March was such a fun month for us this year. We did a good job keeping things from getting too busy, just enjoying the simple things in life. Here's a bunch of photos we took, with the exception of our Spring Break, which I will post about later.
I hosted another Kids Music in Motion event at the HHH. The featured music group was the Austin Ecumenical Bell Choir. The kids did a scavenger hunt in the home that was bell-themed.
Then we enjoyed an interactive performance with the bell choir. I led the family audience in different dances and beat games while the bell choir played. We learned all about hand bells and the different techniques used to play them! I figured out how to make bell props for all the kids from some items that were given to me, and the kiddos had a lot of fun with them. This turned out to be one of my favorite music groups to host at the HHH. As you can see, the boys had a fun time, too.
Dallin was excited to use his tool set that he got for Christmas to install a special display case that he got for Christmas. He was so adorable working on this project.
He did it!!
Meanwhile, Tanner was busy doing chores. Very productive day!
The boys had a play date with a classmate from Tanner's school (Brandley). They had a BLAST playing outside in the big piles of snow made by the Winter Bomb. When they came in, I made them fresh hot chocolate from scratch. I actually make the hot chocolate almost every day in the winter.
I had some really fun jobs substituting in the schools this month. Such great kiddos in all grades. I have to edit a picture before I can add it to this post, but it reminds me of the awesome day I had with Mrs. Pitzen's second grade class. One perk to subbing this year is that I got lots of jobs at Tanner and Dallin's schools, so it was fun to spy on them throughout the day.
**
I went on a fun outing with Karem Salas and one of our primary kiddos that we serve at church. We had a huge dessert at Perkins and a really fun visit.
Tanner was so excited to find this picture of his daddy on a baseball card.
Ouch!
Jeremy was excited that Skippy Peanut Butter bites was included on the museum display of Hormel innovation milestones. He played a prominent role in making the product exist and stay successful.
Tanner drew a portrait of one of his favorite basketball players, De'Aaron Fox. This is the time when Tanner had become fully obsessed with all things basketball. He loved looking at all his sports cards that he got for Christmas and watching game highlights with Jeremy.
Jeremy began actively searching for marketing jobs in a warmer climates. The boys kept hearing us talk about moving. Dallin wrote us a letter about it with some fun inventive spelling:
NO, no, no. We aer not ginu moov. I just wont to stae heer at this home. Yes we haf to I wunt to ckeep my bed i wunt to ckeep ethreetheen. Why cann we stae heyer. I wunt to go to the mooooooove tomroeo and I wunt to 1 day PBS kids and riiiiiii.
The boys were able to enjoy playing in the snow several days after school. They had a goal to build a fort since and were very successful!
Jeremy showed them how to use containers to make snow bricks.
Later they added decorative cylinders to the top. They called it El Morro, after the fort they love in Puerto Rico.
Down at the edge of the driveway.
Our Airbnb business slowed down during the winter, (mostly because we were gone for awhile), but we did have a neat experience hosting a returning guest. He is the father of #15 on the hockey team called the Austin Bruins (North American Hockey League). During one visit, the guest gave our boys really nice Bruins sweatshirts. We were so surprised and excited to have some Bruins gear! The boys wore the gear when we went to a game with the Brolsmas. We had a great time. During another visit, our guest brought #15 to our house! He gave the boys hockey pucks with his autograph, which they keep in their treasure baskets in their room. They made thank you cards to our guest with Bruin team colors.
Yes, I am wearing two blanket scarves and coat at the hockey game.
The next morning was Sunday and it was St Patrick's Day! I had a ton of green ribbon that was left over from previous teaching/craft projects, so I decided to use it to make some Leprechaun mischief around the house. This proved to be the best method of mischief so far because it was a lot easier to pick up than glitter and sequence, and it had a bigger wow factor because I was able to stream the ribbon all over the house.
Dallin looked so cute wearing his Great Grandma Davidson's green scarf from Africa as a handsome cowboy tie to church.
We were really pleased with Tanner's response to a writing assignment about Irish luck. It says: I am lucky cuz I have friends and family too keep me safe. I'm lucky cuz I am good at baskitball. I'm lucky cuz I have beliefs in Jesus and God.
