Women's Conference, Soccer Trip! BUSY!

I feel like my life has gotten crazy and busy.  Noticed how I didn't write crazy busy, just crazy AND busy.  Let's see where do I start.  Ben left for his soccer trip Friday morning.  I had tons of errands to run trying to get ready for my class for Saturday's Women's Conference.  After 2 hours of Ben being gone, I called him ready for him to come back home.  It felt like he had been gone for forever.  Anyway, Lilli and I played outside for a while that day with our good friends Megan, and her two daughters Abby and Emma (Aaron, the husband also went on this trip).  Then I had to go the stake center and get set up for my class.  We get home and I put frozen pizza in the oven when Megan calls and invites us over for Domino's pizza.  That was fun!  We were there for a little bit then it was time for Lilli to go to bed.  Then I studied and talked to myself and went over my lesson for a long while.  I was so tired, but had to get up at 6:30am to get ready.  My morning wasn't too crazy, like I was expecting.  Thankfully, Ben got a babysitter to watch Lilli, his totally awesome (and brave) cousin, Lex.  She's living here in Augusta and is a lawyer.  Anyway, Megan and I drove to the Conference together.  I seriously was shaking so bad I was nervous!  We had the main speaker and I had to sit up front in the chapel with the other teachers.  I was very intimidated!!! Then it was time for the classes to start.  I was SO NERVOUS the night before, and felt little comfort because Ben was gone.  Of course I talked to him on the phone, but it wasn't the same.  Anyway, I had 11 ladies there (6 were Laurels).  It was nice to have a variety of people, the older women were able to talk about Relief Society from their point of view and let the girls know how much they really do have in common.  Anyway, after the class was over, I was sweating profusely but could finally breathe.  I guess it went okay.  Everyone came up to me and told me I did a good job.  It's over and I know the Lord was with me (Ben said he was praying for me all day, sweet hubby!).  So later that Saturday, we had a Tornado Warning.  The news was telling us to get in a closet and wrap up in blankets and coats.  Megan and he two girls were here.  We were pretty nervous, but made it thru okay.  It would have been nice to have our husbands there with us.  Well, this is getting to be a long blog and I know some of you don't like reading long blogs with no pictures.  Sorry.  I'll post pictures and some cute video of Lilli singing her ABC's later.  And better explain how crazy life has been.  It's wonderful too!!

Ward Easter Activity

I colored mine and Lilli's lips blue with a Robin Egg (my favorite Easter candy)!

Saturday night was our ward's Easter activity.  We were to bring a blanket and a picnic dinner.  I had to go to the church and help decorate so Ben ended up making the dinner.  We had a big ole chef salad with cooked shrimp.  It was really good.  Then the kids made little crafts that were super cute.  You can see the flower Lilli had attached to her wrist.  I helped her make them.  Then they had the Easter egg hunt.  I think that was Lilli's favorite part.  At first she didn't know quite what to do, but once we showed her, she went wild!  She loved it.  Now all she asks for is candy.  We have a really awesome ward and had such a great time!

