamant that all callings are equal in the church. There is no prestige with being bishop. Just responsibility to fulfill a calling. I know we both feel incredibly humbled to be trusted with such a "heavy" calling. I know that Dave is going to be an incredible bishop! Even before, he was so good at understanding and loving everyone. I'm excited to see how the gifts he has already been given will be enhanced so much more with now having the "mantle".

Being Bishop is usually a five year calling. About a week beforehand, I decided that I wanted to take a family picture the day he was sustained and the day he was released. That way we can compare how much our kids have grown and our family has changed. All of our kids will have really strong memories of their dad being bishop! It's really such a blessing to our family. I can already feel a stronger spirit in our home!

It's not the very best picture ever, but I have a feeling that it will turn out to be one of my very favorites. We took it several hours after church and we had to make our kids get re-dressed in their church clothes. But I knew if we didn't do it exactly on the day, we wouldn't do it at all.

This week has been his first "official" week and he has been super busy. So far, Monday night is the only night that he has been home. Some of it was extra stuff that he probably won't do every week. He is already a very busy person, so I think it will take some time to adjust and re-schedule things. And definitely re-prioritize!  He may have to cut a few things out. If someone had told me even a year ago that this year he would be a first year principal and be called as bishop, I probably would have cried! But, we've been prepared this year and I know that we'll be taken care of.

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Yesterday, it was sort of crazy. I had Pack Meeting and then immediately afterward, we had our ward trunk or treat. I had to be there early. So, I loaded the kids up and went to pack meeting. Dave met us there as soon as he could get there. We always love the Trunk-or-treat! And there was a HUGE turn out last night. So fun!

I plan on taking better costume pictures next week. We were in such a rush last night! The kids made out with a huge candy haul. Halloween is always so tricky to me. Should I let them just go hog wild for a day or so and eat it all (and be done with the candy) or do we spread it out over several weeks? Definitely a first world problem.

I can't believe how grown up Bria is getting! She's practically a young woman. How did that happen?


More carnivals and Halloween fun next week! So far I like this Friday posting idea. Three weeks in a row!

Student Counsel, Foxes and Life in General

I think I'm really going to like this weekly update thing! It's helping me notice more of the little things that have been going on.

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This week, Bria ran for Student Counsel at her school. You might remember what happened when she ran last school year. Well, she was really excited to try running again. We stayed up late and made her some campaign posters. (Projects like that always seem to be late at night, right?). The next day, she took them to school and hung them up. Another girl started teasing her about her picture. Bria came home upset, but we had a good talk. I've been trying to teach the kids not to place value on what other people say to them. Bria is a very confident person, so I knew that she would get over it soon. Well, Monday when she went back to school, someone had ripped her picture off her poster. After a little bit of investigation by the teacher, it turned out to be the same girl who had made fun of her. I was grateful to the school and the teacher for not just taking it lightly. The other girl got sent to the principal's office and disqualified from running for student counsel. Bria's teacher helped her fix her poster and told Bria that she should try not to hold a grudge. What a great teacher! I was worried that Bria would be upset if she didn't win after what happened. I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked her up Thursday after school since the results would be in. As soon as I saw her, I knew that she was in! It turned out that the 4th grade needed 7 class representatives and only 6 people from her class were running. No other class had anyone! So, they all won! And ironically, the other girl would have also been in had she not ruined Bria's poster. The whole thing was really a good life lesson for Bria. And next week, she gets to start Student Counsel!

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Speaking of school, Logan and I got to spend quite a bit of time helping at the Book Fair at Max's school this week! It was easy and fun! We went three days and two of the days it was just the two of us. The only snag we ran into was when Logan had to use the bathroom. I couldn't leave the book fair unattended, so I kinda slipped out for a second to direct him where to go. But, he got lost coming back and just laid down and cried. Poor kid! It was pretty funny, though.

Logan seems to lay down a lot when he gets frustrated. I took him shopping at the mall this week. He was so tired of walking that 5 times I had to pick him up off the floor. He would just lay down in protest. Funny kid!

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Bria and Max had Parent Teacher Conference this week. I really wanted Dave to come and I'm so glad he did! It is so different going to PT Conference with someone who knows how the education system works. Instead of them just saying that our kids were doing well (or not well), Dave would ask what the teacher used as an indicator, how they were probed, and exactly where they were at. Both of our kids are doing really well. Max is a math wiz! After the conference, Dave had Max take a math probe from a program he uses at his school, and Max scored at just above a 3rd grade level - he's in 2nd grade this year. Bria's strongest subject is also math. We want her to take the same probe Max did, but we haven't yet. They both are good at reading, but struggle with reading out loud. I guess I need to have them read to me more often. It's hard for me to remember sometimes! I think we'll have them both read to Logan more often. They all three would benefit from that!

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Logan isn't in school yet, but he IS in pre-school! He absolutely loves it! I'm having a lady in our Ward do it. She has a very small class and it is awesome for Logan! He is such a young boy for his age group. With a late August birthday, he needs all the help he can get! But, so far, he's almost learned to spell his name out loud and write it down. He can get L-O-G-A and then gets a little confused. Max told him today to think of AMEN but instead say A-N at the end of his name. Max is a really good big brother to Logan. He always takes responsibility for teaching his little brother. It makes this mama so proud!

This is the poster Logan took to his first day of preschool. Max helped him color the boy to look him him. Logan tried to get in on the fun and drew and extra arm. We decided to call it a light saber instead. It was pretty funny!

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Logan got his stitches out this week! It was so not a big deal. I wasn't sure how he would take it because getting them in was kind of traumatic. But, no biggie! I think it will heal up really well. Maybe not even have a scar! We'll see as it continues to get better. It looks so good now! Max wanted to keep the stitches really bad and without even a blink, the Dr said "Sure! Here ya go!" Super gross! I need to find a way to somehow get rid of them. Max thinks it's the coolest thing in the world!