One weekend, we took a special visit to the temple. The ward was doing a sealing session for adults. We signed up and decided that we should take the boys with us to see the outside of the temple, since they have never seen the St Paul temple before. Ben Green offered to watch our boys while we were in the temple; we were so grateful for this!
On the drive there, we talked about temples and the boys played with playdo.
When we arrived, they were really excited and kept commenting on how beautiful and special it looked.
The boys got to wait in the waiting room for brother Green.
When Jeremy and I were done with the sealing session, we got some family pictures outside. We believe that marriages done in the temple, called a sealing, bind family relationships together forever, not just till death do us part. The boys loved learning more about why we go to the temple. I was so glad they loved being there. I could tell they were feeling the Holy Ghost's peace and love at the temple. This was one of my favorite days of the year.
I was able to lead 7 more kindergarten groups on field trips at the HHH in March. Seriously, this is one of my favorite things I've done in the community.
We did some Easter crafts.
Just relaxing with Dallin.
A friend was baptized and I am so glad I followed the prompting to get this picture taken after the service of all the buddies that came to support him.
This kid's hair got really long again.
Now for an inspiring experience to share...
If Jeremy and I left our kids in a small play room and asked them to get dressed, eat breakfast, and wait for an hour while we finish doing something, we would be asking for disaster! Our kids surely will not get dressed or eat, and instead will beat each other up until we come rescue them.
That's why when Jeremy was called to be a counselor to the bishop, we knew we had to work something out for Sunday mornings. I was already serving as the Primary president. Both of these positions are asked to attend ward council (an early morning leadership meeting before church begins). How would both of us attend this meeting without the boys, who were 4 and 6 years old at the time? The thought crossed my mind that maybe I will have to stop going to ward council. But I felt like this was not right.
For the first month, we had some friends watch the boys. One week, no one could help me out. I asked God what I should do, and he told me to go to the meeting anyway. I told him that the only way this could work was if my boys could behave themselves in the room next door without a babysitter. I felt assurance that God would help make this happen.
And He did. He did this for the next two years.
My boys not only got dressed and ate breakfast on their own in the nursery room during ward council, they also learned how to get their own clothes, food and activities packed in their backpacks every Saturday night in preparation for Sunday. During our meetings, they helped each other stay on task, they played quietly, ate their food and didn't get in big fights!
Okay, okay, there were a couple times that they got mad at each other and knocked on the conference door for us to help resolve conflict. And there were a few times that they forgot a shirt or piece of underwear, or made a mess that we would have to vacuum up. But I am amazed at how surprisingly EASY it has been for our family to make this happen. Each week that we had the early morning meetings, the boys never complained about waking up early. In fact, they were disappointed if it was a week without early meetings! Some Sundays were really long for us, at the church from 7:30 am -1:30 pm, due to after-church meetings too. Our kids would come home and wouldn't get lunch until 2:00 pm. (Some weeks I brought crock pot lunches to church if I knew it would be an extra long day). Yet, the boys would come home happy and had energy to dance and play like you see below.
In fact, my children have never been so cooperative with any other situation, even during those 2 years. It was only Sundays that they seemed to have an added power to cooperate and make our church jobs easier. I am so grateful for the guardian angels that God gave us so that we could happily do the work He called us to do. Through this I have learned once again that when we try to serve with a willing heart, God performs miracles.
These pictures taken in March embody this whole experience that we had serving in the church during those two years. Tanner is featuring a polo shirt and khaki pants that have small pirate skulls on them. This outfit is one of the few that he is willing to wear to church because he hates the feeling of certain fabrics and collars on his skin. He figured out how to wash his own laundry and keep track of these clothes so that he can wear them each week to church. He is also wearing a special necklace I gave him that he thinks looks like a pirate's treasure.
Dallin is featuring his soldier pants that he likes "because soldiers fight for USA." He mentioned that these pants were the only pants in his drawer. He willingly wore them, which I was so grateful for because it saved us the stress and time it would take to search through the house for other options, allowing me to focus on preparing for my meetings. Dallin is also wearing his "missionary" suit coat and a special tie pin that his Great Grandpa wore many times. My boys put these clothes on all by themselves during ward council. I am so grateful for these two amazing kids.
