Conference Weekend

Before and After Moments

(Before: Sadie shown above petting her beloved, Shadow, on Friday night)

(After: Sadie finally gives up after a hard day's work and cuddles with her duckie.)


(Before: Saturday morning session. Sadie and Ben shown having Binky wars.)


(After: Sadie puts Ben to sleep during the Saturday morning session.)


(Before: Patiently waiting to drive down to the homestead)


(During # 1: Sadie becomes jealous of Grandpa Joe holding cousin Ethan and demands to be held. She then steels glasses and offers them to photographer. Ethan shown here looking mellow.)


(During # 2: Sadie has an identity crisis and thinks she's a punk rocker. Ben shown looking calm and cute.)


(After: Sadie shown here being to tired to eat)

The End!

Kurt n' Des

Ben's brother, Kurt, and his wife, Desiree, came to visit this past weekend. They are the wild and adventurous type and we had lots of fun showing them around Florida.

DAY 1
You can't come to Florida and not visit the beach. And every one knows that Ft. DeSoto is our favorite beach around. Unfortunately, it was the windiest day I've ever seen. But we had fun watching the kite surfers and baking in the sun. We visited my parents house that night to pick up the kayaks and we had rocklettes for dinner. Rocklettes is something Mike and Sarah introduced us to. It's an indoor grill machine where we grill beef and chicken and veggies on top and there's a section below where you can melt Gouda cheese over potatoes. It's delicious and a lot of fun!





DAY 2
We went kayaking with alligators in Hillsborough River. There were dozens of alligators. We probably should not have gone this time of year because it's mating season and they're feeding a lot after the winter. There were just too many to keep my eye on and it made me nervous. At any given time there were two or three on the right and left banks of the river and usually a couple floating ahead of us and they would sink down in the water as we approached. I was terrified I would hit one with my ore. But we survived and fun was had by all.

(No we did not take Sadie kayaking.
We were only in a foot of water and it was for picture purposes only!)

DAY 3
Sunday we had a pleasant day at church and we had a get together at my parents in the evening. Ben's Aunt Nancy and Uncle Richard, who are serving a mission here, also joined us for dinner. We then had a nice walk on the beach and watched the sunset.

(Ben was pretending I was too heavy to lift, not a funny joke if you ask me!)

DAY 4
Monday morning we toured the model homes in our community - which is surprisingly fun. They are decorated pretty cute. We met Ben for lunch at BDs Mongolian Grill, and then we went to Tarpon Springs for pastries and souvenirs. Afterward I took them to the airport and it was sad to see them go. But the fun didn't stop there....Ben and I got to go golfing that night and we had a blast! Thanks to dad for the golfing coupon and thanks to mom for babysitting. I didn't play the last 4 or 5 holes because I was so frustrated, but even if I am awful, it was wonderful to laugh with Ben and drive the zippy little golf cart and lie about our score and watch the sun go down. Thanks to Kurt and Desiree for giving us a reason and an excuse to have fun!

(Mike, the name of this boat was St. Michael, so I took a picture of it for you.
Last time we went to Tarpon Springs I found one named after Joe)

Homemade Detergents?

While surfing the web for sewing patterns I happened to stumble upon a website for making your own laundry detergent. I'm pretty excited to try it. They claim it works equally as well as Tide and costs 1/50th of the price. Another thing that appeals to me is that is seems more eco-friendly. Also, I'm paranoid about the chemicals they put in shampoos, detergents, soaps, ect. Upon further research I also found a 'recipe' for making your own dish detergent and hand soap. Anyone else want to experiment with making some of these things? I'll be curious to know what you think!

Sick of Being Sick!

BEWARE: I'M COMPLAINING AND ORNERY!!!

Sadie came down with her 5th cold since Christmas! Ben and I also woke up with sore throats and achy bodies today. It is so hard to be sick while being a mom because there is zero time to slow down and let a body heal itself. Sadie doesn't feel good and can't breath so she is up two or three times a night and then I'm up at 5 am for Seminary (which by the way I still need to plan a lesson for tomorrow and the seminary supervisor is coming to class). What kills me is that almost every cold she's had comes two days after I've been asked to substitute in primary (which is becoming a common occurrence - hence, all the colds). With Ben being in the Bishopric he can't take her, so she is in primary with me and I can't get the kids to keep their hands off her. I'm positive she picks the colds up at church. Positive. So, at what point can I tell people 'no' without becoming a mean person? What I'm trying to say is that I am so, so, so tired of being sick and having a sick baby and husband to take care of. Before we have a chance to recover from one cold, another one is upon us, and Ben now jokes that he has emphysema which I'm starting to think is true. Ok, I'm done. Forgive my orneriness!

On a happy note, I made the most wonderful stuffed chicken breasts tonight. I put basil, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, and roasted garlic in them. Yum! Ben is working late tonight, so I didn't have anyone to enjoy eating it with - but it was delicious, just the same!

On another happy note, Sadie and I met Ben at the park today for a picnic lunch. The weather was beautiful and we had a wonderful time. Here are some pictures from the day:





On an even happier note we had an extremely wonderful, relaxing Saturday. We sat by the pool, I read a book, took a nap....it was a lovely day! Oh, how I miss that day!!!







One more thing to share, I took Sadie on a walk Sunday night while Ben was at New Beginnings. When I got back to the house, Sadie had fallen asleep like this:



Overall, I now see more clearly, I don't have much to complain about. Life is really really great, even if some days are hard. Now I must stop procrastinating and plan my seminary lesson!

Sledding

Sadie says Hi to her New Cousin

The Newest Ward Widow

So, I decided now that Ben's been in there for a couple weeks, I would discuss his new calling in the Bishopric. He is responsible for coordinating Sacrament meetings, Single Adults, and the Young Women and Deacons. (There could be more, but that's all I know of). Timewise, he's really not gone that much more. In fact, I think he's home more during the week but gone longer on Sundays. I was worried I'd feel isolated from him because there's so much stuff he can't discuss with me. But, we've been able to talk about topics for sacrament meeting, and he's trying to get to know the youth better so I keep suggesting he teach seminary and he did once. That was nice. Ben also really likes the people he is serving with in the Bishopric, and I think he is relieved to not be handling welfare matters anymore. The biggest difference, and the hardest part for me, is that I don't have his help anymore at church on Sundays. Sadie just hit the age where she has a lot of restless energy and wants to get down and walk around. Some weeks she is an angel but other weeks she throws tantrums when she can't go walking and I have to leave the meeting. But even if Ben were sitting with us I'm not sure that would change things. So, all in all, it's actually turned out to be a good thing.