Saturday, August 22, 2015
Big Brother
One of my guilty pleasures is reality TV. I love the Bachelor/Bachelorette/Bachelor Bad/ and the Bachelor in Paradise/Master Chef/Sing it On/ The Voice/ etc. But 2 of my all time favorites that I have been watching for many years are Survivor and Big Brother. I LOVE these shows and would love to be on them as a contestant. I love watching the contestants participate in challenges, and I love watching the strategic game play. I get completely drawn in, I'm yelling at the contestants when they make a wrong play, and cheering when a master plan works. Aaron has enjoyed laughing at me as I actively enjoy these programs. But somehow, 2 years ago, I dragged him into my world and he is now a Super Big Brother fan. So much so that when we don't have a new episode of the current season to watch he finds old seasons that he had missed on youtube and watches those. Last night as we were falling asleep, while watching Season 7 (the all-star season, 10 seasons ago) I hear him say "I want to be on Big Brother". I have created a monster. They aren't accepting applications until the Spring, but Aaron wants on this show badly. So do I. It would be great to go in together, not tell anyone we're married, and have a secret alliance. Truth be told, Aaron would probably vote me out, lol. This is what we talk about in our house, aren't you jealous.
Friday, August 21, 2015
Princesses
Amelia has entered the princess phase. Ever since our Utah trip where every Miss Utah/Bride was a princess Amelia has been all about princesses. Any woman in a dress is a princess.
As soon as Amelia wakes up, and before bed at night, she wants a "princess show". When getting dressed she wants a "princess dress". This could mean wearing her Elsa costume, or wearing a church dress (sometimes over her normal clothes). Our princess phase and naked phase are overlapping, so sometimes she is butt naked wearing her princess tiara/crown.
She is partial to "Blue Princesses" (blue everything these days). So we have watched Cinderella a few too many times. Sleeping Beauty is a little to scary so that will have to wait. Aladdin wasn't available, I think it is in the disney vault for the time being. I can't think of any other "Blue Princesses". Amelia has also enjoyed Beauty and the Beast, Shrek, Frozen, all of the Tinker Bell movies, and the Swan Princess. Thankfully, I like princesses too. Daughters are so much fun.
As soon as Amelia wakes up, and before bed at night, she wants a "princess show". When getting dressed she wants a "princess dress". This could mean wearing her Elsa costume, or wearing a church dress (sometimes over her normal clothes). Our princess phase and naked phase are overlapping, so sometimes she is butt naked wearing her princess tiara/crown.
She is partial to "Blue Princesses" (blue everything these days). So we have watched Cinderella a few too many times. Sleeping Beauty is a little to scary so that will have to wait. Aladdin wasn't available, I think it is in the disney vault for the time being. I can't think of any other "Blue Princesses". Amelia has also enjoyed Beauty and the Beast, Shrek, Frozen, all of the Tinker Bell movies, and the Swan Princess. Thankfully, I like princesses too. Daughters are so much fun.
Monday, August 17, 2015
Opposition Is Necessary If We Are To Appreciate The Good Times
My favorite scripture of all time, and the scripture responsible for my conversion to the LDS church is in the Book of Mormon 2 Nephi Chapter 2. There are a lot of wonderful things in that chapter but the scripture I have been hearing in my head for a few months now is about opposition.
11 For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.
For a few months now Aaron and I have been talking about what is coming. We have learned both from our study and understanding of the scriptures and from our own life experiences that life is full of ups and downs. In our case we were very aware, and grateful to be on a long and high Up. Other than the number of hours Aaron was working, and a little more work related stress than normal we have all been very happy and were grateful for the lack of opposition in our lives at this time. But we were also very aware that things would not remain this way, life would happen, and something less than enjoyable would be coming our way at some point. But when......
