So he passed! The two things the guy that tested him said he did wrong were that he drove too slowly and he didn't pay enough attention to intersections. He got the lowest score possible. It's a good thing he didn't make any silly mistakes or we would have had to wait another month. He was so excited he did his funny little dance on the way out the door. I'm excited too because no more driving to high school. I will miss the time in the car with the kids - although I don't think they will:).
Why did I ever fight it? After just one day I wonder how I ever lived without if !
So Emily has completely learned the art of blaming things on someone else:
"Emily, did you bring crackers downstairs?"
"No dad, it wasn't me it was BRIAN!"
"Emily, did you get the movies out by yourselves?"
"No, that was Scotty and Brian"
So here's the topper (after waking up in the morning):
"Mom, I'm wet"
"Emily, did you go potty in your pants?"
"NO, MISSY LICKED ME!"
(Missy is our new cat)
It must be the age though, because when I dropped Emily's friend Lily off at her house the other day, this was the conversation I heard:
"Lily, I understand you had an accident in your panties"
"No, it wasn't me, it was Emily!"
LILY AND EMILY
EMILY AT THE SMITH RIVER
EMILY AT PRESCHOOL
EMILY AND MISSY
So one of the things I did in Idaho was have my sister take my pictures so I could have a print done up for Ken's birthday for his office. Here are some of the pics:
Happy (late) Birthday Ken!
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How that happened, I'm not sure. I'm looking forward to a little bit easier schedule this year. Jonny will start driving in October, I don't have a middle schooler nor a half-day kindergartner. I'm sad the summer is at a close, mostly because I don't feel like we got enough family time. The kids and I were busy with activities that took us away from the house. The sad thing is Jonny and Maren will be gone from the house before we know it.
The highlights of the summer were: (I promise to post pictures later)
1. Our trip to Idaho over the 4th of July
a. We ran in the Mickelsen 5K race
b. We had a Willmore and Andersen reunion (Jonny dunked Elder Scott in the dunk tank)
b. Jonny received his Eagle
2. We went on a work trip on the Waterboats- lots of fun!
3. Lots of hours spent in the garden: our favorites were the cantaloupe, the squash, potatoes, tomatoes, and corn. (We still have lots left)
4. Jonny attended scout camp down in California and Maren attended girl's camp at Camp Estherapplegate
5. Ken took the boys to the coast the last weekend in July (I think the favorite activity was golfing with dad).
6. Ken and I went on an Alaskan cruise the first week of August for a cardiology conference. Brianna Houck stayed with the kids. It was a wonderful trip and an incredible place!
7. We had a mini-Lightheart reunion at our house the middle of August. We went to the beach, to the park, to the waterslides, to the movies, to the fun center, etc. It was great having the family here and seeing the teenagers hang out.
8. Jonny and Maren attended band camp at school the last week of August. I'm excited to see them at the football games in their cute marching band outfits!
9. The girls and I went to Richland, Washington for Jake and Chelsea's wedding. Jake is my brother, Don's oldest son. It was a great trip. We love Jake and Chelsea!
10. The kids started school today, September 8th. Emily even started preschool today - WOW - I have 5 hours a week without any kids - how did that happen?
I hope to get the pictures posted soon and also post my reviews from all the books we read over the summer - my favorites were Hunger Games, Wednesday Wars, and Savvy :).
It's partly my own fault because I've spent my spare time reading, but I thought summer was our time to slow down. But with Jonny's daily cross country practices, drivers training, and piano lessons, Maren's 4 times a week gymnastics practice, quilting classes, and piano lessons, and Anna's gymnastics and now Karate, and Brian's Karate - not to mention the swimming and reunions and coaching gymnastics and helping a friend with her house and church responsibilities and upcoming Alaskan cruise - Okay I'm not complaining just trying to make sense of the mess I have in my office and my lack of computer time. I'm hoping to get caught up over the next few days. Maren is at girls camp and the boys are going to the coast with Ken tomorrow so I'll have a quiet house. We'll see what I can do!
So can you tell what my favorite type of literature is? I think I can officially blame it on Lynda and Heroes of Might and Magic. I never read any fantasy as a child, but I didn't read anything for pleasure until about 10 years ago. So the computer game Heroes of Might and Magic was my first exposure to fantasy. It's interesting because whenever I picture the creatures when I read, I see those from the game. Because of that I didn't realize there was a hydra on the front of this fablehaven book until after I read it. In my mind, that is not what a hydra should look like! So, yes I really like fantasy - even if the books aren't the best written books.
Fablehaven: This has been a fun easy series to read. If I remember right, my favorite book was the 2nd book. I got a little tired of this book and wanted it to be over, especially when impertitent things ended up in it. But, it surprised me in the end and I ended up really liking it. So, if you like fantasy, and you want a bit of a mindless book to read, this is a good series. I wish that I could read the next one right away though - but it won't be released until spring of next year - BLAH!
