my memories of president hinckley...

I was just thinking today about my memories of seeing President Hinckley in person, and I have 3 distinct ones that came to mind. First was when I was able to go to the Conference Center dedication General Conference session. In spite of growing up in Salt Lake City, I had never attended conference in person. And this time, I actually lived in Texas, but had come back to be able to go. (It is much easier to get tickets when you live in another state by the way, but I think I got these tickets from my Dad who was in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir). I remember sitting there during the prayer and how my spirit literally wept. Everyone also spotaneously stood and sang after Pres. Hinckley's prayer, and then slowly every apostle and authority on the stand stood on their feet. It was so neat.

The second time I remember seeing him was right before we moved from Texas, and he came for the dedication of the Lubbock, TX temple. We were outside for the cornerstone ceremony (John was singing in the cornerstone choir) and it was so neat to see him come out with his wife. They were so cute together. He made jokes, and even called my niece and nephew out of the audience to put mortar on the stone. When he left after the dedication, we were outside the temple and everyone broke into "We Thank Thee O God For A Prophet" as he got into his car, with his signature cane wave.

The last time I saw him in person was at John's graduation from BYU Law School. He had a granddaughter in John's class. We were all sitting there in the audience, and all of a sudden the prophet walked in and sat on the stand. It was so unexpected. Very cool.

I'm sure there were other times, but those are the ones that stand out to me. He was such a happy man, and we will miss him. Here is a picture from John's graduation (sorry it's not very good - the lighting wasn't very good and I was behind a pillar!).

a weepy day...

This might make you tear up a little. But maybe it was just me, I had one of those days.
the bridge

president hinckley...

My friend had this posted on her blog, and I think it is a great idea, wish I could be there. Pass it along.
President Hinckley Tribute

superheroes and hot dogs...

Today was a rainy/snowy (for St. George) day. I forgot to get a picture of the actual "snow", which was really sleet I think, but I did get a picture of snow-covered Pine Mountain.

It was yucky. Zane couldn't wait to go out in the "snow". So he got his jacket on, his spongebob hat and gloves, and he had to wear a cape. It was really windy out, and he said he wanted to fly away. This is him with his "to the rescue" pose. Cute.

So, for dinner tonight, I was in the mood for soup, but Zane had other ideas. He told me he wanted "hot tail wingers". I had no idea what he was talking about. I kept trying to get him to explain, and he told me they are little hot dogs with toothpicks in them and no bun. Haha! COCKTAIL WEINERS! He said we had to have a game dinner and play cards while we were eating our hot tail wingers. Too hilarious. I think it came from a Curious George episode today. Here is what he did with his hot dog.

(oh and yeah, that is a new kitchen table, yay us!)
And I couldn't just post pictures of Zane without posting an adorable one of Lily in her princess ballerina jammies.

cuties...

Just thought I would share a couple recent pics with our new camera.

perfect dress...

Really, I must make this for Lily. One day. It is awesome.

the final countdown...

We got a new game. It's called SingStar. It's basically a karaoke game where you an compete against each other. The microphones measure your tone, pitch, and rhythm. We got an 80's version. It has some great songs. So Zane's new favorite songs are "Eye of the Tiger" and "The Final Countdown". He's been walking around the house singing "Eyyyyeeee of the Ti-ger", and wanted me to sing "dada da da...dada da da da" to him before bed last night.

So, we had to put the game away yesterday because Zane was getting upset and not taking turns. Of course, that caused the usual tantrum, and he went off into the pantry and hid behind the door. He was singing "dada da da" in between sniffles. It was HILARIOUS.

(If you don't know "The Final Countdown", click here, for "Eye of the Tiger" click here).

could i post any more today?...

Just was wondering whose idea it was to put marshmallows in cereal. Is there a kid out there that actually eats the cereal and doesn't just pick the marshmallow bits out? Really, I'm not buying this ever again.

fake...

Lily fake cries. She has done it since she was born, I swear. I caught a picture of it today. I'm afraid we are in trouble with this one because it is just tooo dang cute and funny.

my house is soooo not clean...

