Another Weekend

This weekend we did something that we are not much used to:  relaxing.  We woke up Saturday morning and Robert and I both felt like surely we must be missing something--forgetting about some meeting, kid's ball game, some service project or other responsibility, but there was nothing!  I cannot even remember the last time that happened.  And it felt glorious.  So we did leisurely Saturday chores with the kids, they went sledding, Robert worked on his Young Men's responsibilities, and I read up on my NEW CAMERA.  That's right.  My amazing and thoughtful husband surprised me with a new Nikon D7000 last week and I am in heaven.  The camera I previously had was never the same after getting wet on one of our trips.  The autofocus was always slightly off as well as the flash and so every singly photo I took for almost 2 years had to be manually sharpened to compensate.

As a matter of fact, the whole week was fairly relaxing because Ashton was sick which forced me to not be busy running errands and stay home with him.  It was actually really frustrating for me to stay home at first and not get my errands done, but it was also nice to take it easy with AshBear.  On Friday, he started feeling better so he and I walked to Farmington Pond to feed the ducks together.  The geese were as big as him and very aggressive, but he still seemed to enjoy himself.  It made me feel bad that I am frequently so busy that I forget to "smell the flowers" with my kids.

Friday night is usually the night Robert and I stay in because the kids always have various activities with their friends.  Christian goes from his after school swing club to hanging out with his large group of friends and we usually don't see him until his curfew at 10:30.  Madison and Hunter are usually busy playing night games with the neighborhood kids until 9pm.  So Robert and I grabbed takeout from Chipotle and rented "Captain America".  Saturday is usually our date night, but instead we opted to take all the kids with us to Crowne Burger.  I am very mindful of the fact that it is only a few more short years before Christian is off to college and a mission and so I very much enjoy having all of us together--even if there is some misery involved.

Highlights from the weekend with the kids:   The two youngest kids really want to see the new movie called "Puss in Boots." (which I refuse to see)  They both have a small plastic toy cat they got from McDonalds that's supposed to look like the one from the movie.  On Saturday I asked them what they were going to play together and Ashton happily replied, "I'm going to play with my PUSS!"  Oookkkaaayyyy…

Ashton was being particularly naughty during Sacrament meeting and I whispered to Robert, "Sometimes I just don't think his behavior is normal."  To which Robert replied, "You've said that about every one of our kids!"  Hahaha.  And then we both laughed because it is true!  At some point I have thought every one of my kids had some sort of behavioral or cognitive problem.  What's wrong with me?!

Christian got straight A's and he did it completely himself.  He studies from 4pm-11pm every day without any reminding, bribing, or help from us.  What a boy.

Madison got all A's and a B.  She has really had to work to overcome some learning hardships and so I was absolutely brimming with pride in her accomplishment.

Hunter spending so much time researching parakeets (he has 2 pet parakeets) and how to train them to talk and do tricks.  He loves them so much and is so tender with them.

Christian and I were eating lunch together and out of the blue he asked me, "Why didn't Joseph Smith just drink the alcohol when his leg was being operated on since it wasn't yet against the Word of Wisdom?  What's the difference between alcohol for pain and novocaine when getting dental work done if that's all they had?"  I love that my kids are starting to ask more thoughtful questions.  I told him that I had always wondered that myself.  I thought it was admirable that he would stick to his beliefs so strongly, even at such a young age and that it showed a lot of character, but I also thought he should have taken something for the pain for pete's sake!  And we both laughed.

Miss Madison got her hair trimmed and styled--so pretty

Pictures before church