Quote of the day

I've had a cold the last week or so, and today was coughing up some gunk. The kids were intrigued by this, so Stephen explained about mucus. Sammy pipes up and says,

"Like in applesauce - there is gunk in there!"

Not quite sure where that one came from...

And now for something completely different...Mason has been writing "music" books for the last several quiet times. "MMPPW" stands for "Magic magic power power wings". You'll have to ask Mason for an explanation of that one - I don't really get it. :o)

"I'm going to bed now"

That little phrase can mean so many things. It is a little different for Stephen and I. This is what happens when I say it:

Brush teeth while going around locking doors and closing windows. Lock the car. Turn off all lights. Wash my face.

Check on all 3 kids, cover them up, clear paths through their toys to the door, turn off lights, move fans, fill humidifier

Take Sammy potty...smell the "boy-who-missed-the-toilet" smell. Go get the cleaner in the kitchen...notice that I forgot to do the dinner dishes

Do the dinner dishes, fill my water bottle, start the dishwasher...remember that I need to rotate the laundry

Attempt to rotate the laundry, but the basement door is open and the light is on. Go turn off the light, back to the laundry room, clear a path to the washer, rotate laundry...back to the bathroom to clean up the mess

Make sure the bed is made on the floor by my bed (because it is inevitable that at least one child will be making a midnight visit). Have 2 pillows ready for a 2-child night

Say my prayer - remember that I need to send a quick email to a friend who is having a hard time. Make a list of the things I need to do in the morning. Update my calendar. Check email one last time

Fold clothes on my bed. Put them away

Go downstairs to make sure I locked the car

Crawl into bed

Stephen: "I'm going to bed now"

Brush teeth
Wash face
Say prayer

Go to sleep.

A classic

Charades

Today in school we played charades based on our Scripture Pictures. Sammy chose the Creation of the animals picture and Mason chose a Temple Baptismal font (and then pulled out the rest of the temple pictures). Elise and Sammy chose animals to act out...not my Mason! First he was the golden handrail on the stairs of the baptismal font.

#2: Angel Moroni



#3: the "golden light"

Temple trips

All summer long I've been hatching a plan to go and visit as many temples in the Salt Lake Valley as we can. When else will I be in a place that I can visit 10 temples within the same amount of time that I could drive to the Portland Temple from Corvallis?

Our first temple was the Provo Temple, dedicated in 1972. The grounds are quite beautiful!




The kids loved being there and were so reverent. They are excited for our next temple: Mt. Timpanogos.

Gifts of the Heart Exchange

I am in charge of a children's clothing charity, and we are having our big exchange this Saturday. Hooray for having my garage back! Anyhow, here is a write up the BYU paper (the Daily Universe) did today. Note: I am NOT the MBASA club president. Oops.

Gifts of the heart clothing exchange swap will aid students and families

By Courtney Smith
- Wed, 09/09/2009 - 15:45

There are a lot of costs associated with being a student. There are also a lot of costs associated with having your own family. Try doing both at once.

This Saturday, BYU’s Master of Business Administration Spouse Association will put on its third Gifts of the Heart Exchange, which is a large swap meet. It is free to attend and all items are free. The swap meet will be held from 10 - 11:30 a.m. at a church building at 965 N. Locust Lane in Provo. Items will include mainly women and children’s clothing, as well as shoes, toys and other baby gear.

“The Gifts of the Heart Exchange is to help all the students who are trying to have families while going through school make it financially, to help bear each others’ burdens,” said Kendra Johnston, 26, committee member for the event.

Anyone is encouraged to donate items in good condition that they no longer need, but it is not required to attend the event. Participants can bring donations to the event or on Friday at the event location in the cultural hall between 6-8 p.m.

“We probably have over 10,000 items of clothing already,” said Claire Jones, 29, MBASA president.

Kid to Kid, a consignment store based in Utah, has donated much of the clothing for the swap meet. Kid to Kid buys gently used children’s clothing for their stores. Any clothing they cannot use or that they have a surplus of they donate to MBASA. MBASA picks up clothing from Kid to Kid locations three times a week in preparation for the event.

“We have such an abundance and we want to give them to people who need them,” Jones said.

BYU MBSA would like donors to sort and label clothes by sex and into the following sizes: 0-6 months, 6-12 months, 12-18 months, 2T, 3T, 4T, 5T, 6-7, 8-10, 12-14, men’s/womens S, M, L, XL, and place in bags.

Those who wish to donate a large item should bring a picture, description and their contact information, rather than bringing the item.

After Saturday, the next Gifts of the Heart Exchange will be Nov. 7.

For more information, contact Claire Jones at giftsothe@gmail.com.

Today was fun!

Elise wanted to learn about sewing, so we started on a pillow case:



Mason & Sammy kept busy outside:






That would be a tiny tricycle pulling a full bike trailer! Elise got in on that fun, too: