Decidedly Picky

This year has been pretty great! (You can read all about it in my Newsletter 2015) It was not busy when I expected to be and then way more busy when I didn't expect it. My goals got a little mixed up because of it but goals are made to be ambitious and I really shouldn't expect to meet them all.

So here's how it went:

•  Go to the temple 12 times: 5/12 Ouch! That's not even half! I knew this goal was too ambitious with a nursing baby but I had no idea I'd do that bad.
• Write at least 20 blog posts: 14/20 I had planned on not writing much after I had Evelyn but that was when she actually slept and didn't chew on electrical cords... So when I went to do it when she was older, it just didn't happen. But I think 20 is still an attainable number.
• Keep a personal scripture reading chart: This went terrible. We threw away both charts half way through the year because they were just embarrassing. Even when we did read, we'd forget to mark the chart about 80% of the time. The chart worked in previous years but definitely not this year. Anyone have any other ideas on how to get us motivated? 
• Keep a family scripture reading chart
• Hold at least 45 Family Home Evenings: 39/45 I actually thought we were doing alot worse than this. I guess we picked up our game in the last couple months. This is actually a little more than 3 times a month, which really isn't bad at all. 
• Have at least 1 out of the house activity per month We totally smoked this one! We usually had 2-5 activities per month. 
• Go to 3 museums We got this one done super early because it was really fun. I would like to continue this goal for next year. Maybe make it 6 museum visits. 
• Host at least 12 game nights 14/12 with 3 ARGs (We did Team Bad Guy for Rena's family for Valentine's Day. We did a Back to the Future one on the day Marty arrived in the future and then we did a Polar Express one for Lewis' birthday. )

• Start a good things jar Just because I started it doesn't mean I ever put anything in it... Well, I did put a few things in it but only for a few months.
• Catch up in family journal NEVER HAPPENED! Probably the worst failure on here.

• Catch up in Indy's baby book DONE
• Write Wills! DONE

• Finish Strasburg Final Report DONE
• Make sure Indy is up to date on vaccinations DONE

•  Find and start baby book for Baby Girl DONE
•  Not have my uterus explode DONE!
•  Name the baby DONE

• Create savings account for Ireland trip (Decided to pay down school debt instead)

•  Refinish hardwood floors (We decided that this isn't the right time of year for it and we're not sure exactly what we want to do so this will have to wait for next year.)

•  Make window seat for hope chest DONE

•  Finish repainting foyer, living room, and hallway DONE

•  Have working prototype of our board game We're really close on this one. I'm sure we'll have it done in the next couple months.

At the tail end of the summer we took the opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors. The whole family hiked up to Scout Falls with some friends from Lewis' work. It was fun to take the two kids into the wild for a while, not the most comfortable spot to nurse though... The hike was just the right length for carrying the baby and carrying Indy about 35% of the time. We were all exhausted by the time we got back but, thankfully not hurting days later. I'd recommend it.

• Have at least 1 out of the house activity per month The funnest family activity we did this month was our neighborhood's annual block party. Great BBQ potluck with dunk tank, bouncy house, cotton candy machine, and all our great neighbors. Indy wished he could live there forever.

• Learn to play the full top hand of "I Love to See the Temple" on the piano I can't play it up to speed yet but I can hit all the notes. :)

• Host at least 12 game nights (10/12) 
• Write at least 20 blog posts (12/20)

•  Go to the temple 12 times (4/12) Once again, I didn't make it this month.
• Hold at least 45 Family Home Evenings (27/45) I counted one that didn't have a gospel message because it was put on by our Stake and they called it a family night. So I figure it counted. But I'm consistently behind on this one. I guess that's why it's a goal, right?

• Repack our 72 hr kits

At the beginning of this month we had the 185th Semi-Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was fantastic!

I look forward to this conference for six months. It is one of my favorite times of the year. As a child we would all get dressed up, pack picnic lunches and dinners and drive the 2.5 hours up to Temple Square. I loved being surrounded by all the happy and excited people, eating the special treats my mom had packed for us, and playing on the grass. Now that I'm grown, it's not the treats or the crowds that draw me back, it's the message from men and women of God whom I respect and cherish. I come back for the spirit I feel when I listen to their words. I come back to feel connected to the millions of members around the globe. I come back every six months and love every bit of the 8 hours of people preaching to me.

This conference, I didn't go up to Temple Square due to the weather and young children but I sat in my mother's room and quietly watched the sessions. I was able to watch almost every talk. (That's pretty impressive considering I have a 3 yr old and a 5 month old.) After listening to the conference, I looked back through my notes and compiled a list of the counsel that I felt needed to be applied to my life. Here's what I came up with:

• Tell the stories of Jesus to my children
• Ponderize 1 verse of scripture per week (join the conversation #whatsyourverse)
• Make a To Do list for your day
• Repent every day
• Speak up and Speak out in the Church
• Write a special note to my friend Kendra and share a special spiritual experience with her
• Don't focus on what you can't do. Focus on what you can do.
• Be part of your community
• Ask "What is keeping me from progressing?"

