Walking to School

This is how Aubree likes to walk to and from school. Such a big girl!

Hogle Zoo Field Trip

Today I went to the Hogle Zoo with Carly and her class. To be honest, I really don't like zoos - I feel bad for the animals and it's kind of stressful to keep track of the kids (whether they be my own or someone elses). But, it was good to be with Carly and she LOVES it when I volunteer for school things (and that makes me feel good). It's always fun to see my girls interact with their peers. Carly has such a magnetic personality - I was constantly hearing, "Carly, look at this...", "Carly, come with me", "Carly, listen to this...", etc. I could tell that her classmates really like her and that she's a good friend. 

Our group: Carly, Katrina, Kyra, Charly, and Abby



We tried to get a picture with some of their boy friends (not boyfriends), but one of the boys backed out at the last second. The boy Carly is standing next to is her favorite - Tate. He gave Carly the flower she's holding in her hand. :)

Another Memory

I was about 11 years old at the time of this memory. It was a normal high council Sunday in our ward - slow and sleepy. We were sitting in the chapel as a family, and my Dad was sitting in the clerk's desk on the left hand side of the stand. I had my head bent over on my knees so Ang or Steph could tickle my back. The speaker was in the middle of his talk when there was a loud crash at the front of the chapel. I pick my head up and see that my Dad is no longer sitting in his seat. He's nowhere to be seen. I was so embarassed and my Mom thought my Dad had had a heart attack. Until we see his head slowly rise up from behind the desk where he had been sitting.  My Dad quietly got another folding chair from the stand and resumed his clerk's spot as normal, and all the while the speaker kept going. I remember the next speaker got up and began his talk, "It's amazing what you do to keep people awake in this ward". My dad smiled so calmly. It wasn't until after sacrament meeting was over that he told us how he had arched his back against his chair (his trademark way of popping his back) when his chair suddenly collapsed on him. He later found that the chair he had been sitting on had a weak hinge and was a disaster waiting to happen.

In the Yard



I love their faces here - they were going pretty fast!



 Ellie is such a good helper in the yard. She enjoys it, just like her Daddy.

 Carly prepared refreshments for the workers outside. She enjoys not working in the yard, just like her Mommy. :) Although, I am starting to enjoy it more. In fact, I think I'll learn to love it.

 I love Aubree's creative outfits.

Pink undershirt, blue polka dot tank, plaid shorts, and flowered skirt over.

Pinion Jay feeding from our bird feeder

Our first spring here we had TONS of birds in our backyard. But the past two years we haven't had very many, so we put up this birdfeeder in hopes of bringing birds back to our house.

 Carly's friend pointed out to her at school that there was a hole in her pants. She didn't call home or anything - just stayed at school like that. :)

The girls' best neighbor friends. Carly, Rosie (11 yrs), Ellie, and Brightyn (6 yrs)

 Do you see Carly in that tree?! Crazy girl!

The Parson family's first vegetable garden!

Sardines

In the girl's room we have a bunk bed (twin over full), and a toddler bed. Then we also have the "spare room" which has a twin bed in it. With four beds to choose from, this is the sleeping arrangement our girls prefer each night:

One good thing about being short is that you can sleep sideways on a full bed and fit more people. :) Aubree isn't too particular about what direction she's laying. Carly told me the other morning that in the middle of the night she woke up with Aubree laying on her stomach and then later that same night Aubree was laying on her head. (I've slept with Aubree before, so I don't doubt it!)

Elder and Sister Johnson

Nanny Nette and Grandpa recieved their mission call in the mail on Friday...finally!  So they drove the very familiar road down to Utah (for the third weekend in a row) and most of the family met on Temple Square where my parents opened their letter. We had everyone guess where they thought Nanny Nette and Grandpa would go and put it on a map. And I won - I guessed Salt Lake City! They'll be serving in the Church Office Building for the Senior Misssionary Department. I will admit that I was getting a little excited that they might go to England, South Africa, or somewhere back east or something so I would get to visit them, but this is even better. (They'll definitely save on their gas expenses.)

