Saturday is a Special Day...

I went here today....

to the Fresno Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It's one of the small temples - about the size of a Stake Center, but it is just as peaceful and full of the spirit and beautiful. I went with some sisters from Relief Society. Loved it!

Sean met me there with the kids and then we took a trip up near Merced to visit with Grandpa and Grandma Anderson. I think Caelan is the only one of our kids that has been there before (when she was a little tot). It was nice and sunny today so the kids ran around in the backyard and played with all of their character figurines throughout the house. And we managed to leave without breaking any of their valuable souvenirs that they have collected from other countries throughout the years...PHEW! It's always nice to visit with Grandpa and Grandma. We're glad we're close enough to be able to do it again soon.

Lovin' It

I am LOVING the rain. Yes, I realize that the sun is taking a little vacation, but since the rain comes around only once in a while I will take clouded skies for now. Rainy days make me want to get cozy in a blanket and eat popcorn and drink hot chocolate and watch a movie. It's even better when we have a fire going in the fireplace. Love it. The kids like the wet days for another reason - getting to use an umbrella. We've had two umbrellas in our closet probably since we've been married. I never really think to use one - I usually just hurry from my car to warm house or warm store when it's raining. The umbrellas sat there for the first few years even after we had kids, and then one day Caelan and Ben found them and realized what they were (they used to get excited about the character umbrellas in the stores). They were hooked. They will periodically pull them out even during the summer just to open them up and walk around. So just imagine their delight when there is actually a valid reason to use the umbrellas.... and even more so for Caelan because she gets to take one to school to use all my herself. Sometimes they will ask me if they can go outside to play during a storm with the explanation that they will "use their umbrellas." Funny kids. I don't remember loving the umbrellas so much as a kid as I did just jumping in the puddles and coming home after school soaking wet and ready to jump into a hot shower. I think I still might get a kick out of that.

Patience

Being a mother teaches you patience in a way that nothing else can. I have four kids...so in many ways I feel like I'm a pretty patient person. My three year old knows I still need some work, so she's giving me upper level classes in the subject. I guess I still have some studying to do.....

PS. At least I get to learn it from one of the four CUTEST teachers in the world!!!

Snow

We decided to head up to Sequoia National Park (our next door neighbor) and play in the snow today. We went with Sean's co-worker, Eric and his wife, Jenny and their two boys. Poor Caelan had an ear ache the whole way up the mountain - she was miserable. Once we got there the playing distracted her a bit, and she ended up having a fun time. Ben was excited and gung-hu from the get go. He grabbed the sled and headed to a hill right by our parking spot so that he could get down to business. Megan was not so sure about the whole thing. Once she went down the big hill with Sean on the inner tube she changed her mind and kept talking about the "bumpy ride" (you can see on the picture that she was having a blast). Caelan enjoyed it as well. She took the first run down the big hill in the sled and totally took out a boy at the bottom (this kid flipped completely over - it was crazy). We decided we better save the slipperly sled for the smaller hills. Nathan was fairly good and content until he decided he had had enough cold and wet...at which point we pretty much packed it in and called it a day. And despite breaking my back as a Senior in High School from an inner-tubing accident, I too went down the hill several times. Watching people plow down the mountain at full speed with no control kind of made my stomach twist and turn when we first got there, but I pulled it together. We had a grand ole' time.

Caelan the Assistant

While we were in AZ Grandpa took a quick look at all the kids teeth (he mostly wanted to check on Caelan's 6 year molars, but all the other kids wanted a turn too). Sean took all the other kids home (too much to explore in an almost-empty dentist office), but Caelan got to stay and assist Grandpa and he cleaned Aunt Lani's teeth. She was loving it! She got right up in the middle of the action that at one point Grandpa had to stop what he was doing because all he could see was a head full of blonde hair. HE HE HE.


What a natural.

Our Christmas Vacation

Our Christmas vacation to Casa Grande, AZ consisted of:
*Last minute errand running
*Re-enacting the Nativity
*Sean reading the story of the Boy Who Laughed at Santa Claus
*Kids finding it hard to sleep on Christmas Eve (and therefore parents staying up LATE too)
*Wearing matching pajama pants on Christmas Eve night (finished in the knick of time)
*Waking up to an excited 6 year old on Christmas morning
*Balloons left by Santa Claus covering the floor
*Exploring the stockings (fruit and Peanut M&Ms)and opening presents all at the same time
*Christmas breakfast casserole (DELISH)and homemade scones
*Playing with our spoils (riding trikes, making glasses with Bendaroos, playing with barbie dolls, transforming our Transformer figurines, etc)
*Playing outside in sunny December AZ weather
*Enjoying time with family (the whole Mike and Linda Dick clan, Grandma Dick, Uncle Garry, Aunt Jera, Uncle Doug, Aunt Bev)
*Eating and cooking and eating and cooking
*Singing Christmas carols around the piano
*Watching the Muppet Christmas Carol
*Going to the movies: The Princess and the Frog
*Going to church all together as a family
*Lots of pictures
*Celebrating the Savior, Jesus Christ.

We Loved It!