What an Accomplishment

I have to brag about our accomplishment as a family last night. I have been without a car all week because the transmission went out. It has been fine because I haven't really needed to go anywhere and the kids walk to school. Our beloved Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley passed away last Sunday and this week has been full of memories of what a kind man he was. I can still remember going to the viewing of President Kimball when I was about 8 years old, so of course I wanted my children to have the same experience and memories. I knew that Thursday afternoon would be a great time to go and miss a lot of the crowds but - no car. The car was scheduled to be ready Friday evening. So this led to the plan that we would ride trax from Sandy down to the conference center, go to President Hinckley's viewing, then pick up the car. Sounds simple huh? Well, I was running from a job interview as we hitched a ride from my ex to the trax station and didn't change my shoes. I was wearing these high heel boot things which are really comfortable but I learned they are not meant to stand in for hours. Being the prepared Mom I am as well, I grabbed for a nourishing snack for us all, a bag of conversation hearts. We arrived at the conference center along with thousands of our closest friends to finally find the end of a line (I think there were several lines) at 4:45 PM. I was assuming that we would be there for a couple of hours considering our timing. Luckily my mother decided to join us a little later in line and help me keep the 5 crazies happy in a line that is no match for ANY line at Disneyland. We could now go to Disneyland and it would seem like nothing at all. We waited outside in line until about 7:00 (it was really starting to get cold and my toes were freezing, not to mention there was one child (Nathan) who didn't bother to bring a coat). So after waiting outside for about 2 hours we were relieved to be inside the conference center where we then waited for another 2 1/2 hours to see President Hinckley. About 1 1/2 hours of that were sitting in seats inside the conference center, where luckily several of the monkeys took a nap. To me it was a miracle that we made it through almost 5 hours of being in line with uncomfortable shoes, and only one large bag of conversation hearts to eat, my mother's back wasn't broken after holding the 3 year old while he took a nap in line (I was holding the 1 year old because the stroller was in the car at the mechanics). All in all, it was a beautiful experience and I had wanted to see President Hinckley one last time and have my children have that experience as well. I am not surprised one bit how many people wanted to do the same, so somehow we all managed to have our wish come true that night. He was beautiful and peaceful, but as Andrew put it, "he looked like a dead guy" (hopefully the experience will morph in his mind into something more than that as he gets older?!) As we left the conference center that night at 9:35 (almost 5 hours later, and still people were in line outside) my Mom and I looked at each other and said, "Can you believe we made it through all of that?" It was a blessing that I was able to have that experience with my family and I am grateful for that and for all the lessons President Hinckley taught us.

LIFE

I couldn't think of a creative title for this post. There is nothing major going on, just a lot of little things. I am in the middle of finishing my kitchen remodel and I am loving it. IKEA is a great place for wonderful storage solutions in cupboards. I seriously have drawers and cupboards that don't have things in them - and that is after doing my whole month's worth of grocery shopping. I am trying to do five billion things but somehow I have to do these things or I would wouldn't be happy. I thrive on being overscheduled and tired apparently. The kids have a four day weekend so there has been a lot of playstation and movies. Hopefully we will leave the house tommorrow for Discovery Gateway - if it's open. Lauren was sick with a random fever this weekend but seems to be alright now. In case anyone was worried, I don't have TB. I had to do the test to be able to volunteer at the hospital so there's one thing I don't need to worry about! Alright - the summary of this post is that life is crazy busy but quite boring all at the same time.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!

This is a little late coming. I have had a really hard time getting into the Christmas spirit this year. Probably because I have such a long list of home remodeling projects to complete still! We never got out to do traditions like lights at Temple Square or anywhere for Christmas fun. Our family still did have a wonderful Christmas. I keep saying we're going to do a simple Christmas and it never works out that way. Mainly because of Nana! There were many presents exchanged and I was greatful for the new entertainment while the kids were out of school! We had a wonderful Christmas Eve with our dear friends Natasha, Joseph, Isabella, Chloe, Eva, and the good news of a new baby joining their family. We appreciate their friendship.

The toys that were a hit this year were for Andrew a tomagotchi (sp?), for Spencer a remote control dragon fly; for Nathan a robot you build and can go in the bathtub! (or maybe the box from Matthew's present - I'll post a picture of that); for Matthew two pirate ships; and Lauren got a doll and sat down and gave it a bottle (Wow! a girl, how strange in my world!).

This past Sunday Matthew started primary!! They told me he did great (they may have said that to be nice!) Only 2 more weeks until Lauren will start nursery. What will I do with myself? We actually spend all of church in the nursery right now anyway, she won't actually let me sit in class! She is quite full of energy right now.

It is nice to have a new year to try and keep resolutions (ha ha). Hopefully this year will be much less hectic and stressful than the past year for our family! We will also hopefully have a kitchen in the near future!