Teaching from the scriptures

The other night we were reading in Jacob 2 from the Book of Mormon. It is when Jacob is telling his people that they are prideful and that they are committing grievous sins because they have more than one wife and have concubines. Well in this chapter he says abominable about 600 times. So I was trying to explain to the kids what this all meant. I told them that they were only suppose to have one husband or one wife and if they were married they were to have no girlfriends or boyfriends. Then I said, if you do then it is ABOMINABLE! So we all took turns saying "That's ABOMINABLE!" in our loudest, sternest voices.



So here is Lacey recounting what she learned.

You know when you have those experiences with your kids that you think, "I'm so glad this just happened because I will laugh about this for days"? Well, this is what happened to me. It was time for bed and Lacey got out of the fridge a yogurt. I told her "No, we aren't having yogurt now" and I put the yogurt back in the fridge. She started to cry and throw a fit and then she said to me, screaming mind you, "You're ABOMINABLE!" I couldn't help but bust up laughing. I seriously was so happy she said that because it will make me laugh and laugh for days to come. So that is what I get for teaching my kids from the scriptures. At least I know they are picking up that I am teaching them.

Photoshop Class

For my birthday last year Ryan gathered donations from family members to purchase for me Photo Shop CS3 to further my love for digital scrapbooking. I was more than ecstatic but it is HARD! It is hard to just figure out on your own. I was using Digital Image Pro by Microsoft. It was so easy to figure out on my own. The sad thing is that Microsoft is no longer going to make this software so I knew the transition to Photoshop was inevitable. So for Mother's Day, I received the gift of a Photoshop class online that is geared specifically toward digital scrapbooking. I have loved it. I have learned so much. It would have taken me years to figure out some of this stuff. The instructor has videos to follow which has made learning so easy. http://www.jessicasprague.com/ if you are wondering.

Here are the layouts that I created in the class. I am hoping I might be granted permission to take the next class too. It has just been too much fun.

Car Crash!

Saturday night we went to the Demolition Derby. As we were getting ready Aidan said, "We are getting ready to go to the car crash." He had no clue what we were about to see. It was held at our County Fair Grounds which isn't that big. It really wasn't what I was expecting. There were only a few bleachers to sit on and most people had pulled their trucks in backwards to watch it. I felt like I was in a real small town. They had two rounds, one with smaller cars and one with bigger cars. It was pretty crazy. As you can see in our pics, we were quite close to the action. For a little bit we let Aidan and Lacey go down by the fence. That lasted two seconds because a car got high centered on the mud pile at the edge and that was just too close for my comfort. Even on the bleachers though we had mud hitting us. It was fun times.

After the derby I drove us home and I really had to contain myself because I had urges to smash into the cars around me.

You're Gonna Miss This

So this is the new song pulling at my heart strings. I know I am not a "live in the now" person but I want to be. I want to appreciate where I am at now instead of dreaming for what life is to come. I know the time of having my kids be little is short and I want to treasure those moments. Already life has passed by too quickly and they are growing up so fast. I AM going to miss this. I AM going to want this time back. So today, I am going to love where I am at. A stay at home mom of three great little kids, a wife of an amazing pilot, living in a cute little house in Kentucky.

You're Gonna Miss This by Trace Adkins

First Outing

Ryan has been working for a couple of weeks now to get the boat ready for the summer. He has detailed the boat, fixed the trailer, insured and registered the boat. So today was the day for us to take it out on the water. We wanted to check out Guist Creek to see if it would be a good place for us to water ski this summer. We were both nervous for our first outing. Ryan did great towing the boat and getting it into the water. I did fine pulling the trailer out of the water and parking it. However, the hard part came when we tried to get the boat out of the water. I was the one driving the boat up to the trailer and Ryan made sure I was centered. Well, I wasn't very good at this. It took me a couple of tries but after Ryan got wet up to his waist it seemed to finally work. I guess through practice we will perfect the system.