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Bria's teacher showed them this super annoying You Tube video this week called "What Does the Fox Say". My kids have spent every spare minute watching and talking about this song! Okay, I'm probably exaggerating a little bit. But, it doesn't take too many times of listening to feel that way. Even Logan keeps singing it around the house. Have you ever watched the movie Serendipity? It's one of my favorite movies! This music video reminds me of Lars the Shanai playing boyfriend. I honestly can't believe this song OR music video actually exist!






We have a very busy week next week, so I'll definitely have plenty of updates!

National Conference, Stitches & Mother Daughter Night

It’s high time that I started updating this blog again! It’s pretty sad that it has been all the way since January! I found a food blog not that long ago that I’ve been following. She posts every Friday about random things that happened during the week and calls it Friday Things. I really like the format/idea of how she does it. So, I thought I would give it a try on this blog. Maybe if I schedule in my week that Fridays are “blog about the week” day, I’ll be more likely to stick to it!

So, here’s what we’ve been doing this week. It’s been a doozy. On Wednesday, I was so tired, I took a 2 hour nap after picking the kids up from school. I could not figure out what was making me so exhausted until I looked at all of the craziness that’s been going on.

 

1.

Dave is doing so incredible in his career right now! He loves being Principal at Edgemeont and so far it seems like everyone loves having him! Last weekend, he got invited to present at the National DLD Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. The State Special Ed Director asked him to do it about 6 months ago and talk about the incredible difference that happened at Erickson (where he was counselor) last year. When he called the conference organizers to let them know, they said they were already full. I guess this particular conference, most of the presenters have to go through an application process, so Dave’s case was a little different. Anyway, we kind of let it go, thinking that it was a lost opportunity. Well, at the beginning of this school year, he was meeting with the State Special Ed Director again and the conference was brought up. Dave told him it was full, and he immediately got on the phone, pulled his magical strings and Dave was back in. It’s not every day that you get to present at a NATIONAL conference! Way to go, Dave!

2.

Speaking of Sun Valley, I got to go with Dave. My awesome friend Emily watched our kids so I could tag along. I just happened to be the same weekend as our Anniversary! 13 years. It’s crazy how fast time has flown! It also amazes me to think back and watch how our love for each other has grown stronger and stronger. I’m one lucky girl!

Neither of us has ever been to Sun Valley before.

And I seriously doubt we would have noticed except that we were just in Europe. I was expecting a really western atmosphere. We are in Idaho after all. But instead of Western, it had this strange European/German/Swiss kind of feel.

We had the most wonderful food at a German restaurant that we ate at twice. We saw several half timber houses and even found some Emmentaler cheese that we JUST got to eat in Switzerland! It comes from the same valley that my ancestors originate from.

 

I can’t even believe they know about it! But, several people commented on it in the grocery store (that had a “Chateau Drug” sign). It is delicious cheese! We bought 5 bricks to bring home.

 

3.

After going to Sun Valley, we surprised our kids with a quick trip down to Bear Lake to visit Grandma Sharon and Grandpa Frank. I’m kicking myself for not taking any pictures! I was gorgeous down there! The fall leaves were in full bloom….even more so than in Sun Valley.

 

4.

Dave had his fall carnival on Monday. I took the kids down for some games and dinner. It was great! On the drive down, I asked our kids to be really well behaved so that everyone would know that the principal’s kids are well behaved. Somehow, Bria took that as her personal responsibility to be the very best she could be or her dad would lose his job. Whatever works, I guess. They were all three incredibly well behaved and we had a great time!

My favorite game was the Wack-a-Mole. It was a live version. Too funny! And possibly and little dangerous!

 

5.

Tuesday was kind of a crazy day. I was getting a picture of Max ready to post of Facebook. Logan came to sit next to me. I was so focused on getting the picture off of my phone to post that I didn’t notice Logan picking up my quilting rotary cutter. He sliced his right index finger pretty darn good. Deep enough to need 4 stitches. Although I still don’t know how they could fit that many on his tiny finger!

I’m not going to say that he didn’t cry, but he was definitely a trooper! He’s our first to get stitches, and hopefully our last. I was really surprised when the Dr told me to keep in uncovered as much as possible after the first day. I guess it heals faster that way. Logan loves waving his hand around and showing everyone his stitches. It grosses pretty much everyone out. He thinks that is the coolest part! One more week and we can get those suckers out.

 

6.

So, the picture I was going to post about Max on Facebook was about school. His teacher told me that she has a really advanced class this year so she’s been adding a few extra hard things. She’s been starting to teach them multiplication and the kids loved it. Apparently, Max was asking for something more challenging than the easy multiplication that she’s been giving them, so she challenged Max to solve 8x12. When he got home, he still hadn’t figured it out, so I made him work on it until he did. It took quite a while (and about 10 scrap pieces of paper), but he finally got it solved! I love that he loves problem solving so much!

7.

Thursday was the Mother Daughter date for Activity Days. Bria is all about getting alone time with just us girls. So, it was, of course, a really great night! The leaders put together a super fun activity. Our favorite part was the donut fishing. I stood over Bria with a donut on my fishing pole. I was supposed to keep my eyes closed while Bria gave me directions for getting the donut into her mouth. She couldn’t quit laughing, though! I finally opened my eyes and started my own game of getting the most chocolate possible on her face. We were both laughing so hard!! It was definitely something that we’ll both remember forever! Haha!

That’s it! That was our week! But, we have an equally busy weekend coming up. It’s been busy, but a good kind of busy!