Happy Birthday to Me!

I have reached another milestone. I told Zane how old I was and he said, "WOW! A 4 and a 0 is really old! You better just blow out the match 'cause it will be too hard for you to blow out all those candles." Well, at least he is concerned for my health. 

We had a little activity at the church and a sweet sister brought me a bunch of balloons. Zane promptly informed me that we were sharing the balloons since his birthday is next. All the little children wanted to sing to me and one sweet little girl asked where my presents were.

Scott surprised me with a bag of Lindor chocolates when I woke up. (I ate some for breakfast.) After dinner, Morgan and Zane helped make me sugar cookies. My most favorite dessert! I think I ate almost all of them.

Brittany said she would build a big house so we can live with them and she would even buy me a fancy cane. So kind! She did send me an awesome Jon Schmidt CD. Love it!

Scott and I went to dinner with some friends on Saturday. It was easier with his work schedule, school nights, and soccer games. We found a yummy little Chinese buffet restaurant in Sterling, CO. We tried to teach the waiter about putting a lemon slice in a drink but to no avail. 

Eating Chinese brought back memories from my childhood. My parents would take us out to eat on our birthdays when we were kids. We got to pick where and I often picked the Chinese restaurant. My dad is NOT a fan of Chinese food and would always order a hamburger. Sorry, Dad. 

Here's a flashback to my 1st birthday. Happy Birthday to ME!

The JOY of Glasses

Morgan was SO excited when the eye clinic called to say her glasses were ready to be picked up. She skipped with JOY to the door of the clinic, anxious to try them on.

All through dinner, Morgan would pull her glasses to the end of her nose and say, "Everything is blurry when I look like this but with my glasses I can see." She would push her glasses back into place, take a bite, and do it all again.

Instead of reading her book, she pulled the glasses down and pushed them back up to see the difference they made. "These things really work!"

It was time to brush her teeth so I asked her to put her glasses in the case and get her pajamas on. 10 minutes later I found her in the middle of her room, still in her clothes, playing with her glasses.

I really am glad that she is excited to wear them. And really glad they help her to see better!

EYE See You

The first year the note came home from school I ignored it. The second year I thought Morgan must have gotten nervous. (The word test gives her anxiety!) But Zane needed an eye exam for kindergarten so I figured I might as well take them both in.

The doctor apologized and then told me he agreed with the school nurse. Morgan needs glasses. This girl is a clone of her father. Why does she have MY vision problems?

Zane told them the picture of the horse was a pig and the picture of the jeep was a van. Then he giggled and said maybe it's a cow but would not give a straight answer. But when the doctor checked him on the machine, he gave him a perfect 10. He said Zane's vision was the best he had seen all day.
Thank you!

So, now I am kicking myself for not including the kids on the vision insurance. Bummer! Morgan did pick out some super cute frames and we got the 1 year warranty to cover the lenses.

I'm sure the world will look completely different to her in her new glasses.

Spring Break

Our Spring Break consisted of a 4 day weekend - not enough time to go to Grandma & Grandpa's house. Scott was off on Friday so we had to take the kids some where. We drove up north to Scottsbluff and went to the bank, got an oil change, and looked for a new saddle pad. Okay. Not so fun for the kids.

On our way home we stopped at the Chimney Rock Museum. Super fun for the kids! It was cool to actually be at the place I have read about in so many pioneer stories. And the kids even sat through the 15 minute movie.


Their favorite though, was loading the wagon with supplies. We never did get it loaded right but it was lots of fun trying.

The kids even drew a picture for the post card wall.



Before going all the way home, we stopped at our favorite park. We had to check on the fish and the geese. (Why are the goose eggs in the water?) After about 15 minutes in the 30 mph wind we were ready to go home.

The JOY of Easter

I'm not a big fan of large community events. My kids usually cling to me and we all go home crying. But, I love the ladies at our local library. At one of our recent visits, a librarian came and invited us to come to the Easter Egg Hunt. I felt like this sweet lady was personally inviting us and I couldn't say no.

It actually went better than I thought. We got there early so the kids could get used to the crowd as it gradually built. Morgan was hanging pretty close to me as we waited for the hunt to begin and I thought she might not look for eggs. But when it was finally time to start she took off to her area and found 5 eggs. Zane had no problem zipping around gathering eggs and came up with 4. They had so much fun and I'm glad we were able to support our wonderful library!