We had a lot of fun on the boat. We just drove around to check out the area. It is really beautiful with lots of trees. Not my Snake River Canyon that I'm use to but gorgeous just the same. We brought Aidan's fishing pole so the kids could fish a little bit. They thought it was awesome! Lacey was so funny. After we first took off in the boat past the no wake zone, it was a teeny bit chilly and Lacey yelled "Someone turn up the heat!" Also after we were all done she asked everyone individually "Did you have a good time on the boat?" It made me laugh.
Just so you know Cassidy wasn't that uncomfortable the whole time. I was holding her most the time. She loved having the wind blowing on her feet and hair. It was cute.

Puerto Rico, Mi Isla

We had a super fun time in Puerto Rico. We went with Ryan's whole family. We were there a week and had much to celebrate. We had 3 birthdays, one anniversary, and mother's day. I'll give a quick synopsis of what we did and a couple of pictures. That's going to be hard because I took 179!!! Yikes.

Top 20 Highlights of the trips:

1. Bioluminescent Bay Kayak tour


2. Celebrating Aidan's birthday morning at the beach


3. Ryan certifying to scuba dive (he went on 4 dives)


4. Cassidy's first time in the ocean and in a pool


5. Shopping in Old San Juan


6. Eating out at yummy restaraunts


7. Getting a quarter size mosquito bite on my forehead while trying to take a romantic walk on the beach with Ryan


8. Going to the beach or swimming pool everyday


9. Getting slaughtered by Ryan in tennis


10. Hiking through a rain forest


11. Seeing iguanas everywhere


12. Finishing my book on a 2.5 hour car ride to Ponce


13. Looking for seashells with Lacey


14. Attempting to speak Spanish again


15. Spending 30 minutes everyday lathering everyone up with sunblock


16. Enjoying the beautiful ocean and palm trees


17. Hearing the GPS say "Arriving at the condo" in a snobby british accent each time we got back to our place


18. Not watching tv


19. Exploring El Morro a fort built in the 1500s


20. Not having to fly non-rev

TAG

How To Play This Game of Tag: Post these rules on your blog. List: 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Tag 3 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog!

It is always fun to read random facts about your family and friends. You just learn new things that you may not have known before. So here's my attempt.

Joys

1. My cute darling family
2. Sipping hot cocoa next to a warm fire
3. When Ryan comes home from work and surprises me with a Peanut Butter cup blizzard

Fears

1. Sadly enough flying. I don't know how I ended up with a pilot. Just one of those ironic jokes that could be added to Alanis Morissette's song. I get nervous every time I fly. I white knuckle the arm rests, pray incessantly and panic until we are about to land. Each time I say to myself, "I'm not going to fly again for a long time." Then some fun trip comes up so I get on the plane all over again. Spoiled yet terrified.

2. The Ocean. I hate flying over the ocean and I will not swim in the ocean. I will walk through the waves that come up to my knees but no higher than that. One time I was riding some waves with some friends and one wave flipped us over and slammed my head on the floor of the ocean. Since that, I was done. It is just too spooky and dangerous.

3. I am absolutely terrified of the chainsaw guy at haunted houses. One time I went on a date with a guy and a group of other people to a haunted forest. I made the mistake of telling my date that I hated the chainsaw guy because he ended up telling the chainsaw guy and he followed me through the whole haunted forest. I ran, I screamed, I grabbed people I didn't know to shield me from this guy but he was relentless. I went through that haunted forest in record time just to get away from that scary dude. And no, my date wasn't Ryan. I never went out with that guy again. He messed with the wrong chick.

Goals

My brother and I decided we hate goals. I don't set goals anymore. I never make new years resolutions. I just stink at them. So if I had to list three goals these would be them.


1. Have all my sons serve missions

2. Have all my kids get married in the temple

3. Live a long happy life that will let me live with my family and Heavenly Father forever.

4. Oh, yeah, and own a hot tub someday.

Total cop out, I know.


Current Obsessions

1. Digital scrapbooking- love it so much and I would do it all day everyday if it wasn't unfit for a mother to neglect her children all day every day.

