Oh yeah!

When facebook just isn't enough...

Do you ever think in facebook updates? If not, that question probably made no sense.

I'm sure I spend too much time facebooking. One piece of evidence: When I do or see or hear something, I think how I would describe it in a few sentences on facebook. Today I have all these little tidbits going through my brain. Rather than torture my facebook friends, I'll just write them all here and be done.

And then I'll probably share this post (or the link) on facebook, for good measure. Since I learned about the joys of bit.ly at PTA convention, I can easily tweet it too. How's that!

*I don't know if it's because I'm reading Banana Split by Josi Kilpack, or the commercials with the cute little babies and how part of the proceeds provide diapers for bare-bottomed babies, but I couldn't resist the Hawaiian print Huggies today. And the wipes, for good measure.

*I am really looking forward to summer vacation for my kids. Main reason: They can wear swimming suits all day, every day. My laundry pile is rejoicing already!!

*Sometimes, a fish taco from Del Taco sounds like a good idea. It rarely is.

*I may or may not sign up to help with PTA solely for the opportunity to go to PTA convention. It is that good! You should come- see you there, next May!

*Have you seen the show "My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding?" Holy train wreck! I'm intrigued that girls who dress (and dance) like such hoochies are seriously still "pure." Can't hold hands or kiss a guy until your wedding, but go ahead and dance in an electric dress that barely covers anything. What!! I can't believe crap like that is on TV, while I'm still pining for "ER." A travesty!

*I love yard sales. I love my neighborhood. The neighborhood-wide yard sale over the weekend made my head spin! We pretty much got Jenna a whole new (cuter than I normally buy) wardrobe for about $30. Seriously! The funny thing is that the items are way nicer than what I could have found in our old yard sale haunts, for about half the price. I feel so blessed! We might be able to keep her clothes AND pay for the braces after all!

*I love my new sewing machine. That will {hopefully} have its own post someday.

*The Race for Reading 5K and Family Fun Run have taken over our lives for the time being. I'm hoping things will settle down after June 9th.

*I know that there is no way things will settle down after June 9th. My projects will just be different ones. More on that to come.

*I call Tim about once a day with a "Random Moment of the Day" call. He knows there are millions of random thoughts going through my brain at any given moment. Now you do too.

*My kids haven't had a break from school that was longer than 3 weeks since July/August of 2010. They had a 6 week break then. That doesn't even really count, since 3 of those 6 weeks, I was HUGELY pregnant and the other 3 of those weeks I was mostly dead. (See Eliza's birth story for the gory details.)

*I have 8 lbs of strawberries in my fridge that need me to make them into jam today so they can fill the measure of their creation. I'd better go see where we packed the canning supplies...

Since we're being random, here are some random pictures of that summer I don't remember- 2010

Jenna's first day of 3rd grade, Aub's first day of 1st grade- tiny Eliza

Lydia's first day of preschool- apropos, since today was her last.

Teeny tiny Eliza

Eggs and other Easter randomness

Doesn't everyone dye their own dozen eggs in your family? Why not?

Last year, we discovered that we prefer using regular old food coloring to the dye kits. Cheaper, easier, much more variety, beautiful colors! We also experimented with rubber cement again, as well as the usual crayon fun!

I didn't take great pictures, but Grandma Barb & Papa Gary had a cute egg hunt & fun treats for the kids. (Seriously, could I have taken WORSE pictures? Lame.)

A few weeks after Easter, we took our eggs out to the desert west of Saratoga Springs (and west of a few other places, as well). We drove up into the little hills to find a spot to throw our eggs. Right before we got out of the van, we were buzzed by a military helicopter flying so low that I about peed my pants. True story. I hope the pilot enjoyed it- Tim & I were waiting to see flames from over the next hillside. I don't know how he didn't crash the chopper. Anyway...

We parked half way up a little hill, which makes for great egg explosions! Or should I say egg-splosions?
The eggs were a bit *ripe* after sitting for so long, so they were messy & nasty- just right for throwing!

 Eliza wasn't sure about breaking eggs at first, but even she got into it. If her egg didn't explode satisfactorily, she would go after them and throw them again. This worked OK unless one of the other girls was up higher on the hill throwing toward her. No harm, no foul...

 It was much cooler than it had been Easter weekend. We had to break out the parkas I had efficiently washed & put away for the year.

We visited Camp Floyd before we threw the eggs. I apparently didn't take my camera out of my purse. It was a nice little history lesson for all of us. If you are in the area, I recommend stopping to see. It was like a mini-mini-mini trip to Nauvoo- only on a much, much, much smaller scale.

I must also give proper attention to our amazing spring flowers. Someone planted an amazing year-round garden here. Just as one area loses its blooms, another bursts to life- seriously amazing landscaping!

Easter Eve in Moroni

The day before Easter, we met all the Prestwich cousins in Moroni for an enormous egg hunt. Grandma Lou & Papa Jess hid the eggs we dyed and plastic ones with surprises for each child throughout a field at the farm- spread over about an acre. It was a beautiful day and so fun!

Owen, Sam, Ella, Ethan, Jenna, Gavin, Zach, Jessie, Justin, Colin, Eliza, Lydia, Aubrey, Allie, Madi, Grna Lou, Papa Jess

Waiting for the shotgun start!

Eliza's goodies! (The other kids never stopped moving long enough for a picture.)

Growing pains

When we first moved to Saratoga Springs, our stake (group of church congregations) was divided & we became part of a new stake. The area is growing rapidly and there are lots and lots of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints here. That was almost exactly 6 months ago.

Tonight we went to a special meeting where the wards (congregations) in our neighborhood were divided and boundaries realigned to create a new ward. In the less-than-one mile between our house and the girls' school, there are three large wards! Unbelievable!

We are still not used to the size of our ward and how actively everyone participates. You have to arrive at least 20 minutes early to have any chance to sit in a soft seat in the chapel instead of a folding chair in the overflow! The girls' Primary classes each had a minimum of 10 kids- and that was generally only half of the age group. I think a few of the age groups had 3 classes! That is a LOT of kids!

With the boundary change, we gained some great families and we say good bye to some! Luckily, they are all in the same place, but we will miss seeing them at church and activities. While it is sad to change things, I am excited to have a (slightly) smaller ward & Primary. The kids don't know each other well because there are so many kids to meet! The smaller numbers make you pull together to accomplish what needs to be done.

It makes me think back to a few years ago when our beloved Parkwood Ward in Kearns was created when our old stake made two wards out of what had been three. We made great new friends and kept working together to meet our common goals. Dear friends came and went, and we were better for having known them!

One amazing thing about the Church is that it is so much the same no matter where you are in the world. The faces and languages may change, but the Gospel is the same. We are all children of God, working to grow closer to our Heavenly Father and trying to make it through this life in one piece.  We sing the same songs, learn the same lessons, read the same scriptures, follow the same prophet. What a blessing it is in my life!

Here's to new friends and the ones that we will never forget!