I refused to pay SO much for eggs (they used to put them on sale at this time of year) so we didn't color any eggs this year. The kids drew pictures at the church while I got some things ready for Sunday. Not very festive but they said it was still fun.

We got ready for church early enough to play with Morgan's hair. Then we went outside to take a picture and the wind instantly blew her hair all over. The messy hair look is really in here in Nebraska!

(Zane says the sun was too bright. I think he just likes to make goofy faces!)

We had a wonderful day at church! I forgot Zane's snacks but after a few minutes he forgave me. We had great speakers in Sacrament Meeting, a fabulous discussion in Sunday School and another meaningful discussion in Relief Society.

Scott was finished working by the time we got home and we were able to enjoy a delicious Easter dinner with him. The kids helped me make Easter Tomb rolls. (Mine weren't as pretty as Grandma Baird's.) They were so surprised when the marshmallows weren't inside after baking. Zane was sure that I had pulled out the marshmallow and was trying to play a trick on him. It really brought out the events of Christ's resurrection and how some responded then.

So thankful I got to talk to Brittany and my mom! Wish we could have gotten together with our family.

The sun was shining, the birds singing, and only a slight breeze. It was a JOYFUL day!

Weird Wound Week

This has officially been Wierd Wound Week!

First, Morgan and I were coming home from soccer practice. The center console was down next to her and she decided she needed to see if there was anything in the back cargo space. (Maybe she heard a spooky noise.) As she whipped her head around she caught her eyebrow on the metal latch on the side of the other seat. She wasn't crying but just kept saying how bad it hurt. I told her to hold her water bottle on it until we got home.

Before she got out of the car she had to take a peak at her head in the rear-view mirror. When she saw the blood she lost it. We got her cleaned up and decided stitches weren't needed. So glad I still had the steri-strips leftover from Zane's head wound.

The next day, the kids were playing outside after school. Suddenly, their laughter turned to screams and cries. Morgan was screaming hysterically and Zane was crying fiercely. I wasn't sure who was injured at first. Then I saw the large black spot on Zane's hand.

I sent Morgan to the couch to calm down and took Zane to the bathroom. As I tried to wash his hand I realized it wasn't dirt but actually a giant, purple bruise. He had pinched his hand in the horse trailer door. I was afraid it was broken. He kept ice on it, off and on, until bed time and Scott assured me it was just bruised.


And if that was not enough... I got a little too comfortable with my mixer. While making bread, I stuck my hand in to knock the flour down from the side of the bowl. Yes. While it was running. The bruise on the back of my hand is not as pretty as Zane's though.

Hopefully we are done for awhile. My first-aid skills are exhausted!

How did you celebrate Weird Wound Week?

{ Rejoice! }

I love that my kids are always SO excited for General Conference weekend! I made monkey bread on Friday for breakfast. Zane said, "Let's save some for conference tomorrow and when we hear the word family we can eat some." He's on to me.

I decided to change it up this time. I created a bag for each of the members of the 1st presidency and the quorum of the 12. Each bag contained an activity or treat but could only be opened when that person spoke. Not knowing the order of the speakers made this a little tricky.

Amazingly, they spoke in an order that provided a good balance of activities and snacks. I had two big activities (playdough and Legos) and I feared the speakers would be back to back. Miraculously, one spoke on Saturday and one on Sunday. Perfect!

I've printed off packets for the kids in the past but Zane would complete all the coloring and puzzles by the end of the 1st session. Separating the activities by speaker helped to pace him and gave him something to look forward to. Morgan still had her packet that she worked on in addition to the other activities.

I also printed an Easter basket, which they decorated, and I created Easter eggs with possible topics written on them. They listened carefully for the key words and by the end of conference their baskets were full!

We were also blessed with temps in the 80s so we got to run off some energy outside between sessions. We chased pheasants with the dog, shot BB guns, and made a trip in to the park. We are SO ready for summer!

I even managed to make a couple cards. What a busy weekend!
I also took 5 1/2 pages of notes. Wow! I have lots to work on. All of the talks were so good and I want to remember every word.

I loved how President Monson opened the conference by encouraging us to have the courage to make the changes in our lives that we need to. Sometimes we KNOW what the right thing is but it's hard to have the courage to DO it. And then at the end of conference he encouraged us to become better than we were when conference began. What a blessing it is to have Prophets and Apostles to provide guidance and stability in a turbulent world!