A few years ago we were on one of these Up swings. Life seemed to be moving in the right direction. I had just recovered from an illness and from a surgery that was supposed to restore my ability to have children, even if only temporary. Aaron had just accepted a new job offer in the Boston area. We were happy and excited about the new chapter. But unknown to me, Aaron was praying in faith for a mountain to climb. Three months prior we had heard a talk at General Conference by President Henry B Eyring titled Mountains to Climb. In this talk President Eyring talked about his own experience in praying in faith for a mountain to climb, a hard life challenge/trial, that he could grow from spiritually. Aaron accepted President Eyrings challenge. That was a hard year for us. I very quickly found out I was pregnant, which was great news after all of our fertility trouble, but it was a difficult pregnancy and I spent the year very sick and mostly in bed. Aaron struggled in his new and horrible work environment and found himself emotionally and psychologically drowning. Financially it was hard because we weren't able to sell our home in CT and apartments in the Boston area cost more than our mortgage back in CT, plus I wasn't working because I was in bed pregnant and sick. Bottom line it was a very hard time, our faith was tested, and in the end we relied on the Lord and he saw us through it. We truly believe we were there for a purpose, and that was to have Amelia. We were there for 9 months. 2 days after Amelia was born Aaron started his new job in NH which he has loved and says is the best job he has ever had. It was only a few weeks later that our house in CT sold, and right in time because we were down to our last $200, after supporting 2 households on 1 income unexpectedly. Ever since we have been enjoying the peace and quiet of the Up swing.
During that challenging time we learned a few things:
1) Don't pray for mountains to climb without talking to your spouse first, lol/jk.
2) The most important things you can do for yourself are the basics, read your scriptures, say your prayers, go to church.
3) Accept help. Even if it is just a listening ear. The Lord works through his servants.
4) Your most important possession is your knowledge/testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ.
5) Prepare. The best way to endure a hard time is to be prepared for it. Prepare spiritually as well as temporally.
Well the Down swing has arrived. Last week Aaron was laid off from his job. There has been a lot of change there in the last year, everyone all the way up to the CEO has been replaced, so we anticipated that his turn was coming. It has been bitter-sweet. Aaron loved the people who worked for him, and he loved his job for the most part. But we know it is a blessing and have already seen some of the blessings that could not have come any other way. We are grateful we didn't take a job just for the sake of taking a job a few weeks ago when we were considering it because now Aaron can take the time to find the right job where he can thrive. Unlike the last Down swing, we are well prepared. We knew something would be coming eventually and prepared accordingly both spiritually and temporally. That being said we both hope that this time next year we aren't still looking for a job because that would be some unwanted stress and worry.
We aren't sure where we will end up (it will be somewhere on planet Earth), or when things will be resolved, but we are excited..... for change and for this phase to be over. We appreciate all the supportive thoughts and prayers we have been receiving, as well as all the employment help.
11 For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.
For a few months now Aaron and I have been talking about what is coming. We have learned both from our study and understanding of the scriptures and from our own life experiences that life is full of ups and downs. In our case we were very aware, and grateful to be on a long and high Up. Other than the number of hours Aaron was working, and a little more work related stress than normal we have all been very happy and were grateful for the lack of opposition in our lives at this time. But we were also very aware that things would not remain this way, life would happen, and something less than enjoyable would be coming our way at some point. But when......
A few years ago we were on one of these Up swings. Life seemed to be moving in the right direction. I had just recovered from an illness and from a surgery that was supposed to restore my ability to have children, even if only temporary. Aaron had just accepted a new job offer in the Boston area. We were happy and excited about the new chapter. But unknown to me, Aaron was praying in faith for a mountain to climb. Three months prior we had heard a talk at General Conference by President Henry B Eyring titled Mountains to Climb. In this talk President Eyring talked about his own experience in praying in faith for a mountain to climb, a hard life challenge/trial, that he could grow from spiritually. Aaron accepted President Eyrings challenge. That was a hard year for us. I very quickly found out I was pregnant, which was great news after all of our fertility trouble, but it was a difficult pregnancy and I spent the year very sick and mostly in bed. Aaron struggled in his new and horrible work environment and found himself emotionally and psychologically drowning. Financially it was hard because we weren't able to sell our home in CT and apartments in the Boston area cost more than our mortgage back in CT, plus I wasn't working because I was in bed pregnant and sick. Bottom line it was a very hard time, our faith was tested, and in the end we relied on the Lord and he saw us through it. We truly believe we were there for a purpose, and that was to have Amelia. We were there for 9 months. 2 days after Amelia was born Aaron started his new job in NH which he has loved and says is the best job he has ever had. It was only a few weeks later that our house in CT sold, and right in time because we were down to our last $200, after supporting 2 households on 1 income unexpectedly. Ever since we have been enjoying the peace and quiet of the Up swing.
During that challenging time we learned a few things:
1) Don't pray for mountains to climb without talking to your spouse first, lol/jk.
2) The most important things you can do for yourself are the basics, read your scriptures, say your prayers, go to church.
