Dear Family and Friends,

Currently: Jeremy is at meetings, waffles are cleaned up and roast is cooking in the crock pot, chex-mix is cooking in the oven (snack food can count as lunch, right?), sun is shining, kids are building a humongous fort in the family room with Taylor chirping next to them, girls hair is curled and done and I still have an hour before church. I love the lazy late meeting schedule! Of course we don't do anything but that's what makes the morning feel so enjoyable. I am sure the peace will evaporate soon so I will enjoy it while I can!

I think every day this week I told myself that I would clean the bathrooms (that didn't get done last week and are approaching biohazard conditions) and every evening I would promise myself tomorrow I'll get to it.

Monday I was able to go out to breakfast with two of my friends for one of their birthdays. One of my friends is having a tough time right now so it was wonderful to be together and heart wrenching at being unable to help her at the same time. So we spent the morning laughing or crying while our three girls who are all friends ran circles around the resturant and played ponies. Spent the afternoon either driving kids or in a church meeting. Spent the evening making rock hard caramel apples and talking about the word of wisdom. There are some horrific before and after pictures online of drug abuse that enthralled our kids. No ones teeth fell out from the apples and the leftovers were discretely carried out to the trash later.

Tuesday we had our temple play group. So nice that I have friends who kick me in the rear to take advantage of going to the temple! Plus Robyn loves playing with her two friends on a regular basis. Spent the afternoon working at the school hanging up art work. Then our neighbor invited us over for one last pool day. So we spent the afternoon splashing in the water and getting out when the sun went down realizing that 68 degrees only feels warm when you aren't wet! That evening I was able to go to a fireside on Christmas gifts with meaning. Gave me some good ideas. We were supposed to have cousins over for a long weekend while Jason and Kelly went on a mini-vacation to Colorado to play and see Wicked. That night Brynn was diagnosed with swine flu. Felt really bad for Jason and Kelly to cancel all their plans. Our kids were quite bummed out.

Wednesday and Thursday I finally tackled painting our kitchen. I have spent forever picking a color! I don't know if it is the color that makes such a difference or the fact that I removed buckets of dirt from the walls and counters of our kitchen in order to get ready to paint. I decided when I moved the fridge and stove that every disgusting thing in our house had crawled under our appliances. Right now our kitchen still looks pretty clean as all the extra crap is covering our dining room table as no messes are allowed back in here. I am enjoying the clean and clutter free feeling too much! Jeremy even came home Thursday with lunch for me and we got to take a lunch break together. So nice and yet strange to sit at our own kitchen table eating by ourselves. I kept waiting to be interrupted or for some glass to be knocked over.


Allison at Activity Days this week learned how to make mini-pizzas. So Friday night she directed operations and made dinner for us. Of course you have to use the pizza dough that comes in a can as homemade just doesn't work! She felt very proud of herself and I was impressed.

Friday had its ups and downs a bit. Went to the grocery store with Robyn in tow. She was convinced that she could walk next to me and even help push the cart. She pushed the cart right into a big display of plants and the whole thing came tumbling down with me catching the backdrop before it hit her. Plants and dirt everywhere, Robyn crying (suitably dressed in a gymnastics leotard as you never know when you might need to do a somersault, managers asking if we were OK and picking stuff up. Yeah, good times for all! Thursday I had gotten a call from the school counselor that the girl and her family wanted to meet together as they weren't letting this situation go. Jeremy and I were dreading what this could turn into. So when I walked in the door from the grocery store at 11:15 I heard a message on our answering machine that the meeting was going to be that day at 11:15!!! So we ran over there arriving a few minutes late. Ended up being fine. Girl talked about picking up a ball and Spencer running up behind her and instead of grabbing the ball he grabbed her chest and then ran away. (Spencer still vehemently denies this and since the girl didn't want Spencer to be in the meeting, I still think she was mistaken on the identity) But the girl and dad both came to the conclusion that it wasn't done deliberately and that the girl started playing four square this week with Spencer's group and feels fine about it. So I am not sure why they wanted to make this into such a big deal but it seems to be over now.

Friday night I took Spencer, Allison and Robyn to a piano concert at the school. They had a great time watching this BYU kid play amazing original pieces and redone popular songs. Their favorite part was watching him put on a stripped vest and red bowler hat and play the entertainer standing backwards, upside down etc and moving around without every stopping the song and having it sound amazing. Taylor went with Jeremy to cheer him on at a ward volleyball game and then we picked him up afterward. Kids must have noticed as I said prayer that night that I was really, really done for the day as I prayed for patience as they all came up afterward to give me a hug (even Spencer!) and quietly walked off to bed.

Saturday I managed to get up early to jog/walk around the temple. Watching the sun come up, golden trees everywhere and laughing when Bust a Move comes up on my ipod. Great start to the morning. Wish I could remember that more often when my alarm goes off. Jeremy took on the always frustrating task of hanging up our Christmas lights with kids "helping". Add to that, that his knees are killing him from periodically jumping with volleyball and it was truly an act of love. Our "date" Saturday afternoon was mutually satisfying. Jeremy went to a photo walk and then out to dinner with his photo friends. I ran errands and enjoyed being able to concentrate on picking out our Christmas cards and getting a frame for our family pictures etc.

And yes our bathrooms did finally get clean late Saturday night. Then Jeremy and I curled up on the couch to watch Angels and Demons and eat a big piece of cheesecake he brought back from SLC. It was a good week. Love, Heather