Beware...

So I was able to go to church by myself without any kids/distractions. I was actually able to listen and think about all the lessons it was.....strange. I actually was able to focus better when I pulled out a nail file because it gave me a distraction I guess. lol

Any ways in Sunday School at Church we talked about "Beware Lest Thou Forget " Which Basically talked about doing things that can remind us to 'Remember the Lord' when times are good and bad. So it inspired me to do a FHE lesson on this.

I had some extra plywood lying around in my garage so I had my husband cut it up into little 5x7 squares then took the kids to the craft store and let them pick an 86 Cent bottle of their favorite color of paint and some 39cent brushes. We painted them then we walked around our house pointing out the things we have in our house that remind us of Jesus Christ, and telling why and how they make us feel. We have pictures on the walls in our bedroom and the living room, and scriptures and books on the shelves but nothing really in the kids' bedrooms. Then we printed pictures off the Internet of things the kids wanted to be able to be reminded of Jesus. We glued them to the painted wood and then modge podged them and let them dry. Now my kids have a reminder of Jesus in their rooms too.

Carter chose the Salt Lake Temple.

and I helped Haven choose a picture of Jesus with a little girl and the saying "The greatest gift I could give you... would be for you to see yourself as I see you."

and Tim did one with a picture of our family to take to work.

So fun! I love these kind of Family Home Evening lessons. They don't happen often though so don't think I am bragging, I am sharing my idea to help others because it is hard, for me atleast, to think of things that are relevant and will hopefully leave a lasting impression on your kids. (usually we just end up reading a story from "the friend" church magazine and going for Ice cream. so this was special)

Say Cheese

I have wanted to whiten my teeth ever since I have had braces. My before and after braces pictures show that my teeth got more yellow after having braces. What the heck right?
So I got a coupon in the mail from my dentist giving "boost" teeth whitening in office treatment to their clients for $197, normally a 550$ procedure. So I went ahead and did it.
Before..... After..... I moved 1-2 shades which is good. The pain during procedure wasn't too bad, but as the day went on it got worse and really sensitive. Thankfully today they feel better.

Some other things we have been up to lately are: Tim and Carter went to Iron man 2 in the theatres so Haven and I stayed home and watched "Aquamarine" and ate popcorn. p.s. Aquamarine is a cute show for tweens and perfect for girls night.

For FHE this week we read an Ensign story and made homemade ice cream. Soooo Yummy. Easy 5 minute recipe here.

The weather has been getting better, especially today and this weekend. Summer in Montana I can handle, but I still would like to sale the house, because come winter and I will not be so cheery. We have been enjoying playing T-ball in the back yard.

Jaxton will only crawl on the grass if he has shoes on, he hates it on his bare toesies. lol

I thought for sure he would be walking last month because he sat up and crawled early and was just a go getter, but he is content with crawling I guess. But for the sake of cleaner hands I hope next time I post around his birthday he will be walking!!

We love eating lunch outside too! (still would like to sale my house though) :)

Need a change from the old stand by Sandwich for lunch? Also cut out your carbs... Try deli meat rolled up , and cheese sticks chopped and stuck with toothpicks. My kids like doing this sometimes. Oh and that is peanut butter that they like to dip their apples in.

update

It snowed on us last week. Carter built a snow man all by himself.



But lately the weather has been so nice, we have gone for a few bike rides!!!

Here is Jaxton's 10 month tie picture. He would not hold still for it and insisted on climbing the stairs.

Carter's incisions are healing well. He has color in his cheeks that he has never had before and white eyes that used to be a little yellow.

hopefully this video will work. Jaxton is a character!

Trip to Utah and Carters Surgery

Our 10 day trip to Utah was fun and exhausting. Here are a few highlights.

First we had Carters check up with the surgeon and later that night we went to Tim's nieces b-day party at the bowling alley.




The next day we went to the zoo. We packed this stroller in our van, which wasn't easy, and our kids ended up not even using it after this picture. They were both insistent on being carried and acting like the stroller was the plague. ugh won't be doing that again.



Then came Surgery day. I knew Carter would be fine. I had a good feeling about it the whole time, ever since I heard we got approval from our insurance to go out of state to Primary Children's. why did he have to have surgery? basically: we have a blood condition that causes the spleen to get enlarged and therefore needs to be removed because it pushes on other organs in the abdomen and also munches a lot of our red blood cells. Also this blood condition can cause gallstones , so with a check of an ultrasound the Dr. decided he needed his Gallbladder out also.) Surgery went well and recovery was great.





The only complaint I would have about his experience was he was getting very dizzy off the morphine and didn't tell us. we just thought his incisions were hurting him and that is why he wasn't moving, but really he was spinning so bad he didn't dare to move finally after day two he was coming off and was able to tell us. once we stopped the morphine he recovered quickly.

Popsicles really are the best part of being in a hospital right? Primary Children's really is the best place to get your child's surgery. They have so many things for kids , that it almost gets annoying how they come in to your room several times a day to make sure your kids is not bored and offer to bring them toys or video games etc.. They even had a very good dog that loves to have the children pet it.
We were so tired from the hospital stay, we were so glad to be going to my Mom and Dad's house for some R&R.

I was also able to spend a few days with my niece Jasmine and nephew Jordan, which was so great and I really needed it. I worry so much about them and being with them makes me feel close to my sister.

Then we went on down to Sand hollow to see the rest of my family. we were all there so I guess you could call it a family reunion.

Jasmine posing in the sunset for me.

Jaxton and Solayna (my brother Brooke's daughter) playing in the sand. She ate some of the sand and she loved playing in it. Jaxton didn't like any bare skin to touch the sand lol.

Tim and my brothers and Carter and Nephews caught some lizards including a horned toad lizard. We took 2 fence lizards and the horned toad home with us, and set them up in a cage. They are thriving well. I will not touch the things cuz that is gross, but they are interesting to watch. Especially the horned toad, when we feed him he wags his tail like a dog, it's so funny!!

Haven even caught a caterpillar.

We did our Easter egg hunt down there also in t he bushes.

I don't know why Haven gives these grumpy looks sometimes.

We had a good time and it was great to see my family.