3) Accept help. Even if it is just a listening ear. The Lord works through his servants.
4) Your most important possession is your knowledge/testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ.
5) Prepare. The best way to endure a hard time is to be prepared for it. Prepare spiritually as well as temporally.
Well the Down swing has arrived. Last week Aaron was laid off from his job. There has been a lot of change there in the last year, everyone all the way up to the CEO has been replaced, so we anticipated that his turn was coming. It has been bitter-sweet. Aaron loved the people who worked for him, and he loved his job for the most part. But we know it is a blessing and have already seen some of the blessings that could not have come any other way. We are grateful we didn't take a job just for the sake of taking a job a few weeks ago when we were considering it because now Aaron can take the time to find the right job where he can thrive. Unlike the last Down swing, we are well prepared. We knew something would be coming eventually and prepared accordingly both spiritually and temporally. That being said we both hope that this time next year we aren't still looking for a job because that would be some unwanted stress and worry.
We aren't sure where we will end up (it will be somewhere on planet Earth), or when things will be resolved, but we are excited..... for change and for this phase to be over. We appreciate all the supportive thoughts and prayers we have been receiving, as well as all the employment help.
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Family Photo Time is Approaching
Our family photo session is scheduled for next month. When Amelia was born Aaron and I decided we would take family portraits every other year, and get studio portraits of just Amelia on the off years. We decided october would be picture month every year. But the first year we quickly discovered, after having to reschedule or session multiple times due to weather, that october in New Hampshire may be a little too late. So this year I am trying for September with October always there to rescue us in case of disaster.
The first year we took family pictures it was October 2013. Amelia was 6 months old, and super cute. It was fun for me to pick out our outfits and I put a lot of thought into exactly how I wanted our little family to look. Then came the rain. On a random day the weather broke and our photographer called, "are you able to take your pictures in 45 minutes?". Afraid to miss the first chance we had in weeks we jumped up and got dressed fast. There wasn't time to blow out my hair or be picky, but there wasn't time to be upset about it either. We ran out the door and drove to the apple orchard where we were going to take out pictures, make-up bag in hand. The weather wasn't perfect, kind of overcast, but the rain held out just long enough for us to take our pictures, and we actually liked more than a few of them.
The first year we took family pictures it was October 2013. Amelia was 6 months old, and super cute. It was fun for me to pick out our outfits and I put a lot of thought into exactly how I wanted our little family to look. Then came the rain. On a random day the weather broke and our photographer called, "are you able to take your pictures in 45 minutes?". Afraid to miss the first chance we had in weeks we jumped up and got dressed fast. There wasn't time to blow out my hair or be picky, but there wasn't time to be upset about it either. We ran out the door and drove to the apple orchard where we were going to take out pictures, make-up bag in hand. The weather wasn't perfect, kind of overcast, but the rain held out just long enough for us to take our pictures, and we actually liked more than a few of them.
In October 2014 we had different obstacles. The plan was to take studio portraits of just Amelia. I found the most beautiful regal blue dress for our princess. Princess Amelia was now 18 months old, and while looking royal in her dress she certainly wasn't proper. It was almost impossible to take her wiggly picture. She didn't want to sit on the mark, she didn't like the props, and she refused to look at the camera. After what felt like an eternity of struggling with her I finally accepted that toddler pictures weren't going to be perfect. We got a single decent photo, but that was all we needed anyway.
So now it's 2015. Amelia is another year older and is much better about following directions, sitting still, looking at the camera, and even smiling "CHEEEEEESE". I'm optimistic for this year, perhaps naively so. Outfits are chosen. Photographer hired. Location TBD, but is in the works. And the weather........ well we have 3 possible rain dates and if all else fails we'll just have to do them inside.
Monday, August 10, 2015
Chips the Cat
Yesterday a loved family member passed away. Grandma and Grandpa Ousterhout's cat Chips, aka Chucko (but only to Aaron) passed at 17 years old. The day before Amelia was asking to "see cat". Her and I were in the car driving home after running errands. It seemed random to me but she wouldn't drop it. I thought for a second to myself....... "can we fit in a visit to Grandma's today to see Chips?" But Grandma's is 1.5 hours away, 3 hours round trip and I was tired after running errands in the car all morning. After a little while Amelia dropped it and I didn't think about Chips again until the next day when we got the sad news. Perhaps I need to listen more carefully to my daughter's inspirations. Amelia has always loved Chips. By the time she came around he was already an old cat but he handled the baby and later toddler torment well. He provided hours of entertainment as she relentlessly followed him from room to room, up and downstairs, and under and behind furniture.... only allowing her to pet him with supervision. But the last time we visited in early July he hid from her behind the couch, but not out of reach. Amelia knelt back there petting him and playing tea party with him (sharing her fresh strawberries on a toy plate right in front of his nose). I figured if she started to bother him to much he would move out of her reach but he never did and she loved playing with/near him more than anything. I am sure Amelia will look for him on our next few visits :( He will be missed.
