Released from the call

Today I was released from the Primary Presidency. It was bitter sweet. I knew I was getting released when John came by on Friday and brought the news. I told him he could leave (kidding) once he told me. I don't know if I will miss serving with the great sisters more or the kids. They released the whole presidency, and I think we all were a little shocked at the news.

I was joking with Lavon that I don't know if I can sit still for 2 hours straight. I also wondered if we can do singing time, in opera or while stomping in place and not to mention the coloring we got to do!!

I haven't been in Relief Society for about 5 years now, so imagine the huge culture shock there. Yes there will still be crying (RS), and yes some bathroom breaks, but as for the rest of it, I don't know.

On the bright side, I was meeting to start the primary program this week, so now that is on someone else, as is the upcoming temple trip, and the constant need for substitute teachers.

Oh well, I am sure what ever comes next will be another challenge that I can "grow" from.

Princess Party

Abby had a princess party today, just so she could get some of her friends together for a play date. As we were getting some items for her party a couple of days ago, she told me she wanted presents at her party. I reminded her that this was not a birthday party, but a party to have friends over. She didn't seem so hit on the party without presents theme.

Both girls put on their princess attire. As a side note, both of these fit Abby and Tori doesn't look small in them at all. Tori is sure growing up fast. Tori loved her outfit so much, she twirled and danced. She didn't take it off all day.
When they got dressed Dad did get a little teary as she watched his cute girls look so pretty (boy wait until prom)!!

Here they are all dressed and ready to go, they both even let me pull their hair back, which in of itself was a special occasion.
Tori got to take a ride in the baby stroller, given by her sister. Abby tried to do the same, but it ripped, guess that 30 pounds is just too much for even this well made baby stroller.
The girls all had fun at the party, we had little sandwiches in the shapes of butterflies and leafs with some drink and chips. We decorated cupcakes and they even took some home to their family's. One of the last things they did was play in the basement. They wanted to watch some Dora, and set up their stadium seating to take in the show.
Tori and Maren didn't make the cut, so they had to watch from the sidelines.
It was a really fun time, sorry I didn't get more pictures, I forgot to pull the camera out, something I need to get better at.
After all the kids left we headed to see Great-Grandma. On the way the girls found great joy in covering their ears and screaming. You see the screaming is much louder if you cover you ears as you scream.
Great-Grandma really wanted KFC (by far not my favorite) but I did let her choose so we decided that we would pick some up when we got close to her house. What I didn't know was although it was really only 2 minutes from her, it would take us 30 minutes to find it. Everyone was grumpy and hungry by the time we got there, but soon forgot this and enjoyed our time there.

The girls were really good and didn't get into too much. We need to go visit her more often, it is good for all of us and I am sure she enjoys our company as much as we enjoy her. Next time, I will make sure to take a picture or two.

Too quite too long

Any parent knows that when young children are quite for too long there is bound to be trouble. Tonight we were enjoying the quiet when we realized that we had children and that quiet usually meant there was trouble.
Chris went up to check the girls out and see what they had gotten into. What he found was Abby reading a book to Tori. Given that this is not usually not what we find, we thought we should capture this moment.

The offering stone

This morning Abby graced us with her presence at 5AM when Chris and I got up and had no interest in going back to bed. I took the dog for a walk and then came back to get ready for work and get the girls ready for daycare.
When Abby hasn't slept much, she tends to be a bit on the grumpy side. She asked for a specific breakfast of yogurt and cereal, which I was happy to get for her and then run up to shower and change. When I came back to see how she was doing she asked for more cereal.

Now if you have ever seen a bugs life you are familiar with the scene when the ants sit below the hill and wait for the grasshoppers to come and get their food from the offering stone. When the grasshoppers come and there isn't enough food, they don't respond well.


















When I was getting Abby more food, I knew that she would eat a bit or two and then the rest would get tossed, so I didn't want to give her too much as that was just silly. However, I had to give her enough so that she wouldn't freak out (again given the sleep deprived little girl) and start to cry or get mad at me.
So as I approached her at her little table eating, I felt much like the ants, which wait with worry, will it be enough, and will they eat and leave us alone. As I placed the bowl in front of her and slowly backed away saying a little prayer that it would be enough to satisfy her and not begin a scene. I was glad when she seemed content with what I had given her and continued to eat and sing. One more ugly incident avoided.

Socks anyone

We went to Grandma's today to play with all the family. Tyler and Brianna came into town so it was a perfect excuse to get together. All the kids put on their bathing suits and played in the water. Tori went up to Theresa and asked her to put socks on, which she did. Quite the fashion statement, she just needed the Birkenstock to complete the look.

Pizza Stealer

Tonight we had pizza for Dinner, the kids were all done and we were clearing off the table. Tori decided that she wasn't done just yet. When we turned around, she helped herself up to Dad's seat and took the last piece of Pizza and ate all the toppings off and then set it back down. It was just to cute to pass up.

The many faces of Abby

Abby recently has started to provide us entertainment upon demand. Her newest feature is the many faces of Abby. Without further ado, here are the all time favorites:
Her Happy Face:

Her mad face:

Her scary face:

Her surprised face:

With this kind of entertainment, you don't even need TV.