find joy in the journey

family home evening // love notes

For the past few years we have done this activity for Family Home Evening in the month of February.  And each year I am reminded just how much I LOVE it!

The lesson plan is simple:

• Cut out a bunch of paper hearts.
• Everyone writes a note for each member of the family.  Something they love about that person.  Little or big or random.
• Go around the table and read the notes to each other.
• Tape the hearts on the kitchen cupboards and leave them up all month long!

It is always interesting to see what the kids write down.  Sometimes it is expected (I think we all wrote something about Payton's ability to make us laugh.)

It appears that dad is pretty funny too.  (His quote bubble should read, "Farley, Farley, Farley!" - quoted from The Three Amigos)

Apparently I'm good at cleaning (top left), but somebody's got to do it!

Scott went all out with his note, writing a top 10 list.

And sometimes the writing/sharing of the notes reveals little connections and stories between the kids that we knew nothing about.  The gold mine game?  Total news to us, but SO sweet to hear how Conner still plays with his 9 year old sister!  And the fact that it meant enough to her to write it down . . . Love.

So much fun to see all these hearts and little notes around our kitchen.  :)

And yes, we love dad's hair . . . . from the side.

valentine's day class party

So this year I am the room mom for Anna's class.  While I have volunteered in the classroom and helped at parties for years, this is my first time being in charge of these holiday parties.  The Halloween party last fall went SO well, and I can't believe I never blogged about - I need to fix that.  The Christmas party was all about gingerbread houses (the teacher planned that one).  And today we had the Valentine's day party and it went great! 

I did a lot of delegating and it made it sooooo nice!  I need to remind myself that there are people who are willing (and anxious) to help . . . so I need to let them!

Here's how Anna's 3rd grade Valentine's Day Party went down.

1.  CRAFT - Some children decorated boxes for their Valentine's Day cards at home, but it wasn't required.  So we gave each child a simple white lunch sack and a little baggie of heart stickers and doilies to quickly decorate the bag.  I gave them 10 minutes.

2.  GAMES - The kids are 3rd graders now and old enough that they can take care of themselves during the party.  So we didn't divide into groups or do any kind of rotation.  We just announced the 3 games/activities and told them to make sure they hit all the stations during the 20 minutes allotted.

Minute to Win It - We had two games going.  The classic get-the-oreo-from-your-forehead-to-your-face game. And there was also a conversation heart stacking challenge - they could use one hand to stack as many hearts as possible in one minute.  If the tower fell they had to start over again.

Cupid's Arrow Practice - I did this game once at a preschool Valentine's Day party and decided to pull it out of the vault for this party.  One of the moms made this DARLING poster (thanks Lena!) and the kids were given a red straw and a handful of Q-tips.  

After loading a Q-tip (arrow) into the straw they would aim and blow on the straw, trying to get the Q-tip  through the target.  They kids loved it!

Photobooth - I made a backdrop with kraft paper, doilies, and die-cut hearts and taped it to the outside of the portable classroom.

Then they lined up and one by one I took their photo with my Instax camera.  The kids were amazed when the pictures came out of the top of the camera.  Actually, at first they were confused.  I would hand over the photo and someone would say, "it's blank."  You have to wait a minute or two and the picture will appear.  "But on which side? The white or the black?"  Ohhhhhh dear.  It's not 1987 anymore.  :)

In the end they LOVED their photos and thought it was so so cool.  I also snapped a photo with my iPhone to use for another project.

3.  HAND OUT VALENTINES!

4.  TREATS - School parties are all about getting in, entertaining, feeding, and getting out alive.  Am I right?  And the kids are happy with just about ANYTHING so I don't put a lot of fancy flair into the refreshments.  Nonetheless, I thought our food table looked so cute!

Brownie bites, strawberries (the kids loved the cocktail forks), bananas, juice box.  Again, thanks to the moms who contributed everything!  All I brought was the tablecloth!  :)  

And it was a beautiful day to boot!  Mid 70's in February, wowzers!

paint night date

Sometimes you just need to branch out and do something different on date night.  We are not art buffs, we don't draw, I can probably count the number of famous artists I know on one hand . . . So the idea of a date night spent painting is something totally outside of our norm!

We knew it would be fun whether our paintings turned out beautifully or whether they ended up in disaster.  Low expectations.

But you know what?  We ended up loving it!  

For one, the paint night was held in a restaurant so we got to order food and drinks to sip & snack on while painting.  Mmmm, queso. 

Although Scott got a little excited and grabbed his paint water cup - when he meant to grab his soda - and took a big drink!  We were laughing about that all night long!