Friday, August 7, 2015
Enjoying Our Tiny Family
Last night we had an impromptu family date night. We went to Pizza Chef because Aaron was having a craving and I didn't want to heat the house up cooking. Amelia and Daddy enjoyed playing the arcade games and we all enjoyed some yummy food and talk time.
While at dinner Aaron and were talking about some of the advantages to having a small family. We are so grateful that we have been blessed with Amelia and would love for her to have siblings but since that isn't a possibility we have embraced our small family size. Growing up in a large family we never went out to eat. It was to hard to get us all there, to much to hope we all behaved, and then it was too expensive. If we did go out to eat it was with our grandparents or for pizza. There were lots of perks to being from a big family too. There was always someone to play with. Because Amelia is our only child she misses out on some of the fun things that come from having siblings. The forever friendships, the teasing that helps you develop a thick skin, hand-me-downs, the buddy system, etc. But there are some perks. It is easy for us to decide to go out to dinner or away for a weekend. I have time and the resources to take her to music class and gymnastics or any other thing she may develop an interest in. We can all cuddle in bed at night and watch a movie without being crowded or hearing arguments over who is touching who. We can easily visit Aaron at work for a lunch date. We aren't out numbered which I imagine we will be grateful for later. Growing up my siblings and I were called a tribe, a clan, and other labels as a result of there being so many of us. Instead Amelia is our 3rd Musketeer. It is a very different dynamic that the one in which I grew up and the one I expected to raise my family in but we have embraced it and are loving it thus far.
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| Amelia had to have the blue car |
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| Daddy "Amelia, LOOK OUT!" |
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| Amelia "Daddy I know what I'm doing" |
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| BALL |
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| Loving the Dinosaurs |
Thursday, August 6, 2015
School
Yesterday I was asked if Amelia would be attending preschool in the fall. YIKES! I don't ever plan on sending her to school unless some awesome and affordable private school becomes an option. This is for a number of reasons, none of which I intend to go into great detail about on the internet. But still, to think that she could attend preschool is emotional. Amelia has spent everyday of her life thus far with me. Not every minute, but certainly most of them. My baby girl is growing up so fast. Just the other day Aaron wanted me to look at her. He said "look, her face has changed". It always seems to happen over night, a physical change, an emotional change, an educational change.....they all seem to happen at an instant. We think she is awesome and are totally in love with her, but we do wish we could slow down time.
This year we are starting to do some more formal homeschooling. Just a little bit everyday. I was torn between two curriculum options. The first is ABCmouse which is an online curriculum that is for ages 2-6. It grows with your child which is great and is very interactive. It has games, songs, puzzles, etc and even a pet hamster and a fish tank. It covers reading, music, art, math and science as well as a number of other topics. The other curriculum is Letter of the Week, a program for toddlers available on the popular homeschool blog Confessions of a Homeschooler. This curriculum is completely offline and focuses on reading, math, and fine motor skills. Both seemed great to me. I was, and am still, tempted to do both. But for right now we have started using the ABCmouse program. Amelia loves it and will do multiple lessons in a row (each lesson teaching her about 1 topic/theme using 5 activities: a song, a coloring activity, 2 different types of puzzles, and a story). She also loves all of the bonus games and activities. We have some fun pre-k work books too.
Amelia will also be taking swim classes twice a week in the fall, gymnastics once a week, and 2 music classes (on the same day). Her first music class is the same one we took this summer which involved playing lots of different instruments, singing songs, dancing, and musical stories. The second music class will be new and is called Sing, Dance, and Paint. Amelia LOVES to paint, and I hate her painting in the house, so this will be great. It will be a busy fall, but should be lots of fun. All of Amelia's classes at this phase are Mommy and Me classes, and I love learning all of these fun things with her.