Happy day! It has taken a while but I finally got them all edited. You can check out about 80 of the 450 pictures I edited on my facebook. Now I just need to get the cds off to Amanda in the mail.
This is one of the books I ordered for the kids. It ended up being a pretty good book. There were some things that frustrated me, but I had to keep reminding myself that it was written for youth. I thought the reason given behind the hunger games was pretty week. Without giving too much away, it was also thought provoking. It reminded me a lot of the books, "The Giver" and "The City of Ember". It made you consider government involvement and how important the ability to choose for yourself is. I thought also about how the world is so caught up in reality TV shows and entertainment and wondered how far it could actually go. I wouldn't want my younger children to read the book yet, but Jonny really enjoyed it. I would recommend reading it.
A friend lent me this book. I really enjoyed it. There were some things that kind of annoyed me at first, but I ended up really liking it. It is about an arranged marriage during World Ward II. It was very thought provoking and I learned some more about life in the United States during the war. I thought it was written well and an enjoyable read. And it wasn't young adult literature. I also appreciated that it was a clean book that could of easily not been. I would recommend this book to adults. I don't think I would have Maren read it yet, although there are some great morals and consequences taught in the book.
Physik and Queste by Angie Sage
So these books are the kind that you just read to get through them. I think my favorite was the second book, "Flyte." The story lines are very predictable and the thing that annoys me is that she is not consistent in her story lines. There are a few things that she either forgot that she had included in previous books and she changes the story or that she intentionally changes it to make the story work. The books are quick reads though and I am still trying to read them aloud to my children. We're only on the first book, but they are enjoying them. Hopefully we'll get a chance to read them on our trip out to Idaho.
So I realized I'm a little behind on my book reviews. I decided to add a gadget to the side that has a link to my reviews. I found a list of recommended books for the summer for my teenage kids. Yes, my favorite books are those written for young readers. I have told the kids I will give them one cent for every page they read if they finish a book over the summer. I have done this past summers and they love it. They have been VERY BUSY reading! And it also if fun because I get to read some fun books.
I've spent many hours over the past two weeks at the garden - pulling up weeds! My husband asked the other day - "Why is it that the plants that proliferate so much are weeds - not peas, or beans, or potatoes, or something more edible?" Although he did try eating one and said it would would make a decent salad. I think I'll let him eat that salad! I have loved every minute of being out at the garden, though. It must be in my blood. I'll have to take some pictures of the garden and get them posted. It's fun seeing it come together though. We have some pretty nice looking plants out there also.
I love having the kids at home, but I haven't gotten to some of the things I should. I have a huge list of thing to do and a big stack of papers in my office. I hope to at least touch the highlights from the past two weeks. I'd say one of the greatest things is having the kids home to help with things. It's so great having them here to help clean up everyday, fold laundry, watch the younger ones while I'm away. But I'd have to say the best thing is just being able to spend more time with them.
We were getting ready to read scriptures this morning and I told them that Aunt Sarah is going to have a baby. Emily's response was "I'm going to have a baby,too! - I'm going to have A BABY FROG!!!" We hope Sarah's not expecting the same flavor of baby as Emily!
3 days
6 airplanes
17 hours in the air
and a lot of hours in the airport!
Andrew and Amanda were married in the Baton Rouge temple on May 30, 2009. It was a beautiful ceremony. It was great to be there with two capable, happy, worthy young people. It was fun to see the glow on their faces and their excitement for the future. One of my favorite things that the sealer said was, after they were married, "Just look at the newest eternal family in the kingdom of God." I loved the way he categorized them as an eternal family from the beginning. I know they will have many great years to come.
My Thoughts on HEALTH and NUTRITION
The above slide show depicts the changes over the past 20 years in the percentage of Americans who are obese. During the past 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States. The slide set illustrates this trend by mapping the increased prevalence of obesity across each of the states. In 1985 most of the states had a percentage of <10%.>25%. So why the change? What has brought on this increase in our nation? Here are my thoughts.
1. TECHNOLOGY
The 80s and 90s brought computers and game consoles to the world. Outside work and play have been replaced by many hours in front of the computer and electronic games. This has led to a nation that is much less active than before.
2. DIET FADS
The 80s is characterized by the LOW-FAT diet craze. If you ate things that were LOW-FAT you weren't supposed to "get fat." The food guide pyramid was taught. It focused on eating large amounts of grains (6-11 servings of bread, cereal, rice & pasta a day). Other diet fads have been the "low calorie diet" and the "Adkins" or low-carb diets. These diet fads have changed the way people think "healthy" eating should be.
3. EASY/PROCESSED FOODS
Our nation now has a "get it quick and get it now" mentality. Fast food restaurants are abundant and very accessible. The less time it takes to make or get our food, the better.
I feel that the three of these areas combined have led to an increase in obesity in our nation. SO NOW WHAT?
My Solution
Coming Soon:)