We signed up for a Mystery Painting which meant that we did not know what the final painting was going to look like!  The instructor guided us step by step through the layers of paint and blending and structure, but we didn't know what the final product was until it appeared on our canvases.

We thought this was so fun!  With no "master painting" to compare yourself against there was little pressure.

This also allowed much room for interpretation which Scott took full advantage of.  

I'm sure this is something we will do again.  Like I said we enjoyed it so much.  Especially Scott - he was totally in his groove and per his request I bought him a bunch of art supplies for Christmas!

Deals for these painting parties show up on Groupon and Living Social all the time. Be sure to snag one and give it a try!

family home evening // our family's birthday

The Monday before our anniversary last month, I realized that it would be a great opportunity to celebrate our family's birthday for Family Home Evening.  Throughout the day I started telling the kids, "You know, our family's birthday is this week -- it's the day that mom and dad were married!"

At first they looked at me kind of strange.  But then they got it and thought it was a cool idea.

I pulled out our wedding video (originally on VHS and converted to DVD by my mom - thanks!) and we watched that.  Holy cow, we were so young!  And our parents and brothers were so young!  The kids thought it was so funny to see their uncles as teenagers and little kids.

I baked a "wedding cake" - nothing fancy, just a Betty Crocker mix from my cupboard - and added a raspberry layer just like our wedding cake.  I also gave Anna the job of crafting a bride and groom for the top of the cake.  

Popsicle sticks, cotton balls, and washi tape.  They are a little interesting, but it occupied her for an hour.

Then we cut the cake - wedding style - and fed it to each other while the kids looked on.  

(Ya, I'm wearing a fleece blanket as a skirt.  I was cooold.)

During the lesson portion of Family Home Evening we taught them that the person you marry is the most important decision you will make in your life.  This decision is a long time away for the kids but it is important to make choices, goals, and set standards now that will prepare you to find the right person and to be smart (and in tune with the Spirit) enough to know who is right or wrong for you.  It was a great discussion.  This is a great quote by Bruce R. McConkie:

"The most important single thing that any Latter-Day Saint ever does in this world is to marry the right person, in the right place, by the right authority."

I also pulled up an article from The New Era that was full of questions and answers regarding temple weddings.  We were married in the Oakland California Temple.  Because temple weddings are quite a bit different from weddings they see on tv and because they will not be able to attend a temple wedding themselves until they are young adults and are worthy of a temple recommend . . . I thought it would be good to talk about some of the things that are different so they can know what to expect, and they can understand why we do things different.  We are married and sealed in temples by priesthood authority for time & eternity -- it is an ordinance and sacred covenants are made.

A few questions like . . . 

How much does it cost to get married in the temple?

What do we wear to our temple wedding?

Who can we invite?

Can we exchange rings in the temple?

How long is the temple ceremony?

And simple reminders that traditions like throwing rice or decorating cars is not appropriate on temple grounds.

You can read the full article HERE.

I think it was a great lesson and they were attentive and had lots of questions and it opened a new level of awareness and understanding.  Overall it was a great family home evening and I think we will continue this tradition every year!

january stories

On January 1st the kids were excited to fish some ice shards out of the pool.  But my favorite part of this photo is Payton's attire: winter coat, shorts, and house slippers. And the random stuff scattered around the backyard -- true to life.

When Kent came to film the promo video for A Life Story he stayed overnight and left Sunday morning before any of us were up.  Later I found the bag of licorice he left behind and had to text him a photo of thanks.  //  Anna decided enough was enough and pulled out her sewing machine to stitch up the 6 inch gaping hole in her robe that has been growing for the past few months.  I LOVE that she took matters into her own hands and I LOVE that she knows how to do this kind of stuff.

Anna entered the PTA Reflections contest and we attended the awards night.  She had entered in the categories of Visual Arts and Music Composition.  Oh man, as we sat there listening to the awards (1st, 2nd, 3rd place in each category) being announced she was such a ball of nerves!  Tense, irritable . . . I was getting a little worried that this might end badly.  Luckily, HAPPILY, she nabbed 2nd place for her music composition!  Phew!  When they called her name she gasped, a smile broke out across her face, and she bolted up to the stage.

 

We still walk to school in the morning.

And a couple days a week I go for an additional walk/run.  There were some cooooold mornings in January.  I know, I know . . . we live in Vegas - how cold can it really be?  But it is still in the low 40's at 8am and that is cold, people!  I love my running leggings and I gotta have the ear warmer.

 

January was kind of a big month for me.  I did something totally new and unlike me and signed up to be a fashion consultant with LuLaRoe!  I will share more about it in another post, but you can check out my Facebook page : LuLaRoe by Shannon : in the meantime.  I took this photo just before I left the house to open up my business checking account.  There were a lot of mixed feelings - excitement, nerves, anticipation, but most of all feeling GREAT with the lyrics "I've got the power" running through my head.  (He-Man or Snap version -- you choose.)