In other news: Amelia has started doing the cutest thing. Everyday, she takes her special stuffed animals (the ones that make the cut and get to be upstairs instead of in the playroom) and she carefully puts them in her bed, covers them with her blanket, kisses each one of them, says "sweet dreams" and closes her bedroom door so they can sleep. It is 5 stuffed animals; her favorite pink teddy that she got the day she was born, her brown teddy/puppet, her big pink teddy, her bunny "millie", and her glow sea-horse. Hours later she will go wake them up, rubbing each one gently on the back whispering "up". I love this sweet girl. And we love that she is sweet, but can also hang with the boys, lol. Yesterday when I picked her up from child care at the gym her teacher told me how surprised she was by Amelia's fearlessness. I guess some of the slightly older boys there were playing a game somewhat like dodge ball and she said Amelia was right in there laughing and stealing the ball. I wasn't surprised, and neither was Aaron when I told him to the story.
This year we are starting to do some more formal homeschooling. Just a little bit everyday. I was torn between two curriculum options. The first is ABCmouse which is an online curriculum that is for ages 2-6. It grows with your child which is great and is very interactive. It has games, songs, puzzles, etc and even a pet hamster and a fish tank. It covers reading, music, art, math and science as well as a number of other topics. The other curriculum is Letter of the Week, a program for toddlers available on the popular homeschool blog Confessions of a Homeschooler. This curriculum is completely offline and focuses on reading, math, and fine motor skills. Both seemed great to me. I was, and am still, tempted to do both. But for right now we have started using the ABCmouse program. Amelia loves it and will do multiple lessons in a row (each lesson teaching her about 1 topic/theme using 5 activities: a song, a coloring activity, 2 different types of puzzles, and a story). She also loves all of the bonus games and activities. We have some fun pre-k work books too.
Amelia will also be taking swim classes twice a week in the fall, gymnastics once a week, and 2 music classes (on the same day). Her first music class is the same one we took this summer which involved playing lots of different instruments, singing songs, dancing, and musical stories. The second music class will be new and is called Sing, Dance, and Paint. Amelia LOVES to paint, and I hate her painting in the house, so this will be great. It will be a busy fall, but should be lots of fun. All of Amelia's classes at this phase are Mommy and Me classes, and I love learning all of these fun things with her.
In other news: Amelia has started doing the cutest thing. Everyday, she takes her special stuffed animals (the ones that make the cut and get to be upstairs instead of in the playroom) and she carefully puts them in her bed, covers them with her blanket, kisses each one of them, says "sweet dreams" and closes her bedroom door so they can sleep. It is 5 stuffed animals; her favorite pink teddy that she got the day she was born, her brown teddy/puppet, her big pink teddy, her bunny "millie", and her glow sea-horse. Hours later she will go wake them up, rubbing each one gently on the back whispering "up". I love this sweet girl. And we love that she is sweet, but can also hang with the boys, lol. Yesterday when I picked her up from child care at the gym her teacher told me how surprised she was by Amelia's fearlessness. I guess some of the slightly older boys there were playing a game somewhat like dodge ball and she said Amelia was right in there laughing and stealing the ball. I wasn't surprised, and neither was Aaron when I told him to the story.
Monday, August 3, 2015
Happy Monday
Back to the real world today. We dropped Daddy off at work bright and early. Amelia has learned a lot of new things in the past few weeks, one of which is she says "love you too, _______" This morning when we dropped Aaron off at work he went to the back seat like he always does and gave Amelia her forehead kiss. He said "I love you Amelia" and she shouted back "Love you too Daddy". It is really cute and we can't get enough of her. Other things she has learned lately are all of her colors, except yellow. She refuses to say yellow and I'm pretty sure it's just to drive me crazy. Instead she says Sun. Blue is her favorite color. She also recognizes all modes of transportation and is especially excited by buses and trains. There are more but I'll save them for later.
Amelia and I were happy to get back to gymnastics class. She did well, no time outs. But she is still a bit spastic. Somehow I need to teach her to take her time. I have never been one to take my time and do anything, but I'm going to have learn to slow down so I can teach Amelia by example instead of teaching her to rush all the time. After gymnastics we went to the gym, where Amelia takes swim classes. Today we went for Mommy. They have re-opened their child care center so now I can workout during the day. Amelia went to child care for less than an hour and loved it. There were other kids, a play kitchen, a huge doll house, a toddler basketball hoop, and her teacher played musical chairs and colored with the kids. When I picked Amelia up afterward she gave me a big hug and kiss and said thank you. She loves being with other kids and taking different classes. We didn't swim today, but in the future I will plan my gym time around times she can swim.