My mom was obviously happy and excited, but I loved seeing how excited my dad was (not as obvious), both before and after they opened it (I would almost say he was even a little nervous beforehand). My dad is generally a very laid back, low profile type (especially if the attention is on him) and doesn't get excited easily - he's just an overall happy and easy-going guy. But I could tell he was super excited about this!

walking to Temple Square

Aubree - 3 years

Ellie - 6 years

Nanny Nette, Aubree, G'pa

reading the letter

Nanny Nette with some of her grandbabies

Dad and Aaron look at the Peregrine Falcon nest box on the Joseph Smith Memorial Building 

Aaron saves me from falling in the shrub bed

Ellie's Kindergarten Program

phone picture :)

She did such a great job! I love to watch her in the school setting and see how she interacts with others. Her favorite friend in Kindergarten is Tessa (in the black dress in the front row). I think it's funny that the only person smaller than her is a boy, Simon. :) Ellie's teacher, Mrs. Heninger, is SO awesome! She is so good with the kindergarteners and is so sweet! After the performance Ellie got to come home with us (Aaron got to be there too) and then we went out for a treat at Tasty's.

Memories

"This is our one and only chance at mortal life—here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and nonexistent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now.

If you have children who are grown and gone, in all likelihood you have occasionally felt pangs of loss and the recognition that you didn’t appreciate that time of life as much as you should have. Of course, there is no going back, but only forward. Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for the future.


If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly.

Stresses in our lives come regardless of our circumstances. We must deal with them the best we can. But we should not let them get in the way of what is most important—and what is most important almost always involves the people around us.

Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved. Friends move away, children grow up, loved ones pass on. It’s so easy to take others for granted, until that day when they’re gone from our lives and we are left with feelings of “what if” and “if only.” Said author Harriet Beecher Stowe, “The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.” 

President Thomas S. Monson "Finding Joy in the Journey", Oct. 2008

Today I was just sitting on the couch kind of dozing off when Ellie came and sat down next to me. I put my arm around her and she cuddled up to me for just a couple minutes. It might sound crazy, but I was so grateful to have that moment that it made me teary eyed. Ellie is not a very cuddly girl, so it was extra special to me. I said a little prayer in my heart that we would both remember that very short and simple moment.

I've been thinking a lot about memories lately. I sometimes worry about what my girls will have memories of. I would guess we are a pretty normal family - we mostly have normal days, and then of course we have some really happy, fun and wonderful days, and occasionally some pretty bad days. I hope my girls don't remember the pretty bad days. And I hope they don't remember me as being anxious and in a hurry all the time. I wonder what moments they will remember and if I'll remember them too. I realize that I've got to do more than just hope for good memories, I've got to actually spend the time making memories and not pushing my children away. I'm sure there will be some bad ones in there - I just hope the good outweigh the bad.

I can only remember snippets of my childhood - like snapshots taken at random moments.

I remember laying in mine and Steph's queen bed with Angela and Ryan and taking turns tickling each other's backs.

I remember Stephanie getting her hand rolled up in Grandma and Grandpa's car window, but she was too embarrassed to say anything to them, so I finally did. She was trying not to cry, but her poor little face was so sad!

I remember playing on the cattle guard at my Grandma and Grandpa Henderson's home. And I loved their tree house!

I remember playing a really cool memory board game at my Grandma and Grandpa Johnson's home. And I remember at my cousin Dustin's wedding, watching he and my Grandma dance (my Grandma was in a wheelchair by that time).

I remember the first time I met one of my best childhood friends, Brooke Hall - I thought she was short :).

I remember Shawna Riddoch and I would collect little trinkets (basically random junk) to give to each other - they were like treasures to us.

I remember having a sleep-over at Natalie and Nicole's home and pretending to be asleep, but then both of them did fall asleep and I was left the only one awake.

I remember Ryan sitting on the front steps outside with some friends trading baseball cards.

I remember Angela hiding in the trunk of the car so that she could come watch me try out for my dance team.

I remember waking up scared in the night and going into Jen's bedroom where she said a prayer with me and comforted me and then let me sleep with her.

I remember taking a picture of Ken and Uncle Albert when Ken got married - it was the first picture I ever took.

I remember holding my Dad's hands and climbing up his legs when he would come home from work.

I remember my Mom trying to show Steph and me how to do some of our dance moves. :)

I love these memories! I wish I had more. I especially wish I had more of my Mom - because I'm a mom now. I've been wondering if and how memories might affect our relationships. And I think I've decided that it's not necessarily the memories that shape a relationship but it's every moment (both remembered and forgotten) that shapes what a relationship will be. So, even though my kids will likely not remember very much from this time in their lives, I've still got to be conscientious in how I interact with them now so that each day can build on the one before until we have the type of adult relationship we want 20 years from now.

The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree...

School Playground

We try to walk Carly to school each morning and while we're there we stay to play at the playground for a little while (actually, a long while - sometimes we're still there when Carly comes out for 1st recess.) We are usually joined by other friends who also walk siblings to school - it's an unplanned play date and Mommy-social almost every day!