Back to School

Dallin & Daphne were both so excited for their first day back at school--they got up earlier than me and were ready to go 30 minutes early.

Sadly, the excitement has already worn off for Daphne. She came and lay down in bed with me this morning and asked, "Mom, is there school today?" I said, "Of course! It's Friday." She groaned, "Aawww. I just want to play with Kirra." So today, we were rushing out the door to catch the bus. I guess that feels a little more normal.

Daphne, 1st Grade, Dallin, 2nd Grade

At the bus stop

There they go.

Sean was jumping up and down waving and yelling, "Bye Dallin! Bye Daphne!"

We sure miss these guys during the day.

Summer

Summer & our 5 Senses

by Dallin, Daphne, Sean & Mommy

Summer looks like

swimming pools

barefeet

cousins

getting dirty

a slip-n-slide

Summer sounds like

splashing

fireworks

afternoon thunderstorms

being wild

friends

Summer smells like

sunscreen

BBQ's

fresh cut grass

sweaty kids

campfire smoke

Summer tastes like

watermelon

homemade ice cream

popsicles

roasted marshmallows

Pop-pops Italian Water Ice

Summer feels like

heat

playing

wet swimming suits

water

freedom.

The worst thing about summer is . . .

WHEN IT'S OVER!

Ducks, Dress & Dollars

1. Ducks

We went to the Botanical Gardens on Thursday early enough to get a very good parking space. I don't usually get there in such a timely manner, but Dallin & Daphne were finishing up some filming with Susie for her "Six Little Ducks" music video.

There are only 4 ducks in this picture; I think the other two ducks (who were quite a bit younger) were with their moms' having a break.

I hung out with Sean & Hayden and just tried to stay out of the way as much as possible.

Sean entertained himself by having me sing "Kung Fu Fighting"

and he did some sweet Kung Fu moves.

Hayden entertained himself by falling off a platform and scraping his head. So I spent some time taking close-ups of his face that didn't include the scrape on his forehead.

He also loved splashing all this green water everywhere.

2. Daphne's Dress

So when Susie asked if Dallin & Daphne could film 6 Little Ducks, I asked her what she wanted them to wear. Among other things, she suggested a cute summer dress for Daphne. Well, Daphne doesn't really have any cute summer dresses that I love. And since I'd been meaning to make this darling dress from a pattern I got from my sister Jen, I thought, well, I should just whip this dress up so she can wear it in the music video.

I decided that the night before the shoot. (Yes, I'm crazy. I guess I just work best under pressure.) Luckily, it came together pretty quickly, but I had some problems with the elastic in my "shirring" (that's a new sewing term I learned from making this dress.) And I also ran out of time, so I only shirred around the sleeves once. Well, the elastic had snapped in both of her sleeves during the drive to the Botanical Gardens. Thank goodness the neck held, or it just would have fallen off her!

Here is a picture of the dress with the broken sleeves. It actually doesn't look too bad.

I fixed the elastic problem yesterday, and she got to wear her new dress to church today, and I LOVE IT! Thanks for sharing your pattern, Jen! If you get any more from that designer, send them my way.

3. Dollars

I told Dallin when he had $25 in his "savings" ziploc bag, I would take him to open a savings account. Well he has been saving 40% of his earnings for the past couple of years, so on Friday, I took him down to the bank with his $36 that he'd saved and we put it in the bank. He's totally excited to be a member of the "Young Savers Program" and gets a prize every time he makes a deposit of $5 or more. We also went to Walmart and he bought himself a wallet with his spending money (whose previous home was the "spending" ziploc bag) and has been very excited about filling it with his spending dollars, and pictures, and is looking forward to getting a library card so he can put it in his wallet.

Here's Dallin in front of the Credit Union where he opened his first Savings Account.

It's funny how the kids are so different. Dallin is very motivated to do chores and other things to earn money. Daphne on the other hand, when I tell her she can earn 25 cents if she pulls some weeds for me, says, "Um, I don't really care about money."

10 Years!

That seems like a long time, and yet no time, all at once.

10 years ago today, was the most important day of our lives. That was the day our family was established. It was the day Arthur and I knelt across from one another at an altar in the Oakland Temple and were sealed to one another for time and all eternity. I'm so glad I said yes!