A trip to Walmart and Subway and we happily returned home in the early afternoon to enjoy some Daniel Tiger, Blogging, and Air Conditioning.
Amelia and I were happy to get back to gymnastics class. She did well, no time outs. But she is still a bit spastic. Somehow I need to teach her to take her time. I have never been one to take my time and do anything, but I'm going to have learn to slow down so I can teach Amelia by example instead of teaching her to rush all the time. After gymnastics we went to the gym, where Amelia takes swim classes. Today we went for Mommy. They have re-opened their child care center so now I can workout during the day. Amelia went to child care for less than an hour and loved it. There were other kids, a play kitchen, a huge doll house, a toddler basketball hoop, and her teacher played musical chairs and colored with the kids. When I picked Amelia up afterward she gave me a big hug and kiss and said thank you. She loves being with other kids and taking different classes. We didn't swim today, but in the future I will plan my gym time around times she can swim.
A trip to Walmart and Subway and we happily returned home in the early afternoon to enjoy some Daniel Tiger, Blogging, and Air Conditioning.
All good things come to an end...
Vacation is officially ended. Sadly, Aaron went back to work today. We were grateful he was able to take time off since we thought it would be winter before things would ease up enough for him to take some time off.
We arrived home from our Utah trip last Tuesday around lunch time. We spent the rest of the day/night napping and eventually sleeping. It was nice to catch up on our sleep and adjust to the change in time zones. Wednesday I enjoyed grocery shopping and running errands by myself, which never happens, while Aaron and Amelia did "Daddy Things" at home. When I pulled up in the driveway she was sitting on his work bench, wearing matching safety glass, and playing with a steel brush. While I was out I picked up a sprinkler so we could enjoy the heatwave outside. Amelia worked very hard and eventually pulled the sprinkler into the driveway and was using it (and a rag from the garage) to wash the truck. When she finally came inside she was very wet, dirty, and tired.
Thursday was a rest day, for the girls. Aaron spent the day roofing at a friends house. I got caught up on the shows I had missed (The Bachelorette, and Big Brother). Amelia enjoyed painting, one of her favorite activities. Then we both enjoyed cleaning up (bath, mopping, etc). And most importantly we enjoyed the air conditioning..... we miss Utah's dry weather.
Friday was the BEST DAY of our vacation, and it had a lot of awesome competition for that title. We were incredibly blessed by one of our favorite people and as a result Aaron and I were able to attend the Boston LDS Temple TOGETHER for the first time in 3 years. Amelia wasn't thrilled about the 2 hour drive there, she is done travelling for a bit, but we kept reminding her Travis was waiting to play with her at the temple and that got her through. She loves all of the Victorino's but Travis is her favorite at the moment, followed by Sam which cracks us up. She just loves teenage boys, it's nothing against Claudia and Kyle. The best best friend ever, Kandi, met us there with her kids and took all the kids to the mall while we attended the temple.... and bonus my dear friend Andrea from CT attended the temple with us. It was a great experience and was very inspiring for both of us. We loved the time we had to sit quietly in the temple and talk to one another. It is a very special place and we look forward to going together again. Amelia loved spending time with the Victorino clan who spoiled her rotten with attention and legos. And if that was enough we then enjoyed lunch at the cheesecake factory! YUM! Amelia slept the entire ride home, which is good because it took forever, more than 2x the normal time (thank you construction and beach traffic).
We had a relaxing weekend, as a result of 1) forgetting plans, and 2) not communicating plans as well as we should have. But in the end it is probably good that we stayed home. We haven't, especially Aaron, had much time to just relax in a while. We're always go-go-go. While we were in Utah Aaron was released from his calling as Young Men's President. It was bittersweet for him because he had grown to love the boys but at the end of the day he knew it was time. Right now his job requires the majority of his time and energy while they undergo big changes at his plant and redirection, and what he isn't giving to work he needs for himself and for Amelia and I. But YM's was a great experience for us all, especially for Aaron. Now that he isn't serving in that capacity our weekend seemed to open up a lot. Since he was on vacation he didn't have to work Saturday like he had been doing, and because he isn't YM's president anymore he didn't have any extra church meetings on Sunday. It was actually harder having so much free time, and as a result we were a couple of minutes late to church which starts at 1:00pm. While in Utah Amelia learned to sleep in public, FINALLY! So she slept right through sacrament meeting. But she woke up in time for her favorite part, Nursery.
