Roma!!  

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

I started this blog with the thinking that I wasn't going to do a big series of posts on our trip to Italy, but that I just wanted to post a few of my favorites from the entire trip.  Then I started going through pictures and by the time I got through the first day and a half of Rome I decided that was enough pictures for one post. Maybe I'll post more later of the other 8 days, maybe not. . . no promises here.  But this is what I loved in Rome.

These tapestries were amazing!  I especially loved this one of the birth of Christ. 

The Vatican had so much art! It was a little overwhelming. I think if you tried to study and/or figure out what each scene was you'd be there for years. 

This is a shot of St. Peters from the Vatican. 

This statue of Mary holding the cruxified Christ was inside of St. Peter's.  I was really moved as I contemplated Mary's sacrifice.  I'm not sure I could do it.  And how could Michelangelo be mature enough to understand their relationship in his 20s?

Ponte Vecchio Bridge

I really loved the windows with cute flowers and vines all over them.  

I'd pick the one on the left any day!

 This is the umbilicus.  It is the center of ancient Rome where all distances were measured from. So right then, the world really did revolve around me!

 Ancient Rome was one of my favorites. 
 And of course the Colosseum. 

One of my favorite things about travel is how much you learn without even trying.  It changes the way you think about the world and people in it.  Gives you so much more perspective.  I find myself going around all day thinking about the Gospel and how all of  what I'm seeing fits in.  I am so lucky and thankful that I got to go on this trip.  Hopefully I'll share a "few" more favorites at another time. . . 

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by Ginger | 2 comments


They're almost ready to go!!  

Monday, April 16, 2012

Our 10 adorable puppies will be ready to find new homes in about 2 weeks!! You should come over and pick one out. Then you're kid could look as happy as this. . .
They're super sweet!
They are 1/2 Lab, part Brittney Spaniel

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Easter Weekend!  

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

We had a great Easter weekend this year! Here's Kade coloring an egg.

Bailey was braver than the rest of us, and let everyone come over to color eggs. Talk about controlled chaos!
Saturday we headed out to "Easter Camp" with the Snyders. Grandma had some fun activities for the kids planned, including a silly string fight.

I introduced the egg roll to the Snyder side of our family this year. It wasn't the best track, but eventually we got the eggs to go down okay.

Apparently they roll better if you kiss them first.

Ready, Set Go . . .
The grandkids all love the side-by-side.

On Sunday afternoon the kids discovered the Easter Bunny had come while they were at church.
Sienna woke up very sick. But thanks to modern medicine, she got off the couch long enough to find her basket and eat some candy.
Kade even found an egg or two all by himself!
He searched far and wide.
Parker didn't really hold still long enough to get a picture of him. He was very concerned about finding the most eggs. (I've decided he might be a little OCD)
Bronsen found his loot. It's a good thing we still have some weeds around or hiding things would have been a lot harder.


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I Can't Wait Until I'm Eight!  

Monday, April 9, 2012

Bronsen has been waiting a long time to be eight. From what I could tell, he had the best birthday ever! He seriously celebrated from sun up to well past sun down. His morning started with an 8 - shaped pancake and dollar under his breakfast plate. Then we made cupcake ice cream cones for his class.

Then immediate after school some friends went on a hike with him. It kind of turned from a hike, to a game of hide and seek, to a game of lets beat all the limbs off this dead tree. We followed this up with ice cream at Patio.
Then for the second best reason to be 8! In our house that means you are old enough for a BB gun.
It comes with lots of safety advice!

As if he wasn't already spoiled enough, he got golf clubs from his grandparents! All of the cousins ended up coming over to wish him happy birthday about the time we were ready to cut the cake, so they all joined in. It was seriously an all day party for him. Happy Birthday Bronsen!!
On Friday night Bronsen was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The #1 reason it's so great to be eight! (This made me feel so old.) I can't believe how grown up he is. Bronsen really thought a lot about this decision. I'm so glad he has his own little testimony.
Here's a little video we put together of Bronsen and showed at the baptism.