Still not back up to speed after the long holidays. I don't know what the deal is. I blame guitar hero. After playing the game various places this season, we decided it would be fun thing for us to do as a family. We bought the cheapest stuff we could find and it has been great fun. It has not turned into an "all night never see my husband thing" that I feared. (Ok, other than the first week). So, even though I haven't been spending every waking minute playing, can I still blame the game for my messy house and piles of laundry? I think so.

to whom it may interest...

the fish is still alive.

congratulations...

Congrats to the new Mr. and Mrs. Cheniae! Amanda (Abi's sis) and Chris were married this past weekend in Phoenix. We all had a great time. The wedding was lovely and it was so fun to see everyone. Welcome to the family Chris! Thank you for including us, and we love you both very much!

teething biscuits...

I've been on the search for some sort of finger type food for Lily that she can gnaw on that does not have high fructose corn syrup in it. These are the teething biscuits that I found. They are Healthy Times Vanilla Biscuits for Teethers. She LOVED them. The video is quite hilarious. Love the tongue. (btw, if you can hear it, that's John at the end - pretending to be Lily).

no bushes...

Yay for no more ugly bushes and dead grass! The new yard looks great. Only a little more work on the front rocks, and it's done.

bowling...

We went bowling yesterday with my parents and sister's fam. It was busy, so we just let the kids bowl. They had a blast. Zane was so excited anytime a pin was knocked down, didn't matter if you just got one. Too cute. Andrew (5) was quite the bowler, however, he probably didn't have the best form (he literally tossed the ball). We did have a couple of pins come back at us down the lane, which was a giggle. We were keeping the bowling alley workers busy with all the problems we kept causing on our lane. Zach (7) had quite a few straight ones, he probably didn't even need the bumpers. Madison (9) was the high score! They all did really well, those bumpers sure help. They all scored higher than my average low score bowling game of 50ish.

Go Zane!

Those crazy pins!

christmas morning...

Happy Holidays! Zane got some Planet Heroes, moon sand, and art supplies with an easel. Lily got a fun toy train, some cute clothes, and a fabulous wooden rocking horse. Abi got a new camera, and John got new scriptures and a tool set. Zane's favorite was probably playing with Lily's presents. Lily's favorite was definitely the wrapping paper. We all got way too much stuff I'm sure. The kids are definitely spoiled.

new floors...

For Christmas, my parents got us TILE in our kitchen (only we had to do it!). With mucho help from my brother in law...we got it done, just in time for Christmas Eve. It is wonderful. Yay! (soon to come, pics of the newly re-landscaped front yard - no more ugly bushes!)

Picture of beginning removing the old linoleum. The only way we were successful in doing this is with a 4" razor blade scraper. First you score the linoleum in approx. 4x6 inch pieces with a box cutter. Then you put down a towel and pour boiling hot water over top. Wait a few minutes, then scrap up with the razor scraper. A TON of work.

Here is the first couple rows of tile. After scraping up the linoleum, there is still a lot of glue and backing left. You have to repeat the boiling water/towel and razor scraper process again to get that stuff up.

All finished!

merry christmas...

We visited Santa yesterday. Zane was soooo excited. He couldn't wait to tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas. He told him he wanted a Light Sketcher. Hopefully Santa knows what the heck that is! Lily wasn't quite sure what to think of Santa. She looked at him, and then back at me, then back at him, then made a big "I'm going to freak out if you don't pick me up right this second" face. It's great.

power of prayer...

Today we had to venture to Lowes for a new water heater. Always a good time when you have to replace stuff in your house. After purchasing the water heater and loading it in the car (with the kids too), I realized that I had misplaced the only key to the car. Now I had it to open up the car and trunk, etc., so it couldn't have gone far. After searching and searching with no luck, John started to say a prayer to himself. He got the distinct impression to have Zane say it. As Zane was finishing up his prayer, I started to pray to myself as well. As soon as Zane finished (before I was done) I had the immediate impression to look in the back pocket of the front seat. In my mind, I started to dismiss that it could possibly be there, but looked anyways. Of course it was there. It was a great teaching moment for Zane and definitely a humbling and faith affirming moment for us.

playdoh creations...

We received a bucket of homemade playdoh (great gift idea!) for christmas from a neighbor. Zane of course, loves it. It's been a little while since we've gotten playdoh out. It used to be mostly just smushing all the colors together and making pancakes and balls. I guess, since the last time he played with it, his skills have advanced. I love these "alien snowmen with antennae". Notice the eyes, they are great!