Sidewalk Chalk

The other day I took Lilli out to do sidewalk chalk. I made sure that she wasn't wearing anything that I would really care about getting chalk all over (as you can see, she was a mess). She had so much fun! It was cute to see her imagination come out (even though all she did was just scribble, but still.......). In a lot of the pictures I've noticed that her hair looks awful, so I actually did it this time. It's so curly, but it's just big curls, so it's really cute when I actually put stuff in it. Anyway, she loves being outside. I do too. Being in the house all day makes me stir crazy. Luckily it's been really nice and so we've been able to get out. It's just been the last day or two that hasn't. We've had some severe weather warnings and tornado warnings. In the middle of the night last night, it was so windy I thought maybe there was a tornado or something. I had to turn on the tv and see (there wasn't). Ben was hoping that yesterday would be a good day so we could make our own kites and go fly them. I guess in Brazil, people would made some really beautiful kites and then have kite fights. Kids and adults would glue glass onto their kite string and try to cut each other's kites down, pretty crazy. But because of the weather, we didn't. I swear I sound like the weather channel. Anyway, I'm getting nervous for next week's Women's Conference. I have to teach a class (one-time only) and I feel so unprepared. If anyone has any ideas for me as far as getting the Laurel's excited about coming in to Relief Society, Please let me know. I've never done a class like this, and it's been a while since I've attended a class like this so I'm not sure how to make it fun and exciting. I'm still excited though. Ben has started another class. Human Anatomy and Physiology. He's pretty stoked about it. We're still waiting to see if he's going up to Washington D.C. or not for that class. We're hoping to find out next week. He and some of his buddies are going out of town next weekend. They're going to Tampa, FL for some soccer games. I guess the U.S. Men's team is playing. They're only staying for a day, which isn't bad, but it's going to be an expensive trip. I'm sure they'll have fun. As for me, well I've joined a Biggest Loser program with some ladies in my church ward. I've only been doing it a week and have only lost 1.4 lbs. I know it's not very much, but at least it's a loss and not a gain. I only have about 48.5 more pounds to go!!!! I know it's a reachable goal, but it's tough to stay motivated to work out every day. But I'm doing it and I feel better doing it. It's fun and we all pretty well motivate each other. Wow, this is a long blog. Sorry everybody! The next one's will be short. I'll try not to wait so long to blog next time.

Re: Tagged

Hey, Everybody! Ben's first blog entry! I'm finally getting around to responding to my tag. Here goes. Enjoy!

What were you doing 10 years ago?  

10 years ago, I was a busy high school junior. Having just finished the football season I was looking forward to the upcoming track season. Looking back, I really didn't have a care in the world. I had a part time job working for Fred Meyer, and a pretty active social life. I had sort of made a habit of inadvertently stealing girlfriends. I had recently had my heart broken by a girlfriend who shall remain nameless, and had decided not to date exclusively until much later on. I didn't put much stock in the exclusive rights of other guys to date any one girl. I would simply ask a girl out and she would say "yes". It's a good thing that Shari and I didn't go to the same high school. Her boyfriend would have been in trouble, that's for sure!

5 things on my list of things to do today.

1. Pack my lunch for work tomorrow.

2. Spend some "quality time" with Shari.

3. Come up with two more things to put on my list.

4.

5.

5 snacks I enjoy.

1. Nuts, especially almonds or pistachios

2. Welch's Berry Medley (dried cranberries, blueberries, cherries, and golden raisins)

3. Cheese

4. Smoothies

5. Cucumbers or other raw veggies

3 bad habits.

1. Correcting people - this usually has to do with a person's use of grammar or pronunciation when

speaking. It's terribly rude, I know. The worse part about it is I've never conserted myself to rid myself of

it. I've done it as long as I can remember. It's one of those obsessive-compulsive things I can't bring

myself to give up.

2. Blowing my nose in the shower... WHAT?! The steam from the shower makes it so much easier to clear

it all out. I highly recommend it!

3. Leaving nail clippings around the house - Shari will usually find them on our duvet cover or step on

them. That is if Sid doesn't dispose of them first. He usually will lie in front of me as I'm clipping and will

run off with the bigger nails.

If I were suddenly a billionaire...

First, I'd pay off all debt. Get a larger house; large enough to comfortably accomodate a growing family. Then I would put the money to work for us by investing it. I'd put a fair amount away towards the kids' college and mission funds. Next, I would buy Shari a ridiculously large diamond, you know, something that would tide her over for a good 20-25 years. I'd have to donate a generous amount to fast offerings or church humanitarian aid. I'd make sure my and Shari's folks were set and taken care of - house, health care, that sort of thing. Finally, it's time to acquire a few toys... I've always wanted to build a home recording studio and collect guitars. I'd have to build a home theatre with stadium seating, projector, snack counter, the works. A home gym would be nice, to include indoor and outdoor pools, running track, and soccer pitch. Yep, that's a pretty good start...

Five places I've lived.

1. Nebraska

2. Washington, The State of

3. Rio de Janeiro

4. Idaho

5. California

Five jobs I've held.