Sunday, and vacation came to an end with Daddy and Amelia watching the Never Ending Story in bed. It is one of Aaron's favorite movies (which I can't stand), and he had been wanting to watch it with Amelia. Amelia was happy to watch anything as long as she got to be in our bed and not in her own room. Every time I came into the room she was afraid I was going to put her to bed and would say "Goodnight Mommy, Bye". When the movie finally ended she went to bed willingly, and slept until 2am when she woke up from a nightmare, Thanks Daddy.
Vacation was great, we're sad to see it go but happy to get back to the routine.
We arrived home from our Utah trip last Tuesday around lunch time. We spent the rest of the day/night napping and eventually sleeping. It was nice to catch up on our sleep and adjust to the change in time zones. Wednesday I enjoyed grocery shopping and running errands by myself, which never happens, while Aaron and Amelia did "Daddy Things" at home. When I pulled up in the driveway she was sitting on his work bench, wearing matching safety glass, and playing with a steel brush. While I was out I picked up a sprinkler so we could enjoy the heatwave outside. Amelia worked very hard and eventually pulled the sprinkler into the driveway and was using it (and a rag from the garage) to wash the truck. When she finally came inside she was very wet, dirty, and tired.
Thursday was a rest day, for the girls. Aaron spent the day roofing at a friends house. I got caught up on the shows I had missed (The Bachelorette, and Big Brother). Amelia enjoyed painting, one of her favorite activities. Then we both enjoyed cleaning up (bath, mopping, etc). And most importantly we enjoyed the air conditioning..... we miss Utah's dry weather.
Friday was the BEST DAY of our vacation, and it had a lot of awesome competition for that title. We were incredibly blessed by one of our favorite people and as a result Aaron and I were able to attend the Boston LDS Temple TOGETHER for the first time in 3 years. Amelia wasn't thrilled about the 2 hour drive there, she is done travelling for a bit, but we kept reminding her Travis was waiting to play with her at the temple and that got her through. She loves all of the Victorino's but Travis is her favorite at the moment, followed by Sam which cracks us up. She just loves teenage boys, it's nothing against Claudia and Kyle. The best best friend ever, Kandi, met us there with her kids and took all the kids to the mall while we attended the temple.... and bonus my dear friend Andrea from CT attended the temple with us. It was a great experience and was very inspiring for both of us. We loved the time we had to sit quietly in the temple and talk to one another. It is a very special place and we look forward to going together again. Amelia loved spending time with the Victorino clan who spoiled her rotten with attention and legos. And if that was enough we then enjoyed lunch at the cheesecake factory! YUM! Amelia slept the entire ride home, which is good because it took forever, more than 2x the normal time (thank you construction and beach traffic).
We had a relaxing weekend, as a result of 1) forgetting plans, and 2) not communicating plans as well as we should have. But in the end it is probably good that we stayed home. We haven't, especially Aaron, had much time to just relax in a while. We're always go-go-go. While we were in Utah Aaron was released from his calling as Young Men's President. It was bittersweet for him because he had grown to love the boys but at the end of the day he knew it was time. Right now his job requires the majority of his time and energy while they undergo big changes at his plant and redirection, and what he isn't giving to work he needs for himself and for Amelia and I. But YM's was a great experience for us all, especially for Aaron. Now that he isn't serving in that capacity our weekend seemed to open up a lot. Since he was on vacation he didn't have to work Saturday like he had been doing, and because he isn't YM's president anymore he didn't have any extra church meetings on Sunday. It was actually harder having so much free time, and as a result we were a couple of minutes late to church which starts at 1:00pm. While in Utah Amelia learned to sleep in public, FINALLY! So she slept right through sacrament meeting. But she woke up in time for her favorite part, Nursery.
Sunday, and vacation came to an end with Daddy and Amelia watching the Never Ending Story in bed. It is one of Aaron's favorite movies (which I can't stand), and he had been wanting to watch it with Amelia. Amelia was happy to watch anything as long as she got to be in our bed and not in her own room. Every time I came into the room she was afraid I was going to put her to bed and would say "Goodnight Mommy, Bye". When the movie finally ended she went to bed willingly, and slept until 2am when she woke up from a nightmare, Thanks Daddy.
Vacation was great, we're sad to see it go but happy to get back to the routine.
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