I was recently on a trip down memory lane, reading some of my old journals. I came across an entry dated March 29, 1998. Here's some of what I wrote: (excuse some of the slang-"phat" is another word for awesome or amazing.)

"I want to be best friends with my husband and do stuff together all the time like skiing, snowboarding, and hiking, and rock climbing and camping and weight lifting and singing and going places and laughing and everything will be so much fun. And nothing will be too hard for us to tackle together. It'll be someone pretty darn awesome that I end up marrying 'cause he's gonna have to be a return missionary, with a phat testimony, funny, thoughtful, able to cope with my mood swings, and a good mind-reader. (just kidding.) . . . My husband is gonna be incredible! And if my husband ever reads this, I hope he knows I think the world of him and love him so much and am excited to be with him for all eternity."

When I read that, I was thinking, "check, check, check," Now, technically, we haven't been rock climbing yet, so we'll have to squeeze that in sometime in the next decade. And I don't really lift weights anymore, (can you believe I took weight training in High School and College?) I guess some dreams become less important over time, because I don't really care about that one anymore. But everything else are things we do together. What do you know? My dreams are all coming true!

Skiing/Snowboarding: check

Hiking/backpacking: check

Going places together: check

Liberty Bell-Philadelphia

The Sacred Grove--Palmyra, New York

Kirtland Temple--Ohio

Tetons-Wyoming/Idaho

Arches-Utah

Laughing Together: check

(it's true, I wasn't actually on his mission with him, but he sent me letters that made me laugh. And this picture, still makes me laugh.)

So there you have it: I married a devilishly handsome return missionary with a great testimony, who is funny, thoughtful, and is patient with my mood swings. Sometimes it even seems like we can read each others' minds. He's my best friend. And as a bonus, he can build stuff and fix anything, and he gives me room to fly.

Happy Anniversary, Arthur!

Thanks for making all my dreams come true!

Aunt Kathy

Kathleen Stone Wood

May 26, 1957- June 20, 2009

It's taken me a long time to post about this because I don't have the right words. Even now, I just sit here, looking at the screen and not finding anything to say. I guess it just feels unnatural when parents have to bury a child, and for children as young as hers are to bury their mother. But I am assured that despite her early departure, she was not taken home prematurely, and that whatever work Father in Heaven had for her to do while here on earth had been finished.

Kathy is my dad's younger sister.

Here are a couple pictures of the two of them.

They were just 14 months apart, so they were pretty good little buddies.

"As I look back on the years and Kathy's life, I can truly say that she was one of the best people I ever knew. If I had one word to describe Kathy, it would be "good". She was good in every sense of the word." ~Ron Stone (my dad)

I love this one. I call it "AAAAAHHHHH!!!"

This past Christmas, I had the privilege of singing a duet with her in the Turlock Stake's production of Handel's Messiah. It was a beautiful experience I will always treasure. In hind-sight, I attribute this experience to be a tender mercy of the Lord that we were all able to participate in that wonderful concert together before she was taken home.

My Dad wrote the following regarding that performance:

"Last December, I had the opportunity to conduct a performance of Handel's Messiah in which Kathy was the mezzo-soprano soloist. One of the highlights of the evening was a duet of "Come unto Him, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and He will give you rest", sung by Kathy and the soprano soloist, (my daughter and Kathy's niece, Sharee Stone Gariety). They sang like angels and uplifted us all. This piece is usually sung just by the soprano soloist, but Kathy arranged the duet as it was performed that night. She was truly inspired and I will forever treasure the spirit which I felt as they sang and which was felt by most if not all present. Kathy has now "come unto Him" and is at rest. I am so grateful to have her as my sister. I miss her now and will always miss her until we meet again "at Jesus' feet"."

We, too, will miss her. I am thankful to have known this remarkable woman, and to have learned from her wonderful example. I know she is safely home, with our Savior now, and from the other side of the veil, will be cheering the rest of us on for the remainder of our mortal adventures. Our thoughts and prayers are constantly in behalf of my Uncle Kent and their 6 children, who will miss her most of all. We love you guys.

Um, Clearly, Daphne Needs a Sister!

I guess she's doing the best she can with what she's got, huh?

And truth be told, Hayden was rather enjoying himself.