Scott and I celebrated our 16th anniversary!  A little dinner out to a favorite Italian restaurant and then a jaunt to the strip to see the Bellagio gardens, fountains, and indulge in a crepe.

 We wrapped up the 1st semester and finals week with a trip to Golden Spoon for frozen yogurt.  I am always SO happy when finals are over!  They are too.

I got the idea one day to paint the upstairs hallway and stairwell.  It was a big job.  You can't tell too well, but this photo was taken after the primer coat.  The ceiling and living/dining room will come later.  Preferably by a professional painter.

One evening at Activity Days they held a Pilates class for all the girls (25 that night).  Anna loved it and I thought she looked so cute in her LuLaRoe leggings. :)

This is how she plays outside.  She has been putting the large boxes from my LuLaRoe orders to good use.

My parents sent me these gorgeous flowers the day before my LuLaRoe Launch Party to show their support and encouragement.  Aren't they so thoughtful?!  I am a lucky girl.

And a shot of me in my blue Amelia dress before the party began.  I looooove this dress and everyone I know who owns one says that it is the best, most comfortable dress in their closet.  I agree!

Speaking of my parents, they were in town one weekend for a show so we met them on the strip for lunch at the Bellagio Buffet.  My kids were in heaven with all the choices!

Doesn't this photo just scream 14?!  It does to me.  Conner and I have been going for a run on Saturday mornings.  It is pretty great to spend some one-on-one time with this kid.  Topics of discussion: our night time dreams, why eating a big bowl of tortilla chips before a run is a bad idea, plot developments for the book he is writing, and the annoying side effects of butt sweat.  Did I mention he is 14?

10 things right now // Payton

1. Today is Payton's 12th birthday! This is a big milestone because he is now old enough to join the Young Mens organization and receive the Aaronic Priesthood. He had his interview with the bishop on Sunday. And both sets of grandparents are coming to visit next weekend for his ordination.  I can't wait to see him passing the sacrament with Conner very soon!

2. Sunday was his last day in Primary.  For the past month he has been milking the "this-is-my-last-month-in-Primary" plea and getting to do LOTS of volunteer gigs in sharing time and singing time.  As we drove to church we pointed out the fact that this was his last Sunday and he sighed with relief: "Thank goodness. I'm so tired of singing head, shoulders, knees, and toes!"  We reminded him to not brush Primary off so easily, because it's a pretty great place to be when you're an adult!

3.  He also received his Faith in God award on Sunday by the skin of his teeth!  Truly.  He spent the morning before church memorizing the last of the Articles of Faith - number 13.  

4.  This winter he joined the Archery Club at school.  He has loved it.  And he's a good little archer!  Aside from weekly practices at school he has also gone to an indoor archery range each saturday for some additional shooting.  He tried out for the State Tournament team, and while he didn't make it, he is motivated to practice and improve for next year.  To that end, we gave him a Genesis Bow for his birthday today!

5.  He finished his first semester of middle school with straight A's!  We are super proud of him.  He has been a good, diligent student.  He manages all of his own work, gets it turned in on time, and pays attention in class.  I was a little nervous when he started middle school because the work load increases quite a bit, but he has shown me that I had nothing to worry about.  Last week he got to attend the Straight A Luncheon for the second time this school year -- nothing beats a plate full of bacon and churros at the buffet!

6.  Last week he was called to the counselor's office and was surprised/excited to learn that he was chosen as Student of the Month by his Reading teacher!  It's a pretty big deal in such a large school.  Each month, every teacher nominates ONE student among the 4-5 classes they teach to be the student of the month.  This week we will attend the Breakfast of Champions with him to celebrate his achievement.

7.  He took an art class first semester and loved it!  Last month they had their art show and he was so excited to show off his work.  Below is a Kokeshi doll that he made.  Can you tell who it is supposed to be?  Here's a hint.

8. One of the things we love about Payton is his knack for the best witty little remarks at just the right moment.  But you have to pay attention because he isn't loud about it.  We were reading scriptures as a family last week and came to Helaman 2:13 -- "And behold, in the end of this book ye shall see that this Gadianton did prove the overthrow, yea, almost the entire destruction of the people of Nephi."

Without skipping a beat Payton said under his breath, "spoiler alert."

9.  He always goes to sleep with his light on, 4-5 blankets piled on top of him, and he is out sooo fast.  

10.  He is preparing for the Junior piano festival and I love watching him practice.  He has the most entertaining performance touch on the piano - it just makes me smile!  Delicate, but deliberate with a little bit of flair.  :)