2. Reality TV- it was Project Runway, now it is American Idol (David Cook fan), I also love The Hills

3. House Hunters- It is a tv show on HGTV that just shows people looking for a house to buy. I love seeing all the different houses. I have become obsessed so much that I am looking online for my own new house to buy. We aren't looking to move but I can't stop looking at houses regardless. I think it is my brother's fault.

Random facts about me

1. I used to not be able to swallow pills and I had to hide them in marshmallows to get them down.

2. I hate ants more than anything in this whole entire world. If they are in my house I go bonkers until they are EXTERMINATED!!! Thank goodness for terminix.

3. I secretly wish my last name was Zipadelli. Greg Zipadelli is the crew chief for Tony Stewart and I just think his last name is so cool and fun to say. Say it a couple of times and you will think so too. Don't worry, Ryan knows about this. He thinks it is awesome that I even know who Tony's crew chief is.

I tag my three sisters, Ashly, and Barbara.

Aidan is FIVE!

Aidan turned five on Monday while we were still in Puerto Rico. We woke up early and ran to the beach for a couple of hours. It was such a beautiful morning. The beach had lots of shells for Lacey and I to gather and the waves were just the right size for Aidan to body board. Then on our way back to our condo we jumped in the pool. It was a great morning.

The night before Aidan opened some presents and we had a birthday cake. So before we took off for the airport that afternoon I let Aidan dig in to the left over cake. I told him he could just eat the frosting if he wanted to. So Aidan and Lacey attacked that cake and there wasn't one bit of frosting left by the time they were done. Lots of cake, but no frosting.

We packed up and headed for the airport. The rest of his birthday was spent traveling. I felt bad that his actual birthday was grandiose but I hope all the other times we celebrated his birthday were enough.

You know, I have always felt that Aidan's birthday is my actual mother's day. It is the day I became a mom. I sure love this little boy. He is one of my best friends. He takes care of me when Ryan is gone and is so good at being the man of the house. He is fun to be with and loves being playful. He has a sweet sense of humor and a very tender compassion. He has a strong spirit that just amazes me. He's my boy.

I know...

Aidan had to give a talk in Primary. Given that it was fast Sunday we decided to have him talk about testimonies. Here is his talk.

A testimony is a spiritual witness given by the Holy Ghost. A testimony has five basic parts, the knowledge that Jesus Christ is our Savior; that Joseph Smith was a prophet; that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Savior's true Church; and that the Church is led by a living prophet today and that the Book of Mormon is true.

A testimony grows through good choices and experiences and grows as we pray and learn. It gets bigger as we obey Heavenly Father's commandments. A testimony makes us strong and helps us say no to Satan's temptations. We can have a testimony now and be strong righteous children of God.

Of course I was helping him read this but after this part was done I whispered into his ear, Okay Aidan, now bear your testimony. I sat down and Aidan bore his testimony all on his own. He said, "I know Jesus is our Savior. I know he loves us. I know President Monson is a prophet. I know the Book of Mormon is true."

I was so proud of him. We play a little game at home that has been named the "I know" game. After we read scriptures we take turns sharing our testimonies or what we "know". We have tried to teach our kids early the importance of having a testimony. Through their own spiritual experiences they will "know" that the gospel is true and they will be able to make good choices because of their strength. I sure love these little spirits and all the things that they "know".

It was a HIT!

Aidan's baseball party was a great success minus the few rain delays. Just 20 minutes after the kids arrived it began to rain. I mean beat down hard rain. We played baseball when it wasn't raining but when it was raining we went under the carport and played some games. One was a baseball version of pin the tail on the donkey where they had to pin the baseball on the baseball field. We had hot dogs and popcorn, ate baseball cupcakes, and opened presents. I also had all the kids autograph a baseball for each boy and then we gave out Big League Chew as their party favor. It was really fun. We had to be innovative at times with the rain and such but it worked out great. Aidan had a lot of friends come and we all had a really great time. He got some great presents too.

I had Cassidy all decked out in her Mariner outfit for the party. Aren't they a cute pair?