Happy Sisters

These girls really can be the best of friends. It's a good thing Emily is so laid back about a lot of things, because Ashley sure has a lot of opinions and wants. The latest thing they play with are Polly Pockets- plastic dolls that are 3 inches tall that have rubbery clothes you take off and on. Emily is way into Disney's Peter Pan movie, and who can blame her with flying kids? Ashley loves puzzles and pretend dishes. They both love dress-ups, babies, playing house, and working tools with dad.

The posters behind the girls we made during Joyschool. We made them as part of learning about being unique. The kids are also making a book about themselves which includes a hand and foot print, self portrait, favorite foods, their name in yarn, etc.

Hoppin' Easter!

Wednesday (19th) The girls and I made the 2 hour drive up to Pocatello, Idaho to join Bryan and the Hanks' for grandpa Clair's funeral. The girls did great in the car thanks to our portable DVD player! The funeral was service was really nice and his burial was given by the Veterans group. We drove back home that night and had a good time hanging out with Bryan's siblings.
Saturday (22th) I ran 7 miles by myself! I surprised myself that I can run without my running partner. I was supposed to do 10 miles but I chose to come home for the kid's Easter egg hunt at the church.
Sunday (23th) I decided no Easter bunny to try to have a more Christ-centered Easter. But it only kind of worked. We had the Fosters come to church with us. Afterwards we had Easter lunch and an early Ashley birthday celebration. I made myself sick with my pathetic self-control, eating lots of candy and birthday cake.
In church the primary kids sang 3 songs and we got to watch Emily in her first sacrament meeting show. And she was the show! She started out singing and then got bored so she started leaning way over the edge. Then she started rubbing her eye really hard and then lifted up the edge of her dress to wipe her eye, the whole time talking to herself. I asked her afterwards what was going on and she said, "I had some happy tears." I was the chorister and didn't really notice what she was doing, for which I am kind of glad and kind of sad.
Monday (24th) We are in a great stage where our girls absolutely love Family Home Evening! The fact that treats are involved definitely was a smart move on the part of the church's FHE department. We also have a tradition of singing the Family Night Song (pg 195). We tried to sing it as loud as we could and Ashley just started laughing. She was just giggling and walking all around the room from person to person just soaking it all up. Then we had a short lesson, played the game of Life and had popsicles. I have to appreciate it their excitement now because I think I will need it to sustain me through the years to come.
Tuesday (25th) Today I taught my 3rd day of Joyschool for the month which means I am done teaching until May. We are learning about being unique and different. That has been a tricky concept to for the kids to understand because 5 of the 6 kids in the group are girls with blue eyes and blond/light brown hair who like similar activities. Funny.

Coming up on Thursday night is my book club. The book we read was "The President's Lady" which is a historical fiction about Andrew and Rachel Jackson. I am impressed with the genre of historical fiction (facts turned into a story with no extras added). I was saddened to learn of their love story and how it was destroyed by politics. And I was WAY glad that my turbo husband is not as turbo as Andrew Jackson- that guy was a whirlwind.
Ashley is turning 2 on Sunday. Emily has been counting down this day the whole month of March and is probably more excited about it than Ashley. We plan to have Bryan's siblings up to celebrate on Sunday and then go the zoo on Monday.
And the best countdown of all is our cruise trip coming up! Poor Bryan has been so busy with work the last few weeks. He has been holding on to the cruise as the light at the end of his tunnel. We are leaving in 8 days and will be gone a week. Hooray for vacations!

Goodbye Grandpa Clair

We said goodbye to grandpa Clair Hanks, age 85 who died on Friday at 6pm. He died from complications with Parkinsons Disease, a disease he struggled for the past several years. He died on his 85th birthday surrounded by family- completing his circle of life. His funeral will be on Wednesday at 11 in Pocatello Idaho, which we will get to attend. Bryan was able to be up there with his dad Kevin as Clair passed last week.

Safety First

Today we went to Target to get the girl's pictures taken. We got in pretty quick but had to wait over an hour to look at them. My girls did great shopping for that long. As I was looking at pictures, my girls got thirsty. I watched them walk off to the drinking fountain, get drinks and then start back. I put Ashley in the cart and then got back into my pictures. I assumed Emily would be there, or was there because there were a lot of kids. I think it was 5 minutes before I realized that she wasn't there. I panicked, looked for her, couldn't find her and panicked more. I looked for a few minutes and then went to the clerk. As she was about to announce a lost kid on the intercom, I found her. I counted my blessings right then, a lot. It's only every week that I look at the 'Lost Child' section in the ads and think "Where on earth would I ever see this kid?"! Today when I looked at my ads, it showed the picture and then said, "Don't put your child's name on the internet." So hence the upped safety precautions on this blog.
In talking to Emily about it afterwards, I asked if she was scared. She said, "I wasn't lost, I was right here." She said she found a nice lady that became her friend and helped her find me. Thank you angel lady for helping my baby feel safe!

Dancing with Dad

Last Wednesday Emily was happily playing dress-ups while Ashley napped. She had on one of her favorite outfits, Snow White. She had just come downstairs to find her prince, and then in he walked- home from work a little early! Bryan scooped her up and they danced, twirled and dipped all around the kitchen for a few minutes and both loved every minute of it.
Emily's other favorite dress-up dress is all white and she loves to pretend she is getting married. The outfit includes white shoes, gloves and a ring. The man she is going to marry? Dad of course!
Ashley's insists that all her dress-up outfits have to be pink.

Bedtime Dancers

The girls love their feety pajamas! They also love dancing to classical music with their stuffed animals. Ashley just learned how to jump. She often practices and it is hilarious to watch.

Peanut Butter

Today in Joyschool, Emily learned to try new things. One activity they got to try today was to make a peanut butter and honey sandwich. The teacher told me she did pretty good. Later on she made another one for she and Ashley for a snack. Here are the fruits of her labors. Thursday they will attempt peeling a carrot and flying a kite.