These are the themes and ideas that I'm going to be focusing on for the next 6 months until the next general conference. What messages did you get from conference?

1996 General Conference with my family

Everyone around here is adjusting to the new baby and the heat. She turned 2 months on the 26th and I have finally gone back to mostly normal (not counting those extra 15lbs... Hey! I'm sure 10 of those pounds are milk!)

• Have at least 1 out of the house activity per month We had quite a few activities this month. We went to Lewis' niece's wedding, Lewis' cousin's house warming party, a game night at our friend's house, a couple birthday parties, a water park, and most fun of all, Father's Day activities. We decided to celebrate on Saturday with my dad and Sunday with Lewis' dad. So on Saturday, we picked up my dad and went for a hike up Rock Canyon. It was so hot and much harder than I expected. Man, I'm out of shape! We went up to the canyon until I was utterly exhausted (which was only as far up as the water was still running) and then stopped for a long while. Indy had a blast throwing rocks in the river and threw the HUGEST fit when we tried to make him leave. But the hike was fun anyway. We spent most of the way up talking about old cars, which is one of my dad's and my favorite subjects. Then we went out to dinner at our favorite Italian place in Provo called La Dolce Vita. I just adore their spinach raviolis! The next day, we had Lewis' family over. We had his mom, dad, and sister's family to celebrate with us. We had a great big dinner of pork roast, country potatoes, and shrimp. I'd never cooked shrimp before but that's what his dad requested and it turned out really good. It was simple and tasty. We had a great day full of eating and visiting.

• Hold at least 45 Family Home Evenings (21/45) We finally did it! Every single week this whole month AND it was on Monday each time unless otherwise scheduled! I have to give myself a huge pat on the back for that one. I have been trying so hard and it finally worked! ... now I just need to duplicate the results... :S
• Write at least 20 blog posts (10/20)
• Host at least 12 game nights (7/12) I'm actually ahead now since we hosted 2 game nights this month

• Go to the temple 12 times (3/12)

•  Create savings account for Ireland trip
• Catch up in family journal I wrote one sentence all month. One sentence! Ugh!

• Learn to play "I Love to See the Temple" on the piano My mom bought a piano and we are all excited to have a piano in the house again. Now I can finally have my mom teach me how to play like she's been wanting to do for the past 20 years!
• Catch up 2 yrs in family journal Obviously, I'm having a hard time with this goal so I'm breaking it down into chunks. Maybe then I'll feel like it's not an insurmountable task. 
• Take 4 family hikes We all need to take advantage of the warm weather and get in better shape

• Go to 3 museums For Evelyn's first outing, we decided to go to the BYU Museum of Art. I was excited to look through the exhibits but Indy was not thrilled to be inside and quiet. Lewis tried to wrangle him while I looked about but it's just not as fun without someone to share it with. So we indulged Indy who much preferred the outdoor exhibits.

• Find and start baby book for Baby Girl
• Have at least 1 out of the house activity per month We went to a couple family celebrations. One for the birthdays of this month (Ben, Mom, and Dad), a BBQ for Memorial Day, laser tag and one with Lewis' family where we got to show off the new baby and see his aunt and uncle who live in D.C. We also went to Tyrell and Adelaide's wedding reception which was just gorgeous! But the funnest thing we did as a family was go to Brick Slopes. The displays were amazing! They had a life-size Batman, entire battlefields, Elsa's ice castle, the entire town square from Back to the Future, and so much more! Those were fun to see but nowhere near as fun as the Brick Pits. We spent several hours in a pit full of thousands of LEGO pieces making lots of fun creations. Lewis made an awesome demon shrine complete with impaling spear. I built a space ship with cloaking device (do you remember the cloaking device from when we were kids, brothers? They totally had one there!), a tranquil garden and a motor boat. It was Indy who finally had to drag Lewis and I out of the brick pit so we could go home. 

 

•  Go to the temple 12 times (3/12) On May 22nd was my 5th anniversary of being endowed. It was really great to be able to go again on my actual anniversary. I did spend way too much of that time worrying about my baby though. I guess that's what you get for having a brand new baby that you adore.
• Write at least 20 blog posts (9/20)
• Host at least 12 game nights (5/12) This month I invited a bunch of new people but like my previous experiences in other places, everyone I invited couldn't make it except 1 or 2 people. Next month I'll try again to include new gamers and give them a little more notice so they can actually come.

• Hold at least 45 Family Home Evenings (16/45) I really need to get better at this. I think I need to plan ahead better if I'm going to get more than 3 a month.

• Create savings account for Ireland trip

•  Create savings account for Ireland trip
• Catch up in family journal