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When Mom is Busy . . .  

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

the kids will play. Or at least that's the hope. Here is a picture of the playhouse I designed using our home design software. The blue thing is obviously a slide, there will be swings hanging from that huge beam, and the plain brown board will be a rope climb.

Oh, if only . . . isn't Mother's Day coming up? hint, hint Steve :)

A girl can dream!

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by Ginger | 4 comments


Spring Has Sprung!  

Monday, March 26, 2012

This year for Spring Break the kids and I headed to St. George. With Steve having to work and attend class we decided to leave him here to be the responsible one. Luckily I talked my parents and little brother into coming with us. Actually, I didn't really have much talking to do. We headed over Monday morning and got checked into the condo.

The kids really wanted to golf, but we couldn't find a course that would let us bring kids under the age of 9, so we settled for some mini golf instead.




One day was filled with bowling and swimming. This is how Kade likes to bowl.

Sienna really liked watching all the balls roll up.
And lounging by the pool.

It was nice to have Grandpa and Uncle Cole around to play with the boys since I had my hands full with the little ones.
Actually they helped with all of them. What a great Uncle.
We had a great time, except we missed our daddy! Then on Thursday we headed home so that we could be ready to go to Farmington to wrestle on Saturday. I'll post more of our wrestling adventures another day.
Yay for Spring!!!

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by Ginger | 1 comments


Reality!  

Sunday, March 18, 2012

So I think that one of the worst feelings in the world is that what you are doing is not enough. That's my feeling tonight. I truly wonder if all of this social media is helpful to our emotional health. But it's not just social media, it's the way we compare our worst selves to everyone else's best selves. So if any of you ever feel the same way, here's to reality. It was a good day. A very typical Sunday at our house. What does that look like without being edited for blogging? Well here goes:

- I really didn't want to go to church today. But ended up feeling the spiritually uplifted and learned a thing or two.
- After dinner I played the piano and violin for an hour while dinner sat on the table, still waiting for the boys to take care of it.
- Then I went and made cards for Relief Society while dinner still sat there. I guess I need to do better at teaching my kids to listen.
- Tonight I visited at my grandma's house because it's one of my favorite parts of the week. But I didn't get the kids to bed at the reasonable 8 pm bedtime.
- I didn't go around tonight and pick up the house so that I can start the day fresh, honestly, as much as I wish that this was a regular routine for me, it's just not.
- I've been thinking about a visiting teaching sister who's birthday was today for 3 days now. Then forgot to take her a little gift and wish her happy birthday today. Now it's too late.
- I put off asking people to do things for the RS birthday party this week until today. How kind is that to throw at people last minute?
- I can't even count the number of times my kids have argued with me or talked back to me today.

Like I said, it was a good day!! I'm not being sarcastic. I'm just letting any of you that feel like you're never going to get it all right and all done know that you're NORMAL!

Here is a few thoughts from the fabulous Elder Uchtdorf that does much to encourage:

First, forget not to be patient with yourself.

I want to tell you something that I hope you will take in the right way: God is fully aware that you and I are not perfect.

Let me add: God is also fully aware that the people you think are perfect are not.

And yet we spend so much time and energy comparing ourselves to others—usually comparing our weaknesses to their strengths. This drives us to create expectations for ourselves that are impossible to meet. As a result, we never celebrate our good efforts because they seem to be less than what someone else does.

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses.

It’s wonderful that you have strengths.

And it is part of your mortal experience that you do have weaknesses.

God wants to help us to eventually turn all of our weaknesses into strengths,1 but He knows that this is a long-term goal. He wants us to become perfect,2 and if we stay on the path of discipleship, one day we will. It’s OK that you’re not quite there yet. Keep working on it, but stop punishing yourself.

If you want to read/listen to the whole talk, here it is:

http://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/general-relief-society-meeting/2011/09/forget-me-not?lang=eng&query=compare

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by Ginger | 2 comments


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