1. Courtesy Clerk (a.k.a. "Cart Monkey"), Fred Meyer

2. Membership/Front Desk, World Gym

3. Interviewer (a.k.a. Annoying dude that calls during dinner), Rexburg Phone Center

4. Corporate Trainer (a.k.a. Guy that trains those annoying dudes), Dakotah Direct

5. Evening Freight Crew (a.k.a. Magic Elf that restocks the grocery shelves at night), Broulim's

Five things people don't know about me.

1. I went to state with the dance team during my senior year in high school (and not to watch)

2. I played in a band in college (not the marching kind)

3. I was 21 before I experienced my first brain freeze.

4. I broke my weight class record for power cleans at 265 lbs when I was 18. The previous record holder at the time was my

next door neighbor and had held the record for more than 10 years.

5. I'm really not as cool as people might think I am. I'm really just a big nerd.

This is a video of Lilli singing I took the other day.  She had a booger, so of course she didn't like me getting it  and I stopped it right before she had a major meltdown because I wouldn't let her touch the camera.  She loves to sing.  And she loves to have Ben and I sing to her before we put her to bed.

Pictures

Lilli with all the cool things she got from her Nana and Papa.

Lilli trying to put together her new puzzle.

Lilli and her new little friend, Kai.

Valentine's Day, and play date madness!

Valentine's was good.  Lilli got a package from my parents full of awesome goodies.  She got a Strawberry Shortcake plate, some awesome sunglasses, a card, and a Winnie the Pooh puzzle, or Pooh poozle (as Lilli likes to say).  Ben and I also got cards.  Thanks, Mom!  Ben and I didn't get to go out like we had planned.  We even had someone to watch Lilli and everything, but I got sick.  Gosh!  I have to ruin everything!  Ben was pretty bummed, but I seriously wouldn't have made it.  So that's on hold.  But I did get him a CD, the new Jack Johnson CD (he has to play it ALL the time).  He got me a movie, Becoming Jane.  Still haven't seen it.  Maybe we'll watch it sometime.

Last Wednesday we had some new friends over for dinner, Jonathan and Jasmin De Guzman.  They have an adorable little girl, Kai, who Lilli just loved, and then one on the way.  The two girls fought, but had fun too.  They're originally stationed in Maryland but had come down on TDY for a week.  Ben met them on Sunday, and knowing how it is staying in a motel and eating out all the time, we had them over for dinner.  It was a lot of fun.  They're such a great family and we are so glad we were able to get to know them and build a friendship.

Yesterday and today I watched my friend Raquel's son, Matthew.  It was actually nice because he and Lilli kept each other entertained, yesterday.  They are a hoot.  I went upstairs into Lilli's room (where all the toys are) and it was a DISASTER!!!  Seriously, it looked like a tornado came through.  I had them help me clean it up.  While we were cleaning up, I got a phone call from my friend, Hannah (sorry I sounded so flustered Hannah, you know how kids are :)) and they (the two mischievous little things) decide they're done cleaning and went downstairs.  As I was on the phone, I could hear them opening and closing the storm door.  I was afraid they would let our dog out so I go down there and tell Lilli to stop.  Then I looked out the door and Matthew was standing outside.  I was wondering why Lilli kept saying, " Bye Massew!"  

Later on in the day, I was talking to Raquel, and all of a sudden I hear a boom, then Lilli says, "Oooooo, sou okay?  Whenever she gets hurt, we always ask her if she's okay.  It was so cute.  I was able to get some housework done and disinfect my house a little bit (after being sick for 4 days, the house was gross) too.  I still have more to clean, slowly but surely.  In fact, I should be doing that now, while Lilli is asleep.  Nah!  I'd rather be doing this.  Lilli and Matthew kept each other busy, and that was a nice change from having Lilli sit and watch movies while I get over my sickness.

Today was a different story.  Those two fought like cats and dogs.  He would steal a toy then Lilli would scream.  And then vice versa.  I only had Matthew for a little bit, but man.  It was madness!